Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Easter 2011 - The Day After

Easter was huge this year, and it seems to be building in momentum in ABQ and all around the country.
Here's a link to the stadium event in New Mexico:
Easter 2011 - The Day After

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Passion Rocked.; Rob Bell on the Slippery Slope


A few thoughts now that I have de-compressed from 11 days on the road:

Passion 2011-

http://www.268generation.com


Passion 2011: Outrageous, contagious & dangerous to darkness

The emergent church hypesters like to pontificate on the failures of the church. Pardon me, Jesus sort of said He would build His church & He does all things well. Case in point: Passion 2011 in Texas: 10,000 18-25 year-old's spending the weekend in a poorly ventilated conference center in Ft. Worth. Chris Tomlin rocked,

Francis Chan wept, Louie leveled us with his message on branding and the Koso people group got their Bible translation funded. I slid in as the guest of Pedro Garcia through Shelley & Louie Giglio. Louie may not be the best Bible teacher on the planet, but he could be the best Bible communicator.

The new Mrs. Chris Tomlin (Lauren), unknown guy, Chris & Pedro (texting of course), lunch Passion 2011.

I finally had the chance to meet him after admiring his ministry for more than a decade. These guys could act like rock stars, but they are totally down to earth.

Fifteen years in, Passion shows no signs of decay. They are pushing the edges, going large and leaving a mark. If this is the American church in decline, I will gladly go down with this ship.


Rob Bell: What the Hell? To great fanfare, his book, 'Love Wins,' came out challenging the concept of eternal separation from God.

This new book pretends a lot of the red letters in the New Testament are invisible. Great angst and confusion over heaven and hell.

Really? This makes me grieve for the 10,000 plus in his Grand Rapids flock. How does he start each message, 'We can't be sure, but …..?' 'Love Wins' is a confused, ambiguous book at best. No one likes the idea of hell Rob, its just that Jesus and the Bible are very clear about it. Get over it & get with the program or get out of the pulpit.

Let's remember this is the same guy who observed,'We have to admit that the church in America is mostly a failure.'

I'm sure he can find a liberal seminary that would love to have him on the faculty.


Guest Speaking at Awaken in Tennessee:

Church Planting is an exquisite, exciting, frustrating adventure.

This was a flashback to my start up days at Calvary Chapel Southbay and later in Colorado. The results are out of your control, I remember standing in parking lots wondering if anybody would come. Somebody always did. At the end of the day, God was always faithful, you learn not to despise the days of small things. Sometimes, a gusher of living water shows up as in Albuquerque, other times, not so much. But that is not the issue, Jesus said Go! I salute those who have Gone.




Montana

My favorite new question, 'Are you related to Levi Lusko?'

My favorite new answer, 'Who?' Not really of course. Levi is blazing trails and setting records. I could not be more thrilled.

See for yourself: www.freshlifechurch.com

(Plus, look at these grand-daughters!)


Miami

In addition to having the worst drivers in the country, south Florida has the distinction of being the cross-roads to South/Central America and the Caribbean. It also has Pedro Garcia. I cannot tell you what is about to happen in Miami, but I know a spiritual hurricane is forming. I want to be in the eye of the storm.

This might kickstart it:

www.oneconference.com


Here are some shots from the Life FM open house along with Pedro and Lourdes Garcia during Team Week.



Monday, April 4, 2011

Coast to Coast & Then Some...

This is not a trip- its a tour. California to Florida with stops in Colorado, Arizona, Texas and Tennessee. Wouldn't do it if the projects weren't worth it.
Passion 2011 in Ft. Worth this weekend. Outrageous worship and teaching. Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, Louie Giglio & Francis Chan. Need I say more? Yeah, I know it is for 18-25, but I was the guest of brother Pedro - very, very grateful for the chance to see this. 10,000 college students- truly the hope of America.



Late night with part of the Anthem team in Phoenix, much needed by the ASU campus, 50,000+ students.
Dr. James Dobson was kind enough to give me an interview for the Never Surrender Documentary.
I was able to stop by and see Al Pittman while in the Springs, this shot is from his office balcony- million dollar view of Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods. His church is blowing up (in a good way).
Heidi- joined me in Texas, the Fresh Life Team Van from Montana was able to swing by ABQ and pick her up. Here's a shot from downtown Fort Worth with two angels warming up for the resurrection.

Final tour thought after 7 security checks: Mr. TSA guy, you don't know me that well.