the end ... for now

The prayer and fasting week ended last night at a prayer gathering. We had some bad weather which prevented some folks from coming, but we had about 20 people brave the elements and join us for a great time of prayer and fellowship. It was awesome to come together and worship, pray, and discern together. I really got a sense that the Spirit is stirring something within us, not just for the church plant but in our hearts. My prayer is that God will stir in all of us the desire to break the walls down which keep us from venturing out in service to Him and others. This will not be the last time we gather together, but for those who participated in prayer and fasting with us I am curious about your experience. At the meeting last night I posed a couple questions:
1. How was the exercise of intentional prayer and fasting for you?
2. What is the Spirit speaking you, whether it be in your life, the life of your church, or the church plant?
Please share your thoughts on this by clicking the “comments” link at the bottom of this post. Feel free to share your name, and your thoughts on either questions, or on something else.
May God bless us as we continue the journey, together.

community

Along w/ a group of folks, I’m in the middle of a 3 day pray/fast. The focus of this time has been for Kingdom growth here in Whatcom County. My prayer is that God would use the existing churches and our church plant, in partnership, to do this. This week my goal has been to simply worship and listen, asking what the Spirit speaking to us, whether it is in our lives, in the life of our churches, or in the church plant. One thing that has begun to stick out in this time of meditation has been a draw to community. In Acts 15, the Jerusalem church sent a letter of unity to the believers in believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia. In this letter there is a small phrase, they almost say in passing, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” They agreed with the Holy Spirit as a community on their thoughts in this letter. This thought continues to come before me: Our faith is best lived out in community. My hope is that, whenever possible, our worship, our prayers, our fun, and our service will occur in community. My prayers today have been lifted up for those participating w/ us in this prayer and fasting week, that God would reveal Himself to us, that we would have ears to listen to His voice and eyes to see how we can serve Him and other, and that we would find our strength in Him and w/ each other. I am looking forward to praying with them tomorrow night, and hear what the Spirit is speaking to us and what He’ll have all of us do, for His Kingdom and His glory. Blessings to you as you journey toward Him in community.

prayer = foundation = good

I've been reminded, again, how much we are dependent upon the grace of God. In ministry it is only by His power that kingdom growth occurs. Therefore, staying and remaining connected to the source is vital to life. So, I'm organizing a ½ week of intentional prayer for the kingdom growth in Whatcom County: in existing churches and through the church plant. It's from Dec. 15th – 17th. I'm inviting folks to pray intentionally for 3 days, and fast during that time to whatever level they choose (a meal a day, the entire 3 days, 1 day, whatever they see fit), and then we can come together for a prayer gathering on Wed. 12.17 (contact me if you're interested). At that event we'll pray together for the ministry, each other, and the "lost," maybe sing a bit. Then after the official meeting is over we can break our fast together and hang out a bit over finger foods. For those who want to pray with us, I've posted a prayer guide on the "prayer" link, under "411," in the right column.

May God bless us as we seek Him, and pray for the growth if His kingdom.

ordination

The biggest day of my professional career occurred the past Sunday evening; I was ordained as a “Minister of the Word” in the Christian Reformed Church (CRC). To be honest I didn’t know exactly what is would look like, but now that it is past I would chose to give it three words: special, honoring, and foundational.

It was special for many reasons; my folks and K8’s folks flew out from Colorado for the event. While they were here we celebrated Montana’s, my daughter not the state, birthday, which was very cool. Having family present for both events was a reminder of God blessing K8 and I w/ such support and love. Many from my old church in British Columbia (Bridge Community Church) came down. It was there where they allowed me to grow in my pastoral identity and they spoke greatly into my life. It was also special to have many of my new church community present. I believe around eight churches were represented, in a display of God’s unity among different communities…very cool.

Honoring was the second word to describe the event. Pastor John of Bethel CRC in Lynden conducted the worship service and preached. In his message he spoke of the importance for me, and all of us, to live out our faith and call in all aspects of our lives. I would use the phrase, “holistic faith” to describe the call to live out a lifestyle of worship that is seen in work, play, and social interaction. He also called me to not preach theology, politics, culture, or other agendas, but only preach the living word of God seen in the scriptures. This of course infirmed our theology, politics, culture, and other spheres of our lives, but as a pastor I am called to preach the Trinitarian God, seen in the Bible. It was a mighty word to hear on such a day. I was honored to hear it from John, who has served as a friend and guide in my first months of this new ministry. It was especially honoring to have my friend William Dellemen of the Bridge give me my charge as a new pastor. His mentorship and leadership has been and continues to be a model I which to follow. I was also honoring to have Mark Davies of 2^nd CRC give the charge to the community to support me and partner w/ me in ministry. His insight on the CRC, ministry, and the pastorate has been a blessing. Finally, it was honoring to have Les Mulder, elder at Bethel, pray on behalf of the communities represented. I am honored to partner w/ such a supportive community.

Lastly, the event was foundational. As a pastor in the CRC I am called to “preach the Word, administer the sacraments [communion and baptism], conduct public worship services, catechize the youth, and train members for Christian service.” This is what, through my ordination, I have been set aside to do. This will be present in my life, whether in church planting or whatever else the Lord calls me to in the future. As we serve together as students of Christ, I anticipate I will look back on these tasks during good and challenging times. The beauty of serving as the body of Christ, allows us to compliment each others gifts and passions.

So, all that to say my ordination service was special, honoring, and foundational. And maybe I’ll add the word “cool” to the bunch, b/c it was.

Blessings.

one

"...and so Aaron entered the world of blogging, excited, nervous, and wondering how often he would actually make entries. He didn't know who would read it, who would care, or who would stalk him as a result of the ensuing fame from the blog's popularity. All Aaron knew was that it seemed like a good idea. He hoped it would help his journey toward a simple, intentional, holistic lifestyle of worship and community... and to be cool. Aaron hoped to use the blog to share stories and pictures of culture, faith, community, and growth. It would remain to be seen if that happened, but it was worth a try. It was the one of many new beginnings for Aaron, from being in a new place, to starting a new career, to finding a new tribe. Yes, it was a new day for Aaron, but who would have thought..."