This past weekend was a powerful one. Vineyard Westside held an annual outdoor baptism service as we have done for the past 3 years now. We typically meet inside the movie theater, but for this service, we call everyone together all at once and meet outside in the parking lot.

We set up tents and chairs and expect that hundreds of people will show up. And they do. Five hundred or so show up hungry for hamburgers and hotdogs, drinks and sides, but most importantly they show up hungry for God.

Our worship team cranks everything up a few notches and they play until their fingers are numb.







They rock out a few songs and get everyone excited to be there.



At this point, Jim, our children's pastor comes up to do baby dedications. This is an opportunity to have parents and their kids prayed over to devote themselves to a life of following God.



And now it's time for the waterworks. Emotions quickly begin flying all over the place as people line up to get into a horse trough. We don't have a fancy baptismal or anything like that. We've got a 300 gallon Rubbermaid container...and it's holy. It's holy because people step into it who are announcing to the world that they're willing to die to themselves to be raised to life in Christ.

Music continues to play as friends and family join around loved ones for prayer and support.



And then it happens. People surrender themselves and become so vulnerable that everyone can see it. And we have baptism. My sister goes first. Those of you who know me personally are aware of the insane crap that's gone down with Amie...here's to a step in the right direction.







One after another, people line up and get ready for the big splash.







I even got the opportunity to baptize people who are very close to me.

This is my father-in-law Ted. He wrote a letter that stated he doesn't want to do it all on his own anymore.



Ryan and Carrie, our beloved house mates were baptized.



My friend Jon baptized his son Jonah.





My wife's sister Andrea came out of the crowd as she was overwhelmed by the Spirit...she just had to do it. Her husband Chris was given the honor.



Lo and behold my beautiful bride Allison made the decision to be baptized as well. She was baptized as a baby and she wanted this one to be up to her.





I'm still reeling from everything that happened yesterday. It was all a bit surreal. I took about 400 pictures and this is less than 20 of them. At least 35 people were baptized yesterday and some serious damage was done to the kingdom of darkness.

Praise be to Jesus.

Staying up late didn't allow me to sleep quickly when I finally arrived at the mattress. As I lie there with my arms folded behind my head, staring at the ceiling, questions began to stir in my mind as they often do.

I wonder what everyone's up to back home?

How can I become a better husband?

What should I work on when I get home?

How can I aid in lives being changed...more lives, faster?

Why do You love me like You do?

Christ and the Kingdom of God are so very different than other mainstays in my life...in your life. As I take a break, a rest, a sabbath from certain things, it's my natural response to want them more. I take a rest from work, and soon I am restored and ready to jump back in. I take a break from people and community at large only to find a renewed desire for them. These are only for a season however, for if I take a long enough break...my desire for a reconnection will soon fade and my wanting will become distant and blurred. Eventually, the gap in my memory is filled in with new thoughts, desires, and relationships. What once was so familiar can become a barely-there impression.

It is not that way with Christ for me. I longed for God before I even knew who He was and any time I choose to run from Him I am pursued as by a Holy Bounty Hunter. The book of Colossians speaks of the mystery that is Christ. The mystery to me is that of all the things I've been into, of all the hobbies, and the fads and ideas I've had...this Christ has not begin to fade. He is not a reminiscence, rather, an existence in my heart and soul.

Flipping through the phone book turned up a surprisingly small number of church possibilities for us this Easter Sunday. It was between two of them; Eastpoint United Methodist and First Baptist (or something like that). We decided that the United Methodist church probably had lower standards so we opted for that one. Plus, it worked out perfectly for our brunch reservation afterwards.

3 carloads of us pulled up and giggled simultaneously. I'm fairly certain that all of us were thinking the same kinds of thoughts as we looked upon the one-room, maximum occupancy of 40, middle-of-a-trailer-park, traditional-as-all-get-out, Methodist church building.

A younger man, whom we would learn to be Bill, was running back and fourth frantically pulling out metal folding chairs for some sort of an outside event. He raced over to us to hand us a full-color Easter program for the upcoming service...you could tell they had went all out on these programs. They had colored stamps and Easter-egg prints all over them. Everything was laid out like a southern wedding down to the minute in a play-by-play break down. A sense of excitement flooded us as we walked in and tripled their congregation.

The pastor was energetic and uber friendly. He wasn't the normal he as he was a she and she was there to praise Jesus. Her name was Beth.

As we waited for the service to start I read through the colorful program. My favorite part was the bottom line of the last page. It read: Last Weeks Offering $286.29 - to think that this place is staying afloat on less than $300 per week is a miracle in itself.

The sanctuary filled up with close to 30 people for the Easter celebration...it was obviously a huge turnout that they weren't used to. The pastor opened up the service by making us, yes our family, all stand up and introduce ourselves. She said that anyone who traveled all the way from Cincinnati OH just to be with them was worth introducing. The twelve of us all shared our names and told them why we were there. It was excellent and for some reason not at all embarrassing.

We then moved into a prayer of praise where everyone in the church stood up, held hands in a circle, and shared something that they were thankful for. So simple and meaningful.

A couple terrible songs later and we found ourselves listening to a message of little substance...that didn't matter though - the substance was in the surroundings. That little place lived and breathed Jesus. After the message we were all escorted outside where Bill, who had himself set up the outdoor sitting area, would be baptized into the family of God. They didn't have a baptismal, but they did have a bird bath and two bottles of Ice Mountain water.

We all stood around Bill as he was sworn in as the 4th official member of Eastpoint United Methodist and we prayed as he was sprinkled with with blessed, bottled, bird bath water. After he was baptized, we all came up to him and laid hands on him to pray a blessing over his life. That was a beautiful site I won't soon forget.

We ended the service by taking communion together as a family in Christ. Homemade bread dipped into fruit juice never tasted so good. All in all this was the best Easter service I've ever been a part of. It was a vision of the Kingdom of God alive in Apalachicola County.

Family is everywhere...even in the places we least expect it.

I'm posting this entry for something called a blog carnival. I've told some of you about it in person and keep an eye out...you'll be contacted soon to write for a carnival.



I experienced some creative chaos about two weeks ago. I've been asked to teach a large part of a series called, CONSUMED at the Vineyard. We are partnered up with about 35 other churches in the Cincinnati area and we are all moving in the same direction. This is a collaborative effort to tackle some tough stuff together...it's been excellent.

When I was told I'd be teaching a weekend called Debt is Bondage, an idea popped into my tiny brain. I thought, Hmm...I wonder if I could have people cut up their credit cards on stage?

The wind was slightly taken out of my sails when I attended the creative pastors meeting that week. That's a meeting where all of us from the 35 partner churches get together to discuss teaching ideas for the upcoming weekend. I told about 25 other pastors that I wanted to have people cut up their credit cards on stage.

Some laughed immediately because they are ninnies

Others looked at me as if I was trying to snort a bowling ball.

A pastor that I look up to said, "Good luck with that."

Another chimed in with, "Yeah, let us know how that goes."

I left the meeting a little deflated and I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I asked God and it seemed clear that I was to stay straight ahead with my original plan...well, modified a little bit. God showed me an image of a shredder in my mind. Why cut when you can shred?

So I did it. I shared a message about my personal struggle with debt and our mistakes we made. I connected with people on a level very close to home for so many. I had everyone write down their non-mortgage debt on an index card and pass it over to ushers. The ushers returned a total number of debt to me later in the message and when I read it to the crowd they were mostly astounded at the total. This is where the call to action came in.

I brought out the shredder and I explained that we were going to do something about this problem. I gave an invitation for people to come up as they felt led to shred their credit cards while a video about brokenness played. I was pooping my pants as I didn't know if anyone would actually come up and do it.

The next thing I know I look up and there are lines forming. Over 100 credit cards were shredded that morning in what turned out to be a sacred time. The Holy Spirit was heavily present and lives were changed. The only part I really feel I had to do with it was my obedience to do what God was calling me to do...it would have been a lot easier to do something else.

Jesus wants to save us. He wants to save the whole us. Jesus wants to save us from our sins, He wants to save us from anger, jealousy, lust and He wants to save us from our debt.

You can listen to the message here if you so desire.

Creative Chaos can be found here.

Peace,
R

A twenty dollar bill and 4 singles are stuffed in my pocket as I pull up to the window at Dunkin' Donuts. I'm able to justify spending 3 bucks on a large Vanilla Latte at the donut shop rather than 5 bucks at Starbucks. This gives my guilt acquittal and allows me to sleep at night.

<*static*> "Please pull up to the window sir." <*static*>

As I pull up my car is still ice-cold and I can't wait hug my coffee and use it to warm my rigid chassis. I hate the cold. I'm sick all winter long and to be honest it just sucks.

<*window opens*> "That'll be $3.20 sir...and here...try a free sample of our new hash browns." I hand her the money and think to myself, Don't mind if I do. <* window closes*>

Eighty cents change comes my way and by now I've already consumed the tiny delicious sample of hash browns. I want more of them, but I don't want more of them. I drive onward to things of business with Andrew Jackson gasping for air within the capsule of my jeans. Poor little guy...he'll be okay. I can't ever seem to keep any presidents held hostage in there too long. Nothing to worry about Mr. Jackson...you'll be free soon enough.

After a couple of hours I forget that Andrew is even there. He doesn't take up much space and I am consumed with other thoughts. Consumed, that is, until I reach the grocery store. You see I've got some men to feed tonight. Men who will arrive at my home for spiritual insight and challenges. Men who will arrive for food. I want to feed them something healthy tonight...I think Baked Chicken in a light pan sauce with *Mirepoix Couscous will do the trick.

I gather up my missing ingredients and I head for the check-out line. This is where I remember Andrew. He's in my pocket. He's ready to help me out when I need him. So long as I have less than $20 worth of stuff I can use him. Hmm...I think this weird lasagna thing I'm having for lunch might put me over the top. Sorry Andrew, I think I might have to use my debit card.

The lady in front of me is fumbling about.

She can't seem to locate her payment method and she is searching frantically for it. I feel for her as this just happened to me last week. A friend of mine used my debit card and then attempted to steal it from me...or forgot to return it to me in a totally innocent manner...I can't remember which. Either way, I got up to pay for something and I didn't have my payment method. This kind of thing can make one feel totally helpless AND dumb.

The cashier keeps the line moving. She postpones this lady's transaction and gets mine moving. I sneak a peek at the woman's total before the cashier starts ringing in my items and it's $19.82...I remember because that's the year I was born...and because I'm OCD...and I'm a spy. My items are scanned in and my total comes to something I can't remember which bugs the crap out of me because it means I'm not being a very good OCD spy. Blast.

I use my debit card to pay. I stare spyishly over at the lady who is still searching for a way to pay for her goods. The Holy Spirit whispers to me, "Use Andrew, Use Andrew." I decide not to argue with Him since He's right even more often than my wife is and I can't possibly win this one.

I grab Andrew by the throat and I yank him towards the lady. I say..."Here, use this." She looks at me as if I were purple and just had hot magma pour from my face holes. We squabble for a moment and she gives in finally to receive Andrew as another temporary owner.

The woman, defeated, calms down and says gently, "But I don't even know what your name is." To which I responded, running backwards, "I'm just someone who loves Jesus."

She looked at me and simply said, "Okay."

I'm still a little confused as to why she didn't fall on her knees to receive salvation then and there like they describe in cheesy Christian devotionals. For me though, I couldn't have asked for a more excellent anti-climactic comment such as, "Okay."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Mirepoix (meer eh pwah) which means cuisine, is a traditional French cooking base for many, many things. It's made up of 2 parts onion, 1 part carrot, and 1 part celery. It is actually known as the "Holy Trinity" of cooking. If you start with a good Mirepoix...it's almost difficult to make the food bad from there.