The Invisible Foe

I am back into the routine of waking up and going to school and working. There is a part of me that is sad and a part of me that yearns for the structure of the routine, something to focus on. It’s comforting to have tasks in front of you that you can address, achieve or fail at. There is nothing worse than an invisible foe.

This summer I have battled an invisible foe. But I don't believe it is what most folks tell me it is. So many people tell me, "The devil is behind gossip. This is the devil's work." While I believe that this behavior, the destructive work of lies, innuendo and rumor have made the devil very happy, it’s REAL people that start these things. It’s real flesh and blood people who spread things. Think about that. When we excuse the behavior as just the evil one and that we should just endure we ignore the fact that people are at the root of these stories. It’s a cop out to push the blame onto a supernatural force that, all though he may reap benefit from them, didn't start the rumors in the first place. Real people say these things. Real people.

So who or what is the invisible enemy that I feel I have battled all summer? This invisible foe is self-righteousness... the belief that churchgoers must be perfect, must be without blemish, must be white cloaked and right. This is a lovely idea. But it spawns a drive for judgment over justice. Church becomes a place of moral traffic police punishing its members.

This isn't just here in my town. We have seen it through the years in Salem during the witch trials, in the Spanish Inquisition, in the Deep South during the high days of the KKK and countless other places where man under the banner of God and Jesus become the moral authority that seek vengeance on sinners and outcasts.

Let us remember the important fact that we all fall short of the glory of God. To poorly paraphrase Rob Bell, the most important part of the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is not that it HAPPENED but that it HAPPENS. It happens to us all. We all fight God’s plan for us. We all are broken by sin. On our own we are all damaged and in need of saving. This is why it happened. This is why Jesus Came. This is the awesome answer. We are broken and we need Jesus. We all do. If you act perfect, you are denying the fact that you aren’t God. You are human and you are flawed and you have bitten the apple and need Jesus to fix you and bring you back. And boy do we ever need Jesus every day to work in us and restore us and work his healing magic to create that new man in his image.

It is time to leave the tickets behind and return my focus on becoming that image. It is time to return to the Lord’s work, wherever that may lead me. It is time to get back to work.

So back to the routine. Back to waking up and rolling into the school and working with the kids. I will throw myself into my work for a while. I know I can minister the Gospel just as much here in the halls of school as I ever did in a church. I will lead by example and with Christ's heart. And we will give judgment of the invisible foe over to a much better judge, the Father God Almighty.

Denver Trip Group Shot

Mission Trip 2

I was sitting on a counter playing my guitar. This was not that shocking of an activity. I play guitar all the time. It is what I do. But this was different. This was monumental. This was defining. Everything that had happened in my life all lead me to this exact spot at this exact time. It was a perfect moment of God's will, His questionless plan in action. And I was at the center of it. Me and my guitar. On a counter. In the Jesus to the World Soup Kitchen. I played my guitar for homeless people as they ate their soup.

What's the big deal you ask? What could be bigger. I wasn't just playing. I was serviving. I was playing my heart out. I sang my songs with every ounce of feeling I could manage. I played on and on. No breaks. I played till my fingers bleed. I sang till my voice cracked. I played on. I served. I served with everything I had.

I am reminded of the Christmas song, the Little Drummer Boy.

Little Drummer Boy

Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone

Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
A new born King to see, pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
When we come.

Little Baby, pa rum pum pum pum
I am a poor boy too, pa rum pum pum pum
I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum
That's fit to give the King, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum,
On my drum? Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum

I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum
I played my best for Him, pa rum pum pum pum,
rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,

Then He smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum
Me and my drum.


I was that boy. I was playing my heart out... not just to homeless people, people of the streets, the lost and forgotten of Denver, but I played also for Jesus. I played as if He was there at the stable. I played as if he were there thirsting in desert. I played as if He were there dying on the cross. And I played my best for him.

I looked into their eyes. Some where repelled by my words of Jesus and forgiveness and unconditional love. Others were indifferent, just wanting to eat their soup and listen to the sound of guitar. But in a few, in a very select few, I saw the fire of the Spirit burning in their eyes. It was amazing. There is a girl that I know that when she worships the light of the Living Lord blazes in her eyes. She worships with a hand held high and her held tilted to the side. I saw that same fire in the eyes of a man with a Desert Storm hat. I heard it in the words of encouragement from the men and women as they left, and one very special man thanked me in a way I'll never forget.

It was the end of my last day at Jesus to the World. I was finishing up a four hour session of playing. A homeless man, an ageless man of the streets, came to me and said, "Thank you brother for blessing us with your gift of music."

I thanked him. As he approached me he held out his hand and I shook it only to find a crumpled dollar hidden in his palm. He said, "That is just my small way of saying thanks for blessing us with your gifts."

I tried to argue. I wasn't going to take money from a homeless man! I was there to serve not to get rewards. But then he said that he had been a musician and he knew what a sacrifice it is to give your creativity to others and how blessed he felt to have eaten there that day.

I thanked him for the dollar and patted him on the back as he turned to leave. As he left he turned and said, "That was my last dollar." and he slipped out through the door.

I wept. I played my best for him. I played my best for Jesus. I was used by the Lord that day. I touched a heart. Thank you, Jesus.

I felt at home with these people. No longer were they scary. No longer were they poor, homeless, dirty, dangerous. They were my audience. Children of God. And I served them. I want to be the vessel again.

Denver Mission Trip part one

Every year on our summer mission trip I have worked with kids club. It’s easy for me. I'm good at it. I play the guitar, dance like a fool and chase kids. I am a teacher and worked at a Before and After School Program in college. This year I wanted to be pushed outside my comfort zone. So I said, "NO KIDS!" I wanted a challenge. I was excited to finally get a change to do some manual labor for the Lord.

When I heard I was going to paint I was pumped. I wanted to sweat. I wanted a sunburn. But as we prepared to head for our first of two days of work at this location I was really disappointed. I learned that we wouldn't be painting houses. We would be painting murals for a vacation bible school at an inner-city church. I was really disappointed. This was not what I had envisioned in my mind's eye. The work wasn't hard enough. The task was too much fun. It was too in my comfort zone. I really wanted to sweat. I really wanted a sunburn.

We showed up at the large Latino church and found a the supplies ready for us, a massive amount of tempera paint, six huge canvases and instructions to paint a variety of scenes for a pirates and treasure theme. We went to work. I had a long face.

At the end of the first day as we prepared to leave the gymnasium where we were painting, I looked back at the large unstretched canvases. Mostly just underpainting was completed and they looked a long ways from finished. My spirits were low. No sweat. No sunburn.


Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, "Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?"

Jesus said, "Have the people sit down." There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. 1esus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

John 6:8-13

That night I read about the boy at the seashore. I wanted to be the boy. I wanted to make twelve baskets more. But how? I had to trust that God knows more than we do. I had to trust His will over that vision in my mind's eye.

The next day we arrived with a new passion for our work. We vowed to get as much done as we could in that last day at this site. We dove into the work and really became a team. As the paintings came together there was something really magical about them. They were made with such bright colors and the images popped right out. They were wonderful. It became clear to me at the end of the second day, as we rounded up our materials and prepared to leave that God had placed me there for a real reason. He had equipped me with some great art students and some hard workers so that we could use our skills to make this vacation bible school amazing. And the murals were amazing.

God plants little gifts inside of us. I have an artistic talent that is a gift from the creator. On its own its only enough to help me at work and on my creative endeavors. But when I become that boy at the seashore, when I take what little I have and offer it to the Master, He can take it and multiply it feed thousands. Hundreds of inner-city Latino kids came to that vacation bible school. During that next week they enjoyed the beautiful art that my team made for them a servant’s heart like Jesus showed us. We didn't sweat. We didn't get a sunburn. But we gave a wonderful piece of ourselves to the children of Denver.

God's plan is awesome. Its perfect and its amazing. We should trust Him more to place us where we need to be to make miracles happen.

Savior, guide us to the seashore so that we may give. AMEN!

Touch

I remember watching People in the News on CNN once. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were traveling around parts of West Africa enduring a famine. Pitt was filmed visiting an orphanage where undersized babies lie in their cribs abandoned for most of the day. The babies craved touch. When Brad spoke they would turn their little heads towards the sound of a human voice. I remember him holding a little boy’s head and a faint smile cross the orphan's face. Pitt choked back tears as he spoke of the innate desire for human contact, the need deep in our bones to be held, to be loved, to be touched.

Babies will literally wither and die without touch. A therapist friend of mine stated to me recently that the majority of her cases involve lonely people. They are isolated. They are frightened and they are alone. They just want someone to come and hug them, to wrap their arms around them and say, "I love you. You are special to me. You matter." Oh the power of a hug.

I have witnessed this myself many times on my own, during service work and on mission trips. One location jumps right to mind. I was working at a kids club, like a summer long vacation bible school for disadvantaged kids in West Virginia. These kids there were so needy for attention. They were sponges for our touch. They would soak up the love we gave them. They would hang from your neck and cling to your legs and no amount of attention could quench the thirst in their souls for possitive human contact. The kids were just hungry for touch.


What about Jesus? What was the Living Lord's policy on touch? I'll just toss out a few stories right off the top of my head.

Jesus heals the blind man at Bethsaida. Lets look at how Jesus chooses to heal this man. He could have gone about it many ways. But very purposely Jesus chooses to reach out and touch the broken, the needy, the crippled and the blind and restore them. This touch makes whole.

22They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 23He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?"
24He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around."
25Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

Mark 8:22-25

Jesus encounters a man with leprosy. Now remember in this day, lepers were social outcasts. They lived outside of town, called out when they approached and often lived off trash and scavenging to survive. It was against the code of the day to touch or even talk to a leper. What does Jesus do? Does He follow societal mores? Or does He go against the grain and give the man what he desperately needs?

1When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. 2A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."
3Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. 4Then Jesus said to him, "See that you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

Matthew 8:1-4

Finally let's look at the woman with gynecological problems. She had been sick for so long and she had followed all the normal ways to get well. Nothing worked. Finally, in desperation she reached out for Jesus! She knew she needed only to touch but the edge of his cloak and it would be enough to set her free. How does Jesus respond to this touch? Does He rebuke her? Does He send her away for violating the rules about women touching men they aren’t' married to?

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. 44She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
45"Who touched me?" Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you."
46But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me."
47Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."

Luke 8:42b-48

Jesus wasn't afraid of touch. It was the essence of what He did on earth. He reached out and touched people. He wasn't afraid of tradition or laws or policies. He saw that innate human need to be touched, and He reached out and restored them in a very intimate, very personal way. A person touch from a personal Savior.

Today, many people have become terrified of touch. They have replaced brotherly hugs with firm handshakes, tearful embraces for A-hugs and a pat on the back. Imagine Jesus entering today's church. Image His expression when He'd hear the rules about touch. He'd shake His head and walk out and hug someone.

Churchianity

Matthew 23

1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2"The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures. 3So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don't follow their example. For they don't practice what they teach. 4They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden.

5"Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear extra long tassels on their robes. 6And how they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the most prominent seats in the synagogue! 7They enjoy the attention they get on the streets, and they enjoy being called Teacher.' 8Don't ever let anyone call you `Teacher,' for you have only one teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and sisters. 9And don't address anyone here on earth as `Father,' for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. 10And don't let anyone call you `Master,' for there is only one master, the Messiah. 11The greatest among you must be a servant. 12But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

13"How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you won't let others enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and you won't go in yourselves. 15Yes, how terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn him into twice the son of hell as you yourselves are.

Membership in a church does not equal being a Christian. Leadership on a committee or a council does not constitute piety. Love for your church does not equal a relationship with Jesus Christ. Adherence to ritual doesn't equal devotion to Christ. Dedication to the building is just a way to dodge opening yourself up to Christ. So many people run from life change by hiding behind a brick wall of laws. They throw away what Jesus told us to do in exchange for what the Old Testament tells us not to do. They worship the law in their form of legalism and leave grace outside their shiny temple, their well-groomed country club that they call a church.

Jesus spent a great deal of his ministry fighting the status quo in the Jewish religious body of the day. In the above reading we find Jesus fed up with legalistic church leaders, those worshipping the rules more than the Almighty Living Lord.

Who does the modern church look like? Are they following the model of Jesus, spreading the Word and love and healing through the streets to the common man, the lost and the needy? Or are they locked in their temples, conducting meetings about maintaining the facilities, raising money for a new roof and such instead of reaching out to the less fortunate? When they preach do they preach grace and forgiveness or are they bundling up laws like the Pharisees?

Jesus looks at these religious traffic cops with utter distaste, calling them "the sons of hell".

I continually think about my recent experiences with the organized church and it makes me wonder, if Jesus were to walk into today's church, how would he be received? Would he we received as a Savior or shunned for not following the right rituals?

If you are a member of leadership in a church pause for a moment and ask yourself this important question, "Does my work reflect the efforts of Christ, or the hypocrisy of the Pharisees?"

Generation Genesis Lives On

Who owns an awaking? Who owns a movement? Who can contain a revival. When cold hearts are called into thaw by the Holy Spirit, who can resist this draw? Who can reign in the inevitable dawning of spring, when the cold grip of winter is erased by the relentless tug of the warming rays of the sun.

Spring comes. Winter ends. We wake up. Our eyes open. Our mouths spill forth the song of rejoicing. His mercy and glory is accessible to all generations. God is good and God is real.

I have seen this awaking. It doesn't belong to a church or a philosophy or a label or a person. It belongs to these youths. Generation Genesis lives on. I will serve through this ministry until the kids no longer call. May the good Lord find us shelter and bless our quest to move ever closer to His awesomeness.

Shield

Firm Foundation

Jesus, You're my firm foundation; I know I can stand secure.
Jesus, You're my firm foundation; I put my hope in Your holy Word.

I have a living hope, I have a future, God has a plan for me, of this I'm sure.
Of this I'm sure.

Jesus, You're my firm foundation; I know I can stand secure.
Jesus, You're my firm foundation; I put my hope in Your holy Word.

Your Word is faithful, mighty in power.
God will deliver me, of this I'm sure.

Jesus, You're my firm foundation; I know I can stand secure.
Jesus, You're my firm foundation; I put my hope in Your holy Word.
I put my hope in Your holy Word.


I don't know the melody. I don't know the chord progression. These words were emailed to me my a dear, dear friend. I have been reading them over and over now. They are like a mantra. They are powerful. They are restorative, like an elixer. They are so powerful. I want to put these words on like armor. I want them to be like a shield. As the fiery arrows rain down, I want these words to protect me from their licking flames. I want to be enveloped by the Spirit and for Him to be come cacoon-like and for this storm to pass.

In all things, Lord Jesus, I put my hope in Your holy Word! I put my trust in You!

Tattoo Ideas

I watched my homeboy Travis get some ink done today at Lil Bros in CB. He got an awesome tribute to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is a cross made out nails with the great storm behind it. It is one of the coolest tatts I have ever seen.

I found myself taking a nap in the tattoo parlour on an overstuffed black leather couch and my mind turned again to my tattoo. I had romantic notions in May about getting some ink done. But life happens and I used my summer tattoo fund on rent for my little apartment. So now I return to my dream of getting a tatt. I want a catholic looking Jesus like those below.



I will keep you posted.

Grace and Peace,

Digger

Appreciate the Mystery of Life

Life isn't about finding all the right ansers; it's about asking the right questions. We simply don't have all the answers, but we worship a God who does. The key is tusting God. Have you really put your complete trust in the God of the universe? Or are you still second- guessing Him- worrying about your family, your job, or your future? Learn to trust, and then relax in the arms of our Savior.

It's Time to Change Your Life by Phil Cooke

Oh to just relax! It has been a very stressful summer. I have been challenged and pushed to the brink. I have thrown my arms up and said, "What else can go wrong, God!?!" and every time something worse has been just around the corner. But I am still a Christ-follower. I still prayerfully face all challenges in my path. Jesus is my shepherd and I will not fear as I face these trials. I will place my trust in Him and move on forward. My goal is to leave my worries and my fear on the shelf like a garment and head boldly forward with God at my back.

Lord have my back, AMEN!

Over Come Fear and Insecurity

What are you afraid of? Insecurity and fear keep more people from acheiving greatness than anything else, and in most cases, it has very little basis in fact. You are a child of God, created in His image. What could possibly keep you from reaching your potential? Every day, take a first step into an area that you've been afraid of; and every day, you'll be placing a new brick in the foundation of a better life. The old southern preacher was right: "God didn't make no junk!" You are special, you are chosen by God, and there's nothing that you and God can't accomplish together.

It's Time to Change Your Life by Phil Cooke

God didn't make no junk! Now there is a rallying cry. Often times I get so low and so down on myself and I wonder how God could have ever chosen to work through me. But now, after reading the above thought given to me by a good friend, it dawns on me that I am questioning God's perfectness when I doubt my place in His Kingdom. My God is awesome and right! My God has the answers to all the questions, even the ones to big to consider. So why question Him when it comes to my worth?

I am a chosen child of God. I have Christ in my heart and He's got my back. He walks with me. I will not fear the shadow of evil as I walk this dark valley. I will not fear thirst or broken bones as I traverse this desert. I will walk with my head held high and my Lord and Savior at my side. Everyone can do as they wish. I will chose the Lord.

Don't you underestimate my Jesus!

-Relient K

Generaton Genesis: August Bond Fire Worship

Friends,

Its been a strange yet beautiful week of post-mission trip reflection and prayer. Many of you know the struggles in my way. My mission is bigger than these obsticles. G-squared belongs to you, the youth of this area. Come to Generation Genesis this Sunday night and share the Gospel, worship your Living Lord and dance to the sounds of drums and guitars under the stars.

Generation Genesis
7:00-til late
Lori Robertson's Place
just east of Elk Horn

Mission Trip 06

Well folks,
Another mission trip in the books. Denver was an amazing experience of highs and lows. I felt the Spirit move, saw God at work in our youth and the people I encountered. I learned so much about who I am and who I am meant to be. Over the next few days I will process the events and blog their meaning.

Grace and peace,

Digger

Grace not Law

We all need to find a faith based more off grace and forgiveness and less of law and legalism. Less DON'Ts and more DOs. Do love your neighbor. Do reach out to the poor. Do preach God's love. Do embrace everyone and lead them to Christ. Grace is awesome.

Family Fest Here We Come

So friends,

Perhaps our biggest gig to date is coming up tomorrow. Thrown plays Saturday July 22nd at 12:00 noon on the Rebel's Rock Stage at Family Fest at the Mid American Center in Council Bluffs, IA. I believe admission to the festival is free on Saturday. Please come and support us. It is a great opportunity for us to reach new fans and show case our brand of Christ-centered alternative rock and roll.

Grace and Peace,

Digger

Shout Out

Hey folks,

I want to give a big shout out to my good friend Sue. She has always been a great friend and brought one of my favorite human beings into this world. But today she really helped me out of a tight spot. I am in your debt!

As always, you are in my prayers.

Powerful Living Lord, thank you for Sue. She is a good friend. Be with her and her family. Bless her and renew her with your grace. In Your name, AMEN!

The Mustache Manifesto

I am not used to being the center of attention. So when this much scrutiny is placed on my personal choices it really puzzles me. Lately I have heard a lot of chatter about my choice of hairstyles… especially my facial hair. About a month ago I shaved my mustache but kept my goatee quite long.

It didn’t take long before I heard from third party people that this had caused quite a stir amongst some in my little community. Some were shocked, some looked for sinister motives, some questioned my sanity, while others were just appalled at my desire to look younger. “Why won’t he just grow up? He dresses like a kid and talks in slang and now he’s changed his hairstyle. Its just wrong!” one upset woman told my wife.

But never once has anyone came up to me and asked me why I shaved my mustache. No one has stopped to think that maybe, just maybe there is another explanation to this change of my outward appearance other than something sensational and juicy and vile. But here for my loyal blog readers I will share.

ACTS 17

The longer Paul waited in Athens for Silas and Timothy, the angrier he got—all those idols! The city was a junkyard of idols.

So Paul took his stand in the open space at the Areopagus and laid it out for them. "It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, to the god nobody knows. I'm here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you're dealing with.

"The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn't live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn't take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don't make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn't play hide-and-seek with us. He's not remote; he's near. We live and move in him, can't get away from him! One of your poets said it well: 'We're the God-created.' Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn't make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?

"God overlooks it as long as you don't know any better—but that time is past. The unknown is now known, and he's calling for a radical life-change. He has set a day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right. And he has already appointed the judge, confirming him before everyone by raising him from the dead."

At the phrase "raising him from the dead," the listeners split: Some laughed at him and walked off making jokes; others said, "Let's do this again. We want to hear more."

God wove an intricate web to bring Thrown together. We all feel called to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are blessed as God has afforded us more and more opportunities to share our mission and our message. Part of that is presenting the Gospel in a form that relates to our audience. Paul doesn’t come into the city of Athens and start yelling at the people about how their idols are dead and how they are going to Hell for their beliefs. No. He packages the message in a way they can understand. He uses their temple to an unknown god to present a real Gospel message. Some are turned away but a few are won over. This is how the Lord works.

We are called to work with youth of America. We are reaching out to the poor and disenfranchised. We reach out to the kids on the street and adults raised on alternative metal and hardcore living. White shirts and ties won’t cut it. Smiling faces and happy harmonies won’t do. We rock the Gospel. We dress the part. We look the part. In fact, we are living the part. The best part about Thrown is the community of Christ-followers that has sprung up. We bar-b-que. We play ultimate Frisbee. We prank each other. We roll in the Ark (the band van). We rock out. We have a blast. And we have Jesus in our hearts at the center.

Being a Christian isn’t about looking like everyone else. It’s not about conforming to a norm. It’s about being transformed by a Living Lord. It’s about teaching the message of love that Jesus brought to earth. It’s about reaching out to others. It’s about offering yourself up in service in His name. It’s not about the length of your hair or the number of tattoos you have or the things in your past. It is about whats in your heart.

I'm Not My Hair

India Arie

I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am not your expectations (no)
I am not my hair
I am not this skin
I am the soul that lives within

As for looking younger…. I wonder, how many of those older ladies who are so upset by my goatee dye their own hair to look about ten years younger… Touché!

Five Finger Prayer

I got an email from a good friend. Thought I'd share it. This is beautiful - and it is surely worth making the 5 finger prayer a part of our lives.

1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you. They are the easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is, as C. S. Lewis once said, a "sweet duty."

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for those who teach,instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers.
They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction. Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in business and industry, andadministrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God's guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. Itshould remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night. You cannot pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger - the smallest finger of all which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, "The least shall be the greatest among you." Your pinkieshould remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

Rebel Rebel

We played Rebel's last night. Its a former biker bar turned Christian mission. It looks like an early 80's punk music venue. I loved it. We were so in our element. This is what we are called to do. This is who we are called to minister to. Jesus Christ came and died for all. If you are hungry you may come. If you are thirsty His well is prepared to refresh you with Living Water. There is no dress code in heaven. There is no prereq for your hair length or your hair color. Christ died for bankers and bikers. He died for stock brokers and skaters. Someone must be called to reach the hurting and the hungry. Thrown wants to reach these people.

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Matthew 16:21

While playing at Rebels I was reminded that Jesus was a rebel. He wasn't easy. He wasn't a go-with-the-flow passive being. He wasn't safe. He wasn't mild. His message was radical. It challanged everything. It turned the world upside-down. It blow a whole right into the way things worked. It took the LAW and turned it around. No longer were we doomed. No longer were we trapped. There was an out, an antidote, an escape clause... a new way. A new and amazing radical way to go against the structure and gain life and liberty and freedom... an everlasting life and an everlasting freedom.

The status quoe didn't like this Rebel and His mission. They saw what a threat He was to what they stood for. They hated Him. They set out to kill Him. They threw all they had at Him to stop Him. They even nailed Him to a cross and killed Him. But death could not contain Him. His rebel movement was bigger than the grave. It was bigger than the Law. It was radical and transforming and the entire world would never be the same.

Jesus SAVES! He is the only answer to your problems. If you are trapped in a prison of sin, embrace the radical solution. Grab hold of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Seek the Rebel that beat sin and death and the devil and died so that we might live. He is the reason we do all that we do.

Denver Here I Come

Well, its hard to imagine that our summer mission trip is just a week away. That's right. Just one week from now I'll be headed down the highway with thrity of my youth group members and three other adult leaders for our summer mission trip. Seven days of service, praise and growing.

This year its back to the beginning for Elk Horn Luther League. We return to where all the magic started. At Denver amazing things happened. In the wake of the Columbine tragedy, Calla and Mike took a small group of kids off to discover the Living Lord, the meaning of grace and who they were. The Spirit made miracles happen in their hearts and their lives. The growth has moved through this group and continues to feed our mission.

As I pack and prepare, I focus on this: may I open my heart to His Spirit. May I be a vessel for Him to work through. This is what the trip is all about. More of Him and less of me.

Empty Me

Jermey Camp

Holy Fire, burn away,
my desire for anything
that is not of you and is of me.
I want more of you and less of me
Empty me, Empty me

Fill, won't you fill me with you,
with you, empty me now.

Long Tunnel God

"Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she'll call her friends and neighbors: 'Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!' Count on it—that's the kind of party God's angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God."

Luke 15:8-10 MSG

For a long time I thought that God was down a long tunnel. I felt prayer was like calling out into the darkness. Those echoes may reach the powerful Being in the distance, but they just as surely might be lost in the noise of the darkness in which I ran.

Some times I felt like I was running through that tunnel searching for Him. And sometimes still that God seemed like a light at the end of the tunnel. My life was a journey, alone in the darkness, heading ever towards that distant, ever allusive light.

God was there. He was real. But He wasn't close enough to reach me. He wasn't available to touch me. He wasn't personal enough to end my emptiness, to stop my running, for me to ever reach Him. He was the end of an endless tunnel.

For most of my life this was my God. But what I discovered was that I was running down an endless tunnel and God was in there too. He was in there running just behind me. He was running after me. He was chasing me. He was calling me. No matter where I went or how far I tried I tried to distance myself from the truth, God was ever chasing. God never gave up. He never slowed down. He was behind me the whole time.

The god in the distance turned out to be a god of my own invention. A god shoved into a box by people afraid of a powerful God that really cares and really lives everyday for you and I. It is packaged nicely and neatly and delivered in churches across the country every Sunday. This God is like a pill. Its a weekly dose of medicine and its easy to swallow and its easy to go about your daily routine with your god-pill and your simple answers and your distant god and your tunnel and your running. You run for the rules. You run for the safety. You run because its the boxed-in god that you've been handed your whole life. Its simple, its safe and its easy.

The hard thing is to quit running. To stop running down the tunnel of our own invention and stop. And take a slow look around and seek the true Living Lord. He is alive. He is accessible. He is powerful. He is real and He is waiting to not just bark orders down a long tunnel or receive a prayer-echo. He is there to embrace you, walk with you, light your world and make radical life change in your heart. God isn't just chasing you to hear a prayer or to give you a set a rules. He's doing all that running because He loves you, a real meaningful endless love. He wants to move into your life and build something amazing.

Stop running. Turn around. Embrace the Living Lord. It is time to get personal.

You'll take me back... always

Even when my fight is over now

You'll take me back

Thank you to Thrown and the Thrown-ups

Keep me safe, O God, I've run for dear life to you.
I say to GOD, " "You are my Lord; without you I have nothing good.
You have placed strong Christians in my life- what marvelous friends they make!
My choice is you, GOD, first and only. And now I find I'm your choice!

Psalm 16:1-3,5

Thank God for good friends. Friends are the glue that hold our fragmented lives together. So often in these past months, when things have gotten rough, this band of believers, this small clutch of friends has reached to each other.

When Cody had problems with his living arrangements and the stress of life was weighing him down, where did he turn? We hugged him up and lifted him up and moved him to a place where he could start over again. We became more than a band. We are a family.

As my family has gone through changes, where do I look for support? Not to my real life brother and sisters. I turn to my band family. They love me and support me. They are my rock and my shield in times of troubles.

During the forth of July I was down. I was really down. I truly needed something, a miracle drug to get me out of the pit that I had found myself in. I remember praying to God for a pick-me-up. And oh boy did he deliver. After our gig in Audubon, the band took an epic journey in the Arch, the band van, to watch the Exira fireworks display. Rarely have I laughed harder or smiled wider as we watched the rockets explode across the black sky, strummed our guitars, played with T-bone, burned each other, jumped up and down like fools and belched Dr. Pepper belches in the dark of night. Many people don’t get what Thrown is all about. They see our hair, or the way we dress, or our tattoos or see us goofing around and they question what we are up to. But these people need to smile and know that life is a gift from God. We can live and laugh as a celebration of God and his wonderful world. Life can be praise.

Last night one of our own was having troubles and she called upon her band brother and sister for advise. And no matter what Toodles decides, we will love her and support her. We are more than a group of musicians. We are more than a group of Christians. We are brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ and we will do anything for each other.

Thank you God for my good Christian friends. May others find ones as good as mine.

Evil

I went to church tonight in Des Moines. The pastor talked about three kinds of evil, personal evil, corporate evil and spiritual evil. It gave me a lot of food for thought. What is evil? Where do we see it in our community? What are we doing about it?

I see evil at work. I see people more interested in things that don't matter than helping the really desperate and hurting. I see people spreading dirty laundry instead of reaching out to others. I see gossip and back biting taking center stage while people need food, shelter and love.

Reach out and spread love. Love is the antedote to evil.

Know your Jesus

How do you know your Jesus? Is he close? Is he far away?

I spend nine months out of the year being a teacher. There is an amazing social breeding ground called high school cafeteria. There you can be a modern anthropologist. Just sit back and look at the teens as they interact. Everyone at my school knows each other on some level. We are a small rural Iowa school. But there are a variety of levels of familiarity. I have narrowed them down to three types.

Acquaintance: An acquaintance is someone that you know my name. You aren't necessarily friendly or unfriendly. You are just there. You see each other in the halls. You eat at different tables. You hang in different circles. You live different, separate lives. You only know that person on a superficial level. You are acquaintances.

Casual Friend: A casual friend you know much better than an acquaintance. You see them all the time. You know who they are and what they are all about. They sit at your table at lunch. You aren't afraid to call on them if you need a favor (like copying their math homework). You are proud to call them your friend.

Best Friend: If you are lucky you may have one or two people that are so much more than just a friend. They are a part of you. You tell them everything and its like your hearts beat together. You finish each other’s sentences and truly love each other. You don't just call on them for help; you would gladly give up your life for them. They are your soul mate, your bosom buddy, you partner, your companion. You life wouldn't be the same without the love and daily support of this kind of close friend.

So my question is this: How do you know Jesus? What kind of relationship do you have? Are you just an acquaintance? Do you just know him by name? Are you just passing by him on your daily routine life and never pausing to get to know who he is and what he is about?

Or maybe Jesus is your friend. Maybe you've grown up in the church, you've done everything you are supposed to. You know the creed and the Ten Commandments. You know the rhyme and meter of your church liturgy. But you are no closer than that. You only go to him when you need something, a personal favor. Is that your level of communion with the Living Lord?

I purpose friends, that there is a much deeper kind of relationship. Jesus Christ is calling you to be so much more. He wants to share your life with you. He wants to be there for your highs and lows. He wants into your heart. This transforming process only happens when we stop following the box-in gods of man and seek him like you would a friend. This isn’t about ritual or religion. This is about a relationship with a Living Lord.

It’s easy to start seeking him personally. Go to him in prayer. Pick up his book and start reading. I recommend the Gospel of John starting at the first chapter. Seek him and learn who he really is… not what others are telling you he must be… but seek him on a one to one basis. Don’t delay. The Master is calling.

Tumble Weed

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 1:15-17

My blogging has been a bit irregular due to limited access to a computer. I have even contemplated stopping altogether. I started this site to discuss my experiences with my band, my youth group and my search for a closer communion with Jesus Christ. It seems a large group of readers use it as spiritual inspiration. A small group of people are mining the pages of this blog to dig up dirt for gossip. This hurts, deep and to the core. Do I not focus on Jesus Christ? Do I not point ever to his saving grace and his sacrifice on the cross?

But last night I came to a decision. I must keep blogging for those that read it and get inspired. I must continue. If but one person grows closer to Christ through my work then it is all worth it. I am like any other follower of Jesus Christ. I fall short of the glory of God. I fall way short. But that's what makes his grace so amazing. It's a gift without merit. Its not based on my singing ability or my writing or my charity or my bravery or my strength. He loved me so much that He died on a cross for me. So in return I follow Him.

Amazing Love Christ Tomlin
Amazing love, How can it be? That You, my King would die
for me? Amazing love, I know it’s true. It’s my joy to
honour You,In all I do, I honour You.

Here is my offer, friends. Stay with me as I journal my experiences. Read on and learn about one person's close encounters with the Living Lord. Learn about a group of guys that are living a Christ-centered life and preaching to those on the edge. Our band is reaching out to the sick, the broken, the desperate. Come join us as we serve those in need in Christ's name. That is what this site is about.

Seperation

ROMANS 8:31-39

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

"For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


WOW!! All time favorite chapter of the Bible. Lets make a list.


What can seperate us from Christ's love:

• not trouble
• not hard times
• not hatred
• not hunger
• not homelessness
• not bullying threats
• not backstabbing
• not even the worst sins in the Bible
• not the living
• not the dead
• nothing angelic nor demonic
• not today
• not tomorrow
• not the highest high nor the lowest low
• nothing thinkable nor unthinkable
• absolutely nothing will serperate us from the Love of our GOD!!!

COOL! If you don't know this kind of amazing, unbelievable, forgiving love, seek Him today.

Fools put their trust in other things. People let you down. Politicians break their promises. New age fluff leaves you empty. But Jesus is always there. He never fails. He's a sure bet. A done deal. Get on board with the one who will fight through any obsticle for you.

Generation Genesis out in the woods

Sunday Sunday Sunday

Come worship our Lord and Savior out in the woods. Loud music, jumping around, tossing a flying plastic circle, laughing and food... its Generation Genesis in the Grove.

5:00 Ultimate Frisbee and Fun in the Park

6:00 Thrown Starts Playing

Bring friends, a lawn chair or a blanket. Lets pack the park!

Grace and Peace,

Digger


The Elk Horn Creek Recreation Area is located two miles south, then two miles west of Elk Horn. Follow the county park signs.

Meant to live

I have a friend that is searching. I don't know how exactly I knew it, but the other day I just had a sinking feeling that she needed a spiritual hug. So I sent her a text asking if she was searching for answers. And she was. The funny thing is I really don't have the answers. What I know is that searching for answers, seeking the truth is what its all about.

Check this out from Rob Bell's book Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith.

Over time when you purposely try to live the way of Jesus, you start noticing
something deeper going on. You begin realizing the reason this is the best way
to live is that its rooted in profound
truths about how the world is. You
find youself living more and more in tune with ultimate reality. You are more
and more in sync with how the universe is at its deepest levels.

Jesus'
intention was, and is, to call people to live in tune with reality. He said at
one point that if you had seen him, you had "seen the Father". He claimed to be
showing us what God is like.

In his compassion, peace, truth telling,
and generosity, he was showing us God.

And God is the ultimate reality.
There is nothing more beyound God.

-p21

I have been searching all of my life. I am still searching now. I know some truths to be real... but the more I seek the more I find questions that lead to new questions. Reality is that God is vast... bigger than we humans can explain. So we make our little boxes to squeeze Him into so we can make sense out of Him. GOD is not in a box. What we place in the box is what we want God to be... its our own creation. And its a farse.

I do know somethings. I know that their is more than this simple life. There is a much richer, much greater way to live. There is much more than these simple relationships that we live. There is a deeper way to live. There is something richer than the ritual and rhym and meter of our God-boxes that we build on the high hills of our towns. There is a deeper life, a richer life. We aren't meant to simply live cookie cutter lives. We were meant to live for so much more. We live in the shadow of a Mighty God! A Powerful and Mighty God!




Meant To Live
Switchfoot


We want more than this world's got to offer
We want more than this world's got to offer
We want more than the wars of our fathers
And everything inside screams for second life, yeah

We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves? We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves? We were meant to live for so much more
Have we lost ourselves? We were meant to live

As we move in line with Him... our lives become extraordinary!

Jesus exposes us to reality at its rawest.

So the way of Jesus is not
about religion; it's about reality.
Its about lining yourself up with how
things are.
-p21

New Location for Thrown Information

Welcome fans and supporters of Thrown and the Thrownroom blog. We are moving! Our new location is the much easier to remember www.thrownroom.com

You can still check the blog at this address but for all the most recent up-to-date info please add our homepage to your bookmarks. Happy surfing!

Grace and Peace,

Digger

Giver and Taker

"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."
The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

psalm 46:10-11


I remember that first moment when I looked at my daughter's fractured skull... There was a deep tremble in the pit of my being... I thought, "Wow! This is it. I'm going to fall into the depths of the sea, loose someone so dear to me and experience just how dark and miserable life can be.

For the next two days we sat in quiet vigil... I prayed and prayed. I hung from the Lord. He was all I had.

When she came out of surgery healed Oh how high the high. I praised the Lord. I shouted for joy and held nothing back. I let the words pour from my lips. I sang and yelled and shouted. The Lord delivered. The Lord GIVES!

I remember hearing a few weeks later that my friends, the Kings, who were expecting their first child, were having major complications. The baby had to be taken by emergency surgery and the outcome looked bleak. I found myself at that place again, this time praying for my friends, my brother and sister in Christ. So pray I did. I prayed that night... I prayed until I couldn't pray anymore. So I wept. Then when tears wouldn't flow I got down on my belly and moaned for the same kind of deliverance to touch the Kings as did my baby Charisa.

But after three days, no miracle, Gavin and Deb said good-bye to their little girl. God is God... God gives and God takes. We don't always know why. But we continue to follow Him and seek Him and grow closer to Him because He's all we've got.

Trust in His plan. Deb told me once that if one heart is won for the Lord in the death of her daughter then her daughter would have died for a reason. Deb and Gavin's testimonial has inspired many, touched the hearts of more and lead souls to Christ. A week before the birth, I took a small group down to pray for Deb and the baby. I prayed for the Lord's glory to be revealed in the child's life. At first (and for many, many months) I felt like my prayer hadn't come true. But looking back now I see that the Lord just works in a different way then we would chose. The Lord's glory is being revealed in this child's life. From that small little coffin in the front of the church many people will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Praise the Lord! Praise the AWESOME MIGHTY POWER LORD! Who gives and takes away. Who turns all things from bad to good. Who turns frowns upside down... who takes lemons and makes lemonade.

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be Your name

A beautiful day

Yesterday was a lovely day. The wind was blowing and the summer heat was just right to make my hair all crazy curly. I enjoyed the sun on my skin, the wind in my hair and just breathing in the air and smiling. It was a beautiful day.

There have been a few deaths in my life, no one real close but close enough to done the black pants and jaket and make long drives to shake hands and hug. It is the duelaity of life. We enjoy the wonderful warm sun, we watch love ones die. We smile, we cry. We raise our hands in praise, we fall on our knees in anguish. In all things Jesus Christ is our aid, our savior, our champion.

Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name
Blessed be your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

Jesus is just as real when we raise the trophy as He is when we fall in defeat. He's just as warm, He just as loving. He came and died for the victor just as much the looser. So if you are on a highest high, or crawling through a lowest low, reach out and embrace the Living Lord.

Recycle Me

Today I drove eight hours round trip to visit my grandfather. Most of you know how major an impact he has had on my life. He is my earliest role model.

My grandfather for most of his life has been unchurched... but he IS a church. He lives the message that Jesus taught, to love others and help those in need. He has made his life a living act of praise for his Creator.

I love my grandfather. It was his influence that made a young boy dream of creating. It was his love that nurtured me and shaped me.

There were many things we would do together. By the time I got to know grandpa, he was no longer a progressive Iowa farmer, the first in the area to employ radical things a tractor. He was long since retired to a small little house in Bloomfield, Iowa were he gardened and took care of my grandmother.

My mother used my grandfather was free daycare when she’d have errands to do in town. These hours of quality time are some of the most important moments of my life.

We would read books. I remember Part Time Dog most of all. We would walk Waldo his black, hyperactive poodle. We would work outside running errands. And on special days, very special days, we would open the basement door and go down the steep stair to his workshop. I remember the shattered tools about the workbench, the piles of wood and things, and the smell of sawdust.

Down those steep stairs we he made devotional sculpture out of driftwood, recycled barn wood and other bits and scraps. I would be his helper. One of my favorite things I can remember doing was going about on garbage day and looking for useful things to make into sculptures. There was something amazing to me about this, even at a young age. These items were lost.. Thrown away… but then they were found and would be transformed… new life. Regeneration if you will. I new that there was something almost sublime about this process, but the implications I didn’t realize for years.

My grandfather has lived 100 years. He has seen many changes. And as he finishes his last time on this earth he is focused on finishing his artwork. He says he doesn’t do it to make sculpture. In fact he baulks at this term. He says he does it because he is compelled to pull the image that God has already formed inside the wood.

We are only guaranteed one thing in this life and its not longevity. We aren’t promised ten days let alone the one hundred years that my grandfather has lived. We aren’t promised good health or happiness or to be treated fairly. Only one said thing is universal. Sin will wreck our life. It will happen in one way or another... it is a fact. Is this fair? Not really. But it’s a byproduct of the fall. We live in this world where sin wrecks us and separates us from God. We end up just like the items my grandfather collected. We are broken, we are discarded and we are waiting on the curbside for the trash man to come where will be lost for eternity.

But that doesn’t have to be the end of the story. You see, the Savior is walking about, friends. He’s looking for those items, diamonds in the rough. He wants to pick them up and turn them recycle them, to save them from destruction and give them a new, everlasting life.

Don’t just be trash… let the Savior work in you. Be transformed into a beautiful work of art for the Lord. Be turned from trash to treasure. Embrace the Living Lord and become so much more.

BOB III

Well, friends. Another Bands of Believers is in the books. This year we opened up the all-day outdoor music festival. We played a pretty standard Thrown set. We did 10 songs, 8 were originals with Trading My Sorrows and our famous VBS medoly throughn in for fun. It was an awesome day and I would say it was one of our best.

We are so different than the other bands. We aren't a praise team doing the same Tomlin songs. We don't hit the audiance with praise ballad after praise ballad. We don't let people sit in their lawn chairs. We are a jump up and down, in-your-face, Christian punk rock band. There is nothing wrong with the other bands. I like many of them and worshipped with them. But we are of a different mold. When you come to see thrown, remember two things: bring your Bible and your joy for the Lord and be ready to get up and shake it for the Lord.

Psalm 57:7-11

7 My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and make music.

8 Awake, my soul!
Awake, harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.

9 I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.

10 For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.

After the gig we talked to folks and sold some t-shirts. I was blown away by the response. Many people came up to us and commented about how great it was to see the gospel in a language that kids love and understand. We have been blessed with the chance to bring a lot of people to Christ with this band. And its just beginning. There are venues opening up to us every day. The people I met with at this concert are ready to do some radical things.... And I am on board.

We are THROWN! We rock the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We aren't just another praise band. We aren't an on-the fense psudo-Christian cop-out. We bring the Jesus and bring Him with the bang of the drums, the roar of guitars, the thunder of bass and the shouts of our voices.

Grace and Peace,
Digger


Disclainer: This in no way berates the other bands that played. I enjoyed worshipping with them and think they are all wonderful.... We are just called to play a louder music to reach a different audiance. Praise God for mild, spicy and the green stuff!

Felt board Jesus

I grew up with a felt board Jesus. He was a historical figure made of fuzzy material and lived on the pages of a big thick book, ink and paper. He was born in a manger, feed a multitude, healed and preached and died on a cross. I believed in him. I feared him. He was an awesome figure that lived long ago and did amazing things... But in today's world he only lived on that felt board... and maybe far off in heaven.

I learned about felt board Jesus at vacation bible school. My mother sent me to as many VBS as she could find when I was young. I don't know if she just wanted to get rid of me for a while or if she was hoping something would sink in. But at each different church I would see felt board Jesus and learn of his deeds and learn how he is far away in heaven. He was looking down on me from far away and someday I might meet him again in heaven if I was a good enough person.

This was my Jesus for so many years. I believed in felt board Jesus... I believed in a distant, historic Jesus that lived in the pages of my bible and far away in heave... but didn't have much effect on my daily life... I had to be good- good enough to see meet him in heaven.

I couldn't. I always failed. I couldn't make the grade. I couldn't be as good as that man in history... that bearded man made of felt.

But that all changed when I met a group of radical kids lead by a kooky lady and a wacky, bearded pastor. They didn't talk about a felt board Jesus. They lived in communion with a living, breathing God that was just as assessable today as he was when he did those amazing things 2000 years ago. This group took Jesus off the felt board and brought him into their hearts where he could perform those same kinds of miracles today. They moved him down out of their minds and invited him into their hearts where he could transform them and make them into new people. They allowed him to do all the work, as redeemer and savior... that heaven could become more than a place you are never good enough to reach, to a home where your best friend is inviting you back home.

If you still only know felt board Jesus, take him down today. Take him down out of the pages of history and let him work miracles today.

Alive

Thrown

He.... He's alive today... He's alive today.... My God's alive!!!
He.... He's alive today... He's alive today.... My God's alive!!!
He.... He's alive today... He's alive today.... My God's alive!!!

Thrown Summer Scedule

Gigs	Date	Time	Location
Bands of Beleivers Outdoor Christian Concert	June 17th	11:00	Pioneer Park, Harlan, IA
Generation Genesis Emergent Worship Experience	July 2nd	7:00	EHLC, Elk Horn, IA or the Grove (WP)
Thrown Live in Concert	July 4th	7:00	Faith E-Free Church, Audubon, IA
Thrown Live in Concert	July 8th	7:00	St Paul's Lutheran Church, Atlantic, IA
Thrown @ Rebels	July 15th	7:00	Rebel's, Council Bluffs, IA
Family Fest	July 22nd	TBA	MAC Dome, Council Bluffs, IA

Code Monkey

I am taking a course to become certified to teach college level Web Design. Right now we are deep into the code of Xhtml and BOY, am I enjoying it. I know its logic and structured and runs off the opposite side of the brain than I'm used to employing (Chris... you know what I mean... ROBOT GEEK!). But I love it. I love it! Its like the matrix... seeing into the meaningless symbols and taming it to mean, to be, to do what you need it to do.


While coding today I thought about God. I usually see ARTIST-GOD as this wild passionate artist sculpting with clay, making passionate brushstrokes as the world forms, as creatures are created and life is breathed into the world. But perhaps God is also like the computer programmer, hammering out code... a logic and an ordered code. Perhaps I can see God in this act of taming text to my will... God the computer programmer... God the Webmaster... God the Code monkey.

God, write my code. Be my code monkey. AMEN

Doctor Doctor

From an email from Mike:

It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learnwhat this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come tocall the righteous, but sinners.

Matthew 9:12

One of the most remarkable features of the human condition is our capacityto pretend that we are healthy when our lives are in total chaos.

We work hard to cover up our problems and flaws in our character. We willsacrifice almost anything to keep from facing the truth about ourselves.

We work this hard to look good because we experience our human needs, limitsand failures with deep shame - a shame that drives us to strive harder andharder to look better and better. We sacrifice our serenity, our relationships,our sanity on the altar of perfectionism. We also sacrifice any possibilityof getting the help we need by continuing to insist that "we can handleit."

God does not ask such sacrifices from us. God has no need for us to be perfect.Jesus speaks to us gently but very clearly about this issue. He confrontsour pretense, shame and perfectionistic strivings. He says in effect "youdo not have to sacrifice yourself in this way. You do not have to driveyourself like this. I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I want you to learn tobe mercy-full to yourself. Be compassionate with yourself. It will freeyou to accept your need of healing. It will allow you to acknowledge yourlonging for me."

Jesus was saying "I did not come to pass out blue ribbons to the peoplewho have all the answers and have worked hard to prove themselves. I cameto bring hope and healing to people who know they need help." We canstop shaming and condemning ourselves because God does not shame or condemnus. God knows our brokenness, our pain, our need. We can give up our attemptsto prove ourselves and acknowledge our need for help and healing.

Lord, I don't want to be needy.
I want to be strong for you.
But, I can't sustain the pretense any longer
I have nothing to show for all my efforts to look good.
All I have done is shut you out of my life.


Today I acknowledge my need for you, Lord.
I need your healing and your forgiveness.
I am not healthy.
I need a doctor.
I need you.
Amen.

Copyright 1991 Dale and Juanita Ryan

Change

Change is hard. Change is very hard to stomach. Very hard.

Bands of Believers

Bands of Believers

All Day Christian Music Festival
Harlan, IA
THROWN will play at 11:00am

We need your help. We are the opening band this year and our army of loyal fans are busy with softball and baseball games that morning. Please, if you are avaible that morning, come to Harlan, IA to Pironeer Park and support our band. Tell you teens and your youth groups. I promise they will have a blast praise Christ Jesus!

Grace and Peace

Digger

Popularity

I hate popularity. You know the stuff. The games people play in high school to make themselves feel better than everyone else.

I had a student once this past school year say that other student didn't deserve to exist... WOW! I have never heard such a terrible thing spoken by a fellow human being. I can understand not liking someone... not wanting to be social with them... or even not wanting to be civil. I have some people that I just can't stand. But saying that they didn't deserve to live? WOW!

Jesus died on the cross for everyone! He died carrying all our sins. He didn't just die for the popular kids.... He did for us all.

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.

John 3:16 MSG

Embrace everyone. Popularity is stupid! ROCK THE GOSPEL!

Creation

Genesis 1 MSG

Heaven and Earth

First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don't see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.

God spoke: "Light!"
And light appeared.
God saw that light was good
and separated light from dark.
God named the light Day,
he named the dark Night.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day One.
God spoke: "Sky! In the middle of the waters;
separate water from water!"
God made sky.
He separated the water under sky
from the water above sky.
And there it was:
he named sky the Heavens;
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Two.

God spoke: "Separate!
Water-beneath-Heaven, gather into one place;
Land, appear!"
And there it was.
God named the land Earth.
He named the pooled water Ocean.
God saw that it was good.

I painted the other day. It had been a while. I just got a hair up my nose and decided our upstairs bathroom needed a mural of a light house and crashing ocean waves on it...

So I got out some nice blue paint and some glaze medium and set off painting my mural- all free hand and all from my imagination. What I ended up with even surprised me. I leaned back after an hour and a half of painting chaos and examined my big blue mural. I was so proud. I MADE THAT! AND ITS GOOD!


I love reading the creation. You see GOD the Artist in all his splendor. He makes His masterpiece and looks at it and proclaims its greatness. Its like the ultimate trash talk... OH YEAH! I MADE THAT THING!!! AND IT ROCKS!!!

Every time I make something that's inspired I stop and pay homage to the Artist of artists. He made the earth and the seas and everything on it and in it. He made me, He knew me and loved me before I was born and He sacrificed all for me.

Thank you Artist-God for everything! YOU ROCK!

Velvet Elvis 1

From Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis

Rob Bell describes the reformation. He tells of how Luther struggled to follow a faith set up on rules that seemed out of date, out of step and far more centered on keeping the powerful in power than it did on leading others to Christ or promoting the Gospel on earth. He tells of how Luther broke new ground to make religion personal and assessable to everyone in his time. Bell speaks of a tradition of reformers, far more than just Luther, but including monks, and nuns and theologians through the 2000-year history of the church that have all had this quest in mind, to make the experience of being a Christian more relavent. Bell points to the new emerging heartbeat in the church and says the following:

I’m part of this tradition.

I’m part of this global, historic stream of people who believe that God has not left us alone but has been involved in human history from the beginning. People who believe that in Jesus, God came among us in a unique and powerful way, showings us a new kind of life. Giving each of us a new vision for our life together, for the world we live in.

And as part of this tradition, I embrace the need to keep painting, to keep reforming.

By this I do not mean cosmetic, superficial changes like better lights and music, sharper graphics, and new methods with easy–to-follow steps. I mean theology: the beliefs about God, Jesus, the Bible, salvation, the future. We must keep reforming the way the Christian faith is defined, lived and explained.

Jesus is more compelling than ever. More inviting, more true, more mysterious than ever. The problem isn’t Jesus; the problem is what comes with Jesus.


In the days to come I will share what Rob Bell sees as the baggage that comes with Jesus. I hope you find my little quotes intriguing enough to buy this book. It's amazing.

Grace and Peace,

Digger

perfect people

You remember making paper people? I attended a lot of vacation bible schools at a variety of churches as a youth. One of the projects that stick out plainly in my mind is paper people.

You remember the project. Its the one where you neatly fold the paper, cut out a little man and woman and then open it up to reveal a magical little congregation. There they dangle before you, all worshiping, all proper, all perfect, all the same.

But today as I look back on that project it makes we wonder. White, perfect people that just barley touch... and are all the same. Is that really what we want our congregations to look like?

All too often we try to make worship like this, perfect, white people, all the same, just barely touching. We discourage behavior that doesn't match a norm. This behavior is called horseplay or rowdiness. Its frowned on and even punished.

Often we treat our churches more like country clubs than houses of worship. We want only nice people that sip their tea or coffee the same way that we do. We don't want sinners and we don't want poor and we don't want anyone of ill repute. In fact we boot those people right out as soon as we hear the gossip of their misdeeds. We grab stones and hurl them with joy so we can keep our country club fresh and clean, our teas and lunches filled with proper sippers and proper sandwich-makers.

But Christ's love isn't like this. Its radical and transforming. Christ sought out sinners, cheaters, traitors, whores... He made these people his. He fellowshipped with them, brought them into his fold. He ministered to them, healed them, forgave them, blessed them... restored them... made them whole. Jesus didn't want perfect little people all just barely touching. If he wanted that he would have spent his time in the temple with the Pharisees. Instead he went to the real people and hung with them and preached the Gospel to them and radically changed their lives. No his church as a motley band of fishermen, tax collectors and outcasts. They did amazing things that those in power feared, hated and turned their noses at. In the end, they crucified him for these radical acts. But that couldn't keep him down.

Don't conform. Don't just be one of many in the line of perfect paper people. Be original. Follow Jesus. Leap out of that line of perfect people. Be a radical Jesus Freak embracing the world and sharing God's love.

Aloness

There is a funny thing about being alone. Before you stumble upon news to the contrary you have no clue that you are out there on an island by your self. You have no idea how distant and remote the world is. Reality is what it is. We are comfortable in our lives because it’s all we know. We don't know we are alone because we look around at the familiar stuff that we placate our lives with, the things that dull us or make us happy. The whole time... we are alone.

Then there is the day when the boat arrives on the horizon and out comes the rescuer. He stands there and holds out a hand and embraces you and fills you up and listens and cares and mends you and climbs all over you with his love. Suddenly, for the first time, you realize that you are now complete. Everything else before is now defined with this new word... WOW! For all those years I was alone. Now I have this awesome amazing friend. He is transforming my life.

The thing is, this new friendship isn't always easy. We meet resistance for our relationship. Society hates it. They see it as weird and they hurl insults onto it. They bash you down as a Jesus-freak or a holy-roller or a wacko. But you are left with one real truth. For all the insults you might endure and all the hardships that come with the relationship... NOW YOU AREN'T ALONE ANYMORE.

I have been thinking about this state of aloness. And I have one thing that I know for sure... I AM NOT GOING BACK! I WILL NEVER BE ALONE AGAIN!

Jesus, don't set sail without me.

Generation Genesis

Loyal readers,

Sunday (tomorrow) is our monthly emergent rock worship experience at Elk Horn Lutheran. I am turning the speaking duties over to League alumni Nathan Howard. Howie has bee working in the ministry both in the twin cities and on mission trips to central america. We are blessed to have him speak.

Other highlights will be some new material by the band and a Chris Williams solo.

Come rock the Gospel of Jesus Christ... and bring some friends. Heaven is a big place. There is room for more.

Grace and Peace,
Digger

Psalm 63

Psalm 63
A David Psalm, When He Was out in the Judean Wilderness

1 God—you're my God! I can't get enough of you!
I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God,
traveling across dry and weary deserts.

2-4 So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open,
drinking in your strength and glory.
In your generous love I am really living at last!
My lips brim praises like fountains.
bless you every time I take a breath;
My arms wave like banners of praise to you.

A Deeper Well 2

Some songs are born complete. Everyday was hatched from Megan Mardesen's words during the West Virginia mission trip. Besides a few little changes to fit the melody better, the lyrics are the same as the first time I wrote them. Other songs float around my brain for years with lines and hooks ever to find completion. I started Deeper Well the other day and thought I had it. Then I woke this morning and started playing it. I adjusted some lines of the verse but then BOOM! the third verse just came from my mouth.

My God isn't trapped in a church on a hill. He isn't a new-age packaged deity in a shiny box or a wonder drug cure. He is the God that created everything. He is living and breathing all around. Here is a second updated version of our new song. I will post the scriptures this is from later.

A Deeper Well

Lord, You're my everything
I just can't get enough of You
My soul is thristy
My body aches for a drink that's true

I'm tired of the face and I'm tired of the race
Of the walls that are built between me and you
I'm tired of running and I'm tired of fighting
I need a deeper drink of you

A deeper well, a deeper well

I come here to worship
I need you to open my eyes
To drink from your deep well
At last my soul feels alive

my lips are open and spill forth like a fountian
with my every breath I give you praise
I rise up and stand and lift up my hands
My arms are like banners which I raise

I'm searching for a path that's true
One that leads back closer to You
I'm thristy for a deeper drink of You


You're not in a house
You're not on a hill
You're not in a box
You're not in a pill

You're not just a name
You're not just a label
You're not just a service
You're not just a table

You're everywhere.... You're everywhere.... You're everywhere.... You're everywhere....

I'm searching for a path that's true
One that leads back closer to You
I'm thristy for a deeper drink of You

Spirit won't you lift me up and tip me back and fill me with Your love
Spirit won't you lift me up and tip me back and fill me with Your love
Spirit won't you lift me up and tip me back and fill me with Your love


A deeper well
A deeper well