Pathways Church Blog

You have read stories in the news about families who are being forced to foreclose on their homes. You have seen stories on the fall of the stock market and the collapsing economy. Does God have anything to say about this? Does God have any wisdom in regard to finances?

I have already confessed to you that I have avoided this area of teaching and God has convicted me that I was wrong to do so. It was fear that has caused me to avoid it. I was fearful of being lumped in with churches whose teaching (in my opinion) is unbiblical and are trying to make a buck themselves. Pastors drive expensive cars and live in mansions at the expense of their constituents. I was fearful of pushing people away who have shied away from church because of their belief that all it wants is their money.

However, as a pastor, I would not be doing my job if I avoided teaching God’s wisdom for us regarding finances. You will be blown away by how much He has to say about our attitude toward money, our perspective on accumulating things, saving money, how to stay out of debt, and how to be a good steward of everything He has given us.

So it really is with fear and excitement that I appoach these next six weeks. I hope that you will make it a point to be there for each message and open your heart and mind to what God has to teach all of us about money. I know I have got a lot to learn right alongside of you.

1) We will have church tomorrow with all who brave the weather. Can you handle it? We’ll look forward to see who shows up.

2) I read Eugene Cho’s Blog and he had a hilarious post on all of the snow hitting Seattle, calling it a Snopocalypse. I thought I’d borrow the term.

3) Growing up in the Phoenix area, I have never experienced anything like this before and I have to say, “I love it!” There is just something peaceful about watching snow falling.

4) We live at the bottom of a monster hill in a cul-de-sac. Dead end road. Lot’s of snow. Much Steepitude. Kids sledding all day long. Priceless. Getting a car out sometimes requires chains though.

5) Seriously, don’t put your family in harms way to get to church tomorrow. I’d much rather you be able to attend the upcoming 52 weeks of next year. If you are not able to come, I would encourage you to spend some quality time at home reflecting on Christ and what he means to your family. It may be one of the more memorable worship experiences your family with have had years from now.

For those of you who were planning on coming tonight to hear the tales of wonder from our team that just returned home from Peru…you are gonna have to wait. The snow is coming down hard tonight and from the sounds of Rebecca Stevenson, queen of all weather, it is not going to let up anytime soon. Have a great evening at home with coffee and cocoa!

I never had to deal with these kinds of announcements in Arizona.

I hope you enjoyed the springboard we used in Miracle on 34th St. last weekend. This weekend, we’ll springboard off of a different Christmas classic, “A Christmas Carol”. Personally, I’m fond of the George C. Scott version, but is that really important right now?

Mr. Scrooge is a Christmas icon. Why? We all, no matter our belief system, love the idea of transformation. It is built into us. I believe that it represents the passage in Genesis which tells us that we are “created in God’s image”. We were created to be transformed into the image of God and we were created to help bring about transformation in the world around us. It is one of the most amazing aspects of Scripture to me, that God chose to use His creation to accomplish His purposes.

Watching the transformation take place in Scrooge is like watching our own lives. Nobody knows the darkness of your own heart like you do. Like I do. But Scrooge changes. In big ways. Ways that I long for in my own life. I want to be different. I want to make a difference.

This weekend we will talk about the “true” Christmas story and the HOPE that this baby born in Bethlehem brings for our lives.

I’m sure that most of you have seen the furor in Olympia over a sign that was put up by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. It is their attempt to have an equal voice this Christmas season and it states that, “Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.” You can find the sign at the Capital Building.

Why do Christians get all bunched up about these things? We act as if we should be able to put our signs and displays anywhere we want to, but as soon as someone with a dissenting opinion shows up, we freak out.

Late last week, someone stole the sign at the Capital. I was reading a story on the theft this evening and this quote gutted me.

Freedom From Religion Foundation co-president Dan Barker, said about the theft, “It was unfriendly, it was illegal and it actually underscored our point that religion hardens hearts and enslaves minds so that people are unwilling to be gracious and tolerate another point of view.”

At 2pm this afternoon, Christians gathered to protest the sign, which has been found and returned.

What is it about Christians and protesting things? Any thoughts?

What a morning we had! First, if you were one of the new faces we saw this morning – it was great to have you there and we really hope you’ll come back to join our community. There are some pretty awesome people hanging out in these parts…

My thoughts from the weekend:
1) I loved hearing from our Peru team this morning! (And not just because my son went on the trip) Seriously, if you have not had a conversation with a Peru Tripper – brace yourself – their enthusiasm will knock you over. I knew it was a good trip when three teens get off of a plane (after spending almost 24 hours in airports/ on planes and they all told me they were ready to turn around and go again – right then. I also LOVED seeing the diversity of the team we sent. That is a picture of what I hope our community will always retain.

2) Had a conversation with the Vice Principal of Archbishop Murphy Sunday after the services. He went on and on about the people who stuck around to help set up the tables for their school. You all are making a very good impression on the school administration!

3) We had an awesome ministry opportunity this morning when about 6-8 teenagers showed up to help us unload our trailer bright and early at 8am. Turns out it was “forced labor” of students at the high school who were serving a detention. What I enjoyed was listening to all of you interact with them. I even heard someone wonder aloud, “Maybe they will come back on their own.” That is leading with intentionality. Love it!

4) Can I say that I felt some energy in the room this morning when we talked about our December 28th service? Everyone brings food to share. Families will sit together and we’ll share in the Story of God.

5) Here’s hoping for a high draft pick for the Seahawks. Too bad they don’t draft in college football, too, cause I’m pretty sure that the Huskies would get the first pick.

This Christmas season, we will be looking at some deeper questions and truths found in Scripture surrounding the Christmas Story. The fun part is that we are going to ask those questions in light of some of the classic Christmas films that we watch every year in the holiday season.

This week, we will springboard out of “Miracle on 34th St”. In this classic (and we will be using the black and white version) it seems that Santa has become somewhat a joke and nobody believes in him anymore. As Santa enters real life, he discovers just how dire the reality of the situation is – even children don’t really believe in Santa. Little Susan Walker, during her encounters with the “real” Kris Kringle, discovers the truth about Santa and has to help convince the world that he is not out of his mind.

Let’s ask some of the same questions regarding the Christmas story, but leave Santa out of it. What is the truth? Can we know the truth about what happened that first Christmas? How will the truth of what we discover impact our lives?

Join us this Sunday to discover the true miracle that we celebrate every Christmas.

Thoughts from this weekend:

1) It is convicting whenever I preach about things that I see as a weakness in my life. That’s why I’m thankful for this truth I find in Scripture. I need to allow Thanksgiving to pour out of me a bit more freely. I feel like it “trickles” at best.

2) Please remind me of this Scripture in January when we start a new series called, “In God We Trust?” – dealing with God’s plan for our finances. It’s coming with perfect timing as our economy sags and we’ll have just come out of Christmas, but I have to admit that I have a lot to learn in this category of life.

3) That conviction has led me to start some “Thank You’s” that have been left on my plate for a while. Do you have any on your plate that need to overflow out of you?

4) I’m still blown away at how relevant Abraham Lincoln’s speech from 1863 is to us today. You can read it here. (Keep in mind that he gave this speech prior to the end of the Civil War.)

5) Being a church with a lot of young families, there are a ton of you who spend your holidays away from home with family. We missed you this weekend – hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

6) This weekend we start a new series called, “Christmas is Classic”. The past two years have been heavy themes as we have entered Christmas, this year, we are lightening up the theme, but still intend to take them deep. Deep, yet fun – I like that. See you Sunday.