Album Cover

My new friend Marttin Kinchen has asked me to take some shots for him to use on his new CD he is recording. He is a very talented guitarist and is a fellow City Lifer. He shared some of his story with me. You can get some of the story and his music on his My Space account. www.myspace.com/everybodywantstogotoheaven

I'm not sure if I'm totally happy with these or not. I might try some other ideas. I think it would be so cool to see one of my shots on an album cover. Watchout Ansel Adams!

It's Launched!

Well we got home today from a huge weekend of ministry. I started at 5:30am saturday morning. I had to pick up my friend Joe at City Life at 7:15 and be at the Angel food distribution site by 7:45am. We got our food and got back and passed out the food people had purchased until 12:30am. Everything went well and we even had everyone show up this time.
I left there and left for Benton Harbor for an outreach event at the mall. We had a youth group come in from Indiana to serve Overflow. I had arranged for a few store owners to have some tasks ready for them. They showed up to stores and served the store employees with our new Overflow labeled water bottles and then got busy. They washed windows,took out trash, cleaned video machines etc. We want to continue building relationships with our nieghbors.
While they served the stores I took a shopping cart full of water bottles and a camera and handed out water in the mall. I was shocked at the amount of people that turned me down until I told them it was free. then they gladly accepted. I did trick them and tell them they had to pose for a picture to get water. I got some great pictures! I'll share them if I get them from the owner of the camera. I'm going to have to get a cheap camera, I'm having to much fun! I had a blast interacting with the people. I had two big African American guys posing and laughing as I posed them with the water bottles and baloons. Whooda thought!
Later I just sat back and watched people walking around with their bottles and reading the launch information. Brian (pastor) later told me he was at the office watching people with their bottles pointing to the signs at Overflow getting the connection. It was a great night of outreach.
One more quick story....The owner of the video arcade was friendly and I struck up a conversation about the church and it's vision. He seemed receptive and allowed me to display some Overflow brochures in his lobby. Then he gave the kids tokens and let them play some video games. Who knows what future relationships will bring.
Exhausted I went back to Holiday inn Express and Janice was working again. She remembered me and gave me a big smile and greeting when I arrived. (that was really cool to me) I spoke to her about dates that we are launching the church and she programmed our next one into her phone. She said she was going to bring her sister and all their kids. I sure hope she does!
This morning I showed up at 8:00am to help transport equiptment to the Celebration Cinema for our first practice launch of Overflow. The work went pretty well. We had our gliches but we worked through them and we'll get better as time goes on. It was just really humbling to see all the talented people God has brought together for this purpose. We are going to have to use another larger theater from here on out. the smaller one was about 40% full with just launch teams and their families. (About 40)
The worship band was fantastic and talented! Of course the musical worship seemed to really be sweeter knowing all the work that has gone into this. Mark the Music leader did a soulful blues rendition of "It is well with my soul". It blew away anything I've heard in church before!
Brian had a great message about the woman at the well and how Jesus crossed cultures to connect. Just like we will be doing.
After service we went house hunting and found one we liked but it really early. It's a 3 bed tall brick home built in the 1800's with a two stall garage. It's cute and downtown pretty close to the beach! Who knows what God has for us! We have to sell our home first.
Anyways then we had another launch team meeting at 4:00pm. and got done around 6:30pm. We arrived home tonight about 7:30pm. and are exhausted.
The greatest thing about this weekend is seeing all the planning and work come together. Seeing it all get this far and the stories that have happen are just so exciting. And we're just getting started. Yup I'm tired but I'll take this kind of tired any day!
God Bless,
Randy

True Salvation

Okay....So I'm sitting here at City Life Church this morning just busting at the seems with excitement and a million thoughts running around in my head. I probably won't make to much sense but I have to get this written down before I lose all of the inspiration God gave me this morning.
First of all I am driving into downtown G.R. this morning about 6:45am anticipating a day of watching people from Holland Central Wesleyan serve City Life. They are building a new counter top for the childrens area. The thought that pops in my head was the story in the Bible about one church giving a gift to another struggling church.
In my severely ADD brain I start to morph other thoughts about how we are never really in Gods total favor unless we are willing to give up everything to be obedient to him. So these people serving City Life today could on some level be experiencing a total salvation in some ways. So I started thinking of the following examples from both the old and new testament.

• Abraham, offers up Isaac as a sacrifice and God sees his heart and God finds favor.
• Samson rethinks his position (repents if you will) and asks God to restore his strenghth so he could do one final act for God. I think God probably said okay because Samson finally gets it!
• David finds favor with God because he was willing to face the giant.
• Jonah finally gets it after being in the fish and god lets him experience the turning of the city of Nineveh.
• Paul gets his total salvation on the road to Damascus.
• Zacheus gets his salvation when he is delivered from his issues of greed and offers to pay back what he had stolen.
• I think even the thief on the cross was totally saved when he finally gets the fact that Jesus was who he said he was. Given the opportunity of getting down he would have lived a transformed life.
• The rich young ruler was offered total salvation when Jesus told him to give all his money to the poor. He couldn't do it and Jesus was sad.

These are just a few of the examples running in my head. So here is the remaining questions that I have. I would invite some constructive conversation.

At the time of judgement Jesus is going to say "depart from me I knew you not" to a bunch of people that thought they were "in". So question #1 Who are those people?

Faith without works is a dead faith..Question #2 What happens to those who just cover their butt and say they pray a prayer. What happens to those who show no life transformation? I call this the cover your butt theology. I remember Ken (former pastor) used to say there pants would be smokin as they entered heaven!

Is true salvation combined in 2 parts? 1.A salvation from Hell. 2. A salvation from the Hell here on earth?

Or is part one not enough and we have all misunderstood? Therefore depart from me will be said to many who've heard that message?

So what's your thoughts?

Disclamer: I wrote these thoughts out really quickly. I wanted to get them written before they were lost.

Smarter- I stayed at Holiday Inn Express

I just got done having an hour long conversation with Janice. She is the check in girl at the Holiday Inn Express that Deb and I stayed in this week. Deb has gone home and I am staying another night. I have to work in this area tommorrow.
Janice and I have been talking and becoming friends this weekend. I stopped in and started talking to her tonight. I was bored and she was also. She started sharing with me about her situation. She is a single mom with an associates degree. She has two brothers (who are in jail) and a sister. She shared with me her struggles trying to get a good job to support her family. Right now she earns $7.50 and has food stamps. She explained to me her story of coming to this area from Texas. They lived in a middle class community there. They had to go to the Benton Harbor H.S. and things went downhill from there. Bad choices of friends and hopelessness caused bad outcomes for her brothers.
It's a long story but I thanked her for sharing it with me. I can better understand the culture and task we are faced with. I got my lap top out and we wrote down addresses of churches in the area that are offering Angel Food. She was thankful to have an opportunity to get cheaper groceries. I shared with her my passion to help and my inability to know how to help.
I also talked to her about how her situation reminds me of the culture that Jesus faced when he arrived on the scene. Our Goverment could be like the Romans and the she was like the oppressed Jews. I told her she had inspired me to study how Jesus taught us to respond.
She told me that I had helped and inspired her. I'm not sure what I did but I'm glad God used me to do that for her.
I still haven't totally wrapped my head around Gods' upside down kingdom but I'm convinced it's the only way we will see success in these times. I thank God for giving me opportunities to talk and learn from people like Janice.
Staying at a Holiday Inn Express has made me smarter and fatter. (have you ever had their cinnamon rolls?)
God Bless
Randy

Season of Doubt

I have a really cool story to share today. I have been praying for two things to happen when we move to Benton Harbor. The first is to have really passionate qualified people on the serving team. The second is to meet a good contact from the School System. I'm hoping to start a sports photography program and then someday mentor some kids to teach them the craft.
To give some background to the story.... I have been facing some doubt issues recently. I have thouroughly enjoyed my time at City Life. The move is going to be huge etc. Most of all I want to make sure I'm in Gods will. I have to keep reminding myself of the steps and doors that have opened so far that have gotten me to this point. I was praying with some new friends about this before our first Overflow launch meeting.
After prayer we joined the room that was filling with our new launch team members. I went to a back table and put my coat on a chair. Deb was sick so I was by myself. I went and started visiting. I noticed an African American lady set her stuff by mine. Later I noticed her invite an older white lady to join her.
I joined the table later and started a converation with Rose the black woman. Rose is the head of the Opportunity Center. A large volunteer organization. I later found out from Brian that she is one of the most promintae woman in Benton Harbor.
We hit it off quite well when I shared the vision of having members of Overflow plug into the volunteer organizations that already exsist in the community. We will be the Christian influence in the organization (or enhance if it exsists). She wants to be part of my team but she is not sure she is called to Overflow yet. Her sister pastors a church right now. So I will be praying to have Rose on my team. But if not we've made a great contact.
As I was sharing my vision of getting involved with the school sysstem with my photography the white lady spoke up and said "You need to talk to Larry Featherstone he is the A.D. at Benton Harbor High". You can reach him at 260-.... I was shocked! I asked how she knew all that and she said she was a teacher at the school. We talked for a bit about the opportunities.
Needless to say God seemed to answer and confirm the decision to be there and to join this ministry. To have two ladies sit at my table and having them both be a specific answer to what I've been praying about is God written all over it!
God Bless!
Randy

Overflow Pictures

Hey everyone, Overflow just posted pictures of what we've been up to lately. We've got pictures of our office in the mall, baptism night, Halloween (in the mall) and our Christmas party at Berrien Homes. Check this site out! www.overflowcommunity.blogspot.com

The Christmas party at Berrien Homes turned out to be a struggle for me. I am always fired up and excited to serve at an outreach event but not with little kids! I have never felt comfortable around them for some reason. I try to interact with them but it doesn't seem to fit or work.
Then I tried an idea! I grabbed a lady's (Mary) little point and shoot camera and started taking pictures of the kids. Pretty soon I had them climbing all over me to get their picture taken. I even let them take some of me making goofy faces! Some of them you can see if you go to the web site.
Have a great weekend!
Randy

Won't you be my neighbor?

Today I went out to snow blow my driveway. My neighbor Dave was out working on his also. I walked over and asked him if he would give me a hand afterwards. Deb and I purchased a new treadmill and I needed a hand getting it into the house. He agreed to help and we started talking about the snow blowing I had done last week.
Last week we had a bunch of snow and I went around and blew out five of my neighbors driveways. I enjoy seeing what ways I can bless my neighbors. I have become good friends with them just by serving them any way I can. They in turn have started to help me and others with other projects that need done.
Today Dave told me he was going to get Toms' driveway and I told him I'd get Shawns'. At one time today we had four of us neighbors out in our driveways all talking to each other. I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear (inside) as we all stood there talking. Here is my community someday I hope to see them come to Christ. For now I will stay intentional about being the best neighbor I can be.
Most people I talk to dream about owning a large home on a ten acre plot secluded in the woods somewhere. God wired me different. I love having neighbors and friends to talk to. I think I'd go nuts living in the woods with no neighbors.
I'm just not ready for the Mr. Rogers sweater yet!
Have a great new year!
Randy