Thinking Outloud...about Cedarbrook

Sabbath Means to Stop

2012-01-11T12:11:00.000-08:00

On Sunday I started a new series on The Sabbath. It's not a topic we hear a lot about. But I believe the message of Sabbath is needed now more than ever. Sabbath is God's antidote to stress. I quoted Dr. Richard Swenson's assessment of stress. He said that stress comes because progress always leads to profusion. Progress leads to a profusion of options and most of us aren't very good at

Top Ten Reasons to Put Jesus First

2011-12-19T09:29:00.000-08:00

I had SO MUCH more to share yesterday at Cedarbrook. If you were there you saw that I only covered two points on a list of ten. My topic was The Top Ten Reasons You Should Put Jesus First. Download it now...especially if you've ever been caught by a rushing river. (You'll understand if you listen to it). Paul made reference to a "dominion of darkness" in Colossians one. That's not

Advent...time to put Jesus first

2011-12-12T09:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I continued my study of Colossians, chapter one. My goal is to help us Worship Fully this Advent season. And to do that, we need to put Jesus where he belongs...at the top of every list we have...at the center of everything we do. I don't know about you but Jesus often slips out of place. I'm embarrassed to say that...after all, I'm a pastor! You'd think I would be meditating on

Christians Look Like Idiots When....

2011-11-28T17:48:00.001-08:00

Steve Furtick is a young fireball of a pastor in North Carolina. His blog today touched on something I believe and pass it onto you here. This is just an excerpt. Click at the bottom for the full post... I wonder how many “rivalries” we’ve set up within Christian culture that make us look completely aloof and disconnected to a watching world? We’re busy drawing battle lines within our bubble:

The Goal of Spiritual Growth... MUCH Fruit

2011-11-21T18:56:00.001-08:00

In some ways, I think my message on Sunday was one of the most important messages I've ever preached. Why? Because it set our faith in context of who God calls us to be. I find that many believers don't understand their purpose. Over the years they chase different spiritual things that they perceive to be "growth". It might be Bible knowledge. It might be spiritual gifts or charismatic

I Believe in Hell

2011-11-10T09:12:00.001-08:00

I'm often amused (and grateful) at how people misquote me for the good. They will tell me how a sermon changed their life but when they tell me what I said I know I never said that! But I'm glad their life was changed! That's sweet. Or people will read a book from some spiritual giant and then forget where the idea came from but assign it to me by mistake. Excellent. Bonus points for me! But

Change or Die!

2011-11-07T09:50:00.000-08:00

In yesterday's message I quoted the book "Change or Die". I mentioned that the book gives three important ingredients for change but only mentioned one yesterday. Here are all three: 1. Relate - this is what I talked about. You need to learn from someone you like; a counselor, coach, pastor, etc. if you want to change. When you don't like your teacher you are less motivated to change.

Where is the Lord's Prayer?

2011-10-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

I'm often asked why we don't say the Lord's Prayer at Cedarbrook. My answer is that we don't have anything against saying it. I just don't like to do or say things in a ritualistic way that robs true meaning from the experience. I prefer to preach the Lord's Prayer...especially the line...Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I do that often. I did it

Has Your Faith Flatlined?

2011-10-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

I launched a new series yesterday. I hope you'll download it to hear a story I told about my new hobby of biking and how I related it to what causes our faith to grow. Download Growth: Three Obstacles to Growth here. I talked about the parable of the sower and the seed. So often people beat themselves up for not being the kind of seed that produces a good crop. But if you look at

Creating Relational Boundaries

2011-09-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I took a look at what it takes to raise and release wise children into the world. I said it involves two things: offering choices and consequences. Download Parenthood: Hitting the Target here. We raise wise children by helping them to take responsibility and make good decisions. But for you non-parents I hope you see the application to other relationships. Choices and

Parenting isn't for Cowards

2011-09-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I started a new series on parenting. If you missed it... download Parenthood here. Practical stuff that will help you out...parent or not. Good principles. My last point was that parents need to be prepared. Specifically I said that you should always be reading a book on parenting. Really? Read? Really. Parenting is one of the toughest jobs on the planet. You can NEVER know

Do Evil Spirits Exist?

2011-08-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

In yesterday's message, Acts touched on how Paul's ministry healed people physically AND of evil spirits.Evil spirits...that's an interesting topic!My original message had a few minutes discussing it briefly but I had to cut it due to time so I pass it on to you below .Download the full message here. I looked at Paul's ministry in Ephesus and compared their religious culture to Paul's teaching

The "Repost Or-Else!" Guilt Trip

2011-08-25T08:40:00.000-07:00

I got a long email the other day telling me how great God was and how I should resend the email to everyone I know if I really loved God. I expect this from young people or new believers. They think they are doing something good...taking a stand for God. So I cut them some slack. But this was from a pastor. He should know better. The "resend or-else" mentality has invaded Facebook as well.

Has Your Faith Left You Cold?

2011-08-23T14:01:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I talked about a story in scripture (see Acts 18) that has confused many. It's the story of Apollos and how, even though he was a great preacher, he lacked something. A couple pulled him aside and talked to him. It doesn't say what they told him but after he heard from this couple he rose to become one of the top apostles along with Peter and Paul. It's a bit of a mystery and has

Revelation, Suffering and Hope

2011-07-19T18:52:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I spoke on Revelation. I guess most people aren't used to the idea of Revelation being encouraging! I got a lot of thanks for the message. I also undermined the idea that God has to "fix" all of our problems before we can worship him. Some of the best worshippers have been those who have died for their faith. One person wrote me and said the message was "lifechanging". I had to know

Cedarbrook Welcomes Pastor Dave Johnson

2011-07-07T09:11:00.000-07:00

I'm happy that Dave Johnson will be joining us this Sunday. Dave pastors Church of the Open Door in Maple Grove, MN. Even though I just met Dave a few months ago we "go way back". Let me explain. Back in the 70's I came to faith in an upbeat contemporary church in Minneapolis. It grew and grew but then fell apart when the lead pastor was exposed in adultery. The church didn't handle it well. It

How We Lost Our Audience...and how to get it back.

2011-06-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

I got a lot of positive feedback from my message yesterday. I seemed to have hit on something that many people had questions about. You can download "Lost in Translation" if you missed it. In addition to talking about Desperate Housewives and Country music I talked about how it is that even though we have the best story in the world to tell (the story of Jesus) yet so many people ignore it.

A Reasonable Response to God's Story

2011-06-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I followed up The Story series by asking the question, "What's a reasonable response to The Story?" What is an authentic expression of our faith and thanksgiving for what God has done for us? Paul and Jesus made it clear... a reasonable response is to give God everything...your whole life...every day! (see Romans 12:1 and Mark 12:20) I hope you'll download the message if you missed

Raising the Spiritual Bar

2011-05-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

Seth Godin is a business guru. I like what he said below about those who raise the bar of performance. He's talking about the business world, but what if we applied it to our faith? Some people I know work hard to lower the bar at work.That was my strategy at gym class in high school. Not only did I do the minimum amount permitted, I worked hard to do just a little bit less than that. By the

The Resurrection, Doubt and Mystery

2011-04-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

If you missed Sunday I hope you'll download "Doubters Welcome". People seemed to be encouraged that doubting the resurrection is not the end of the world. The disciples doubted but came around to finally believe and that's why they wrote their gospel accounts. I spoke a little about "mystery" in the first service. I got a little more insight as I spoke during the second service and so I'll share

God's Idea of Payback

2011-04-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I looked at four word pictures that Jesus left for us in his last week before his death and resurrection. Download "Lasting Images" if you missed it. One of the images was of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. Jesus told Peter...if you don't let me wash your feet you have no part in me. In other words.. Peter, if you can't embrace my role as servant then you have no business being

Race to Nowhere

2011-04-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

I just got back from our screening of the independent documentary "Race to Nowhere". It documents the stress that students are undergoing in schools today and the sometime deadly results. Thought provoking. It was really an eye opener to me. I was amazed to learn about the level of homework that is typical in school today, even in grade school. I don't remember that at all for myself and not

You Too Can Be a Rabbi!

2011-04-04T17:40:00.001-07:00

I didn't have time for one thought on Sunday but it's an interesting one. If you missed it, I gave an overview of what the kingdom of God looks like on earth by looking at Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Jesus closes out his message by telling us that if we are smart, we will put his teaching into practice. The kingdom of God only comes when his followers embrace and live out his teaching. But what

Heaven is for NOW

2011-03-28T05:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I introduced the message of Jesus in our study of the Bible. I said it focused on the Kingdom of God. In a nutshell, Jesus' taught that he brought the kingdom of God from heaven to earth and was inviting people...all people...to enter his kingdom. Now. Right then. Not when they died.In other words, Jesus was allowing people to enjoy a foretaste of heaven here on earth by following him.

When All Odds are Against You...

2011-02-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

On Sunday I focused my message on the prophet Isaiah. But The Story captures a great story from the Bible from 2 Kings 18-19 that I didn't touch on. It's the story of King Hezekiah. You can read it in The Story Chapter 16.The cliff notes version is that the Assyrian army had Jerusalem surrounded and ready to crush them.5 Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him

My Time With A Spiritual Director

2011-02-01T17:32:00.000-08:00

I'm spending the week at a conference of the Covenant Church. They often offer opportunities to meet with a spiritual director so I usually take advantage of the offer.Meeting with a spiritual director might seem a little spooky. It kinda sounds like you close your eyes and some mystic takes you to spiritual places. Not at all. It's very simple. They don't direct you at all. They simply act as

Facing the Giants in Your Life

2011-01-03T09:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I looked at the fall of Saul and the rise of David in Israel. What set David apart from Saul was his passion for God...his passion to honor God and not himself. God honors those who honor him.Sometimes as I preach I feel like God is emphasizing a specific point through me. Yesterday I had that sense as I talked about David running into battle. My point was that David didn't pray for

Book Review: Sacred Meal

2010-12-18T07:05:00.000-08:00

Rating: three stars out of five.Thomas Nelson Publishing has recently put out a series of books that deal with different spiritual practices. I've already read the book on tithing (reviewed earlier this year) and look forward to reading the one on sabbath (coming soon). But I just finished the book on communion called Sacred Meal by Nora Gallager.Sacred Meal wasn’t what I was expecting. Maybe

Let's Bless Others This Christmas

2010-12-13T13:17:00.000-08:00

There's a good chance you missed Sunday because of the snow. I talked about adding some "legs" to our words, that is, adding action to our faith.I mentioned in the second service that I'm an activist by nature. I don't do well just watching. I'm a "roll up your sleeves and get dirty" kind of guy! And that's the kind of church I want Cedarbrook to be. The saddest thing to me would be for

Do You Come From The Land of Losers?

2010-12-06T08:36:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy the story of Ruth. It's a classic gospel story of how God takes someone who society rejects (Ruth came from Moab...the land of losers) and makes them a faith hero.You can download it now here. We often sing about God being our Redeemer...but do you know what that is? My sermon outlines it for you. Boaz redeemed Ruth, pouring out his love on her in such an abundant way that she

Book Review: Your Money God's Way

2010-12-02T07:39:00.000-08:00

If you are a person of faith and find yourself falling into money problems on a regular basis, Your Money God’s Way, might be a good shot in the arm. Amie Streater is a pastor who works full time at a megachurch teaching financial principles and counseling people in financial trouble. Her book is filled with anecdotes from her interaction with hundreds of people. Amie is a straight talking,

Meet Kyle Gunderson our new Associate Pastor

2010-11-23T07:53:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to announce that our search for an associate pastor has resulted in calling Kyle Gunderson to Cedarbrook. I think he and his family are a very good fit for our church family. Kyle Gunderson is only 29 years old but has ten years of youth pastor experience. He pastored at both Maple Grove Covenant, a church of 700 people and then International Falls Covenant, a church of about 300.

Why does God kill people in the Old Testament?

2010-11-17T20:32:00.000-08:00

While I'm into answering hard questions (see earlier post) I might as well tackle another one. With our current overview of the Bible on Sundays you can't help but notice a few people dying as a result of God's anger. Most people quietly ignore this and hope that nobody notices or dares to ask but, come on... something's not right here. At least that's the first thought.So, what's up? Well,

Sin, the Ten Commandments and Hell

2010-11-17T12:28:00.000-08:00

In our study of the Ten Commandments recently one small group had questions about what I said about breaking them. I said that breaking the Ten Commandments doesn't disqualify you from heaven. It disqualifies you as God's agent on earth, being his representative. I said this in reference to the 3000 people that were killed by the Levites who worshipped Aaron's golden calf. I guess that this

The Greatest Day in History?

2010-11-08T18:15:00.000-08:00

Here's a bit of Bible trivia that I find interesting. I noted yesterday that Jews see the giving of the Ten Commandments as the greatest day in history. One reason is that God spoke to ALL the Israelites at one time rather than to just one person. In their opinion this only happened once in all of history and never again. Therefore it is the greatest day (plus THEY were the ones chosen to hear

Is Your Heart Hard to God?

2010-11-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

One question that people often have with the story of Moses and the deliverance from Egypt is the hardening of Pharoah's heart. It seems wrong that God would do that. Let me give you a couple of ideas as to why that is...First, I think the hardening of Pharoah's heart is a natural process that we've all seen (in our life or others). People know what the right thing to do is but they ignore it.

The Church; sinful and saving

2010-10-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

In reading the story of Jacob it's a wonder that God's people didn't die out with him. What a loser! How could God build on his foundation? But in thinking about Jacob it dawned on me that the church has been a "Jacob" all along. The church has been the "embarrassing uncle" you don't want people to know about and hope doesn't show up at the family party. It's always been that way and we still

Nouwen on Believing in the Church

2010-10-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

I get a daily email devotional with thoughts from Henri Nouwen taken from his numerous writings. Today's post on "believing in the Church" is good. I heard Greg Boyd (author and pastor at Woodland Hills Church, St. Paul) say once that one of the biggest obstacles to his faith isn't miracles or the resurrection,etc. but the church. The church doesn't always live up to its calling and that has

Book Review: Out Live Your Life

2010-09-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

I’ve read a few Max Lucado books and I haven’t decided if I like his style or not. I can easily see how some people do. Maybe it’s just an acquired taste. I like that he’s a story teller. He loves to add the flourish and embellish every story with word pictures and specially crafted words that add flare. But I’m a “get to the point” kind of guy so some of those flourishes strike me as self

Book Review...The Butterfly Effect

2010-09-07T07:33:00.001-07:00

Andy Andrews has just written a small gift book but don’t confuse size with impact. The Butterfly Effect will change your perspective on how you live your life. You’ve probably heard about the butterfly effect theory…that when a butterfly flaps its wings on the other side of the world it can actually impact your life in some significant way. This theory was laughed at when first suggested but

Book Review: Everyone Communicates. Few Connect.

2010-08-25T22:49:00.000-07:00

Reading a John Maxwell book is deceptive. There’s a tendency to think that it’s too simple. That it’s nothing new and you’ve heard it all before. It’s just common sense. But don’t be fooled. That’s the sign of a good teacher. John puts things on the lower shelf so it is accessible and readily applicable. I enjoyed reading Everyone Communicates, Few Connect because my job (pastor) is all about

Restoration and the return of the blue birds...

2010-07-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

The bluebirds are back.When we bought our land five years ago there were a number of bluebird houses and bluebirds all around. I loved watching them. Somehow with fence line clean up the houses got removed. For months the bluebirds remained but a little confused. Where had all the houses gone? But the next year the bluebirds were nowhere to be found.That bothered me. I felt like we had destroyed

Back to "Normal"

2010-06-21T06:29:00.001-07:00

The past three months have been a whirlwind for me, our staff and many volunteers as we have pushed hard to move from the mall to our building. I feel like we did a good job. Going into a move you never know what will happen but our church community REALLY CARES and it showed. People stepped up in every area to make the move a great success. Thanks!The physical move went well. It will take a year

On the Eve of the Grand Opening

2010-06-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

People ask me all the time how I feel about the Grand Opening. It changes every minute!Part of me is just tired! We've been at this for so long. I'm looking forward to getting back to life as normal. But that's just the whiner in me.Part of me is afraid. I'm afraid that we'll have more people come than we can welcome well. So much of who we are is relational. I don't want people to feel like

First Service...Surreal

2010-05-30T14:24:00.001-07:00

The first service at our new home was great...really fun to see the excitement in everyone's eyes. It was great to hear the singing after eight years of the sound being absorbed by our bad acoustics! The crowd was quite large and parking was a fiasco but solvable. Thanks for coming out if you were in the crowd.I've heard a few people use the word "surreal" to describe the new building and the

Book Review: Bonhoeffer...pastor, martyr, prophet, spy

2010-05-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a young pastor during the rise of Adolf Hitler in Germany. He led a movement called the Confessing Church which encouraged German Lutheran churches to break away from the state church because of its support of Hitler. He joined the conspiracy to kill Hitler and eventually paid for it with his life. I’ve read a bit about Dietrich Bonhoeffer as well as two of his books (

Confessing my poverty mentality...

2010-05-26T07:59:00.001-07:00

I had a strange feeling as I sat in our conference room with our staff yesterday. We were in an adequately sized room with furniture that wasn't cast off from someone's tired living room. The air conditioning was keeping us cool on a hot day. The room was well lit and...I felt guilty. What was that all about????I thought...oh no, I'm not going to be able to function here. It's too nice. We've

One week to go...

2010-05-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

We closed out our time at the mall yesterday. Transitions are so odd. There comes a time when there is a break from the past. You see it coming, coming, coming...it feels like you will always be in that in-between state...and then there is a break...a final act...and the past drops away like fuel tanks on a rocket ship as it goes to Stage Two.Yesterday was that break. We packed up the stage,

Fasting for God's Name

2010-05-03T14:58:00.000-07:00

It's May and we turn the corner on finishing off our building. I was there today with our designer (Tracy Taylor) going over the colors and furnishings one last time (I hope!). It's all coming together. I think you'll be surprised at the look. It doesn't look like a church...not at all. It looks more like a lodge, not only on the outside...inside too. The colors are warm earth tones and we'll

Book Review: Tithing...test me in this

2010-03-11T12:42:00.000-08:00

Who would have thought that a book on tithing could be a page-turner? But Tithing...test me in this, was just that. Douglas LeBlanc's interview with individuals or couples about their experience with tithing (giving away 10% of their income) was an easy read that inspired me toward generosity.LeBlanc starts the book with a simple overview of the practice of tithing which I found very helpful. He

The Reality of Walking with God

2010-03-09T04:58:00.000-08:00

I've been enjoying the Lenten posts from Larry Crabb's devotional that I recommended in a previous post. He's been hitting the theme of what it REALLY means to walk with God. It's not all fun and games. He's not a God who runs around keeping us from scraping our knees and wiping our nose. He's a God of great purpose and wants to include us in that purpose. But he doesn't always include us in on

Celebrating Lent

2010-02-20T05:06:00.000-08:00

Lent is the 40 days that lead up to Easter. The word simply means "spring" since it is during springtime. Christians have used this time, like Advent before Christmas, to prepare themselves for Easter.Someone asked me the other day if we celebrated Ash Wednesday (the start of Lent which was last Wednesday). I said...not yet. She wondered why we didn't and I told her that most evangelical

Book Review

2010-01-22T13:41:00.000-08:00

I have agreed to occassionally review a book for Thomas Nelson publishing. Here's my latest review on the book; Finding Purpose Beyond Your Pain by Paul Meier and David Henderson, both Christian psychiatrists.When I sent off for the book, Finding Purpose Beyond Our Pain, I was looking forward to reading it. I’ve known about one of the authors (Paul Meier) for years and have enjoyed hearing him on

Podcasts on Marriage and Faith

2010-01-11T14:24:00.000-08:00

I download sermon podcasts all the time to hear from some of the better preachers in the country. Andy Stanley and John Ortberg usually serve up some pretty good stuff...practical, biblical, clear.This past week they both had series posted that I think you'll find helpful:iMarriage- a three part series on marriage by Andy Stanley.Can Smart People Believe in God? - a three part series by John

How to Make Resolutions that Stick

2010-01-02T08:35:00.001-08:00

I'm not preaching this week. It's amazing what I have time for when I don't have to prepare a sermon...like blogging. I would like to do it more.I get blog updates from Michael Hyatt, president of Thomas Nelson books. Today he sent out a helpful post on how to make your New Year resolutions actually happen. I thought you might appreciate his advice...In order to make your resolutions stick, you

Recent Cedarbrook Photos

2009-11-02T14:14:00.000-08:00

Here are a few recent pics. Three from the World Hunger fundraiser at Pizza Hut and one of our flooded auditorium! For more photos go to our Facebook page.

New Tagline: Connect, Grow, Serve

2009-10-26T06:54:00.000-07:00

I asked for input a few weeks back about a new tagline. I got some good input. People offered a number of creative ideas. One I liked the best was, Cedarbrook Church...know God, no guilt. I think that reflects well the spirit of who we are which is the purpose of a tagline.After thinking about many options we settled on something more functional...Cedarbrook Church...connect, grow, serve.

Book Review: Fearless

2009-10-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

Fearless, by Max Lucado, is a word spoken in season. As he closes his book, Lucado notes that a British researcher counted the use of the term “at risk” in British newspapers. In 1994 the term was used 2037 times. By the year 2000 the term was used 18,000. Had the world really become nine times riskier in just six years? Sometimes it feels that way. Lucado takes on the variety of fears that

Sermon Input Welcome

2009-09-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

I'm starting a new series soon (this Sunday or next, depending on whether or not Brian Hartz can speak on Sunday).I'm thinking it would be nice to get your input. I'll let you know what I'm looking for and you can provide me with a story, a thought, a video, a song or whatever. I'll take appropriate jokes too!Now... the upside on this is that my sermons should be more interesting. I think we'd

Help us with a tagline

2009-09-28T10:50:00.001-07:00

At Cedarbrook we are working at repositioning ourselves in the community with a new tagline. Up to now, our tagline has been...Cedarbrook Church...come and be refreshed. That was a good descriptor of what we were trying to achieve in the early days...help people see church as a GOOD place to come...a place that was approachable and accepting vs. a place that crammed religion down your throat

A Look at Fear

2009-09-22T18:49:00.000-07:00

I just agreed to review books for Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for a free book. The first book I got was FEARLESS by Max Lucado. I'm not ready to review it but his first chapter is captivating. Here's a taste...Oversized and rude, fear is unwilling to share the heart with happiness. Happiness complies and leaves. Do you ever see the two together? Can one be happy and afraid at the same

Open Sourcing my life

2009-08-29T11:15:00.000-07:00

The big thing over the past few years is open source materials. That means that rather than charging for everything, people, companies, churches, etc. put there stuff out there on line for free. Download it, modify it, upgrade it and use it for your own benefit.That idea got me thinking about living an open-sourced life. It's a bit of a pendulum swing. The opposite is where someone has so many

Finding peace

2009-08-20T05:28:00.000-07:00

I read something else from Nouwen the other day about when you feel unsettled during the day...How can we stay in solitude when we feel that deep urge to be distracted by people and events? The most simple way is to focus our minds and hearts on a word or picture that reminds us of God. By repeating quietly: "The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want," ...we can bring our restless

Spiritual Dryness

2009-07-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

My last post got me feeling guilty about not blogging. So many inspiring things cross my desk (or computer screen) every day. It doesn't take much to pass along the blessing. So, I thought I'd pass on some things from a Henri Nouwen devotional that I get emailed to me everyday.Sometimes we experience a terrible dryness in our spiritual life. We feel no desire to pray, don't experience God's

Summer Break

2009-07-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

Summer is always a bad time for blogging. The best I can do is a few lines here and there on Twitter or Facebook...mostly updates on our building project. Catch me there!My Twitter posts are in the margin below...

Twitter me FRemy

2009-06-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm succumbing to peer pressure and trying to do something now rather than waiting until later. I'm finally on Twitter. Follow me here.At first I didn't get it. I thought it was self-indulgent...like, telling you every time I burped or ate a cookie, and ...WHO CARES!But I'm realizing that it is a new medium for rapid communication and I think as I use it and incorporate it into the church

Leever's, Land and finding God's will

2009-05-18T08:57:00.000-07:00

In his heart a person plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9I talked about our decision to build on our land yesterday. You can download the Rooted to Reach Update. I took the full 30 minutes because it was more than an announcement. It was a case study in finding God's will. Finding God's will is not an efficient, tidy effort. It can be grueling, as was our process

Welcome Tevis West

2009-05-18T06:04:00.000-07:00

Tevis West has recently accepted our offer to be our new worship leader. Tevis and his wife Melissa are currently in Madison, Indiana.Tevis will be joining Cedarbrook on the weekend of May 31st for a visit while he is up here looking for both housing and part time work. He hopes to move up here in June if possible.You can find Tevis and Melissa on Facebook in the Eau Claire network. I hope

The Shack and Judging Others

2009-04-20T11:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I opened my series called Finding God in The Shack. You can download the message by clicking on the link. I addressed some of the criticism that The Shack has had thrown at it. We unfortunately see the dark side of the church when people feel like they have to be "fruit inspectors" for everyone else. I believe it is important to judge right from wrong and good from bad. It's

Saving Your Parents

2009-04-13T10:44:00.000-07:00

I got a good question from someone at Cedarbrook who is struggling with the difference between their faith and the faith of their parents who are part of a very very traditional church with a strong ethnic background. Their parents are aging and they felt the burden of "saving" them before they die. They were looking to me for some advice. After reading my tips, they wrote back that it helped

Receiving God's Abundance

2009-03-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I spoke about Jesus filling Peter's boat with fish. That happened right after a total "bust" of a night where he had caught nothing. This story is so pregnant with spiritual truth. It's worth taking time to "go deeper". First, why did Peter have to experience the pain of working all night for nothing first? I've seen that in my own life a lot; when I was in business, in ministry,

What if I don't agree?

2009-03-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

I got a great letter from someone at church recently. As our capital campaign draws to an end they decided that they could not contribute. They prayed and thought about it a lot but just didn't feel like it was something that God wanted them to participate in at this time. I could tell from the tone of their note that they felt bad about their decision and hoped I'd understand. I thought it

Where's the Altar Call?

2009-02-21T11:04:00.000-08:00

Cedarbrook attracts a wide variety of people from diverse church backgrounds. You'll find a smorgasbord of experiences from Catholic to Pentecostal to Lutheran to Baptist...plus New Age and who knows what else! It's that way by design. We want to be inclusive but people with strong church backgrounds always wonder why we don't do what they are used to doing. Like in the early days we got a lot

How to achieve the impossible

2009-02-02T08:24:00.001-08:00

On Sunday I talked about how to achieve the impossible. My three points were that achieving the impossible...1. starts with a sense of calling from God.2. is a gift from God.3. requires preparation.When God calls you to something (point 1) he gives you what you need to make it happen (point two). I didn't have a chance to share what Moses told Joshua before he died...