Christmas Party

Tonight we'll be having our church Christmas party. Several guests have been invited, which include a few people who are prospective team members. Others are friends, neighbors, etc. We'll be giving away gifts to the children, stuffing our faces with food, and we'll be having a gift exchange among the adults. I still have quite a day ahead of me in preparation for tonight. So, I'm out....can't wait for the arroz con gandules, pollo, and all the desserts!

Canadian Idol air?

I happened to be browsing someone's blog, and I found this post, which is so hilarious I thought I'd post it. I didn't know girls did this too....

Forgiveness

I've recently been exposed to several people who have had a hard time forgiving someone else after having been deeply hurt by the other. I completely know that it is sooo hard to forgive sometimes, especially after having one's heart taken out, sliced up, beat up, and placed back where it was....of course, one's trust is broken as well.

Seeing this from the (outside) gives me a different perspective as I try to understand the different facets and sides to this. Although the initial action of breaking trust and virtually severing a relationship is heartbreaking, I've come to see how a lack of forgiveness can also work as a terminal cancer, working against what God would accomplish if one would only let him. Of course, this is much, much easier said than done, and my intent is not to place myself on a pedestal as I look from the outside in, rather, I'm opting to learn vicariously (whatever/however I can) from this.

May we be ever so humble to admit our faults....and true Christ-followers to forgive when offended.

The Golden Compass (part 2)

Well, I ended up seeing it earlier this week, and I can totally see how some may be offended with it. There's definitely an undercurrent of anti-Christian themes.
For instance, the following are some of those:

· There are many universes and parallel worlds that are connected somehow (will be explained more in the 2 upcoming movies)
· In this particular world, each human has their own personal demon (opposite sex)
· The church is viewed as a sinister, truth-blockading institution
· The golden compass itself is some kind of truth-telling device, which seems to mirror the ouija or tarot cards

There are some other things as well, but I'm just gonna end there. I'm still not threatened by this (myself), but it can definitely be a tool to further unfocus children from real Truth.
Man, gotta focus a lot harder on reaching children for the kingdom!

The Golden Compass

I first heard about this movie through a mass e-mail sent out with something like FW:FW:FW: Boycott movie that promotes atheism!! Urgent!!! To begin, I'm not a big FW fan, although, I must say that some are definitely worth it. Then, whoever wrote that e-mail makes it sound as though the world is gonna end if Christians don't boycott the film. It's as if this movie poses a huge threat to Christianity. Personally, I haven't read any of Pullman's (author) literature, but I don't exactly feel threatened by it. Seriously, I serve such a huge God who no one can fully comprehend, but who is so awesome that a book (or trilogy), movie, or whatever can and will not threaten my belief in him. If anything, it causes one to use their brain and analytical skills (God forbid!!!).

On the other hand, I can try to understand those who are boycotting because allegedly Pullman's intent is to kill god (again, my God is too "big" for that) and to pull the plug on history's biggest farse and hoax: Christianiy/Religion.

Anyway, the boycotters ended up generating free publicity for the movie, inciting a good bit of curiosity from those who read their e-mail. I also read another blog by Kim Fabricius called Christians and The Golden Compass which was quite interesting. Happy reading.

Christmas Music

One of the cool things I like about this time of year is Christmas music. I start listening to one of L.A.'s radio stations (kost 103.5) the week before Thanksgiving because they usually start playing all sorts of Christmas music by then. Once in the office, I'll listen live via the net: www.kost1035.com. That's crazy, right? Maybe I'm just a tad bit nostalgic about this time of year. Or is this normal?
And then, as if that wasn't enough, while at my "other" office (Starbucks), I bought Josh Groban's Noël and have been listening to it quite a bit, especially in areas where I don't get the KOST. Maybe I'm not normal and just a Christmas music freak! Whatever.

It is time...

Turns out that I didn't have to wait out the remaining two months to know the results of my interim status at the church. As of this next Sunday, I will no longer be there as an "interim" pastor. So, that means that we're just in time to have things ready for 2008.
As much as there's a clearer definition about being a "permanent" pastor, in a sense, we're always there on an interim basis, only because ultimately, God is the one with the last word on time, seasons, moves, etc. Plus, it's his church....not mine.

A few thoughts...

· We'll be starting as an all Spanish-speaking congregation, but it's just a matter of time before we launch the English-speaking aspect of the ministry as well.
· Having a core team is essential to the mission and vision God has placed in my heart. Thankfully, there are several people to whom I've been talking and praying with about joining us....seems as though they're accepting the challenge.
· We'll be moving to a more functional place in the new year (thinking about children's ministry and nursery). The place where we meet now isn't the most optimal place to do ministry.
· It's just exciting to be part of what God is doing....riding his wave and being able to reach people for Christ. It's gonna be sweet!

Thanksgiving and end of the year stuff

Thanksgiving weekend was well spent this year as I got to spend some needed time with family and also with friends in SF. It was nice to get my mind off of the stressful side of work too.

As the year is coming to a close, it's about that time of year when one has to look to the new year and plan things out, make changes, etc. So, we'll be looking at implementing quite a bit of stuff at church, including a possible "re-launch." It's actually pretty exciting to me, but I'll give out more details later.

This pic was taken from my room on Monday morning. The bay was in plain view from behind the sliding door in my hotel room and was only about 30 feet from the room. It was a short time spent in the Bay Area (work-related), but it turned out to be a cool time spent with a couple of good friends.

Plus, I got to see a lady who ministered to me as a child--Hermana Nona. She actually lived with my family for several years but stayed in SF after we left. She has ministered to countless children throughout her life through puppets and other means, and still to this day, I have vivid memories of her pouring into my life. She suffers from Alzheimer's and is currently living in a convalescent home where she is taken care of and looked after. It was good to see her after not having done so for several years.

Sunday's Summary

This was the second Sunday in a row that a young blood helped out on the drums. It was cool in that it gave the music part of the worship a fuller sound, instead of just the guitar by itself.
Also finished up a series today and looking forward to getting things ready for next month. It also appears as though this interim thing is coming to an end. Looks like there's "definition" in sight. Change is a-brewin'....a ver, a ver...

In the afternoon, the boss and I drove up to Oakland, where we just checked in to a hotel overlooking part of the bay. It's sweet! I'll try and take a pic tomorrow on my 1.3mp camera phone.

Pretty excited about having lunch with a couple of buddies, with whom I grew up, in SF tomorrow. It'll be cool to catch up....haven't seen them in about a year.

The Blog Readability Test

Get a Cash Advance

So, I'm browsing through other blogs, and I come across some Blog Readability Test, which evaluates at what level one writes or how "readable" one's blog is. So, I tried it, and I got a high score!....got rated at the college level (postgrad), but then I figured that it's probably some internet gimmick to market some product, like a "cash advance," especially because I use a lot of fragments to record my thoughts. Like this one. Or I use words like gonna or woulda or wanna and sometimes I don't use commas like the ones that are missing in this sentence however in my favor I don't think I've written a run-on sentence that is until now by the way not using proper punctuation (like in this run-on) totally drives me nuts!!! Just had to try it to see if my rating goes down to the elementary school level.
Sorry if this post is somewhat random and retarded....must be the mood I'm in.

Gotta love SoCal!!

Where else in the country can someone wear shorts and sandals to the office....in the middle of November (other than possibly Florida)?? It's in the late 80's outside dropping down to the late 60's tonight. I absolutely love SoCal! Maybe I should take the rest of the day off and go to the beach....hmmm...that's a thought.

Work-books

As I've been reading Chazown, I've forced myself to follow the guidelines set by its author, Craig G. In addition, since I usually read 2-3 books at the same time, I've had to set the other 2 down until I finish this one because of its demands. Thoroughly enjoying it, though. One of the other books I was reading at the same time was similar, in that it requires the reader to work through it. So my reading pace will slow down just a bit until I finish these two...

Weekend Wrap-up

What a draining weekend! Our minister's meeting turned out to be a success, but it drained all of us who organized it and served there. It's all good, though. It was cool to see and hang out with some of the other pastors in the region.
Sunday was somewhat of a blur. I felt kinda waisted due to the weekend's rigor and stress (not that I'm openly admitting to having gotten waisted before...'cause I never inhaled!). Anywho, it was cool as we talked about God wanting more to bless us than to make us happy.

...just 2 more months to go...

Weekend Recap

On Friday and Saturday, we hosted the newly instituted Holy Spirit Conference where 4 regions/states within our organization, Church of God, united to celebrate together. I believe it was the first time in the West that we had gathered to worship together. It was pretty cool to see an intentionality about unity. Since YCE directors are usually the ones behind the scenes (working their tails off), I was somewhat busy with this short event, even though my counterpart in CA was the busiest.

By the time Sunday rolled around, I was pretty drained and was operating on very few hours of sleep. However, our Sunday service was still pretty cool, and we had a decent turnout. The need to follow up with attenders and the need for care seemed so obvious to me today. It's definitely a pressing issue.
By the way, my phone's clock changed automatically on Sunday morning (DST) but came to find out that the time will not change until next Sunday. That was a little weird, but I'm glad it will be changing next Sunday because next weekend will be as draining, if not more, than this past weekend with our annual minister's meeting coming up.

This weekend was definitely a reminder that I need to stay on top of my game....working hard........and then playing hard!

Going all the Way!

Yep....exactly what it sounds like!....except that I'm talking in marriage. Did Nate just use the M-word?! Ok, I did but only to talk about this book. There are a ton of books I've recently been exposed to, and this is one of them, which I will be reading very soon.

Going all the Way is a book written by Craig Groeschel, which helps people prepare for a godly marriage. You're probably thinking, "It's about time you start preparing!" and you know what? You're right. However, I have been preparing all of this time without you knowing it....or have you known it??? Seriously though, you gotta have some type of life plan and not just make things up as you go because (I believe) one will go in no particular direction and ultimately end up no where. And if one does get somewhere, it'll be by "chance," if you will (o de pura chiripada!).

Anywho, I'll be reading it soon, and you can also check out the youtube video toward the bottom of this page, which serves as a little commercial for the book. Peace!!!

Justo

After a long drought of free weekends (Friday night and all day Saturday, that is), this weekend unexpectedly freed up, and I got to go to a jazz night at Echos of Faith in Ontario. Besides it being a relaxing Friday night, I got to hang out with friends and see Justo Almario perform. Justo Almario!! For a musician, who loves jazz, it was truly a religious experience!! j/k...

Seriously though, I had a great time hearing these jazz musicians, which included epoca (among others), jamm out with Justo Almario. It was sweet. So, I have to post a pic, even though the quality is pretty bad...even on a cool phone like mine.

Chase the Lion

Not too long ago, I came across the idea of facing and chasing a lion into a pit, based on the story of one of King David's warriors, Benaiah, who did this. The story is very interesting, and the implications of it are pretty profound. Mark Batterson elaborates on this story in his book called In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day (which I have yet to read). Below is his lion chaser's manifesto:


Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshiping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away.

Chase the lion.


This totally makes me say, "Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!" (And no, not like Tony the Tiger). The time to seize the moment is now and not in some abstract future. I've decided to chase the lion!

....y tú?

Sunday's Recap

Today turned out pretty good...we had one more family visit. There's nothing like new people being part of Sunday's experience. Man, I can't wait until things are defined (as far as me staying as pastor or not). I really want to do some vision casting along with the establishment of systems so as to reach more people for the Lord at a more exponential rate. Plus, the need for a ministerial team is so obvious. Just two and a half more months to go...

After our gathering this morning, it was pretty cool to just hang out with my cousin and his family. We then hung out with another dude, who is actually a prospective leader for the church. We'll see what's up later on. Dude just had his first kid. Congrats to Abercrombie and Fitch.

Don't forget the Sabbath

So, about 2 months ago, I was supposed to take some time off (4 days, I think), but on the second day, I couldn't resist the temptaion to check my voicemails...Big mistake!! I had forced myself to keep my phone off, and when I turned it on, I had a huge list of people to get back to...mostly work related. So, as a good workaholic (or busy bee), I decided to cut my time off and head back home.

By the way, I was at Santa Barbara...chillin on the beach, which is where I took this pic. Those 2 days were pretty relaxing, but the next day, after some work was done, I was pretty upset with myself for going back to work. At this rate, I'm not sure when I'll have a real vacation. Now, it may seem as though I'm just crying and complaining about working too much (or just staying busy), but in reality, a lesson was learned (or re-learned).

Moral of the story: God created the sabbath for man! God rested on the 7th day of creation. Did he need to? Was he just pooped and wiped out for having created the universe??? As enormous a task as that may seem, I seriously doubt God just had to get some rest because he'd be confined to bedrest if he didn't. I believe he was teaching us from the very beginning to take a sabbatical, be it a daily, weekly or yearly one. Mark Driscoll has some insights into this as well (Death by Ministry blog).

So anywasss, this is something I really need to implement and live by. I've seen many a people get burned out in ministry, or burn their families out. Gotta live vicariously and deal with this now and not wait until the family is at the boiling point...when I have a family, that is. :)

Anywho, just my thoughts on the sabbath and how it can relate us.

Another Sunday with momentum

Last Sunday's momentum carried over into this one, and we are seeing a slow, but steady, increace in attenders. We may have had a tad more last week, but it's just awesome to see what God is doing. I perceive morale to be higher than when I started, and I'm noticing that trust is being built. Thank God!! I'm really looking forward to teaching next weekend and continue on the series.

Also, our experience needs to go to another level, although, we'll probably have to wait until we have a team to take it up a notch. I'm open to any suggestions for a creative, meaningful and life-changing experience.

New Book

Last week, I ordered Chazown by Craig Groeschel and am pretty excited about reading it. I've only heard good reviews about it, including from my boss, David Ramírez. So anywaysss (as Nacho would say), as I got into the office this evening after being gone all weekend and busy with a meeting today, I found Amazon's shipping competence even better than anticipated because the book was sitting on my desk as I arrived. So......off to read it. Peace!

Recap of Sunday

This past Sunday was a good day! As start time (11am) approached, there was absolutely nobody there, which freaked me out a bit....but almost out of no where, people began showing up and streaming in as the experience started. We had way more people than expected, including a new family that committed to coming on a regular basis. Although, they did not make a decision for Christ then, I will continue to pray for them and that the Holy Spirit continue speaking to their heart.

After our morning experience, we headed toward a nearby park to grill out and spend time together as a family. Three more couples showed up, and although they didn't "go to church" in the morning, relationships were built, a seed was sown, and I'm sure that it's only a matter of time before they make commitments to follow and serve Christ.

Although today's events may not sound like much, it was a huge sign of hope and life to me, and in many ways, it was as though God were speaking to me...letting me know that he's doing his thing despite challenges that may arise. Plus, the church's mission statement, core values, purpose statement, etc. have not been estabished nor has a specific vision been cast. It's humbling to see how God works despite not having all of this stuff yet. We definitely serve a sovereign and all-knowing God.

At the end of the day, I spent some time with some friends, a couple, who live in the general area sharing our heart and vision for this region (Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Upland, Fontana, etc.) and even sharing some strategies to reach the community. I am praying for a team who can join with me to take on this challenge, and they are definitely prospects for this task. I'm pretty excited about what God has in store for this area and am looking forward to being a part, or as Rick Warren would say, looking forward to "riding God's wave!"

All in all, Sunday was a great day!

About a month later...

It's been almost a month since we started pastoring at the church now, and it's been quite interesting. There's so much to do and so much potential, but there are some things that have been left up in the air that they somewhat diminish any sense of stability among the people as they view their pastor. I'm almost sure questions, like, "how long is this pastor going to be here?" or "Is the old pastor coming back" arise. Despite all of this, however, there is peace in my heart, and I'm excited about the possibilities.
Right now, I'm using the midweek gathering as a basic study of what the Church is, and using our Sunday gathering as an uplifting experience that will continue to evolve into a contemporary, life-changing experience.

Another thing, I live about an hour and twenty minutes away from where we meet. This is killing me!! There is so much more I want to do during the week, such as small groups (for outreach, discipleship, fellowship, etc.) and ministry training tracks, but the distance is an obstacle right now. I'm praying that God provides a healthy and strategic place to live in the general area.

The place where we meet right now is located where there are approximately 10+ similar churches within a mile radius. So, I'm praying that we move out of there soon and am already searching for another place. I wouldn't even mind if all the meeting space we had was for Sundays only so that way we could focus on small groups at homes, cafés, restaurants, etc.
A ver que pasa...

In addition to all of this, we're really waiting on the Lord for direction and for the Vision he wants to be cast. He gives me hints here and there and am trying to put it together. Although the vision may tarry, I won't jump the gun but wait for it. It's a-coming!! Oh yeeeah! lol

Pastoring

Well, almost 3 weeks ago, I began my time as a pastor(lead, that is)...for the first time. It's so funny how you tend to see things clearer when you're on the outside! It's kinda like all of us sports fans who see what Coach Carroll, Coach Weiss, Dusty Baker, etc. should have done, and there we find ourselves...screaming at the TV because he should've called this play or he should have taken out that pitcher or he should have brought in a pinch hitter.
It's definitely a humbling experience, and I constantly find myself seeking ways of doing ministry and being effective. The work is almost overwhelming in spite of the size of the congregation, but it's exciting and such an adventure. Gotta love it!

It's so easy to get busy with life, doing stuff, delving into work, paying the bills (or not!), getting a degree, etc. It seems as though the more you do this, the easier it is to get into a routine...to even fall into a rut of unnecessary stuff, hence the title of this blog. All of this stuff seems to be excess baggage as compared to what really matters in life. Yet ironically, for some reason, high importance is given to it still. Now, I am not saying to be completely care-free and not be a responsible person, but geez, it seems as though if some of these habits don't change, much regret will come later on in life for not investing time in those real important things, albeit, even if they don't seem to be as important at the time.

I have more to add, but it's kinda late, and I need to go to bed...

Things I'd like to add: the importance of investing time in family, in other people, fulfillment of life....

Also for next time...how ministry can reflect this same pattern on so many different levels (from shifted focuses to just doing stuff (i know, i know, recurrent theme) and not being Jesus (if you will), etc.

I'll elaborate next time. If you read this, please feel free to contribute. Thanks.