Wow it’s been quite a while

As I’ve mentioned before…sometimes I need a technodetox from all the online information. I hear from my dear friends how damaging this is for my online blogging righteousness. I think I’m out of my online funk for now, so I’ll start posting again.

Let me get you caught up:

1-Things are really busy. Good, but busy.
2-We’re launching our El Cajon church plant February 11th. This is site #3. I’m blessed and really excited about serving and loving El Cajon (East San Diego).
3-I’ve got quite a bit of writing to do. Papers for my masters class. A lecture for UCSD on the problem of evil. Weekly sermons (two different messages each week for now). Thinking through and rewriting our membership class, eldership development, leadership development, introduction to Kaleo class, etc.
4-SDSU is bumpin! We’ve had a good turnout the last couple of weeks as we’ve been diving into biblical feminitity, masculinity, wives, husbands, and this week is courtship and next week is sex! God has been so good to teach us the beauty of Himself and who we are before Him.
5-I’m going to be traveling quite a bit this year. I’m in Orlando next week at the GCA conference as well as a meeting with Steve Childers and the other A29 regional captains. Very much looking forward to meeting Steve and attending. I’m also going to be a certified church planting coach through Redeemer as we meet with them in Seattle in March and in St. Louis in November.
6-Kaleo putting on a great A29 Regional event called “The Gospel Gone Public” which will have Mike Goheen (author of the Drama of Scripture) lecturing on 1) The Gospel Story and Worldivew, 2) A Missional Ecclesiology, and Dick Kaufmann from Harbor Presbyterian will be speaking in the 3rd session on “The Preperation and Preaching of Gospel-Centered Messages” and I’ll be finishing the 4th with “The Vision and Values of A29.” The date will be March 31st. I’ll put up more specifics soon.
7-I just returned from Big Bear with our Elders and Deacons for a time of refreshment and brotherhood. It was really great, and the general theme seemed to be suffering. We all recognized that we need to be praying as we believe God is going is going to teach us what it means to suffer for His name sake.
8-Just finished Galatains this last Sunday which has been a great blessing these last 8 months as a church. We’re going to start Acts Feb. 11th.
9-Preparing a message for this Sunday on suffering, which is really breaking my heart. Please keep me in prayer.
10-Kaleo is launching the Kaleo Christian Counseling Center which will be unique to San Diego and SoCal. It’s going to be a counseling centered devoted to Gospel-Centered transformation and counsel. A very dear brother and soon to be elder candidate for Kaleo has moved out with his wife and lovely kids from Philly to start this up and seek to serve San Diego in a way that is focused, centered, and driven from and to the Gospel.
11-My other two elders are studs. I love Tom Moller and Drew Goodmanson. Those two guys bless my soul. Chris Neynaber who is an elder candidate is also a great blessing along with the best deacons around- Scott Moreland, Mike Tousley, Mike Hardwick, and Chris Vega. All great men. Plus, God is bringing up some solid guys within Kaleo that I expect will be elder candidates in the near future. God is also bringing men in from outside of Kaleo that are getting the vision of a transformed city by the work of a transformed church.
12-We are now homeschooling Madison so please pray for my wife Grace and Madison as they go through a time of transition.

That’s really all I can think of for right now. I plan on taking notes from the conferences and putting them up online. I think they’ll help. Plus, I am hoping to finish up my triperspectival explanation of ministry here at Kaleo since quite a few guys are requesting that information.

Please keep Kaleo in prayer. Things are busy and without seeking Christ could easily become overwhelming in a negative way. I have great confidence in our Lord and His Gospel and look forward to more idols getting toppled in my heart this year!