Immerse Update

Immerse is going strong. I am really excited about what God is doing in Immerse and I can't wait to see what he does in the future. We have been steadily growing as a ministry and we are looking to expand even more. This past week we had 140 people in attendance, we built an interactive Jewish home to signify where Jesus was born and the sacrifice that it represented, the Holy Spirit really showed up in Worship, and we had some awesome videos. God really moved in a powerful way. Praise Him!

Last night we had another Community Outreach event and we reached out to some folks that aren't in our target group but are definitely on our hearts, the elderly. We Caroled in an elderly community and touched many different people thru carols. It was awesome.

We have over 60 people in 8 community groups that consider themselves Immerse. We are anticipating multiplying at least two of those groups over the next year. God is definitely moving.

Socially we are playing some football tomorrow morning in North Brunswick if you would like to join us. We are planning a dinner in February and something fun in January. People are getting connected and it is neat to see.


God is moving in people. The ministry is all about reaching and connecting people to Christ. Pray for us. Encourage us. Support us in any way you can.


Merry Christmas!

Gifts

I just wanted to let you know that this Christmas our Community group is Conspiring against our culture. We want to build a well in Africa for those that need fresh water. I personally am doing this by taking my Christmas gift budget, cutting it in half, and giving that half to this organization that builds wells. I was inspired by this video called Advent conspiracy.

Or click on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVqqj1v-ZBU

The goal is to raise 5,000 dollars which will provide a well for a whole village. We figured this was an attainable goal if our friends and family joined us in the effort. We also thought it was cool that when we meet our goal and the well is built, we would be given the exact GPS coordinates and an actual photograph of the well. Rob Larsen our Immerse Community Group Coach is running point on this. He set up a page on charity water's website: http://www.charitywater.org/pages/roblarsen/


This is the season for giving so why don't we all conspire to give a gift that we all take for granted to a group of people who's lives will be changed forever.


Please join us in this effort!

Goals

Today Josh asked each of the strategy team members to report the goals we accomplished over the last year and what we hope to accomplish in the coming year. It is tough to find a good measurement of success in ministry. Ultimately growing numbers of people coming to your ministry and coming to Christ show success but it may take years before you see any fruit of your labor. I feel like at Princeton Alliance we have developed some good barometers to measure if you are doing your job. It isn't perfect but a good test.

Here is what I reported for the Immerse Ministry. Praise God for all that he accomplished this year in our ministry. I have to ask myself am I setting goals that stretch me and that are beyond my limits. To me if I am reaching my goals, coming close, or going beyond my goals then maybe my goals aren't big enough. I want 2009 to be a year of goals that only can be reached if God is involved. Stretch us!

In 2008 we started the ministry known as Immerse. This Sunday will be our 12th month and God has brought us so far!

Here is what I wrote in my report:

1. Monthly worship service 

                GOAL: Average 100 

               Reality: Averaging 118 this fall

2. Community Groups 

                   GOAL: 8 Viable Groups 

                   Reality: 7 and 1/2 Viable groups (we sent 4-5 people to a non-Immerse group)

3. Community Service/Outreach 

                   GOAL: Monthly Outreach Project 

                   Reality: 1-2 Outreach projects per month

4. Campus Partnerships 

                   GOAL: 5 partnerships at 2 of the 4 major campus' 

                  Reality: 8 Partnerships at 3 of the 4 major campus'

5. Internships 

                   GOAL: 5 Interns 

                  Reality: 9 Interns

Praise God!

Missions

Should ours lives as Christians be dedicated to Missions? If we are committed to Completing Christ's Mission he left us in Matthew 28 then we should be. God is teaching me that completing the mission is holistic. Acts 1:8 says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Notice it doesn't say: some of you will go to Jerusalem some of you to Judea and some of you to Samaria. I do think as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12 some of us are called to different things specifically. This can be translated in our context as specific calls to different areas but we are all called to Acts 1:8.

Do we make excuses for not going to the ends of the earth because our specific call is to Jerusalem?


God disturb us, break us, shatter us, destroy us, mess up our current thinking to complete your mission.

Tis' the Season

This Holiday season is filled with lots of activities. There are many things to keep us busy like decorating, Christmas films, baking, football, basketball, concerts, church, serving, etc. This past week has been filled with all of the above. I had fun: seeing Rutgers dominate Louisville and Dominating Manhattan Madness. I did some good: Our Immerse ministry went to The Rescue Mission in Trenton and sorted clothes, blankets, and coats to be handed out to the homeless. I heard Trace Bundy place some amazing music and bought some of his CDs for a Christmas gifts. All in all a great week. But you know what, my wife and I missed on quality time. A lot of us this time of year commit to DOing. We have long lists of to dos and miss out on just being. Just be with your family and most of all this holiday season be with God.

In all of your to do lists this holiday season ask yourself Is what I am about to do taking away from being with immediate Family and God? If so, then don't do it.

Have a great christmas season!

Where do we go?

In our culture we do many things that are good and right. For example many business' are cutting back on production among other things in anticipation of a season of low spending etc. To me that is very smart so that companies don't go bankrupt. It is a good plan to do less as a business. It is counter cultural to think that you should actually do more. In the Kingdom of God it is my belief that we should do more.

As churches we should expand rather than cut. There is no greater time than now to reap the harvest of those who are lost. People's hearts are going to be at their most vulnerable to except the love of Jesus and we would do well to find ways to produce more rather than less in the kingdom of God.

DO NOT let these trying financial times hinder what you are dreaming to do for God. In 2 Corinthians 8 we find the Macedonians in a lot worse off situation than we currently are and they did more and more for the kingdom. In verses 3 and 4 it talks about how the Macedonians pleaded for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord's people despite extreme poverty. I also don't read in scripture about Jesus having tons of money or Paul having tons of money yet of anyone in scripture they expanded the Kingdom more than anyone.

Does it take money to plant a church? Open a Community Center? Expand Advertising of relief aid the church has? Yes. It costs money to do ministry but who oversees it all? That is right GOD DOES!

Proverbs 16:3 "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans."

Culture

Where we live in New Jersey there are many different cultures around. We have people represented in New Jersey from practically every nation. With culture comes many different forms of religious backgrounds. What is your knowledge of the religious backgrounds of those around you? It could go a long way to developing a solid relationship with them. Our church is offering a 4 week class in January on different religions. This could be an incredible opportunity for you to start your journey on learning about different cultures. If you would like more info on the classes email me at: mmurphy@princetonalliance.org. If we look at scripture we see Peter in Acts 3 knowing exactly where the Jewish people were coming from. When you look at Paul on Mars Hill in Acts 17 he knew exactly where the Greeks were coming from. Do you know where your next door neighbor is coming from religiously?

Barriers to Team

Before I became a full-time pastor I was a college basketball coach for 5 years. During that time I learned a lot about building a team. I feel like building a team is one of my strengths and I have built many teams in ministry successfully based on principles I learned coaching. Here are 5 barriers I think that hinder growth as a team.

1. Unclear Expectations- If everyone on the team does not know their role then it will hinder growth as a team.

2. Selfishness- If there are people on the team who are out on their own agenda then it will hinder the whole team. If people want to be in a different role than what is beneficial for the team, want to take all the credit, or become egotistical that the team is there to serve them then the team will not grow.

3. Harboring Conflict- If someone has a problem with someone else on the team then they should deal with it and not hold it in. If there is unresolved conflict then it will hinder the growth of the team. Healthy conflict is good for the team.

4. Mentally Weak- A team needs to be mentally tough. If every time there is a setback people fall apart emotionally or if every time there is a success people get too excited then there is a problem. Being mentally tough is not letting yourself get too high or too low. Many times when a team is mentally weak they take small things and make them big and it affects your outcome as a team.

5. Bad Apples- Many times you can have someone extremely talented but they become a cancer that infects the whole team. When that happens the bad apple needs to be cut out. To me building the right team is having the right people on the team. It all starts with the right person. In basketball there were many times that the right decision was to bench our best player because he was a cancer for the rest of the team. In ministry dealing with this person is even harder because many times they are a volunteer or getting paid to do ministry which many times isn't very much. It is hard to do that because they are so talented but in the end the team is better because the cancer is gone. You know if there is a bad apple in the team. If there is they need to be dealt with. No matter how talented they are. NO ONE is bigger than your team. As soon as someone thinks that they are then the cancer has set in and needs to be dealt with. This barrier to building an effective team is the hardest one to overcome.


If you have an effective team, a cohesive unit, you can accomplish anything you dream about. In basketball I saw many times a better team go farther and accomplish more than the more talented one. Same with ministry. I have seen a cohesive team of middle schoolers accomplish more than a disfunctional team of adults. I have seen a cohesive team of adult ministry volunteers accomplish more than a disfunctional team of paid ministry leaders. It is all about team.

Serving

This week at Immerse we talked about missions. We asked people to sign up to serve in different areas that our church is doing over the next month or so. We asked people to pray for many of the missionaries that our church supports. It is good to always be reminded that we are to love and impact those around us.

On Wednesday I was made aware that someone hurt themself and could not rake their yard so that night at our community group I asked our guys to step up. They stepped up. We served the Plainsboro community by raking someone's yard that needed it. At 9am on a wet Saturday morning when you could have been watching College Gameday or sleeping people got up to serve. It was a cool thing to see and experience. It felt good to know we were helping someone out. For our community group it wasn't about being recognized as the lady wasn't even home to see who did it. It was all about impacting our community with love. I know 6 people who have caught that love. What would it be like if everyone in our ministry caught the love?

Last Day

Today was our last day in Taiwan. We exchanged phone number and email addresses with some of the close contacts in Taiwan that we made. We said good-bye which was sad but we will be back soon. Today we did a lot of hanging out in Ximen. We shot a vision video with Jason that he is going to edit for us to use when we get back to the states to show people about what is going on here in Ximen. We hung out for a while playing trick card games in front of the store here in Ximen and we started to attract a crowd which was cool. Then the president of Taiwan attended a movie right next door to the store we were at and we were able to see him. But right before that we got to walk the red carpet for the first time. We saw a really tall looking guy get out of a limo type car and dressed in a suit so we decided to follow him and act like we belonged. While doing this all the asian security guys kept waving us to keep going and we walked the red carpet, had our pictures taken by the media, and we will probably be on the Taiwanese news:) A lot of fun. We closed out the night by going to an arcade with Apow and Chris then we played pool with Kenji and his friends. After playing pool we took Kenji and his friends to Friday's where we got them American food. It was a lot of fun. Now it is time to get ready to leave at 6am in the morning. America here I come!

Agent

Cool Shots in Taiwan:




Today we hung out with Patricia for lunch and she helped us do some souvenir shopping. Patricia is a Taiwanese pastor working in the suburbs of Taipei. She was very excited to meet us. We then went to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial. He was the guy who came to Taiwan and turned it into a Democratic nation when China was going to communism. It was very interesting to see what he did. We then went to meet up with Kenji again and we went to his college class. During class it was very odd. The whole time the teacher was talking the students were just conversing among themselves. The class was English so at the break a lot of the students were eager to try their English on us. One guy came up to us and said he was an agent, Jason then commented "Secret"? Then he replied, "No. Chemical." We met a Chemical Agent. Funny. We then met many students and hung out during their break. Then the teacher asked us to share why we were in Taipei. Jason told the class we were here to see how we could minister to students in Ximen and asked them to help translate in the Summer. Then Kenji got up in front of the class and told them that we were there to help people find Jesus. It was cool. We then went back to the Loft and talked to the college students and prayed for them. That was a cool experience to be able to minister to them in a real way. We moved into the Rainbow Hotel for the last two nights which will be good to get into a bed and air conditioning. We then headed to Mcdonalds for a late night snack. Taiwan has been an awesome experience. There is only one day left. Looking forward to coming home and seeing Joshua and Kelly. I love them so much. Can't wait to see them.


Here are some pics:

Patricia


Memorial
Rainbow Hotel

Me with Kenji and his classmates

Balls

Above is Erik, Me, Ryan, and Jason (the crew visiting from America and the people I have been hanging with most of the week)

Today we hung out with Kenji who is one of the first people at this mission that has come to Christ. He is a 21 year old college student who is really awesome. He came with us to a large Temple in Taipei called the Longshui temple. He explained a lot of what goes on with the temple. They have so many gods. It is interesting as it seems like they take Jesus and they take his aspects and break him down into hundreds of little gods. They have a god of love, loyalty, money, that sees all, hears all, etc. Very intersting that the god of love was the one most worshiped in the temple we visited. We then took the High Speed Train down to the southern end of Taiwan to meet up with a couple of CMA missionaries. It was cool meeting with them. While meeting with them I tried a testicle from some unknown animal. It didn't taste too bad. Tonight we hung out with Kenji again and went to McDonalds for some ice cream and then we capped the night by riding Kenji's scooter down the street. It was a lot of fun.

Here are some pics from the day:

Testicle

Me on scooter sideways

High Speed Rail

Kenji

Me in Front of the Temple

Touring Day

Today we toured some of the country regions. We went to a couple of markets. Saw a Taiwanese traditional parade. It was really hot and humid today. I am pretty sure I got dehydration as I felt sick later in the afternoon but I got a ton of water in me and felt a lot better. Last night I had a lot of trouble sleeping so hopefully when I go to bed tonight I can sleep better. When we got back in the evening we toured a couple of spots where they are dreaming about putting their future church. A couple of the buildings were outside of this park where a missions team hosted an outreach party. Inside the park there were a bunch of teenagers tripping on drugs. It was really sad to see them that way but gave me a passion to see this church planted and these people redeemed.

Here are some pictures from today:

Me walking a parade at one of the markets we visited:


Beggar laying in the middle of a market
One of the buildings they would put the church in:

The 101

Today we walked the Ximen Ding district in Taipei. It was an awesome experience seeing all the different things. We visited to Dao temples and they were very depressing. Basically people offer up prayers to the "gods" that their dead ancestors will have a good day. If they don't then they think they will have a bad day. Kind of simplified but the basic concept is it is a religion run on fear and sadness. There really is no hope. It is great that there is a group of people that are living here looking to bring hope to these people. The primary "in" to people's lives here is teaching them English. I met a few different people here who were learning English and their text was the Bible. Cool Stuff. In fact we hung out with about 5-6 different people today just because they wanted to try and speak English to us. What a great opportunity of influence that American's can have in this culture. There is immediate respect and honor given to those who speak English.

The Ximen Ding district is actually built over an ancient burial ground so by the older generation the district is looked down upon. But there are thousands and thousands of young people who hang out there. Everyone is friendly and willing to carry on a conversation with you. This will be a great place to take a team to help them start a church here. It is very relational ministry here and very powerful.


We visited the 101 which was the tallest building in the world until Dubai built one taller in September. We walked out on the observatory deck which was awesome. We had great food at the base of the building and even took home the chop sticks:)


Here are some pics:

Some people who are on the trip: Chris (live in missionary), Erik (colorado), ryan (portland), Me, Jason (National Office), Epong (works the store)



The 101 Building
Some people we hung out with in the Ximen Ding(Eric, Ryan, Dave, girl, Jason, Eric, Me)


Ximen Ding at Night(Somewhat similar to Times Square though not as big)

Me In Front of the Ximen Ding

Taiwan

I traveled to Taiwan today and it was amazing. The traveling was long and tiring but we are here. We haven't even started and what they are doing here is awesome. They are creating marketplace venues to connect with people and start a church. Right now they own a clothing store and are looking to open a burger joint with the intent of starting a church. That is awesome. As soon as we got here we took a bunch of college students out for ice cream at like 1am. It was cool to meet some Taiwanese young adults. I learned my chinese name is Mashow. Cool stuff.

I will be here for 5 more days learning about the missions work God is doing in Taiwan and how we can be a part.

Today

I feel like I am wasting it somewhat. Spending a lot of time on the computer just looking through facebook and twitter. Joshua is sleeping. I am thinking that I will go out and take him on a walk. It is tough taking your day off when Kelly is working. It would be really nice to spend one day just hanging with her all day and doing nothing church related. Pretty much everyday is a day where church is involved in our relationship. Friday is the only day I am doing nothing with the church and she is at work. Someday that will change. Hopefully there will come a day where we can afford for her to stay at home on Friday's. I have a plan.


I am going to write a book someday. Maybe I should start that today.

Leadership

I have been thinking a lot about leadership and what that looks like in the church. Partly because I am teaching on it this Sunday. I am looking for simple ways to communicate to people what we want. I thought let me look at how Jesus developed leaders. Then I decided to study the life of Peter and how Jesus developed him.

1. Jesus Called Him (Luke 5:1-11)
2. Jesus Dealt with Character (Mark 1:35:example;All of Jesus' teachings)
3. Jesus Healed Him (John 21)
4. Jesus Released Him to Go (John 21:15-17; Matthew 28:19-20)

As we train up our leaders we are going to look at three aspects.

1. Character
2. Healing
3. Practical


All three relate directly with how Jesus built leaders. As we look at how to build the Church what better way is there to learn how to develop leaders?

Serving at Princeton Junction Train Station

Yesterday our community group went to the Princeton Junction Train Station at 6pm. We had 128 bottles of water that we handed out. It was an awesome time just to sit back and serve. Yeah people in the Princeton area aren't in need of water but just the act of giving someone something to brighten their day WAS an act of service. So many people (128 in fact) accepted the bottles of water with a smile. There were many people who asked us why we were doing it. We simply said something to the nature of "we just want to bless you after a long day at work." People loved what we were doing it was awesome. One guy was sitting off by himself and I asked him if he wanted water and he thanked me and said, "I really needed this today, Thanks." I don't know what was going on with him on that day but I couldn't help but think about what could be going on in his life. Maybe he lost his job, money, a relationship, got yelled at, in trouble, or whatever. But the simply act of giving away something, showing God's love in a practical way, lifted the spirits of someone who needed it.

How can I take that concept and practice it everyday?

We are going to continue handing out water bottles every Wednesday at 6pm at Princeton Junction Train Station on the South side of the tracks. Feel free to join us.

Immerse

I haven't been on for while. In blogger world that is bad but I have been extremely busy with life. Since I last wrote my son Joshua was born and for those of you who have young children that is all I need to say. We have had missions trips, vacations, VBS, and many other fun summer things.

It is amazing as we head toward the fall. Immerse has a lot of momentum. We had over 50 people sign up this past weekend look for information about Immerse at our tables and another 50 people sign the connection cards in the sanctuary about being involved. It is safe to say that people who are young adults are excited about Immerse. We are looking forward to launching a new season this Sunday. If anyone is actually still reading this. I hope you can make it. This Sunday starting at 5pm in the Sanctuary.

See you there!

Discipleship

God has been hitting me hard the last month about discipleship. I think as a church, on a whole, we have not done a good job at discipling people. It seems more and more people just repeat one year of discipleship how many ever years they have been a Christian. So in Spiritual years they are only one or two years old. How can we help people grow in maturity? That is the question on my mind a lot lately.

Vision

I heard Andy Stanley Speak yesterday on making vision stick. He had 5 points that were good and easy to remember.

1. Make it Simple

2. Cast it Convincingly

3. Repeat it Regularly

4. Celebrate it Systematically

5. Embrace it Personally

There were questions he gave to clarify your vision. This would be a good exercise for us all to do with whatever it is we are doing.

What does you vision boil down to everyday? What should you be always striving towards?

How does our vision address a problem?

What is the problem that our vision addresses?

What must be done in the environment you are in?

What would go undone if you church/organization ceased to exist?

Explain Why Now?

Power

Last night at Immerse was awesome. We had about 100 people in attendance and God really showed up. We had a time where God just wouldn't let us stop. We had people praying over an hour after our official end. It was absolutely amazing. I am still riding a high after seeing God move in such a remarkable way. 

This week I am in Orlando at a church planters conference. I am in a session with Mark Batterson. It is awesome. What a start to my week. God is really moving.

Kansas

Wow what a game last night. I am a little tired this morning after that game but wow, that has to be the best championship game that I can remember. Kansas showed great heart after being down 9 points with 2:12 to go, hitting a three at the buzzer to push the game to overtime, and then pulling away in overtime. The nice thing is I picked Kansas at the beginning of the tourney to win it all!

We as young adults played ultimate frisbee on Sunday. It seems we will keep doing stuff like this just to hang out and connect. Low Commitment Events are great ways to connect people to the church. People are looking for community and we want to give that to them. Our next Immerse Worship event is April 20th. Look for ways to connect people to Jesus and other people. As ideas come let me know.

Meeting Day

Yesterday was meeting day. It was long and tiring but I felt like I accomplished something. Spent some time talking about personal vision, planned weekend worship service, strategized community groups, and planned our next immerse event.

I am learning that accomplishing your vision comes with a price. It is something that in its ideal is beautiful but getting there is messy. This is true of life vision, family vision, work vision, and ministry vision. I am a guy who dreams big dreams and I hate it when I get mickey mouse instead of big dreams. But God has called us to pursue the dreams he has given us. I am going to pursue those dreams that he has given me.

Random Thought: I read a blog by Craig Groeschel entitled: Reverend Steve Jobs
You should read it. It is funny. What would it be like if we all worshipped to our iPods rather than a band?

About People

I am reading Howard Behar's book about his experience at Starbucks and it is called: "It's not about the coffee." His basic premise is that it is about people. It is about the customer, it's about the employee, and it is about everyone we interact with. This struck me because this is what the church is supposed to be about. I can learn from anybody about how the church should work. I don't know if Behar is a follower of Jesus or not or if he has ever been in a church. But as I think about my job of being a pastor I need to remember his basic premise of its about the people. 

Starbucks is all about just making the next sell. In the church we should be about the next prisoner of sin finding freedom in Christ. How much more should we be about people? It is funny how much we can learn from "secular" enterprises. I love it. Take care of the people around you.

5 Ministry Thoughts and Leadership Principles

1. When leading people EMPOWER them. By this I mean see where they are gifted and strengthen them, resource them, mentor them, and let them loose in that area of giftedness.

2. When leading people give them CONFIDENCE. Lead so that everyone you lead can do your job. Give people opportunities to do what you do so that when they are in that situation they can have the confidence they need to lead effectively.

3. When leading people lead in such a way as to REPLACE yourself. You aren't going to be in your position forever. What better testament is there of your leadership than seeing the people you mentored succeed far beyond what you did?

4. Lead with your HEART. If you are connecting with God then your heart will be in line with God's heart and when your heart and God's heart are one you can't be stopped.

5. Attack your dreams with your GIFTING. Maintain your weaknesses but really focus on your strengths and use them.

What is your life about?

Kelly and I just went to the movies last night for the first time in a while. We decided to watch 10,000 B.C. I thought it was good. It was a classic fight for the girl/underdog story but I love that story so I liked the movie.

The question that was the climax of the movie was What is your life going to be about? Is it going to be just about a small circle with just a couple of people like your family? Is it a little bigger than that like your immediate family and extended family and friends? Or is it about a larger group of people including your family? As I was watching the movie I was thinking about that question for my own life and I have been praying about that today. Jesus was about all of humanity including his close friends and family. Jesus answered that question with the cross. I think Jesus is asking me what I want to do. I know Jesus will be happy with me if I just focus on a few and passionately do that. I know he will be happy with me if I decide to pursue the larger group. In some ways just looking out for a few is easier because there are only a couple of lives at stake. Looking out for more is a risk because many lives are at risk. Looking out for more is dangerous. In the movie he could have been killed, lost the fight, lost his girl, etc. But when he was successful it was incredible. In my own life if I go for the more I could fall on my face, fail, lose out on my goals, etc. But when I am successful the view will be incredible. If I go just for the few then I know I will succeed, reach my goals, and be safe.

In the end I want to go where Jesus is and Jesus is obviously in the riskier side. I mean he went all the way to the cross. I can risk all I have for Him. And besides with Jesus with me I could not be more safe.

Madness!!

It is March Madness time. It is probably my favorite time of the year. Basketball. Basketball. Basketball. I will be honest when I was a kid my mom would let me stay home to watch the games. I always fill out a bracket. Some years are better than others with my picks. Join our Facebook Group and fill out a bracket on Facebook.

Running to Jesus

In John 20 the disciples found out that Jesus had risen! How cool is that? You find out that someone who was dead is now alive especially someone you were bestfriends with and loved deeply. This is where we find Peter and John. Throughout scripture Peter was always the first to do things (walk on water, deny Christ, cut off ear, throw nets to other side, etc) but when he finds out Jesus is alive he was the slowest to getting to Jesus. How is that? John beat Peter. Based on what has taken place throughout scripture Peter should have beat John. Why? What was stopping Peter from beating John? Peter had not mended his relationship with Jesus. Peter knew that the last thing he had done was deny he ever knew Jesus. There was a wall between Peter and Jesus. Peter did not want to face Jesus so his running was hindered. Where are you hindered when you run to Jesus? What is holding you back? Are you even running to Jesus? Why or Why not? Deal with the sin in your life so you can run free. God is calling each of us to RUN to HIM!

Palm Sunday Immerse

We have Immerse coming up this Sunday night from 5-7pm. Someone in the church has volunteered to make us all dinner. I am excited about what that is going to be. Give me food! We are going to focus on the communion elements during this Easter season. Come ready to engage with God and each other.

Community

It was cool to connect with our community group on Sunday night. Everyone in our group is having babies or already had a baby. Our group is why our nation is in a baby boom. It is crazy. We talked about Isaac and Rebekkah's relationship together and how that ties into our own marriages/relationships. We each shared the stories of how we met each of our spouses. It was cool to hear everyone's story.

As a community group we are going to a group home to hang out with kids. It is going to be a cool experience for everyone.

Vision

A good friend of my is moving to France this summer to become a missionary. We started seminary the same year and he is off to fulfilling the vision that God has given him. It is inspiring to hear what God is doing in his life.

I had lunch with him this week I had to ask myself am I pursuing the vision God has given me. Am I wasting time? Are you pursuing the vision God has given you? Do you have a vision from God? Sometimes we need to really pursue God and see what he wants for our life. Chasing the dream God has for us is really living life to the fullest.

Frustrating

So Kelly and I finally moved back into our apartment after one month of not being in there because of a fire that happened in the unit below us. All of our stuff is fine but something happened with my TV connection. So yesterday I worked from home and waited on the guy to come and he was supposed to be there between 8-noon. Well he never showed. I finally get a call at 2:15pm that he will be there in 45 mins. An hour and a half later he shows up. Only he tells me he doesn't have all the equipment he needs to finish the job. So why even show up? So I guess he will show up this morning with the right equipment but thankfully Kelly's mom is over and can let him in.

My brother is coming to visit this weekend and hopefully we have it back up and working so we can do brotherly things together like watch sports:)


But all in all I am thankful that I am back into my place and Kelly and I can go back to preparing for our baby boy Joshua to arrive in May. I am pumped!!!!

Immerse

Immerse is Princeton Alliance Church's Young Adult Gathering. We have 6 community groups that are a part of this gathering and could be adding a 7th soon. Since Immerse has started we have started 2 new groups and will soon be starting a 3rd.

Immerse is a Gathering that meets every third Sunday from 5-7pm to connect young adults to community groups. We spend this time in fellowship with food and in worship. We have had the event well attended both times and we are really looking forward to what God has in store for the future in this ministry.


If you know of anyone who is in college or a young professional either married or single let them know about this connection gathering. We would love to have them!

The Climb

I climbed up Prayer Mountain today in Phoenix. I am not in as good as shape as I thought. It was an interesting climb. We took the long way up which wore me out but it wasn't that steep. The climb down was steep but quick. I got to the top and was able to see the beauty of this valley that Phoenix is in. Phoenix is a beautiful place and God is at work in this place. I will post some pics from the climb.

I have always thought that climbing a mountain is a lot like the Christian life, ministry, or reaching a goal. The climb can be long, hard, and tiring. When climbing it is good to have accountability, good shoes, water, sometimes take a break, and always keep your eye on the goal. One thing I learned is that you can always do more than you think and when you get to the top it is such a relief.

Fire

Tonight I was at First Assembly in Phoenix Arizona. Tommy Barnett
spoke and God showed up. He prophesied a new church would come out of
that meeting. I saw
the fire tonight. God was there. It was amazing. I can't wait to keep
chasing.