Here is a picture of the first group of Estonian pastors that we met with last week.  (An interesting note, the young man with dark hair on the far right works with college students in Tartu. Matt Saar and his brother Peep Saar lead what is probably the largest congregation in Estonia and the average age is 23!)

I think perhaps the highlight of our first conference was our drive to Meiuste prayer house.  This is a 93 year old building in the middle of a forest — devoted to prayer.  We sat by candlelight and worshipped God. We sang, Bill Ankerberg, a good friend and pastor from Whittier Community Church shared a message, then we prayed together in groups of two. Following this we laid hands on Eirki, the General Secretary of the Union of Evangelical Churches and prayed over him.  As we prayed, the tears and sobs came unhindered from his eyes and mouth.  Next we prayed over Matt Saar (Peep’s brother) who is in charge of the youth work for the Union.  The meeting closed with Eirki praying for America on this day, 9/11. He prayed that God would comfort those who had lost loved ones and those who had grieving hearts.

It was an incredible evening, meeting in this place where generations of people have prayed for Estonia.  God was pleased.  I appreciate your prayers as we start conference #2 on Sunday evening.

I spoke this morning to a group of pastors about “building a church without wall.” Great group of guys, all but one of them are bivocational, all but one of them have congregations totaling less than 50 people.  In most cases the average make-up of their congregation is over 60.  These pastors love God, love their people and like us want to see their cities reached for Christ, but they work hard against great odds.  In fact according to the website www.nationmaster.com — looking at all church attendance (Catholic, Mainline, Evangelical, Charismatic) — only 4% of Estonians are in church on any given weekend.  That’s third from last, just above Japan and Russia.  The United States ranks #11.  Nigeria ranks #1.  In addition

Calvary has been taking groups to Estonia for the last 7 or 8 years.  In fact, Lynn and I came with our whole family a few years ago.  In Estonia, we partner with 3 different congregations in three different communities.  You can’t believe what an encouragement it is to these Estonian pastors to know that they are not alone in their desire to reach their country for Christ.

Their heart is an encouragement to me.

Okay, this is a dangerous blog post.  On the other hand, what I’m going to say is something that most of you have thought, guessed or experienced anyway.  But still I’m not sure that I should write what I think I’m gonna write. You see I’m a pastor (well usually I’m a pastor, right now I’m just a guy on sabbatical) and as a pastor, my career success is — at least somewhat — defined by how many people show up to church on any given weekend. So for me, this is a dangerous blog post.

Here’s the deal.  I went to church today, but I didn’t go to Calvary.  In fact I didn’t go to a building — it was truly a church without walls.  There weren’t too many of us there, only 6.  But what we lacked in a quantity of people, we made up for with a quantity of time.  We had church for about 5 hours!  There wasn’t any sermon, or children’s ministry, or worship team, or powerpoint, etc. etc.  But if church is all about connecting with people you care about and encountering God, than church was good today.

So where did I go to church today?  Bald Eagle State Park.  A Calvary family allowed us to use their boat and our family (minus one and plus one) spent the day tubing, swimming and picnicking.  Now don’t hear what I’m not saying.  Hebrews 10:25 says “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another...”  I love Calvary.  I miss preaching, worshiping, gathering with my whole church family.  But sometimes it’s good to be reminded that you don’t have to go to 1250 University Drive to encounter God, to find joy, or to hear God speak.

Sometimes we box God up and compartmentalize Him into a weekend worship gathering, or maybe 30 morning minutes a day.  But God invades our days 24/7 and He is waiting for us everywhere we go.  Today I heard Him in my kid’s laughter and the sound of ducks landing in the lake.  Today I saw God in the way the rays of sun poked through the clouds ahead of my and glistened along the surface of the water.  I heard God as I watched Jake and John and Sarah and Josh take the risk of riding in a tube while I drove the boat.  I sensed God saying, “Dan it’s okay to risk when you know your Father is driving the boat, let your life be an adventure with me.”

In Isaiah 29 God makes a complaint against His followers, he told them that they all knew the right words, but their hearts were far from Him.  In October I will be back at Calvary — and I can’t wait — but today I experienced awe and joy at the gifts of God and my heart was not so far from Him.

My question is Where do you go to Church? And asking the question shouldn’t necessarily incline us to skip a weekend worship gathering at Calvary…BUT it could be a reminder that if God is good and God is everywhere… church can truly be without walls.

So I am on a four month sabbatical and wouldn’t you know it… out of four months we could only find ONE week that the whole family could be together.  So a couple of weeks ago we headed to Florida for a week of family vacation.  While we were there a friend of ours from our first church treated us to a day at Discovery Cove.  What an amazing day!  Swimming with a dolphin, feeding sting rays, snorkeling and not only that but he got us this little private cabana, the girls were in heaven.  It was the highlight of our vacation and something that we never would have been able to do on our own.

This isn’t the only time that we have been on the receiving end of generosity.  In fact during my sabbatical, another friend has allowed us to use his mobile fastpass for gas, and another couple gave us the use of their summer cabin for three weeks.   Someone sold me two PSU football tickets for the price of one and another family let us use their boat for a family outing at Bald Eagle.  Nothing we deserved, just grace.

When I was a young man I thought that being on the receiving end of generosity, somehow diminished me, had to make it on my own.  In fact, in the Bible it says that it is better to give than it is to receive, right?  So I wouldn’t let anyone give me anything, till… one day an older man gave me a bit of wisdom.  “Dan,” he said, “It is better to give than it is to receive, so your refusal to receive is stealing the joy of giving for yourself.  If God puts it on someone’s heart to be generous to you, don’t steal their joy by refusing to receive.”

Have you ever been on the receiving end of generosity?  If you are a Jesus-follower, the only possible answer is yes.  Right?  Maybe you’ve never received a day at Discovery Cove, or a free week at a lake cabin, or a free pass at the gas station.  Maybe you’ve received gifts even greater.  Regardless of anything we have or haven’t received from people around us, the most amazing grace any of us have ever — could ever — experience, is the grace of God that we find in everything that Jesus is for us.

You are on the receiving end of generosity.  Don’t say no to Jesus.

I just spent the last three days with my girls in New York City — well two of my girls, Lynn had to stay home with the boys. I’m sitting here late at night after a day spent at Madame Toussade’s Wax Museum, a carriage ride in Central Park, shopping at Bloomingdales, and the Broadway Theatre version of legally blonde. I’m sitting at the window overlooking the lights of Manhattan at 3 in the morning — just thinking back over the last few days.

And here is what I’m thinking… I just love to see my kids smile. I loved surprising Sarah and Katy with my generosity. I loved it when they smiled, and laughed when we got in the limo for our tour. I loved the look on their faces when we were able to get Bailey Hanks autograph after legally blonde. I loved being able to give them a little extra cash for a pair of jeans… (I do get annoyed when they fight over clothes so they each got their own pair!)

Anyway did you ever wonder if God as holding out on you? Do you ever wonder if somehow He has forgotten about you, or somehow something you did, disqualified you from receiving a blessing from God? Sometimes I have and sometimes I do. But there was a point somewhere this weekend, as I was watching the girls smile…when my heart was just getting kinda full…where I sensed God saying, “And do you really think you love them more than I love you? I get just as much joy from blessing you, as you get from blessing them. You just have to remember that you are my son…and I am your Father.

I think that’s what Paul is getting at in Romans 8:31-32 “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” It could be that what we make of the fact that God is our Father is heart-shaping center of our faith. What do you make of the fact that God is your Father?

This week, my desire to bless my daughters gave me just a bare hint of Father God…and that’s a good thing — even at 3 in the morning!

Wow, for anyone who had started thinking that you would get a daily posting from me… apologies. It’s been a whole week since I last posted. But that doesn’t mean nothing happened! I traveled home from Orlando — a day and a half ahead of tropical storm Fay — where we had a great family vacation. Four month sabbatical and we were only able to find ONE WEEK where we could get everyone together. Can you relate? Anyway…it was a great vacation, I’ll probably post more on that later.

So back to the short version of this last week… I traveled home from Orlando. Celebrated my birthday, by getting a tooth extracted and then going to Waffleshop with my family. Then I spent a day getting school loans and paying school bills. Then Jake & Josh & I built a fire-pit in our backyard for Katy’s going away party. And now I’m sitting in the car with my girls, headed to New York City for three days in the Big Apple (don’t worry Sarah’s driving as I type this).

Three days in New York City with Sarah and Katy, Broadway play, carriage ride in Central Park, Madame Tousade’s Wax Musuem in Times Square, a NYC tour, and lots of shopping. Pray for me. Shopping takes more out of me than mountain climbing and rollercoasters. :)

So I spent almost two weeks alone at a cabin in northern Minnesota. The alone-time was good, a great part of my sabbatical — praying, Bible-reading, just hanging out — good time. But man, I’ll tell you this… I missed my family. So when I got this video hello from my girls…pretty cool… I WAS NOT FORGOTTEN!:)

After I watched it a couple of times…the thought came to mind…I wonder if this is how God feels when we finally come back and say hello, tell Him that we miss Him. I know that God is the most joyful being in the whole universe, all the time. But He is also the Father, and it brings dad joy when His kids come to Him. And we don’t even have to send a video!

I imagine that somewhere in NJ there is a waitress who smiles every time she thinks about a father and his son eating their late night steaks. I’ve been thinking about this story for a few days. It was my one-on-one trip with Josh; Kingda Ka had already been conquered (read that story here), and we were just talking. I was asking my son questions, “Who is your favorite person in the Bible besides Jesus?” “David.” That launched us into a conversation on David and what Josh liked about David. Then another question, “What important things have you learned from me?” That took a little more thought from my son. He gave a few sports classics that I always teach my kids like… Practice, practice, practice, you will not get better without practice… and Being a good sport is better than being a winner.

I wanted to dig a little deeper. “What else have you learned from me about what’s important in life?” “Well Dad,” he said, “I think one of the most important things you teach us is that it is good to serve others, good to give to others. In fact, Dad someday I wanna be rich so that I can help a lot of people.” That answer pumped me up, I so much want my kids to grow up generous, servants, but I saw a teachable moment. That’s a great goal Josh, but you know what? You don’t have to wait till your rich to be a giver and a helper.

I proceeded to tell him Read more…

I have heard this message in multiple ways over the course of the last week. I heard it in a talk given by Jon Ortberg on the spiritual life of leaders, then I heard it again in an interview with Dallas Willard on the spiritual disciplines. It came through loud and clear when I was reading the story of Elijah in I Kings — especially chapter 19. It was unmistakably clear in a book by Eugene Peterson, called The Jesus Way. And while I was reading the stories of David in 2nd Samuel I heard the message every time it said of David, so David inquired of the Lord. Simply put the message is this: At the heart of the Jesus way is a relationship with God and we cannot develop that relationship without adequate amounts of time with God — disconnected from the noise of life and connected to God — silence and solitude.

So for about 2 and 1/2 days that’s what I sought. I won’t say that I had any divine revelations or mile marker relational God-moments. But I will say that there was something incredibly satisfying to my soul. It was good.

So did I hear anything from God?

Here is the word that kept coming back to me. Gratitude.

Imagine this… Read more…

That was my view two nights ago… not hard to believe in God when you see something as beautiful as a sunset on a lake in northern Minnesota! But did you ever notice that as easy as it is to believe in God, sometimes it’s a whole-nother thing to be with God.

As I’ve been making my way through the Bible, one of the themes that keeps grabbing my heart and mind is that being “with God” is a really good thing! It’s all over the place in both the old and the new. “Be strong and of good courage for the Lord your God is with you,” Moses told Joshua. All over the place I’ve been underlining the words, “with God.” It’s all over the place in the Psalms. Like Psalm 46. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. — The Lord of Hosts is with us.” God’s promise to Gideon in the book of Judges was “Surely I will be with you.”

And then there is a string of stories — war stories — Read more…