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What I wished I said

I had the wonderful opportunity to share the BSU minsitry vision with the Five Mile Church of the Nazarene on Dec 28. It was a great crowd.

I must admit, however, that I found the time very different. Preaching is one thing, asking for commitments of money, time, and resources is much harder. The temptation is for people to think it is about me--and its not. It's about what God is doing. It's about how God wants to make the hearer a little more like Him in the process. I hope this was accomplished.

Here is a summary of what I shared: personal story of moving, the Sams's Club Story, Hilary's story (from the Potters House) and other God stories. I also shared that we value relationships, being servant-oriented, and making disciples (not just converts). I handed out prayer bookmarks and commitment cards.

Upon reflecting, here is what I wished I had also added:

• Placing specific numbers on the need financially
• Place a name/cause to an amount (for instance, $10/month will sponsor an RA for a year.)
• The hours we will be open

And maybe others. But God is good, and faithful. I had a great time of follow-up with Pastor Ben the next day, and we both know God is up to far more than we see. It was a learning experience for me, and I look forward to what God does next!

Humbled and Grateful Heart

I find myself very humbled right now. I am grateful for Boise First Community Center adopting us as their ministry couple for Christmas. They took a love offering for us that will get us into much of January financially! Thank you Boise First, and thank you God! Thank you Pastor Wiseman for sensing God's voice. We are incredibly grateful!

We also recieved the first check made to the district (Intermountain District Church of the Nazarene) as a gift for the ministry!!! How awesome is that!

Oh, and I did some work this week for my brother, and was suprised by his trip out here. It was a good time, and I am grateful for his influence, help, and advice.

I find myself a blessed man, and find myself so very grateful! Thank you!!!

What's in a name??

Well, it's time to start thinkiing of a name to call the ministry, and you can offer suggestions. Here are the guidelines: It must be subversive--not overtly Christian.

We do want to open up a coffee house like we were a part of in Springfield. They had a great name: Potters House. It just has so many meanings, but is simple and fun (they nick named it the POHO.) We can copy this name, and there are many advantages to doing so, and it is a strong possibility. Another possible name is "Fill My Cup." If we open a coffee shop, we'll want a name that suggests what it is. My dad came up with the name Solomon's Porch, this is where Jesus is confronted about who He is, and they say, If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. (John 10:22-24).

What are YOUR ideas? Leave a comment. We'll eventually offer a vote on here to take to the advisory team.

Thanks for your help!

Not hoping, but we are!

Answered Prayer: It's official. We are now longer hoping to start a minstry to BSU, we ARE!!!! I got word today the advisory board approves the ministry. This is just huge for us, and gives us resources, credibility, and partners in ministry. It is awesome!!! Thank you for your prayers on this subject!

On a different note, I had a wonderful and awesome conversation with Kenny, one of the youth pastors in the area. It was awesome to find a kindred spirit! Thanks Kenny for the time!

Prayer Requests

Here are some current prayer requests for us personally and for the ministry

1. The District Advisory Board for the Church of the Nazarene votes this week on making our ministry an official district ministry. This is important to open the doors to funding from local churches, and also keeps me on assignment within the Nazarene church for retirement purposes.

2. Name and direction: What should we call this ministry? We have some ideas, and you'll be able to vote on this blog.

3. Location: Please be praying for the right doors to open regarding a building/location close to campus.

4. Advisory Team: pray for potential advisory team members and wisdom on selecting them. They will serve as a team that helps create the vision and provides accountability.

5. Personally: Tami has a job opportunity that is a dream, but we are praying for God's direction. In the mean time, pray that some work opens up for Ben to get us over the hump.

Thanks for praying. We'll let you know how God answers!

My tour guide

Yesterday afternoon I met with Nikki, a student at BSU. How we got connected is another whodathunkit thing. She grew up in Minnesota, and became a more intentional follower of Christ her freshman year at U of Minn. During that time, she wanted to work at a Christian camp over the summer. She applied at Camp Orchard Hill (COH) in Dallas, PA. This is the camp that my brother-in-law, Jim, is the executive director. She has worked at COH the past three summers. While there, she has greatly impacted my sister's family and they find her a special girl.

She transferred to Boise State after her freshman year, is an RA on campus, involved with BSUCRU (Campus Crusade), is finishing her nursing degree, and is getting married in May.

Nikki spent time with me talking about the campus, it's atmosphere toward Christian organizations, her heart for people, and showing me the buildings dorms and giving me the "inside" scoop into BSU lingo--such as QUAD, SUB, etc. I came away enriched, thrilled, and grateful. She will be very helpful and will give an insiders view and feedback!

Yet, I am most amazed at the process and God's orchestration. I couldn't come up with this if I tried, and if I did, no one would believe it. Only God can make these moments of connecting us with a girl from Minnesota who worked at a camp in Pennsylvania and goes to school in Boise. It is just one more thing that makes me grateful for God's big plan and direction. WOW!

Not leave you as orphans

Last week at Euclid Nazarene, there was a quote from John 14. It said, "I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you." For some reason, I really needed to hear that. Having moved out here, I was starting to feel a little orpaned. But He comes to me.

As we wait in this time of Advent, I am reminded that He comes. And that God's timing is perfect. It is perfect in every way, but while I am waiting, and the promise seems so far off, knowing I am not orphaned gives a peace that is beyond all comprehension. I hope you experience the same.

Sam's Club encounter

So, we go to Sam's Club last night. Sam's is fairly new in town, so it is not hardly ever busy. So I checkout, and I make the comment that "I love this Sam's because it is not busy like the old one I always went to."

The cashier asks where I was from and I tell him Springfield, MO. He tells me he lived in Springfield and we talk about the neighborhoods we lived in. He tells me he went to CBC (a school in Springfield). Then he asks me about what brought me out to Bosie. I ask him if he had ever been to the Potters House. His response: "I love that place." So I tell him that God has sent us here to Boise to start something similar.

As we continued to talk we discovered a like-mindedness in several ways. What a strange but beautiful blessing! I hope we'll encounter each other more!

I'm so amazed...

I've been thinking about all the ways we've seen God at work. He has provided so much for one.
But there are so many more:

1. Campus crusade meets at one of the Nazarene churches. That means they already have a postive vibe toward Nazarenes and won't see it as opposition. So cool!!!

2. My sister lives in Pennsylvania, and her husband directs a camp. One of the counselors that works out there goes to Boise State!

3. Thanksgiving meal provided by one of the pastors.

4. Boxes of food, and buying gas.

5. One of the churches adopted us as their ministry family for the holidays--that is quite a story itself...I'll write more later on this.

I'm sure there are more, but I wanted to just write some of these out.

Abraham or Moses

Some have said that our move is like Abraham--hearing God's call and just moving. We have heard that from so many places. I have much to learn from Abraham, and we still have a long journey to go. He had to wait years for the promise to come true. Hopefully, we won't need to wait as long.

But lately, I've been feeling more like Moses when he was at the burning bush--full of excuses. "God is the time right with the economy?" "God, I am not a late night person." "I don't have the experience." "How will I support my family." So many more, but I keep being reminded that it is about "I AM" and not about me. I just want to be obedient, faithful, and loving. Oh God, help my unbelief, and help me remember it is not about my ability, it's about you.

The journey so far

Well, the journey so far has been interesting.

It started several months ago. After a time of prayer, Tami and I began to see that we needed to move to Boise, Idaho, and we felt like we wanted to started a ministry to Boise State University. We have a good model: The Potter's House in Springfield, MO, and would like to become an incarnational, relational representation of Christ to this campus.

So we picked up and moved. No jobs, no house, just God's call. Tami came out a week or so before me and looked for housing. We found a great house to rent. God brought great peace about the place, and we feel like God gave us a good price.

The next part is to meet with the local Nazarene pastors in the area. I got the sense of "Ah, finally." So now it is up to the district advisory board to make final plans. God has shown up all over the process so far--providing gifts of food, gas, money etc. I come away each time with a feeling of God is good, and I am often looking to the sky to just say thanks. The strange thing is that it has come from so many places, yet all from one source!

Now we wait for the advisory board. We are not sure when they will meet, but we are trusting in His timing.