in spirit and in truth

Relocating!

2008-07-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hey Katherine, Mrs. Jerri & Mike & other readers...

I'm relocating my blog to www.nccoc.org/blog/murray

It's officially attached to our church's webpage, and a bit more attractive, easier to manage comments, since I get so many you know. :)

THANK YOU all for reading, and I hope you'll still read it in it's new location.

Thanks for the memories...

Murray

I am a way, a truth, a life

2008-06-25T13:59:00.000-07:00

Nah, I don't think so!

Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, is the only way we can access the one true God. He is THE Way, THE Truth, THE Life.

Somewhere along the way, that truth has gotten fuzzy for a lot of people, even well-meaning life long believers. All in the name of tolerance!

I ranted and raved a few months ago about one of our favorite children's video characters, Boz the Bear. www.bozthebear.com We still like him a lot and buy their stuff. But he rarely mentions Jesus. He talks about morality a lot and good behavior, but he doesn't reference Jesus' teachings. And they are marketed mainly through Christian bookstores.

I think we Christians need to launch a new campaign about Jesus...getting people back to him, and He will show them the Father.

These are random unfocused thoughts, so I'm sorry about that. But have you heard people end prayers with "in your name we pray, Amen." And they began the prayer with, "Dear God". Now I know what they mean, and I'm good with that. You hear that a lot in Christian churches even. But my B'hai friends pray to God in God's name, and so do muslims. What's unique about Christianity is the fact that we pray to GOD in JESUS' name, not any other name, not even God's name himself.

My point, let's start standing up for Jesus. He stood up for us. And let's take opportunity when we hear people talking about "ways to get to Heaven".

Other forms of transportation

2008-06-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

I rode my bike to work today! Take THAT all of you wealthy oil company executives, George W. Bush, and most of Saudi Arabia! How does THAT feel? We're learning to live without you and your silly oil.

Ok, I exaggerate, but you get my point. We live 8.4 miles north of the church building in Carmel. We are close to the Monon, so I hopped on just below where the Monon ends at 146th. UNfortunately there are 2 construction detours right now on the trail, which added significant time/a couple of miles to my commute.

I'm no Lance Armstrong, mind you. Man, my seat is not comfortable at all! And I couldn't stop for coffee, because how could I hold it? But the weather was perfect this morning, sunny and cool...absolutely beautiful. And the Monon trail is really beautiful...lots of trees are in bloom. It was a great alternative to driving, except that it took me 50 minutes instead of 15 minutes, and now, unlike the blooming trees, I smell awful and we have NO showers here at the building.

All in all, it was a great start to my day.

Speaking of other forms of transportation, I just got a bid from a local fireman who does off duty handman work. He gave me a bid to repair the neighbor's chain link fence which was damaged by one of our huge hackberry trees that was downed in the May 30th storm. What was he driving? A 1989 shiny red Porche Carrera.

Do not covet. Do not envy. Do not covet. Oh, forget it.

He said he was preparing to sell it to upgrade to a newer, bigger model. I'm thinking, man, I should have been a fireman with a job on the side! ;) I said I would buy it if he would take $500 for it. :) He said the going price was $20,000....

"This world is not my home, I'm just a passin' through, my treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue..."

I'm back!

2008-06-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

Man, I am in serious neglect of blog world. My two little ones just keep me too busy. But here's some very disconnected random thoughts for you.

Ok, Hillary, enough. Enough of both of you guys already. Thanks for playing.

I'm enjoying my $25 free gift card from Starbucks just for signing up for the Duetto Visa card. I will cancel the card shortly, and be much more awake because of their generosity.

Dunkin Donuts, a paltry shout out to you for having a drive through in Carmel, and thank you for letting me have 1 large coffee free today.

God, what an amazing show of your power last Friday night here in Indy via the tornado & storms. You didn't intentionally cause harm, nor did you sweep down & prevent it. You just created an incredible world with an atmosphere and biosphere that we can hardly comprehend. Help us to praise you on the sunny days and the stormy days. Help us to do what we can to relieve the suffering of our fellow humankind. See www.nccoc.org for more information. To whom much has been given, much will be rightly expected.

I love the new worship group "Fee". Check them out on Itunes.

I also just downloaded Watershed Worship's album, I Know You Love Me. It came highly recommended to me by my worship leader buddy Terry W in Franklin, IN. I'm excited to hear their arrangements.

If I could just get this in my head!

2008-03-06T05:03:00.001-08:00

Jesus said,

"Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and
with all your soul and
with all your mind.
This is the first and greatest commandment.

And the second is like it:
Love your neighbor as yourself.

All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

New for 2008

2008-01-15T04:20:00.000-08:00

Love this from Psalm 70 today...may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "Let God be exalted!"

Our small group is taking a stand against complaining this week, based on the book we're studying called "Anxious for Nothing" by John McArthur. It's amazing once you say "I'm not going to complain anymore" what happens...I believe our permanently-defeated enemy enjoys the fight and starts creating new potential reasons for complaining. he (no capital letter for the enemy) is the father of lies and also the father of complaining/whining. The Holy Spirit of course timed that study perfectly for me, as I had slipped into a nasty cycle of whining about health insurance and financial issues. It's such an egregious thing to whine & complain in the face of such abundant blessing. (See former Israelite complainers dead on the sand.)

Psalm 70 tells me to be glad in the Lord, and to always exalt Him. So I think the oft-learned rule takes over...instead of concentrating on not complaining, I'm going to focus on thanking and exalting God.

On a lighter note, turns out, I'm really good at Guitar Hero. ;) It's so much fun, but I think I know why God has me leading worship in an a cappella setting!

Where I would be (besides Indy) if I could be anywhere else right now: DETROIT! why, you say? www.naias.com

December 2007

2007-12-19T20:54:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving was great, thanks for the visit Dad & M. We had snow flurries on T'giving Day!

Trip to Montana for the Winter Rendezvous Retreat was incredible. I love snowmobiling!

Time in Dallas en route to Montana was totally fun. Mom & Mel & Briggs, it was some of our best family times ever.

We've had 12 to 14 inches of snow so far this year, I'm loving it! The ground is still covered in 3 inches of snow from last Sunday morning's snowfall. Even though it warms up above freezing, the snow still hangs on.

"Clash of the Choirs" - ok, I love this show. I don't care, I overlook all of its awkwardness and apparent staged sentimentality. I just love large groups singing great songs (I've got friends in love places was the show's low so far...) If it comes to Indy, and it should with Sandi Patty directing, then I'm auditioning...

www.gofishguys.com Check out their Christmas release, Snow. The song "It's about the Cross" will not leave my head, I love it! Props to Lee Ann who has put together an incredible video for our Christmas Eve Service.

Eli & Faith continue to be the highlight of every day. They are so precious. Eli is sleeping through the night much better (sounds of his crying emerge as I type that sentence, literally...it's midnight)

Faithy is so funny, we taught her to say "I'm sorry, Kimmie" a few days ago when she did something to Aunt Kimmie, and now she thinks "Kimmie" is part of what you say when you apologize. So when we tell her to apologize to Eli, it's "I'm sawee Kimmie". Ok, I guess you have to be here to appreciate how cute & funny it is.

Merry Christmas, everyone. Life is good, because God is good.

Eli is much better!

2007-11-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

Thanks so much for praying for Baby Eli. As you can see on our blog, www.murraysanderson.blogspot.com, he recovered just in time for Halloween! Ha!
He's still finishing up his antibiotic, and the infection on his foot is almost gone. He is clearly feeling much better. He still enjoys being up at night. Last night at 4:00 am, he and I snuggled for a while, then he finally just said, "Dad, I'm getting up and either you or Mommy are as well. This is no time for sleeping, you silly snoozers." Thankfully, it was Jaime's night to take care of him (we alternate nights), so down the stairs she went to the swing, which he loves.

My mom is here and we're having a great visit with her...we went to the Circle City mall downtown last Friday, and the zoo on Saturday. She always helps so much. She heads back to Dallas tomorrow...

Jaime & I are headed to see Chris Tomlin this Sunday night in Evansville. We leave right after church. www.christomlin.com He's a gifted songwriter & worship leader.

Well, all I can say about the Colts & Patriots game is, we'd rather beat them in postseason than in regular season, if we have to pick one. So we'll see them again in January, and it won't come out the same way.

Have a great week everyone!

Great news, Eli came home!

2007-10-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, good news! Praise God, Eli is home!

Thank God, the tide turned quickly this morning as test results came in, and the pediatric infectious disease specialist got a good look at Eli's records and Eli himself. Except for one test that we don't yet have results for, Eli's bloodwork showed no signs of concern.

Bottom line, the infectious disease doc felt that he could send us home with a powerful oral antibiotic that would fight the infection in Eli's foot, which at this time appears to be staph (not MRSA, but some type of staph). He saw no advantage to keeping us in the hospital for observation, and the IV antibiotics did not contribute very well to Eli's rest and/or recovery. (or ours! He had 5 things hooked up to him...)

When the docs examined Eli, they were confounded by the number of health issues he has faced in his 4.5 months; they place their greatest confidence in kids who exude health & energy by outward signs in addition to test results which show no real reason for concern. Thus, even with his history, they really don't feel he has a problem with his immune system or any problem with his blood / bloodstream. Praise God!

We have two follow-up appointments and we will of course be watching Eli closely. For now, he and Faith are resting comfortably here at home with us. God is good, and He is the Great Physician and Healer. We have Him to thank most of all. We also thank you for lifting us up to the Father. We owe a debt of gratitude to the incredible hospital staff (nurses & docs) and the infectious disease guy who "spoke with authority" and let us come home today instead of Thursday.

Thanks for your concern & your prayers. We still need your prayers that Eli will heal from this staph infection, and that he will experience many months / years of good health. As we move forward, we'll keep you posted about Eli's progress, and hopefully it will be a long, long time before he experiences another infection.

Murray & Jaime

Prayers for Baby Eli

2007-10-29T21:26:00.001-07:00

Please pray for our infant son, Eli. We don’t want to alarm you, and we’re trying not to be alarmed, so here are the facts.

He was admitted to the “Peyton Manning Hospital for Children at St. Vincent’s” in Indianapolis today for a skin infection in addition to ear infection. The docs are giving him a strong combination of antibiotics intravenously, and they’ve told us Eli will be there at least 48 hours after the first dose, which wasn’t given until late tonight. So we’re thinking he’ll come home on Thursday, but there’s no guarantee.

Here are our specific prayer requests:
Pray that God will heal Eli of this skin infection, and his ear infections.
Pray that that today’s extensive blood tests will reveal that Eli has no other underlying issues with his blood or immune system.
Ask God to keep Faith safe & healthy during this trying time for our little family. (What a blessing to be near Jaime’s family at times like these…and my mom was already headed here for a visit and arrives Wednesday…)
Thank God for the great medical care we have in this country!
For more background, go to our blog www.murraysanderson.blogspot.com

BACKGROUND

Eli had a mild case of pneumonia in August, then a stomach virus earlier this month, followed by a significant ear infection that has lasted 2 weeks. This ear infection wasn’t phased at all by the low grade antibiotic, Amoxicillin. As an aside, I think doctors will soon be giving out Amoxicillin to trick or treaters, as it seems to compare only to candy in its impact on bacteria. After our 2nd trip to the ER this month for a fever spike a week ago, the docs upgraded him to Omnicef, the antibiotic a level up from Amoxicillin.

At this point, with Eli having pneumonia, stomach virus and ear infection all by 3 months of age, our pediatrician set an appointment for us to see an Infectious Disease specialist in mid-November. This caused us alarm, but hey, whatever it takes…

Then just before his bath last Saturday night, we found a quarter-sized red bump on his left ankle…I immediately thought it was a spider bite, but on further investigation, our docs now believe it is a skin infection caused by bacteria of some type, a type that is not eradicated by Omnicef.

Ok, we’re talking about a 4 ½ month old here…what a medical history he has! So our pediatrician advised us this morning that the best course was to admit him to the hospital, and then we would better be able to get an MRI and bloodwork completed, and get evaluation from pediatric specialists and an infectious disease specialist.

The MRI took 60 to 70 minutes, our boy is strong and he kept waking up from the mild sedation and moving around before they could finish the test. It took them awhile, but they finally got what they needed. (They had to administer the maximum amount of sedation, which weren’t crazy about…but you do what you have to do.) Thankfully, the MRI revealed that the infection is not in his bone, and appears to be only in the skin and the underlying tissue.

After the MRI, they took significant amounts of blood from him (don’t get me started on the pain of this process) and we’ll hopefully get those results tomorrow.

All of the docs who examine him just say how adorable he is, and how strong he is. He is very healthy if you’re just looking at him…he’s “chunky” in the words of the supervising pediatrician, and he has great color, a great appetite, smiles a lot, and sings quite loudly in notes just under those which shatter glass. He has lots of wet & dirty diapers (that’s my boy!) and he has a sparkle in his beautiful blue eyes. Because of how he looks and acts, they really don’t feel there’s anything wrong with his immune system, they just think we’ve been really unlucky, and that he’ll improve with this round of treatment and be just fine.

We thank you in advance for your prayers, and we look forward to updating you as soon as possible. Lord willing, the next email you get from us will be on Wednesday or Thursday, saying that we’re headed home and they didn’t find anything more serious.

(When I have time and have gotten more sleep, I'll say more about how cool it is to be in Peyton Manning's hospital and the upcoming Colts game...)

Note from Christian Chronicle Editor

2007-10-24T09:17:00.001-07:00

I've posted multiple times about my frustration with the extensive ads placed in the Christian Chronicle boasting that a cappella singing is the only scriptural way to worship God.

Well, the Chronicle recently asked my congregation if we would be making our annual contribution and that gave me a chance to voice my concern, and say NO, we would not be offering them support any longer since they seem to be amenable to running such divisive ads.

I am VERY PLEASED to post this note that I received today from Lynn McMillon, the editor of Christian Chronicle...and I shall resubscribe to the paper, cautious but optimistic about their tone on the subject of instruments in worship. (Please note that I lead worship for an a cappella church, and am so thankful for my a cappella heritage. I just refuse to teach it as the only scriptural way, or the way that God is most pleased with...that is heresy and represents a very divisive way of thinking/acting.)

Dear Murray,
Thank you for your recent note regarding the music ad in the paper. I understand your frustration and wanted you to know that I have decided not to run that type of thing in the future. Please note the editorial this month that explains the change. In the meantime I have attached the new policy and the editorial for you. If you would like to discuss it further please let me know. Be assured that I do understand. I hope that you might give us another chance.

Lynn McMillon, CEO/Editor

Meeting Adam Vinatieri

2007-10-17T10:31:00.000-07:00

I just met Adam Vinatieri, kicker for the World Champion Indianapolis Colts, at the Sharp Business Systems Expo at the Colts Center here in Indy.

I got an autographed picture, and I'm trying to figure out how to load my pic with him from my phone to my blog.

We had a nice chat, here's an excerpt (ok, it's the entire text of the chat.)

Murray: You guys are going to kill the Patriots, no problem.

Adam: Hope so, we're gonna stick it to 'em.

I think I'm his new best friend.

You would not believe the size of that Superbowl ring, and then his wedding ring is the biggest man's wedding ring I've ever seen and it was covered with a band of diamonds.

How did I get to do that? We took a field trip as an entire church staff (sans Jason) to learn about new business products from Sharp, and for a free lunch, and to meet an unnamed Colts player. I actually met a guy who could do color banners and other promo stuff for us, and I also found out about other cool products. So it was actually productive as well as fun!

(Nancilynn, thanks for the comment...what's your email? Send it to me at murray@nccoc.org)

Oct 16 - various

2007-10-16T06:54:00.001-07:00

Well, we went to Nashville for the ZOE worship conference, but never left our hotel room except for runs to Target for pedialyte, and trips to the Emergency Room. Everyone in our family except me got the stomach bug...Eli ran a high fever so we took him in to Vandy Children's Hosp at 2 am one morning, then the following night, Jaime got dehydrated so we headed back to the ER to get help for her. If you're ever wondering, it's not fun to have 3 people regurgitating in one small hotel room. I do not recommend it.

Thanks to be God, we are all better now! Since we missed being encouraged & inspired at the conference, we are heading down to Evansville, IN for the Chris Tomlin/Matt Redman worship event on November 11th...I can't wait. Thanks to the Elmores & the Beasleys, we already saw this concert once in Fairfax in February of 2007, but we simply must go back. It is such a good one.

We just finished up a fun weekend with our friends the McClures who visited us from Jermantown, MD. Ben & I have been friends since we were 4 years old...who would have known our 1st children would have been born 4 days apart?!!

I wish so badly the Cowboys had beated the Patriots, but it will make the Colts victory over the Patriots that much sweeter when they come to Indy on Nov 4th...

Loving the fall here in Indiana...

My Thoughts Exactly

2007-10-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

I've always liked Mike Cope...it all started when he was my preacher for 4 years while I attended Harding University. I this is still true, he's the only one who went through Harding Grad with a 4.0 grade point average. Anyway, he's brilliant, a great orator, a sincere follower of Christ, and the best student of Scripture that I know of.

On Aug 27, I posted about an ad in the Christian Chronicle...well, a similar ad has run again in this month's issue, and it's even worse. Here is Mike's post from a few days ago, and they are my thoughts exactly...and the thoughts of most, if not all, of the church leaders with whom I've worked in the past 15 years.

http://www.preachermike.com/ and go to his post entitled "A Time to Speak".

On a more positive note, we leave tomorrow for the ZOE worship conference in Nashville, and we are SO EXCITED! Besides hearing some awesome speakers and spending lots and lots of time in worship, we'll get to see some of my mom's family as well in our free time.

Words to Live By

2007-09-25T04:58:00.001-07:00

The passage I put here yesterday was a bit heavy, especially for a Monday morning. Nonetheless (what a fun word to use), it contains an essential teaching.

Today's message from Jesus is this, from Matthew 7 again (sometimes I go for weeks or months without dwelling in the Sermon on the Mount, what a mistake!):

24-25"These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.

Ok, now for a few random things that I really like:

1. getting a good night's sleep (last night, 11 pm to 6:30 am, thank you God!)
2. Monday Night Football with Eli, he was actually watching last night. He might just be a budding Titans fan, in honor of his father's birth state, and his cousin Eileen with which he shares the same 1st 3 letters of his name and his middle name.)
3. Faith's hair when she wakes up. I think someday her hair might incorporate.
4. Starbuck's new drip coffee "Joya".
5. Anything at Starbucks.
6. Reading the paper early in the morning.
7. Driving over the new bridge on Westfield.

Have a great day everyone!

Helpful Translation of Matthew 7

2007-09-24T05:43:00.001-07:00

We had a great elders/ministers meeting last Saturday morning. Almost 3 hours long...wow. Thank you God for caffeine. (We start at 7:30 am on 2nd & 4th Saturdays of the month...)

We talked about many things, dreamed about how God will use us in His overall mission of loving and reconciling the world...somewhere during the discussion we brought up Matthew 7:21ff...which at the outset is not all that encouraging...but in this version, it really helped us internalize and personalize what Jesus was saying about true obedience to Him.

From Matthew 7, The Message version:

15-20"Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don't be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned.
21-23"Knowing the correct password—saying 'Master, Master,' for instance— isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here.'

Definitely worth pondering....

Go Colts! Go Cowboys! Go Carl Edwards! (what a nasty wreck near the end, huh? Kasey Kahne is one of my favorite drivers, and he took the brunt of it...how cool that they've designed those cars to handle such impact.)

Let's see if the Titans can show up tonight and get a W.

Happy Monday everyone.

Other Worship Recordings

2007-09-18T13:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the comment, Amy. Didn't like Vicky Beeching so much, huh? Not even "The Wonder of the Cross", track 5? Ok, moving on...her english accent and high-pitched keys are not for everyone. I've already decided my arrangement of that will be pitched lower.

Here are some of my favorites.
Chris Tomlin - His See the Morning cd has worship hit after hit after hit...

Hallal's latest CD Immeasurable is really great...Mostly they cover many great instrumental worship songs, but there are a few originals by Ken that are spectacular (effective, moving, well written, good hook, etc.)

Shane & Shane's new cd Pages is solid.

I'm reserving judgment on Dennis Jernigan's new cd I Cry Holy , but I don't think it contains anything like his monster hits "You are my All in All" or "Thank You, Lord" but I haven't finished listening to all of it yet...he has admitted to not being aware of current worship music / styles, and I think that shows in this newest release. It's great heartfelt stuff, it's just a little obvious and plain for me at "first listen".

Another great resource for up & coming worship artists is www.independentbands.com you could just sample some of their new releases.

Lastly, I'd be interested in hearing some of your favorite worship songs. Kelli B, you might even say "give me the old hymns" and that's great too. If you like fresh covers for them, I could hook you up. Amy Grant's are some of my favorite hymn redux.

Bottom line, just keep on singing!

various

2007-09-13T07:57:00.001-07:00

Still loving Vicky Beeching's CD Painting the Invisible. Just go to itunes now and get it. Don't even think twice about it. You'll thank me later. www.vickybeeching.com

Stood in line 30 minutes today, yes 30, for Dunkin Donuts coffee & donuts, the new store in Carmel. I had promised to bring it to the staff, or else I would have blown it off. The parking lot, which was staffed with one Dunkin Donuts attendant, and 2 Dunkin Donuts staffers who were giving out free samples, was a circus. There was a funny sort of community feeling though, as we all stood in line for what was obviously just a luxury and not a need. It was sort of that feeling you get at an amusement park when everyone's standing in line for the best coaster...everyone's chatty, in a good mood, etc.

Eli is now 3 months old and laughs freely & easily. However, I, at 6:30 am this morning, was not the one laughing at his idea of a fountain-imitation. I'm just thankful it wasn't 4:30 am. He's doing great at sleeping from midnight to 6:30 am.

This cooler weather has got me so pumped up! I love it! I was actually cold this morning driving to work! Thank you God for 4 seasons! (Texans don't realize there are actually 4...down there, you just have summer and winter.)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Save the date...Harvest Sunday, October 14th

New insights

2007-09-10T06:12:00.000-07:00

Thanks for a great Bible study yesterday morning, Russ! Jaime & I attended the Matthew class yesterday morning, and it was really good, helpful, insightful, encouraging, crowded, and all the things you want a class to be.

Here are just 2 quick insights I gained...

The wise men coming to visit baby Jesus when he was born...I've always thought, how cool, rich foreigners coming to see Jesus, with the little drummer boy in the background ;) It just seemed like a neat story, quaint and a nice rounding out of the nativity scene.

BUT

if you stop & reflect on that...it would be like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Donald Trump traveling to the tip of south America to BOW DOWN And worship a little baby boy born in a hut in a remote village. They would each present him with a million dollar gift and then travel back, completely ignoring the false pretenses of a request from President Bush to tell him where to find the baby.

When you stop & think about it, that is awesome. Everything about Jesus is awesome, to say the least, but even the cute little birth story is filled with mystery and wealth and poverty and prestige and humility and world leaders, etc.

I also just realized this morning after further reflection that those gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, were very helpful to Mary & Joseph to PROVIDE for that little baby on all of their travels and relocations. (They moved 3 times it seems before settling down.)

God is awesome, and His Word has so many levels. As Russ said, the longer you live, the more you learn...and at different stages of your life, you see/learn/observe different things in Scripture.

Have a great week in the Word, blogfriends.

A teachable moment

2007-09-04T12:08:00.000-07:00

What an awesome 3 day weekend!

On Saturday, we spent time at Mounds State Park at a reunion with Jaime's mother's father's side of the family. Very cool to meet Jaime's grandfather's close relatives...he passed away before Jaime came along.

On Sunday after church, we enjoyed going to lunch (Babeaux in Broad Ripple, great suggestion PJ) with a friend from Fairfax (Megan C.) who is attending Butler University here in Indy, and a new North Central friend.

Then Jaime's dad and his wife came over to hang out and help us with our guest bath remodel. And yes, I helped him put in the new sink...I can do some things around the house, like get him a diet coke and go next door to borrow "channel locks". Whatever those are. We watched a bit of the NASCAR race as well. You know you're a fan when you yell out, "there's a wreck on pit road!" Jaime was like, don't distract my dad, he's getting a lot done!

Labor Day began perfectly with breakfast at Bob Evans, then there was napping and shopping and time with the family at the pool. (Our neighborhood has a mandatory HOA and part of what you get is pool membership...glad I finally made it on the last day of the year for the pool!) Jaime's dad came back over later and put the finishing touches on the new vanity/sinks/faucets in the kids' bathroom. Amazing what an upgrade a vanity/sinks can be! Thanks Mike! Now for the texture on the walls, and new lights...I'm so thankful to have a wife with great taste and an eye for decorating.

At one point Monday afternoon, the whole family was on the couch playing and wrestling and just hanging out. Faithy was doing something which I didn't want her to do: eating Graham crackers in the den without a plate...spreading crumbs evenly throughout the den...I "called her down" and told her what not to do. Her response was to give me a great big hug...BOTH little arms around my neck, and her cheek right next to mine. It was so precious and sweet. I had a hard time maintaining my "calling her down" tone...

THEN IT HIT ME!

That's how God feels about us when we love Him and worship Him and have all of these great feelings about Him, but we don't do what He says...like take care of the poor and oppressed and shut-ins and imprisoned. He loves us dearly, of course, but He wants us to OBEY Him. Loving Him must also contain a consistent obedience aspect. Without obedience, there really is no love. "If you love me, you will obey what I command." John 14:15

I know Faithy loves me, and she is learning to obey, and she does so regularly. But I just couldn't miss the point when God opened my eyes to her hugs of love in contrast with her desire to continue eating plate-less crumb-creating crackers.

Thanks God, I got it.

All In a Day's Work / New Shane & Shane CD

2007-08-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

Most of you know my life's passion is worship ministry and I'm so blessed to be able to use my gifts in a way that puts a roof over our heads & clothes on our backs (and much more, obviously).

But I also love, in a very different way, being a church administrator.

Today I drained the baptistry and refilled it. It's fun to work with water that washes the sins of the world away.

After refilling, I was in the process of adding chlorine when I had an experience slightly similar to that of Former President Bill Clinton. He did not inhale, apparently, but I did today over the bucket of chlorine granules.

I'm fairly sure after that inhalation experience I'll never have pneumonia, and I'll never get lung cancer. I think the insides of my lungs are now pearly white and hospital-sterile. I hope the strong pungent breath-taking odor also whitened my macchiato-stained teeth as it made its way down.

I just feel clean all over and now everything I touch is also instantly santized. (I did not use gloves, but will next time.) I hope when I pick up Faithy tonight when I get home, that I don't bleach out her clothes with my fingertips.

Now, back to worship, the new Shane & Shane CD is out...It's called "Pages" and I'm getting to know it. "We Love you, Jesus" is very powerful and musically interesting. There's a cool song about Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego also, a story for which I wish there were more songs, since it's so many people's favorite O.T. story (mine & Jaime's for sure.) It's called "Burn us up." I love their guitar work and tight duet vocals. But you just have to enjoy the good and skip over a few tracks on all of the CDs, if you ask me. They are rarely in the middle of my musical-taste palette. They're either knocking them out of the park, or should be getting kicked out of a park.

Regardless, I recommend it. I bought mine off www.independentbands.com and they always have low pricing.

Have a great weekend everyone! Walk with Jesus every moment. He's right beside, inside you. How humbling and reassuring and powerful to know.

Reply from Christian Chronicle

2007-08-29T12:31:00.000-07:00

Earlier in the week I posted about my frustration with a full-page ad appearing in the current issue of Christian Chronicle.

I shared my frustration with Bobby Ross, editor of the paper. We had a good email exchange that was followed by a good telephone conversation.

To sum it up, the board of Christian Chronicle was already slated to review their policy on "adver-torials" at the October 2007 board meeting. The ad I questioned was not the first one to raise the ire of subscribers. Bobby said they receive numerous complaints throughout the year from people at various places on the long continuum of people in churches of Christ. It seems no one likes advertising or advertorials that bespeak ideas foreign to their own theology.

I like the paper, and I'll continue taking it. In this issue, there's a solid article covering Graham Kervin's mission team in Olomouc, CR...and there are always newsy tidbits of what's going on in other churches across the world. So the good being done by the paper far outweighs the few negative advertorials, to be sure.

And I'm learning to frame my frustration with this a cappella vs. instrumental issue. I'm learning that if I want our movement to move past it (which means many things...remaining happily a cappella as a matter of choice not doctrine, or integrating instruments in a meaningful and encouraging way that never drowns out the voices) , then maybe I should set an example, and do just that...move on.

From time to time, people will assert views such as the ad in the current issue. Or someone may start a discussion about which version is scripturally sound, KJV, NIV or RSV. Or someone may question whether we should use 8 song leaders or one song leader. It's my responsibility as a follower of Christ to expend my energies on issues Christ was passionate about, and to kindly smile and move away from debates and arguments about such things.

More, More About Boz

2007-08-28T17:23:00.001-07:00

Hey, please also read my other post from today on this subject...

After ranting about Boz, I remembered that in the videos, when the children are praying to God at night in their joint bedroom with their parents, a CROSS is prominently displayed. So while they do not pray in Jesus' Name, nor mention Him at all, they do display the cross.

And when I further questioned Exclaim Entertainment about their stance, they assured me Jesus would be mentioned in the upcoming Christmas release "It's a Wowee Bozowee Christmas!" As I told Kelli B, they should be congratulated for being bold enough to mention Christ at Christmastime. Oh, the risk involved! They ALSO told me they would consider mentioning him in future releases.

The co-creator of Boz was also a co-creator of the big purple dinosaur "Barney". He has taught values and 1-2-3's for years without any mention of Jesus and I never once protested him. I think it's the marketing aspect of Boz that gets me...Family Christian and churches and other Christian bookstores. Barney never claimed to be a theologian. But Boz is appearing in all Christian circles without mentioning him at all...I'm not asking for "the sermon on the mount", simply a reference to "As Jesus taught us, we should seek to serve one another first..." at mealtimes or something.

Thanks for listening.

In JESUS' Name,
Amen.

Boz doesn't want to mention Jesus / Christian Chronicle reply

2007-08-28T06:37:00.000-07:00

This may only be relevant to parents of toddlers/preschoolers, but I am curious to others' feedback as well.

About a year ago, on a flight from Dallas back to Washington, I met a man who worked for Exclaim Entertainment...we chatted, and when he learned I had a toddler, he gave me a promotional DVD of "Boz the Bear" and told me all about it.

I was done with my 3 oz of coke & 4 pretzels, so we chatted quite a bit. It sounded like a great new alternative for teaching my little one basic colors, shapes, numbers, and also about values & faith. (Teaching faith to Faith will strengthen my faith, I'm sure. I just had to say that.)

Well, since then we've purchased 2 DVDs of Boz the Bear (I know, wow!) and Faithy has fallen in love with him. He's a large green Bear who lives next door to the Baxter family, and they have all kinds of fun in their little Utopia, while learning about numbers, letters and values. The songs are quite catchy actually, and I find myself singing them around the house.

3 days ago, however, my infatuation with Boz the Bear came to a sudden halt. I turned to Jaime and asked, "Honey, I don't ever hear Boz mention JESUS...he talks about God's love, but does he ever mention JESUS?" She paused, reflected, and flatly said, "No, he sure doesn't." We were both caught off guard, and I was incensed.

BOZ DOESN'T MENTION JESUS!

It is impossible to talk about God's love and exclude Jesus. It's impossible to teach values and faith without Jesus. I thought, certainly I have overlooked it.

I wrote to the company at their Dallas headquarters.

Sure enough, I got a standard reply from them, stating that they are trying to build bridges with parents, and hopefully at some point later the parents can flesh out what God's love means as they teach their kids. They strategically avoid the name of Jesus to reach a broader market and not offend people.

I am so angry at that reply I can't even think straight. I am still trying to figure out what to do about it, I sure will write people at Exclaim Entertainment who are higher up than the first person who answered my mail. But what do you do about someone who won't mention Jesus' name, but still wants to talk about God? All of their videos are sold at Family Christian (see the CHRIST in the name) and Boz is doing a summer tour of churches in the Christian faith. But he won't mention Christ on screen.

That is wrong, very wrong. He's marketed to Christians like me who are lapping up the product, and only after we've purchased can we determine that Boz won't have anything to do with Jesus.

Thoughts?

Tomorrow or Thursday, I'll post about Bobby Ross' reply to my post yesterday. It really helped me out, and I know it definitely grew my perspective on things.

Please keep praying for Baby Bennett http://www.prayingforbennett.blogspot.com/

And my wife's blog is better http://www.murraysanderson.blogspot.com/

Thoughts and Bad Reaction to ad in Christian Chronicle

2007-08-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a funny saying David shared with us yesterday..."When I was growing up, we couldn't even afford to pay attention." I thought that was hilarious. You may have heard it before, but I never have. That was good.

David's message yesterday entitled "Crossing Over" (yes, from John 5:24) was very convicting and encouraging. Go to http://www.nccoc.org/ to listen if you need a boost. Toward the end of the sermon, he used a seires of contrasts to make his point...with his permission I reprint them here:

This eternal life now can be yours...

"not because you are good, but because God is good.
not because you went to church, but because Jesus went to the cross.
not because you came out of your old habits, but because Jesus came out of the tomb.
not because you shed your irreligious ways, but because Jesus shed his blood."

What a great reminder. Thank you David!

And for those of you who read the Christian Chronicle, if your reaction to the full-page ad on page 10 is anything like mine (sheer revulsion), then I encourage you to let the editor know. Bobby Ross is the editor, he's a great guy; he & his wife did a story on Fairfax in 2005 and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them. But I just hate that they have to run ads like this...
Ok, if you don't have the paper in front of you, go to http://www.foracappella.org/ and just get a taste of it. Then email bobby.ross@christianchronicle.org and ask him to consider NOT running ads that are completely irrelevant and off-point to our mission in the kingdom of God. If they had merely encouraged people to sing without instruments and appreciate the joyful sound of voices singing together, then fine...but they present a cappella format as "the scriptural plan for the church", and I wholeheartedly disagree with that conclusion.

This Weekend

2007-08-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

Keep praying for Baby Bennett...
www.prayingforBennett.blogspot.com

I'm looking forward to Sunday...I think the entire song line-up is solid, but there are 2 songs I'm particularly excited about:
We Delight
Beautiful One

We're singing the Zoe arrangements on both songs www.zoegroup.org Wow, am I ever thankful for their resourceful ministry.

At rehearsal last night, the team sounded great on these...tons of energy, excitement, and just plain ole good singin'.

Of course, we're also singing the classic "Be Thou My Vision"... undoubtedly one of my favorite hymns. Great musical movement, great harmonies (hard to find a good arrangement though...we're using a Hallal arrangement with some added verses), and superb prayerful lyrics.

Thanks to God for all of the rain earlier this week...I'll be mowing this weekend which I always enjoy. Really I do. Especially now that I have a riding lawnmower, I'm beyond cool.

Ok, that's all the non-important forgettable stuff I can think of...have a great weekend everyone!

Prayers for Baby Bennett

2007-08-21T06:48:00.001-07:00

My friends' Travis & Kelly had a precious baby boy named Bennett yesterday morning. He is currently in NICU for fever and possibly acidosis. I solicit your fervent prayers for him and his family as they go through this difficult time.
Here is a blog that contains updates & other info:

www.prayingforbennett.blogspot.com

Heat Wave & New Worship Artist

2007-08-13T10:48:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to Charlottesville, VA for my cousin Stuart Burkhalter's (his last name is Eli's middle name) wedding. It was hot, but a great weekend. Stuart's new wife's family threw quite a party for a reception. The band was great, and in addition to enjoying a dance with each other, Jaime & I enjoyed dancing with Faithy as well. She loves music & dancing, so she was right at home. Seeing her enjoy herself is an incredible blessing I didn't know to anticipate as a father. I also got to play golf with my brother and my nephews who all live in Dallas. Those fun times always fly by... (Thanks Bennett for the coaching...and thank you God that the lightning didn't start until the 18th hole.)

Now back home in Indy, we're experiencing the city's 3rd worst heat wave on record. We've had the longest number of consecutive days at 90 degrees or higher in years, and the end is 5 days away at best. Oh well, I grew up in Memphis, lived for 13 years in Dallas, so this is no prob for me. But I keep thinking, THIS IS WHY I moved north of the Mason Dixon line...to get away from this weather. :)

Thanks to the "contemporary Christian" channel on our cable TV, I am discovering several new Christian artists. You must check out http://www.vickybeeching.com/ She is an up & coming new worship leader. Her song "The Wonder of the Cross" from her latest CD "Painting the Invisible" will be sung in churches everywhere really soon. Great song, great sentiment, powerful hook in the chorus. I can't wait to teach it to the NC praise team. She's a Starbucks fan as well, so it's no surprise that she writes good worship songs. ;) (I learned that from her blog...) There are actually several songs on this CD that I'd like to teach, so just stay tuned. It's not often that I listen to a song over & over, but when it happens, it's such a blessing. The Psalms talk over & over about singing a new song to the Lord, and I'm always discovering reasons why...one is that new music encourages us singers soooo much! I mean, I love "Just As I Am" which was the invitation song at Jaime's grandma's church service which we attended last night in Anderson, IN...but I love love love new expressions of praise as well.

I always put this, but it's true...my wife's blog is better (except for the fact that my picture is there right now...) www.murraysanderson.blogspot.com

Headed Back to Virginia

2007-08-01T14:11:00.001-07:00

We're headed back to Virginia tomorrow, we just can't take it anymore.

KIDDING

We love our new Indy home & church & etc., but we're headed down to Charlottesville, VA for my cousin's wedding. It will be a great family time, and road trips with 2 kids under 2 are always a joy.

Seriously, we are looking forward to it. Once the kids doze off, (yeah right) Jaime and I have great talks as the van rolls down the highway.

Well, I said I would post about the "woman at the well" and Jesus, and their discussion in John 4. Our senior minister is continuing his series and will be teaching from this passage over the next 2 Sundays. It was just such a profound realization to see that Jesus revealed his best and greatest teaching on worship to this woman who he shouldn't have been talking to in the 1st place! (culturally) We don't even know her name! Isn't that so true of what worship should result in...we discover who Jesus is, and we forget about who we are completely. But there again, that's the irony...Jesus told the lady things about herself that even she had tried to forget...so he affirmed her, he didn't crush and treat her like a no-name...

Wow, God is completely awesome and His grace is unbelievable.

How can I keep from singing? (Thank you Chris Tomlin for your update of that song.)

Coming to you from Indianapolis, Indiana, for the 1st time!

2007-07-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

July 23, 2007

My last post was from Chantilly, VA, to announce the arrival of our baby boy, Eli.

A lot has happened since then.

I write now from Indianapolis, IN, our new home! After 3.5 years of ministry and fellowship with the Fairfax Church of Christ in northern VA, God called us to work with the North Central congregation here in Indy. www.nccoc.org is the church’s website.

We are getting settled into our new house in Carmel, the suburb just north of Indy. We’ve got almost all of the boxes unpacked, and we’re almost ready to start hanging pictures/artwork, etc. on the walls.

Eli is now 6 weeks old, and cuter than ever. I’ve been teasing him lately about filling out a bit. He’s gaining weight nicely (8 lbs when he was born, so not a concern, just an observation). He loves being held, and is really starting to smile & react a lot. He’s fighting a nasty cold presently, and I hate to hear him cough. The doc says it’s normal and will go away eventually.

Faith is totally healthy & doing great. She seems to get more beautiful every day. I love her so much, and am so crazy about her. She said 'Eli" this morning and is adding more words to her vocabulary every day. (outside, inside, etc.) She sleeps in her “big girl” bed…a twin bed that Jaime’s aunt is loaning us. She only cried a little bit at the new arrangement, and has apparently already adjusted to it.

I am eager to get back to more regular posts about my thoughts/lessons learned/reflections on worship…the best pastime on earth. For now, let me just say how thankful I am to be here in IN, serving alongside the people of the North Central church. (Even though we miss our church family in Fairfax dearly!)

In my next post, I'll share a thought I had spurred on from David’s sermon yesterday on John 3 about Nicodemus & the woman at the well & worship…

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-06-16T07:31:00.001-07:00

www.murraysanderson.blogspot.com

Praise God on High!

2007-06-03T18:47:00.000-07:00

What an awesome Sunday...

Today was Missions Sunday at FXCC. Even though God sent a much-needed day of showers our way, no one's spirit was dampened. Everyone sang out with energy and zeal, in mulitple languages no less! Talk about speaking/singing in tongues! You guys were incredible.

Then to see Keith Jones sitting in the auditorium with his sweet wife by his side...Keith, I didn't know you were coming today, but God did...He had me select "How Great Is Our God" which is your favorite...isn't God awesome. It was so great to see you.

Then to see all the children file down front with their coin cannisters...their offerings to God for MISSION Sunday...

Then to see the Bynums officially be commissioned & prayed for as our new missionary family. How incredible...

And then the GENEROUS outpouring from our church for our special MISSIONS offering of over $60,000!!! (after you gave generously for our regular offering of almost $34,000, which is only $800 shy of our weekly goal.)

Did you get that? Our church gave almost $100,000 in one day for the mission of God in this world. ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE with GOD.

And thanks to Mark & Cassey Gibson for a wonderful day of Prayer & Fasting yesterday...they coordinated Fairfax's special devotionals during the day, and did all the promo work. For more info, www.dayofprayerandfasting.org or go to our website for more info on FXCC's mission work www.fxcc.org

Keep on praying everyone....

Then to a delicious lunch served by FSM and Paul Wert & crew...a fiesta meal to beat all fiesta meals...

WOW, I'm still reeling from the day.

now, back to my song, (feel free to sing along...any key will do) "Praise God on High...every wounded soul will be made whole, so let's worship Him with a mighty voice, like we're already with Him in paradise, Praise God on High, Praise God! "

Even More Undignified Than This

2007-05-24T04:38:00.000-07:00

Today's Bible reading on www.oneyearbibleblog.com is the great story about David bringing the ark back to Jerusalem...He was leading the multitudes in celebrative worship without all of his clothing. (Don't worry, I'm not going to try that on Sunday...)

His wife wasn't so enthralled with the king of Israel, or the true King of Israel (Jehovah), and she scorned her husband-king for dancing and celebrating in such an undignified manner.

His reply was simple...I will celebrate unto the Lord. This is about God, not me, not my honor, not my dignity. God has been good to us, and we will celebrate appropriately. You think that was undignified? I will go to even greater lengths to show my zeal and my joy and my gratitude for the Lord Almighty.

Wow, I just love it! It makes me think of the song "and I will be even more undignified than this...some may say its foolishness..." I think the band is Delirious.

Have a great day in the Lord, and celebrate Him with all your might. He has been good to you.
He has certainly been good to me.

We got a contract on our house on Tuesday! Thank you, God! We're set to close on June 22, and then rent back until Friday, July 6. We pull out of town for Indy that day. And somewhere in there, Baby #2 is set to arrive! June 18th is our induction date. Very exciting...It's hard to imagine loving a little baby as much as we love Faith, but I think God has a way of enlarging our hearts to increase our love capacity. I know when I fell in love with Jaime, I couldn't believe all the love I felt (and still feel) and then when Faithy came along, it just doubled, so I'm sure God will provide.

Pray for Keith Jones

2007-05-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

Check your email, or go to www.fxcc.org to see a list of prayer concerns for Keith Jones.

URGENT PRAYERS NEEDED!

We'll be having a prayer session tomorrow night at 7 pm here in the auditorium specifically for Keith. If you are able to go by and say hello to his family, contact the office and we'll let you know how to find them at Fairfax Hospital.

A note to the Fairfax Church of Christ from the Sanderson family…

2007-04-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

We've recently embarked on an excited study of the book of Romans on Sunday mornings...this scripture on worship & God's will seems appropriate for the occasion.

Romans 12:1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Over the last few months, Jaime & I have been earnestly trying to test and approve what God’s will is for our lives.

After much prayer and consideration, we feel that God is calling us to a new church home where we can be closer to family. In July, I will begin my work with the North Central Church of Christ in Indianapolis as their Worship & Administration Minister.

From the time we left Dallas and transitioned to northern Virginia back in the fall of 2003, you have been our family. Even though we were brand new here, 3 elders along with Bruce & Jeannette attended our wedding in Nashville on Valentines Day 2004. (Bill & Nancy McKevley actually drove down to Nashville with our wedding cake in the back of their truck!! They got stuck in a snowstorm on the way back...ask them for details.) When God brought our baby girl to us in the fall of 2005, you were there to celebrate with us as well. There have been countless times over the past three and a half years that we have experienced God’s goodness to us by His placing us in this body of Christ.

When God made us aware of this opportunity, we felt the time could be right to make a transition, especially as our family grows from 3 to 4. Jaime and I have made it a top priority to have her stay at home with our kids, and the cost of living in this area is not cooperating with that priority, even though the elders are generous with me in every way. Additionally, Jaime’s family lives in the Indianapolis area, and will be a great source of support for us.

Worshipping God with all of you has been such a blessing to me and my family; we will always cherish our time at Fairfax. Spiritually, we have grown immensely under Bruce’s preaching, the elders’ leadership and through our small group studies. And for Faith, I don’t know if she’ll ever find a Bible teacher that can hold a candle to Mrs. Belknap.

Our hope and prayer is that you’ll continue showing Jesus to each other and to lost people, and continue worshipping God joyfully, in spirit and in truth.

Praying for VA Tech Community

2007-04-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

Like everyone else, I've had this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach since Monday morning. I can hardly stop thinking about it.

My goal is to redirect my thoughts, my fears, my sadness into prayers to God...prayers for hope, healing, peace, comfort...but I also am more motivated to keep an eye out for hurting, isolated people.

Let's move forward together, both as a community of Christ-followers, but as a subset of our global village, more determined to relate well to each other...to listen to each other...to take time to say hello and connect.

At times like these, what a blessing to be a part of the body of Christ.

I'll post specific VMV Prayer Team concerns after tomorrow's "day of mourning/prayer" for the VA Tech community.

Peace everyone.

VMV Prayer Team Forming!

2007-04-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

VMV PRAYER TEAM

WANTED CHRISTIAN PRAYER WARRIORS

For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers. I Peter 3:12
The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16b

What? We are forming a Prayer Team to pray in a focused way for the Vision, Mission, Values Process!

Why? We will soon be receiving the results of our church-wide survey as well as other quantitative data and in late April, we will begin formulating our Vision, Mission and Value statements. The process is scheduled to wrap up in June, but of course, this process has long-term implications for our church.

Who? Members of our congregation, and anyone else who wants to pray for God's will to be done at the Fairfax congregation.

Scriptural Emphasis?
In Matthew 6, Jesus taught his disciples (us) how to pray. Verse 10 of this chapter contains a phrase which is critical to our VMV process:

“…Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

We’ve chosen this scripture as our key verse, in keeping with our motto:

Seeking God’s Vision Beyond Our Own.

Length of Commitment? The next 3 months, from April 10 to July 10. (I realize many people have been praying from the very inception of the process back in August 2006 up until now, and that we as a church will continue praying after these 90 days. It’s just important to hit our knees hard for the next 90 days of this vital process.)

When? Pray anytime! Pray without ceasing! Designated prayer times are as follows:
Sundays, 9:00 am to 10:05 am, in Room 201 (not a class, just quiet time)
Sundays, 10:20 am to 11:35 am, in Room 204 (not a class, just quiet time)

*We may call for an additional “prayer meeting” at other times as the VMV process continues, so stay tuned for an announcement.

**Consider fasting as a spiritual discipline along with your prayer times. See Acts 13 & 14, and a one-page brief about fasting at www.fxcc.org/worship.

What else is there to do? Recruit others to participate! Such as former members, a family member who has visited here with you, a friend who attends another church, etc.

Sign up!
Email Murray Sanderson at murray@fxcc.org.
Call the office at 703-631-2100 to be placed on the VMV Prayer Team.

You’ll receive detailed prayer requests every 10 to 14 days during the VMV process.

We're back!

2007-03-27T04:53:00.000-07:00

We had a great trip to Indiana for Jaime's 13th (yes, 13th) high school reunion at Pendleton Heights High School in Pendleton, IN. (30 miles west of Indy) It's a long story why it was the 13th, so maybe she'll explain it on her blog.

It was also nice to reconnect with her family/extended family while in Indiana...Faith got to demonstrate her walking skills many, many times. She can now turn around while in motion, and she no longer sits down to applaud herself every few steps anymore.

Oh, and she now waves goodbye! According to the experts, that was supposed to happen at 12 months, but she waved for the 1st time to a sweet little girl at Bob Evans (our going away breakfast with Grandma Kinder) yesterday morning. Too precious. By the way, Bob Evans is always a great way to start a 580 mile day. Traveling with a 15 month old, and a wife who is 26 weeks pregnant is no quick trip. Jaime was/is an awesome wife, and the conversations you can have on a long road trip like that are so fun.

If you've ever driven west on interstate 70 through West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio...wow, aren't those views amazing? The mountains are absolutely breathtaking anytime of year. Keep in mind I've spent most of my life in Memphis/Dallas, so those are MOUNTAINS! :) But the vistas from the interstate are truly amazing, and help to make the long trip do-able. Some of the best views are on 15 once you've crossed the Potomac as you're coming south through Lucketts and Leesburg...those Virginia horse farms are beautiful! And we drove in around 7:30 pm, just as the sun was setting!

We are thankful to be home safe, and to start gearing up for an awesome Easter.

BIG Faith Announcement

2007-03-15T05:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, friends, we have big news to share about Faithy. Check Jaime's blog
www.murraysanderson.blogspot.com

it'll be posted sometime today

and WOW, the GOOD NEWS singers from Harding University were totally awesome last night...
great blend, great volume, great song set, great facial expressions....down to the last one of them, they were great worship leaders. And one of them is MAJORING in Worship Ministry at Harding University.

To know that Harding University, one of the most conservative Christian colleges out there, now has a formal worship ministry major just encourages me to no end. There is such a great future for our movement worship-wise!

A Talking Donkey

2007-03-14T05:15:00.000-07:00

I've just finished reading the incredible story of Balaam & his talking donkey from Numbers 20ff.

It just makes me smile every time I read it...our God is so awesome, so creative, so interested in interacting with us and guiding us and leading us the right way. But He's also curious (not in a "i don't know what will happen" sort of way, but in a "let's see how he/she will take this..." sort of way) about how much we will trust Him or listen to Him.

I think my favorite part in the story is when Balaam and the donkey are talking...yes, talking, as in having a conversation. It's not enough to simply be in awe that the donkey spoke, Balaam has to talk back to her. Let's listen in...

26 Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. 28 Then the LORD opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?"
29 Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now."
30 The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?" "No," he said.

It's such an amusing story. Go to www.biblegateway.com and look up Numbers 22 to see how it ends. You'll have to go into chapters 23 & 24 as well.

After reading that, I have a new sense of openness to the Lord's voice, as I just really don't know where it might originate! :)

Names for Baby Sanderson

2007-03-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

To see what names we've picked out for our second baby, who is quite the kicker, click here
www.murraysanderson.blogspot.com

Random thoughts...we went to Occuquan yesterday and had the best time strolling the sidewalks and window shopping. Loving the spring weather...

And then we went to IKEA! Words cannot express how cool that store is...we made a long list of "when we hit the lottery, we'll get..." I've always heard about IKEA and everyone was right, much to my surprise ( I thought people were just exaggerating.)

We had game night at small group tonight, very fun.

IMMEDIATE URGENT CHURCH-WIDE SERVICE OPPORTUNITY

2007-03-06T14:35:00.001-08:00

Would you be willing to prepare a meal for one of our families?

Church family, the Schwambs need our help. They would never ask for this, so I am happy to stand in the gap for them.

Baby Lauren has hit some very rough spots on her road to recovery recently. To sum it up, she was born on January 14, 2006, 2 months premature, and immediately had major health complications. She has been in the hospital for much of her little life. Last night, she had to be transferred urgently from Walter Reed to Children's Hospital in D.C. The doctors believe she is stable now, but she still faces a long hospital stay, perhaps two weeks.

Tim & Cristi have kept everything going for their family of 5 with smiles on their faces, rarely missing church even amidst major health challenges and crises. Big sister Addison, age 8, and big brother Brennan, age 6, have been incredibly supportive and helpful during all of Lauren's trials. And hats off to their wonderful small group that has been encouraging them and holding up their arms every step of the way. But this family needs our prayers, love and support now more than ever.

Now, 14 months into this trying time for the Schwambs, we want to broaden the "helping hands" base beyond their small group, and beyond the church staff.

Would you be willing to prepare a meal for the Schwambs?

Regarding food allergies, Cristi doesn’t tolerate dairy products well. Brennan is severely allergic to milk, eggs, and peanuts. But don’t let these restrictions intimidate you. Cristi assured me that Brennan is fine with eating a different meal from the rest of the family, custom prepared by mom.

It would be helpful for them to have meals or snacks they can easily transport to the hospital and throw in a microwave up there.

Grocery store gift cards are great, too, if you’re high on cash and low on time.

You may deliver your meal to the hospital, to the Schwambs’ home directly, or to the church office.

Contact Murray at murray@fxcc.org or 703-631-2100 for more specifics, and to register your desired “date of delivery”. We can accommodate more than one meal per day, but my goal is to even it out reasonably.

Thanks, everyone.

Vision Coming Soon

2007-03-05T18:01:00.000-08:00

I am so looking forward to our new vision, which will be forthcoming by June 2007...a bold statement of faith and belief and action which we will all sign up to and support...obviously it will be some expression of Matthew 28:19-20, but it will be tailored for our unique time, place, resource pool, etc.

There's such great talent and resource at FXCC...with God, there are no limits to what He can accomplish through us, once we all get on the same page behind a common vision.

And thanks for the incredible response to the survey...over 500 were completed.

Keep praying! Work is going on behind the scenes...although perhaps the most important work is your continued prayer.

Various

2007-03-02T08:41:00.000-08:00

My mom is here for a week's visit, we're having a great time. Headed to the spy museum tomorrow...

Faith is getting cuter every day, she's started blowing kisses now...

We're singing an "oldie but a goodie" on Sunday, "Salvation Has Been Brought Down" at Melissa B's request...be ready, it demands your best. (which you should always bring to God in worship)

SUNSHINE...what a concept! Today's a great day, and I'm proud to report we need no shovellers to come early on Sunday AM...

Chris Tomlin's new CD "See the Morning"...incredible...at least spend 99 cents & download the 6th track, 'How can I keep from singing' ...

Father Daugher Diner is tomorrow evening, my first event with Faithy! How fun.

Happy weekend everyone. See you Sunday!

Rich Man who went away sad...or eventually glad?

2007-03-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

I read today the story in Mark 10 about the rich man who kept all the commandments and still wanted to know if there was anything else he should/could to to inherit eternal life...it always makes an impact on me.

Did he only go away sad, or did he go away sad at first, then to proceed to do what Jesus said? Most scholars say no, because he was sad, and that surely meant he had no intention of doing it. Or what about Jesus' statement as he walked off...how hard it is for the rich to capture the meaning of KINGDOM. Did that mean the rich man was never going to "get it"?

I just want to throw out the option that the man DID INDEED turn his life more toward God at this point. Yes, he was sad as he parted with things, property, etc. to share with others. But his earthly sadness could have yielded to a much more mature, deeper joy as he released the tight grip he had on his own obedience, his own wealth, his own ACTIONS to earn God's favor...maybe he realized the joy and grace of living in a totally surrendered, simple lifestyle.

I'm not a rich man by Fairfax County standards, but globally, I am rich. Extremely rich. Can I turn away from Christ's pervasive call on my life, my finances? Can I share in Christ's vision of the Kingdom of God? Will I experience a Godly sorrow that leads to repentance? Or will I just get sad?

Turn our mourning into dancing, Lord, as we discover each day how to give ourselves away.

Snow and Waffles

2007-02-26T19:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's snowfall, while quick and high stacking, was the most beautiful snow I've seen in a long, long time. What a way to begin our Sunday!

I was a nervous wreck from 6 am to 7 am, but I finally felt we had made the right decision to carry on with a normal schedule...well, that's when God likes to remind us that He is God. The sleet turned to snow by 8 am, and dumped 4 to 5 inches on our parking lot in about 2 hours!

Thanks to everyone who was a good sport...At least 8 people came for our 10:20 am service, only to discover that we canceled it to encourage people to return home safely.

Since the roads were getting progressively worse, our small group decided to meet for lunch instead of our normal Sun PM gathering time, and we met at Eggspectations in Chantilly. I really really love that place! That's the place I chose when it came my turn for a b'day lunch last month with our staff. The coffee is good, the service is good, and oh yeah, the food is delicious!

We had a great lunch/fellowship time, and oh yeah, we got a waffle for free because BOTH of their waffle irons broke, and they had to bust out a new one for us, so it took a long time...but it was worth the wait!

I love our small group, and I'm so thankful to have people to walk this road of life with. People who are real, funny, authentic, and deeply in pursuit of God.

So that's it, my Sunday was wrapped up in snow & waffles. (Not to mention the great time of praise & proclamation at our 9 am service...great job by our guest speaker)

Psalm 37:4

2007-02-19T07:10:00.000-08:00

If you're reading through the "Bible in One Year" Daily readings at www.oneyearbibleblog.com , then you know it's getting tough...we're in the thick of Leviticus! Thankfully, the organizers planned some New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs for each day as well.

One of today's verses is one of Jaime's favorites, and mine as well:

Psalm 37:4
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."

What an awesome verse! We've seen this verse come true over & over in our lives.

Like Friday night, we were treated to two tickets to the Chris Tomlin / Louie Giglio event at the Patriot Center. Incredible, awesome, powerful, refreshing, inspiring, rejuvenating...these words don't even come close. Chris Tomlin led worship along with his buddy Matt Redman (author of "the Heart of Worship"), and Louie brought powerful messages from God's Word in between sets. It was such an amazing time of delighting in the Lord under the leadership of very humble yet internationally reknown worship leaders ! They are SO NOT concerned about themselves, but they are totally concerned with God's fame, His renown, His glory....

Jaime and I both left there walking about 2 feet above the ground.

Thank you Paul, Susie, Mike & Wanda for this generous gift of the concert, and many thanks to James & Ramona & kids for watching Faith at our place while we went to the event.

Delight in the Lord today!

www.christomlin.com

3rd Anniversary

2007-02-15T18:00:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a week!

We started the week with Jaime's kidney stone, and it's gotten drastically better ever since!

Thanks John & Jena for the abundance of yummy gourmet food from Whole Foods, our favorite "we would so shop there if we had money" grocery store. Don't worry, Bottom Dollar, we still love you. Thanks also for the "feast for 2" from Famous Dave's which we turned in to 3 meals .

Thanks Jeff & Jesse for coming over Monday night and sharing your lives with us.

Thanks to God for a few snow days which make life so fun!

Thanks to Jaime for the delicious Valentine's Day dinner...you + Whole Foods = DElish!

Thanks to Faithy for the Pez dispenser and the sweet card...

Thanks to Morgan & Mallory (and Stan & Sheila) for babysitting Faithy tonight so we could enjoy an anniversary dinner at the Cheesecake Factory...have they got the dining experience nailed or what?

Thanks to Darla for the gift card to above mentioned establishment so we didn't have to use our HELOC for dinner :)

Thanks to Jaime for 3 awesome years of marriage, and to God for your incredible faithfulness. I was 36 when I walked down the aisle, and there was a time I wasn't sure when I would be married! Now look and see what God has done and how He has answered my prayers. 'My cup runneth over' has never been more true...

What's "old" to you?

2007-02-12T06:33:00.000-08:00

"I wish we sang more of the older hymns"...we can do that. But FXCC is made up of people from across the country who are transferring here for a short duration, and what is 'old, familiar and encouraging' to you may be perfectly unknown to many others.

For example, I grew up singing the OLD communion hymn "In Memory of the Savior's Love", a beautifully, musically-sound hymn to set our minds on the Lord's Supper. The first Sunday I led that at FXCC, you would have thought I was speaking in tongues. What was old to me was obviously not old to many at FXCC.

So let me know what you mean by older hymns, and we can work it out! Thanks to Jerry, Alice, Kathy and Melissa who have been very good about requesting hymns that mean a lot to them.

By the way, the response to the congregational survey was outstanding...we ran out of Scantron forms! A great problem to have...Thanks to the VMV team for crafting and conducting such a thorough survey. May God receive the glory as we fine tune our activities and leadership strategies to more gloriously accomplish Matthew 28:19-20.

We had a great attendance yesterday as well, praise God. The singing was incredible, and I'm not paying myself a compliment b/c as you could tell if you were there, I've got a horrible cold...but you all sang out so strongly! What a joy.

On a minor chord, we were $10,000 under budget yesterday...let's keep on digging deep for God's work at FXCC.

Thanks for your concern & prayers for Jaime...we're hoping that kidney stone has passed, but the after-pain still continues. We're hoping to see the doc today. When I first called to make the appt, the secretary said, "our 1st available is Feb 20th", I should have said, "It's obvious you've never had a kidney stone!" She quickly got a nurse on the phone when I further explained the situation....

Have a great day in the Lord, and bring on the snow!

Heart of Worship - a new idea?

2007-02-07T13:16:00.000-08:00

Exodus 25:1 says… 1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give."

I love this little phrase from Ex. 25…”whose heart prompts him to give”. Sometimes I think we envision the OT being about law, and the NT being about heart. We got it wrong there; that’s a gross oversimplification. God always wanted our hearts…He always wanted a relationship with his children. He expressed it beautifully and plainly in both testaments.

The new-ish worship song “The Heart of Worship” seems to be expressing what so many in our congregation feel right now. I say that based on the response to the song the two times we’ve sung it in the past 3 months. (overwhelming, enthusiastic participation followed by positive comments post-Sunday)

It's cool to know that God has always wanted a heart of worship from his children…even back to the very beginning…that’s not an idea from a modern day songwriter, it’s a desire of God from the beginning of creation.

So worship on, and tune in to your heart! It’s ok to do that!

(and let me just say I'm learning lessons every day about obedience and discipline as we work with Faith on obeying us around the house...like not touching the electric outlets (even though they're safely plugged with a plastic insert)...she'll do that sometimes even in spite of me breathing down her neck saying, "no touch, no touch". It breaks my heart when she deliberately disobeys, but only in a minuscle amount compared to what God's gone through with me, no doubt.)

Tomorrow is Sunday!

2007-02-03T14:11:00.000-08:00

I love Saturdays...Faith & I spent the afternoon together while Jaime went to a scrapbook crop session. Faith's been a sleep for about 2 hours now, so that's been wonderful, in a tired parent sort of way.

Tomorrow is Sunday.

What are you going to wear?
What's for breakfast that will ensure you have energy to speak, sing, listen, encourage, fellowship, lift others burdens?
With what attitude will you come to church?
How will you approach the throne of grace in worship?
What will you bring to God as an offering...time...talent...treasure?
What are you expecting from a half-hour message in His Word?
Are you praying for the spiritual success of our corporate assembly?
Are you praying that God will speak in a mighty way through Bruce, so that we are all changed and matured in the study?
Are you praying for your Bible class teacher, that the Word might truly go out and not return void?
Did you check the worship order on the website to see what songs we are singing? (Ok, that would be truly the 2nd mile if any of you have done that...www.fxcc.org but it is a good idea to do that weekly).

COME with an EXPECTANT HEART! See you then.

Favorite Psalm?

2007-01-30T04:42:00.000-08:00

By the way, it's not too late to jump in on the daily Bible reading schedule, the one where you can read through the entire Bible in a year...I've found it to be extremely helpful in "making myself" (we are to 'make disciples', right? That includes me. Sometimes I have to 'make myself' get up & read and I don't always know where to jump in...) get a good daily dosage of God's Word. Go to www.oneyearbibleblog.com The commentary is helpful as well, as long as you stay balanced in what is God's Word vs. what is someone's interpretations/reflections.

Today's psalm was Psalm 25...what an incredible psalm! Go to www.biblegateway.com and type in "psalm 25"...

And the sequence of psalms that it follows makes it even more meaninful:

Psalm 22 - despondence, dependence on God, desperation, forsakenness
Psalm 23 - the beautiful tribute to God's guidance and presence
Psalm 24 - a bold proclamation of what's what in the world, and who's in charge

Then Psalm 25...to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul! And every verse after the first is just one home run thought/prayer after another. Wow!

I'd love to know your favorite psalm...make a comment!

Auto Show 2007

2007-01-28T18:35:00.000-08:00

At the risk of appearing materialistic, I post some pics from our recent trip to the 2007 Auto Show in DC. It was an afternoon of envy to be sure. Just so you'll know, we drive an 8 year old mini-van with 113,000 miles, and also a 2 year old Camry with 16,000 miles. So we don't drive any of my dream cars, although I am thankful for both our autos...

Black 2007 Bentley Arnage (my face says it all...I was that close to ultimate posh)
Black 2007 Rolls Royce Phantom, $325,000, custom orders only
White 2005 Rolls Royce Phantom
Red 2007 Maserati

oh yeah, and my darling redhead is enjoying the cargo bay of her & Mommy's choice, a top of the line 2007 Toyota Sienna, Touring edition, $40,000. It had every bell & whistle imaginable.

Auto Show / Blue Like Jazz

2007-01-26T06:31:00.000-08:00

Ok, the 2007 Auto Show was terrific. Go to www.murraysanderson.blogspot.com in a few days to see pics of all the great cars...

Darla just sent me this quote about our motives for reaching out, getting the church to grow...from the book Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller...

(This guy was trying to plant a church)

“We didn’t grow much, to be honest. We stayed at about thirty or so, all Christians who had moved from other churches. One day the preacher showed up, saying he felt we all needed to repent and start living missional lives…he had just been to some pastors’ reception where a guy spoke about how the church has lost touch w/ people who don’t know about Jesus. He said we need to intentionally befriend people who are different from us. I didn’t like the sound of that, to be honest. I didn’t want to befriend somebody just to trick them into going to my church. Rick (the preacher) said he wasn’t talking about that. He said he was talking about loving people just because they exist---homeless people and Gothic people and gays and fruit nuts. And then I liked the sound of it. I liked the idea of loving people just to love them, not to get them to come to church. If the subject of church came up, I would tell them about it, but until then, who cared….lots of people started coming after that.” (they had 500 people in 2 yrs)

Quote is over, Murray again...

Before someone runs to the elders saying that I want us to teach that homosexuality is acceptable (see "gays" above), then please know that all this guy is talking about is that we show Jesus to all people, and let the Lord renew people's minds as they come to know Him. My sense is, Jesus was a friend of sinners...I don't know, call me crazy.

Great quote. Thanks Darla!

"Do not mock the poor..." Tweeter's latest Ad campaign

2007-01-23T11:27:00.000-08:00

First let me say, I'm a fan of the Colts, and most everything I know about Peyton Manning reveals that he is the highest caliber person. I was very impressed by the many mentions of God (gratitude to Him, giving glory to Him for the victory) in Sunday's post-game show by the Colt's owner and coach. (What an incredible game!) I'm really looking forward to watching the Colts beat the Bears on Feb 4th...

However...

I was offended by Tweeter's ad during the game in which Peyton Manning is the star spokesman (go to www.tweeter.com to watch the TV ad). I've purchased home video/audio goods from Tweeter before (in my wealthier single days!) and I've always gotten great service and quality products from them.

But I believe their campaign "Help us wipe out low def in our lifetime" is a mockery of the frequent poverty campaign slogan "Help us wipe out poverty in our lifetime." (that slogan has probably been used for AIDS, HIV, cancer, other seriously insurmountable issues) I, for one, would enjoy having HD over LD, and I have no problem with people getting it, or with ads to promote it. But when they put low def on a par with poverty, as a serious problem that needs to be eliminated, then I don't appreciate it, and I think it qualifies as mocking the poor.

Proverbs 17:5 says, "He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker..."

I know, it's a tongue-in-cheek ad, but I still don't appreciate it. Did anyone else have that reaction? I told our church staff yesterday about my reaction, and NONE of them had a problem with it. So unless I'm a spiritual giant among them, maybe I'm being too sensitive...
The ads during these championship games/Superbowl are the best of the year, so I have high expectations of them. Maybe Tweeter can come up with a more positive way of promoting HD instead of comparing LD to poverty or other real crises.

Just for some positive PR on Peyton, here's a quick blurb I found on the foundation he established to help others:

The PeyBack Foundation would like to thank all the applicants that applied for grants this year. PeyBack received proposals from a wide variety of community agencies that believe strongly in helping underprivileged children. As the foundation continues to grow, we will be able to support more organizations each year. Since its inception in 1999, the PeyBack Foundation has donated more than $1,300,000 to a wide-variety of worthwhile causes. The PeyBack Foundation would like to thank everyone who has helped us fund these important programs.

To our Sun PM Small Group at the Building: I was wrong!

2007-01-21T12:17:00.000-08:00

Please allow me to publicly apologize to the FXCC small group that meets at the building each Sunday night. By 8:45 am this morning, they had made the decision to cancel due to inclement weather. At that point, it was merely cold. I scoffed at them with crinkled nose...

However, beginning at 12 pm, just as www.weather.com predicted, a light snow begin to fall. As Jaime & I sat with friends around the lunch table at Olive Garden, marveling in the surely-it's-not-bad-yet winter wonderland that surrounded us, we had no idea that treacherous conditions were beginning to develop. When we finally sobered up & ventured out (just kidding on the sobered up part, I mean, we were sober, but we were never not sober...I'm just seeing if anyone's really reading this...), the roads were extremely hazardous. We passed 3 cars on the side of the FX County Pkwy. I was very happy to get Faithy & Jaime home safely, and I'm setting aside 78 cents a week now to save up for an All-Wheel Drive minivan.

So, to the Sun PM Small Group at the Building, I humbly apologize for calling you wimps, and for openly mocking you during the announcements this morning. Your wisdom/weather prediction ability far exceeds mine, and I hope you are all resting at home in front of a fire (safely confined in your fireplace) with hot cocoa and the Colts game on...We just saw the Mavs win, which I'm always glad to see Dallas sporting teams do well.

I will greatly miss our own small group tonight, but we are looking forward to having family night together for sure. Hot cocoa with the Colts is definitely on the agenda (Jaime was born and raised in Indy...)

Enjoy the snow!

"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..." from Isaiah 1

Boundary lines in pleasant places

2007-01-18T11:41:00.000-08:00

From Psalm 16...

5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

Every now & then I am overwhelmed at the blessings I enjoy. These verses are ones I can concretely echo with the psalmist.

I mean, if you had a little girl with this hair, wouldn't you be grateful? She made this face when I told her that yes, she did have to memorize the entire book of Psalms by her 2nd birthday...

Discipleship

2007-01-11T09:12:00.000-08:00

(for tomorrow...story of Jake, his baptism & pics of him with Scott B., husband of the sweet Christian who inspired Jake to commit his life to Christ.)

We're (church leaders) going to be talking more & more about discipleship this year...Matt 28:19-20 says to make disciples, so what does a disciple look like? We're relatively good with how a disciple is "born" (baptism into Christ), but how does a disciple grow, and what fruit should be on the tree as it matures? Are we (me / you) growing in discipleship?

From Matthew 8...
18When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. 19Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
20Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

Jesus' reply to the teacher puzzles me. Here's a responses I might have guessed:
"Thank you. It's a worldwide revolution I'm after, so I can use all the help I can get. That's great, it means a lot to me that you're joining the team."

But Jesus is wiser than me. (to state the obvious)

There's something to the fact that #1, Jesus knew this guy's heart. As a teacher of the law, perhaps Jesus knew this man's propensity to get "it" all right, but to miss the heart of the teaching. Perhaps Jesus knew his tendency to obey in superficial matters, but to draw the line there. I think the guy has honest intent, but Jesus was trying to tell him, you think you know what it means to follow me. To join my crusade. (It had to have appeared prestigious to join with Jesus to many law teachers, since Jesus always drew a crowd, and since his hearers always felt he taught with authority.)

But Jesus was actually giving the guy something to think about...He didn't say, "No, don't follow me because you can't hack it." He just said, look, this is how it is, if you're still in, come on.

Let's allow this Scripture to speak to us and shed light on our view of discipleship, and let's allow Jesus to redefine it for us, and challenge us mightily in the process. Are you ready for the challenge?

To Keep the Way of the Lord

2007-01-08T05:07:00.000-08:00

Like most people, I struggle with finding WHAT to read in my daily Bible reading. And...like most people, I find myself recommitting here at the first of the year to have a meaningful daily time with the Lord, before the day's demands kick in...

I would love it if you would share what's been helpful for you. Here's what's been helpful for me...

I am reading the One Year Bible again (when I first did this back in 1989, I thought it was something I would do one year, and then not repeat it for some silly reason. I haven't used it for daily readings for many years...I've just tried to work through a gospel or Genesis or the Psalms or whatever on a daily basis, always finding it a challenge to keep my momentum up...)

Well, it's available online now, which I at first thought was too cultural/too media-driven. But alas...I gave it a try...
www.oneyearbibleblog.com is a very tech savvy way of doing it, and for whatever reason, reading online has been extremely fresh & new for me this time. Like today's reading, where God instructs Abraham to teach his children to "keep the way of the Lord". It's just a unique way of saying "bring them up right". I think with a lot of things, now that I have little Faithy in my life, I'm seeing scripture through new eyes. Lord willing, by His grace & strength, Jaime & I will teach her to keep the way of the Lord in all things.

As an aside, let me publicly say thank you to Dave & Melinda G for their incredible teaching last night at small group. They were our guest teachers, and both of them said things that were true epiphanies for me and for Jaime. Once again, the value of the body of Christ for spiritual growth & transformation is beautifully obvious.

This Sunday

2007-01-05T12:59:00.000-08:00

Here's the worship order for this Sunday...see you then!

Seeking God’s Vision Beyond Our Own
9:00 am and 10:20 am

Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah – Hymn 390

Welcome / Scripture Reading
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21

Trust and Obey – Hymn 915

The Lord’s Supper – Leroy Chamness at 1st / Jeff Taylor at 2nd

Prayer for the Bread
Prayer for the Cup

Beneath the Cross of Jesus – Hymn 314

Prayer for the Offering

He Is Able – Hymn 213
Blessed Jesus – Hymn 218
We Will Worship You – The Source, p. 47
Nobody Fills My Heart Like Jesus – Hymn 602

Message from the Word

Shine, Jesus, Shine – Hymn 290

Shepherd’s Prayer

The Prayer of a Living Sacrifice

2007-01-03T05:04:00.000-08:00

[I'm experimenting with a new style of blogging today...leading a prayer on a blog. I hope it's encouraging to you.]

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

Romans 12:1

Dear Father,

As we begin another year with You, we pause to reflect on Your glory and goodness. Thank you for giving us breath of life for another year; actually, this day...this hour...this moment is all we have, and for it we are grateful.

Please forgive us for debating the logistics of worship (John 4~style) instead of concerning ourselves with your radiant glory, and your abundant goodness to us. Thank you that worship is all about you, and make us aware of the times when we are tempted to make it about us.

God, help us to become true living sacrifices of worship. We long to worship you in spirit and in truth every moment of our lives, in addition to the 70 minutes in which we gather as a body on Sunday mornings. Open our eyes to the daily opportunities for worship...to the little deaths we can continually experience as we place others first...to the hymns of praise we can sing while driving down the parkway...to the smiles & gratitude we can give at the coffee shop...to the mercy we show to those who offend us...may all of our moments rise up as an offering of praise to you. And as we worship you, we will experience the transformation of our character more and more to be like your Son.

Your mercies, new every morning, are our daily provision, and we survive only upon them. The steadfastness of your love is our sustenance.

We praise you, We love you, we thank you.

In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen.

A great article I found online...

2006-12-18T14:07:00.000-08:00

Great article (food for thought) by Kevin Twit on hymns vs. choruses that I found on www.blog.worship.com. When I grow up :), I want to write stuff this well-thought-out.

My Grandmother Saved It, My Mother Threw It Away, and Now I’m Buying It Back: Why Young People Are Returning to Old Hymn Texts

In popular usage, the word hymn can refer to the text only (typical in England), to text and tune only, or to the whole combination of text and music. In this article, the desire to return to old hymns is to return to the older texts, sometimes also the tunes, but definitely not the sounds of traditional hymns. Old hymn texts are finding new life in contemporary musical settings.

Not too long ago I saw a sign in an antique store: "My grandmother saved it, my mother threw it away, and now I’m buying it back!" That little sign captures the story of church music in the last fifty years. In my work as a pastor with college students, I have been taking note of what feels like the beginning of a movement.

There is most definitely a hunger and longing among the emerging generations, college students and twenty-somethings, to connect with something real and solid rather than the faddish and ephemeral. Books like Robert Webber’s The Younger Evangelicals (Baker, 2002) and Colleen Carroll’s The New Faithful (Loyola Press, 2002) well document this phenomenon.

Recently a college student posted this letter on a website in response to an article on hymns.
"Coming from a typical praise chorusreliant high school youth group . . .I didn’t understand a lot of the poetic and imagery-driven lyrics, and the word hymn automatically meant boring music. But I found myself falling in love with the old hymns. . . . The words are so profound and full of truth one can’t help but be broken. Singing hymns has seriously changed my life and freed me from feeling frustrated by surface lyrics that focus on how I feel about God, which is always changing. Hymns have allowed me to center my worship on the Gospel, which in turn compels me to love the God I am prone to hate and wander from."

What thrills me is to see how her discovery of hymns has affected even the way she expresses what she finds in her heart—"Come Thou Fount" has helped orient her to a richer view of what the Christian life actually feels like! For many, the church’s hymn tradition has become a treasured resource; students around the country are scouting out used bookstores for antique hymnals, searching for gems that have fallen out of use and yet resonate with their faith and longing to connect with God in a deeper way. Across the country there’s been an explosion of interest in writing new tunes for old hymns. Grassroots-produced CDs like Indelible Grace (see RW 66, p. 42) as well as recent projects by artists including Amy Grant (Legacy) and Caedmon’s Call (In The Company of Angels) have featured old hymns, many of them set to new tunes in keeping with the musical cultures of emerging generations.

It is worth pondering why hymns are connecting with young people. Few would have predicted this when baby boomers were throwing out anything "old-fashioned" or traditional. But we still need hymns in a postmodern world! In fact, the hymn tradition has tremendous things to offer the emerging generations—things they are really longing for and that are frequently lacking in the praise and chorus music so often marketed as "college worship." What’s going on? Why do we still need hymns in a postmodern world? Here are several reasons:

Because Worship Is Formative

Worship shapes and molds us. Our hearts are drawn from other "treasures"
as our eyes are opened to see Jesus for who he really is. Thomas Chalmers
(nineteenth-century Scottish Presbyterian), called this the "expulsive power of a new affection." In worship we seek to have Jesus become more beautiful and believable to us. Anne Steele (eighteenth century) captures this in a hymn text: "Thou lovely Source of true delight, whom I unseen adore; unveil thy beauties to my heart, that I might love thee more!" Worship restores our sanity so that we can live in line with the truth of the gospel rather than with the fantasy world in which we must earn God’s favor. Hymns are wonderful for doing this.

Because of the Longing to Experience God
Postmoderns long for experience with God, and hymns are some of the richest expression of Christian experience we have. They are a doorway into sensing the truth in our hearts rather than just "knowing" it in our heads. Wesley’s text "Arise, my soul, arise, shake off thy guilty fears; the bleeding sacrifice on my behalf appears" is a great example of crying out to God to sense what we confess.

Because Hymns Help Us Grow Up
Hymns teach us the rich theology we really need. If we have a limited view of who God is and what the gospel is, our experience of it will be limited as well. Paul writes the longest explanation of the gospel to people who are (literally) world-famous for their faith (Rom. 1:8) because, as Luther said, we leak the gospel and it needs to be beat into our heads over and over again! Hymns really stretch us. Why is Henry Lyte’s "Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken" one of my students’ favorite hymns? Probably because it offers us orientation to what the Christian life is really all about and doesn’t sugarcoat the gospel at all:
Jesus, I my cross have taken,
all to leave and follow thee.
Destitute, despised, forsaken,
thou from hence my all shall be.
Perish every fond ambition,
all I’ve sought or hoped or known.
Yet how rich is my condition!
God and heaven are still my own.
Let the world despise and leave me;
they have left my Savior too.
Human hearts and looks deceive me;
thou art not, like them, untrue.
O while thou dost smile upon me,
God of wisdom, love, and might,
foes may hate and friends disown me,
show thy face and all is bright.

Because Hymns Are Mini-meditations on the "Paradoxes" of the Gospel That Drive Us to Worship
C. H. Spurgeon said, "When I cannot understand anything in the Bible, it seems as though God had set a chair there for me, at which to kneel and worship; and that the mysteries are intended to be an altar of devotion." Hymns are an opportunity to sit in a mystery—like Charles Wesley’s "And can it be that thou my God shouldst die for me?"—until it begins to melt our hearts.
Because Hymns Can Teach Us the Art of Meditation on Scripture
This is an art we desperately need to relearn. Hymns help us take a theme and turn it over; they let us gaze on it from different angles. And they suggest (though by no means do they ever exhaust) ways in which this truth should change our lives. In this way they model how to meditate upon Scripture and the truths of the gospel.

Because Hymns Remind Us That We Can Only Approach God Through the Blood of Jesus (1 Pet. 2:5)
The idea that we only approach God as Christians through the blood of Christ is too rarely mentioned in most modern choruses. We need deeper, richer, and longer looks at the cross and all that it means. As Luther advised, "For every one look you take at your sin, take ten looks at the cross!"

Because Hymns Focus Us on God’s Promises More Than on Ours
We grow by feeding on God’s character revealed and by feasting on God’s promises. We need to recall Augustus Toplady’s hymn "Rock of Ages" (originally titled "A living and dying prayer for the holiest believer on earth"; see p. 25): "Could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow, all for sin could not atone, thou must save and thou alone!"

Here is another set of reasons to sing hymns rather than only choruses:
• Hymns offer a fuller emotional range of expression. Hymns help us work through emotions and they cover a wider range of emotions than many modern choruses do. Although we may associate hymns with a lack of emotion and modern choruses with emotional excess at times, careful study reveals that the emotional range touched on by modern choruses is rather narrow.
• Hymns tend to engage our imagination, intellect, and will together. Good hymns give us rich language and images that require us to think and imagine as the way to stir the passions. While praise choruses do use imagery, they sometimes get stuck in clichés that no longer engage our imaginations. The Scriptures are full of diverse images; our songs should reflect this creativity too.
• Hymns tell a story and walk us through the gospel. Some choruses are often more like "images" that flash on the television screen for a moment. They stir us, but they don’t take us anywhere. In a good hymn, the writer offers her story and invites you to try it on and see if it might be your story too.
• Hymns remind us that the church is bigger than the people we know, or even those who are alive today. Through hymns we connect with believers who lived centuries before us. We can have "mystic sweet communion, with those whose rest is won" ("The Church’s One Foundation" by Stone). When I introduce people to Anne Steele’s hymns, they are struck by the powerful way she dealt with her immense suffering. They find that her cries can become their cries, her tears can elicit their tears, and her faith can encourage their faith. Seeing that we can connect with an English woman who lived in a small village 300 years ago and feel what she felt is powerful. All of the sudden the kingdom of God looks much bigger!

First published at "Reformed Worship." Republished at worship.com by permission of Kevin Twit and Indelible Grace Music.
(ktwit@ruf.org) is campus minister at Reformed University Fellowship, Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee, and is the founder of Indelible Grace Music (www.igracemusic.com).

Proud of our Church Family

2006-12-16T20:19:00.000-08:00

I'm proud to be a part of the FXCC family.

It's 11:15 pm on Saturday night, and I'm just thinking of all the great people in our church family who:
+ helped with David Callarman's celebration service last week
+ helped with Sarah Bergquist's celebration service this week
+ who shine the light of Christ in the shadow of death
+ raked leaves for 3/4 hours last Sunday afternoon
+ have been rehearsing for 3 months to bring encouragement and peace to others (and tonight's Christmas performance really showed it)
+ started a ministry to chaplains in the military
+ gather for prayer on Wed nights, and Tuesday mornings, and Friday mornings, and every other possible time...
+ came to share their hurts & frustrations & encouragements with our church leaders these past few weeks

I could go on and on...
What an awesome church to be a part of...Thank you, God!

Looking forward to a GIANT celebration

2006-12-13T05:47:00.000-08:00

Tommorrow night at 7 pm will be the absolute largest celebration service I have ever been too, without a doubt. I am looking forward to it more than I am anxious about the sadness/grief that will no doubt be a part of it. I just had to post this from Scott Bergquist...it's on Sarah's caringbridge site, but some may not have seen it...his words and all the greetings posted on that site have been an immense source of encouragement, to put it mildly.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2006 03:16 PM, CST

I want everyone to take heart.

This afternoon Sarah slipped away through the great divide that separates our world from God’s kingdom in Heaven. Sarah loved the Lord more than anyone I have ever known. And she loved everything about the life that God entrusted her with. A few weeks ago when Sarah was whispering to me she said the following while gesturing about the immediate world around her, "It’s more than about this. It’s not just about this." When I asked her what she meant she said, "Life was not just about this physical body, and the physical world in which we live." Sarah and I both believe this with all of our hearts. My children believe it too and know they can one day see her again in Heaven….but - only by putting their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Please read on:

Romans 10

9that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

10for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

11For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."

Hebrews 11

11. With respect to the promise of God, she did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God

Revelation 21

4And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away."

5And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new " And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true."

6Then He said to me, "It is done I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.

7"She who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be her God and she will be My daughter.

God has definitely been glorified through Sarah’s life and even in her death. I want you to know that she never wavered in her love and devotion for her family, and especially for God!

For those who would like to attend, there will be a "Celebration" Service this Thursday evening, December 14th, 2006 at 7:00p.m. at the Fairfax Church of Christ.

3901 Rugby Road
Fairfax, Virginia 22033
(703) 631-2100
I ask that you please continue to pray for Sarah’s family and especially for our four little children; Hannah, Noah, Jonah and Rachel.

Still your humble friend and brother - Scott

2 Corinthians 4:7
7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.

On a road marked with suffering

2006-12-11T18:48:00.000-08:00

Jesus, please tell sweet Sarah that we love her, and that we'll always miss her, and never forget her smile. One day, help us understand the incredible joy, pain and suffering we can feel all at the same time.

Blessed be Your name when the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out...I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say:

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be Your name

Funnel our energies to a dying world

2006-12-05T18:21:00.000-08:00

Thanks everyone for the meaningful comments. I'm sure there'll be more discussion of this topic in the future, which will be fine, but hopefully the discussion will take it's rightful place...

For example, I'd love for this issue to be discussed on the bus as we go up to Allenwood, PA next month to sing at the prison where Neal works now...visiting the prison...now that's the work of Christ. Discussing worship styles/forms, now that's just filler time discussion. I'm not bragging on those of you who are planning to make the trip, I'm just saying, THAT is what I want my life to be about, not a silly guitar/piano/set of mics. I want to be known for lifting up the fallen, visiting the sick, bringing hope to those in prison. I want Jesus' mission statement to be my mission statement. Even Jesus doesn't mention specifics on worship...He's WAY too focused on the work the Father sent Him to earth for.

Thank You, Father God, for the enduring example of your Son, Jesus. Thank You, Jesus, for being the Way, Truth & Life, and for bearing with us when we fret and worry about trivial things. But grow us up, Lord. Help us get past ourselves and help us to funnel all of this energy to show Christ to a lost world.

Very interesting...

2006-12-04T20:19:00.000-08:00

I have really benefitted by reading the post & comments on Mike Cope's blog about the decision of the elders at the Richland Hills church of Christ to add an instrumental service on Sunday morning to their schedule. www.preachermike.com LOTS of viewpoints are represented, and I was forced to think through my approach to this issue.

Understanding that our elders have been very clear to our church about how we will worship God (solely a cappella) what are some of your reflections? I love a cappella music, and I'm thankful for our elders' clarity about how our church will express praise to God. But I also long for the day when we can articulate our practice with scriptural integrity (not making the Word say something it doesn't) and openness without a judgmental tone.

Be Thou My Vision

2006-11-28T10:48:00.000-08:00

What an exciting time for our church as we go through this Vision/Mission/Values process. Our consultant, Dr. Randy Willingham, www.randywillingham.com, warned us that there would be speed bumps along the way. Wow! Randy also has been encouraging us to have holy conversations (there's a book by that title which he highly recommends) and there have been a lot of those in the last week.

God is good, all the time, and He is guiding our church. He is providing for us all along the way. We must remained focused on worshipping God and sharing Christ with others.

True, our enemy will always throw up distractions along the way, and we must not underestimate nor overestimate his power or abilities. He is a deceiver and his native language is lies. We must be on guard against half-truths and/or deceitful behavior, both in ourselves and in our community. God, give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your Name!

Our great commission from Jesus, our Visioneer:
Matthew 28...
19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Great Scripture from the Elders today

2006-11-26T20:52:00.000-08:00

"I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." I Cor 9:22

The elders made an important annoucement at the end of services today, ending with this verse from the Word. The entire announcement will most likely be posted in the Membernet section of our website, www.fxcc.org really soon. It's a must-read.

Let's move forward with our focus on saving lost souls! That's the important thing here. May we invest our best energies in showing Christ to the world.

The Heart of Worship

2006-11-25T13:53:00.000-08:00

What a week! Matt Redman penned these words years ago, and we sang this for the 1st time last Sunday, Nov 19th. Only the Holy Spirit knew how terribly appropriate they were for our church for the week ahead. Loving God, help us to find our hearts of worship & give them completely to You!

When the music fades, all is stripped away

And I simply come

Longing just to bring something that's of worth

That will bless Your heart

I'll bring You more than a song

For a song in itself is not what You have required

You search much deeper within - through the way things appear

You're looking into my heart

I'm coming back to the heart of worship

And it's all about You
All about You Jesus
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You
All about You Jesus

King of endless worth
No one could express how much You deserve
Though I'm weak and poor - all I have is Yours
Ev'ry single breath
I'll bring you more than a song,
for a song in itself is not what You have required
You search much deeper within, through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart!

THE PURPOSE DRIVEN DECLARATION

2006-11-20T13:06:00.000-08:00

I got this from Rick Warren's website, www.purposedriven.com
He has been such an inspiration to me in ministry! This is called "The Purpose Driven Declaration" and it seems appropriate for this week, if not every day.

Today I am stepping across the line. I’m tired of waffling and I’m finished with wavering, I’ve made my choice, the verdict is in, and my decision is irrevocable. I’m going God’s way. There’s no turning back now!

I will live the rest of my life serving God’s purposes with God’s people on God’s planet for God’s glory. I will use my life to celebrate his presence, cultivate his character, participate in his family, demonstrate his love, and communicate his Word.

Since my past has been forgiven, and I have a purpose for living, and a home awaiting in heaven, I refuse to waste any more time or energy on shallow living, petty thinking, trivial talking, thoughtless doing, useless regretting, hurtful resenting, or faithless worrying. Instead I will magnify God, grow to maturity, serve in ministry, and fulfill my mission in the membership of his family.

Because this life is preparation for the next, I will value worship over wealth, “we” over “me,” character over comfort, service over status, and people over possessions, position, and pleasures. I know what matters most, and I’ll give it all I’ve got. I’ll do the best I can with what I have for Jesus Christ today.

I won’t be captivated by culture, manipulated by critics, motivated by praise, frustrated by problems, debilitated by temptation, or intimidated by the devil. I’ll keep running my race with my eyes on the goal, not the sidelines or those running by me. When times get tough, and I get tired, I won’t back up, back off, back down, back out, or backslide. I’ll just keep moving forward by God’s grace. I’m Spirit-led, purpose driven, and mission-focused, so I cannot be bought, I will not be compromised, and I shall not quit until I finish the race.

I’m a trophy of God’s amazing grace, so I will be gracious to everyone, grateful for every day, and generous with everything God entrusts to me.

To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I say, "However, whenever, wherever, and whatever you ask me to do, my answer in advance is yes! Wherever you lead and whatever the cost I’m ready. Anytime. Anywhere. Anyway. Whatever it takes, Lord; whatever it takes! I want to be used by you in such a way, that on that final day I’ll hear you say, 'Well done, thou good and faithful one. Come on in, and let the eternal party begin!'"

"Lord, teach us to...suffer"

2006-11-17T14:32:00.000-08:00

As a church family, we must be able to put down our happy faces long enough to engage one another. To meet each other where we really are.

As a worship planner/leader, I hereby confess & repent of my past efforts to keep it all upbeat and positive and encouraging and happy and "ending on a positive note". That's just not reality. For too long, we have relegated songs of lament and despair to funeral services. Sure, we occasionally sing "It is Well with My Soul"...one of my all-time favorite hymns. But even it ends on upbeat thought toward Heaven. Nothing wrong with that. But some days we would be better served/better expressed by singing a song that goes, "Lord, I'm angry and confused, hurt and broken. Where are you in my pain?"

We must learn how to suffer with and alongside one another. We must learn how to face life's issues with integrity, honesty, authenticity.

Our refusal to mourn more often in our public services has kept people from having the voice they needed to cry out to God...in anger, in sorrow, in confusion, in doubt. Oh sure, they've still cried out, but they had to do it somewhere else...at home alone or away from a community of faith (aka shiny happy people).

Let's strive together to give ourselves permission to hurt, to be confused, to bring every emotion into the assembly. Our God is able to deal with it, I'm 100% confident. But we must learn to deal with it as well.

33 Months Ago Today

2006-11-14T09:55:00.000-08:00

On February 14, 2004, Jaime & I said "I do" for a lifetime. (This pic was taken in November of 2003 when we first moved to Virginia. And no, we didn't shack up before we were married...Jaime lived in the house while our dear friends Ivan & Patricia let me live in their basement until the wedding.)

Without a doubt, these have been the best 33 months of my life, and I can't wait for the next 333 months and then some.

I love my wife dearly, and count her the most beautiful and special gift that God has ever given me, outside of my salvation in Christ. Faithy ranks right up there after Jaime & Jesus.

May the Lord continue to bless our marriage, and may He give me the humility and courage to love Jaime as Jesus loved the church. And many thanks to my small group leader, Sam, who is guiding our group through an excellent study of the book Sacred Marriage. Incredible! (J & J, the lesson Sunday night and your transparency were soooo helpful.)

Hmmm...I think I'll agree to change 2 diapers per week instead of just 1 as a special anniversary gift to Jaime. Kidding!

Comfort in Community

2006-11-14T08:47:00.000-08:00

These are some rough days for the Fairfax congregation.

Among our many members who are fighting illness, we have 3 families who are in a full-fledged battle with cancer. In addition to the 3 loving spouses, there are 9 precious children in these 3 families.

My hope is that we will continue on this road of suffering with authenticity. We welcome those who cry and have unending questions. We embrace those who need a shoulder to cry on. We weep with those who weep. We pray with diligence, night & day, for healing and peace. We count every day, even every moment of life a gift, and are committed more than ever to enjoying every minute of it.

We constantly seek to bring glory to God, claiming the promise of John 11:4, "When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."

I continue to be GREATLY ENCOURAGED by my brothers & sisters who come on Wednesday nights to PRAY from 7:00 pm to 7:25 pm. There is a spirit of desperation there that is permeated completely with HOPE. Let us continue to cry out to the living God for more of Him, more of His perspective, more of His presence, more obedience to Him.

If you attend FXCC, please consider joining us on Wednesday nights for the "pre-Bible class prayer session". We have a great opportunity there to edify one another on this dark road.

Worship Fun

2006-11-10T06:18:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a new friend from church, I submit to you a new idea for worship teams.

We're always trying to think of new ideas and creative approaches. Well, this is the solution I think we've all been looking for...

http://larknews.com/april_2004/secondary.php?page=2

Happy Friday!

God is good,

Murray

The Prayer of the Righteous

2006-11-07T08:28:00.000-08:00

For our FXCC family...

Wow, Bob's & Sarah's situations have me reeling. Both are in a battle-for-life against cancer, and have experienced very rough times in the last 24 hours.

What I hold on to in situations like this...God, my loved ones, my church family, that's all we have. And 2 out of 3 may not be there for me when I reach out to them, because this life is completely unguaranteed.

Oh God, help us to hold on to you when we cannot find hope for the next 5 minutes. Remind us that our prayers, because of the power in Jesus' Name, are powerful and effective, and they availeth much.

Remind us that NOTHING is impossible with you, God.

And get us ready for the great wedding when Your only Son returns for us.

In JESUS' NAME we boldly ask for complete healing and restoration of Sarah & Bob!

Amen, and let it be so!

Psalm 133:1 Weekend

2006-11-05T19:24:00.000-08:00

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!

We had a great men's retreat this past weekend at Camp Wamava with Dr. Lynn Anderson. I've known Lynn since the mid-80's and he has shaped my life in so many ways.

His teaching on the retreat was powerful, and obviously stemmed from a life filled with passion, purpose, and pursuit of the Lord.

The singing during the retreat was absolutely incredible...thank you Lane Lawrence for leading. To hear 57 men singing the praises of God LOUDLY in full harmony is quite stirring.

Thank you, my brothers, for a great weekend of sharing, bonfire-ing, snoring, laughing, cooking (Ed, you outdid yourself once again, the bread pudding is the envy of Martha Stewart), singing and growing together. How good it is when brothers enjoy a weekend of unity together!

Two questions: who stayed up until the bonfire went out? And what WAS that screeching in the near distance?

PS: Bob, we missed you greatly.

Raking in the Sheaves!

2006-10-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

Remember the old hymn, Bringing in the Sheaves? What a great song, but what in the world was it talking about? All I knew was that we would be very happy to bring in the sheaves.

Well, this Sunday, that song will make a comeback...except it will be "Raking in the Leaves, Raking in the Leaves, We will come rejoicing raking in the leaves."

I'm so excited about our service project this Sunday...we ARE the sermon! St. Augustine once said, "Preach the gospel; use words if necessary." Well, this Sunday, after an abbreviated worship service, we will preach the gospel with smiles, handshakes, rakes and gloves. Our entire church will experience a one day Diaspora...we'll be scattered about our immediate neighborhood in groups of 10 or so, raking people's leaves.

Come Sunday at 8:55 am (singing begins early!) and be dressed, ready to serve, ready to rake for Jesus. It's going to be great.

Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour Saturday night (Fall back, Spring forward)!

Anyone else have any good leaf-raking-inspiring songs?

I can think of some secular songs that might fit...

Rake it up baby now (Twist & Shout)
Raking it to the Streets (thank you Doobie Brothers)
Raking Up is hard to do
Rake a Leaf at me now (Take a look at me now, Phil Collins)

So what is worship ministry? You decide...

2006-10-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

Is worship ministry about:

a. worship leaders vs. song leaders, worship teams, microphones, rehearsals, tuning, pitchpipes, presentational songs, solos, stamps-baxter, classic hymns, traditional, contemporary, clapping, lifting hands, creative dramatic sketches, banners, new songs, old songs, notes-on-the-screen, singing schools, 4-part harmony, a cappella, instrumental, rules taught by men...

or

b. seeking the kingdom first daily, letting justice break in, pursuing right-being/living, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, lifting up the poor, visiting the sick, hugging the lonely, opening the Word, engaging the heart, living the Word, including the outcast, embracing the diseased, fasting and praying in the Spirit, imitating the Savior...

There is a right answer.

Let's pursue true worship, in spirit and in truth, with an undying passion.

Check out what one ministry in Dallas is doing to live worship out...

www.larryjamesurbandaily.blogspot.com

(tried to hyperlink that...sorry)

Members of One Body

2006-10-17T15:25:00.000-07:00

I recently attended the ZOE Group Worship Conference in Nashville, TN. It was a wonderful weekend. One of my “take aways” was a scriptural insight from a class taught by Brandon Scott Thomas, worship leader at Otter Creek Church in Nashville.

www.brandonscottthomas.blogspot.com

During one of his sessions, he walked us through the verses surrounding the oft-quoted passage Colossians 3:16:

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

For years this passage has served as one of our movement’s main supports for our use of exclusive vocal worship music. It is with great regret that I admit that. Look at what is really being dealt with in this passage…the way we treat one another in the body of Christ. There is a long list of attributes describing the beautiful ways of relating we have in the body, and to think we have focused on “in your hearts” as instruction for worship is truly a shame.

I hereby repent of my false handling of this text, and will strive to uphold Paul’s admonitions to do my part as one person in the body of Christ. We are members of ONE body, not many. Those who worship with a guitar are my brothers & sisters, not my enemies. We may worship different ways, but we are members of one body. May God help us all as we strive to live as God’s chosen people. And may we have the self-discipline to refrain from proof-texting our preferences and traditions.

Worship Amos-style

2006-10-09T18:39:00.000-07:00

From Amos, chapter 5...
21 "I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand your assemblies.
23 Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!

This scripture (made famous in our time by Martin Luther King, Jr.) above points to the fact that worship assemblies can be executed well in our eyes but leave God completely angry, if the assembled people do not leave the assembly with changed hearts, changed lives, more in tune with the Father's will.

This month at FXCC is a special time of service, of getting outside ourselves and being the hands & feet of Jesus to our community. May all of our actions & efforts not betray our corporate life of worship together...but may they be consistent with the truths we sing/pray/confess/learn on Sunday mornings together. May our corporate experience of God spill over to our daily walks, so that justice is doled out, and right-living is modeled by every FXCC attendee.

With us, this is impossible; with GOD, all things are possible.

I just spent the weekend in Nashville at the Zoe Worship Conference. www.zoegroup.org It was awesome! I'll be sharing some about it this week.

Weekend with Ken Young & Hallal

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Our church just had an incredible weekend of praise with Ken Young, the Hallal singers (www.hallalmusic.com) and No Less Days. No Less Days has a website on myspace, but I'm not smart enough to find it at present. Their own website will launch soon, so keep checking back.

Go to www.fxcc.org and look at pictures from the praise events Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

God was worshipped in a mighty way, because Ken & his team (and No Less Days on Saturday night) used their gifts to strengthen the church. It was straight from I Cor. 14:26...there was no sign of performance, entertainment, showmanship, ego, etc. From my experiences this weekend, it was incredibly obvious that each worship team member and the worship leader were focused on Jesus, and their role in the assembly was to help me focus on Him as well.

I was very blessed by their efforts, and feel it was an excellent example of the benefits of team leadership.

Other thoughts/impressions from our Hallal weekend?

Jesus on worship...

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WWJD?

try this one...

HWJW? (How would Jesus worship?)

Yeah, I don't think it'll catch on either.

Jesus doesn't say a whole lot on the subject of worship. I wish he had said more.

One of his main teachings on worship emerges out of a conversation that culturally shouldn't have happened in the noonday sun with a woman at a well.

His closing statement from John 4:24...
"God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

In my life, I've invested a lot of time studying what the apostle Paul says about worship. Not a bad thing, I've just not given Jesus much air-time in how I've sought to understand worship. I plan to change that.

Father, thank you for seeking worshippers, and for helping us know what's important about the way we worship through Jesus. Thank you also for not spelling everything out (Leviticus) line by line; you know how we obsess and misinterpret and misapply...

Thank you for making us spiritual beings whose deepest longings are all met in you, a Father who is Spirit.

I don't understand it, but I love it! Come, Holy Spirit!