Last year, while on Sabbatical
Leave, I visited my Aunt Sally in
Tiffin, Ohio and used a scanner to
copy certain letters and photographs
which had been preserved by my Dad's
mother. Among the family artifacts I
found a letter w
hich stirred my curiousity--written by Joseph
Patterson from Woodstock,
Michigan to a son in Wayne County, New
York. In that letter, my
g-g-grandfather mentions the death
of his wife's mother: Sally
Jagger and her interest in the
farm of Benjamin Wood (Orange
County, New York).
The unknown story of these named
individuals beckoned me to further
explore the times and seasons of
their lives and context. My paternal
g-g-grandfather,
Joseph,
made a reference to the mercies of
God in that letter to his grown son,
William,
in 1855 (click
here
to see the letter). The
hope of resolving a mysteries will
continue to lead me in pursuit of
other recordings during this trip
toward my homeland.
Since we had spent the night in Salt Lake City, I
decided to visit the
Family History Library near Temple
Square.
A completed doctoral prospectus may
someday produce a three-or-four-fold
purpose for including reflection
upon the mystery of Mormonism.
Not-yet-ready-for-publication, the
clickability of this slideshow
(below) is today's only offering
toward such endeavor.
Rhythmythic and Endless
Genealogies (view
more)
I'm always open for discussion about
the why of
the how,
OK?
email me:
pastorob@gmail.com
Yesterday,
Beverly
and I visited a young family who has
just moved here from New Mexico.
They will be attending our church
this Sunday. There were other
visitations on Friday but I'm not at
liberty to share all the details. Clues
by which to remember those moments
years from now: eric and spring, the cul-de-sac,
a Berea
trip and the tri-tip, the power of
persuasion, and love languages.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Today, I hope to publish my
tentative sermon topics through
January, 2007.
This Sunday, I will share a
message entitled:
FutureFocus
That message will be my last sermon
preached at
the Epicenter
until September 3.
We also need to make all final
preparations for Pastor Hendon's
trip to Liberia. We are printing 500
copies of a Doctrinal Study for the
Leadership Conference.
Pastor Hendon will be with us
on Sunday evening at 6:00 p.m. Then,
he will leave on Tuesday for our
associational mission trip to
Liberia. Pastor Hendon will return
to California at the end of August.
Don't miss Rodney Edward's
Daily Journal for the two weeks he
is in Liberia:
CLICK HERE
Rodney plans to meet Pastor
Wesley personally and attend the
Leadership Conference next week.
Yesterday,
Alex helped me serve at the
After-School Outreach. To see
another slideshow of that event,
click on this photo.
Also, yesterday several comments
were left by those who saw my entry
on myspace. I think you would enjoy
seeing the photos and comments from
those who wrote:
A Guy in Australia (view
more)
Yesterday, I posted a link to his
song. At that time he had 1280
visits. I just noticed that the song
now has 1404 visits.
Cathy,
Jerry,
and I are planning a roadtrip to
Michigan, New York, Ohio (and
maybe...North Carolina). I hope to
visit some of the sites where my
paternal ancestors made their homes.
I think that it was 1812 when
Joseph Patterson (19)
came from Ireland to Orange County
in New York (Montgomery Township).
Joseph married
Katrina
Jagger and they had eight
children. Two of the kids apparently
died early on.
I first learned of this family, last
year, when I discovered a letter
written by
Joseph to his son,
William,
in 1855 (click
here
to see the letter).
Their fourth son,
Robert C. Patterson w,as
the father of World War I veteran,
Robert
White Patterson (my
grandfather). My father, lost his
Dad when he was only 8 years old, so
not much is known about that side of
the family. My maternal grandma lost
her mother very early on as well.
Then, my mother died at the age of
31. All of these stories of homes
disrupted with death has made my
quest for roots a pilgrimage of
personal significance.
In 1845, Joseph and Katrina moved
their family to
Woodstock Township in Michigan.
During the last year, I have found
maps and census reports on the
Internet (click
here). I now want to walk the land where this family
lived and trace the county records
to see if there are any other
descendants of this couple. As well,
I would like to know about their
families-of-origin.
Maybe my Dad (77) will share the
interest with me--if not perhaps his
sister will (my Aunt Sally who lives in
Tiffin, Ohio).
Thursday, August 10, 2006
If you have high-speed, click
above on Daniel, and watch him
worship with this simple song of
praise. A Galtonian teenager
sent me a video of clips from the
Passion (set to a song by Jeremy
Camp). After I watched some of it,
Daniel, here, caught my eye. I gave
his video a listen and wrote him
this letter:
From: Rob
Patterson [pastorob@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, 10 August
2006 7:01 PM
To: Daniel Teale
Subject: message on youtube
Hi Daniel:
Someone sent me a link to your
videos. I like your voice and
appreciate your guitar abilities.
I'm 49 and leading worship in our
church but I'm also the main
Preacher....so I'm looking for the
right talent in a much younger
person.
I was wondering where you live?
Check out my blogs and learn more
about me, OK?
Then, we can talk some more....
pastorob
******** Then, Daniel
wrote back ********
Hey Rob,
Thanks for your letter. I understand
what you mean about focusing on
preaching instead of doing that and
music ministries together.
Unfortunately I live near Brisbane
in Australia.
I just had a look at your myspace
and your blog. I don't have a
myspace at the moment but am open to
any questions you have.
Blessings,
Dan
******** So, I wrote Daniel
again ********
Dan,
Time and Space is not that limiting
of a factor for ministry in the 21st
Century.
So, please, tell me more about
yourself, your age, testimony,
hobbies ... and feel free to share
anything (audio/video/lyrics) of
particular interest to you. I
believe that I will be at this email
address for years to come, so save
it and send me stuff from time to
time, OK?
I've been playing guitar since I was
14 (also keyboards).
I gave my life to Christ at age 26
(1982). God has taken me on a great
adventure...
I believe that the best is yet to
come...
Sincerely,
pastorob
Yesterday morning,
Cathy and I
prayed with
Daniel and
Mary before
sending them off to their first day
of school at Galt High School.
Later, I remembered how great it was
to do our
After-School Soda Outreach
on the first days of school
during years past.
So, I sent out a call for any
interested members to join me at
3:00 p.m. in front of our church on
A Street.
I was very pleased about the
BUZZ stirred on A Street
between 3:00 and 4:30 p.m.
We served Ninety-two Cold Drinks
to High Schoolers and
other Passers-by.
Total Expense:
$34.62
(with 10 cans left for today)
Thank you to our two major
sponsors (Al
Warren $20.00 and
Jennifer
Thomas $10.00).
Chris
Zeller and
Jerry
Patterson helped me
set up with music,
amplification, and tables.
Beverly,
Joe,
and
Cathy helped pass out
the refreshments and invite the
during the event itself.
24
PEPSI
16 DIET
PEPSI
24
BOTTLED WATER
24 REAL
DR.
4
ROOT BEER
47 pounds of ICE
I once had a contact for FREE
ICE at Round Table Pizza. I'll
try there again today to see if
we can save some money.
Although our primary thrust was
to invite high school students
to Sunday School, the
preschoolers across the street
were also stirre
d
up by the sight and sounds on
A Street.
The preschoolers' parents were
taking an interest as well. One
mama and child came over to get
a drink.
After receiving the cold drink,
the students who continued to
walk toward the west passed a
display stand for 'gospels of
John' entitled
The Book
of Hope. Several
students were seen picking up a
copy.
We will be out on the street
again today at 3:00 p.m. Feel
free to stop by sometime during
the hour.
Wednesday, August 9, 2006
The three dots of an ellipsis
has, for me, traditionally
represented much more than an
incomplete statement.
Commonly used in on-screen menus, an
ellipsis conveys that there is more
to come . . .
See the symbolic ellipsis below.
How many can you find?
Last Sunday, during the sermon time
at fbcgalt,
we projected slides from our 2007
EpiVisionCast
™.
The visuals were meant to
symbolize "the Edge" of
Visionary Leadership. As important
as the launching of new ideas is the
return (to
the Edge) of those who
have ventured into our unknown
future.
Our Scripture passage (Acts
14:21-28) demonstrated this
normative practice: a
missionary-sending church receives
back those who had been set apart
to go
and to do.
This practice of reporting what God
has done through us should
strengthen and encourage everyone
involved in the process.
We should keep this norm in mind as
we attempt to walk in step with the
Spirit after that crucial, initial
step-of-obedience: baptism by
immersion.
Consider yesterday's letter to
Pastor Wesley in Liberia. Then,
consider his response and guess what
my subsequent decision will entail:
Dear
Pastor Wesley and Pastor
Hendon:
Our church secretary,
Jennifer, re-typed this
Doctrinal Study on the Holy
Spirit that Pastor Hendon wants
to publish
as a handout for the Leadership
Conference.
It will be
6 pages, double-sided.
A couple
questions for both of you:
I would
like to add a photograph of the
front of the sanctuary--and
maybe a blow-up of the embossed
letters that say
Home of the
National Pastors' Fellowship Conference.
Pastor
Wesley, If you would like to
have a letter of WELCOME to
conference participants, we
could add a Cover Page.
Also, notice that I added your
email addresses on the last
page. Is there anything else you
would like to add?
IF we print 500 copies of 6-7
pages, it will be quite a heavy
parcel of paper. Pastor Wesley,
is that a realistic number or
should we print a limited number
for the first number (200?
300? 350?) who are enrolled?
Please share your thoughts as we
need to print these right away.
Love,
Pastor Rob
Hi
Pastor Rob,
Great
ideas...please apply them all.
My best guess is
that 400 will show up because we
have worked hard in
publicizing the conference.
In fact, I expect more to turn
out, however, just print 400.
Maybe we could share one
notebook between two persons.
Thank you so much, Pastor Rob.
Pastor Wesley
Here is a trustworthy
epicenterian saying:
"Life is . . . in the
ellipsis."
Yesterday,
I spent the early hours writing
letters, hoping to generate some
interest in a local-church building
project.
Joe and I went to see
An Inconvenient Truth. It is
a passionate documentary about
global-warming. I had read earlier
that Al Gore's science was quite
reliable. We were moved...to further
discuss the ideas put forth in that
film (and in Mr. Gore's LifeStory).
Later, we visited in the home of
some church members. Joe has worked
at Long's past midnight for the last
two nights.
Mary
and
Daniel are starting
school today.
Mary
is one of three captains for
Junior Varsity Squad.
Daniel
is the captain for the
Varsity Wrestling Team.
We don't have photos back yet
from Daniel's Camp but here's one of
Mary with a trophy that she had
accepted on behalf of her team.
(click on photo)
Cathy and I are planning to make a
transcontinental road trip next
week. Certain plans have been
established and appropriately
charged to that American innovation:
the credit card. I bid on a
full-size rental car and secured it
for only $18 a day (unlimited
miles). I also booked our first
three nights of accommodations
online. Two of the nights were
purchased by naming my own price
(believe me, I bid low, folks).
Other plans are being shaped by
circumstances beyond our control.
One matter over which we have begun
to pray is the desire to visit
Cathy's father in North Carolina.
She blogged about it last night:
No
Visitors Allowed (view
more)
Tuesday, August 8, 2006
This is an interesting article
on
Billy Graham
in the current Newsweek
magazine.
Rodney Edwards
leaves for Liberia today:
CLICK HERE
to track his Daily Progress
Monday, August 7, 2006
I went to sleep at 11:00 and
woke up at 2:30 but stayed in bed
and slept until 4:15. Instead of
getting up, I remained conscious and
thought through much of what
happened yesterday.
Joe
and I took a long walk last night
(around the neighborhood of our
church house and to Long's). He
thinks that he'll be able to get
some hours at Long's this week. On
our walk I carried my guitar and we
sang some of the songs we had led in
the morning service.
W
e were in five public services
yesterday. At our first service (8:30)
we introduced a couple sisters (Alex,
10 and
Carly, 8) who will be
getting baptized soon. Then, at
11:00, we baptized
Bryan
(45).
Kristy,
Theo,
and Mary
Chase joined our family
for the daily special at Subway.
Then, at 1:30, we sat with
other members of
fbcgalt
at
La Luz de Cristo.
At the
con
clusion of the service, we
baptized seven people. Pictured here
are:
Primitivo
and Ofelia
(click on the photos to enlarge)
We also ba
ptized Gerardo,
Victoria,
and their daughters,
Mariana
and Isabel; and
another young adult,
Olga.
This is now a total of ten people
that I have personally baptized as
we share our our hearts on the local
mission field.
Several months ago, I
met the Pastor and Worship Leader
for this Video Satellite
congregation. Pastor Francisco
Camarena and Luis Enrique
Espinoza came from Corona to
Galt for a two night revival. While
they were here they baptized 15
people. Here is a link to their
sending church:
Crossroads Iglesia Cristiana
The service at
La Luz de Cristo ended at 3:50. We ran
home to rest until 5:00 when
Mary and
Joe were scheduled to give
mission reports with Q. and A.
At 6:00,
R. B.
McCartney shared a
message from
Jonah and
Pastor
Hendon shared details of
his preparation for the upcoming
Liberia trip. His Yellow Fever
Vaccination had made him sick. At
some point during the Heat Wave, he
experienced chills. He
also reported that he has been
somewhat edgy and stressed from his
bi-vocational responsibilities. Mrs.
Hendon affirmed this with a hearty
amen.
For the Leadership Conference, we
are going to print 500 copies of his
handout: A
Study of the Holy Spirit.
The two other Bible Studies which he
plans to share in the Leadership
Conference are
The Doctrine
of Jesus
the Christ
and
Pastoral Duties.
Well, that was yesterday. I have so
much to get done during the week
ahead. I'm glad that Joe is home. He
is a great help to me in the
ministry. (Well, lots of people are
a great help to me! Thank you.)
This coming Sunday night will be
Pastor Hendon's
last preparatory sermon before
leaving for Liberia. During the 15
days he is gone,
Pastor Mac
(R. B. McCartney) will be filling in
for him by preaching at
Families
Together Missionary Baptist Church
(Stockton).
Tomorrow,
Rodney Edwards is
leaving for Liberia. He sent us a pdf file describing details of what
he plans to do while he is there. He
has also told us that he plans to
meet with Pastor Wesley and even
attend the Leadership
Conference being hosted by the
National Pastors' Fellowship
Conference (with keynote speaker,
Kenneth Hendon).
CLICK HERE
for this informative report
(2 pages)
CLICK HERE
for photos of loading the container
CLICK HERE
to track Rodney's Daily Progress
Sunday, August 6, 2006
Today,
Mary Chase has stopped
by the Epicenter before returning to
Moscow. She will share the platform
with Joe
to bring forth a message of
spiritual significance.
Mary
and Joe
will also attend
La Luz de
Cristo with us at
1:30
(I've been asked to baptize
some new converts).
Mary and
Joe
will also be available for
Q.
and A. at 5:00
p.m. before our evening
service.
Below is an important
passage of scripture
which helps me remember my
own irrevocable calling to
as a Christian in this 21st
Century:
Acts 9:10-16
In Damascus there was
a disciple named Ananias.
The Lord called to him in a
vision,
"Ananias!"
"Yes,
Lord," he
answered.
The Lord told him,
"Go
to the house of Judas on
Straight Street and ask for
a man from Tarsus named
Saul, for he is praying. In
a vision he has seen a man
named Ananias come and place
his hands on him to restore
his sight."
"Lord,"
Ananias answered,
"I
have heard many reports
about this man and all the
harm he has done to your
saints in Jerusalem. And he
has come here with authority
from the chief priests to
arrest all who call on your
name."
But the Lord said to
Ananias,
"Go! This man is my chosen
instrument to carry my name
before the Gentiles and
their kings and before the
people of Israel. I will
show him how much he must
suffer for my name."
Saturday, August 5, 2006
I'm at the church today--getting
everything ready for tomorrow.
He
re's a photo of Joe with the
New America Singers. In this photo
they were visiting an orphanage in
Thailand. Joe is front center with a
child hanging over his shoulder
(click on the photo to see an
enlargement).
This orphanage is sponsored by a
small church in Washington (much
like our connection with the
Children's Home in Liberia).
The plan is not to for these
kids adopted, but that they grow
up into mighty Thai people for
God.
There are 16 children living
there.
Joe will be with
us tomorrow, Lord willing.
Friday, August 4, 2006
(3:40 a.m.)
Look at that date! Can you believe
it?
In just 11 days,
Pastor
Hendon will step on a
plane headed for Africa. Yes, he
will be our ambassador of loving
instruction to a large group of
Liberian pastors and teachers in a
3-Day Leadership Conference.
In just 2 days,
Mary Chase
(on furlough from our mission to
Moscow) and
Joe Patterson (home
from our mission to the Orient)
should be in both morning
services to sit down with me at
Jacob's Well and see who shows up.
Maybe a Samaritan woman will come
for water. How else do we stir up an
entire village but to rest with Him,
eat His food, and share His Living
Water with others. I'm experiencing
personal revival; are you?
Let's take another look at the Word:
click here
As you are
reading this,
our pen pal,
Andy Deck, is most likely
moving his home from Texas to
Oklahoma. This unexpected
LifeDecision is certain to set off
many new ripples of God's movement.
I've never been to Oklahoma, have
you? I'll be watching and reporting
what happens with
The
Further Adventures of Andy Deck.
Today, after I return from
Rotary,
Beverly and I are
scheduled to meet for our weekly
home visits. Acknowledging the
all-powerful, all-knowing Hand of
God in these and other plans, I have
great expectations. Exceeding my
greatest expectations, I hope that
the Lord Jesus will do for you what He
has done for me.
Trust and Obey . . . that's the
simple Word for Today.
Here's a
short video of Joe's group in the
Philippines
(singing in Tagalog)
Thursday, August 3, 2006
Thinking: a Cause greater than
Ourselves
While
Pastor Wesley visited us
(March, 2003), we went to our State
Evangelism Conference together.
John Maxwell was a keynote
speaker and passed along some great
suggestions for those who were
desiring to lead their churches.
He shared with us that he has a
place set apart for 'thinking'. He
calls it his thinking chair. He asks
to not be disturbed by anyone while
he is thinking.
I usually don't
mind being interrupted in many
settings. It seems that my ideas
often become more developed by
bouncing them around in discussions
with others.
I do, however, have 'thinking music'
to which those very ideas first pop
into my mind. While I'm driving (or
shaving), I like to listen to
certain collections of song which
first take me quickly to a passage
of times-past, then as I sing along,
ideas for the future usually emerge.
In that setting, if an outside voice
should interrupt my thoughts, it is
perceived as a disturbance. No one
could possibly know that I may have
been listening for that unique
voice: the Holy Spirit.
So, I'm glad that those who are
around me during shave-time (and
drive-time) now might understand
better what is happening. I'm at a
peace-filled altar (in the
eye-of-a-brainstorm) thinking about
a Cause greater than myself.
Now it is time for me to leave for
my Thursday
VisionWalk with
Jebby.
I will give voice to the ideas which
have come since the last time we
walked. Jebby will do likewise and,
together, we will wonder about what
is gonna happen next.
Wednesday, August 2, 2006
Cathy
and I
are up and ready to hit
the road. We will pick up
Daniel
(west of LakeTahoe) and keep
driving until we see the sign that
says 99 South
toward the Epicenter.
Joe
emailed me that the plane from Hong
Kong arrived in L.A. safely. He may
stay in Southern California for a
couple more days.
Mary
will be back from cheerleading camp
tomorrow.
Jerry has been holding
down the fort (we hope) in our
absence.
Our old friend from seminary,
Mary Chase,
is visiting from Moscow (Russia) and
will come to Galt during the next
few days. She was a member of our
church in Rohnert Park before being
accepted by the International
Mission Board.
I'm planning to have Mary (and maybe
Joe) help me with the sermon on
Sunday. I should be baptizing
someone in the Morning. I've also
been asked to baptize several people
on behalf of
La Luz de Cristo in
the afternoon.
from the
Epicenter Mailbag™
I just now received this email from
Pastor Wesley in Liberia. He
received our VBS Offering two days
ago:
Hi
Pastor Rob,
I'm
lifting materials (sand,
crush rocks and cement)
tomorrow to start the school
building with funds
received.
Thank you once again.
...and yesterday, a man from Galt
contacted me online. He is gonna
join us for Bible Study tonight. If
you are within a realistic arrival
time of 7:00 p.m. and would like to
join us, call me at
(209)
323.0727
The long-awaited shipment of our
Ultrasound and Microscopes is upon
us. Go to myspace below to read
Rodney Edwards' latest
email:
Today's Time-Travelin' Transport
Adventure
(click
here
to see more)
Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Just a couple nights ago,
Glenn Greene sent me an email
and reminded me what Rick Warren
(in 1995)had to say about riding a
wave:
If
you take a class on surfing, you'll
be taught everything you need to
know about surfing: how to choose
the right equipment; how to use it
properly; how to recognize a "surfable"
wave; how to catch a wave and ride
it as long as possible and most
important of all, how to get off a
wave without wiping out. But you'll
never find a course that teaches
"How to Build a Wave."
Surfing is the art of riding waves
that God builds. God makes the
waves; surfers just ride them. No
surfer tries to create waves. If the
waves aren't there, you just don't
surf that day! On the other hand,
when surfers see a good wave, they
make the most of it, even if that
means surfing in the middle of a
storm.
(The Purpose Driven Church p.
13)
In his brief note, Glenn
was encouraging me by mentioning
attributes of one particular wave
(that we called The Arctic Edge).
The Spirit of God built that wave
through a multi-generational team of
local church members. He started
building that wave nearly one year
ago when Laverne asked Lupe to
consider serving the Lord in a new
role.
Lupe Harrison had simply
allowed the tug-on-her-heart to pull
her into the position of VBS
Director for 2006. When she said
'yes', she was very busy with work,
two young children, and two full
semesters ahead of her. Still, she
said 'yes'... and God did the rest.
She assembled a team of forty
workers to work together for one
week of intense outreach. Our little
church caught that wave at just the
right time. Together, we've been
riding the wave and there is still
great potential for movement before
we will be released to look out upon
the ocean for that next big wave.
In Spring, 2006 Lupe graduated from
a community college with her
certification in Early Childhood
Education. God has rewarded her
diligence. He has given her favor
with many people. When I
introduced her to the Sunday morning
crowd, I remembered that I had led
her in a salvific prayer nearly a
decade ago.
I was riding a wave with another
preacher who had joined our church.
His name was Tyler Hartman.
We went out on visitation together.
Steve and Lupe had been coming to
church--even before I arrived on the
scene--but Lupe had never done that
A,B,C thang. She responded very
quickly to the good news of God's
free gift: eternal life through
faith in Christ Jesus.
Through Lupe, I have experienced the
joy of being a spiritual
grandfather. Lupe is now an
established "leader of other
leaders" in the Kingdom of God.
Maybe I should say she's the chief
servant of servants. Yeah, this wave
is still moving. CLICK HERE
for more on Lupe Harrison.
For the first few years after
becoming a Christian, I walked to
the Kalamazoo Public Library several
times a week to scan the shelves of
Christian biographies, journals, and
Church History. At the magazine rack
I read Newsweek, Time, and one very
enjoyable magazine called
Christianity Today. I
never would have imagined that
someday my little labor in the
Garden would be featured in their
magazine.
So, I'm away on a short trip with
Cathy. It is 6:15 a.m. She's
sleeping next to me in this motel
room and I'm awake with a hardcopy
of CT's quarterly publication:
LEADERSHIP.
Thank you,
Marshall Shelley, for
sending me my free copy of the
Summer Issue. I'm gonna read some of
the other stories now. Hopefully, I
will be able to locate a wireless
network so I can publish this entry
sometime today.
Hey, before you move on, view
more
Oops. I forgot about
Royal Oaks
today. I'll call
Jebby
and see if he'll go there at 10:00
a.m. to provide some music for
that very
special ministry.
update: I found a wireless
hotspot in the smoking section at a
coffee shoppe that
Art Dunahoo
recommended.
...and yes, Jebby said that he will
be at Royal Oaks Convalescent
Center this morning at 10:00
a.m.
OK, so I'm sitting here chatting
with our church secretary, Jennifer,
and she tells me that she has the
video clip of Robin and Cathy's VBS
1st and 2nd Graders singing "Trust
in the Lord" with me.
This is 'sposed to be a getaway with
Cathy...so she'll get a kick out of
this:
CLICK HERE
for the VIDEO
Yesterday's
recording session went
well. Greg recorded
one guitar and Jerry
performed on the drums for
these four songs:
