New Look...

This is Holly here and I have hacked into Collin's blog in order to give it a fancy little facelift :D. Since he is out of town, I needed something to keep me busy!! So this occupied me for a few hours at least.

I hope you like the new look babe...We miss you and can't wait for you to get home!! Love ya lots!! :D - Hols

Maddox: Risk-Taking

It seems that more and more the greatest Christian virtue has become balance, which seems completely opposite of Scripture's story. Somehow we've been led to believe that good Christians are those whose life produces the least amount of risk possible.

One look at the life of Scripture's heroes shows something completely different. Abraham? Moses? Deborah? Elijah? The Prophets? John the Baptist? Mary? Peter? Paul? Jesus? I don't think so.

These are men and women of outrageous dedication whose lives looked completely out of balance. The world tries to form us into the same mold as everyone else, but the Sermon on the Mount beckons us to buck that trend.

Blessed are the poor in Spirit? Blessed are those who mourn? Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness? Don't be angry with anyone? Love your enemies? Pray for those who persecute you? Don't worry?

We're not called to be calibrated to the world's directional compass? We're called to be calibrated to the life of Jesus Christ, which puts us way off balance.

Maddox, may God bless you with an imbalanced life that looks like Jesus Christ. Along the way, you might want to take a risk for the kingdom of God. You might want to start an inner-city ministry or become a part of a Christian peacekeeping team in the midst of city torn apart by war. When you have those dreams, don't let your mother and I stand in the way of them. We might want you to stay safe, but don’t let our desire for your safety get in the way of God’s kingdom dream for you. I give you permission to defy us if we are standing in the way of you living out your kingdom vocation.

Should you choose to live this kind of imbalanced life, the world will look at you like you're crazy. However, few balanced people have ever changed the world. Be a risk taker for the kingdom of God. Perhaps nothing else will wake up Americans from our spiritual slumber than your risky life of discipleship!

Maddox: Heritage

I'm going to sound like an old man, but here it goes:

Tradition and Heritage, Maddox. Two words that you must learn to appreciate (Am I really 25?). Many children grow up unappreciative of the heritage they have been born into.

Maddox, should you choose to accept this mission, by my calculations you are a tenth generation member of the Restoration Movement. One of your long lost ancestors, Collin McKinney, was baptized by Barton W. Stone and helped to start some of the first Restoration Movement churches in north Texas. While we did not give you the honorable and distinctive name "Collin," this is your heritage.

Much like me, you have been born on third base, Maddox. Many children in the world do not grow up with grandparents and parents who all love the Lord, but you will. You will actually be born into a home with parents who have taken a combined 9 semesters of Greek and 2 semesters of Hebrew. (While your mom is not a nerd, I am open enough to admit that your father is.) While your mom and dad will not be perfect examples of Christ to you, we are committed to doing the best we can. You won't have to hit a homerun all by yourself and round all of the bases. You've been born on third base. You just have to find your way home.

I've grown up in the same situation. I was blessed to be born on third base. The walk home wasn't always easy, but it was a huge blessing to have parents, grandparents, and ancestors who paved the way for me to Jesus Christ. At times I took for granted my Christian heritage, but I encourage you to appreciate it. Even though being a preacher's kid isn't always the most fun, you will have advantages other kids won't have.

At this point, you don't know anything about Alexander Campbell, Barton Stone, Walter Scott, David Lipscomb, or T.B. Larimore. You don't understand the vision it took for your great-great grandfather, Robert S. Bell, to start the Bell Trust, which gives Churches of Christ a chance to do mission work across the world. You don't know the names Prentice Meador, Rick Atchley, Mike Cope, Rubel Shelly, Chris Seidman, Josh Graves, or Josh Ross, but these are men who have paved the way for what will come next in Churches of Christ and the Restoration Movement.

It's easy to be critical of things. Anyone one can tear down a wall. But there are few who can build a new one. I pray that you will be grateful for your heritage. Not grateful in a naive way so that you won't be able to improve things in the future, but grateful so that you can help the church become more faithful to our changing context in the future.

And ultimately, please know that I'm not most concerned about you giving your life to a specific church or movement. I'm most concerned that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ in the most extreme way. Never forget that!

Maddox: 2009

Maddox, you've been born into the world at a fascinating time. In 2009:

-America swore in its first African American President and Hispanic Supreme Court Justice
-America struggles with a recession that only falls short of the Great Depression in our history
-In my estimation, 2009 has not been a great sports year thus far:
-Golf (Major winners Angel Cabrera, Lucas Glover & Stewart Cink)
-Texas Longhorns were robbed of a chance to play in the National Championship football game
-But things are looking up for the Cowboys because Tony Romo broke up with Jessica Simpson
-It's a long shot, but a Rangers-Rockies World Series could happen
-And we're on the brink of football season! (Maddox saw ACU for the first time last night)
-Coldplay continues to dominate the music charts.
-Television continues to put out better material than movies with shows involving lost a bunch of lost people and employees who can never seem to get work done in an office.
-Conan O'Brien took over for Jay Leno on the Tonight Show
-Several important people have died this year:
-John Updike
-Paul Harvey
-Walter Kronkite
-Michael Jackson

Maddox, you will grow up in a world where you are able to get to know your grandparents, aunts, and uncles over webcam instead of just hearing their voices over the phone.

However, many Christians are not very excited about the future of Christianity in America. Several articles have come out this year projecting the decline of Christianity, but this is only bad news for those of us who have a stake in the power of Christendom.

The truth is the kingdom of God is multiplying in many places throughout our world. The decline is only true of white Christianity. There was a time when Europe was the center of Christianity, but all that's left now are a few followers of Jesus and many empty cathedrals. And if I'm honest with you, I think we are entering a similar time in our nation.

But the exciting thing is that God is bringing incredible growth to his kingdom in other places. Christianity is exploding in South America, Africa, and China. Our God is a God of surprises and he is doing some surprising things across the globe. We're finding out that his mission doesn't depend on the West quite like we thought it did for the last millennium.

By the time you turn 25, there might be less than 50 million Christians in America. I tell you this not to scare you about the future, but to let you know that your generation will be crucial to the future of Christianity here. And God wants to recruit you to be his missionary to the United States for such a time as this. Like the first century, you will likely be persecuted for your beliefs. But God always grows his kingdom in times of persecution. He grows his church at the margins. You can be the next Moses or Joshua here. You can be the next Peter or Paul. God has great things planned for you, my son!

Maddox Austin Packer

I've been waiting to post about the birth of our son because I had an idea about a post I wanted to do for Maddox. But in typical Blogger Collin fashion I've procrastinated and come up with a better idea to hide my procrastination.

Instead of my original brilliant idea, I'm going to write an even more brilliant series of blog posts in the coming weeks in honor of my dear son. These posts are intended to orient him to this broken world and to prompt him toward God's healing kingdom that continues to blossom. While he might not be able to read these posts yet (he's pretty smart so we'll see), I hope these will be posts he can refer back to when he grows up.

I will preach an abbreviated series at Littleton in the next two weeks that will cover some of the content in these blog posts entitled "Finding God in the Delivery Room." My first sermon will focus on the the things the church can learn from our hospital experience. The second sermon will be a sermon directed to Maddox prompting him toward a radical kingdom lifestyle. That sermon will often be very helpful for Littleton to overhear as we seek to become a church that lives as salt and light in our culture. It should be good stuff!

So, let me end post one in the series with the stats. Maddox Austin Packer was born Monday, June 29th at 7:59 PM. He was 8 lbs. 8 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long.

But more than that he's the perfect gift of God that has been given to us for a time. Father, Holly and I commit to raising him in a Christian home. And we long for the day when we will hear the confession "Jesus is Lord" in the baptistry with him. Thank you for this gift!

Perceptions

I am currently in the middle of six week series entitled "Perceptions." In this series, I've tackled the top six perceptions 16-29 year old outsiders have of Christianity. The research behind this series has come primarily from the book unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity. The Barna Group has put out this research and I believe the church must consider these findings.

What are the top perceptions?
1) Christians are hypocritical.
2) Christians are only out to convert people.
3) Christians are antihomosexual.
4) Christians are sheltered.
5) Christians are too political.
6) Christians are judgmental.

It's easy to get defensive about these perceptions, but for the people we're trying to reach, perception is reality. It's been a great series so far! The church has certainly responded well to these difficult subjects.

We'll see how it goes this week. I'm preaching on perception #5 (too political), which might be a bit controversial. But if we can't talk about these things at church, where can we talk about them? I believe our people want to have these conversations. And so far, Littleton has confirmed my hypothesis.

What do you think about these perceptions? Are they fair? And what other perceptions aren't named in this list?

Tribute to Prentice Meador

Prentice Meador was one of the most influential mentors in my life. My first preaching internship was under Prentice in the summer of 2003. Prentice not only showed me how to preach well, he tutored me in the way of Christ. And he was the first person to tell me that I had what it took to be a preacher. His encouragement and advice marked the path that I am still continuing down. And many people don't know that he is one of the biggest reasons I ended up at the Littleton Church of Christ.

Prentice passed away last year unexpectedly on November 21st at 70 years old. His unexpected passing was felt by so many people throughout the world. I was grateful to be able to express my appreciation to him during the Lipscomb Conference on Preaching last October. While many miss him, we are grateful for his life and the impact he had on so many of us.

I am excited to announce that, under the vision and leadership of Bob Chisholm (Prentice's long time friend and co-worker), there is going to be an upcoming book of sermons on the Psalms produced in tribute to Prentice. Psalms was one of Prentice's favorite books and he taught his last college class on the Psalms as well.

The book, currently untitled, will be published by Leafwood and released in October at the Lipscomb Conference on Preaching. The proceeds from this rich resource will go to fund a Christian scholarship in Prentice's name at Lipscomb University. Bob Chisholm and Dave Bland will write an introduction to the book and Randy Lowry, the President of Lipscomb, will write the forward.

Here is a list of preachers who will have sermons in the book:

Lynn Anderson – Psalm 23
Rick Atchley – Psalm 103
Bob Chisholm – Psalm 115
Mike Cope – Psalm 137
Jennings Davis – Psalm 112
Ken Durham – Psalm 126
Harold Hazelip – Psalm 90
Gary Holloway – Psalm 142
Tom Jones – Psalm 51
Jim Martin – Psalm 73
Royce Money – Psalm 71
Collin Packer – Psalm 32
Jack Reese – Psalm 89
David Rubio – Psalm 13
Scott Sager – Psalm 22
Landon Saunders – Psalm 27
Chris Seidman – Psalm 63
Tim Spivey – Psalm 122
John York – Psalm 34

I am so honored to be a part of this project. It will be a great resource for preachers and a great tribute to the legacy of Prentice Meador.

Pepperdine

Well, I've written the last sermon I will write for a couple of weeks. After 16 Sundays in a row of filling the pulpit, Holly and I will be taking nearly two weeks off while we are in California. This is a big trip for us. It will be our last vacation together as a married couple without kids. It will be our first experience at the Pepperdine Lectures in Malibu (It's great to be a preacher!). We will get to see my parents for the first time since Christmas. And I'm teaching my first class at a Lectureship. We're so excited!

The class I am teaching is entitled "Musings of a Young Minister (Reflections and Regrets from My First Year in Ministry)." In my class, I hope to give valuable feedback to members in a congregation with a young minister, leaders who are tending to a young minister, and to young ministers who are about to begin their ministries, with a bit of a humorous view into the life of a minister that most people never see.

So, as I prepare for my class, I'm thinking back on the past 9 months. Holly and I were talking today about how fast the time has gone by. It seems like just a few weeks ago that we were pulling our moving van into our apartment complex. God has been faithful. There have been blessings, curses, and challenges all along the way. But most of all, God has been faithful. And he is certainly at work at the Littleton Church of Christ.

Transitions are sure to come as Holly and I start our family together, but we are so blessed to be surrounded by the body of Christ in Denver. We know there will be no worry of finding baby sitters. We already have so many who have vowed to become surrogate grandparents, uncles, aunts, siblings, and mentors. It's nice to be able to preach about the Acts 2 community, as I experience it in my own congregation.

So, here I sit, penning my thoughts for my lectureship class. There are already so many good memories and laughs that can be told. And there are many times I have wept for the people in this city and within this congregation. God is at work and it's great to be in the center of his will!

Welcome Clint Askins

I'm excited to announce that we have hired Clint Askins as our new youth minister. We, at Littleton, are so blessed to have Clint join our team. He is one of the best youth ministers out there and he's going to add so much to our team.

I've known Clint for about 7 years. And while his personality lends itself so much better to youth ministry than mine does, he also brings a wealth of training and internships to his new role. Littleton already is blessed to have one of the best church staffs around, but Clint is going to help us as we move forward with our vision. His heart for reaching out to our community will aid us in our desire to continue becoming a missional church.

- - - - - - - - -

It's been awhile since I updated. So, here are a few things going on in the Packer household:

-Birth Prep Classes (Those videos are a bit too revealing for my taste)
-Two new preaching series before the baby comes (Get excited! No more Mark)
-Tax Day (Everyone loves April 15)
-We're closing on our new home later this month!
-Guys' Golf Trip coming soon
-Pepperdine Lectures
-Maddox on the way! (Our Son)
-5 Year Anniversary (Has it really been that long?)

Life is good! God is good!

25...March Madness

Well, I turned 25 last Friday. I had a great day skiing with Holly's family up in Breckenridge. You can't beat having your birthday on Spring Break every year. I've been skiing on my birthday at least 6 or 7 times. We had a great time.

And on another note: 25 means that I'm able to be on the insurance of the church vans now. The office made sure to rib me about this. There aren't too many churches who hire preachers who aren't even allowed to take the youth group to any events in their vans. But as of Friday, I'm not the preacher boy, I'm the young preacher. Getting old doesn't feel so good!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

March and April are also two of my favorite months for sports. The Masters is coming up in a few weeks, which is perhaps my favorite sporting event of the year. But this weekend is the opening weekend of the College Basketball Tournament. You can't beat opening weekend of the tourney. 48 games in 4 days. My couch and I are about to become very good friends again! Make sure and fill out your bracket.

Here are my picks:

Final Four - Louisville, Memphis, Villanova, Oklahoma

Championship - Louisville over Villanova

Let me know your picks!

Jesus Wants To Save Christians

I don't use the words "Must Read" too often, but Rob Bell's book "Jesus Wants To Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile" is as close as it comes. He has written the book I had hoped to write in about 15 years.

Rob has an incredible touch on the pulse of Christianity and culture and what it means to be the people of God in this particular time. He's incredibly knowledgeable about the Jewish background to Scripture. He's an incredibly helpful minister to other ministers.

In his book, Rob takes his readers through Israel's story. Israel was a people who began as slaves in Egypt. Then, God gave them commands of how they should live as his people at Sinai. Then, they became Egypt when they enslaved others in order to build God's temple. And finally, they entered exile and becames slaves once again.

God always hears the cries of the oppressed. And anyone with their boot against the necks of the oppressed are in God's line of fire. It's not going to fair well for them.

Bell gets into what it means to be the people of God when you are the empire or when the empire has its boot against your neck. And Bell makes an incredible case for why America is the empire today and what we, as Christians, should do about it. Incredible stuff! Challenging stuff!

Now there is a danger if you read this book and go to my church. It is possible to think Rob Bell came up with these thoughts, but the truth is I did and I failed to copyright them. So when you hear them from my pulpit, I don't want you to think I'm stealing them. (Wink!) God is doing a new thing among a new generation. Let's continue about what it means to be the people of God in our location and time!

It's a Boy!!

Holly and I found out last Thursday that we're having a boy!! And I have to admit, I'm very excited. While a spendthrift like me is excited by anything that will lessen my child's wedding expenses, there's so much more to be excited about with this news. (C'mon people I'm not that shallow!)

The dreams are beginning for me. Dreams of what my child might become. The next Tiger Woods? (Although it sounds like the competition might be stiff because Tiger just had a boy of his own named Charlie Axel Woods.) The next Warren Buffett? The next Dave Matthews? The next Martin Luther King Jr.? The next Max Lucado? Who knows? And that is what's so exciting.

While Holly gushes about the opportunity to pick bedding and nursery, my dreams are about playing catch with my son, worshipping with him in my arms, and teaching him about the way of Christ.

What are your first memories of dreams you had for your first child?

The Greatest Feeling

While most of my posts are related to Christianity or some serious subject, Holly reminds me that I need to branch out with the content of my blog. So...

Holly's pregnancy has been a time for experiencing firsts. I remember being amazed by our first sonogram and seeing our miracle for the first time. It's beyond comprehension to think that somehow Holly and I have created a human that's growing inside of her. Hearing the heartbeat for the first time was also incredible.

But for the past few weeks, Holly has been able to feel the baby moving around and I haven't yet. Until last night! It was such an incredible moment to feel our baby move. And it's so reassuring to feel movement after our serious car accident about a week ago. There are many firsts to go. It's definitely an exciting time.

Also, Holly and I found out that we are going to find out if it's a boy or girl on Thursday. The dreams that every parent has for his/her child are beginning to form in my mind. And they will solidify when we find out the gender later this week.

But regardless of the many dreams I have for our child, the number one dream is for the day when our child will confess Jesus Christ as Lord in baptism. And I pray that he/she will live a life aimed at transformation into the image of Jesus Christ. And that prayer is more important than any other prayer I could pray. I want our child to be healthy. I want our child to do so many wonderful things. But all of the dreams I have are worthless if he/she isn't a child of the king. So pray with me! Continue to pray for the health of our child. But most of all, lift up prayers for his or her transformation into the image of Jesus Christ.

That's what being a parent is all about!

Inauguration Day

On the heels of January 19th, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, today is inauguration day. And some are claiming Martin Luther King's dream speech is coming to fruition today. But I have to wonder if that is the case or not today.

Don't get me wrong. Today is a historical day that I will one day tell my children about. It's a momentous occasion when any country can overcome years of prejudice and racism to elect a person from a tribe once enslaved on our own watch. Today, I must say "I am proud to be an American," despite the greater allegiance I have to the kingdom of God.

Technology is amazing today. I'm able to watch CNN's live stream on my computer while watching the Facebook comments of my friends on the right side of the page. It's something would have been inconceivable only four years ago.

And I must say that I'm concerned. Not concerned about the direction of this nation today, like many of my friends on Facebook. I'm concerned about the civility of the comments of Christians about this moment. As Christians, our words are always to be seeded with salt and light. We are people who give comfort in times of distress and encouragement in times of grief. No matter the flavor of our politics, as Christians, we are called to speak words of grace and peace rather than words of hate and dissention. In fact, speech of this kind is unchristian and unbefitting of anyone who claims the name of Jesus Christ. And when our kids are spewing hate on Facebook, it is telling because they are learning this hateful speech from somewhere. And I'm afraid all too often they repeat the words they hear from their parents.

As Christians, who pledge their allegiance first to the kingdom of God, our call is to submit to the governing authorities (Rom.13:1-5) as long as they do not conflict with our calling as citizens of the kingdom of God (Acts 5:29) and to pray for our leaders and seek to live at peace (1 Tim. 2:1-3) as much as possible so that we can go on as citizens of the kingdom of God.

Now, back to our focus on Dr. King's speech and how today is the fruition of his dream. Dr. King's end goal was racial equality for all people, but for him, the possible means to that goal were few. Taking his cue from Jesus and Ghandi, Dr. King insisted that lasting justice and peace can only come through loving our enemies rather than retaliating against them. In several of his speeches, Dr. King demanded that no one participate in his rallies who harbored hatred in their hearts against their oppressors and who were not willing to commit to nonviolence regardless of the actions of those they encountered. Dr. King's dream was for freedom, but not at any cost.

And that is why I question the fruition of Dr. King's dream today. Today is a great day, but have we gained any ground on the heart of King's dream, which was exclusively about love, nonviolence and nonresistance? I'm not sure we have. And as Christians this should be our task. We are people called to live as citizens of a kingdom who refuse to engage in violence, hatred, and dissention.

I'm still after King's dream because it is Jesus' dream. The kingdom of God is expanding. I'm praying for our President today. I'm praying that he will receive wisdom from God. But more than that I'm praying that God will bring his kingdom and that he will reign over all nations and kingdoms today. Amen!

2008

What a year! This year I've gotten to know responsibility and transition more than any of the previous years of my life. Holly and I are so blessed. God has been so good to us. Here are my top 7 highlights of 2008.

7. Tiger Woods' US Open Victory - While Tiger Woods places this year's US Open victory as second on his incredible resume (to the '97 Masters), it is his best victory and the most incredible sports moment I have ever seen. With a double stress fracture of his left tibia, Tiger dismissed his doctor's orders, downplayed his injury to the media, and grimaced to victory in his fourteenth career major. To be honest, my biggest worry wasn't whether he would win or not. I was most interested to see if he could finish his third round, fourth round, and playoff round still walking. Incredible drama! I can't wait to see how his return goes in 2009.



6. A 30 yard addition to my golf game - Following the golf theme, my golf game improved a great deal this year. While my golf score remained a mediocre "lukewarm," I improved my distance by thirty yards. However, you might be surprised that this had nothing to do with the large size of my biceps. Instead, my thirty yards can only be attributed to the thin air found in mile-high Denver. But I still added 30 yards!



5. Graduating with my Master of Divinity - While this degree conferred on me some level of divinity, I have been upset that people haven't begun to call me master. My dad has his doctorate and people write him letters calling him Dr. Packer, but I haven't been written to as Master Packer once yet. Although, I do like my new name, Pastor Packer. It fits very well.
Graduation was a great moment. I had worked so hard for six years to get my degrees, thus it was great to finally walk across the stage knowing I had accomplished something. However, I didn't learn everything in school. In fact, my most repeated phrase so far in the office is "I didn't learn that in grad school!"



4. Moving to Colorado - Though there is much to love about Texas, the move from Abilene to Littleton was a "step up" (no offense to my Abilenian readers). Even though I haven't experienced a full winter yet, I can already tell Colorado will not take much getting used to. A strategic office facing toward the mountains doesn't hurt too much either. Though I will never outgrow my love for the Cowboys and Longhorns, Colorado is a wonderful place to live and minister.



3. Obama's Election - For anyone who knows me well, you might be surprised by how high this one made it on my list. I've always had an interest in politics, but I am continually convinced that God desires for us to work to bring change through laying down our lives in the kingdom of God rather than taking up power to influence the kingdoms of this world. But regardless of your political affiliation, I hope we can all agree that America has come a long way. We have a long ways to go, but November 4th was a historic day in our nation. Americans have gone from enslaving African Americans to electing an African American as our 44th President.



2. Joining the Littleton Church of Christ - We couldn't have asked for more out of a church family. While Holly and I have had wonderful church families over the years, we love the people at the Littleton Church of Christ so much. I love preaching. I love the people. I love the leaders. And I love that we are a church that wants to reach out to our community in relevant ways. We still feel like we're in the honeymoon phase, but there are some exciting things having to do with vision that are going to take place in 2009. I can't wait to see the incredible things that God is going to do through his church in Littleton.



1. The Pregnancy - While Holly might not put the pregnancy, itself, as our greatest moment of 2008, we would both agree on how excited we are to become parents in 2009. We're excited to find out if we are having a boy or girl in February. We are just so excited! And to share that news with our extended family and our church family was one of the most incredible moments of our year. We are so blessed and excited to be where God has placed us! We have so much to be thankful for and look forward to!



May you all have a blessed 2009!

Bachin' It

Well, I'm in the middle of the my nine-day bachelor experiment. Holly is on her trip with her sisters and her mom to St. Kitts. This is the longest period I have been away from Holly since we started dating during our junior year of high school (2001).

It's interesting to gauge the responses of people to my situation. People are genuinely concerned about me. But being the analytical person I am, I'm trying to determine the reason for their concern. Some are concerned because they know how it feels to be without a spouse for a period of time. Others are concerned for my health and well-being. But I promise I won't get tired of alternating between Cheerios and Wheaties for nine days. Some are concerned for Toby, our dog, because they worry he will starve because of my forgetfulness.

But I hear the tone of others and they are genuinely concerned about if I will make it. They know Holly is my better half or 3/4's, but am I that helpless? Perhaps the answer is yes. With a church as loving and caring as mine, I feel like I'm on Survivor and people are excitedly watching my life to see if I will get through the week or bow out due to malnourishment, emotional distress, or some other treatable disease.

Thank you for your love and encouragement. I love and miss my wife dearly, but as they say, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." Don't feel sorry for me. But feel free to drop by and leave a meal at the doorstep if you don't mind.

The Question We've Been Asked Most

People in Colorado have been so wonderful to us. We were warned that people from Colorado are not as warm and inviting as people from Texas. That has not been our experience, though part of that might be because so many people in Colorado are originally from Texas.

It seems as though every stage of your life begs a question from people. When Holly and I got engaged, the question was "How does it feel to be ENGAGED (with emphasis and a higher pitch on engaged). Then when we were married, the question was "How does it feel to be MARRIED (same emphasis). But since we've moved, the question we've been asked most is "How is your transition going?"

To go public with our answer, the truth is it has been wonderful. There's always a concern when you move that you will be unhappy with the new location and want to move closer to home. But we haven't felt that way at all. We love Colorado. We love South Denver. We love the people at the Littleton Church of Christ. And we love our lives. But most of all, we feel called by God to live here and that is the most important feeling we could have.

We are here for a reason and we are continually reminded of that. I have always felt I was called to make the most kingdom impact by preaching for an established church that was willing to reach out to lost people. And our church is on that journey. We are currently repositioning ourselves for greater kingdom impact. We want to be a church that loves God and leaves the doors each week to love people.

So, you can ask us the question again, but our answer is "We're doing great. We've made the transition. We're ready to be considered just another couple in a church that is ready to grow and do exciting things. We are ready to be hospitable to outsiders. We are ready to be creative and innovative in our practices. We are ready to go!"

However, I'm smart enough to know another question is about to be asked of us: "Are you ready to be parents?" That one I'm not so sure about. You'll have to ask me a few more times.

A Baby On The Way

According to Holly, my blog is always too serious and theological. Well, I thought I would take a break from the deep subjects of life and work in order to write a personal blog. One that should be worth your while.

If you have not already heard, Holly and I announced last night at Journey that we are expecting our first child. We are so excited to have received this news! At this point, Holly is about 9 weeks along. So, we will be looking forward to this change of life around the middle of summer. (At least we're in Colorado rather than Texas. 90 degrees seems more bearable than 100.)

We would ask for your prayers during this transition in our lives. Prayers for the safety of Holly and our little one. Prayers for us as we prepare ourselves to be parents, and most of all, prayers for the day that the child growing inside of Holly's womb will one day confess Jesus Christ as Lord. More info to come!

I Love Preaching

I love preaching. My love of sports goes back farther than my love of preaching, but my love for preaching is growing. There are many today who are insisting that the power of preaching is diminishing. With so many words out there in the world, some claim that the power of the spoken word is losing its significance.

But I am part of a group that believes that preaching is still so important. I believe there is great power in the spoken word. Any time God's Word is proclaimed in the power of the Holy Spirit, there is great opportunity for incredible things to happen. People are still being changed.

However, the competition is much greater today. WIth the invention of the iPod and podcasts, the best preachers from around the country are now available and contained in iPods across the country. There have always been incredible preachers, but now more than ever, those preachers are available to the masses across the world. It's a wonderful and scary thing all at the same time.

I have my favorite preachers. I have my favorites from previous generations including David Fleer and Rick Atchley among others. David has a unique way with words and images that I could only hope to one day touch. His introductions at Preaching Conferences are written with more flourish than sermons I spend an entire week on. And Rick is a prophet who speaks the truth despite the consequences. He is certainly a man of God. Mike Cope, Lynn Anderson, and Jerry Taylor also have a special place in my heart.

And I have my favorites who fill the speakers of my car each week from those who are a bit older. I'm grateful for Chris Seidman, Tim Spivey, Dan Bouchelle, Wade Hodges, and others who excite me about the ways our generation will follow in their footsteps.

And I am excited by the men who are my age who are just starting to speak the truth in exciting ways. Josh Ross and Jonathan Storment are two who come to mind. I can't wait to get their podcasts and listen each week. They make me want to be a better preacher.

And I have also been blessed by several outside of our movement who help me think in creative ways about my preaching. Rob Bell uses more Hebrew in each sermon than I could ever use in my preaching career. You have to be amazed by preachers who plant a church with a series out of Leviticus. I also think a lot of Erwin McManus and the Mosaic Church in Los Angeles. Their church is on the cutting edge in their belief that creativity is a natural result of spirituality. Holly and I were blessed to be able to go to his church while we were in California earlier this year.

So, who are your favorite preachers? What do you appreciate most about good preaching?

Election Day

I have my feelings, theological and personal, about today's events. I'm sure we all know by now that today is election day in the US. I've heard many comments about each of the candidates. People are opinionated. So I want to take my own poll today without inserting my biases.

So two questions. Are you voting today? What is the (one) word that describes you most today as you await the announcement of America's next President?

I'd be interested to hear as many responses as possible.

(I'd also be interested in the word that describes those after the announcement of the President.)