Chapter XIV: On Our Own

As promised...A punctual blog update....miracles do happen.

The word to describe this week:

Thankful.

Throughout the week, I was constantly reminded of how blessed I am and how the LORD has watched over me. On Friday I got to spend the evening fishing, relaxing, and hanging out with John, and it made me realize that the LORD has given me great peace in every aspect of my life.

Additionally, my parents came up to visit, and they continually reminded me of how proud and impressed with my current situation....I cannot thank the LORD enough for how far He has brought me and all that He has given me...because without Him, I'm nothing.

This week came with two new Grand Rapids discoveries: The B.O.B (a great restaurant downtown) and the backwoods lake out in Allendale where I went fishing.

On a more ecclesiastic note...today marks the first day of our church family being without a senior pastor. Already, our staff (now just myself and the secretary) is discovering all the details that our pastor normally handled. I imagine that our congregation and church leadership will all be stepping up in the coming weeks to "fill the gap" of our pastor.

Which will be awesome.

I imagine our church will become more caring. More united. More involved. I imagine members caring for members. Lay people doing pastoral care. Elders preaching and praying.

Basically, our people are going to be empowered.

They will become the hands and feet of God.

I imagine our interim pastor will help the process, but until that time, we'll be seeking leadership from our own ranks. And that's where I'd ask for prayer. Specifically, I need prayer as I have already taken on a few new responsibilities, and I fear I might take on too much.

Holding down the fort,
-B

Chapter XIII: Looking Ahead

I would apologize for this post being two days late, but you're all probably used to that happening. Last time though...We'll get back on track next week Monday.

This past week was pretty awesome. Met a few cool people both at swing dance and the laundromat (I love doing laundry there). Also started connections with a new lead guitarist for our band.

Saturday was our guys/gals retreat and it was a blast! The guys went disc golfing while the gals hung out at church planning an ambush for the boys (they soaked everyone except me....wise choice ladies). We then gathered for some guy vs. girl games (we let the girls win) and finished off the night with pizza and a bonfire (still have bruises from wrestling students on the beach)

Also had my buddies Andy and Paul come up, and got in some sweet climbing time with them. This included flashing two new 5.11's (the next level of difficulty for me).

Praise band played on Sunday, and it went pretty well (especially "Sweetly Broken"). We also had a town-hall meeting where we discussed the current pastoral situation. And I have one word to describe my feelings towards this:

Excited.

Don't get me wrong. I love our pastor and all that he's done for our church and myself. But his departure presents our church with an amazing opportunity to facilitate some necessary change. Within the next few weeks, a part-time interim pastor will be leading the Olivet family, and hopefully guiding us through the process of discerning God's will for our church.

Additionally, this change is exciting because it is going to offer (force?) everybody in our congregation a chance to step up and make this ministry their own. I am hoping that this lack of pastoral leadership will make our family see that we function as a body...everybody has a part in everything.

Prayer stuff: Focus all of your efforts on our church as we are going through this adventurous time between pastors.

Looking forward to moving forward,
-B

Chapter XII:

My apologies for another delayed blog...I blame my lack of self discipline...

Pretty sweet week. Went swing dancing for the first time since moving to Grand Rapids. Pretty fun. The highlight of my week was Friday. I spent the afternoon biking all the way downtown to check out some Art Prize. It was really great to spend some alone time riding around the city, looking at art, and taking some pictures.

Got offered the position as a lead guitarist for a Christian rock band, but decided to decline the offer. I recognized the need for me to manage my time, and this band wasn't a part of that. Along with this decision, came the inspiration to begin working on a new musical project as I am forming a band and pursuing some new music that I'm not as familiar with.

Injured my finger climbing during the week. But it happens....

Went camping for a night with two of my buddies. Then spent Saturday climbing and disc golfing with Andy....it was good.

Finished reading the book "Who Stole My Church"....really good, and it's amazing at how much it has to say to our congregation.

Our pastor made the decision to accept the call in New York...which means that as of October 25th, we won't have a senior pastor. It's going to be a challenge for all of us, including me....

But I'm up to the challenge.

Continued prayer for the Baron family as they are moving. Also prayer for our church family as we are going through the transition between pastors. That's about all for this week. Again, apologies for the late and not terribly creative post.

Coasting through the week,
-B

Chapter XI: Crazy World, Crazy Smells

The last 7 days have been very interesting, filled with all sorts of new things and quite a few lessons.

To begin with, I turned 23 this past Tuesday, and I've realized that I have gotten to the point in my life where birthdays just aren't as exciting. I don't get any new freedoms with my new age. However, I did receive many a wish and card from friends, and I am always reminded every year of how blessed I am. I can't thank the LORD enough for giving me yet another year of life.

I also went through my first band audition, and I gotta be honest...it was a TON of fun. I played really well and enjoyed the company of other musicians. I also got together with some guy on Thursday and jammed a bit with him downtown. Again, quite a lot of fun.

Our Jr. High night seemed to go really well, and I feel like I'm finally connecting with some of the students. Our Sr. High ministry is also going really well as the Spirit is bringing the students deeper and deeper into the Word. And to top it off, it would appear as though our ministry is growing! A new face here and a new face here! It's amazing to see God bringing people into the church!

All in all, my actual week seemed to be very draining and I was exhausted by the end of it. This lead to the downer of my week; the weekend. I spent some time with Jr. High at the frolf course (awesome), and I put in some time at the climbing gym (also awesome), but for the majority of the weekend, I did three things.

Sleep.
Movies.
Futurama.

Late Sunday night, God sorta took me by the shoulders and said "Hey! Fool! Get off your butt and stop wasting your life!" I pretty much spent a weekend doing nothing, and that's not OK....I need to dial back on the naps a bit. I mean, I had darn near three days to go see ArtPrize, a world renown (free) art fair located 15 minutes away, and didn't. That's just wasteful.

It seemed like a jumbled up week, which makes for a jumbled up blog. So now it's time for a few less organized random thoughts from this past week:

-I still love the Bears
-Climbing shoes: Buy for comfort, not performance
-Molly (my fish) seems to be dying and floats sideways and does flips...but hasn't died yet...pretty strange
-The character "Black Widow" from Iron Man 2 is very pretty
-I cleaned my house! Yay!
-Discovered a new favorite Psalm (its actually found in 2 Chronicles)
-Watched some "LOST"....really miss that show
-Hair cut...not easy to do by yourself, but far more rewarding

The upside to all of this is that life goes on. Crazy stuff happens, and that's what makes it life. While this wasn't the most coherent of weeks, it certainly did come with some unique experiences, and I am grateful for the lessons learned through living.

That's about it. As always, I have a few prayer requests to lay on ya. Continued pray for the Baron family would be great, as they will be making their decision this week as to where Josh is to pastor. Pray also for a friend in Washington as they are going through a tough time right now.

Livin' and learnin'
-B

Chapter X: Oh Yeah....

Last week was the valley to this past week's summit. Things since my last update have been considerably well. It all started on Wednesday...

I felt a lot better about our Jr. High meeting on Wednesday evening, partially due to the smaller turnout that allowed for a more intimate setting. Then there was our praise band practice....

Simply awesome.

The band sounded great, and we even had a few people hanging out in the sanctuary grooving to the music. With the exception of our bassist (who sadly couldn't make it because of work) we sounded even better on Sunday morning! The people in the sanctuary worshiped and I even saw a few dancing...

This past weekend was spent in the Chicago hanging with my buddies. We did a short hike, some climbing, and of course, just hung out and did stupid stuff. But the highlight of my weekend was recording and finishing my new EP, "Stories," which turned out pretty well.

Our youth group on Sunday night was a lot of fun as we played a new game I designed (not Death Sticks) and talked about our Christian relationships.

All in all, the LORD has just blessed me with this incredible sense of peace and contentment with my current situation. My job. My home. My life....And it's awesome. As per my persona, when things slow down, I like to add something new to the mix...

Thus my newest and latest quest for a band....

I have been in contact with local musicians and friends in regards to finding the next musical adventure for me to embark on. It seems that the LORD has given me the gift of music, and I certainly don't want to waste it. I have a couple of leads with pre-existing bands, and there is talk with a few friends about forming a band. My first audition is tomorrow night as the new lead guitarist for a Christian Rock band called Perfect Shelter.

In the world of prayer, I would love if you could focus all of your prayer effort on the Baron family. Our senior pastor, Josh Baron, has been offered a call to another church. I ask that you pray for him, his family, and our church as we collectively discern God's will for the Barons.

That's all for now....I'm very excited for this week and looking forward to ArtPrize here in Grand Rapids

Loving Life,
-B

Chapter IX: Times of Trouble

Another week (and another win for Da Bears) has come and gone, and the LORD has continued to make Himself known to me.

We had our first Neighbor Night of the school year, which means we had our first Jr. High gathering. I have to admit, I wasn't prepared for the unique group gathered at Olivet this past Wednesday. The group is a pretty rad bunch of students, but they presented me with new challenges. I'll have to admit that it was a little discouraging at first, but now I'm quite grateful for the opportunity to grow as I see the LORD for guidance in this area of my ministry.

We had a youth event planned for Saturday, but it got changed at the last minute on account of the weather. Still we had a fun time with a mall scavenger hunt, movie time, and lots of pool (turns out I am horrible at pool).

I enjoyed four evenings of climbing this weekend, and celebrated my new status as a route setter with a new bouldering route for the gym. I also did some work on my home and put in a few new pieces of furniture. I also finally bought a copy of The Message for teaching and for my personal devotional reading.

I learned two things this week (apart from all the information I gathered during our mall game). The first is that a skillet breakfast at Rainbow Grill is not a good start to the day. The second is that while the movie Bolt might be entertaining for some people, the majority of people will find it absurd....

It wasn't all fun and games however, as Lauren's mom passed away this weekend. Please pray for Lauren and her family as they go through this valley. I would also appreciate prayer for me in regards to my ministry for Jr. High. I also would like your prayers for our praise band as we will be practicing new songs with some new instruments for Sunday.

Found a weakness,
-B

Chapter VIII: Welcome Home

You know that week before exams? You know....study, prepare, research, write...It's actually more work than the finals themselves. That's how it was for me this past week....

And I loved it!

Yesterday was our annual "Kick-Off Sunday" which marks the beginning of our Fall programming. This meant that my week was full of last minute preparations for brunches, small groups, and weekly meetings. I spent a lot of time planning my first lesson, and it felt great to dive into the Word in a theological mindset and discover God's lessons.

Logged a lot of hours at the climbing gym this week, but I also got a chance to rest. One could call my weekend "the calm before the storm." Friday was spent at Grand Haven planning a youth trip and taking pictures. Saturday brought some muddy ultimate frisbee, and Sunday brought the first win for the Chicago Bears.

I learned a very important lesson this weekend during Celebration on the Grand. As I sat with my friend listening to a blues band downtown Grand Rapids, I recognized the level to which I had been serenaded by Western Michigan. I didn't realize how much the LORD had in store for me when He brought me here. I really have fallen in love with this place. Fallen in love with my job. Fallen in love with my church.

Fallen in love with home.

I know I keep saying how much I enjoy living here, but it really hit me hard this weekend. Today I spent some time at the DMV, and I can now say that I am officially a Michigander (which means I will support the Lions, AFTER the Bears)

Our first youth meeting was last night, and it went well. We enjoyed some games some learning, and some snacks. Our brunch yesterday also went really well, and the food was great.

However, today was rough....

I got word from a friend that her mom didn't have much time left. This news literally put a stop to my day. I couldn't focus on a whole lot for the rest of the afternoon. It has forced me to rely on the LORD for strength.

In the praying world, I would appreciate if you could focus your efforts towards our youth group, specifically our Jr. High which meets for the first time ever this Wednesday. I would also like prayer for the Verdon family as they are handling this rough news regarding her mother.

Home at last,
-B