This SundayMessage is entitled "All Things
Common". Wednesday night at BellRoad was
full of examples.
After a home visit later in the night, I
drove back to Galt because I will be
officiating at a funeral this afternoon for
Alta Conner. I have known Alta the entire
time I've been in Galt. She stepped into
eternity last week at the age of 98.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Yesterday was one of those days when I just
didn't take the time to journal. Cathy and I
were discussing some tough, personal issues.
-As the time draws closer where we have to
cut ties with our house in Galt and move our
'home' to Auburn. It looks as though it will
just be Mary moving with us. Like so many
others we know, this year is a transitional
period. We will get through it.
I pray for peace for my boys (Jeremiah and
Daniel) that they will make wise decisions
about their immediate future. Daniel
graduates from high school tomorrow night
I came up to Auburn alone yesterday. I went
out to lunch with Deacon Dave. We talked and
prayed about important matters. I received
both an email and a card in the mail with
positive comments about Sunday's Message:
Of course, encouraging words go a long way
with me. May God continue to give me a
passion for speaking His Word. May he cut us
all to the heart so that we will each take
our next step of obedience.
Monday, May 28, 2007
More computer problems with the Audio
recording of SundayMessage. So, I had to
digitize the cassette again...and several
minutes were lost at a delayed flip of the
tape. I had been pleased with some of life's
issues that came forth and didn't want to
forget what had been preached. Perhaps I
could re-record what was missed.
So...here's what I did. During the guitar
circle, last night I found myself thinking
over the delivery of the sermon. It served
to illustrate something about playing
guitar--it can be relaxing and can be a
pleasant backdrop for deep thought. In fact,
it was a very spiritual guitar circle as we
shared our mutual burden for lost souls we
know...and named. We prayed...and played.
After getting home, I edited the tape and
uploaded it to the Sermon Player. In low
tones, at about 1:00 a.m. (with a headset
mic), I recorded the missing points on my
laptop. Cathy had already fallen asleep next
to me. I tried not to 'shout' the sermon
points. Cathy will have a nice laugh over
this when she reads it.
While she's sleeping, she'd much rather hear
me work on a sermon than to be forced to listen
to dumb TV.
Here's the
link to yesterday's sermon
page:
Repent and Receive
Sorry for the filtering
effect. I was trying to
remove the tape hiss at 1:30
a.m. ....and I guess I
wasn't listening close
enough to the final result.
Oh well.
Here's a link to the entire
series thus far (click
here).
and here is 30
minutes of music from the
compilation CD: Liberia,
2004
She's working as a
Kindergarten teacher today
at a school down the street.
This morning I decided to
try out a new sermon player.
I tried uploading the latest
version of last Sunday's
Message (ZoomIn--ZoomOut).
Joe and Sharon will be
pleased to see that this
player allows them to
download the mp3 copy to
their computer to play after
they get 'home' from any
given Internet Cafe' in the
world.
Cathy will be pleased to see
that she can better
facilitate her 'Exercise &
Devotional Life' by using
the RSS with her ipod.
After you play around with
the SermonPlayer above,
check out this mini-player.
It only has one sermon, but
can be emailed to a friend
or downloaded to an mp3 from
this little arrow.
If you don't understand any
of this, you should consider
signing up for the upcoming
Technology Seminar at
BellRoad University.
I just received a phone call
from a granddaughter here in
Galt. Her grandma, Alta
Conner, suffered through a
stroke and isn't expected to
live much longer. Alta is
probably in her late
nineties now. She has been
at Royal Oaks Convalescent
Center for many years. Cathy
and I have visited her many,
many times.
I'm gonna run over there
right now.
Thursday,
May 24, 2007
Little
Joshua Cameron
was born this morning at
4:42 weighing in at 7 lbs. 3
oz. (19 inches). Both baby
and mama are doing well. So
is Papa Cameron--he made the
phone call. We praise God
for this safe delivery.
Last night I discovered that
the soundroom's computer did
have a copy of last Sunday's
message which included the
voice-over intro. that Micah
had engineered.
There were 18 people in our
closing session of "Prayer
and Fasting". I am happy
that some have made a
commitment to include times
of fasting in our spiritual
discipline. I gave small
notebook journals to the
members to track their
dialogue with the Lord.
I was told that certain
individuals read this
journal entry each morning.
This is for you:
May God bless you with a
sustaining smile throughout
this day.
Wednesday,
May 23, 2007
Yesterday, I spent time with
David (a 37 year old) who
has visited our church
recently.
He had visited on April 15th
(the day I launched the 3
year sermon series). He has
wanted to come back but lack
of transportation has been a
hindrance. Before a major
change in life's
circumstances, David had
worked for many years with
computer network
applications. He doesn't
have much experience in the
way of church or bible
background.
David revealed that his soul
is hungry for realignment
with God's best for him. I
shared my own story of
building my schedule and
life's focus around a group
of disciples who were living
for the Lord. What joy fills
my heart when God gives me a
hungry soul to feed. He was
connecting with a Big Vision
for becoming accountable as
a 'Timothy' to a 'Paul'.
I am picking him up at 5:00
today (for our church
supper). Then he's gonna try
to sort out networking
problems for our office
computers.
I ask other Christians to
consider how Paul 'wrote'
letters to Titus, Timothy,
and local churches. Those
letters were read aloud,
copied, re-read, and
distributed to many others.
The Internet could allow for
regular input and feedback
regardless of where the
future takes David. This is
one way to better invest the
continually-unfolding
ministries at BellRoad.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Deacon
Mike and I spent a
few hours together on visitation
and discussed our outreach
vision.
My internet buddy, David
Burckhardt and I spoke on gmail
chat this
morning. His mother passed away
last night at 9:00 p.m. He is
Hannah's Grandpa. I told him
that her thermometer shows that
she has nearly made her goal for
her trip with the New America
Singers.
Mary and I came up to Auburn
last night. I attended a
productive Leadership Council.
Afterwards, my girl asked me to
take her to Ninja Sushi. She
loves seaweed and rice! We
ordered it as take out and came
back to watch 'My Fair Lady'
(a video I picked up at the
Goodwill).
Today, I will
continue
studying for next Sunday's Message:
This tri-venue sermon series is
unusual.
I am hoping that, over time,
it will soften our hearts,
and sharpen our minds.
Monday, May 21, 2007
I am reminded of a
sister who was fond of saying, "The
Lord woke me up this morning."
Here is a short song sung at our
altar yesterday morning. It features
a unique texture of vocal blending:
Patty, Ben, Bonita, Janet, and Christy.
That's Jonathon on the strings.
I have a 7:30 appt. at the High
School. I woke up at precisely 6:00
a.m. I haven't used an alarm clock
for several months.
Much to-do today. Mary and I will
travel back to Auburn again tonight.
There is a Leadership Council
meeting. I pray that the Spirit will
guide us to reason together in the
midst of His anointing...that we
might better know the plans He has
for us.
Three individuals (*
R. G. and. R.) spoke to me about the
message afterwards. I had some
prep-time input from viewers in Ohio
and Thailand. Their influence will
probably impact one of the upcoming
sermons--if not discovered in
yesterday's.
It is common to read that a detailed study of Romans has changed the lives
of individuals throughout the
history of the church. In this
series, thus far, I am experiencing
something new in my awareness of
sin's devastation.
On Saturday, I had written the
Romans Sins-List upon spiral bound 3
x 5 cards .
pas adikia (all
unrighteousness) is now hanging on
the cross in our sanctuary. In our
TV room, I watched some of the
special features on the Oliver Twist
DVD that Mary and I rented for her
school work. I was interested in a
feature about Roman Polanski's
choice of Oliver Twist as a project.
There was some mention of Polanski
having been orphaned (when his
parents were taken to a
concentration camp). Later, I
googled the director's name and read
about a Hollywood sex scandal in
which he had been involved with a
minor years ago. Just reading about
the sins affecting another person's
life weighed heavy upon me as I was
trying to prepare for the delivery
of the message, Zoom In-Zoom Out.
I re-watched the final interaction
between Oliver and Fagin also
weighed me down. Mr. Brownlow and
Oliver go through several gates in
order to arrive at the inner cell
where Fagin is imprisoned--awaiting
execution. It is a very dark scene.
Fagin is mumbling--crazed.
It was reminiscent of a scene in "A
River Runs Through It" where Norman
goes into a jail to pick up his
brother. There is an alcoholic
sitting in a cell mumbling to
himself in much the same way.
Later, Saturday night, I would be
found sitting among the men and
women at the Union Gospel Mission. I
suppose that this was one of those
sermons of which
Al Dines
spoke: "Sometimes you just have to
live with a sermon before you're
ready to preach it."
Notice the dynamic at work in a chat
I had with Joe early yesterday
morning (before Mary and I left for
church).
6:10 AM
me: There's always hope for
wandering souls...
Hey, I've g2g. Time to leave...
Love you and Sharon...
I hope you have sweet, peaceful
sleep tonight.
joseph: Alright daddy. Hope
we have a new upload to
download soon.
me: If so, it'll be audio...
joseph: GoogleMaps says, "We
could not calculate
driving directions between
Bangkok,Thailand
and 707 Bell Rd, Auburn, CA 95603 ."
me: please pray for me..
I'm not feeling really great this
weekend...
kinda blah...
Have worked on my message but
not feeling really
connected to the Power yet.
I did have to live through the
weight of what had started early in
the week to be a really upbeat
message about Magnification.
The altar song of Patty Worth and
our worship leaders really ties the
whole message together for me:
My sin, O the bliss of the glorious
thought,
My sin--(not in part) but the whole--
is nailed to the cross
and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, O
my soul.
The sermon actually opened with the
day's verses from Peter's sermon on
Pentecost (as a voice-over above the
song, In the Last Days). Maybe
someday it will be retrieved from
the hard-drive...but that piece
didn't make it to the cassette.
Last night, on the way to the
Union Gospel Mission,
I had decided that I really wanted
to sit out on the floor with the
guests (rather than on the
platform).
When I arrived I quickly ascertained
that I didn't recognize any of the
platform personalities. Oops, wrong
night.
I came in, took a seat, and watched
three people from Riverside Wesleyan
Church conduct a service.
Mary had gone with Jerry on an
errand to Lodi. They didn't get home
in time for my departure so I was
all alone. It was a good experience.
Saturday, May 19,
2007
Long entry today. I do not expect
any reader to be able to visit every
hyperlink I include, come to every
event I mention, or even care about
every subject of which I write. This
column is more about tracking my
willingness to hear God speak.
If God is speaking to me, then maybe
there will be others who choose to
listen as well, and come alongside
us.
Therefore, I write daily and
publish.
Tonight at 7:30, we will be
at the
Union Gospel Mission in
Sacramento. I hope you will be able
to join us for the one hour
outreach.
Last night,
Mary drove through
rush hour traffic to get to Auburn
for the PAID event. I ran sound and
we both took turns at a video
camera--collecting material for the
PAID webpage being created by
Brandon
Willette.
Although we were quite busy, I had
opportunity to speak with
Dan Clark
about how BellRoad viewers will be
given some practical instruction in
learning to use online Greek tools
as one avenue of study and
inspiration.
Recently, I have been asked about
the mention of Greek words by
different listeners. It is an
interesting conversation that I will
enter into with anyone who so
desires. Meanwhile,
click here,
poke around a bit, then write me.
I'll teach you what I know, OK?
Recently I heard Bible teacher,
Ken
Needham, speak about our 'walk' as
Christians. In light of yesterday's
reference to my spiritual need for
the VisionWalk
and the title
of tomorrow's message, I felt
good about sharing another new idea with
you.
Here is a site which will allow you
to find a walking-running route in
the 50 states, map it, and Zoom
In-Zoom Out
Here are some examples that
unknown runners have mapped out so
far in Auburn (click
here). In the near future, I
will try to map out
VisionWalk
routes that I have walked with other
visionaries.
Should you map a good route,
please email me and I will note your
path for as a potential
VisionWalk®
. . .
To better prepare for tomorrow's
message,
click here
Joe and
Sharon wrote me from
Thailand. I think that I must have
forwarded
Cousin Jim's letter to
them because Joe used a Latin phrase
to reference secret knowledge which
is soon to be revealed openly.
During my sermon prep-time, I have
begun to color-code potential
preaching points on an interactive
page entitled
SundayMessagePlus. Joe and
Sharon's input and observations
followed the same primary areas with
which tomorrow's message is
concerned.
Although I had noted the recurrent
'generations' theme, they sent me
color-coding around the connection
between father Abraham and his
children. Growing up listening to my
pulpit ministry, Joe has surely
heard me reference the connection in
John 8:39-59. 'My inmost being
does rejoice when his lips speak
what is right.'
Yesterday, I did some work on a
sins-list from Romans Paul has
similar lists elsewhere in other
letters.
During the years ahead, I will go
over to the Cross and reference
various sins from mankind's lists.
Periodically, I will buy a copy of a
Sunday Newspaper and place it upon
the stone at the foot of the Cross.
I did this a few weeks ago. The
sins-list will help to balance our
tendency to magnify certain sins and
neglect to confront others on the
same lists.
For instance, our picketers'
on-going prophetic judgments in
northern California have focused on
homosexuality.
For a couple weeks they aggressively
pursued me for refusing to meet
their demands that I write letters
to the Editor(s) in defense of
Christianity. Hopefully, iron will
sharpen iron--even in that
situation.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Early in my post-conversion days, I
read a biography about John Wesley
and one of his journals.
Later, I read about his published
back-and-forth debates with college
friend, George Whitefield.
Whitefield was a dramatist and
radical in taking the gospel out to
the miners. These men loved each
other yet wrote against one
another's teaching. Iron sharpened
iron.
John Wesley's organizational skill
in his generation is obviously
well-remembered. He developed and
deployed preachers. Likewise, we
don't have 'Whitefield' churches
scattered all over the world. Yet
Whitefield's influence was clearly
imprinted upon Wesley's ministry.
With that era of history in mind, I
have hoped to connect with the
brothers and sisters of this
generation, lovingly sharpen each
other, and become more effective at
continually spreading the love of
Jesus in our own contexts.
My cousin Jim was among the first
people who learned of my conversion
back in 1982. He and I were both
visiting our Hillsdale, Michigan
Grandma at the same time. We took a
long walk through the Arboretum and
talked about Jesus. Since that day
Jim has encouraged me in the
ministry. Yesterday, I received an
email from Jim in Ohio.
I was so encouraged to see that he
had looked at the sermon series and
has offered his input. Here is an
excerpt from Jim's letter.
Jim wrote:
"I was checking out your
scriptures in Luke and Acts
about the immersion in the faith of
Mary [Luke] and then the 3000
[Acts]. I see this as a great
opportunity to point out that the
greater definition of "baptized" is
completely immersed or surrounded in
faith.
Baptized = breaking of bread,
prayer, Bible study, lifting one
another up. As you would say "This
is That" or "That is This". The
complete immersion in the faith is
what the act of baptism represents."
Although Jim is in Ohio, our
'walk-together' continues through
this journal page and email.
Cathy and I took a long walk last
night. I told her about some of my
observations around the Body in
Auburn, in Galt, in Thailand,
Pakistan, Stockton, and around the
world. That covenantal
VisionWalk is always good
for me. Talking-walks helps me stay
focused on the perfect, pleasing
will of God.
Today,
Cathy will leave for a
Pastors' Wives Conference at Jenness
Park. She accidentally double-booked
because she had wanted to be at
Hannah's
Spaghetti Fundraiser for the
New America Singers Mission.
So, I'll try to fill in for Cathy at
the Dinner--this Sunday after the
morning worship service.
I am a big supporter of
New America Singers because
of the great influence that Ted and
Betty Campbell has made upon our
son, Joseph.
Lord willing,
Joe and Sharon
will meet up with the New America
Singers in India and travel with
them for a portion of their tour.
I made reference
to Hannah
a couple times in last week's
sermon. Click on the frame if you
have high speed (and FF to
22:45)
By the way, on the GoogleVideo page,
one can choose to download the
videoplayer to their computer to
play later. It can't be saved...but
it can be watched offline. Since I am, once again,
Mr. Mom for the weekend, I must plan
ahead. Here is my itinerary.
Mary
and I will drive back to
Auburn tonight for the ministry with
PAID. Then, tomorrow night she will
go to the Union Gospel Mission with
me. Along the way, I will continue
to prepare for Sunday's Message.
If anyone else would like to
contribute to any aspect of the
ministry series:
Last night's circle-of-prayer has
given me a precious memory. I recall
the shared tenderness of heart in
those prayers which were voiced. I
am encouraged by the continual
remembrance that we are truly
interconnected in our calling. In
this moment, I acknowledge that
truth. Knowing truth sets me free.
Angel
was in the group and, as I prayed
aloud, I thought of something she had
said an hour earlier about trying to
discern His Direction. As we prayed
it became more clear to me that
journaling through the days of 'the
Chosen fast' ahead for each of these
individuals will bring clarity of
our calling.
Today, I am supposed to visit
the Nursery where
Eleanor
works. There are a number of young
men who work there. Eleanor tells me
that her heart is burdened for them.
Tomorrow evening,
PAID
will be ministering in the
Sanctuary. This is an important
ministry on the heart of some of our
young men.
Saturday night, we will
be going to the
Union
Gospel Mission for our
turn on the rotation. These
opportunities to simply 'show up'
and see what God does with someone
was referenced in the third
installment of Line-by-Line,
Verse-by-Verse:
Yesterday, I had a brainstorming
conversation with Sharon about the
Big Picture plan for
BellRoad
University. Then, while
Mary
and I went house-hunting with
Angel
and Aubrey,
the adults talked about the
state-of-the-church.
This morning's conversation with
Ann about TeamKids Sunday
has inspired me with a fresh breath
with which to run the race marked
out for us.
Immediately ahead for me: a drop-in
visitation.
Norman, from Galt, just
called. He's in Auburn and is
in on I-80 about to turn at
Exit 123 to visit the
BellRoad
Campus.
Mary
has been driving me all over Auburn
with her Learner's Permit. She is
doing a good job.
I hope that you'll make
plans to be here this
Sunday. The sixth installment of
SundayMessage is being
meditated upon by active disciples
all over the world:
Before leaving for Auburn yesterday,
I helped my third son,
Daniel,
get set up for 'job-shadowing' as
part of his senior project. He is
going to spend the day at a video
production facility. It happens to
be a department at the Corrections
Training program on Twin Cities in
Galt.
Daniel was the handheld cameraman
for the video of the SundayMessage
(above).
Mary
came up to Auburn with me this time.
She and I are scheduling to look at
a few houses with our in-house
realtor,
Angel McGregor. Last
night she 'played' with the Ronk
girls while Patty Worth led the
praise team rehearsal.
Mary also had
her first lesson in digitizing
cassette tapes. She worked on this
sermon by Pastor Kenneth Hendon
preached during the season of
preparation for his Liberia Mission
Trip.
Pastor Hendon planted an inner-city
church in Stockton, California. He
was one of those very special people
who caught a vision for helping in
Liberia. In preparation for his
trip, he agreed to come to our
church in Galt every other Sunday
night--up to his time of departure.
This is one of those sermons built
on Roman
8:1-6.
After the music practice,
Ben and
Jon Rosenau stopped by
the BellRoad production studio in
order to see yesterday's uploads.
Their oldest sister, Alisha, had
written in from Mexico. I tried to
show the guys the interconnections I
see with this outreach tool.
Both Ben
and John played
for P.A.I.D. the morning that they
last performed the song featured in
Joe's video:
The video (above) connects his
life and ministry as a newlywed in
Asia with our local church in
Auburn, California. Through the
Internet, he gathered the materials
used:
1) an audio clip of me rehearsing
John 1:1 with my son, Jeremiah, when
he was only three years old.
2) He dubbed in a clip from the
Introductory message to
Acts-Luke-Romans when, speaking
about the meaning of the name,
Theophilus, I said,
"Friend of God? ...somebody oughtta
write a song..."
3) Joe took the cue and pursued the
connection between the ongoing study
of Acts-Luke-Romans, our own
personal lives, and our work
together as co-laborers.
I hope you'll have time to
watch some of the videos uploaded by
our local viewers from around the
world. I will continue to share vision
with young men and women toward the
further development of audio-visual
materials for mutual encouragement
in discipleship.
Toward that goal, from 8:00 - 9:20,
Brandon
Willette and I went for a
long
VisionWalk while Mary was
working out at the Gym. I shared
some of my discipleship goals for
the three-year period ahead of us.
Brandon shared from his own history
as a believer.
The babies (and their extended
families) in Sunday's video will
serve as markers for us. More on all
of that during the three years
ahead.
On our way back to the church, Mary
and I picked up a video of 'Freedom
Writers" for our late-night
viewing. This is a true story based
on an inner-city English class
taught by Erin Gruwell during the
Rodney King era:
Freedom Writers Diaries. The
class became deeply involved in
journaling, a group reading of the
Diary of Anne Frank, an in-depth
study of the Holocaust.
The education they received from
Erin caused the entire class to
transcend the day-to-day world of
territorial gang violence.
During the video, I continued to
work on organizational matters and
Mary was online with her friends.
Its 7:00 a.m. It is time for me to
try to rouse my student from her
slumber. I hope to take Mary
out on visitation with me. For her
schooling today, we will discuss the
form and content of the English
Class introduced above.
Tuesday, May 15,
2007
A bit of twang to accompany a memory
verse from the 80's. In getting ready
to move, I have found this song that
I wrote during our ministry with
youth back when we were new parents.
Our youth group was called FrontLine.
Based on a
scripture and a sermon that I had heard
Swag
preach, it encourages the delivered
to keep their eyes on the Promised
Land (Don't
look back!)
"And
that is what some of you were . .`.
But you were washed, you were sanctified,
you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ
and by the Spirit of our God." 1
Corinthians 6:11
Below are interactions with young
people who have watched Baptist
Babies from three different nations:
First,
from Thailand is
Joseph
(and
Sharon):
joseph:
WE LOVE THE VIDEO
COVERAGE!
me: So,
how did you watch it? at the Internet Cafe?
joseph: yes
10 baht/hr
34 baht = 1 dollar
me: hmm
I'm so glad you have
access
joseph:
me: You
are definitely one of the
primary 'listeners' to what
is going on in the Sermon
Series.
joseph: I
turn in my notes!
WE have
listened to every one in
this series!
me: then,
there's a fine line I need
to maintain...of not being
perceived as 'uncaring'
about personal visitation
(in the local church).
joseph: You
do your personal visitation
during the day and
then during your early
morning/late night when
"normal" people are
sleeping, you can upload
stuff for us!
me: Since
I have a three year plan
now...perhaps that can allow
you to brainstorm for the
future.
joseph: well,
I hear you have a 21 year
old kid
doing some cool stuff
...in Australia!
me:
It'd be cool to have you two
around during the
Daniel Teale days
IF he comes . . .
Joe also sent
me a video about his new ministry
within the context of being a
newlywed in Asia--all the time
connecting with our local church in
Auburn California through the
Internet.
Watch this slideshow he made of our
own people singing
"I am the Friend of God" (click
here)
Our second viewerDaniel
in Australia:
Daniel: haha i was just
listening to your mention of me in
the sermon. Had a bit of a laugh.
haha
me: The people sounded nice
didn't they?
Daniel: ah yep. yeah sureyep. yeah sure
me: There are many older
people there. They're being
very, very kind to me. It is an
interesting dynamic.
Daniel: yeah?
me: Notice who
Curt
(74) is. He was the worship leader
standing behind me... I got up and
restarted that song...before
preaching...
We're in a transitional place but a
message like yesterday's can keep
everyone hoping for what will happen
next....
Daniel: ahhh. Hope is always
great for the spirit!
me: that video will give you
an idea of how I operate.
If you come, we could work REALLY,
REALLY hard as a
team---evangelizing, preaching,
reaching out, creating music,
publishing DAILY...
Daniel: I'm sure there's
stacks of things we could do if i
get over there!
me: I just can't strap on my
guitar and take over the
Worship Team. I must prioritize. It could
be really cool
to have the three of us working together:
22, 50, 74
Daniel: bringing forth the
anointing of the lord
me: cross-generational
Daniel: Ushering people into
the presence of God
That would certainly be interesting.
me: Well, please do pray
about it. I'd like to follow the
leadership of the Spirit and
accomplish something special during
the next three years of preaching
this sermon series I'm creating.
Daniel: Sure thing. I will
pray about it
me: You'll see that I've
placed the three different 'books'
at different spots on the platform.
It is for visual stimulation and a
memory device...kinda fun to see
what unfolds from week to week.
Daniel: oh yep thats awesome.
all those little things help, I'm
sure!
me: I'm also leading a guitar
circle on Wed and Sun nights. I'll
try to introduce you via those
youtube clips to a few guys..
Daniel: oh yep sure thing
I've been trying to do some guitar
lessons on youtube recently
me: oh?
Daniel: just some basic
lessons on guitar in worship:
Our third viewer is
Alisha Rosenau who works at a deaf
school in Mexico.
Here is a
sweet email I found
waiting for me this morning:
excerpt from Alisha in
Mexico:
Dear Pastor Rob,
Thank you
so much for getting church services
to the internet and especially
the video. . . .
It was so neat to see all the new
babies, I have only heard about
them and it was a pleasant sight to
SEE them! Also, it was cool to see
my brothers and sister!
I will be home soon, too soon
for me, I have quite a few friends
who are on staff that won't be
returning next year, I don't know
what we are going to do without
them.
See you soon.
Alisha
p.s. June15th, I will be
having a Dinner for friends to hear
about what has been happening down
here with pictures and well I don't
know what else yet.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Here's a video-clip to show what we
did after church on Mother's Day.
First, Mama wanted to show Daniel
the Gym where we worketh out. Then,
we had a beautiful meal at a local
restaurant called 'In-and-Out' (we
ate outside).
Finally, we let Mary drive us south
on CA 49 to a path under
the Foresthill Bridge (where
Agent XXX drove a car off it:
Hollywood-on-location in Auburn).
For this musical accompaniment on
this little clip, I dropped the key
by one whole step. In this key,
guitarists can hit those 12 fret
harmonics (and blend easily with
songs in G or Em).
See, the local scenery,
Daniel Teale...
(click
here).
I stayed up until 3:00 transferring
Daniel's video footage from MPEG to
WMV so that the Windows MovieMaker
could import the file. I then began
the process of uploading the 278 MB
audio-visual recording of
yesterday's message, BaptistBabies
to GoogleVideo.
The video's soundtrack is better in
some ways (congregational noises can
be heard, and the 'walking music'
doesn't have the glitches that
happened during transfer of cassette
to mp3).
Go ahead and listen/watch to this
message several times.
Then, when you see anything that
could be improved...
Could it be the Spirit's prompting
for you to get on the road up to
Bell Road?
hmm?
Sunday, May 13, 2007
I had a little chat with
Daniel
Teale in Australia this
morning.
Now, all that is one mic with guitar
and voice
up quite close...
Daniel: oh ok awesome its just about
downloaded
pastorob: I'm gonna have the CD play
it in church
and 'read' or 'preach' over it this
morning...
Daniel: ahhh
pastorob: now, if YOU were to make a
recording of it, I'd
link to it...because I wanna make a THEME out
of
this for my new sermon series
that'll be
three years in the making
Daniel: oh yep
pastorob: F#m A2 B A2 B F#m
Daniel:
Yeah, I picked that up
It's a nice little progression
pastorob: If you were to just play
it and slightly vary your
voice each
time through, I could download it
and mess around with it...like a
REMIX..
well, don't 'work' on it...just do
it.
We'll see what happens.
Hey, you should introduce yourself
to my friends, Aimee
and Jenn on
myspace.
They are both very pretty girls.
. .
Daniel: sure lol
pastorob:
. . . and SWEET christians.
Daniel:
Is that some added incentive
to come over??
haha
no worries
pastorob:
sure
but if you'll do little assignments
like the
LastDays snippet,
we can already start to
work
together over the net.
I drove back to Galt yesterday
afternoon, went for a long walk with
Cathy, then spent the evening,
bedside, working on new Sermon Note
webpages (as Cathy did Avon-stuff
next to me). Exciting, huh?
Cathy and I are planning
to head back up to Auburn today for
Ben
Rosenau's graduation
party.
. . .and Tomorrow is Mother's Day.
Bertha, a sweet senior at
BellRoad, told me that all of
her children were planning to come
to church with their mother. How
very special to see the pleasant
contentment that the very thought
brings to their mother's face.
We are also having a baby dedication
for four little ones. Tomorrow's
message is entitled:
Baby Baptists.
I was sent a video from Thailand
this morning.
Joe
placed the song Give Thanks
as a background to these photos and
live-action. I believe that it was
the first song we recorded with
Greg
Brayton (back in the late
eighties).
Being blind,
Greg
can't enjoy the visuals. He is
going through therapy for Cancer
and, last I heard was feeling
poorly. This goes back to the
Source of all that great guitar
playing (and to the virtual
fingers that are sliding up and
down that fretboard upon each
click).
Here is a highly-compressed
wedding video that
Joe
and Sharon sent
us. Mama and I just watched it.
This footage includes the Family
& Friends Nuptial in Davao, the
public reading of their marriage
covenant, dress, and even a very
brief-clip from a recent
Auburn-based sermon (at the
cake).
Messing around in my office on Thursday
evening, I created a little mood music for
preaching preparation.
Try preaching from Acts Chapter 2 on top of
this:
In the last days God says,
"I will pour out my Spirit on all people."
(click
here)
Here is another recording of Acts 2:14-47. I
made a loop for background during the
Peter's citation of from Joel. (click
here)
Combining the two tracks with the
original
Sound Recorder from Windows,
I'm gonna ask the same team to keep this
song fresh. I really like the lyrics.
(for complete lyrics,
CLICK HERE)
At 11:00 a.m., we will be gathering to celebrate
the life of
Florence. I met Florence at the
church's birthday celebration when we first
came to BellRoad. She turned 96 on the day
that I preached in view of a call.
A few years ago, when
Pastor John Trafton had
stopped over to visit, Florence had asked
him to preach at her funeral.
Cathy and I softly sang 'Victory in Jesus'
to Florence while she was in ICU last week.
That song has been requested for tomorrow.
Florence had requested a certain song to be
sung at her funeral. It was written in 1958
and popularized by George Beverly Shea. It
is called 'Until Then'. I have yet to learn
this song because I've agreed to sing at her
funeral on Friday at 11:00 a.m.
Here is a helpful link that will help me
minister through this special request:
I think there is
a lot of benefits to the
flow-of-consciousness method that I am
employing and focusing on specific
phrases. I'm catching those that clarify
or would be good for sound bytes.
Anything that
could be quoted ... or misquoted.
At least we would be able to find the
context...
love you,
Jo Jo
The notes that Joe send with
this email are included at this another
page idea to accompany recent attempts
at
SundayMessage sermon prep and
archives during the three year sermon
series on Acts-Luke-Romans.
Last night I met with
Bob Knapp
(another younger man seeking mentoring). He
wants to know where to head with his
web-presence. I shared John Wesley's
methodology for preparing and sending
preachers in his generation.
Likewise, I've asked
Bob
to study my various pages and help me
refine this methodology for traveling
the Roman roads of our time.
Last night, after our Prayer and Fasting
class, Bob and I went over to Sierra
Reach church to hear Bible teacher,
Ken Needham--an
itinerant missionary from Ireland. He
spoke on Ezekiel chapter one.
Coincidentally, Ken mentioned that he
had just spoken at a Minister's Bible
Conference in Liberia (with 500 in
attendance). He is now headed back to
Ireland. I'm planning to stay in touch
with Ken. He will be back in the
Foothills two years from now.
Yesterday, I edited a sermon called
'Experiencing God' from the second service
on Sunday, October 23, 2005. As I continue
to sort, pack, and redistribute my wealth, I
am faced with the hundreds of recorded
sermons on cassette tapes.
I began to prepare and preach messages from
God's Word in the late eighties. Some of
those earliest messages were to the at
Frontline
(Trinity' youth group).
In 1988, we moved to
Alpha and Omega
Ministries and I preached
periodically as the Associate Pastor at
Praise Baptist
Church.
I preached bi-weekly as a co-pastor with
Mike Bowling in 1990-91. After Mike left, I
began to preach every Sunday.
I've prepared and preached messages nearly
every Sunday except for a couple breaks
during seminary.
While in seminary (Fall 93 to Spring 96), I
had wanted to take a hiatus from preaching
and concentrate on studying. However,
Dr. Honeycutt
encouraged me to fill the pulpit for him one
Sunday Snyder Lane
Baptist Church (Rohnert Park,
California).
Dr. Craig Skinner was one of the preaching
instructors at the seminary. He shared his
LifeWork about developing interrogatives
with which to build a sermon skeleton. I
tried to put that into practice but
4.5 years in a very fast-paced but
dynamically-intimate ministry at Alpha and
Omega. I was in Morning Devotions with
residents there Mon. - Fri. the entire time.
My style was becoming defined as a folksy
teacher who knows and references the names
of those in the circle.
From country church, to Youth, to Homeless,
to Seminary, to Snyder Lane, to Galt. During
all that time, I resisted the temptation to
preach other men's messages. However, during
the decade in Galt, there were a couple
seasons where I preached a packaged sermon
series and learned how others approach that
method.
My Theology prof, Dr. Stan Nelson, told his
pupils that each preacher has certain
theological convictions that reappear
throughout his life's work.
At this mid-life point in my life, it should
prove useful to discover, define, and
refine those convictions (and revisit the
underlying theology).
From the shoeboxes of archived
cassette tapes comes this
highly-personalized 11:00 a.m. service in
Galt.
This would have been the
'second-time-through' of the materials and
it is obvious that the 8:30 would have been
much different. The reason I didn't
transcribe any sermons in Galt is that both
services used the same outline but were
usually quite different in the make-up of
the congregation so the emphases took
different form.
Mention is made of songs that hide the Word
in one's heart, neighborhood children, about
conflict between thy will and my will, livin'
with four little sinners, forcing my kids to
go to church.
Joe was home on a break from CBU. He served
as my 'reader' for a bit about the impotent
man at the pool of Siloam. This message was
built around a scripture printed in the
bulletin and a re-introduction to Henry
Blackaby's first few 'realities'.
My hope is to teach others how to
digitize and edit old tapes.
Wednesday, May
9, 2007
Cathy and
Mary are with me in Auburn.
Yesterday, we went to the last matinee of
Spiderman III together, then out to visit
punk-rock Lisa at her camp near the railroad
tracks. Lisa is one-of-a-kind.
For EducationPlus,
Mary has been reading and researching
Charles Dickens.
Late last night, we finished watching the
2005 version of
Oliver Twist (directed by Roman
Polanski). Mary
will note differences between the novel and
this film version for school today.
Joe
and Sharon
back in Thailand. He has been listening to
our SundayMessage(s)
and taking notes for future editing of
soundbites (which will be used in creative
ways).
Today, he sent me a portion of what he's
typed from last Sunday:
scroll down and you'll see his work. I'll
probably rework this page to allow for
Listener's Notes. This will be helpful for
the future of BellRoadRadio and this 3-year
sermon series.
Tuesday, May 8,
2007
I just got back from the weekly
prayer meeting with Foothills area pastors.
When I walked in the room, I was introduced
to an Irishman named
Ken Needham. I quickly recalled
that I had met him back in 1993 in
California although it was a lady back in
Michigan who had asked me to try to hear him
speak out here.
Ken is an international Bible teacher and is
at Sierra Outreach tomorrow night. I told
Ken that I'd run over to hear him tomorrow
after BellRoad
University.
Over-the-shoulders
of History, Daniel
Patterson captured some real-time
Internet and entered these initial pages
of Line-by-Line, Verse-by-Verse:
a Collide-o-Scopic exposition
of
Luke, Acts,
and Romans.
click
here: for a full-screen. High-speed
required
I so desire for others to start capturing
the slice-of-life abundant and allow me to
share the link. Check the video at the top
of the right column. The two acoustic
guitars and Bass were played by
Greg Brayton
in May, 2005.
Jerry Patterson
played the Roland electric drums.
The song came to me while I was plucking on
my guitar strings during the trip to Liberia
(February, 2004).
Ben Rosenau burned me a CD of the songs that PAID played on a
Sunday morning. This particular song has
gotten ahold of me:
Yeah, its a little rough...but
the young people working together to play
and sing it continue to bless me greatly.
I'm listening for the koinoiniac-flux. I don't
remember who all was playing that morning .
. . but they know.
I like the
girls' voices at the end.
Monday, May 7, 2007
After the evening
service, Cathy and I went to Lou and
Barbara's home for their regular Sunday
Night come*together. Lou says that a small
group has been gathering there for months.
What a sweet fellowship at
BellRoad. There
are many small groups of people who truly
love each other. I hope to see the DNA of
these groups multiplied and planted in good
soil all around the foothills... (and
beyond).
We're back in Galt for the day. I just
digitized the tape of a message shared
last night by one of our young fathers,
Brandon Willette.
...and speaking of 'that', here is that bit
I mentioned--in way of illustration--a few
times in yesterday's sermon.
In the body of this message, a spontaneous phrase from Tom Ronk
is recalled--from a cover of a
Newsboys song:
It's the song of the
redeemed,
rising from the African plain
It's the song of the forgiven,
drowning out the amazon rain
the song of Asian believers,
filled with God's holy fire
It's every tribe, every tongue, every
nation,
A love song born of a grateful choir.
It's all God's
children singing,
"Glory Glory, Hallelujah. He reigns, He reigns."
Later, in the song Tom let's
loose and a female agrees with a 'hooo...'
(well, you'll hear for yourself, I'm sure).
And all the powers of darkness,
tremble at what they've just heard.
Tom Ronk: "Satan is scared to
death!"
'Cause all the powers of darkness,
can't drown out a single word.
It's all God's
children singing,
"Glory, Glory, Hallelujah. He reigns, he
reigns."
(for complete lyrics,
CLICK HERE)
So...before you listen to the sermon,
please, CLICK
HERE and listen to this rendition of
He
Reigns (so you can hear the
soundbite that was rippling through my mind
as I was preaching). This was the recording
made when P.A.I.D. led the worship a couple
months ago. He Reigns is also included
at the end of this sermon. I'm
wondering who the female who responds so
enthusiastically to his thesis.
By the way, since we shared the Lord's
Supper, that portion of the service has not
been included:
Scripture Reading for this morning's
sermon at BellRoad:
click here
Near the start of my tenth year in Galt, I
shared my thoughts on a controversy that
had taken place among the trustees of our
International Mission Board (regarding a
ruling to place restrictions upon the
devotional lives of new missionary
candidates). I mentioned that I had really
been too busy to follow the goings-on of different
agencies and issues outside that which
impacted my own calling from the Lord.
However, since I had
recently taught about Spiritual Gifts and
later preached on Ezekiel's vision of
the Dry Bones, I felt the time had come to share
my own response to the controversy linked
above.
So, for the bulletin, I entitled the
evening message:
"What Pastor Rob Believes about Tongues"
Funny. There was a bigger group
than usual for a Sunday night.
Over a year later, at BellRoad, this morning's message will involve the
Shadowing of the Spirit over the Virgin Mary.
This will be
juxtaposed with the outpouring of the Spirit
on Pentecost. Considering the perfect,
passive participle in Peter's Sermon
Introduction will be connected to the
weekend newspaper and Romans Chapter One.
I spent Friday night
digitizing the old tape from Galt and
Saturday night editing the
ums,
wells,
and uhs
from the file. The editing process and remembrance
of that particular message about my own
spirit-edification
may well lend some oomph to the delivery of
the Morning Sermon.
um,
well,
uh ...
these simpleutterancesof the spirit within me
--along with the filial
awat and
any lingering
effect of the adversarial drot--
may be with
me for the rest of my public ministry.
If so, so be it. This will be that. You'll
kind of have to be there if you wanna see
past the obsfucation.
I hope this old message will be helpful for
those who desire to get to know me better.
It was shared on a Sunday night when Beverly
brought her Russian neighbor,
Eirene´
to church with her.
Perhaps if Dick Otterstad had heard this
message two months ago, he may have decided
to take his accusations elsewhere. It is an
honest statement about my conviction to
follow the leadership of the
Spirit--regardless of the cost involved:
I stayed in Auburn on Friday night. Went for
a long walk on the old airport road behind
our church to read the Word and think about
Sunday's Message.
Cathy and I had rented a musical called
Dream Girls so I played it again while I chatted with Joe and Sharon online.
Joe is
reading a missional book and has developed
some strong conviction about planting
churches. He is downloading my new sermon
series online and offering his ideas toward
synergy.
me: I
thought that the editied version of
"The Waiting Room" sounds pretty good...
joseph:
transcribing can help you edit out
the extraneous stuff
me: not
many long, run-on sentences..
joseph:
but as far as LOCAL stuff goes, it is OK to
leave
that in if you have a pic of the subject
alongside
and you can mention a ceiling leak if we can
have
before/after pics
me: hmm
Joseph:
and in your bit about technology, if we have
a pic
of a lit candle with the caption
me: haha
Joseph:
it might make it more interesting to the
original
built in audience, Bell Road and also
interesting
to the future viewers.
me: hmmm
Joseph:
as you enjoy Paul talking to Timothy or some
other specific individual.
because that shows relevance and field testing
showing that it's not a 'brand new idea"
I was imaging a future English/ Pastor training school
where they listen to the message and then at least
summarize if not transcribe the message and cite any
biblical references.
that text could then be attached to an mp3
as an interpretation/comment.
showing that it is the old, old story.
me:: good idea
Joseph:
as far as you were talking about the
Doctrine
issue of lay-led churches ...
my doctrine is from watching, listening, and
attending and studying, practicing
All scripture is God breathed and is useful for doctrine
and books like Coach Eby that lead
people back to the
bible
"I put thousands of
verses of God's word in each book ...
that's what changes people's lives...
--not coaches rambling on."
SO ...we gotta make sure that Pastor's Training
is God's Word ...not just
coach's rambling on ...
God's word is Quick and Powerful
Alive ... How long did it take for Saul to be transformed
into Paul? Just an encounter with Jesus ...
me: a
lifetime of being transformed
calling makes the difference.....
<end of
Friday night chat>
Extra tired last night. Slept through until
7:50 a.m.
I attended the Men's Breakfast at 8:00 a.m.
and had a very good time of acknowledging
God's Direction as being experienced among
us in the season.
Currently, I am in our monthly Sunday School
teachers' meeting. Sharon Cole has nine of
us sitting around as she does her best to
spur us on to develop our Sunday School
department as a powerful vehicle for
outreach.
I think that I will stay in Auburn through
the day and overnight to continue to work on
the SundayMessage Acts-Luke-Romans. I have
been meditating upon the next three passages
and settled on this passage as the key to
unlock connectivity:
And they were
all amazed,
and were in doubt,
saying one to another,
What meaneth this?
Others
mocking said, These men are full of
new wine.
But Peter,
standing up with the eleven, lifted
up his voice, and said unto them, Ye
men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell
at Jerusalem, be this known unto
you, and hearken to my words:
For these
are not drunken, as ye suppose,
seeing it is but the third hour of
the day.
But
this is
that
which was spoken by
the prophet Joel
"This
is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
" 'In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all
people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those
days,
and they will prophesy.' "
Friday, May 4, 2007
Yesterday's Mayor's Prayer Breakfast was an
important time-and-place near the end of my
first 100 Days as pastor at BellRoad. The
key speaker was
Sosamma Samuel-Bennett (Chair, Dept. of
Public Policy at William Jessup University).
awat
From there I drove to FSBC-Roseville, popped
in on Pastor Doug,
then to FBC-Rocklin.
There were three trainers from
NAMB to
work through two 12-hour sessions:
Next Level Leadership Network.
The trainers
are Bert Ross,
Doug Jividen, and
Dr. Virgil Grant.
These guys flew to California specifically
for this small training event involving
leaders from three northern California
associations.I am being trained to facilitate
this material among church teams in our
association.
Bert, the Director, is working at
NAMB in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Virgil
is pastoring in Lexington, Kentucky.
Doug is
pastoring in Pioneer, Indiana and has
trained the SouthCentral Association in
Michigan. We knew people in common.
Yesterday was definitely a long day. Sitting
all day long got tiring. I drove back to
Galt last night and got home around 9:00
p.m. In preparation for this coming Sunday,
I listened to last Sunday's Message on my
way home:
I woke up at 4:30 a.m. this morning and will
drive back to Rocklin in order to start
another 12-hour session today at 8:00 a.m.
Then, I will drive to Auburn to spend the
night. There is a Men's Breakfast there
first thing Saturday morning. As well, I
should walk the platform and mentally
prepare for the upcoming SundayMessage:
click here
This morning I am supposed to be prepared to
use a powerpoint presentation to discuss
this particular model for
Building Powerful
Ministry Teams (click
here).
There is yet another important door for
ministry which appears to be opening but it
is not wise to publish anything at this
time. Still, if someone wants to join me in
prayer about an exciting overseas mission,
please write to me:
Emma
emailed me at the Conference yesterday. A
man named Mark
had stopped in and told her that I had
taught him guitar sometime in the past. Huh?
Mark apparently
found directions to BellRoad and made the
trip down the road . . . (click
here for
your own custom map).
I can't figure out who this
Mark
might be. Hopefully, I'll get an email and
clear up the mystery.
Thursday, May 3, 2007 (Day 96)
Today is the National Day of Prayer.
Jack and Janet Caulder are meeting Cathy and I at the
Mayor's Prayer Breakfast.
I chatted with Joe online for an hour while
I digitized and edited this "lost" message
from March 18, 2007.
It was the companion piece to "Running in
Church"
entitled "No Running in Church" (click
here).
I will be at FBC-Rocklin all day after the
Prayer Breakfast. Our association is having
a Team Leadership Training Seminar over the
next three days.
update from Shamas:
Brother, Today I go to
Islamabad but Police back our bus out of
Islamabad city because today was again
Lawyer's strike against Government.
Today Police fight with Opposition
Parliament leaders and Lawyers with sticks.
In all cities was lawyers strike in
Pakistan. Tomorrow will also strike, because
tomorrow Chief Justice of Supreme Court will
go to Court again. Lawyers are with him, but
President of Pakistan dismiss him.
Brother, I am not able to attend Congress in
Thailand. Because here our Country problems.
I am sad. I was much happy because I will
learn more there.
But I am really thankful to Lord because He
give me you and Brother Jim and one
spiritual sister, Cathy.
My Pray God give you long life.
God Bless You
Your Brother Shamas
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
I met with the area pastors and talked
through plans for the National Day of Prayer
(tomorrow morning at the Mayor's Prayer
Breakfast). I explained again about my
online friendship with Pastor Shamas in
Pakistan. We all prayed about his need to
get to Islamabad.
When I returned to the office this letter
was waiting for me.
Greetings to
you in Almighty Lord
Thanks for email. Brother, tomorrow I
will Go to Islamabad again.
Brother here in Pishawer Bomb Blast in
Government Parlimet Members Conference
near about 30 people died and many
injured.
Also Lawyers are on strike. Here
condition are not good. Please pray
tomorrow I reach in Islamabad and
Embassy stamp visa tomorrow .If tomorrow
I reach in Islamabad and stamp visa then
I will go to Thailand next day.
God Bless You
Your Brother Shamas
He was still online so we wrote back and
forth a few notes.
Cathy stayed in Auburn with me last night.
We hung out with Faye and Clyde awhile and
went out to eat. Jack and Janet came in
while we were at Denny's.
Back at the church at 7:00 to go over music
for Sunday morning. Lots to do today. Hope
to learn something about a person that I
have reported as missing.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Cathy is
following me to Auburn this morning. She has
business there today but won't be staying an
extended time as I will.
I plan to meet with Auburn pastors and
leaders at noon today. However, I've already
planned to spend some time organizing my
office. I happened upon this article early
this morning, and although it was a
feel-good for busy leaders, my response is
that I still need to focus some attention on
office matters, paperwork, etc.
I haven't heard from Joe since Saturday.
They were at an airport in Manila but the
call was lost. I am guessing that he and
Sharon were on their way to Chiang Mai,
Thailand. The
Asian Baptist Congress begins on May 2nd
(but, of course they're a day ahead of
us--so that starts today).
I haven't heard from Pastor Shamas Pervaiz
since one week ago. He was trying to arrange
for papers to enter Thailand from Pakistan
in order to attend this Congress. There was
trouble in Islamabad and Pastor Shamas was
having difficulty. I hope that it worked out
because I would like to see Joe and Sharon
meet up with Shamas. If the Lord wants this
to happen, we'll know soon enough.
![[grin]](cleardot.gif){kind=small}
BellRoad-a-Vision - May
13, 2007 Join pastorob
and friends for Sunday Morning
at Bell Road Baptist
Church.