Summer Reading Confession

For those of you who know me I tend to read a lot, I like to live by the motto Readers are Leaders and I found out a few weeks ago that Donald Miller Agrees with me. What I thought I'd do here at the end of the summer is just share my top three books that I read this summer.

Lets start with Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell: This book is the story of success, it's a business minded book that goes deep into the study of what makes certain people succeed in certain fields. These Outliers as Gladwell calls them can be anything from being born in a string of 3 certain years as they found with people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs in the computer world to Canadian Hockey players born in the first three months of the calender year. The most fascinating study for me was the 10,000 hour rule, which is the fact that it takes one 10,000 hours to really become great at it. Great read and would highly recommend it.

The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel: This book was convicting for me, the whole idea of the book was believing in God but acting like he doesn't exist which I have seen as a problem in my own life and the lives of my fellow kingdom livers. chapters explored ideas such as these "You believe in God but don't really know him". "You believe in God but aren't sure he loves you". "When you believe in God but don't forgive". There are 7 more chapters similar to these.

And lastly my number 1 favorite summer read was "Deep Church by Jim Belcher".

This book was about a genuine third way between reformed theology and more liberal minded emerging churches, it was a book written by a guy who is friends with bot Mark Driscol and rob Bell who both tend to be opposite of one another and Driscoll who has even gone as far as being condemning of Bell's Ministry. He talks a lot about how it is both and not either or which is important for the church to grasp, Jesus is the point and preaching Jesus is the point other than that we should encourage each other and not bring each other down. It was a refreshing read and would highly recommend it to any pastor out there who tends to be dominant in either one camp in particularly.

Hope you found this insightful.

Grace and Peace,

C-DUB

This is It

This is it, what I mean by that little phrase is that in about a week I will be beginning my final year at Florida Christian College. To say that the transition from internship to return to Florida was easy would be a lie, in a lot of ways it has not been easy it's been frustrating, it's been joyous, it's been very confusing and it's also been meant with great anticipation. I love FCC and I will always love FCC with a deep passion, this is the main reason why I look forward to this new year. It's my last year to truly love the place that honestly only God could have brought me to, cause this was not my first school choice (This will always be a shame for me to admit).

This past week I've been contemplating where is God leading me? I've never been a guy who could stay stagnant for very long, I often grow board with the status quo and my surroundings and yearn for a new adventure. For me this means ministry of some sort, since Indiana I've been searching, praying and longing for a new ministry a new adventure a new calling if you will. I've learned what my passions truly are this past year which are preaching, discipleship, networking and seeing people come to know Jesus in any way they can. Jesus is the reason I wake up in the morning, a good mentor of mine once told me that "when you wake up and have someone to poor into it's a good day". I have lived by this wisdom for 2 years now and it lets me know in these seasons of desert and stagnation that although I may not be serving in a local church or ministry it is still a good day, it's a good day cause I know those people I can poor myself into and I know that part of the reason I am in this season is because Christ has called me to poor into them.

This is it, the last year living at a place that I will always call home in one way or another. I am here for a reason and for those incoming freshmen let me say that it is no accident that you are at this place known as FCC. Christ has called you here and he is going to grow you here, my mission is to poor into this place and these people as much as I can and continue to learn and grow form the wisdom of some of the best professors and faculty around.

It's gonna be a great year.

C-DUB.

Seattle Part 2

Do you love your city? This is the phrase that keeps popping up here in Seattle this week, I have come to see that the people of Network Tacoma and those of faith in Seattle are people of intention. It’s funny that I have been surrounded by people who are living lives of intention by loving there city this week, it’s the very phrase that has become my theme from now until I graduate. Don’t we want to be people of intention, the kind of people who love our city in the name of Love. I have seen this phrase lived out this week in a very real way, so let me tell you about two individuals I have come to know this past week.

Greg is the VP of Network and the man who picked us up from the air port on Saturday night, he’s a man with an interesting story that eventually led him to working for Network. He lives for others in the city of Tacoma and he invites others to live with him, he’s a man who has a family and intentionally moved into traditionally one of the roughest neighborhoods in all of Tacoma. He moved into this neighborhood all in the name of intentionality, this absolutely amazed me that someone could love a city so much that he would want to move into the ghetto part to intentionally love that neighborhood and be a missionary in it’s context. He takes it a step further though in the context of Community, he lives in a house with his wife and kids and all together 11 people live in this house to love the community and be community to each other in the name of Christ. I had the opportunity to stop by his house on Monday night and actually seeing this lived out first hand was awesome and humbling, I got to meet one of those he lives with his name is Ben and he to is living a life of intentionality in the city of Tacoma. I left his house that night thinking about what it would look like for me to start living a life of intentionality in my own life and to one day love a city just as much, this question lingers as I write this but it lingers with a vision and a willingness to go into a direction that isn’t cleared yet. I’ll write about this maybe one day but not today.

The second man I want to introduce you to is Robert, he’s the creator and vision behind Network and a very chill guy who loves Jesus and the city of Tacoma. It’s a difficult time for Robert these days just 8 months ago he lost his wife to cancer and you can see he’s still grieving this, he’s a man who goes wherever the wind takes him actually he reminds me of an old school hippie. He started out doing what he does in Tacoma in Seattle, he was ordained on the side of a street in downtown Seattle back in 82 and has seen himself as a missionary and Pastor ever since. Back in 1993 it all changed and he moved to Tacoma just 20 minutes away from Seattle, he did this because no one seemed to care about the urban poor in Tacoma and because no one else would do this he said that they must and they did. He’s loved Tacoma ever since and continues to do so to this day even in the midst of grief, he’s an inspiring individual who has encouraged me this week to seek out some of my intentions concerning Church planting and living intentionally.

I want you to know that the Gospel is real and moving in Seattle and Tacoma, I saw this in the city today and learning from Robert and Greg this whole week. So who do you love? How do you love your city? Or do you need to move to a city that isn’t being loved and love it because no one else is? These are the questions that linger this night as I watch my high schoolers listen to Jack’s Mannequin and play Phase 10.

Grace and Peace be with you.

C-DUB

Seattle Part 2

Do you love your city? This is the phrase that keeps popping up here in Seattle this week, I have come to see that the people of Network Tacoma and those of faith in Seattle are people of intention. It’s funny that I have been surrounded by people who are living lives of intention by loving there city this week, it’s the very phrase that has become my theme from now until I graduate. Don’t we want to be people of intention, the kind of people who love our city in the name of Love. I have seen this phrase lived out this week in a very real way, so let me tell you about two individuals I have come to know this past week.

Greg is the VP of Network and the man who picked us up from the air port on Saturday night, he’s a man with an interesting story that eventually led him to working for Network. He lives for others in the city of Tacoma and he invites others to live with him, he’s a man who has a family and intentionally moved into traditionally one of the roughest neighborhoods in all of Tacoma. He moved into this neighborhood all in the name of intentionality, this absolutely amazed me that someone could love a city so much that he would want to move into the ghetto part to intentionally love that neighborhood and be a missionary in it’s context. He takes it a step further though in the context of Community, he lives in a house with his wife and kids and all together 11 people live in this house to love the community and be community to each other in the name of Christ. I had the opportunity to stop by his house on Monday night and actually seeing this lived out first hand was awesome and humbling, I got to meet one of those he lives with his name is Ben and he to is living a life of intentionality in the city of Tacoma. I left his house that night thinking about what it would look like for me to start living a life of intentionality in my own life and to one day love a city just as much, this question lingers as I write this but it lingers with a vision and a willingness to go into a direction that isn’t cleared yet. I’ll write about this maybe one day but not today.

The second man I want to introduce you to is Robert, he’s the creator and vision behind Network and a very chill guy who loves Jesus and the city of Tacoma. It’s a difficult time for Robert these days just 8 months ago he lost his wife to cancer and you can see he’s still grieving this, he’s a man who goes wherever the wind takes him actually he reminds me of an old school hippie. He started out doing what he does in Tacoma in Seattle, he was ordained on the side of a street in downtown Seattle back in 82 and has seen himself as a missionary and Pastor ever since. Back in 1993 it all changed and he moved to Tacoma just 20 minutes away from Seattle, he did this because no one seemed to care about the urban poor in Tacoma and because no one else would do this he said that they must and they did. He’s loved Tacoma ever since and continues to do so to this day even in the midst of grief, he’s an inspiring individual who has encouraged me this week to seek out some of my intentions concerning Church planting and living intentionally.

I want you to know that the Gospel is real and moving in Seattle and Tacoma, I saw this in the city today and learning from Robert and Greg this whole week. So who do you love? How do you love your city? Or do you need to move to a city that isn’t being loved and love it because no one else is? These are the questions that linger this night as I watch my high schoolers listen to Jack’s Mannequin and play Phase 10.

Grace and Peace be with you.

C-DUB

Seattle Part 1

We arrived in Seattle on Saturday March 27 at around 7:00 PM, the evening was tiring as you can imagine and it seemed to take forever to get our luggage. All in all the team was in good spirits and excited about what the week held for them, we met Greg from Network Tacoma that night along with Aaron and Sonia from CIY who we were working with. They picked us up and we settled in for the night back at the Network headquarters.

Before we left I didn’t know what to expect exactly except that we were going to a really cool city in the pacific northwest, so I prayed this prayer “God just break me this week.” I landed expecting this to happen and it does everyday, it’s the art of dying to personal kingdoms and consumerism everyday which is difficult for Americans I’ve noticed especially this one. We love to be in control and think we have everything figured out and we love to be right and will challenge all who oppose us, this is the part of the heart that has to die and I’m reminded of this even here and now sitting in Mandoline’s a local coffee shop in downtown Tacoma. So in this blog let me start out by sharing with you what I experienced Sunday.

On Sunday we got to see brothers and sisters at the Soma community in the morning and the Mars Hill community at night, they are both Acts 29 church plants and both are influential in there own way needless to say I was excited. I went into Soma with Church planters eyes on and got a whole lot more, I’ve been seeking and searching into the direction of church planting these past few years and have continued to feel a calling towards it. At Soma it’s bigger than what it looks, it takes place in a space that looks like an old cafe and this is where about 350 to 400 brothers and sisters gather every Sunday. But that’s the thing Soma is more than Sunday morning, most of there people are being ministered in homes all throughout the week and they understand what it means to be missional everyday and you can feel it. A lot of the people that go to Soma live in community and here’s what I mean by that, instead of a family of 4 living in a 3000 square foot home you would maybe have families of 4 a shut in and anyone else for that matter living in a house, in the words of greg it’s God’s house not ours and they live in community by doing this. Soma loves there city and it shows, in the middle of what was an outstanding hour long sermon the Teacher stops mentioning a sick member and prays for them on the spot, I loved it and it wasn’t fake it was so genuine and so built into the DNA of Soma. Soma is a special place and you can just tell that God is on the move there.

At Mars Hill it’s a lot bigger but it doesn’t feel like it, they meet on about 8 different campuses across Seattle and one in New Mexico, the Ballard campus where Driscoll preaches meets in what looks like an old wherehouse and not very big for mega church standards but what I love is how they use the space. They’re not into building a bigger building for people to come to instead they go to the people, this is why they have campuses instead of building the next biggest building. Mars Hill also is missional and it shows in everything they do, the sermons are an hour long and the service as a whole last’s about 1 hr 40 to 1 hr 45, what’s even more refreshing is that it’s young mostly 25-30 year olds and they want to be there. It’s so refreshing cause I see this happening more and more in the world, Jesus is being discovered and we are currently in a new age of great awakening just see Dallas Willard on that. Needless to say Mars Hill is an inspiring place just like the city and I want you all to know about what the Kingdom is doing out here, I will post more blogs in the coming days on all the other discoveries we are having. Keep praying for God to break me and our team, also pray for the city of Seattle and Tacoma.

Grace and Peace be with you,

C-DUB

Story

I have this memory growing up when it was about time to go to bed, I'd brush my teeth, put on my pajamas and get into bed but you couldn't call it a day until mom came in to read myself and my brother a book. Every night so it seemed we would take a book off the shelf and our mom would read us a story, these stories were exciting filled with conflict and resolution, wonderful characters who had purpose and you wanted to cheer for them cause you were so engaged into there story. If I were to go to a movie about your life would I be as engaged? What kind of story are you telling with your life, you see we are all living in the midst of our own story but a lot of our stories are mundane and not very inspiring. It seems like we live in a world that has lost the meaning of a good story, I just saw a movie over the weekend that had all the special effects you could want but the story wasn't very good, we have lost the art of a good story.

I say all these things because I'm reading a book currently on story, it's called A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. Now I hate endorsing a book before I'm completely finished but I think this one is worth it, the book is about writing a story with your life by the greatest storyteller of all God. God has called us to tell great story's with our lives, to live in conflict to always be working toward something that is worth it but the question is what do we desire? What is so important to us that we would die for it? This is a key ingredient to living a good story with our lives. For far too many the story is the American Dream, it's all about buying a new Volvo or building a new house, or how about the dream vacation to Ireland and Scotland so you can play at the Birth Place Golf, ok maybe that's just me but you get my point. So what is something that is worth dying for that can make our stories great?

I would argue that the things that matter are things that take the most sacrifice, relationally, financially, and physically. It's sacrificing your cushy 9-5 job so you can devote your time to building wells in South America, it's leaving your home and job in Central Florida to go be a missionary and live full time in Japan like some of my friends recently did. These are the things that make a story great it's the stuff of movies really, I would love to go see a movie about a guy who leaves his home in Danville Indiana to live on an Indian reservation in Arizona but goes through close to death encounters with the natives, rejection from his family and financial strain to get there. Wouldn't that be a great movie? I would love to see a resolve to a story like this.

So what story will you tell in 2010, I hope it's one that will inspire us all to live a life that is just a little more missional.

Grace and Peace be with you this new year.

Clayton Wheeler

Judge and Jury

I use to believe that God could convict the guilty and not sentence them, then I had this thought is it God who sentences a person or the person himself? I’m wrestling with the subject of repentance and forgiveness which I believe is connected with the subject of conviction and sentencing.

Growing up I would always watch movies that had protagonist and an Antagonist very clearly to, movies like Indiana Jones and the early Batman movies. It was in these films as an 7,8, and 9 year old I learned what evil was and I learned what Good was. What’s even more compelling now is looking back and seeing the fate that the evil one chose, he chose his own sentence, his own death and so on, all there downfalls was pride he would much rather believe that the lie that he was righteous than to let go and repent of his own actions we all still want to be right don’t we? We want to believe in our own realities and our own characters around us, we want to believe that we are the best father, son, co worker, boss and pastor in the world and everyone else is trying to play catch up with us. Then something interesting happens when we fall into our own human nature.

At some point your going to slip up and make a mistake and sometimes these mistakes affect the lives of so many people that an intervention is called for, it’s the moment where you come home one night and your whole family is waiting to talk to you about something. This puts you in a very interesting and compromising situation doesn’t it? You can hand over all that is wrong and seek reconciliation or you can take on a harder grip and run away or even worse ignore the issue at hand, we all want to avoid things don’t we? This reminds me of the story of Pharaoh, he had a choice he could let God’s people go or he could be a stubborn old Mule, this becomes his path as we read in Exodus. His heart becomes hardened and he ends up killing himself in the process, not by suicide but by stupidity and ignorance.

God is calling us into a life that is free, when we are caught he is inviting us into a life that is so much more free than the one we have created. May God reveal this to you on this day, may you see that Jesus is about freedom. It’s all about becoming free and not hardening your heart.

Grace and Peace be with you.