Things I Caught Along the Way

In my personal library, I have over a hundred and fifty books on prayer. These books range from how to pray like the Desert Fathers of the Third Century (who fled from the cities to the desert in order to meet with God in solitude and silence) to how to influence suburban America by prayer walking. Books that teach about prayers of petition, praise, intercession, not to mention praying for friends, family members and the needs of others. Others portray prayers of examination, reflection and praying through the Bible. You get the idea, a lot of books about prayer. Did I mention I really like books?

Some of these books have been instrumental in challenging my life of prayer with God over the years. But, if I’m honest, when I think about prayer, there’s an image that out weighs all these pages of the sages. It’s the image I have of a mentor of mine during my late teens, early twenties. There he was sitting in a chair -  early in the morning – every morning. Praying. At times, words were flowing or passages of Scripture being quoted. At other times, silence, not a word was uttered, rather simply being present before God. I have images of him driving to and from work, praying as he drove. He would pray for me and others, as well as upcoming Bible studies, ministry endeavors, and the like.

New Series :: Road Trip :: Mapping out a Healthy Family Culture

Looking forward to the new series at PVC :: Road Trip :: Mapping out a Healthy Family Culture. It launches this Sunday...


Roadtrip PROMO from Palm Valley Church on Vimeo.

Day 22 of Lent :: Unstoppable

“They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”
(Revelation 12:11)

Many of us have never been ridiculed for our faith.  Some of us have been called holy-rollers or have been looked at as old-fashioned or have experienced the rolling of eyes by a co-worker.  This is a far cry from being abused and persecuted for the cause of Christ.  Many people enjoy the freedom of personal prayer in open places and enjoy public gatherings for the purpose of worship, but this is not the case in numerous places in the world.  In fact, an average of 171,000 Christians worldwide are martyred for their faith each year.1  For countless Christ-followers, taking up their cross means being disowned by family members, being discriminated for employment, and/or suffering violence.

From the beginning, the followers of Christ have suffered.  Around 34 A.D., one year after the crucifixion of Jesus, a young disciple named Stephen was stoned to death.  Martyrdom for Christ was prevalent in Jerusalem during this period.  Over the next several decades, all but one of the twelve Apostles were martyred for their faith. 

Here is what history records:
James the brother of John was killed with a sword during a persecution initiated by King Herod. (44 AD)
Andrew was hanged on the branch of an olive tree. (circa 70 AD)
Doubting Thomas was thrust through with pine spears, tortured with red-hot plates, and burned alive. (Circa 70 AD)
Philip went to Phrygia where he was tortured and crucified. (54 AD)
Matthew was beheaded. (Sometime after 60 AD)
Bartholomew was flayed (skin stripped from his body) for refusing to deny Jesus.  When that did not kill him, he was crucified. (70 AD)
James the lesser was taken to the top of the Temple, and refusing to deny Jesus, he was thrown from the roof.  He survived the fall, so a mob beat him with clubs until he died. (63 AD)
Simon the Zealot was crucified by orders of the governor of Syria. (74 AD)
Judas Thaddeus ministered in Mesopotamia where he was beaten to death with sticks. (72 AD)
Matthias, who replaced Judas Iscariot, went to Ethiopia and was stoned to death while hanging on a cross. (70 AD)
Peter (according to Eusebius, a third-century historian) thought himself unworthy to die in the manner in which Jesus was crucified, so he requested that he be crucified upside-down.  (Circa 67 AD)
John the beloved is the only disciple who died a natural death, but that does not mean he was exempt from persecution.  According to historian, Tertullian, John was plunged into boiling oil in a Roman coliseum, yet suffered no effects from it.  He was then banished to the Isle of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of the Revelation, and died an old man. (Circa 100 AD)

Persecution did not slow the growth of the Church during the first few centuries after Christ died.  As its early leaders suffered horrible deaths, Christianity flourished throughout the Roman Empire.  It is estimated that 70 million people have been martyred because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

Prayer: Spend time throughout the day praying for our brothers and sisters around the globe who are suffering as a result of their faith in Jesus Christ. 

 The following are a few things to pray for them:

To have physical protection and deliverance
To speak the right words to fearlessly make Christ known
To know God’s grace as sufficient and God’s power is perfected in their weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
To love Christ’s appearing
To rejoice in sharing the sufferings of Jesus
To faithfully endure by more completely trusting in God
To choose ill-treatment and the reproach for Christ’s sake, rather than the pleasures of sin
To overcome sin
To love Christ far more than life itself
To love their enemies
To not enter into temptation, even under the stress of      persecution
To rejoice that they are considered worthy to suffer for His Name
To demonstrate the joy of the Lord before their persecutors
To focus on their future glory
To rejoice that they bear in their bodies the “brand marks of Christ.”

Action: To learn more about the persecution of Christians around the globe visit: www.persecution.com, www.persecution.net, and www.idop.org. 

1 Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (2006).

Marriage Conference

We are excited to be hosting our first ever marriage conference here at PVC. Whether you've been married four weeks or forty years there are fundamental principles that govern the marriage relationship. When these principles are practiced, a couple is positioned to fall in love. When they are not, couples often fall out of love.

These principles could be looked at similar to a path. As you journey down the path, it takes you somewhere. The LovePath guides you through falling in love, growing in love, or, when necessary, rescuing lost love.

Special guest and founder of The LovePath,  Joe Beam, will be speaking at our first annual Marriage Conference. Joe comes with years of experience working with marriages. He’s been featured on Good Morning America, The Today Show, Focus on the Family and authored over five books, including Becoming One: Emotionally, Spiritually & Sexually,Getting Past Guilt and Your Love Path. Here are a few of the topics the sessions will be addressing:

• What makes us attractive to our spouses
• How to resolve conflict
• How to forgive
• Sexual fulfillment in marriage

A few years back Joe Beam was featured on The Montel Williams Show as Montel was digging into the story of a marriage that was beyond hope, yet somehow the couple began following a few simply principles that miracously brought them back together. These principles are those laid out in Joe Beam's LovePath. You can check out an excerpt from the actual show below.



For more information or to register for the upcoming conference.

Life is Better in Groups

An academic journal called The Journal of Happiness Studies publishes studies using the tools of research to identify what makes human life flourish. When researchers look at what distinguishes quite happy people from less happy people, one factor consistently separates those two groups. It is not how much money you have; it is not your health, security, attractiveness, IQ, or career success. What distinguishes consistently happier people from less happy people is the presence of rich, deep, joy-producing, life-changing, meaningful relationships. 

This week at PVC, we're launching our fall groups - from Flag Football to Divorce Care and everything in between. As the church grows larger, the challenge is to simultaneously grow smaller. Groups are one of the ways that we are endeavoring to grow smaller. A smaller venue where people can simply connect with one another and grow closer to Christ.

Life is Better in Groups.

The Learning Revolution

A while back, I referenced one of my favorite talks by Sir Ken Robinson. In this talk, he explores the idea of - Do Schools Kill Creativity?

Recently, Robinson gave another talk Bring on the Learning Revolution. Here, he makes several interesting comments that have great relevance on education, creativity and personal pursuit of passion(s). Several of his later remarks would make great conversation pieces as it relates to the Church. Rather than extract various thoughts and quotes, I've simply posted the 18:00 presentation.

Summer Days

“In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.” (2 Samuel 11:1)

In short, first of all, we are told that every year “in the spring” the kings would “go off to war.” It was a part of the rhythm of the king(s). On this particular occasion, the text says, “David remained in Jerusalem.” Things go down hill from there…

Something happens every year about this time. As schools wrap up, people begin to get in “summer mode.” There’s a mindset that many people undertake. An element of ease fills the air. We begin to think about vacation. About unwinding. About getting away.

Is there anything we could learn from 2 Samuel 11?

Interestingly, studies among Christian publishers show that books sales significantly drop during the spring-summer season. People still buy the Christianized romance novels and the like. However, as it relates to the books on spiritual formation, growth and development -- sales diminish.

Many churches even seem to fall prey to this. Expectations are lowered. At times less energy, creativity and resources are invested in messages, series and programs. Numbers are expected to drop.

Be that as it may, summer is actually a time to be intentional about one’s personal growth, as well as that of the local church. Many of us have more time. What would it look like to really dig into a formative book or an in-depth study of a book of the Bible?

Many have extra time and increased desire to engage others in community. How could the local church use this to create venues for others to get together?

What would it look like (for individuals and church ministries) to raise the bar over the summer season?

"Woe to you who are at ease in Zion."
~Amos 6:1

Sundays Coming...

Ever thought about why we do what we do? How we do it? When we do it? The way we do it?

Here's an interestingly look at Sunday Mornings... Does it resemble your church?

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

Cell Phone Etiquette

PSA: Please Silence Your Cell Phones from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

Creating Community

Recently, Kent Shaffer posted a quick review of the book The Tangible Kingdom Primer, a self-described 8-week guide to incarnational community. Written by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, The Tangible Kingdom Primer explores how to become mission-minded and then act on it by creating authentic community.

It is a cleverly designed workbook with lots of graphics and even more questions intended to take you on a journey through the ideas. To get the best flavor of this workbook, here is a sample question from each week:

1. How much time per week are you willing to give to building deeper relationships with them?
2. Who in your life needs you to be an advocate for them now?
3. Is your own view of the Gospel missing anything?
4. What would you need to change to incorporate more opportunities for community to take place in your life?
5. Considering the relationships that God has brought into your life, what are your responsibilities to them now?
6. Who are some of the people in your life that you are currently investing in relationally?
7. As you consider the differences between passive discipleship and apprenticeship, how would you describe your own life?
8. How can you work with God so that you are more accessible to people and more available for God?

The Tangible Kingdom Primer is a great way to immerse yourself in thinking about community. It is an area that I need to improve. What about you?

Do you thrive at creating community or do you get lost in your own world? What are your pitfalls or keys to success?

New Series :: DAVID

Tonight we kick of a new series in New Community. We're going to be looking at the life of David.

Except for Jesus, there is more written about his life than any other character in Scripture. Unfortunately, our flashbacks to flannel-boards and David & Goliath story-sound-bytes have shrouded our understanding of David and perhaps kept us from digging beneath the surface of the story itself.

David's life is a fascinating drama that's narrated by a brilliant story-teller. I'm looking forward to what we'll discover...

Day 11 of Lent :: The Empty Chair

“Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom
one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.”

John 13:23

There once was an old man dying of cancer. The old man’s daughter had asked the local priest to come and pray with her father. When the priest arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. “1 guess you were expecting me,” he said. “No, who are you?” “I’m the new associate at your parish,” the priest replied. “When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up.”

“Oh yeah, the chair,” said the bedridden man. “Would you mind closing the door?” Puzzled, the priest shut the door. “I’ve never told anyone this, not even my daughter,” said the man, “but all my life I have never known how to pray. At the Sunday Mass I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it always went right over my head. Finally I said to him one day in sheer frustration, ‘I get nothing out of your homilies on prayer.’

“’Here,’ says my pastor reaching into the bottom drawer of his desk. ‘Read this book by Hans Urs von Balthasar. He’s a Swiss theologian. It’s the best book on contemplative prayer in the twentieth century.’

“Well, Father,” says the man, “I took the book home and tried to read it. But in the first three pages I had to look up twelve words in the dictionary. I gave the book back to my pastor, thanked him, and under my breath whispered ‘for nothin’.’

“I abandoned any attempt at prayer,” he continued, “until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, ‘Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here’s what I suggest. Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It’s not spooky because He promised, ‘I’ll be with you all days.’ Then just speak to Him and listen in the same way you’re doing with me right now.’

“So, Padre, I tried it, and I’ve liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I’m careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she’d either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.”

The priest was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the rectory. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the priest that her daddy had died that afternoon.

“Did he seem to die in peace?” he asked. “Yes, when I left the house around two o’clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me one of his corny jokes, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange, Father. In fact beyond strange, kinda weird. Apparently just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on a chair beside the bed.”
(Brennan Manning, Lion and Lamb: The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus, 129-130.)

Developing intimacy cannot be achieved without
an intentional relationship,
whereby we practice the art of tuning our ears
to hear the Unseen One in the empty chair.

Reflection: Reflect on the portrait of intimacy described in this story. Do you have a similar sense of Christ’s nearness when you pray? Perhaps you’d benefit from doing as He did. Others find a greater sense of intimacy experienced as they write out their prayers to God. This week, explore different ways of engaging God like this.

Action: What and how are you fasting this week?

Fasting Focus :: Second Week of Lent

Fasting Focus

Each week you will be provided with a fasting focus for that week. They are meant to be supplementary to any other form of fasting you have sensed God’s leading in thus far.

Second Week of Lent :: Intimacy

Distractions

This week we’ll be focusing on growing in intimacy with Christ. As such, we will be fasting from distractions. As we saw last week, often we are most uncomfortable in silence and solitude when we are left to ourselves.

This week spend a minimum of 15 consecutive minutes a day in prayer and meditation.

Talk to God about more than just the things you want. Share your dreams with Him; your fears; your questions. What does it feel like to really and truly bare yourself before God?

What does it feel like to offer Him the time to speak to and restore you?

Day 6 of Lent :: Unplugging

“We do not live more fully merely by doing more,
seeing more, tasting more,
and experiencing more than we ever have before.
On the contrary, some of us need to discover that
we will not begin to live more fully
until we have the courage to do and

see and taste and experience much less than usual.”
Thomas Merton

It almost seems that modern life is designed to prevent meaningful time alone in quietness, reflection, and prayer. On some level, it actually is.

Providers of goods and services make their profits when you are interacting with their products, not off in quiet reflection. Movie makers do all they can to get you to watch, restaurateurs urge you to dine; store owners push you to shop.

Amid these wearying patterns of activity, even our moments of escape often involve little more than passive consumption of media. And so, images and sound pervade almost every leisure hour. As Italian film director Ferico Fellini described, all of this, particularly television, “has mutilated our capacity for solitude. It has violated our most intimate, private, and secret dimension.” (Revolutionary Communicator, 119)

Reflection:

How do you feel about Italian film director Fellini’s statement stating that television, “has mutilated our capacity for solitude. It has violated our most intimate, private, and secret dimension”?

On average, American adults watch television 4–4.5 hours daily. That’s a total of 1,460 hours or 60 days out of each year (this does not include other media such as DVDs, Internet, etc - Nielsen Media Research).

On average, how many hours of television do you watch each day/week?

Action:

Perhaps one of the things you could fast during this season is the quantity of time you spend watching television. This could be a daily viewing time limit, designated no-TV days, or perhaps choosing to unplug the television for a extended period of time.

Remember, the message isn’t that television is inherently evil, rather we are looking for ways in which we can create space to meet with God and others.

Day 5 of Lent :: Withdrawing

“Jesus often withdrew

to the wilderness and prayed.”

(Luke 5:16 NKJ)

On a number of occasions, the Gospels record Jesus withdrawing to the wilderness. The purpose of these excursions weren’t the result of some introverted tendencies or the like. Jesus wasn’t merely drawing away from people or circumstances, rather He was drawing near to the true Source of life – God Himself. He was intentionally creating time and space to be with God. Such time and space doesn’t emerge automatically; it requires discipline.

Reflection:
When is there time during your day that you can “withdraw” from everything and everyone else simply to be with God?

What activity could you withdraw from to create such space?

This isn’t merely a few moments to tell God what we need and how we want it. This is not a time for speaking, but listening. Just as listening precedes speaking in the development of a child’s language skills, so listening is to be the first expression of our communication with God in prayer. Find time each day to withdraw from everything and spend time with God.

“God dwells wherever humans let Him in.”
Martin Buber

“God is closer to your soul than you are yourself.”
Augustine of Hippo

The ancient Jews believed that prayer began with an intentional awareness of God’s presence: know “before whom you are standing.”

Today practice listening
with all your heart and mind.
Listen to others.
Listen to God.

Fasting Focus :: First Week of Lent

Fasting Focus
Each week you will be provided with a fasting focus for that week. They are meant to be supplementary to any other form of fasting you have sensed God’s leading in thus far.

Historically, fasts begin Monday and end Saturday. Many break their fasting on Sundays. Sundays are set aside as “Feast” days in celebration of the goodness Jesus brings. You may do each fast for the week and only for that week, or consider letting them build on each other, so that by the end of Lent, you are doing all five weekly fasts at the same time.

First Week of Lent
Invitation to Journey

Television, Music & Media
This week we will be fasting television, music and media. As such, forego the usual television shows that you would watch. In fact, turn off the TV altogether. Drive without the radio. Leave the iPod at home.

Pay attention to the following: What is it like to increase the silence by decreasing the media inputs into your life? Do you miss it? Does it make you anxious? Relaxed? Something else?

What does your reaction to this fast tell you about your connectedness to media?
Keep journal entries of what silence does for you, what missing certain shows/events means.

This week’s devotional entries will guide us through activities and practices we can do to fill the place of noise. In all of them, the goal is to help us in developing an ear to listen for and become attune to the still small voice of God.

forty words of lent in motion

We developed a devotional journal to go along with our Lent series (forty), that starts tonight (Ash Wednesday). I'm looking forward to what transpires in my own heart (as well as within my family and church community) as a result of journeying through the devotional together.

Our graphic designer Joe Cavazos took forty key words that we'll be using during this series and created the graphic for the series and the cover design for the devotional.

Here's what three fascinating hours of his day looked like as he pulled this together:

Forty Day Lent Devotional

This year, we developed a forty day devotional-journal to serve as a community guide through Lent. We had these published in booklet format and made available. Each day, I'll be posting the daily entries.

What is the devotional-journal for?
This devotional has been written to serve as a community guide during this Lenten season. There is a daily entry for the next forty days, excluding Sundays. Each day will contain a reading from Scripture, a short reflection, along with a prayer focus and practical ways to engage God throughout the day.

Consider now, setting aside time each day to read, reflect, pray and engage God. Often there will be space for you to write out your thoughts, observations, feelings and prayers. Writing out such things can be a powerful spiritual practice. “Thoughts disentangle themselves,” said Dawson Trotman, “when they pass through the lips and the fingertips.”

Forty Days of Lent

Forty days. Forty nights. Forty years.

Throughout the Scriptures God uses moments of forty to work in the lives of His people. To test. To renew. To grow. To direct. Forty designated a time when God engaged humanity in exceptional, memorable and life-transforming ways. Our desire is for God to do something extraordinary in our lives during this moment of forty spent in devotion to Him.


The season of Lent is a time for reflection, repentance, and renewal – when Christians are invited to prepare themselves spiritually for the celebration of the resurrection of Christ. Lent is often portrayed as a journey. It is a journey from one point in time (typically Ash Wednesday) to another point in time (Easter). Its purpose is to create space in our lives to experience God. “The Lenten journey,” writes Judy Bauer “is also a process of spiritual growth and, as such, presumes movement from one state of being to another state.”


As a Christ-community, we are setting aside the next 40 days to be intentional about pursuing God in our daily lives. Our prayer is that we experience a greater sense of the Presence of Christ in our lives as we become further formed into the image of Christ.

forty :: engaging the movements of Lent from Jerrell Jobe on Vimeo.

How Christianity Transformed Civilization :: part 5

Civilization Transformed

“"These who have turned
the world upside down
have come here too.”
(Acts 17:6)

“Everything that Jesus Christ touched,” writes Dr. Kennedy, “He utterly transformed. He touched time when He was born into this world; He had a birthday and that birthday utterly altered the way we measure time.[i]”[ii] Kennedy continues,

“Someone has said He has turned aside the river of ages out of its course and lifted the centuries off their hinges. Now, the whole world counts time as Before Christ (B.C.) and A.D. Unfortunately, in most cases, our generation today doesn’t even know that A.D. means Anno Domini, ‘In the year of the Lord.’”

Jesus utterly transformed everything He touched. “Not only countless individual lives,” writes Paul Maier, professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University “but civilization itself was transformed by Jesus Christ.”[iii] Professor Maier continues,

In the ancient world, his teachings elevated brutish standards of morality, halted infanticide, enhanced human life, emancipated women, abolished slavery, inspired charities and relief organizations, created hospitals, established orphanages, and founded schools.

In medieval times, Christianity almost single-handedly kept classical culture alive through recopying manuscripts, building libraries, moderating warfare through truce days, and providing dispute arbitration. It was Christians who invented colleges and universities, dignified labor as a divine vocation, and extended the light of civilization to barbarians on the frontiers.

In the modern era, Christian teaching, properly expressed, advanced science, instilled concepts of political and social and economic freedom, fostered justice, and provided the greatest single source of inspiration for magnificent achievements in art, architecture, music, and literature that we treasure to the present day.

Jesus says in Revelations 21:5, “Behold, I make all things new.” “Behold!” This is the Greek word idou, which means to “note well,” “look closely,” and “examine carefully.” As we do so, it isn’t long before we see that it was the cause of Christ and the mission that He sent His first disciples on that has truly turned the world upside down and made things new. Some of His last words were, “Go into all the world…” And as we look at the world almost 2,000 years later, we see time and time again the imprint of Christ and His followers around the globe.

Take a few moments and brainstorm how we as individuals and as the Church can make a mark in the midst of the world we live and practically fulfill the call of Christ to “go into all the world” whether that “world” be another country or in your back yard.

Prayer…

God help us to not focus on how big the world is and become overwhelmed
but to focus on the one in front of us. Whether that person be our spouse,
a parent, teacher, or a stranger; help us to be led by your spirit
to ‘See a need, Fill a need’.

---

[i] Dionysius Exiguus, a Scythian monk, created “the Christian era” in A.D. 525. He began time with the birth of Christ at A.D. 1. He was later proven to be off by 4 years, which means that Christ was born four years Before Christ! No matter, for the coming of the Son of God into our world demarcates the history of our world. It has never been the same since.

[ii] Kennedy, What if Jesus had Never Been Born?, 1-2.

[iii] Schmidt, Under the Influence, 8.