Starting Over Again!

Well, here we go again as I attempt to regain the heart and time to become a blogger par-excellence.  Many people have asked me to pick up this blessed habit because they seem to get something out of my musings.  So, here I go again.

So much has happened since I last posted in May.  One of my heroes in the faith, and a man I have written about before, Pastor Larry James Brice has graduated to heaven after a painful battle with colon cancer.  Larry passed quietly into the Presence of the living Light early on the morning of September 6.  His struggle and death have had a profound impact upon my life.  Larry was one of the best men I have ever known.  What made him that way was Christ within!  Larry's life was a picture of Christ being formed on the inside, and working His way to the outside for others to observe.

Larry was gentle, strong, joyful, deep, contemplative, funny, caring, skeptical, hopeful, and real!  Larry was a wonderful contradiction of humanity struggling with divinity within.  Larry could at times be negative, but he was never hopeless.  I loved spending time with him because he was willing to be honest about the difficult subjects of life in a way that was non-religious.

Larry reminded me of men like David and the other Psalmist's who said how they really felt, and complained openly to God about it while maintaining a posture of trust and thanksgiving to God.  Larry was a pleasure to know, and I am privileged beyond words to have been able to call him my best friend!

I now embark upon the journey of pastoring at Grace Harvest Church without Larry at my side.  I never really prepared for this contingency, but I am confident that God was not surprised, and that He has already gone before us to meet our need.  In some ways, I feel that I am not only starting over again at blogging, but that I am starting over again at pastoring.  In both areas, I am counting on the God who holds my future, and the future of His people to give fresh manna for each day and to enable me and others to travel down this path that we have never traveled before.  May God help us all.

I want to conclude by making the last sermon Larry preached at our church available through a link.  Last November, just before Thanksgiving, while I was in the Philippines on a mission trip, Larry preached a message titled, "BE THANKFUL!"  It is powerful and ironic in a God-kind of way.  I have also included an article from the Columbia Basin Herald that was carried the day after Larry's Memorial Service.

"BE THANKFUL" - SERMON BY PASTOR LARRY JAMES BRICE
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD ARTICLE

The Best of Times, and the Worst of Times

The opening line of Charles Dickens' famous novel The Tale of Two Cities
uses the oft quoted line, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...", to capture a sense of the times and seasons in London and Paris during the French Revolution.  It was a time of great upheaval and violent change.  In many ways, it was similar to our own times.  In some ways and places, times have never been better, while in other ways and places, times have never been worse. 

Personally, and in the life of our church these statements are also true. Larry Brice, a

great champion of the faith, our Associate Pastor and my best friend, is battling for his life against colon cancer.  Concurrently, our church family moves forward to build a new facility to glorify God and serve the people of the Columbia Basin.  God is blessing our lives in unprecedented ways, while we grapple with some of the greatest
challenges our family and church have ever faced. 

These times are designed by God to produce hardy saints of us all.  The truth is, our predecessors, that "great cloud of witnesses" spoken of by the writer of Hebrews, faced their own "Best and Worst of Times."  The history of the church is the redemption story of glory, power, healing, salvation, miracles, restoration AND martyrdom, suffering, loss, rejection, disappointment, and failure.  Always, the two

seemingly contradictory tracks were running parallel to one another. Even the glorious book of Acts, that theme section of the Scriptures for Charismatics, reads like a roller coaster ride of paradoxes and life and death drama.

Redemption is the story of God in the midst of sin, death, suffering, sickness etc...  Some day, everything will be swallowed up in the life, beauty, and presence of redemption Himself.  Until that great day arrives, this train must run on both tracks, and we must ride it!

Daddy's Little Girl is a Princess

I am one proud papa!  My daughter, whose name is Sarah, is truly a princess in both name and title.  The name Sarah, means "Princess", and, my daughter Sarah completed the Moses Lake Jr. Miss Program as 1st Runner up this past Saturday night with princess-like dignity and class.  As I watched her perform, and heard her answer questions before a live audience, I was struck by her poise, confidence, and the sense of security she exhibited before hundreds of watchful eyes.
As a protective father, a Christian, and a pastor of a local church, I was not about to let my daughter be a part of something that emphasized outward appearance, and sensuality!  Initially, I was a little suspicious of the Junior Miss Program, and what it might expose Sarah to. After investigating a little and praying, Peggy and I gave her the green light to participate.  The last 6 weeks have been rather stressful at times while Peggy and Sarah bought dresses, and wrangled over "girlie" type stuff.  Oh, it's good to be a man!
Saturday night was the Grand Finale, and while most of the other girls danced for the talent portion of their presentation, Sarah sang "Think of Me" from the film adaptation of "PHANTOM OF THE OPERA."  She hit a home run, er, uh, sang beautifully, and brought tears to the eyes of a number of people all over the auditorium! 
When the results were announced, another girl won as Moses Lake Junior Miss, but my eyes were only on Sarah.  Sarah never really cared whether or not she placed as part of royalty, but she did want to compete, and do her best.  Well, as she was announced as 1st runner up, I felt as if she had just won an Olympic Gold Medal, and set a new world record as well!  The attitude she exhibited after the announcement was one of humility and graciousness.  Can you tell I'm proud and partial?
The American Junior Miss Program has high ideals and encourages inner beauty and character along with service, goal setting, education, and good health.  I have included the 'Be Your Best Self' Promise that AJM contestants make when competing.  Thank you for letting me indulge in a little fatherly boasting.  Only parents will be able to understand my indulgence!
The 'Be Your Best Self' Promise
I want to help improve the world, and that begins with me.  I promise to do the following things:

• Eat the right foods
• Stay fit
• Get a good education
• Live by moral principals
• Serve my community
• Set goals
• Work to reach my goals

EASTER: The Spring Season in the Life of the Christian!

Spring, that magical time of year when bird songs return to greet us in the morning, when flowers bloom,  trees bud, and new life seems to be bursting out all around us.  Spring is that season that offers to us the hope of new life as we emerge from the general grayness and drabness of the winter months.  Spring is that time of year when our children emerge from the cave of our homes and play outside again.  When I think of spring, I remember the years when my
children would venture outside to rediscover bugs, birds, and the warmth of sunshine.  The thing I most appreciate about spring is the picture it paints to us of the most important miracle in human history.  The miracle I speak of is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the premier event of all time.

In all of our brief time on this planet, there is nothing that holds more significance to our everyday lives than the person of Jesus Christ and what He did for us mortals when He died a torturous, pain-filled death and then rose from the dead after three days in a sealed grave. The entire Christian faith, as well as any hope we have as human beings is wrapped up in these events.  If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, then our “faith is in vain”(I Corinthians 15:17) and sin still has the power to pull us down and lead us to an eternity without God or hope.  In this one event we have the only true hope in our struggle to
cheat death and milk all we can out of this life.    

Each of us is continually faced with the very real prospect of death on
a daily basis as we listen to the news, experience our own close calls
and grapple with the death or dying of a loved one.  Death, as we all
know is even more sure than taxes.  No matter how much we advance in
medical technology, or exercise and eat right, we all know we are going
to die.  In our culture, we dress up death to look a little nicer, or
try to hide it by putting it in the hands of others who will soften the
blow and make it more presentable.  Unfortunately, we do ourselves and
others no favors when we engage in this form of denial.  Death is real,
and, according to the Scriptures, it is our greatest enemy.  It is
waiting for all of us and we cannot avoid it.   


It is precisely this admission which makes the resurrection of Jesus
Christ so powerful and liberating to those who have come to know and
believe in Him.  When Adam sinned, death spread to all of us through
his sin tainted blood. Each one of us understands sin's power, and how
it affects our everyday life and entangles us in its chains.  As much
as sin is a concept most of us hate to talk about anymore in this
therapy minded culture, (which makes all of us a victim of our
environment, upbringing or genes) none of us can deny the reality of it
in our experience.  As the Scriptures teach, “ the wages of sin is
death...” and all of us must receive that paycheck whether we like it
or not.   

This is where the resurrection of Jesus Christ becomes so powerful and
relevant for all of us.  As the sinless Son of God and very God in
human form, Jesus’ death on a Roman cross was more than just a martyrs
sacrifice for a good cause.  Jesus was the only qualified God-man who
could die in our place and receive our judgment in His own body.
Though innocent of any wrong, though completely pure and without
original sin or personal sin, Jesus was sentenced to die an unjust
death as a sacrifice for us.  This death alone could satisfy the
righteous requirement of God the Father for an atoning death.  Through
this death, our sin was atoned for and cleansed once and for all.   


This story is called the Gospel, which means, good news.  This story
would be nothing more than a sad tragedy if it was not for the
resurrection of Jesus Christ.  When Jesus rose from a grave sealed by
the Roman Government, He put the exclamation point on His whole mission
and proved He was truly God in a human body.      

Jesus’ resurrection sealed for us the hope of eternal life with God in a New Creation.
This New Creation will be a world without sin, sickness, suffering,
sorrow, war, famine, strife, pain, and most importantly, death.  The
resurrection of Jesus makes it possible for those who exercise
child-like trust in Christ to receive the power of The Holy Spirit. The
Holy Spirit enables His followers to overcome sin, and live without the
fear of death any longer.      

Truly, the Spring of creation was and is the resurrection of Jesus Christ! The resurrection is the most wonderful and powerful event in human history! The resurrection is the reason believers consider this Holiday to be the ultimate time for reflection
and celebration.

This Spring as you emerge from your winter grave clothes to enjoy all
of the new life bursting forth, imagine Jesus Christ coming out of the
tomb and bringing new life to those who believe in Him.  Think of a God
in heaven who loved His children so much that He had to become one of
them, so that He might die and reverse the curse of sin and death.
Behold the God whose love is so powerful that not even death could keep
Him in the grave!  HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY!

ME CHURCH!

This is a YOUTUBE clip that poignantly captures the dilemma facing many churches and pastors.  We live in an age when all of the marketing and focus of the media is about ME and what I want.  As a pastor, I too am regularly tempted to try to do all I can to make our church comfortable and pleasing to those who might attend.  While I think it is OK to be a little "SEEKER FRIENDLY", we must fight to truly make our churches more Holy Spirit friendly, and be a place that is welcoming to God and his Presence.  We must also contend to do all we can to not feed the selfish tendencies of fallen human nature.  ENJOY!

BACK AFTER A VERY LONG ABSENCE!

I don't know what to say about my absence, other than the fact that I kind of lost the vision for blogging for awhile.  So much has happened since my last post on September 11th, 2006, it would be almost impossible to tell all, but here are some highlights and lowlights;

1. Our oldest son, Stephen, left to Kirkland, Washington, and The City Church GENERATION INTERN PROGRAM.  Peggy and I have marveled at God's grace as we have watched our son be challenged and then respond with maturity to almost every challenge.  The growth we have observed as a result of this intensive leadership program would be similar in some ways to what a parent sees when their son has returned from boot-camp as a man instead of a boy.  I guess the
   
   main difference would be the fact that Stephen has been formed inwardly and is manifesting the nature of Christ more than at any other time!  PRAISE GOD FOR HIS FAITHFULNESS!!!


2. I traveled with 2 other people from our church to the Philippines for a short term missions trip at the end of November.  Our goals were to train church leaders, visit the orphanage we support, and be a blessing to the Filipino church.  As usual, the Filipino people blessed our lives far beyond anything we could ever do for them.  The trip was very successful and fruitful but for me it had to be cut short due to some of the most difficult news I have ever received...


3. Larry Brice, my dearest friend of 18 years, associate pastor of 9 years, and one of my true heroes in the faith was diagnosed with colon cancer which had spread to his liver.  I returned home immediately to be with him as he navigated through the difficult decisions facing him, his wife Shirley, and their 11 year old daughter, Madison.  Larry determined to fore-go chemotherapy and is asking God, along with thousands of others from around the world, for a miracle of healing.  Larry is truly one of the godliest men I have ever know, and as GENUINE A CHRIST-FOLLOWER as I have observed in my 23 years as a believer.  Larry has a passion for God and His kingdom, and desperately wants to "See the Lord do amazing things in Moses Lake and the world!" PLEASE JOIN US IN PRAYER AS WE CALL ON OUR MIRACLE WORKING GOD TO DO THE AMAZING AND IMPOSSIBLE IN LARRY.


4. Simultaneously to all of these things, our church is growing, people are being transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we are starting to move forward in a building campaign.  Truly, this is a time of FAITH STRETCHING and DOUG STRETCHING!  GRACE HARVEST CHURCH seems to be in a time of harvest, blessing and momentum, and our leaders are in need of much support in prayer and encouragement.  PLEASE PRAY FOR MY FAMILY AND I AS WELL.

Well, it's good to be back and get some of this off my mind.  PLEASE POST COMMENTS AND LET ME KNOW YOU ARE READING.  COMMENTS ARE A BLOGGER'S PAY FOR HIS/HER EFFORTS.


Blessings,
Doug