…you knew it was coming (the “you” will know and I will inform the rest of us).

Acts 3:2-5
And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
KJV

The lame man looked upon Peter and John and expected something, after all, he had been coming to the same spot every day. What he expected was some type of handout in the form of money, and this obviously was his way of sustenance. So, what else would he expect when Peter and John garnered his attention? One of the most riveting classes I took at CSUB was marketing. I haven’t forgot the 4 P’s: Price, Promotion, Place, and Product. Those four things are at the heart of every business and they must be in a proper balance for success. You might have a great price, promotion, and product, but if your in the wrong place you might not succeed, that is unless you are a destination place with a rich history or something akin to it (think Luigi’s here in B-Town). That class also taught me that one’s goal should be to EXCEED the expectation of customers. Doing so creates buzz and return visits, and ultimately builds a customer base. Peter and John by introducing the power of Jesus Christ, exceeded the man’s paltry expectations of money and he walked, leaped, and praised God, as he was healed. Now, there are a few rabbit trails here…one is that some, like the crowds who witnessed the casting out of the devils from the man of the Gadarenes, are upset with the change even if it is for the good because they are so accustomed to a rote lifestyle, or because it upsets or infringes upon their livelihood. That subject is worthy of notation, but my interest is in when an expectation is not exceeded, but is NOT MET! Have you been there before? Maybe you bragged about a certain place to others only to walk away feeling a little chagrined because the expectation not only wasn’t exceeded, but the expectation itself was lacking.

Peyton and I spent some Father/Son time on the slopes of Mammoth mountain. It couldn’t have been better: great weather, lots of snow, clean air, etc….perfect, with one exception. Our companion wanted to be assured of lodging that would not include bugs, rodents, dirty linens, party noise…oh, man…the list was long. We were only staying one night, so it really didn’t matter to me…you sleep you get up the next day and you ski…motel 6 is fine. Anyway, the reservation was made and this place was supposed to be gem, so the expectations were high, very high. Well, when we pulled into the parking lot, Peyton said, “Dad, before you get out…is that a mouse right there against the building?” Oh, yeah. That mouse was part of the welcoming committee at this place, but hey, I’m not so persnickety to think it is impossible to see a mouse outside of a building, cold, shivering, and looking for a room as well. It was kinda funny though. Upon checking in; however, on a shelf behind the attendant was……..a big box of Decon! This place was a dive! Actually, actually, it really wasn’t that bad, but the expectation of what it was supposed to be….now that is what made it so funny. The refrigerator door wouldn’t open all the way because of the track in the closet, you could hear every footstep and the dogs in the place barking, the heralded restaurant in the basement smelled up the whole place, they made the bed over an orange (I think our companion purposely added to the comedy)…..absolutely, a laugher. Not because the place was really THAT bad, but because the hype didn’t measure up to what we experienced. I think that mouse drowned in the noisy hot tub on the second floor, down from our room.

Jesus Christ exceeds expectations, as duly noted by Peter, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee.” Expectations that really matter are exceeded in Christ, the other ones-the many occurrences in life that fall just a bit short (or REALLY fall short), well, we cry or laugh about them (sometimes both and sometimes we laugh so hard we cry). Although, I still feel a little bad about that shivering mouse.

Heb 6:3
And this will we do, if God permit.KJV

The writer of Hebrews is speaking about leaving foundational things and moving toward perfection, or to put it another way, he is talking about spiritual maturity and formation. Once the foundational things are in place, it is incumbent to move toward perfection. We should strive for movement forward and we will do this IF, meaning, God is ultimately in control and there is no guarantee of the tomorrow. Ever had your plans go awry? Have you had your personal schedule dismantled by a myriad of circumstances. Well, the garbage truck man did, and he is a perfect example of “crazy” things happening.

So, he dumps the trash bin. He backs up and turns around to exit, only to…boom.

…he runs right into a sink hole up to the front axle in what could be described as a serious, unexpected stop. Then, when the tow truck arrives, lifting him out of the sink hole…

…he starts his truck, and because the truck is torqued a certain way due to the tow trucks “lifting,” he scatters his radiator fan all over the parking lot. Crazy. And it just so happened to be a special fun day for the students at BAA…Crazy Day.

…this we will do, If..

The first part of January, my wife and I travelled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to participate in a meeting regarding the vertical church in a horizontal world. Very interesting and uplifting stuff, not to mention a good time with friends…from California…go figure. The meeting was hosted by Elder Spell & Pastor Tony Spell, and they were great southern hospitality hosts with all the fixin’s (gumbo, catfish,…and other Cajun stuffs).

The content of the sessions was uplifting, as it centered on how the church should be centered on the vertical, unseen, transcendent world and not on the seen horizontal palette.

On a personal note, there’s a lot of ideas floating around about how the church should be reaching the world, and I’ve never been one to close the door on new ways the church can connect to an ever changing community. However, I am very concerned when the ever changing community dictates to the church, so that the church becomes an ever changing church (my “journey”, if you will, has been like that of the large vehicle in reverse with the warning beeps). Core values and identity cannot be sacrificed…and in my experience, a rush to be “authentic” results in being faddish (ok, some things are cool) and tends to eliminate that which is really authentic (that’s not so cool). It is one thing to reach forward with a firm commitment and appreciation for what has brought the church thus far (that becomes in and of itself a check and balance), but it is quite another to self loathe and de-construct what “has been” in an effort to become something the church is not, or will cease to be when “new fangled” wears off and in sets buyer’s remorse. And by the way, this is not a new thing, rather, a cycle of 20 years as it pertains to inward organizational structures, and centuries as it pertains to broad epochal history. Nuff said…I am not so arrogant to pretend to have all the answers, but this one thing I do know, if we start de-constructing the last 65 years of GBFPC in the Greater Bakersfield area we will implode. The New Birth message works, and response to it brings in folk like Richard Ross.

1 Cor 6:11
And such were some of you : but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.KJV

This has to be one of the most powerful verses in the Bible. Richard has turned a 180, and is doing fantastic. So you can imagine my thoughts upon receiving the picture below.

I’m thinking, “Oh, No!” Then, a few minutes later I received the next picture.

Richard works at an auto body repair shop. God can move you from the back to the front.

The 2:38 Youth Conference ended the old year and ushered in the new. Bro. Bass and Bro. Buxton were fantastic as the night and day speakers. They preached timely messages that will last in time honored fashion. Plus, they are really fun to hang out with. We thank them greatly for their ministry.

Another gargantuan thanks to GBFPC for putting their best foot forward to invest in young people, which meant staying up late, setting up, tearing down, cleaning up, being there, and many other actions that really really represent. When one sets out to put together something of genuine quality, it becomes quickly apparent that it will not happen unless you have a large contingency of people knocking out the small details like Babe Ruth…and you won’t find some of those baseballs. Thanks all.

I cannot come down from this wall because the work I am involved in is too great. Why didn’t Samson say “I AM a Nazarite”? You cannot bury the prophet in the dungeon and expect success.
There is great open door AND many adversaries, not “but” many adversaries.

Rather than blathering on, the pictures themselves do a great enough job.

Seasons Greetings! Hope you enjoy “good times’ with your friends and family during this Christmas season and the end of the year. To conclude the year with an observation, I have included Greek, Buzz and Woody, and a reflection on 2009…I know, my mind works funny sometimes, but hey, at least I will never get “stodgy” or “stoved up” with such drivel running laps in my head.

Bro. Talmadge French encouraged me to go back and have another pass through my Greek course I took at Fuller Seminary. I took a summer intensive, which meant taking two quarters in ten weeks. Yes, you now understand why I haven’t been too hip on picking anything that looks like Greek for uuuhhhh,…a long time. The technique is called the “immersion” method, meaning, you think, sleep, and eat Greek until some of it sticks with you. OR, you become very overwhelmed and barely stay alive, and if I remember correctly, I think I survived but not without scars upon my psyche.

Anyway, I have started on another primer and this time I’m taking it slow and absorbing the content. To my surprise, much of the vocabulary when presented afresh, comes to the fore from some deep seated file cabinet in my brain. Pretty cool actually. However, the word ὑπέρ has been problematic. It is a small preposition which can mean “in behalf of” in the genitive (the case that implies possession), or “above” in the accusative (the case of the direct object). When reviewing my vocabulary, I constantly get stuck when ὑπέρ presents itself. Yet, I have figured out how to make it stick with the help of….

In case you don’t know, that’s Buzz on the left and Woody on the right. In the story, Woody gets upset when Buzz comes along because all the other toys think he is super cool, and although the two work out a friendship, this is not the case initially. Initially, Woody doesn’t like or feels bad, that Buzz is getting “above” him with the rest of the crowd. There it is… ὑπέρ means “in behalf of” (Woody poor guy), and “above” (because Buzz is above).

To make some things “stick” requires an imagination, or the occurrence needs to be dramatic enough. This is where the end of the year becomes poignant. Reflecting upon the year 2009, what events will stick out in your mind, so that years later you will be able to connect the event to the year? My Grandfather was great at saying, “Let’s see it was 1930, the latter part, November I think, when…” I was always impressed, but wondered if it really mattered. It mattered to him. Not easy to forget dramatic times like 9/11, or the Great Depression.

While perusing through the PAVE posts, I pulled out some highlights that will always be linked to 2009.
1. Great start to a year.

2. Love our youth and the winter camp plus the Easter presentation represent many endeavors of a great family @ GBFPC. Truly a privilege to be a part.

3. Mission Trip to Peru. Will not forget.

4. Mr. PUB or Pull Up Bar represents exercise and portion control. People are told regularly in many publications to curb time spent watching TV because it contributes to obesity. Apostolics don’t watch TV, therefore, they should be….? Just joshing a little, but it was a good year in that regard and I support anyone who endeavors to be healthy.

5. Got to spend time with some great high school seniors in England, France, and Ireland.

6. Spent some time in North Carolina with a great group of young people. Thanks to the Erskines’ and Wilmoths’.

7. Egroup and the Azusa tour.

8. Fortunate to travel to Rome with a great group of folks. Absolutely floored.

…certainly, not all, but a few things to look back on and say, “It was 2009…first part of the year…we were in Peru at a jungle service…”

Happy New Year! KmB