Who's In Charge?

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. I've admired people who seem to be able to make huge things happen with what appears like very little effort on their part. Very smooth operators indeed.

The same goes with the daily operations of a church. Impressive are mega churches like Willow Creek and James River Assembly. And they are truly doing great things for their communities. From a visitors first impression, it's amazing to see how well things work from the parking lot ministry to the follow-up phone call a week later.

Now go back and re-read what I typed in red. There is an appearance that everything works like a well oiled machine. In my journey I have had the opportunity to be on both sides of the fence: 1) coming & expecting and 2) serving & executing. Let me tell you, there were times when one of my events was about to start (like Easter with over 2,000 lined-up) and I had a ton of items that still needed to be checked, tested, verified, modified, deleted, addressed, cleaned, explained.....etc. I hear that even NASA works along similar lines.

I have taken behind the scene tours of mega churches and it's no different. They are patching things behind the scenes but it's all seemless to the guests. Looking back, all my Easters, Christmas Events, VBS's, and other mega events appeared seamless and well running to the spectators.

However, I'm not into running spectator events just for the sake of an event. Now here's the unique perspective. We can run around and be very busy until 'GO TIME' but during the entire planning and executing, God never once was rushed, concerned or failing. He does not set us up for failure. Sure, we can grow out of every experience and God allows us to be refined in the fire, but He does not partner with us in ministry just to see us fail. It is His will for each of us to succeed. There will never be enough time to plan, never enough volunteers to operate, never enough guarantees for success and still we will succeed! You see, God is with us as we labor. Big event or preparing a simple snack for kids; God is with us. It's not the size of our endevor that God is blessing, it the simple fact that we are taking time to labor and share the good news!!!

I'm thankful for everything I have taken on this year. I'm very excited about new opportunities that are already underway for 2009. (620 kids already enrolled for Upward Basketball starting in January). If God be for us, who can be against us?

Have a very blessed and happy holiday season.

Pastor St. John



Lauren, Ronda, Bruno, St. John & Austin

Wow....what a great time we had at Waterfront Park in downtown Portland. I led a group from my church on the stage of the Luis Palau Family Fun Zone. The crowds were huge. We're performing againg tomorrow. Come downtown and check it out.

Click here to visit slideshow.

Summer Sports Camp

Wow, I started with our annual summer sports camp "Young Champions" yesterday. It's such a great time when tons of kids gather at a local high school track and get to enjoy some great outdoor fun with teams. Of course there are no loosers, only tons of positive encouragement. Click on this link if you want to check it out.

Looking ahead, I'm excited about trying to bring a new program to the kids ministry portfolio - Upwards Basketball. From what I have seen about this program, it is excellent and I know it will give so many kids an opportunity to connect and build great relationships.

Well, looking ahead, I'll be in downtown Portland next month taking a group of kids to the stage for high energy worship during Portland City Fest with Luis Palau. It's going to be a blast with over 40,000 folks expected to attend on Saturday alone.

It's A Nice Day For A White Wedding.....

Congratulations to my baby sister on her wedding. It was both traditional and untraditional. Oh yeah, there was the flower girl and wedding cake, but the bride entering the outdoor ceremony on the back of a Harley would tell most of the guests that many surprises were in store for the night. Her husband, Bill, is a great suitor and great match to Katies personality. I'm so happy for both of you.

Day one....actually I'm 46 years old so it's more like day 16949

There is a saying in the Bible that iron sharpens iron. I was traveling to a camp a couple of weeks ago and my traveling friend asked me if I did any blogging. I really never thought about it but it seems like many folks these days are into journaling. I was not to excited about either of these but I have learned through the years that people who write down goals tend to hit them more often than those that do not. That being said, I am going to assume that folks who create a personal blog are in fact journaling their life. Those whose leadership I respect have said journaling has a positive effect on the author. I personally think it will seriously point out my human side of frequent typos and grammatical errors. Funny....I've always imagined I would write thrilling novels and edge-of-your seat spooky mysteries for fun. I'm going to need a keen editorial assistant or a lot of grace and mercy from you readers.

Well, I'm learning how to format my blog so we'll see how it comes along as I get started. I hope you enjoy and visit often. By the way, I've been to a few blogs where folks never seem to update and freshen their blogs. I'll do better!!!!