The Soul of Wit

I've mentioned a pastor and author named Timothy Keller several times on this blog - the entry right before this one, actually.  Keller is on my list of pastoral 'heroes' because of his laser-focus on the gospel, his thoughtfulness, his scholarship, and his modeling of leadership in Christ.  Although he's also Presbyterian, his tribe - the PCA - has a couple of theological distinctives that I wouldn't share.  I can learn from him even if we disagree on a few issues.  He's a great example for my generation of leaders of how to humbly listen, speak the gospel to power within culture, to cherish what Christ has done for us and to steward the good news for the sake of others.
 
Twitter is a relatively new phenomenon for me.  It's an social-network communication program similar to Facebook, but with one key difference.  Users are only allowed to post their thoughts within the space of 140 characters - the same limitations placed on a regular text message.  The challenge, then, of good communication on Twitter happens within those 140 characters.  Like Shakespeare once wrote, "Brevity is the soul of wit."


Recently, Tim Keller used Twitter to host a live question-and-answer session.  The transcript is below:

http://storify.com/timkellernyc/asktk

It's fascinating to read the questions, Keller's responses, and then to consider his limitations: 140 characters (including spaces) to answer.  I hope his thoughts (and the questions being asked) help us consider how to reach out to our friends and neighbors for the sake of Christ.

Solo Dei gloria,

Travis

Genrous Justice

'Justice' is a difficult term for many of us. If you're a lawyer, it goes hand-in-hand with your work and your education.  If you were raised during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s, it's a word that can carry a lot of baggage and political underpinnings.  Even in the life of the church, 'justice' has often meant a lot of confusion and distress for people who are trying to be faithful to Jesus.

But what does the Bible have to say about justice?  Why is our God a God who is known for his justice?  And why, as Tim Keller's book proclaims, is God's justice a generous justice?  [By the way - if you want to pick up a copy of Keller's book, I'd encourage you to do so and be better prepared for our sermon series and subsequent discussions.]

We'll be studying biblical justice this fall during our upcoming sermon series.  As a helpful resource before we start, I'd encourage you to read/listen/watch the following sermon from John Ortberg, senior pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in California.

http://mppc.org/series/wgod/john-ortberg/get-fence

Our mission is to follow Christ and share his Word.  Taking on a challenging study of justice is important to our mission, and I hope you'll join me in prayer as we prepare for what God will do to teach and lead us in our study.

Solo Dei gloria,

Travis

Students vs. Adults Football Game!

What: Students vs. Adults Football Game

Who: All students (high school and college) versus adults (non-students).  

Both guys and gals are welcome to play. 

When: Sunday, July 28, 2013 at 6 PM

Where: Long Family Memorial Park-3117 F Road Grand Junction, CO 81504

Bring: Footballs, sack dinners (we'll provide drinks and snacks), friends, family, and your A Game.  

Prizes will be awarded for best costume and best Broncos gear!

Student Adventures

Hiking Mount Uncompahgre.  Climbing Cataract Gulch.  Lunch overlooking the 14,000-foot peaks.  These are just a few of the adventures our staff and leaders will share with 14 high school students later this week.  Please be in prayer for their journey, for good weather and provision, and for continuing opportunities to experience the presence of Christ in the wilderness.

Shalom,

Travis

 

Where's Home?

Many of us don't feel at home until we leave home, and find out there are others like us...Home is where you hang your heart.  You hang it out helplessly, whether you want to or not, in full reach of ordinary human beings, not saints...And whether we like them or not, whether they understand us or not, we are linked to them forever by the mystery of blood.  From the first of life to the last, we are bound to them by unbreakable claims.  When we're grown we can surround ourselves with whoever we like, but we all must begin life like this, vulnerable, in the midst of people we never chose.  God chose them for us.  If you have things to say, now is the time to say them.  We will all be voiceless one day. - Frederica Mathews-Green, "Where's Home?"

One of the most critical times in life for wrestling with the question of "Where's home?" is during adolescence: high school and college.  Those are the critical years for developing faith in Christ and deciding that he is our true home.  Thankfully, we try to do our best to reach out to and equip students during those years.

We have amazing students at FPC, and we're connected to hundreds more throughout the valley through our leaders, staff, church partners, and outreach ministries like Tuesday Lunch.  Students today face incredible hurdles in their growth and development as disciples of Jesus.  Over and over again in the works I've studied related to youth ministry, the robustness of faith at home is a key driver for faith in students.  It actually is the key driver of faith, and students know this and look to their parents and grandparents to model faith for them, consciously and unconsciously.  I know this was the case in my life as a teenager.

Helping families equip each other for a lifetime of discipleship to Jesus Christ is one of our greatest challenges.  Janet and Brad and their respective teams work incredibly hard to make sure that students have every opportunity to encounter the Living Christ in powerful ways.  Already this summer, students have encountered Christ in New York City, at Great Escape in Gunnison, Sports Camp here at Columbine Park, and - in just 10 days - through Backyard Bible Camp.  In each of these ministry efforts, we're hoping to build a broader web of spiritual support for our students.  We're also hoping to be vulnerable with them in our witness as adults about the power and trustworthiness of Christ.

Let's continue to be in prayer for Backyard Bible Camp (July 22-26), and please be sure to come to worship on July 28 as we celebrate youth and children's ministries throughout our time together.

Solo Dei gloria,

Travis

Growing Up...?

A season of growth is how I would describe the last month or so.  Actually, I hope that every season in my life has some kind of growing edge to it, but I'm also fairly confident that I'll often miss that perspective when growth involves suffering or frustration.  During the past month-ish, I've preached more frequently than I ever have, coordinated two memorial services in one day, been stretched in my growth as a leader on our staff, and also found myself recognizing patterns in my ministry efforts - both to the good and to the not-so-good.

As you can imagine, I need to take some time to reflect on all that's been going on for this past season.  Part of the way I reflect comes through reading and encountering wisdom from outside sources.  I found a good blog post today that speaks to where I am now after nearly 2 years of being a pastor.  The parts that most resonated with me concern understanding the people of the church I've been called to serve, and more fully appreciating my role as a continual learner.  Here's the post:

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/07/09/studying-doesnt-end-with-classes/

I imagine that if you're reading this post, you've been connected to my life for at least a little while, and for that, I'd like to say 'thanks.'  Thanks for praying for me, for Jill, Will, and our family, and for our mission and ministry in Grand Junction.  Thanks for encouraging us and loving us, even from great distances.  Thanks for being the support we need and for pointing us to Christ.  It's been an amazing two years, and we're looking forward to many more.

Under the mercy of Christ,

Travis

Gratitude from Uganda

Our Uganda mission team returned safe and sound a few weeks ago, praising God and giving thanks to Christ for an amazing season of service with our mission partner, the Amani Baby Cottage.  One of our mission elders sent along the following photos from Amani as a way of saying "thank you" to the team.  The girls' names are Alima and Lydia.

Solo Dei gloria,

Travis