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!