I'll Do Anything He Says

Mike Gower: A Man Who Finished Well

2011-01-04T14:47:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, December 29th Mike Gower passed away. Mike was a pastor, a resident director, an elder in the church, but most importantly he was a man who fully trusted Jesus Christ and radiated the love of the Spirit everywhere he went. Just weeks before he died he shared that he had learned "the way to live in God's presence is to be thankful for everything". I am thankful for Mike Gower.

Mike and his wife Caroline helped Renee' and I start off well in marriage. They spent many hours with us during our pre-marital counseling. Mike always shared wisdom, humility, humor and love. He could tell you what you needed to hear and be graceful at the same time. I will always remeber him grinding into my head that, "family comes before ministry."

For one year I was able to serve on the Governing Board at Risen King Community Church with Mike. He was always a wise leader in God's church and was a great support to the church staff. He was known to be "the Patriarch" at Risen King as well as Simpson University. He will be missed greatly. My prayer is to one day finish my life as well as Mike Gower.

2010-01-20T14:32:00.000-08:00

Simply Worship is a new monthly worship gathering. We're meeting the 4th Sunday of every month at 6pm to simply worship. We meet in the worship center at Northside Community Church. Childcare is provided for the little ones.

New Church Website

2009-10-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

We're launching our new church website this Sunday. Devin and I have been working hard on creating it over the last couple months. I'm really excited about it, so check it out and let me know what you think. We're still working a few bugs out before Sunday.

Northside Community Church Online

the big dinner and dance

2009-10-11T17:24:00.000-07:00

Last night I rocked a pink shirt, pink tie and danced the night away with my stunning wife in her pink and black dress. At Harrison Hot Springs they were celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving. I had soup, salad, potatoes, veggies, Yorkshire pudding, prime rib and pumpkin pie for dessert. 2 hours of eating, 3 hours of dancing, getting home at 1am equaled me taking a long nap today.

Dinner and Dancing

2009-10-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night Renee' and I are going to Harrison Hot Springs with her family for a night of dinner, dancing and romance. Now I'm not that excited about the dancing part, never really been much of a dancer and for some reason my legs get sore and stiff when I get out on the dance floor. My father-in-law on the other hand loves to dance. I can count on him pulling some moves and possibly embarrassing me, but as long as he's having fun it doesn't matter. Maybe I'll post some pics later.

cancel church and get your hands dirty

2009-10-07T14:58:00.000-07:00

I've been working on organizing service projects for our next Service Sunday. Twice year instead of having our morning worship service we send out teams to do service projects around our city. Our last Service Sunday we did projects for the Sean Humphrey House, the Agape House, Church on the Street, Mt. Baker Care Center, Bellingham Parks, the Sessions family and the 911 dispatch center. I'm looking for service projects for us to do this time, if you have any ideas let me know. We believe that God hasn't called us to just be volunteers, but he's called us to be servants.

theoretical article

2009-10-05T12:39:00.000-07:00

I'm counting down the days until my thesis is completed and my Master's degree is in my hand. It's been over 2 years now of diligently plowing ahead. I'm writing my thesis on the causes of burnout in Pastors. It's been interesting research that I think has been a big benefit to me. So many Pastors burnout or blowout and I don't want to be one of them.

3 sessions, 3 meals, 1 arm wrestling tournament

2009-10-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

Our Men's Retreat is coming soon. We've been spending time planning, dreaming and praying. So often as men we trade in our God given dreams in pursuit of the American dream. This weekend will be about remembering, reclaiming and perhaps hearing for the first time the dreams and purposes that God has for our lives.

Weekend Update

2009-04-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

Busy weekend ahead . . . We're leaving at 4:30pm today for a Staff & Elder Retreat, get back by 4pm on Saturday, Softball practice on Saturday at 5pm, then dinner with John & Colleen. Sunday I'm playing electric guitar, softball meeting after church, young adult event at my parents house and then the Marriage Workshop on Sunday night. Oh yeah, I need to do some homework too! It's going to be crazy, but it should be a lot of fun too. I'm sure the highlight will be sharing a bed with my dad tonight at the elder retreat.

On Monday, we leave for district conference in Portland. It's always fun to hang out with some other Pastors for a couple days. Ever wonder what Pastors talk about when they get together? Sorry . . . I can't tell you, it's a secret.

Day Off

2009-04-13T08:54:00.000-07:00

Today's my day off. I plan to drink some coffee, read John 21, do some reading for school, watch a movie, shop for some new jeans, enjoy the sun that's coming through my windows right now, play some pick-up basketball and sit on the edge of my couch from 9pm-10pm to watch 24.

We had some real life 24 this week with the whole pirate hostage situation. Our Navy Seals owned those pirates and did an awesome job of saving our Captain! Hopefully we can do something to put an end to all this Somali Piracy and also help the people of Somalia to live a better life. I'm glad to live in a country that stands up to the pirates instead of just paying ransom and making the cycle of piracy worse.

The Captain who was captured by the pirates gave himself up as a hostage for the crew. He signed up for possible death in order to insure freedom for his men. What a great example during the Passion week of true love and sacrifice. There is no greater love than being willing to lay down your life for another. I pray in the same situation that I would have the same love and courage that this Captain displayed. What do you think you would have done in his situation?

Good Friday

2009-04-08T20:24:00.001-07:00

This Friday at Northside you're invited to stop by anytime between 7am and 9pm to engage in the Stations of the Cross experience. There are fourteen stations that take you through the journey of Jesus Christ on his was to the cross. The last station is communion. We even have a children's version, so bring your family with you.

Invite your friends and family to stop by. The Stations of the Cross takes anywhere from 30mins to and hour. You don't have to attend Northside to take part in this prayer experience. See you on Good Friday!

Middle School Camp

2009-04-03T07:48:00.001-07:00

Today at 3pm we're leaving for Middle School Camp at Miracle Ranch in Port Orchard. I'm excited, it's going to be a fun weekend and we have a great group of students going. I'm looking forward to great conversations, paintball, cabins, a high ropes course, a rodeo and night games. We could use lots of prayer this weekend. Pray that God will work in our hearts and give us a safe time.

Thursday Night Concert

2009-04-01T15:13:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night from 6:30pm-8pm Desperation Company will be doing at concert at Northside. Our youth group is hosting this concert, but anyone is invited to attend. Desperation Company has a passion to create and play music that will encourage the younger generations to connect with God in worship. The concert is free, but bring a few bucks to throw in the love offering.

Church Marketing

2009-03-31T14:07:00.000-07:00

Just looked at this website. They have some good points. We can't package Jesus or the church into a brand . . . http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/

Weekend Update

2009-03-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

Youth Sunday was awesome yesterday. The students and youth leaders did a great job with music, snacks, ushering, greeting, reading scriptures, video announcements and acting in a skit. It was cool for the church to get an idea of what we do at youth group.

After church we went out to lunch with some new friends, went to an 80th B-Day party for Renee's grandma and then I laid on the couch and watched basketball in 1080i, amazing. I'm picking UNC to go all the way and win the NCAA Tournament. They destroyed Oklahoma yesterday with their well rounded offense.

Youth Sunday

2009-03-26T08:26:00.000-07:00

This Sunday is Youth Sunday. Our students will be in charge of everything from ushering to music to coffee to a skit and bible reading. The theme of the service will be SHAPE. We're going to look at how God is involved in shaping us from our conception to our death. But we're also going to explore our responsibility to shape future generations, so that they will have expectation and faith for God to work in their generation. Everyone is invited, we'll have free coffee and pastries. Invite your friends and family.

Fiesta Party

2009-03-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow night at youth group we're throwing a big Fiesta Party. We have 2 giant donkey pinatas, a taco bar, fiesta games, a nacho eating contest and my friend Julio is coming to share the story of how God has radically changed his life. It's going to be awesome. Come dressed in Mexican attire if you want. I need to get a sombereo.

Mexico = Amazing

2009-03-24T14:03:00.001-07:00

We got back Saturday night from vacation in Mexico. It was an awesome week full of . . . kayaking . . . snorkeling . . . swimming . . . sun bathing . . . 4 wheeling . . . reading . . . mexican food eating . . . beach walking . . . dirt road driving . . . smoothie making and most of all relaxing.

2009-03-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

Last night at youth group we kicked of our new series, "The Purity Revolution." We live in a culture that doesn't prize sexual purity. We're asking why. Your purity, your virginity is worth fighting for. Jesus said in Matthew 5 that the "pure in heart will see God". There is intimacy with God that is only reached by those with a pure heart, mind and body. Purity is the greatest gift you can give to your future spouse. But it's not easy to get your virginity from "the battlefield to the bedroom". My prayer is that we would have a purity revolution!

2009-03-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

This is the view when you snorkel at the Cabo Plumo National Park in Mexico. I'm going to be chasing some colorful fish around next week. The problem at Cabo Plumo is the beach is really rocky when you enter the water. You have to put your flippers on before you enter the water, or else wear aqua shoes and then put your flippers on over them. The view is well worth it though.

Only 78 hours until we leave for the airport. I can't imagine what a week with no cell phone and no computer will be like.

My Big Toys Next Week

2009-03-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

In an effort to make you jealous, I'm posting another picture of my Mexico destination. This is what I'll be doing next week. Kayaking and braving the open seas on a small aluminum boat. You can check out where we're going at http://www.bajavilla.com/. Renee' and I went there 3 years ago and it was awesome. I reached my goal today of weighing in at 175 pounds, for a total of 18 pounds of weight loss in about 4 1/2 weeks.

15 pounds . . . Mexico is coming

2009-03-06T14:24:00.000-08:00

This is where I'm going on vacation in a week. It's going to be awesome. In effort to not look like a beached whale in Mexico, I've been losing some weight.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I started drinking slim fast. For the last 4 weeks I've been working out, eating healthy and exercising a large amount of self-discipline. I'm starting to notice results, I've lost 15 pounds. My goal is to be down to 175 when I leave for Mexico a week from tomorrow. Only a few more pounds to go.

When Planes Don't Fly

2009-03-04T21:45:00.000-08:00

Just got back from driving Renee' to the Seattle airport. She was scheduled to fly out of Bellingham at 5:20pm, with a connection to Seattle and then on to Sacramento. When she got off work she had a voicemail from Alaska saying her flight out of Bellingham had been canceled. So we rushed her down to Seattle, and she actually even got there early enough to get some fish and chips at the Anthony's Seafood Bar in the airport. I was amazed at how little traffic there was, I'm now offically taking Everett off the list of cities I hate to drive through.

Stations of the Cross

2009-03-02T08:31:00.000-08:00

On Good Friday every year we have a Stations of the Cross experience set-up. It's really been awesome experience the last few years. This year we want to take it to the next level. I'm looking for a few creative minds to form a team to make it an amazing worship and prayer experience this year. Let me know if you're interested.

Good worship and good food

2009-03-01T15:27:00.000-08:00

The worship seminar yesterday was awesome. We had a blast together and were challenged with a bunch of good stuff. I'm realizing how important it is to teach people about worship and what worship truly is.

Our church service was great this morning. People really seemed to be engaged in worshiping God and Mark did a great job sharing what God is doing in the Balkans. We had some young adults over for lunch with Mark after church. Renee' made some awesome potato/bacon soup and chocolate fondue for dessert.

I have a big project due this week for my Leadership and Imagination class. Looking forward to finishing it up and then having a week with no school work. My next class is called "Leadership, Justice and Forgiveness", it should be interesting and challenging.

Worship Seminar Tomorrow

2009-02-27T18:41:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow morning a few of us that are involved in leading worship at Northside are heading down to Tacoma for an all day worship seminar. I'm looking forward hanging out, talking music and coming up with ideas together. Hopefully we'll come away challenged and with some cool new ideas.

Missions Week

2009-02-24T10:52:00.000-08:00

This week at Northside we have the privilege of have Mark, a missionary from Bosnia with us. He'll be speaking at AWANA on Wednesday, Youth Group on Thursday, Life Masters on Saturday and at our worship gathering Sunday morning. I've heard great things about him, so you'll want to make sure you don't miss out.

I'm still sick. I started getting sick on Thursday and I'm still fighting it off. I think I'm seeing some improvement, so I'm trying to lay low today and completely beat it, so that I can get back to full strength. Right now I'm on my couch, dressed in a robe and I have my laptop on my lap. I love how laptops make it possible to get work done from anywhere.

Congrats to Matt & Anna Moseley. Their baby girl was born last night! Renee' is leaving a week from tomorrow to go help Anna out for a few days in Redding. I'm trying not to get her sick so that she'll be able to go.

My Body Revolted

2009-02-21T12:45:00.000-08:00

I started getting sick on Thursday, I got worse on Friday and today I'm starting to get better. I think working 11 days straight without any time off and no free evenings probably wasn't the best thing. My body finally revolted and told me I needed to rest. I have found that spending four days at a High School Conference can be hazardous to your health. This is the second time in three years that I have gotten sick after DYC. I'm loading up on Airborne before I go to DYC next year.

Tomorrow, at our 10am service, I will receive a challenge and commissioning as an ordained Pastor. It should be interesting. I've never been to an ordination service before so I don't really know what to expect. I'm supposed to say something after our District Superintendent and my dad talk, but I don't really know what they're going to say. Hopefully what I plan on saying will mesh okay with what they say.

Well, I better get back to homework. Only ten more months until my Master's degree is completed!

DYC and Yelling at Refs

2009-02-16T19:03:00.000-08:00

Just got back from DYC. Four days with 600 High School students was awesome, exciting and tiring all at the same time. God moved in many hearts, I had some good talks with our students and it was fun to get lots of time to just hang out.

On Saturday night at DYC they put on this huge basketball tournament. I signed up to be a ref and my group thought it would be fun to come and cheer me on while I officiated that game. Actually, they yelled at me the whole time and pretended to be fans that were a little bit more than just passionate. My favorite moment was when I called a foul on a 15 year old girl and a guy from my group yelled out that I was a "chauvinist pig". I found all this to be quite amusing, especially since I just wrote a blog about yelling at refs.

This Thursday at youth group we're doing a Mission Impossible night. The group will be split into 4 teams; the CIA, the British MI5, the Mossad and the KGB. It's going to be awesome. Two hours of clues, mysteries, counter-intelligence, strobe lights, fog machines and running around in the dark.

DYC, Valentine's Day & Ordination

2009-02-12T16:54:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I leave with our High School students for D.Y.C. down in Portland. It should be awesome. God worked in an amazing way last year and I know he'll do something awesome again. The theme is Today . . . each day we have choices to make and today is the day that God wants to show himself strong in our lives.

The bummer about being gone this weekend is that Renee' and I won't be able to spend Valentine's Day together. Luckily, I have a great wife and she consented to celebrating early. I am so lucky to have such an awesome woman of God as my companion and friend.

Next Sunday, Feb. 22nd, anyone who wants to come is invited to our 10am service for the celebration of my ordination. Matt Boda, our district leader, will be up for the day and the church is putting on a lunch after the service. Should be fun. Kind of weird for me to be the focus of a service though. I think it'll be cool though, it's not about me, it is about me yielding to God and following him as I lead others in His pursuit.

When is it okay to yell at the Refs?

2009-02-10T19:50:00.000-08:00

We just won our first playoff game, 34-22. Yes, I help my dad coach a 4th grade boys basketball team. We were lucky and assigned to our team was the best 4th grader basketball player I've ever seen, he had 26 points tonight. I made my contribution to, yelling at 10 years olds to hustle down the court and yelling at the refs when they made a bad call.

At what point do you cross the line in yelling at the refs? Should I be getting passionate about 4th grade basketball? Honestly, I try my best to be as mellow as possible. If you've ever been to a basketball game with me in the stands you can testify to my passion, and the fact that I single handedly ticked off Karl Malone at a Warriors game when I was 13. I only really called the ref out once tonight. I think it was legit, but my dad did tell me that is was okay and I could calm down. So maybe I crossed the line a little. But I guarantee that ref was going to make the right call next time.

Castrating a Calf

2009-02-09T15:21:00.000-08:00

Jim, Zach and I just finished castrating a 150 pound calf. First, let me say I was very glad I wore gloves. I wouldn't have been able to stomach grabbing the balls of this beast without them. Thanks to Alba for the excellent instructions on how to hold the calf down. Keep reading to enjoy the whole story.

Zach (my brother-in-law) and I pulled up to Jim's (my father-in-law) place and he had the 3 cows in the barn. He handed us a rope and we ran down the calf so I could secure the noose around its neck. The calf was not happy about this and Zach and I had a hard time restraining him. Meanwhile Jim got the other 2 cows out of the barn. The difficult part came next, wrestling the calf to the ground. We had to manhandle it into the corner next to a stack of hay and try to take out its legs without getting kicked in the face. We got the calf down and Zach pinned it's neck down with his knee, used one hand to hold its front leg and the other to cover its eye. I was in the back and pushed down on the midsection with one hand, held the upper back leg with the other hand and used my foot to hold the tail down. Jim offered me the job of using the rubberband tool, but I declined.

We had to hold down the calf (Bic Mac) for about 10-12 minutes before we were finally able to get the rubberband around its testicles. The stubborn thing kept sucking its balls back in, making them hard to secure. Meanwhile, every minute or two, it would try to get free and we would have to use all our strength to keep it down and avoid getting kicked. At one point the thing pooped, just missing my shoe. I wasn't happy. Zach and I were getting tired, so I withdrew my hand from the midsection of the calf and used it to hold the balls while Jim put the rubberband around them. Finally, we achieved our goal and let the calf go free. In a few days his manhood should drop off and then Jim can feed them to his dog (or not). Well, that's the story. I think this may become a yearly event at Jim's ranch. I'll be prepared next time, and definitely wearing gloves.

Weekend Update

2009-02-08T13:39:00.001-08:00

Friday night Renee' and I went out to dinner to celebrate Valentine's Day, since I'll be gone at DYC (our High School Youth Conference) next weekend. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset and great food at Anthony's. The sunset dinner there is a great deal. My salmon was amazing.

Yesterday, we lost our basketball game by 2 points. Our top player scored 20 points and had a couple blocks that made me drop my jaw in amazement. I could blame our loss on the ref, which would probably be fair, but I think I'm just bad luck. They won the last two games when I was out of town. Maybe I shouldn't go to our game on Tuesday night.

Tomorrow I will be helping my father-in-law castrate his 150 pound calf (named Bic Mac). Zach and I have to hold it down while he does the dirty deed. I'm a little nervous and kind of scared of getting kicked in the face. Anyone have any advice for me?

4th Grade Basketball

2009-02-06T09:24:00.000-08:00

My dad and I have been coaching a 4th grade boys basketball team this year. We only have a couple games left. We're 5-1 right now. The amazing part of this season is that we have a 4th grader who is averaging 20 points a game. He's by far the best player in the whole league. He's like the Lebron James of the 4th grade. We have a game tomorrow at 9am at Blaine Middle School if you want to watch our superstar play. Last game he had about 20 blocks too. I feel bad for the kids on the opposing team. But I'm all about winning. You build more character by winning than losing, right?

Personal Stimulus Plan

2009-02-04T13:54:00.000-08:00

In order to stimulate my personal economy I'm going to follow the lead of our government. If this stimulus bill passes our national debt will be at least 2 trillion dollars for this fiscal year alone. Our yearly budget is about 3 trillion. That means that we will take out loans for 40% of our government spending. This is supposed to help our economy. I think I should try it out. I will take my household budget, multiply it by 2/3 and than spend that much money on purchases with credit cards. According to our government leaders I will then be better off and will make more money in the future. Think it will work?

Slim Fast

2009-02-03T12:04:00.000-08:00

Just had a slim fast shake for lunch. I'm leaving for vacation in Mexico on March 14th for a week and I want to lose some weight so I don't look like a beached whale when I'm laying on the beach with my shirt off. Any recommendations on some good ways to lose weight? I think it mostly comes to down having self-control with what I eat and then also getting a lot of exercise. I'll let you know how it goes.

My list of blog friends is pretty short right now. Give me a comment with a link to your blog and I'll add it to the list on my page, unless I think your blog isn't worth reading , or I see that you haven't actually added a new blog in the last month, or I just don't like you. Just kidding, I'm sure I like all of you.

Weekend Update

2009-02-01T14:30:00.000-08:00

I'm leaving in a few minutes to go watch the Superbowl. I don't really care much about either team, but I'm a West Coast guy so I got to cheer for Arizona.

We just launched online sermons. You can check them out at http://www.northsidecommunitychurch.org/listenonline.htm

We had a great time visiting Eli and Holly. Their son Ethan is a little giant. He's 8 months old and wearing 2T clothes already. We bought him some frog pajamas that were way too small.

Renee' and I had lunch at the Spaghetti Factory yesterday with Aaron and Sarah. It was awesome. I love spaghetti and bread. I hope they're on the menu in heaven.

Servants and Mentors

2009-01-30T08:19:00.000-08:00

After work Renee' and I are driving down to Seattle to visit Eli & Holly. I remember when they first started coming to the Stirring, there was something special about them. They both had a heart to serve, to do whatever needed to be done. Not many people have this. Maybe 5% of a church will have this attitude. It's an attitude that is only possible when one has died to self. It was crazy that Eli & Holly and Renee' and I both moved up north at the same time. It's been cool to see how quickly people stepped into our places at the Stirring, and how much it has grown since then. I can't believe it's almost been 3 years since we moved away.

On a side note, we had a good youth group last night. The kids rocked the rubberband mini-golf course and we looked at the life of Timothy and how he wouldn't had become who he became if it wasn't for having Paul as a spiritual father in his life. I've been lucky to have so many mentors, teachers and spiritual guides in my life. I wouldn't be here today without them.

Rubberband Mini-Golf

2009-01-28T08:46:00.001-08:00

Today I have to make an indoor Rubberband Mini-Golf course. We're going to use it tomorrow night at youth group. I have paper plates, markers, rubberbands, cardstock, water pitchers and duck tape. That's all I need. It's gonna be awesome. Who needs a golf club and a little ball, rubberbands are much more fun, plus you can always shoot them at your friend. Hopefully no one gets hit in the eye. Youth ministry is controlled chaos at its best, so what happens, happens.

Imagination and Art

2009-01-27T19:34:00.000-08:00

I got back Sunday from a 3 day intensive at Gonzaga called Leadership and Imagination. Our first session was about Art and Imagination. We were challenged to disengage the left side of our brain and engage the right side, the creative side. We did this through art. We had to draw and sculpt with our eyes closed. Try drawing your hand while not looking at your paper, it's as hard as it sounds. My art didn't turn out very good but my professor made me think. She said that often the process is more valuable than the product. In a world that is only concerned about what you produce, is it possible to slow down enough to focus on the creative process that gets you there?

I'll Do Anything He Says

2009-01-27T19:12:00.000-08:00

Wow. My life of serious blogging will now begin. Don't know what I'll talk about. Probably my job, food, my wife, my church, my school, and my God. But does any of it belong to me? Probably not. I'll do anything He says. Whatever God tells me to do, I do it. That's my motto. That's the only tune I want to sing. Call me on the carpet, shout at me and kick me in the face when I don't do it. More to come so stay tuned.