8th Anniversary Celebration

This past Sunday, March 23, we celebrated the 8th anniversary of Morning Star. Sometimes its hard to imagine that it was only eight years ago that Cecil and I moved back here from Florida to start the MSC. Sunday was a great celebration service. It really reminded me of how far we've come over the years. We have great staff and volunteers that make it all happen. Which helps make my job so much easier and more enjoyable. I also had the priviledge of baptizing four after the service! I've included the group picture of those who stayed to watch the baptism and have lunch.

Date Night With Alanna

As the kids grow older, my wife and I have tried to find ways to connect with our children on an individual basis. Connecting with my son tends to be fairly easy since he loves to sports especially baseball. But connecting with my daughter is a bit more challenging. The older she gets the less interested she is in wrestling with Daddy :). So just a few months ago my wife suggested that Alanna and I should cook together because we both love to cook (and eat!). So here are a few recent pictures from our last date night. We went out together to the grocery store and bought what we needed to make Tiramisu. It was delicious! But most importantly I had a wonderful time with my totally awesome not so little, little girl!

CRAZY DAY at School

This is Lutheran Schools Week and our kids attend Prince of Peace Lutheran School in Fremont. So each day this week the kids get to do something fun or crazy. Well, today was Crazy Day so we had lots of fun this morning helping make the kids look very crazy. Alanna was totally into it but Ethan was a little more hesitant. He didn't want anything weird done to his hair (for some reason he has always been more into comfort than coolness...probably got that from his Dad) so we worked with limited options.

Hanging out with some pastors in the area

For those who don't know, our church is part of an association called Next Generation Churches. I lead the Alameda County pastor's cluster that gets together once a quarter for breakfast and fellowship. This morning we met at one of our churches in San Leandro. I just took on this responsibility about 9 months ago so this was our third time to get together. It was an especially good meeting because each of us took some time to share what was happening in our lives and then someone else in the group prayed for us. Here are a couple of thoughts that I had during our breakfast:

1. Everyone (even pastors) needs someone they can talk to about life. To often we think that the more spiritually mature we are or the longer we've been a Christian the less we will need to rely on others. The opposite is actually true. The more spiritually mature you are the more you will realize how much you need other people in your life.
2. Everyone goes through difficult times. Somehow the idea that good Christian people never have problems gained traction in the church. I'm not sure if its the Power of Positive Thinking Movement, or the Name It Claim It Theology Group, or if its the God Wants You To Be Rich Crowd, but regardless of where it came from, that idea is totally bogus and anti-Scripture. As I shared breakfast with these pastors I realized that all of us were just as human as anyone in our churches. Some of them are having serious health issues, others have financial problems, a few had family/relationship issues. Which validates what Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer I have overcome the world."
3. Talking with other Believers about what is happening in your life is good for you. It may not fix the problem but it does seem to make it more manageable.

Relationships in the Church

We started a new sermon and small group series last Sunday that is studying I Corinthians 12:12-26. As the week as passed I have heard some really good comments regarding the small groups that have met. The major underlying theme that I am hearing is how enjoyable it is to spend a solid block of time in conversation about God and the Bible. I think this theme illustrates how seldom we set aside time to talk about God with other people. Usually our conversations focus on superficial things like weather, sports, or job situations. Sometimes we our close friends we discuss more important things like marriage, parenting, and financial pressures. The problem with this approach to relationships is that we focus all our attention on the outward. Whether those things be positive or negative, questions or answers, problems or solutions, they nevertheless are lacking since they bypass what should be the most central element of our life...God. So make some focused time to discuss God and what He is doing in your life this week with someone else.

BELONG Sermon and Small Group Series

This Sunday we launched a new sermon and small group series as we study I Corinthians 12:12-26. I was really excited to see how many have signed up to participate in the small groups each week. If you missed Sunday's message you can listen online at www.msconline.org

Christmas Pictures

We are ahead of schedule this year! Christmas pictures are already taken and Christmas cards already ordered. As many of you know we send out about 250 Christmas cards to the entire church family so the task of getting pictures taken, design selected, and then ordered has in the past hung over our heads like an never ending cloud, but this year my wife wisely suggested that we take the pictures before heading out to our family Thanksgiving party and so we did. Here are a few great ones that didn't make the final cut.