AC3 VB139 Discipleship

Check out this weeks view from the video blog location. Enjoy! :)

Don't Ask, Just Follow

Listening when it doesn't make sense. 

So there I was, managing this coffee stand at the church. Handling the tracking of money and helping with every aspect of the operation. For starters, I don't think that I should even be my own bookkeeper, it's certainly not in me to be a diligent tracker of money for an entity outside of myself. However, there I was, because God needed me to be involved. The coffee stand needed change, Creek Espresso needed management and needed good stewardship. I didn't see myself fit for the job, but God did, so I listened.

I did the best I could and prayed like crazy for God to show me the more permanent answer as to who belonged managing Creek Espresso, it certainly didn't feel like it was me. Since I joined the BAM board (Business As Mission) earlier this year, I felt drawn to this coffee stand. God was pulling me towards it to seemingly set the path for the future, much like he pulled me in to start this blog late last year. As with most things God pulls me to, there was enemy opposition. It was not an easy road but with the help of the BAM board, our volunteers and a HUGE help by our new Creek Espresso Management, Stephanie Moddison, the future is looking bright for Creek Espresso and it's efforts to raise funds for The AC3 Community Center.

The power of prayer

Like I said, the prayers were being sent up in great numbers lately about finding a solution to the problem that I was facing. I needed to step down from this role in the coffee stand, but I needed God to show me the way as surely all of this hard work was for progress in Jesus' name. 

So there I am, praying like crazy. One night, I had a good long talk about it with Bet (aka the awesomest wife in recorded history), told her I was praying about it and asked her to as well. That night before I went to bed I prayed that I'd find balance, that even if I was supposed to manage this coffee stand that I could fit it in where it needed to be fit in as I run a real estate business that supports my family that is clearly #1 on the work priority list. 

How God works in my life.

Well, in the short years I've been a real follower of Jesus, I've learned that The Holy Spirit seriously lacks subtleties when showing me the path that needs to be taken. 

So I'm moping around the house, the very next day after talking to Bet about this coffee stand/time constraint problem and Bet says, "hey honey, I found this in the bag of stuff taken out of your old car, do you want it?"

This is a press pass, made for me by one Nate Crain, an idea straight from God, filtered through Dan Hazen and myself. It was the vision to start this very blog that caused me to take up my passion for writing again, a vision that was seemingly taken from me when business picked up and the coffee stand among other things took all of my time.

At first I didn't think much of her finding the press pass and handing it to me. Then I checked my email. Within an hour of Bet handing me my press pass, I get an email from Creek Espresso's saving grace, Stephanie Moddison. Stephanie and I had been working together to manage Creek Espresso for several months. There's no way that it would be what it is today without her. The email was about how God was putting it on her heart to take over full management of Creek Espresso. How her little guy was just getting old enough where she thought she could take this all on and that her processes for the stand were ready to be in full swing. 

So, I took a step back. Thanked God for working in my life and told Him that I'm listening and that I'm His humble servant and will press forward as he's called me to do. 

Listening forward

So, I listened. Here I am, writing on the blog. I know not where I'll be led in this adventure but I know I'll be led somewhere He wants me to be which makes my heart happier than I could have ever imagined. I'm done asking questions about where He leads me, it's time to just follow because I always end up in the right place at the right time. 

I also know, AC3, that your espresso stand, Creek Espresso is in capable, amazing, loving and caring hands for the foreseeable future in Stephanie Moddison. I will be doing all that I can to support her as she takes on this challenge that God has laid on her plate. So stop in for some java this weekend at church and support the community center at the same time. 

-Jared Galde

2014 Men's Forum, H.U.G.E. Hearts!!

Men after God's heart

 

H.U.G.E. Men of God Men's Forum kicked off last night at Word of Life Church in Marysville. This is my first time attending, so I thought I'd share my experience and growth throughout the 5 week event and in to the 2014 Men's Advance.

AC3's own Pastor Dan Hazen delivered the first week's message, the message was profound. An epic beginning to start this 5 week event leading up to the 2014 Men's Advance.

The intent of the Men's Forum is to unify the men of all Christian churches in and around our community. To continue to create a church without walls, worship, fellowship, deep discussion and HUGE growth in the hearts of the men in our communities.

Open Heart?

 

As I do with all of my time with God's people, I intentionally went in to this night with what I thought was an open heart. I try to leave all notions of who I have been to this point in my life at the door and just take in what God has planned for me to learn.

As Dan passionately and intentionally delivered this message to this crowd of men, gathered on a Tuesday night in Marysville, magic was happening in our hearts. God's presence was apparent and what an open heart truly means was redefined for me, through God's eyes.

The Pregame

 

I won't dissect this message too much, it was too good for me to hit every point of it and somehow do it justice. I can however relay where and how it hit me. First things first here though, I must say, the worship band absolutely rocked, excellent couriers in to God's presence, that shouldn't be understated but the message hit me hard, so I guess it is.

For as long as I can remember, I've looked to world class athletes for traits that I strive to have. An amazing work ethic, a dream and a lofty goal realized, humility, courage, faith and especially those with an extreme will to succeed.

Russell Wilson is all of these things. His character, by all accounts is absolutely incredible. I bring this up because it was profound to me. That Dan, self proclaimed "nerd" and hardly a fan, let alone a big fan of football would start his message with tangible (and somehow accurate) evidence of how the characteristics of Wilson's heart are responsible for where he is today. Where he is today is on the verge of achieving his ultimate football goal as well as finding himself on the biggest stage possible to spread The Word of God in a community that desperately needs it, he does the latter quite gracefully I might add.

With Super Bowl Sunday coming in a few short days, I think Dan knew the way in to our hearts because that was just the beginning. The set up or the 3 yard run before the deep play action touchdown pass.

The message of and from the heart

 

If you know Dan, you know Dan's heart. If you don't know Dan, know that he wears his heart on his sleeve and reveals it to his community in every walk of his life, especially while delivering a message from The Word.

I won't dive in to the event in Dan's life that he centered this message to these men around, if you weren't there, I'll leave it up to you to ask him about that. Let me just tell you that he told an amazing story, a story of true courage in a young boy's heart and the profound effects of the lessons learned from it more than 30 years later in his life. How that courage gave him the ability later in life to love his father more and better than he had even thought possible.

The fierce passion in this man's eyes, his tone and his fists, shaking at the sky made it feel like he was talking directly to me, but I know I wasn't alone...I wasn't alone in knowing that men's hearts in our society aren't just broken, they're hardened by our culture. We're on a crash course, losing the courage and will it takes to truly love God, to truly love ourselves and in turn, love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

My will to seek God is the will that matters. We've all been broken by something at some point, our will to seek God is what gives us Christ followers redemption, it's how we find God's grace in the darkest of hours in our lives and how we find true joy in the best of times.

What I took from this message is that my will to seek God, the courage it takes to open my heart, mind and soul to God's word and His people is everything. My heart is hardened by my past, the only way to soften it is to keep it open for God's work, to have the courage to completely break societies mold of the modern man and continue to give my entire life to Jesus Christ so that our community can be the light on the hill for all to see.

H.U.G.E. stuff

 

After the message everyone headed to breakout rooms for discussion on what we love versus what we fear and different ways men have overcome fear with the courage to chose love in many situations. I'm certain that a man's life was changed in our group and I can't wait to follow up with him to make sure he stay's in God's presence where he was on Tuesday night.

These are the rooms where new relationships with like-minded men in all walks of life come from. A safe place to find real answers to real life problems through someone else who has conquered a similar situation, because I guarantee you, someone else has been there and overcome it, whatever it may be.

So, I hope and I pray that you'll join us. If week one was this good, I can only imagine where we'll go, I can already imagine the bonds that will be created in the hearts of men in our community over the next 6 weeks. The growth that this event is creating in our communities is astounding. So please come, open your heart, be courageous and do your part to make our community and your love for it stronger.

More information on the website HERE

We'll be at the Word of Life Church on 51st Ave in Marysville on Tuesdays all throughout February.

The Jesse Tree, a Way to Focus on Jesus This Christmas Season

Like many Christians these days, I am bothered by our culture of selfishness, materialism and busyness. The Christmas season seems to be the summit of all three of these corrupted values.

Ironic isn’t it...?

...the season Christians chose to celebrate the arrival of The Messiah, advocate of poverty, simplicity and peace, is now the the season to relish their opposites.

Ok...we’ve all heard the sermons on this disease. Every church pageant and newsletter article in the month of December is focused on finding the “true meaning of Christmas”..right? Heck - even Hollywood regularly preaches to us to about “family”, “servanthood”, “peace” and “joy”  as they advertise the latest bloodthirsty video game (on sale to your 9 year old with a coupon from their “Happy Meal”)

- let’s talk real antidotes: The Jesse Tree.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_Jesse

Simply put, the Jesse Tree is an artistic representation of the lineage of Jesus. It refers to Jesse, King David’s Father and direct ancestor of Jesus (see Luke 3 and Matthew 1). In fact the original idea of referring to one’s ancestors as a  “family tree”comes  from the Bible: Isaiah 11, where the prophecy of Messiah coming from Jesse’s line is referred to like this:

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—

the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of might,

the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—

and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.

Putting Jesus’ family tree into art really caught on in Medieval times when the gospel was spreading throughout Europe amongst illiterate masses of people. Art was used to tell Bible stories. It’s why we see so many stained glass windows, frescos and tapestries depicting Biblical scenes. The Jesse tree was a common image used to teach of Jesus Royal lineage.

Over the years it has become a tradition in some Christian streams to make a Jesse Tree in the days leading up to Christmas. Some folks set up a small tree inside their homes and decorate it with ornaments representing key descendents in Jesus’ family. Others expand the idea and decorate a tree (or a window, or whatever) with images to remind of ALL of Christian history, beginning….well at the beginning. It serves as a means of focusing attention on Messiah instead of Material, on History instead of Histrionics and on the Gospel instead of Getting.

I’ve been aware of the Jesse Tree tradition for several years now, but this year I decided to engage with it. The Northumbria Community (a Christian monastic community in N.E. England I am affiliated with) produces a Jesse Tree “craft”, meant for families with smaller kids, I think, but no less meaningful for grown ups I have found. Beginning on December 1st, and on each day until the 31st, I read several Bible passages and a brief reflection from a booklet, color in a paper “ornament” representing the topic for that day, and then decorate the “tree” with those ornaments. The first day begins with the Creation itself, and each successive day builds the anticipation to the arrival of the Christ Child on the 25th; reminding me of many key points in Biblical history along the way.

The truth is, I have found it much easier to resist participating in the junk that EVERYONE says is wrong with Christmas (but does little to change) because I picked up a daily ritual which actually focuses my attention elsewhere, gives me something to touch, to see, to contemplate.

This version of the Jesse Tree doesn’t stop with the Baby Jesus, However. It continues through his growth, ministry, death, resurrection and Great Commission: the very top of the Jesse Tree reached on New Year’s Eve, December 31st: the next day begins a new year, and a new opportunity for me to live up to the family name.

The Brendan Liturgy

The Brendan Liturgy is named for the 6th century (484 –577) Irish monk who's travels were written down in the form of an epic poem. Christians have used Brendan's story for inspiration and reflection for centuries. It is divided into 16 "chapters". I was reading the 9th at the end of November...

Brendan Liturgy Part IX: "Year after year they continue in circles over the waves…then, as they journey exactly the way they had before, waiting a glimpse of it’s beautiful, far distant shore, darkness intensifies until before their eyes the land of promise they saw…"

The question we are confronted with in this part of the Brendan saga is: “Can I trust God’s timing?” I suppose all of us would like to say, “yes”. I also suppose that if all of us were honest with ourselves, we would have to add, “but I rarely do.”

It’s not that we don’t WANT to trust God’s timing. It’s just that any timing which is indexed to anything other than our own desire feels like a burden if not a flat-out personal offense. It is the nature of fallen man.

Therefore – one must be willing to endure this sensation of offense if one is to truly surrender to God’s timing. A fascinating thing occurs, though, the more one endures: Like most efforts of this kind: it builds up a strength. Over time the sensation of burden gives way to a sensation of growth. Like building a muscle group through weight training or cardio-vascular condition through exercise, painful sensations in the body give way to feelings of euphoria.

 2 weekends ago we had what some of us around the office like to call “A Big Ministry Weekend”. It’s short hand for saying that we were witness to multiple events in which the promises of God were being fulfilled. We saw people baptized, families coming together, wounds healed, people becoming inspired, all kinds of good stuff…

…it was that sensation of euphoria that comes at the end of many hard workouts. God delivers what is needed, exactly WHEN it is needed. Not before. Not after. It came together for me in a moment which I should have expected, but I didn’t: Communion.

I rushed into the Auditorium as the last song of our worship time was being played. I had been chasing something down or stomping out a fire somewhere else (I don’t remember now what it was) and I saw the elements waiting for me at the front of the room.

I fell into one of those movie special effects where everything around me blurs, or freezes, or in some other way differentiates itself from the object I have fixated on (see the scene from the Tim Burton movie “Big Fish” when the Ewan McGregor character first sees the love his life.) I then found myself sitting; elbows on knees, looking at the tiny plastic cup with the deep, purple liquid in one hand, and the tiny octagon of bread in the other, and the thought  quickly but gently  bloomed in my mind:

“This is what connects it all. There was a moment in time when God’s body was broken and his blood shed. Whether you’re convinced it happened 6,000 years after God spoke light into the universe, or 14.7 billion years after he did doesn’t really matter in a moment like this – because it is enough to know that it happened exactly when it should have…when it MUST have. This moment of realization for me – could not have happened before it did. As I gaze into that little pool of rich color trembling in my hand, I am aware that somewhere else on planet earth, other hands hold the cup, other eyes perceive the same color, share in the same moment – God’s moment, placed exactly where it should be.

All the moments that lead up to this “big ministry weekend” are now passed. I watch them recede into the darkness of the cup and disappear. The moments to come are concealed from view in that same darkness. The light will shine in that darkness and I will see it exactly when and where I should.

There is only now.. “I AM Present to you NOW”, He said to Moses.

AC3 Men's Getaway - What Does Love Require of Me?

What Does Love Require of Me?

In years past, I would have thought that 18 men headed for a lodge up in the mountains would need to start with a common activity, fishing, hunting, skiing, snowmobiling, partying or maybe a mix of those in some form. The mere thought of this getaway, the fact that all of these men are here to just get to know each other better, to get to know God better and to just take a refreshing break from every day life was unfathomable for the first 30 years of my life. Maybe just weird, yeah, I definitely would have thought it was just weird.

I went anyways....

Maybe it is weird, maybe we are weird, with all of the things in today’s world that are genuinely strange and often harmful to humanity, I’m ok with this kind of weird. I’m now firm in the belief that it’s this kind of weird that today’s world lacks, desperately. The kind of weird that allows us to be different, to stand out in the crowd like the light on top of the hill that Jesus called us to be. Not the look at me, look what I’m doing and crying out for attention standing out but the kind of weird that allows time for men to grow in to the leaders that our generation is looking for, the kind of leaders God intended us to be.

 

18 of God's Men, AC3 Men's Getaway 2013

Selah....

The Selah lodge is owned by a friend of AC3, we are blessed that he opens the doors of this wonderful place to us for this men’s getaway. It’s meant to be a house where The Lord is present, Selah is used in the book of Psalms 71 times, it’s closest translation is “pause, and look at that”, or it’s referenced as a musical interlude/pause within a psalm. To me, it’s a sacred place to pause and be with God and to be with the men that God has put in my life.

Our opening prayer is to take in the name, Selah, to use this time as a pause, to take in God’s rejuvinating power and let it fuel us to lead our families better as well as our community. To me this hit as soon as I parked the truck, I don’t know about you but everyday life can at times beat me down, mentally and physically. Recharging my battery and my passion for discerning God’s will in my life are vital in my Christian walk, a large gasp of the fresh mountain air when I stepped out of the truck was all it took for me to find the peace within the weekend, before it really began.

A safe place...       

The theme of the weekend, was based on The Book of Matthew 22:37-40.

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The question proposed by our elders/teachers in attendance for the weekend was “what does love require of me?” This struck me, the entire weekend hung on this question, in fact, when you read the words of Jesus, our entire walk as disciples of Christ hangs on this question.

Clay’s story....

Well you see, for me, I’ve had a problem in the past with letting society’s cliche’s get in the way of me actually knowing someone. Before the trip had even started, we were all gathering in the parking lot looking to take off and I see this rough, tough looking dude, tattoo on his neck with the look of a man who’d been to hell and back on this earth. I remember thinking, “oh great, I have to spend the whole weekend with this guy”. That thought was real, it is how my mind has operated for many years, possibly my entire life. Clearly I’ve been distancing myself from some meaningful relationships due to preconceived notions that somehow I was better than this person, or in some cases, this person was better than me.

As is God’s way of teaching, Clay rode in my car on the way over and I was instantly drawn to him. Clearly God was at work in his heart and clearly he was here with us to make himself a better servant of God. As our teaching session was coming to a close the next morning, Clay told us his life story leading up to that day. I must say, some tears were shed by all. For a man to overcome as much violence and addiction as Clay had, to find redeeming power in the grace of God is absolutely nothing short of a miracle. A man that had been through more than 15 years of what would have and has killed most people whose path had crossed drugs, anger, violence and prison to be here today in the presence of God at Selah lodge, clearly God has more plans for this man. I pray that he never loses sight of the fact that God has placed him exactly where he is today to make an impact on this world, and to be a light within it.

How it hit me...

When the group separated for some free time after Clay poured his heart out to us, I wanted to grab my computer and find a quiet place to write. My instant thoughts went to the question, “what does love require of me?” and how does this pertain to Clay?

I had barely written two sentences when the door popped open and in walked Clay. He sat down on the floor below the bunk bed that I was on the top of and grabbed his iPad, seemingly to settle in for a bit like I was. We talked for more than 2 hours, I won’t divulge in to what the conversation was all about, but I will tell you that I love that man as Jesus does and as I’m called to by our Lord and Savior. The notion that there was a time in my life that I would have never known a story like Clay’s, that I would have never been around to be a friend, a brother in Christ if he needed me and had thoughts of sinking in to his old life genuinely frightens me to my core. I’m so thankful that I decided to be in that place, with those men that weekend with an open heart, God poured in his love and I’ll never judge a book by it’s cover again.

My advice...

As with most thing’s God sees as good, you have to leave the easy road behind. Think outside the box, get weird and get involved with people who will make you a better servant of God. Take a chance and go on a retreat, getaway or just call somebody and find a group that will help you grow, it’s the lone sheep that get’s slaughtered by the enemy.