For those who would be interested, here is the online video of the ordination service. You can skip ahead to the 99 minute mark if you just want to see the actual ordination part of the service.

Ordination and Commissioning Service from Covenant Communications on Vimeo.

10 Years

As I have been reflecting throughout this ordination weekend here in Portland, I found myself returning yesterday morning to the first few chapters of Ezekiel. Here's the story...

Ten years ago this month, I was a 21-year old kid who was madly in love with my Lord and had a heart that was so wide open and willing to follow Him to ends of this earth. That summer led me to spending a few months in Ecuador - where I was seriously considering spending my life somewhere in the foreign mission field. I was zealously seeking after His voice to speak loud and clear into my life.

Then one morning in June of 1999 I was reading Ezekiel 2 & 3 (God's call into Ezekiel's life) and God, in His mysterious ways, literally lifted the words off of the page and transformed then into His call for my life. Now...I had sensed some kind of call into some kind of vocational ministry, but I had not received any clarity until that morning.

From Ezekiel 3:4-9 God said, "Mark, I am not calling you to a foreign land, where they speak a foreign language. No, I'm calling you to the Church in America - a Church that is often hard and obstinate. And you will love them, my Bride, with an undying and obstinate love, so as to break through to them."

Fast forward...it has been ten years since the seed of that call was planted in my heart by God. And what a journey!! All I can say is that my love for God has not diminished, but has matured in ways I never thought possible. And my obstinate and unyielding passion to see the Bride of Christ in America be revived, renewed, reformed, resuscitated, and (in some cases) resurrected has only grown more passionate with each passing year.

I am humbled by His great love and faithfulness. I am humbled by the act of His Church last night in ordaining me to His service. And I find myself this morning personally revived, renewed, reformed, resuscitated, and (in some odd way) resurrected. :)

Ordination

Yes, I know that it's been a long time since my last post (in my head, I am a much better blogger than reality testifies too!) :) Well, my last post talked about the fact that I was on the road to ordination. It turns out that that road will come to completion next Saturday evening (June 27) at 7pm in Portland, OR. For those who are interested you will be able to actually watch that service live on the internet - just go to http://covchurch.org/am/2009/am-live I've been told that the service is pretty awesome.

On The Road To Ordination

So...I know that I have a lot of catching up to do here on this blog...and perhaps someday I will get around to that...but for now I wanted to at least update some on the fact that I had my final ordination interview here today in Chicago and I am now officially in the final steps of being ordained come this June in Portland, OR. For those of you who have prayed for me throughout this process...thank you! (keep praying!) ;)

Who Would Have Thunk?!

Yep...it says $1.95

I'm excited! :)

One Year

Fall has been absolutely gorgeous here! Some say it has been an unusual fall...I say they are just pessimists! :)

Today marks my one year point from when I first began at Cascade Covenant Church. The year has really flown by, but it has been an extremely blessed and wonderful year. Things continue to go very well both in my ministry and personal life. I am in a good place and I am happy.

Thanks for your support and prayers!

Catching Up... (Part 2: September/October)

So...here are some more catching up pictures...

Cindy & I went white water rafting on the Tieton river in September with my good friends Matt & Jen Radel. It was definitely "Washington" white water rafting...it was raining...the river was actually warmer than the outside air. It was awesome!

I finally went to my first Mt. Si High School home game. It was very cool to be in a similar environment to my hometown games in San Andreas. Go Wildcats! (That is...Mt. Si Wildcats...not San Andreas Elementary Wildcats) :)

A little over a week ago my Wednesday night community group got together to do some pumpkin carving. I don't think I've carved a pumpkin since I was a kid. Cindy & I actually went to a pumpkin patch to get a pumpkin (which I've never done) - but we didn't find Charlie Brown or Snoopy there.

We used conventional AND non-conventional tools in our pumpkin carving.
Cindy's final product (center)
My final product...yep, it's an evil pacman...don't get too impressed...I used a stencil (which I didn't even know pumpkin carving stencils existed)
The final line up of the evening!

Catching Up...

So I am way overdue in posting some pictures from this past summer and a trip I was able to make down to California at the end of June...better late than never. The first couple are from the few days I was able to spend at Lake Tahoe with my mom and cousins (Kami & Kaiti). The rest are from my time at a cabin near Pine Crest with my family on my dad's side.

The whole crew!
Cousin Aaron & my sister Most of the nephews!
Some say they can tell we are related!

Endless Summer

Last weekend I had the awesome opportunity to fly down to California to lead worship at the "Endless Summer" junior high fall camp at Mission Springs. But even more awesome...Cindy was able to join me for the extended weekend and get to see more of my world. Before getting to Mission Springs, we were able to connect with our close mutual friend Cara MacDonald...
Then we were able to hang out a ton with the McCutchens (Brian, Emily, & Violet) - Brian is the director of Frontier Ranch...

Then we headed up to my hometown of San Andreas and had a chance to hang out with my parents...


I also wanted to share a few pictures from a couple weeks ago when Cindy & I went to the Puyallup fair with some North Bend friends. We had fun!

Coming Soon... !!

For the few and faithful that have been checking to see if I would ever blog again...do not fear...you will see a post with new pictures and all in just a few days. I'm in CA for a few days and when I get back and upload pictures, blogging at "The Journey" will once again continue! ;)

A Great Evening!

Yesterday I had a wonderful evening with Cindy and my dear friends, Ryan and Kelly Beardsley. They came up in the afternoon and then we hiked to Rattlesnake Ledge, just to work up our appetite. Then we had an awesome BBQ dinner that made us fat and tired. :) So here are a few pictures from yesterday...

Beautiful Day in Seattle (aka Introducing Cindy)

So there is this thing that people didn't tell me about June in Washington...it often is called "June Gloom" or "June-ary". Yes, it has been pretty overcast and rainy in recent weeks. BUT not yesterday. It was a beautiful day - and I got to spend it with Cindy as she showed me some of her favorite spots around Seattle.

Who's Cindy, you might be asking? She is an awesome woman that I've been dating for the past 4 weeks...though it has seemed much longer than that. I love being around her and things are just very enjoyable and good.

So...look below for pictures from yesterday...as well as one of Cindy & I.

249th...and so happy!!

Well...this morning I ran my second ever 5k race. I'm not quite sure why I ran it. I've never really liked running, but I have been faithfully in the gym for the past 3 months as part of my efforts in my family's own competitive version of the Biggest Loser (which I actually won last week!). So, I saw a flyer two weeks ago for this local 5k in the Snoqualmie Valley and I signed up. No friends were excited to run it with me, so I ran it by myself.

Now if you really know me, you will know that this is very unusual activity for me but I think it is indicative of a very positive and healthy corner I have turned. Perhaps motivated by my turning 30 two weeks ago and surely motivated by my family's Biggest Loser competition, I simply am very happy. I'm getting more into shape and healthy...ministry continues to go extremely well...I live in a very, very beautiful location...and I have gained some wonderful friends here.

So...I may have come in 249th in todays race...but life is good...and I am happy.

Now all I need is for the sun to finally come out!! :-)

Mikey

Last week Mike Johnson came up to visit for a week. Mike is from my hometown and I basically count him as my little brother. It was great to have him up here and I look forward to his next visit.

We were pro golfers - the 9 hole par was 35. I got 60, Mike got 61.

Yep...like I said...pro golfers.

Mike had the fall under control

We went to a Mariners game and got there early for the batting practice and Mike actually caught a ball with his hat in the stands...although he did have to wrestle a few kids to get the ball and his hat back.

What can I say? I'm still a novice at taking these kind of self pictures.

Gospel of John...or Guitar Hero?

Hmmm...why not both!!

I just thought I would share a few pictures from my community group this past week. We've been doing a weekly inductive Bible Study in the Gospel of John and decided to have a night of pure fellowship. This ended up being an evening of Guitar Hero...but kinda minus any heroes. :-)



I also thought I would share a few pictures from an event we did last Sunday evening. Our staff hosted a "Mahalo Luau" for everyone in the church. It was an awesome evening. We had more than 250 people show up for it! Our lead pastor, John, told people that if we had more than 200 people show up he would do the hula...but he did not do it alone...he called me up there with him. Thus the hula skirt...

Just a view of our sanctuary gone tropical...

Happy Passover!!

Happy Passover! Tonight I had the privilege to celebrate Passover with a family within our church. What a joy to remember what the Lord, our God, has done for His people since the beginning of time and also through His Son, Jesus Christ!

Free Rice

So I was watching the evening national news tonight and they shared this fascinating story about a website that is out there. The website is www.freerice.com and basically it is a site that helps students learn new vocabulary for the tests like the SAT. BUT even way more cool is the fact that for every word they get right 20 grains of rice is donated through the UN to help fight hunger in the world. Tons of rice have already been handed out because of this website. So if you are teacher (or someone who wants to learn more words), check out the site!

Thoughts on Fear

I have spent the past few weeks really thinking about fear as I was preparing for the sermon I gave yesterday entitled "Freedom from Fear." So, I thought I would just share a few thoughts from my sermon prep...

The biggest breakthrough for me was in my reflection on the topic of the "fear of God." You see, much of the sermon focus was on freedom from fears, but in the end I realized that if we are to be free from our fears it requires that we have one fear: the fear of God.

Growing up in a pretty typical evangelical setting, my theology was shaped heavily by John 15:15 --- that Jesus said he no longer calls us servants but friends. God has always been my "buddy", therefore I have always had a hard time every time I came upon Scripture that exhorted me to have the fear of God.

I know feel like I am understanding it much more. To fear God is to realize that he is omnipotent (all-powerful) and omnipresent (everywhere-present) and therefore able to do anything. He has full power to judge and, as Jesus talks about in Luke 12, He is the one to fear over death because He has the power to do anything to us beyond death. BUT He has also extended us grace through His Son, Jesus Christ. Thus, our fear of God is a mixture of trembling reverence and intimate, grateful awe.

So, when it comes to our other fears...if we truly have a "fear of God" in which we recognize that God is all-powerful and ever with us, this "fear" should be the banishing factor to all these other lesser fears.

So, these are just a few thoughts... I'm trying to figure out how to post audio of some sermons I do. But below you can find an excerpt from the sermon...

"Sometimes I fear…

…for the health and safety of my family
…for the poor within our valley and whether or not they will be able to pay their next bill or find their next meal
…for the broken-hearted within our community and whether or not anyone is aware of their hurt and providing comfort and care for them
…for our neighbors who are enslaved to one addiction or another and if they will ever find freedom
…for the children that are dying every moment because of disease or famine
…for the nations that are continuing to kill thousands upon thousands because of a particular ethnicity or religious affiliation
…for the countries that seem to be hit by natural disasters over and over and over again
…for the continents that seem to becoming annihilated by the AIDS virus
…that our environment and ecosystems will not hold out much longer
…that my generation will not be able to doing anything about these things
…that we have already screwed things up beyond repair for future generations to come

…that our world is falling apart right before our very own eyes
…and that the people of this world have grown far too hard-hearted to come anywhere close to hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ

Sometimes I fear.

Sometimes I fear, but then I open my eyes and look around…
…and see that there is a God who has created every river, tree, and mountain
…that there is a God who is working wonders in the midst of a chaotic world
…that there is a God big enough to have shaped this world and created a universe that my mind cannot wrap itself around…and therefore big enough to handle any fear I might have
…that there is a God that has always been and consistently is and will forever be

Sometimes I fear, but then I remember…
…that this God has never once faltered in His faithfulness to His creation
…that He that created all that I see…this God cares about the smallest detail…and has always been a God who is for the hurting, the broken, and the hopeless
…you see, I remember that this God put it all on the line by sending His son Jesus Christ for this world’s salvation…for you and me
…I remember that Jesus Christ has conquered death and with it, He has gone ahead of me and conquered every possible thing I could fear
…you see, I remember that in Jesus Christ I am free and I am more than a conquerer

Sometimes I fear, but then I worship…
…and when I worship, my fears dissolve
…because when I worship my eyes are re-opened and I remember…
…when I worship I am in communion with this gigantic, all-powerful, always-present, God of love
…and I am changed
…and I am transformed

And I fear no more."

California Surprise

This past weekend I was able to get away from Washington for a few days and do a surprise visit to California. I stayed a night with the McCutchens near Santa Cruz and got to especially hang out with their beautiful daughter, Violet. Then I went up to San Andreas for the weekend to surprise my parents. It turned out that this weekend was the opening weekend of "Suessical the Musical", a high school musical that my mom is directing and has poured all of her time and energy into over the past two months. So, it was fun to be there with her and cheer her on. I also beet my dad, step-mom, and friend David Ivan at Risk. Monday, I went down to Sacramento to stay with my step-sister, Robin, her husband Mark, and my two cute nephews Justin and James. Then, I drove up to Paradise today to visit my grandmother for lunch and then drive back down here to Sacramento where I am enjoying their free internet while I wait for my flight.


It was one of those brief vacations that felt much longer than it really was. So I feel blessed and refreshed right now! Below are a few pictures from the weekend (I still have to get better at pulling out the camera and taking more!)

I snagged this picture from the McCutchen's blog - this is me and their daughter, Violet (7 months old)
Beautiful Pacific in Santa Cruz
Lunch with my grandma Catherine

60 Plus Degrees and Beautiful!

The past few days here in Washington have been beautiful. The highs have been in the 60's and it has been those type of days where the sun is out and warming you but the air is still nice and cold - a great combination and preview for Spring and beyond! I love it!

Chicago

Last week I had the opportunity and privilege to go spend a week in Chicago for Covenant Midwinter conference and its pre-conference connections. This is our annual pastor's conference for our denomination. The best part of the conference is being able to reconnect with old friends that are now serving the Lord all around the United States. I barely took any pictures, but every so often I pulled out my phone and took a shot.

I could fly by Mt. Rainer a thousand times. It was a beautiful, crystal-clear day on my outbound flight from Seattle to Chicago.
I was able to get out to Chicago a day early and spend some time with my dear friends Ryan & Kelly Beardsley, who have just begin their graduate studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
I was able to recconnect with many dear friends during the Midwinter conference, but I was really blessed to room with Dan Teefey for the week. The day this picture was taken, we just happen to be basically wearing the same clothes, except our pin striped shirts were in matching Christmas colors.

A Sad Day...

It's final...complete...done... I am working through my grief and loss of my Californian identity. Last month they punched a hole in my California drivers license. Today was the end-all of the process. I took off my California plates and fastened on my Washington plates.

(moment of silence)

Goodbye California...

OK...seriously, everything continues to go great! Today was anything but a sad day. I had my first gathering with a new young adults community group that I've started leading at my place. There are 11 of us - nice and cozy eating and meeting together in my nice small apartment. It was awesome and I am stoked for what lies ahead.

Just an FYI for any of my Chicago and/or seminary friends - I'm heading out there for Midwinter and will be there from Jan 24-31.

Putting those seminary books to use!!

I know that I am a little behind on my blogging, so here is the beginning of my attempt to catch up a little bit. I just wanted to show how I've begun to put my seminary books to use. Below you'll find the before and after shots of some of my set up for our Christmas Eve services last month. I never pictured myself using my commentaries in quite this fashion! :-)


By the way...we had 3 great services that night!

Installation

This past Sunday I was officially installed at Cascade Covenant Church as their Associate Pastor of Worship & Community Groups. Mark Novak, the superintendent of the North Pacific Conference, came to our church to do the installation. Below is a video of that portion of the service. (My first time ever uploading a video to this blog!) It was a very cool morning.

A side note...it was quite humorous some of the responses I got to the title of "installation." A good friend of mine and colleague in the church thought perhaps I was being treated like a window...being installed and all. Some other guys who work in the computer tech world kept suggesting that I needed to be rebooted...as if I was a program needing to be rebooted...that metaphor took me a couple extra minutes to catch on to. If you're not quite sure what an installation is, check out the clip...Novak explains it a little bit.

26 to 56 in 24

So, we had about 1 1/2 feet in snow yesterday. Well...today our temperatures were in the 50's. All the snow was melted...plus it has been raining. So, the Snoqualmie valley has gone from being buried in snow to being in danger of flooding (which I guess isn't too unusual here...don't worry my place shouldn't ever be in danger of flooding itself).

So, here is a picture from Snoqualmie falls (which is right after the merging of the three forks of the Snoqualmie river that flow through North Bend). To get the best idea, scroll down my blog to my posts from this summer and compare the picture of the falls then to the picture from today. Needless to say, it was thunderous just being at the observation deck.