R.U. "In the Know?"

Well, this is about as close as I can get to "gossip". Welcome to my world...

I dropped in on the Men's Meeting last Tuesday night (led by Jeff Ayres and Keith Nye) at the Cedarbrook House to touch base with the guys. They are working their way through a 16 week course called "Winning at Work and at Home". That night's topic was "Improving Your Sex Life"! Of all the nights to drop in! But seriously, it was one of the best teachings I've seen on the subject. I told the guys that I'm going to be recommending this to couples from now on. Guys, if you can't attend the meetings, buy the cd's or dvd's. You and your wife will be glad you did. If every man at Cedarbrook went through this series we'd be better men for it. Learn more here.

Working with other church youth leaders, Andy Britz helped schedule the first all-church ski trip for youth this February. Pretty cool team work.

Did you know that Children's Ministry is going wild? A year ago we had six people volunteering on a Sunday and now Brenda Brewer has 20 volunteers each week. They are attracting close to 100 children every Sunday! I'm hearing great things about the work of Kari Mogen, Julie Colson, Kristen Schroeder, Jon Farrell, Jon Kluver, Lisa Diederich, Kendra Hefner and a whole bunch more!

Speaking of big numbers, our Sunday services have taken a big jump. With children, we are fast approaching the 500 mark total for both services. Thanks for sitting up close to free the seats in the back (and we just started adding more seats too). Thanks to Dave Prestebak, Jon Lutz and Ken Jorandby for faithfully setting up chairs each week. I hear they could use some help though now that the load has increased.

I had some fellow Viking fans over on Sunday to watch the "big" game. I think I better keep their names anonymous. It's not something people want to brag about these days! Good thing the food was good because it was a real sleeper on the purple side of things (I gotta give that old QB some credit in the green and gold!) Maybe next year.

Dave and Lynn Prestebak shared the parents side of sending a son to war at Fresh Encounter on Sunday night and Kendra Hefner shared from her time in Saudi Arabia as a woman in the service. It was a good time of lifting up our past and present troops in prayer.

Orland Able just retired for the third time. This time from Fleetfarm. He says this time its' for good. I enjoyed a cup of coffee with him today in celebration. It's great to hear from one of our senior members how much Cedarbrook means to him. He's been in church all his life but much of it was the "toxic" version. He said it's been refreshing.

I heard second hand that Dennis Mentor received two gifts for the land debt reduction on Sunday as he tended the "Building 127" booth. It's great to hear that the booth is getting the word out and people are responding.

Jeff Ayres came off Upper Tainter lake today after fishing for walleyes one last time before the ice sets in. I love the patience that fishermen have (and I don't!).

Well, that's what I remember from my week. Now you are "in the know".

This week at Cedarbrook

I was talking to Byron Anderson over coffee about how the chancelor at Stout will often email about conversations he's had with people around about Stout. Byron said it was always interesting to "listen in" on his musings. I thought I could do a bit of the same to put some faces on all that goes on around Cedarbrook...

Speaking of Byron, did you see the "Building 127" table that he and Judy Abel had out on Sunday? Byron came up with a unique way to communicate to us all the status of paying off the church land. Using a LEGO platform, we will put a "brick" on the platform for every $100 invested until the platform is covered. How many bricks is that? 1370 (representing $137,000). The table will be up for the two months for you to check out.

I enjoyed the pizza served at the Welcome Team's luncheon on Sunday. I so appreciate how Diane Sinz, Sarah Anderson and Diane Kistner work with about 25 others to welcome people on Sunday, inform them of where everything is and help them find the best possible seat! A great service starts with a great welcome!

Betsy Wolbert invited a number of people over to her house on Thursday to discuss how we can decorate on Sunday's to supplement each sermon. Patti Irwin, Sandy Buckner, Larry Froseth and Kelly Pember were there to help brainstorm as I layed out my upcoming sermon series. (I also got a couple kitchen remodeling tips on my way out the door!)

It's been great to have Andre Oldberg back singing with the band now and then when he and Krista drive back from Medford. Andre was back in town to do some turkey hunting with the Cormican's. But he also tells me that he and Krista are having some serious Cedarbrook withdrawals and like the excuse to come back for a CB style church service.

Christine Ruth was off preaching at her kid brother's church in St. Paul (Substance Church) on Sunday. Peter started the church two years ago from scratch on the University of Minnesota - St. Paul campus and they are already drawing 800 people! From what I heard, Christine had a great time with the very young and lively crowd but a little weary after three services of preaching!

I dropped in on Christine's "Crossway Bible Class" a couple Tuesday's ago at the Cedarbrook Center. She has quite the crowd of eager Bible students engaged in discussion...too many to mention (40). I loved seeing her passion for the Old Testament and the way everyone was so quick to comment or ask questions.

Last night Lisa and I enjoyed mentoring a group of parents at the Parenting Club and now tonight I'm off to visit my old small group that I started and turned over to Swen and Nancy Erickson. Sounds like it is still a lively group. One of the members was just telling me that the group has started to serve people in North Menomonie who they hear have pressing needs (bringing meals, etc.). That was great to hear!

Well, that's just a bit of the life that I'm seeing around here this week...

Here's a video for you ...a spoof on the IBM/Apple ads...remy

Undignified Love

The parable of the Lost Sons (Prodigal Son) is a challenge to anyone looking to learn about a "safe" way to love. Forget about boundaries, God's love for us is the "risk it all" kind that takes no thought for Himself.

What struck me about this story - something I had never seen before - was that the father in the story ran to his son, not just because he missed him so much but because he wanted to protect him from the abuse of the villagers. The villagers would undoubtedly have taken up the offense for the father and would be quick to meet the boy at the city gate to discourage him from returning. It's amazing, isn't it, how unkind and vengeful religious people can be. Maybe you've been on the receiving end of this kind of hatred.

But the father beat his way through the crowd and made it to his son before they did, saving him from the humiliation and the shame. The father didn't care what people thought of him. He wasn't looking to preserve his reputation. His only concern was the welfare of the son. What a picture of God's protective love for us. And isn't that what we see in Jesus bearing the shame of our sin on the cross? No mere mortal could have ever conceived of a god like this!

It's worth some time to consider how we might be like that village crowd with the "sinners" in our midst. And it's worth some time to see how we might be more like the father by embracing them, welcoming them back into the faith community and even giving them the "seat of honor" at our banquets.

(By the way, the audio file won't be uploaded until the end of this week but the text file is ready to go.)

Forgiveness First, Then Repentence

I was telling someone the other day that what I enjoy about Jesus' parables is that as you layer one on the other certain themes emerge that you may not have seen with just one parable. One theme that I see emerging is that Jesus doesn't expect us to repent in order for him to forgive us. He forgives us in order that we will repent.

I mentioned this on Sunday in my sermon on The Lost Sheep. Sheep are incapable of "repenting". Once lost, they shut down, curl up and wait to be rescued or die. If the shepherd doesn't seek them out and carry them home they are toast. In the parable of the Lost Coin (Luke 15) the same is true. The coin has no ability to "repent" and is dependent on the woman to find it.

I will show this Sunday that the Prodigal son tried to repent by returning home willing to be a servant but the end of this kind of "repentance" was only slavery. That's not what God wants for us. He wants us to be his son or daughter. So true repentance doesn't happen for the prodigal until his Father takes action - embraces him and offers him a banquet. True repentance takes place when the son agrees to attend the party and live like a son instead of a slave.

I'm convinced that many Christians live like slaves vs. children of God because they still haven't received God's forgiveness. They are in a perpetual state of trying to earn God's forgiveness, but since that's impossible, they never achieve their goal which makes them feel like they are on the "outs" with God. Is that true for you?

When to "Take a Stand"

Someone mentioned to me the other day that some people around town think Cedarbrook is "soft", meaning we don't confront people about lifestyle issues. I purposefully don't try to defend comments like these in my preaching but addressing the "soft" comment fit perfectly with my sermon on The Great Banquet on Sunday. It gave me the opportunity to explain that there is both method and theology behind my reticence to "take a stand" and condemn lifestyle issues publicly. Give it a read/listen to see if you agree.

There was a day when I would jump at the chance to "take a stand" for "righteousness". It felt so good to point out how others were doing it wrong (implying that I was doing it right). It compelled people to pat me on the back and thank me for "preaching the truth". And it drew a clear line in the sand, defining what a follower of Jesus truly looks like (and I love clarity vs. fuzziness). Plus it made me feel like "God's man"...you know, being willing to step up and say the unpopular thing - kind of a spiritually macho thing to do.

But over the years I feel like God has exposed some of the self serving attitudes in "taking a stand". Truthfully, I don't know what good it does. I'm not saying that there is never a place for it. There is. But often not the place where we think it is. Too often it only serves to puff up our pride and turn the target of our "stand" off. We only polarize ourselves more. How is that helpful in reaching the unchurched?

Sometimes the hardest thing (certainly for me), and the most righteous thing is to just keep our mouths shut. Now if your character flaw is that you are too wishy-washy, God might be speaking the exact opposite to you. You need to stand up for what you believe. But that's not my problem.

As for being soft, it's a compliment to me because twenty years ago (uh, and more recently than that!) I was accused of being harsh. I guess I've come a long way. I'm just thankful that Jesus' Spirit is the One who brings true conviction to our hearts and not self-righteous preachers.

The next three Sundays I'll be adding to what I said so I hope you'll join me in person or on-line.

The fun of judging others...

Yesterday, Christine Ruth tackled the parable of The Weeds. She brought some great insight to it. What I find interesting in the parables is how your first impression isn't always the right impression. As with the weeds, the first impression is that it's a parable of judgment. But in reality it's a parable about NOT judging. Religious people love to judge and Jesus says, "Leave that to me. Let 'em be." Ooooohhhhh...but judging is SO MUCH FUN...especially when you KNOW that you have the truth...that YOU are right and everyone else is wrong!!! I mean, that's the dream of every insecure person, isn't it...to finally be in the place of power and look down on OTHERS instead of them having them look down on you?

Sorry for the dripping sarcasm but their is a lot of psychology that comes into play regarding why people turn to God/religion. I've done enough study/teaching on shame issues to know that our brain is constantly looking for affirmation and we will do whatever we can - no matter how dysfunctional - to feel good about ourselves. Unfortunately people use God/religion to boost their ego. But Jesus tells us that it's not our job to judge who's "in" and who's "out" with God. There are better ways to feel good about yourself.

It reminds me of my ordination interview. I was asked the age old question..."Tell us what will happen to the tribal chief who has never heard about Jesus." The "right" answer is that without Jesus he is eterally lost. But I said, "I have no idea. But I trust that God does and he will be perfectly just." That unsettled my interviewers but I think that's precisely what Jesus was getting at in the parable of The Weeds. He didn't want religious people sitting around making judgments about things that were none of their business.

You can listen or read Christine's message here.

The Two Debtors parable

I love the parables of Jesus. They appear to be so simple but as you explore them they take on layers. One of the things I enjoy doing is to view the parables from the viewpoint of everyone involved.

For example, in the parable of the Two Debtors (Luke 7:36-50), there is a man who owes his lender $5,000 and another man who owes $50,000. I took some time to explore times when I owed little and I owed much and how I felt. When I owed little, my high task orientation kicked in and I decided I'm going to "DO IT", I'm going to "GET 'ER DONE". I'll get another job, I'll work nights, I'll freeze spending. I will do whatever I have to do to make it happen. It's all about me and my abilities.

If someone were to offer help with my small debt, I'd say, "No...thanks...I've got it covered." And inwardly I'd be proud of my ability to rise to the occassion and save the day.

But when I have owed thousands I merely cry because there's nothing I can do to solve the problem. I like it when I am in control. I hate it when I'm at the mercy of others. If someone were to offer to wipe out my debt I would be tempted to refuse. It's so humiliating to admit that I can't fix the problem. But if someone were to offer the help I think I'd take it because I could stop living with the weight of the debt and finally start living in freedom.

We understand things so well when it relates to the natural world. That's why Jesus told parables. The trick is to make the appropriate application to the spiritual world.

You see the big mistake we often make with God is to think that our problems are small and WE can handle them. God offers to help and we say "No, got it covered". And in doing so we miss the opportunity to encounter God in a very profound way. We would be wise to ask God to see our sin from his perspective so that we could see how much we truly need his help. Maybe then we would embrace God in a way that we've never done before.

Check out my sermon here. I won't be able to check posts this week but I hope you will post your thoughts and comment on what others write as well.

Am I Loving My Neighbor or Enabling Them?

In light of the parable of The Good Samaritan, the obvious question to surface is; How do I know that my helping someone isn't enabling them? That was the question that someone posted in my entry below.

There are lots of ways to answer that so let me take a few stabs at that question:

• I think it's often helpful to define terms and so I would ask, "What does it mean to help someone?" Is helping them doing what they ask of you or is it doing what will lead to true freedom? If the victim in Jesus' parable was able to talk and they asked you to carry them rather than put them on the donkey, would that truly help them? Probably not because it would overwhelm you so much that you too might be lying beside the road near death.
• Because this question is so tricky it requires significant input from both God and wise counselors. So it's not a time to isolate and try to solve things on your own. People who like to be enabled are great at manipulating you through guilt so it's important to have clear voices speaking truth into your situation and not letting someone pull your strings. The more wisdom we receive the less conflicted we feel.
• Shame based people are easily manipulated because they feel like they aren't good enough and maybe if they try to help lots of people with their problems they'll prove that they really are good enough and get the approval that they've always wanted. That's a black hole. Don't go there! If you recognize that shame is an issue in your life I'd get counseling for that before I tried to solve the world's problems.
• Finally, I think you have to assess the fruit of your "help". If the person you are "helping" isn't getting any better, then maybe you aren't helping them after all, only enabling their bad behavior. Some times we help by doing nothing or doing the opposite of what seems like help (calling the police, exposing a problem, etc.)

There are no easy answers to the conflict that often comes with trying to help someone. Jesus taught us that it's always the right thing to do to help others in need, just make sure that you are truly helping them and not making matters worse.

Bad Religion and Toxic Faith

Is there ever a time when you should NOT obey the Bible? I think so.

Paul said that "the Letter (of the Law) kills but the Spirit gives life". (2 Corinthians 3:16). And that's exactly what some Bible verses do when applied in the wrong situation. If you listened to my sermon on Sunday about The Good Samaritan, you heard me tell how both the Priest and the Levite in Jesus' parable used scripture to excuse them from helping a man near death.

That's bad religion. That's toxic faith. It totally misrepresents who God is to the world.

But Jewish rabbi’s had a practice called “binding and loosing” scripture to prevent this from happening. When someone felt that a scripture shouldn't be obeyed the elders in the community were to determine if that person should be “bound” to obey scripture or “loosed” to not obey it.

Jesus gave this same right to his disciples. This is important so that the Bible doesn’t put us in bondage to meaningless rules. A good example is the woman caught in adultery (John 8). The Bible says to stone people caught in adultery but Jesus loosed the community from carrying this out. He forgave her but challenged her to stop her life of sin.

Have you ever seen a Bible verse obeyed that did more damage than good?

Help them. Don't judge them!

I saw something in the parable of the Sower and the Seed that I had never seen before. The parable talks about a seed that falls on hard, rocky and thorny soil. The seed just sits on the hard soil and waits for the birds to eat it while the seed on the other soil sprouts and grows but eventually dies.

This parable is often taken personally, as in, I better clean up my act and work on having better soil. But what I saw is in relation to other people. When I meet someone who I can clearly see has a compromised faith, instead of judging them, this parable tells me that the clock is ticking and I have just a small window of time to help them with their soil condition. The question is...what can I do to help them develop their soil so the seed will not only sprout and grow for a time...but actually produce a harvest.


I see too many people come to church for a time and then suddenly disappear. Sure, you can blame it on the church not being perfect, but I think it often has something to do with the nature of the person. They come to church because a seed has fallen on their heart and they are stirred to seek God. But soon their troubles or personal distractions pull them back out of church and away from God.


Instead of judging the weak the church community can seize the moment, while there's still time, and encourage them in their faith - helping them address their issues of "hard soil", "rocks" and "thorns". It's that kind of understanding and encouraging community that I want to be a part of. How about you?

The Sower and the Seed

I had a great time telling the story of the Sower and the Seed yesterday. It was fun because I surprised people in the way I dealt with it. Most people hear the story and feel condemned for their bad soil. But I used my time to look at the good seed instead.

One thing that has always confused me about that parable is why the farmer sowed seed in places other than the field. I mean, come on, can we really blame rocks and thorns and hard paths for not bearing a harvest? What was he thinking? But the point here is that God plants his "seed" in unlikely places. Since God has unlimited "seed" he can "waste" it by sowing it in places that don't normally produce a harvest. It's a risk but a risk that he is willing to take.

The analogy is that God does the same thing with people. We typically share God's word with people who we think would make "Good Christians" and pass by the unlikely prospects...the poor, sexually immoral, addicts, etc. But God is generous with his word. And he's not worried about getting dirty. He'll mix with anyone.

It's a great picture of God's love for everyone. Now, if we can just learn from him! Read/listen to the sermon here.

Good Marriages make for Good Parenting

I mentioned on Sunday that one of the biggest credibility busters with a child is a bad marriage and encouraged couples to get help. Let me give you some good resources for that. First, you might want to contact one of these two local professional Christian counselors:

• Steve Tyvol who attends Cedarbrook and can meet with you at the Cedarbrook House on Saturdays (or New Richmond during the week.) Call 715-781-3398.
• Robin Williams who works out of the Access office in Menomonie.

Plus, I highly recommend a Retrouvaille Marriage Retreat. These are practical weekend retreats in the Twin Cities that deal with the nitty-gritty of getting rocky marriages back on track. A number of couples from Cedarbrook have attended with excellent results.

When your children see that you are at least working on your marriage you give your child hope and model for them the essence of character.

Parenting isn't for Cowards

I never intended to take the summer off from blogging. It just happened! But now I'm back. I hope you had a great summer.

I'm preparing for two weeks of teaching on parenting. I'm calling it Parenting with Love and Limits. After giving it that title I realized that it tends to imply that Limits is in contrast to Love, which isn't the case. Both children and parents tend to see it that way though. Children feel "abused" by limits and parents feel guilty for "abusing" their child...afraid of the psychological harm that will be inflicted and quickly back away.

That's unfortunate because limits bring definition to a child's life. They help a child to focus on what's important and let go of the rest. Plus limits help a child learn how to deal with disappointment. Life tends to deal out a lot of disappointment and if a child grows up shielded from that they are headed for a rude awakening when their marriage or job or children don't make them "happy" all the time.

As a follow up to these sermons my wife (Lisa) and I will be starting a Parenting Club to help coach parents through their years of parenting. I'm not sure what day or night we'll do it but if that interests you let me know.

Welcome Andy Britz!

After a year of searching for a new youth pastor we have finally found one that we think is a great match for Cedarbrook! We extended an offer to Andy Britz last week and he has accepted the position.

I'm very excited about Andy joining us. It was worth the wait. Thanks so much for all of the input many of you gave us in the process. After our failed attempt last Fall to hire someone we made Andy jump through a number of hoops, being interviewed a total of four times by different groups of people. Here was the process...

• Lisa and I met Andy and his wife Jill for lunch
• LEAD met with Andy and Jill
• Staff met with Andy and Jill
• Andy presented to staff, LEAD and youth leaders. At this meeting we also had a second candidate present and we then took a straw poll. Andy was the clear favorite, especially with the younger attendees.
• We had hoped to bring Andy before the students before actually offering him the job but we ran out of time. He was being pursued by another church and scheduling wouldn't allow more interviews. But with the positive feedback from the youth that saw him we are confident that Andy will be well liked.

Here's a brief overview of Andy:
> He's 32, grew up in the UP of Michigan but currently lives in Osceola, WI.
> He attended Northwestern College in St. Paul where he got his degree in Youth Ministry.
> He's worked at two churches over seven years. In both settings he proved to be an instant draw to the students. In Osceola many of the students in his group were from outside of the church.
> He plays guitar and leads worship.
> He's married to his wife Jill and has two young children.
> He's also a carpenter and has been in that trade for the past two years.

I'm excited for you to meet Andy. One of my goals was to find someone that is easily approachable and quickly likeable. I think that describes Andy well. He's the kind of person that has a quick smile and is very easy going. But he also has a passion for investing into the lives of students.

Brad Kehn will be introducing Andy to the students at the Bonfire on June 13th. Brad and Andy will be working closely over the next few weeks to make a smooth transition. Andy will start leading the Wednesday meetings in July. He will be actively looking for a house to move into by August if possible. I hope to introduce Andy to the congregation on June 24th.

Let's be sure to not only work at welcoming the Britz family but also bringing closure to Brad's time with us as well. Brad played a crucial role in the history of Cedarbrook Youth. He didn't just keep the ministry alive but invested in it and prepared us for the future. The Cedarbrook Youth Ministry is stronger today because of Brad's involvement.

I think Andy will bring a lot of great things to the lives of students as well as to Cedarbrook as a whole. Now we can move on and take things to the next level.

Whose script are you reading?

My post below talks about your story. I talked about that a little this past Sunday. God's story for us always ends in resurrection...if we let it. No matter how bad things get God wants to turn your story around for good. Your chapters may not read the way you want them to, but in the end, God's story proves God to be faithful.

I was speaking with someone today about this idea. I told them that we are all like famous actors who read scripts to determine which movie they will star in. God gives us the right to choose the script. We can pick bad scripts or good ones. It's our choice. Many actors have ruined their career by becoming anxious and choosing a bad script. The wise person will reject the bad scripts and wait for the good one to come along...the one that ends in triumph and not defeat.

If you are in a decision making process right now, wait for a good script. Don't get desperate and jump at a script that will cast you in a losing role. God is writing great scripts for your life. Wait for those and then follow them with all your heart.

Finding Your Story

Sometimes when I'm too busy to offer my thoughts I like to give you someone elses thoughts. I came across a blogger who laments his lack of living a compelling story. But what's most interesting is the comment from Jody Ferlack. Jody talks about the story that God gave her. It's not one she would have chosen yet it is compelling and has given her a platform to speak of God's love. Jodie's family was traumatized by a suicidal driver who drove through a restaurant wall where they were sitting. Her oldest child died and her youngest suffered a brain injury. Jody also has her own blog that you might find to be an encouragement.

God's Redemptive Plan for New Orleans

I spent a fast 48 hours in New Orleans last week with two ministry partners, Dave Johnson and Amy Burns. We went to scout out future ministry opportunities for Cedarbrook. In February we sent a team to work in Center City to start work on a dormitory for Living Witness' Drug Treatment Center. We returned to see if that is a location that we want to continue to build a partnership. (The picture is of me and Pastor Pierre, the director of the treatment program).

I'm not going to try and recount the whole trip. You can read Dave's blog for that...along with some pictures. I'd just like to say that you can a learn a lot in 48 hours! We met with three pastors, a restaurant owner (Craig Cuccia at the Cafe Reconcile) and heard from Dr. John Perkins. They all seemed to have one message: don't just transform lives, transform communities.

We witnessed God's redemptive plan for not only New Orleans but potentially our whole country. God is using the Katrina disaster to rally the church to become what it was always meant to be, a tranformational community. People are going down to New Orleans to help with Katrina Aid and returning to their own towns with a vision for how they can bring renewal there too. So Katrina Aid is really a two edged sword (in a good way)...people help New Orleans recover and then go home to duplicate what they did there. Only God could bring life out of the death of Katrina.

I'm personally challenged to learn all I can about how to transform a community. John Perkins spoke last Wednesday at Castle Rock Church about the vision in Zechariah 8. It speaks of a community where God is so evident that people want to know who this God is. They will come to believers and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.' Zechariah 8:23

That's happening in Center City. I went to New Orleans looking for how we could help them. But now I want to return because I think they will help us...help us to move beyond church as usual to become a place where people are not only transformed but bound together with others to become a corporate transforming agent here in Wisconsin. Maybe you'd like to join us.

Youth Pastor Search: Cedarbrook Distinctives

This post is intended for youth candidates but anyone new to Cedarbrook will appreciate the info.

As I said in my previous post, we are looking for a youth pastor who shares our approach to ministry. I never think of our approach as different, but people tell me that Cedarbrook is very different. I guess you either love it or not. So, let me list a few things that we value in the way we do ministry:

• Being normal. We try to eliminate religious jargon from our talk. Cedarbrook is full of a wide variety of people from various church and non-church backgrounds. Religous words that mean something to one mean nothing to another and are offensive to yet others. You can love Jesus without peppering your sentences with "God told me this" and "hallelujah". We don't want people to recognize us for our religiosity but our Christ-like character and deeds.
• Encouraging dialogue. I think the church has missed a huge opportunity to engage culture by being so strong about what we believe. Do you ever notice how Christians sponsor "debates" instead of "dialogues". The words alone are telling! "Debate" says we are right and the opposition is wrong. In sermons and conversations, we try to stimulate dialogue then let the Holy Spirit do the rest. We might openly engage people that embrace views that are rejected by the church at large. In doing so, we are not embracing their ideas. We are embracing the person, telling them, "We value you. You are important to me and God. We may not agree with your thinking, but we know that you are passionate and we appreciate that passion."
• Women are equal in both theory and practice. It's embarrassing to me in the 21st century to even mention this. Every church talks about women being equal to men but many don't practice it. At Cedarbrook women function in every role that men do in the church. We have women elders and pastors. I've worked in churches with and without women in leadership. I would never go back to the old way.
• Breaking down barriers to meeting God. Once you develop an eye for it, there are many things that church people do to make newcomers FEEL like outsiders. There is a strong "us/them" culture that insiders don't see but newcomers sense a mile away. And if people feel put off by church they are hearing that God doesn't want them either. The list is too long to mention here but it's a common discussion among staff to be on the guard for this behavior.
• Look for the win-win. It's easy to point out the bad. That makes you look so good! But we believe that there are better ways to approach most issues. How can we affirm the good in others, ignore the bad (if possible) and eventually win them over to seek a better way? That's the challenge.
• Look for what we share in common with others. Along the lines of a "win/win", we believe we share more in common with the unchurched than we often care to admit. Rather than pointing out the differences, why not talk about all that we share in common, the weakness, the failure, the joy and sorrows of life, the hopes and dreams, etc? We want to be building bridges and not walls.
• Being real. I think churches are much more inviting when we drop the charade and just tell people how it is...we've got our issues but we are in process, moving toward God by following Jesus. True community is developed in brokenness, not in people only showing their best side.
• Being consistent. The only way to make our faith credible to others (not to mention God) is if we let our faith impact EVERY aspect of our lives. When people see that our faith affects the way we spend our time, the way we treat people, the way we invest our money and the way we invest our talents, they see what it means to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus. That says something. But when they simply hear a bunch of talk and religious activity, it turns them off and sends them away.

You can probably sense that these values are a reaction to something. That's true. Many of us, myself included, have come out of churches that left us feeling empty and disappointed. They were like the sizzle without the steak...saying the right words with little depth of conviction. To make things worse, religious words were a thin veil for the very same small minded, critical thinking that we saw in the world.

At Cedarbrook, we are trying our best to walk away from that kind of church and offer something real and inviting. That's why we follow our name with "come and be refreshed". We are far from perfect. We fall into many of the same traps I've spoken against. But we are actively working at trying to do church in a new way to please God and be inviting to those who might want to join us.

To learn more about the Cedarbrook vision I encourage you to read through some of my blogs, especially the series called "Why I Don't Like Church". Also, go to our website and read my sermons under Sermons & More>>Past Sermons>>Cedarbrook Vision. Just reading the summary of these sermons will tell you a lot about who we are.

Youth Pastor Search

Once you stop blogging, it's hard to start again! I guess I've been busy screening youth pastor candidates so let me talk about that journey.

The history is that after a three year run, our previous youth pastor (Andre) resigned. He's currently working as an engineer...what he went to school for. Since last September, Brad Kehn has graciously stepped up to be our interim pastor. Brad works full time as the Director of Youth Alive, a ministry to youth ministries (offering camps and training). Brad has added his Cedarbrook duties to his already full plate. We tried to hire someone last summer but we didn't find the right match (lots of candidates). Now we've resumed our search. We aren't just looking for anyone to fill the slot. We want someone who can build on the foundation that we have for youth as well as fit in with our somewhat different approach to church.

It's interesting to review the resumes because so many of the candidate's work history (75%) stops 1-3 years ago. For one reason or another, they were fired or quit and they have been unable to find another position. That makes me uncomfortable...hiring someone with a failed experience...but that's the nature of the beast. Youth pastors often go into a church setting, expected to create a thriving ministry but they get caught in an unfriendly church political environment with unrealistic expectations on them...or...they have little experience and can't juggle all the balls expected of a minister. Either way, they end up on the street, wounded, disillusioned and looking for a new home. The average stay for a youth pastor is 1.5 years!

It's also hard for me as I review resumes because I'm looking for someone who matches our ministry philosophy but realistically, these are young people who are still in process. They don't know what they believe for sure. And that's probably another reason that they fail. They take a position thinking that they agree with the church on everything but then their thinking evolves and they move away from what the church wants.

Speed-interviewing? Frustrated with a pile of resumes that seem more or less the same, I came up with an idea. You've probably heard of speed-dating. I decided to do speed-interviewing. Rather than spend time emailing and calling candidates, trying to narrow down the pile, I decided to invite them to visit a Sunday service and meet with me and a few leaders briefly. It's not an interview really. It's just a "meet and greet" time to help both parties decide if there is any chemistry. We haven't done this yet but I'm in the process of inviting people in April. I'm hopeful that it will bring clarity to a very muddy process.

I hope to report that we've found the perfect candidate yet this spring!

Teaching versus Preaching the Bible

This coming Monday (March 19th) I'm going to start teaching the book of Romans from the New Testament. I can't believe it's taken me four years to get to a place where I have the time to do this. I love teaching, especially the Bible.

Did you know that teaching and preaching the Bible are two different things? At least it is for me. On Sundays I preach. I study what the Bible has to say on a topic and my goal is to make one point that you can take home and apply. I bring "pre-digested" information that is easily understandable (well, that's the goal!) and immediately applicable. It really answers the practical question: How does God want me to live my life?

But when I teach the Bible, I have different goals. I want to teach YOU how to do what I do every week with my sermon. I work to give you the tools to digest what you read and apply the information to your life. When you walk out of a "class" you are loaded with information, not to apply that week, but to return to over and over again as a resource throughout your life.

When I first decided to follow Jesus I read and studied the Bible all the time. I was like a sponge. But now, 30 years later, all that knowledge is something that I'm still processing and dissecting and learning how to apply to my life (and helping others do the same).

I think we all need both teaching and preaching. We need to be motivated regarding what to do right now, but we all need to know how to study the Bible for ourselves so God can speak to us through his word whenever he wants to.

My class on Romans will run for eight weeks (Mondays, 7 - 8:30pm at the Cedarbrook Center in the Shops Off Broadway Mall). I hope to run it for 8 weeks, take a few weeks off and run another 8 weeks. So if you are reading this months from now, there's a good chance that I'm still teaching on Monday night. I'll hope you'll join me. Once you get ahold of what the Bible is saying, it tends to get ahold of you!

Waking the Dead

After having "Waking the Dead" recommended to me numerous times I finally broke down and bought the book. Eldredge does a good job, as always (Wild at Heart, Journey to Desire, Sacred Romance) of stirring your passion and giving you a glimpse of what life could and should be like.

He starts by quoting Ireneus (early church leader) who said, "God's glory is man fully alive." In other words, the greatness of God is best manifested when you and I live our lives to the fullest.

Hmmmm. What does THAT look like? And how would we even know what to shoot for?

It reminds me of taking an air capacity test once for my asthma. The doctor said that on my best day I only used 70% of my lung capacity. I was shocked. Did he mean to tell me that most people have another 30% of lung capacity to feed their system with oxygen! ? I FELT normal but I was obviously functioning far below what others do.

Kinda makes you wonder about life in general. Maybe we are functioning far below what we were created for but don't know it. Maybe we are missing something. And that's what Eldredge is out to help us get back.

Stay tuned. I hope to pass along some of his insights as I go along.

Fifth Team Heads to New Orleans

This past year we've been working at developing a culture of service. I think faith makes a lot more sense to people when it is more than a set of beliefs but a lifestyle that benefits others. After all, Jesus didn't come and start a school! He came and impacted lives in practical ways.

Today we sent off our fifth team to help with the Katrina Relief. Dave Johnson is heading this up along with another 15 people from Cedarbrook. If you want to keep track of their progress please click the link. Or see pictures of where they'll be working. They'd appreciate your prayers!

Thanks to those who gave $8,000 for their trip!

The Power of Words

I'm enjoying a daily reflection that I receive from www.nouwen.org via email. It's nice to pass on someone else's inspiration when I'm not feeling particularly inspired myself!

Words, words, words. Our society is full of words: on billboards, on television screens, in newspapers and books. Words whispered, shouted, and sung. Words that move, dance, and change in size and color. Words that say, "Taste me, smell me, eat me, drink me, sleep with me," but most of all, "buy me." With so many words around us, we quickly say: "Well, they're just words." Thus, words have lost much of their power.Still, the word has the power to create.

When God speaks, God creates. When God says, "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3), light is. God speaks light. For God, speaking and creating are the same. It is this creative power of the word we need to reclaim. What we say is very important. When we say, "I love you," and say it from the heart, we can give another person new life, new hope, new courage. When we say, "I hate you," we can destroy another person. Let's watch our words.

Henri Nouwen from Bread for the Journey

Reflections on Turning 50

Lisa and I had our pictures taken this week for the church directory. Maybe it was the lighting but I could see more of my scalp through my hair than ever before. When it came time to decide if we just wanted the free picture or buy additional copies, the free one was more than enough! As another 50+ friend of mine said, "Why do I want to show people how old I am?"

Other than the mirror not being nearly so flattering any more, I enjoy my "coming of age". I came across a new view of what it means to be "over the hill" that I could relate to and want to pass on to you as well.

On the Journey To Aging Gracefully
written by ANDREA SHAPPELL

I turned fifty last month, "over the hill" as many cards declared. In the months leading up to my birthday, I was puzzled by the thought of turning fifty: How could this have happened? I do not feel like I am fifty. Gradually, with reflection on the experiences of my life and all the learning that has come from those experiences, my focus turned to the wisdom that has come from fifty years of living. Yes, I am "over the hill" of trying to earn love instead of accepting the grace of unconditional love; "over the hill" of worrying so much about what everyone else thinks of me instead of delighting in being me; "over the hill" of trying to save the world, learning that "being with" is more important than doing.

My aching knees, greying hair and need for reading glasses cannot be denied as parts of the aging process. They are proof that I have grown up, but now I desire to grow down, to grow deeper, into greater communion with God and with the people in my life. Most of life's lessons, like those mentioned above, come to me over and over again, each time in a deeper, more meaningful way. The one that is most prominent for me at fifty is that relationships are the key to a fruitful life. I look forward to learning more about life and love, fruitfulness and joy, as I continue on the journey "over the hill" towards sixty.

Nouwen on Community

I've always appreciated the simplicity yet profound thinking of Henri Nouwen. Here he gets to the heart of a value at Cedarbrook: community.

The word community has many connotations, some positive, some negative. Community can make us think of a safe togetherness, shared meals, common goals, and joyful celebrations. It also can call forth images of sectarian exclusivity, in-group language, self-satisfied isolation, and romantic naiveté. However, community is first of all a quality of the heart. It grows from the spiritual knowledge that we are alive not for ourselves but for one another. Community is the fruit of our capacity to make the interests of others more important than our own (see Philippians 2:4). The question, therefore, is not "How can we make community?" but "How can we develop and nurture giving hearts?"

Community so often takes a backset to our self interests. Sometimes even to our "passion for community", if you can understand that. Our agenda, even for good things like community, can keep us from truly loving one another.

Thinking About...anger and forgiveness

I have two other blogs; one on myspace.com and one on blogspot.com that deals with finding healing for your emotional hurts. Before Christmas I blogged about shame and self-worth. I've just started a new series on anger and forgiveness. You can pick up this discussion here.

Movie Review: We are Marshall!

Now that the holidays and vacations are over I can resume my blog.

I want to recommend a movie to you. About the only time I go to the theatre is when I hang out with my kids. The other night we went to "We are Marshall!". It wasn't by choice as much as it was the lesser of evils from a small selection of movies. I was with my wife and two daughters and seeing a football movie wasn't high on their list. Plus I hadn't read any great reviews on the show.

But we were all pleasantly surprised. I'm always attracted to movies that make you think and understand humanity better. I can handle slow action if I'm learning something. So, if you are like me, you'll like "We are Marshall!". The movie chronicles what happened to a town, a team and individuals after the Marshall University football team died in a plane crash. It's really a study in grief recovery. About six different people embody the different responses that we typically have to loss.

Maybe it was because it was a true story (not BASED on a true story) that I found myself choking back tears on and off through the entire time (every time they chanted, WE ARE - MARSHALL! - it got to me - a shout of determination in the face of tragic loss). It wasn't hard to put myself in the shoes of various people, maybe because I live in a small town and have college age children. Plus the new team coach has somewhat of a pastoral role as he shepherds the town through their pain in a simple, ala "Columbo", manner.

There's enough football in the movie to keep guys involved and enough emotion to keep women involved. I found it a good mix but some guys might want more football. If you want a good look at how we deal with loss and move on, plus a good ol' fashion come from behind underdog movie, "We are Marshall!" might be what you are looking for.

Surviving Christmas

I am in Florida right now. I was at a shopping center last night for supper and the one word that came to my mind was "frenetic". Why do we always turn God's will upside down? When he wants us to learn to wait for his presence as Christmas approaches, we increase our activity and shove him to the background.

I was just reviewing some of my blogs from last year...good stuff if I may say so myself! I took the book "Watch for the Light" - readings for Advent and Christmas and shared a brief devotional every day. If you go to the "archives" in the right sidebar and go to December (12) of 2005 you'll find them.

Also, for some spiritual direction during this season you might want to read my sermon series called "How to Survive & Celebrate Christmas".

I'm not posting much to this blog right now because I'm busy posting to another blog...Healing the Hurts of Your Past. This overviews my book by that name, little by little each day. If you know someone who needs some emotional healing you might want to let them know about it.

The Most Important Work of the Church

Occassionally I'll talk about something that I think is an essential part of what it means to be a God follower. Yesterday was one of them when I continued my series on the Sermon on the Mount and talked about "Blessed Are the Peacemakers". Here's just a snip from that talk. You can download the entire sermon at our website.

I want you to see something here in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus gave us seven characteristics of his church community. Jews were very conscious about the significance of numbers. The number seven is God’s number and the number for perfection. So, when Jesus gave us seven characteristics he was saying that these qualities should be central to the life of the church. And the seventh of the seven characteristics is the most important one.

Jesus is telling us THE MOST IMPORTANT THING about being a church isn’t the number of people converted, isn’t whether people speak in tongues or not, isn’t how we vote in the elections. It’s none of that. The most important thing is that we pursue peace in all our relationships. So whether it’s in our church or in our families or at work or wherever we go - God is calling us to make peace.

So Much to Be Thankful for...

A few weeks ago we held our "Fresh Encounter" meeting. This is a low key time of singing, prayer and reflection at Cedarbrook - very counter to our high energy, music and message time on Sunday morning.

Anyway...the theme of the evening was thanksgiving. The leader (Jayne) was praying and thanking God for all that he had done at Cedarbrook this past year. It was a long list! I'll mention just a few things here...

• The four teams that we sent to New Orleans to help Katrina victims
• The start of a number of new small groups and the relationships they have spawned
• The addition of Brenda Brewer as our Team Leader for the Children's Ministry
• The resurrection of a number of marriages that were on the verge of divorce
• The successful transition to our new space at the mall
• The incredible amount of volunteers that have stepped up to serve as we've grown
• Brad Kehn stepping up to serve as interim youth pastor when our search failed to find someone
• The faithful giving of so many people that enables us to hire staff and equip the church to minister to so many people
• The numerous changes lives that have resulted from people connecting with God

Well, you get the idea. If you'd like to add to the list please comment by clicking the link below. And join us tomorrow night as we have a Soup & Sharing time on Thanksgiving Eve.

How to Restore the Fallen

I'm passing on my points from my message yesterday. It seemed to hit a chord in people so I thought I'd share them. For the whole message you can click here to download "Blessings in Disguise: Mercy". (Available to download after noon CST on 11/13/06.)

How to Restore the Fallen:

1. Be gentle (meek). Meekness doesn't criticize, judge or force its way.
2. Think the best of the person. No one likes to be reduced to their worst mistake. Let them know that their sin is only part of the mix of who they are and that you believe the better parts will come through.
3. Don't excuse sin. Jesus released the woman caught in adultery from judgment but he told her to "go and sin no more". You can show mercy and still hold people accountable.
4. Bind and loose scripture. This means that we apply scripture on a case by case basis and not across the board in a harsh way. Jesus did this with the woman mentioned above.
5. Offer what's needed to heal. Be constructive. Think restoration not punishment.
6. Explain what's necessary to rebuild trust. Trust is built by proving yourself to be faithul...over time.
   
7. Reinstate if possible. Once trust has been reestablished, it's time to restore. Don't keep people in limbo out of your own fear. That's your issue, not theirs.

This message was specifically on mercy and a part of a series on the Beatitudes. I believe that Jesus meant the church to be a healing community, not the moral police. The Haggard fiasco is a great opportunity to find those among us hiding in the shadows with sin and offer them a safe place to be restored.

Can Haggard Be Restored?

Twenty years ago I was a part of a church where our pastor was exposed in adulterous affairs (yes, plural). The church went through an incredible fallout. The rancor was something else. The degree of anger and hatred toward the pastor was intense. You see, he was so revered in the church - really put on a pedastal - that it shook people's faith.

Just this year this man came back into ministry to start a new church. Get this, twenty years later people still are mad...still don't want him in ministry. Who are the sinners now?

I'm confident that Ted Haggard will be restored. Hey folks, that's what church is all about! I think his deception was terrible. He let a lot of people down. His hypocrisy was off the charts. But that's what happens when we don't deal with our sin. We hide it and hide it until it takes us down. If we have any concept of God, we deal with it, find God's forgiveness, set things straight, win back peoples trust, ask forgiveness, prove ourselves and get back in the saddle. That's called restoration. That's called mercy and grace. I think the Bible talks about that some place.

Sure, there are insincere, evil people. There are people who have no intention of changing. My sense is that Ted Haggard isn't one of these guys. I think he has a heart for God.

Haggard needs to be held accountable for what he's done...not excused. But he shouldn't be pushed aside. From what I've heard, his family and church are handling this with a lot of maturity. We can all be better people as a result of this if we follow the Spirit's leading.

God's no dummy. This won't mar his image. People will see things about God they would have never seen if this hadn't happened. These are the moments the church can shine and reveal God's power and grace. God specializes in turn around projects. (i.e. resurrection!)

I'm not worried about Haggard. I'm more worried about how people respond to Haggard.

Thoughts on Ted Haggard

Ugggh! Another one bites the dust!

I just saw Ted Haggard at a meeting in Mpls. a few weeks ago. Pretty impressive guy. In fact, so impressive that he made me glad I'm in little 'ol Menomonie. He seemed to have so much going for him...and so busy...that I thought to myself, "I could never do what he does. I'm not built like that." Turns out that he wasn't built that way either. He probably increasingly put on a good front while he was wasting away on the inside.

Even in my little world of leadership, I can see how it can happen. Life gets overwhelming, so you look for ways of escape. I'm able to delegate, exercise and take vacations! So far, that's worked! But I can see how you get busy, you feel responsible, you don't want to let people down, more and more is asked of you, you don't want to complain or so "no" but, at the same time, you need a break. A lot of people find that "break" in illicit sexual relationships and pornography. Interesting that that's where so many turn. Maybe it's the immediacy, intensity and even the intimacy of sex that draws us there first. Life as a leader can be lonely.

Fallen leaders entail so many issues. There's the hypocrisy, the addiction, the marital infidelity, the pastoral infidelity plus, how do you restore someone like that? Or, should you?

There are so many emotions involved; anger, sadness, resentment, etc. The closer you are to the fallout the more you have to carefully sort through it all. Act too rashly and you will add only more gas to the raging fire.

I've been around other leaders who have fallen. It's made me extra cautious in my own ministry to never go down that road. I was glad to see Haggard come clean and stop the denying foolishness. That's insulting. If he continues to deal with his stuff, I hope he returns to ministry a better man. In the mean time, I pray for his wife and kids, his church and those who will try to use this against the message of Jesus.

We need to guard our hearts. This could happen to any of us. If you don't think so, your fall is closer than you think. There is no shame in this for the church if Haggard and we all handle it well. We've all got hidden parts. The question is, what are we doing about it and how are we handling it when others come clean?

Shame: Healing the Hurts of Your Past

In my last church I had a lot of time to counsel. I would sometimes see as many as four people a day and God used me in significant ways to help others find the freedom they were looking for. But as a lead pastor I don't have the same kind of time to spend with people one on one. That's disappointing to me because I like counseling.

But I now have a resource that can help a lot of people even though I may not be able to spend the same amount of time counseling. I just finished writing and recording "Healing the Hurts of Your Past" - a guide to overcoming the pain of shame. I've taught this for over eight years at Arbor Place Treatment Center as well as other churches. It's a thorough teaching bringing together the two worlds of psychology and theology to help people get to the root of their emotional pain. It shows you where the pain comes from, how it creates dysfunctional habits and then gives you a process for emotional healing to follow.

I've gotten excellent response to it, both from people in emotional pain as well as trained counselors. (You can read some recommendations on my website). I mention it to you here as something you might benefit from or might want to refer your friends to. To learn more about it and my other seminar on anger, you can go to my personal website at LifeChange Seminars. If you have a place to post a link to this site, I'd appreciate it.

Confessions of a Pastor

I spoke yesterday in church about Jesus' words, "Blessed are those who Mourn". We learned that to mourn is to express on the outside what's going on inside of you. It speaks of being honest and authentic. It speaks of confessing your sins and your struggles. Jesus was laying out a foundational aspect to his kingdom community. They aren't Posers...people who are faking strength and confidence when inside they are dying. Kingdom people aren't afraid to expose their emptiness and in doing so qualify themselves to be filled by God. Having said that all yesterday, I read the following excerpt from a book this morning from a new book called "Confessions of a Pastor", by Craig Groeschel. It's a great example of mourning...

"One Sunday, after another week of performing my best for God, I stood to preach His life-changing Word. As I approached the pulpit, the truth hit me squarely between the eyes. I hadn’t prayed at all. Not that day. Not the day before. Not the day before that. To the best of my knowledge, I hadn’t prayed all week.

And I called myself a pastor. That’s when it dawned on me: I had become a full-time minister and a part-time follower of Christ. From the outside, I looked the part. “God bless you,” I’d say, followed by the promise, “I’ll be praying for you.”

But that was usually a lie.

Stepping onto the platform to preach that morning, I admitted to myself that I was not a pastor first, but a regular, scared, insecure, everyday guy whose life had been changed by Jesus. And if Jesus really loved me as I was (I knew He did), then why should I go on trying to be someone I wasn’t? I stumbled through that sermon, forcing the words to come out. The message was superficial, plastic, shallow…but somehow I got through it. I drove home that day ashamed of the role I’d played so skillfully, but feeling cautiously hopeful I might learn to be myself.

All week long I agonized. I prayed as I hadn’t prayed in months: God, what if I tell them who I really am? What if they know I’m terrified? What if they reject me? Talk bad about me? Fire me? I swallowed hard. Then I ventured a step further: Is this what You want me to do? I thought I sensed God’s assurance, but I wasn’t sure. Desperately I hoped it was Him leading me,
and not just my own whacked-out thoughts.

The next Sunday arrived, and I walked to the platform uncharacteristically unprepared—not one written note. The only preparation was in my heart. My throat dry, nervous beyond description, I stared at two hundred very committed churchgoers. They stared politely back.

Silence.

Finally I spoke. “My relationship with God is not what it should be.” My voice quavered with each syllable. No one moved. I plunged ahead. “I’ve confessed to God, but now I’m going to confess to you: I’ve become a full-time minister but a part-time follower of Christ.”

You could have heard a communion wafer snap.

I continued speaking, opening my heart and inviting everyone inside. The message that Sunday was unembellished: no humor, no quotes, no poems. It was void of clever sayings or points starting with the same letter. But the message was true. I held nothing back. It was the biggest public risk I’d ever taken. It was also my first authentic sermon. I had preached many times before, but this was the first time the real me made a showing. In the middle of my talk, something started to happen,
something new…

God made Himself known.

The reality of His presence is hard to describe, but it’s even harder to miss. Some people cried quietly in their seats. Others sobbed openly—not so much for my sins, but for their own. Before I had finished my confession, many gathered at the altar to repent along with me.

As the tears and words flowed, God’s peace replaced my fear. His assurance pushed away my doubts. Christ’s power invaded my weakness. In that moment, Jesus became as real to me as He had ever been. The Savior was with me…and I believed He was pleased. “Well done,” I felt, more than heard.

That’s when it all changed. I became a full-time follower of Christ who happened to be a pastor. No more make-believe. No posing. And no playing games. From that moment on, I would be who I am.

Or nothing at all.

- - - - -

I appreciate Craig's honesty. I think every person, and pastor, can relate to his emptiness at times and phoniness. We try to "fake it until we make it" but we often never "make it"! To learn more about mourning as well as becoming a safe person for mourners, you can read my message here.

Small Groups at Cedarbrook

I'm really pleased with the response that we've gotten to our small group launch this fall. Some of you know that we took a year to prepare for this. Rather than push for quanity right away, we chose quality. We chose to spend a year training leaders so that our small groups would have the right DNA. Now we have launched about 15 or so groups of all flavors; women's groups, divorce groups, neighborhood groups...meeting every night of the week.

Lisa and I started one ourselves. I have a dream of every city dweller at Cedarbrook to be involved in a small group within walking distance of their house. We started the first one here in North Menomonie. It's great. Half married couples, half singles. All ages. All kinds of church or unchurched backgrounds. People who know the Bible well and people who just bought one for our group. It's very layed back...but intentional...we have a purpose and a study that we are doing.

There's so much potential in people coming together...sharing their strengths and weaknesses. I'm excited to see where not only our group goes but how the community at Cedarbrook grows through small groups developing. If you aren't involved I hope you'll check one out soon. rd

Time to Move In!

Well, you can tell by my absence that I've been a little busy the last two weeks. After four weeks of sheetrock dust, painting, contractors and hanging doors, Cedarbrook Church is now moving into our home (even as I write). Right now the children's ministry is setting up shop while carpet is still being laid and the floors are being stripped and waxed. The plasma TV is being installed in our lobby and the move crew and band are trying to figure out how to make church work in a banquet center..

Though exhausting, this renovation has gone surprisingly well...all in four weeks. We've now doubled our seating capacity and provided our children with a beautiful new home. I guess I better get to work on that sermon for tomorrow!

Celebrating the Past

I've asked people to share their experiences at Cedarbrook. I hope you'll add yours. Here's one for you...

I just want you to know that Cedarbrook Church, as a whole, has ministered
to my heart in so many ways.  Though DivorceCare I have made wonderful
friends ...  along with the gift of being able to give back some of what God
and Godly people have done for me.  Through your seminar and meeting
withJayne in TPM, I have had tremendous healing from wounds of the past. 
Through worship and sermons on Sunday morning, I have grown in my
relationship with God.  Through helping out in children's ministries I am able
to see the excitement and  innocence of the children and their ability to
trust and believe so easily that it inspires me to be more like them.  Through
 the leadership conference, I gained insight and a much better understanding
 of our Cedarbrook roots. And now I have begun the Breaking  Free women's
 group with Jayne and I already am feeling a bond with the women there.
Cedarbrook is such a welcoming church with such a focus on getting people
emotionally healthy.  Though I loved my church in Nevada where I had been
 a member for about 9 years,I feel much more a part of Cedarbrook. 
Cedarbrook is my church and I love it here.

Preparing to Change

I shared twelve tips to prepare for change on Sunday. You can download the whole message but here are the "tips" to keep in mind...

1. Spy out the land. Get used to the change by exploring it in advance.
2. Celebrate the past. Make sure you bring good closure to what was.
3. Move on from the past. Celebrate the past but don't get stuck there.
4. Start strong. Weak starts lead to weak (or no) finish.
5. Celebrate small victories. If you wait, you may never celebrate at all!
   
6. Communicate, communicate, communicate. The good, the bad and the ugly.
7. Remember the vision because vision leaks. Keep the big picture in mind.
   
8. Change together. Change goes better with friends.
9. Don't quit, innovate. Use your frustration to resolve problems, not run from them.
   
10. Include others along the way. Change is a great time for others to join.
11. Enjoy the change. Different is only bad if you make it bad. Choose to enjoy it.
12. Stay flexible because cheese moves!

In order to "Celebrate the Past" I asked people to send me their comments about how God has touched them at Cedarbrook. Here's the first email back...

I started going to Cedarbrook in the theatre on mother's day a year ago, and this church and it's atmosphere overall helped me come to Christ. The people were so nice and caring that I couldn't leave there. But then I would love to see more people experience the love and compassion of God and Cedarbrook. So since God has moved our cheese we still follow wherever he moves it from here to eternity.

The mall will bring so many oppotunities to expand the church. We'll have the experience of shoppers watching the t.v.s and maybe joing us in the actual service. It's exciting to me because it's a chance to change lives forever!!!

Prime Coat is on

We spent the week mudding and sanding the walls. Whew! That's a lot of work. Now the easy part...painting.

The prime coat is on and I saw the first color hit the walls as I left today. Starting Monday we will be in painting and clean up mode to get ready for the carpet.

If you know anyone who would be willing to donate their installation labor let us know! We've gotten hundreds of hours of labor donated so far. It would be great to save the installation cost as well.

People have donated doors and lumber, trim. Fantastic!

New moved date: October 15th. We still need to get up to code with fire alarms and sprinklers, plus new duct work has to go in since we will have high volumes of people in there.

Have you stopped by yet? Have a look and see how you might chip in!

Painters, Laborers Still Wanted!

The walls are up but now the finer details kick in.

We need people to finish sanding and mudding yet today and then tonight we hope to start priming the walls. Can you help? We need equipment too if you've got it.

We'll be rolling the walls so we need people to tape, roll and trim with a brush.

It looks like we can get a good price on carpet...around $5/yard. If you have connections to beat that or for installation, please let us know.

We also got a lot of free trim. And now we are hoping for cabinets to be donated for each children's room.

The back room needs lots of mudding work...we left that for now but if you are available to work at those walls, that would be great.

Please stop in and see what's going on. You might be able to help or note what you have that's needed. It's fun seeing so many people contributing in so many ways! Thanks.

As for a move in date...it WON'T be October 1. We've put it off until at least October 8.

Still Lots to Do!

The work continues! I just got back from mudding the walls. It's amazing how the work slows as you get to the details. So, if you know how to finish sheetrock, head on down to the mall. The joints need sanding and second/third coats. Thanks.

With all the man/woman hours being donated, we are saving thousands of dollars. And with financial gifts, we will be able to add those special touches. Someone handed me their "birthday money" today to help finish off our space. It's the cumulation of those kinds of sacrifices that make a work like this so special.

I'm having trouble uploading pictures. I'll keep trying!

The Walls Are Up!

This is Dave last Thursday giving everyone the details on the work. Today, all the walls are up and the electrical is in. Amazing!

Corey is on the right. He worked all last night...says he only needs two hours of sleep and he's good to go. He hit a vein with some steel and sprayed blood all over the floor...took a trip to the ER but he's okay.

Tomorrow the sheetrock goes up. We are going to let people print the name of a friend they'd like to come to Christ on the sheetrock this Sunday. We'll bring on twelve foot sheet to church. Come with names!

Plans Approved...we have lift off!

11:14 a.m. Dave Johnson just called and the state approved our plans and we are good to go. Dave and Corey Amundson laid out the walls last night and tonight (7:00ish) the framing team and hospitality teams will be showing up for phase one.

Please pray for two things:

• that we can get into the space by October 1 or at least close. A delayed possession could cause us to lose momentum and I like momentum!!
• that funds will come in to make this renovation a "knock your socks off experience" when you visit Cedarbrook. We have budgeted for the basics, but I'd love to carpet this space and have a big children's jungle gym or something awesome when kids first walk in the space. If you have a heart to contribute to this I appreciate it greatly. You can send checks to Cedarbrook Church at N6714 470th Ave., Menomonie, WI 54751.

I'll be updating you with pictures over the next week. Thanks for checking in. Please stop by. And if you want to work, just show up. We'll find something for you to do!

Makeover Starts This Week!

Dave Johnson, project manager for our new Mall Makeover, has been busy, busy, busy pulling together bids, volunteers and city/state approval for this operation. It's a LOT of work!!

Wednesday: The state is scheduled to review and hopefully approve our building plans.

Thursday: We hope to receive the approval FEDEX'd to us so the city can grant us a building permit.

Thursday or Friday: We hope to start construction!

Dave met with over 40 people last Thursday who are eager to get to work. We have teams and team leaders for...

• framing (with steel) (Corey Amundson)
  
• hanging sheetrock (Brian Hartz)
  
• taping/sanding sheetrock (maybe you?...contact Dave)
  
• painting and decorating (Michell Scott)
• promotions (Remy)
• hospitality (Judy Abel)

If you want to get involved, contact Dave at johnsdb@gmail.com.

I hope you'll at least drop by to see what's happening! Stay tuned, I hope to add some "action" pictures as the walls go up.