Lifeguard Jesus

We have seen through the past two days what the book of Romans says about heaven, hell and sinning. Not only do non-believers go to hell as presented in Romans Chapter 1, but we Christians must also dig deeper than just resting on our church membership. Self-righteousness is a dangerous trap used to turn the focus off our own sins to mock others. God isn't interested in these games. He won't be fooled. Judgment is His.

So what then is the answer? If we all are sinners are we all doomed to damnation? Are we all going to hell? Let's look one more chapter into Romans and see what Paul says.

But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.

Roman3:21-24

We are all sorry sinners. Everyone. Wether you think you are important or a good person or high class or whatever... we are all sinners. We all walk away from God's plan for us. Just like Adam and Eve in the Garden, we think we would make a better god than God Himself, so we walk away to take over the decision making in our lives. Sin.

But to fix things, in order to make things right, God created a cure. He has become Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has become the answer for all of us. He just isn't here for a few. He didn't come to save the rich. He didn't come to save royalty. He came down to earth and was born to a poor family in unusual circumstances and his birth was so humble he was born in a barn with horses and cows around. He was greeted into this world first not by kinds or scholars but by shepherds... dirty, smelly shepherds who had been out lounging around with their sheep. Yes Jesus came to save us all. He came for the poor and the down-trodden and the sick and the lost. He came for anyone who would come, anyone who would let go of the reigns and put trust in him. Jesus is the antidote, the perfect fix, the almighty answer. Jesus is the eraser, the stain remover, the only key to fix what is broken inside.

God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it's now—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.

Roman3:25-26

Faith sets us free of the death sentence. It liberates us. Jesus did the work. He climbed the tree and died. He lived righteously and died righteously. We can live in him and wash those sins away.

So where does that leave our proud Jewish insider claims and counter-claims? Canceled? Yes, canceled. What we've learned is this: God does not respond to what we do; we respond to what God does. We've finally figured it out. Our lives get in step with God and all others by letting him set the pace, not by proudly or anxiously trying to run the parade.

Roman3:27-28

WOW! GRACE! The amazing. God gives us this wonderful gift of forgiveness. He offers grace to everyone. Its right there. He offers the precious gift of eternal happiness to all by way of the cross. He offers a way to heaven that has obsolutley nothing to do with what we do, nothing to do with our status or our good deeds. It is just contingent on one thing, our willingness to lay our ego aside and follow him faithfully. Grace by faith. We take the reigns and hand them back to him and he takes care of the rest.

And where does that leave our proud Jewish claim of having a corner on God? Also canceled. God is the God of outsider non-Jews as well as insider Jews. How could it be otherwise since there is only one God? God sets right all who welcome his action and enter into it, both those who follow our religious system and those who have never heard of our religion.

Roman3:29-30

I am all together tired of arguing over dogma. I am totally lost my appetite when it comes to bickering over who has their theology right and who isn't really a Christian because they don't do this or they don't do that. It is silly to argue about getting wet early or later. Its ridiculous to fight about how wet you get. Do you think God is as legalistic as you? Do you think He will really judge based on adherence to rules made up by man? No. All claims that this group or that group has the ritual figured out is just a way to keep old, gray-haired men in comfortable jobs behind large wooden desks. God's work is far grander than that. God through Christ Jesus is busy changing hearts. He is busy being the ONE GOD. He is busy calling out to the lost and pouring out grace. So give up the thought that your theology is so sound that you are immune from judgment. For only the state of your heart matters on that day.

But by shifting our focus from what we do to what God does, don't we cancel out all our careful keeping of the rules and ways God commanded? Not at all. What happens, in fact, is that by putting that entire way of life in its proper place, we confirm it.
Roman3:31


It has nothing to do with what you do but everything to do with who you know. That is how you are saved. No longer are you a swimmer struggling to keep your head above water while at the same time trying desperately to swim all the way to shore. No longer do you fight a current of rules that you could never live up to. No longer are you out there swimming alone. Now you have a rescuer.

Jesus Christ is the life guard that was sent down from heaven. He is extending a hand to you while you struggle. He says, "Stop trying to make it to shore on your own power. Let me do the work for you. All you have to do is stop trying to do it yourself and trust in me. Here is my hand. I am offering you rescue. Take it!"


But he won't force you. He has given us free will. And sadly many choose to stay out in the water and trash away at the waves, preferring to be stubborn and in control over being rescued and submitting to the will of God.

The irony is that the freedom of going it alone isn't really freedom at all. Its an illusion. For on our own we are slaves to the very sin that we cling to. For we hold on so tight to sin that its weight pulls us under. It pulls us below the water and is our ultimate ruin.

Let go of the sin. Let it go and take his hand. The rescuer is coming and he's calling out your name... and his services are totally free.

Rescue Is Coming
David Crowder* Band

There’s a darkness in my skin

My cover’s wearing thin,

I believe I’d love to start again,

go back to innocent

And never leave

Don’t give up now

A break in the clouds

We could be found

There’s nothing wrong with me

It’s just that I believe things could get better

And there’s nothing wrong with love

I think it’s just enough to believe

Rescue is coming

Rescue is coming

Rescue is coming

Rescue is coming

You aren't off the hook!

Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors. But God isn't so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what you've done.

Romans 2:1-2 MSG

Judgment! We all know people that think that as good Christians they have a right to point fingers and condemn others. They are snooty and they run their churches like country clubs. They don't really want to reach out to the poor and the needy because then those undesirables might end up attending their church. Then their select group of high society elect would be invaded by imperfect people. Heaven forbid.

But Paul says in his letter to the Romans that every time we criticize others for their failures we condemn ourselves. People criticize others to take the spotlight off of them selves. If you are gossiping about these less desirables its easy to ignore the blemish on your own heart. But God sees through this trick. He isn't suckered into the country club tricks. He will judge you on your heart, not your pedigree.



You didn't think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he's such a nice God, he'd let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.

Romans 2:3-4 MSG

God is kind... but God isn't soft. He isn't weak. He is just. In His loving and caring He wants us to be transformed. He wants us to have RADICAL LIFE CHANGE! He wants people that don't point to others to cover up their own sins.

You're not getting by with anything. Every refusal and avoidance of God adds fuel to the fire. The day is coming when it's going to blaze hot and high, God's fiery and righteous judgment. Make no mistake: In the end you get what's coming to you—Real Life for those who work on God's side, but to those who insist on getting their own way and take the path of least resistance, Fire!

Romans 2:5-8 MSG

Two paths. They don't all lead to heaven. There is an easy path to destruction, of denial and avoidance of God and His ways. The other road is for those who chose to take up the cross of Jesus and work for Him. They get life, real life. But the alternative to real life is sobering. Hell! Hot and blazing Hell!

If you go against the grain, you get splinters, regardless of which neighborhood you're from, what your parents taught you, what schools you attended. But if you embrace the way God does things, there are wonderful payoffs, again without regard to where you are from or how you were brought up. Being a Jew won't give you an automatic stamp of approval. God pays no attention to what others say (or what you think) about you. He makes up his own mind.

Romans 2:9-11 MSG

It doesn't matter your station or your status. It doesn't matter if you are in the club. You aren't in because you have membership in the big brick church in town. It doesn't matter if you got all the instruction in the Word and then walked away. It doesn't matter the rituals you do or the amount of money you donate. That is not what God looks at. He wants another type of devotion.
God wants you to embrace His ways. He doesn't listen to the reputation of man. He judges by His own standards. He doesn't look at the outside. He looks at the inside, He searches your heart.


If you sin without knowing what you're doing, God takes that into account. But if you sin knowing full well what you're doing, that's a different story entirely. Merely hearing God's law is a waste of your time if you don't do what he commands. Doing, not hearing, is what makes the difference with God.

Romans 2:12-13 MSG

Knowing the story isn't enough. Going to church isn't enough. Devotion to the building isn't enough. Serving on committees isn't enough. Raising funds for a new roof isn't enough. God isn't impressed with Churchianity. He is longing for something else. He's looking for real Christ-followers. People who have stepped outside the little box built to make man comfortable and truly experienced the Living Lord.

More on that tomorrow!

Sinners go to HELL!

Since they didn't bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way. Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. And it's not as if they don't know better. They know perfectly well they're spitting in God's face. And they don't care—worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!

Romans 1:28-32

Let’s talk about the law and sin and Hell, shall we? It’s not a popular subject these days. Popular culture thinks Hell is far too mean. They aren’t keen on anything like punishment. So they invent a laissez-fair theology. Do whatever and as long as you mean well you get to heaven in the end.

Think about that for a while. Wouldn’t it be nice if we all went to heaven? Wouldn’t that be grand? Wouldn’t it be great if we got an A for effort? But that's not the way it works.

It is said that all roads lead to heaven. But isn’t that the most absurd statement you have ever heard! Do all roads lead to Omaha? Of course not! If not we’d never be able to get to Des Moines. This is just wishful thinking by a mainstream world that isn’t patient enough to read about the truth and isn’t disciplined enough to follow the way. But it might not be the way you think.

What is the law? What do we rebel against? Why? There are a set of rules that God gave us to live by. But we are a selfish group, us people. And we invariably attempt to make it on our own. We reject His perfect awesome plan and place ourselves at the center of the universe. That is when things usually go terribly, terribly wrong.

We are all guilty. At time we all have venomous tongues, we hurt those we love and we look out only for our own interests. We get rebellious and we challenge the barriers and we all disobey authority and we disrespect our parents. There comes a time when we all get up and walk away. It’s the one guarantee in this life... that we will decide that we know better then God… that we should be in control of things... that we won't submit to His will. And the wages for this spitting in the face of God is death.

Some people wish that God was uncaring. They wish that we can do whatever we want and that God will still let us into the Promise of everlasting life at the end because of blind benevolence. But is that REALLY what we want? Is that REALLY the kind of god we are looking for? One that doesn't keep His word? One that acts like the lax teacher that we all have had that lets us do anything, lets us goof off all day and never makes us learn? Not I! I want the God that sticks to the plan, which makes promises and keeps them.

But by this way of thinking I am doomed to death. I have sinned. I have taken the reigns. I have decided that I was boss and spit in the face of God.

Thankfully, our God is a loving and caring god. His love for us never ceases. He came up with a way... a wonderful marvelous way for us to overcome this sin nature. He came up with an antidote for our brokenness, a remedy for our sin. He didn't event a path to heaven. He didn't lower a ladder for us to climb to safety... He jumped down to our rescue.

More on that tomorrow!

Words to live by

The true work of the church, the way God intended, is not to promote judgement but to promote love. Love is our job one. We are to love our neighbor, give him the shirt off our back, turn the other cheek and share with him the teachings of Jesus. Judgement is meant for the Lord. We are not fit to judge. We all have fallen short of the Glory of God. If you think you haven't then your mirror has fogged over and you need to whipe away the steam.... reality check time.

Over the next few days I am going to hit the 1-2-3's of grace, forgiveness and salvation. Check back soon for details.

Your Love Is Deep

I have a new favorite worship song. What else need I say. Just read and reflect. When you sing it its sublime.

Your Love Is Deep

Jami Smith

Your love is deep
Your love is high
Your love is long
Your love is wide

Deeper than my view of grace
Higher than this worldly place
Longer than this road I travel
Wider than the gap You filled

Who shall separate us
Who shall separate us from Your love
Nothing can separate us
Nothing can separate us from Your love

Move Along

They say church would be a great place if not for all the people. And sadly right now that seems true. In the past few weeks I have seen so much of what we have worked to build fall apart. We have taught these kids a lot through the years about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and living a Christ-centered life. This summer they have learned about the nasty nature of church politics. This breaks my heart.

The saddest part of my split with my church is what I have seen these past few days. Students come into my room with this absolute look of defeat. You can see it in their eyes. Their way of worshipping is gone. The way that they feel connected is robbed from them. They came and tried to save it but to no avail. They witnessed what was said. They were there. They tried to speak up. But it was shut down.

It would be very easy to just throw my hands in the air and move to another church and start a new youth group in a new town. There is an appeal to this. It would be nice to not have to deal with the same faces and their tactics. But then I come in and see the look on the faces of these kids and I am reminded of the vision we started out with three years ago. I just can't abandon that mission. Megan Mardesen and I talked about a youth service for us by us. Ashley Danner and Dan and Drew Christensen were there too. We talked it out. We worked it up and we started Generation Genesis. It was a service for them with their kind of music and their kind of worship. It is sad to think of it uprooted from EHLC, the place where it started. But when I see the look in their eyes I realize that it can't end. This is only a beginning.

I don't know what the ministry of my band will look like over the next nine months. But I have decided not to abandon these kids. They have stuck by me. They have supported me. They came to my defense. They have followed Thrown through thick and thin. I will continue to serve them however they want me.

I have gotten some anonymous criticism lately. These brave souls who hide behind unsigned threatening letters seem to think I am a disgrace. This puzzles me. When a sixteen year old testifies that because of my guidance for the first time in their life they felt connected to Jesus is that a disgrace? When an eighteen year old boy says that they will seek out the same worship environment as G2 because there they feel alive is that an embarrassment to my church? When students turn to me with serious life problems and we work it out using the bible and Christian music is that acting like a teenager?

I must throw off these invisible jeers from the dark. I know in my heart what is right. I know in my heart what I am called to do. I will move along fighting the good fight. Just as I worked hard for the Lord when times were good I must also keep on plugging away now that times are bad. These are just the trials of this world.

Move Along
The All-American Rejects

Go ahead as you waste your days with thinking
When you fall everyone stands
Another day and you've had your fill of sinking
With the life held in your
Hands are shaking cold
These hands are meant to hold

Speak to me, when all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
Move along
Move along


Lord, give me strength to serve them.

MIKE!!!!!

Everything was created through him;

nothing—not one thing!—

came into being without him.

What came into existence was Life,

and the Life was Light to live by.

The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;

the darkness couldn't put it out.

John 1:3-5 MSG

Mike Williams is my hero. Mike is my mentor. He taught me how to be a Christ-follower. He didn't have a magic answer. He didn't have the prefect set of rituals. He didn't administer the sacraments in the precise way. It wasn't for his excellent exegeses of the scriptures, the beauty of his liturgy or the quality of his sermons even though he was expert at all of these. It was something far far more profound. Mike taught me about the essence of Jesus. Mike taught me to love others selflessly.

So many people miss the point. They look at it backwards. They focus on the problem and not the solution. Jesus came into this world, in fact he was shot down from heaven to lighten the darkened world in order to warm the frozen, fix the broken and love the loveless. Jesus is the giant love pill that saves the world. No other love will do. No other answer fits. Nothing else works. Nothing but Jesus and his love. Mike taught me about the love of Jesus.

Mike is moving on to greater challenges. I wish him luck and pray that he touches hearts as deeply at his new mission as he did here in Elk Horn. I love him with every fiber of my being. I want to be like Mike!

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!