Some people have asked me how I can stand living in a place where an earthquake can hit any time. I'll tell you what...I'll take a little shake every once in a while over what the people in Lousiana are dealing with right now. It looks like a war zone!
Check out Time Magazine's photo essay here.

3 years ago when I filled up my car it cost me $24. Today I hit $40 for the first time. I'm now looking for a good horse to trade my car in for.

We had a short but fun visit with Adam and Delvyn a couple days ago. The first night they were here someone tried to steal my bike off the back porch. I'd like to say we caught them in the act and went all Kung Fu on them but we didn't. I found it hanging off the hooks still locked on to Jessica's purple huffy.

On Monday Delvyn found out that it takes nary a step to give away a sandwich in Arcata as we perused the plaza.

Night dos involved a city league softball game and an Indian Gaming Casino. Need I say more? I think not.
Good chillin with you guys!

Just a typical night in Humboldt County:
First we went to the fair and found Super Sheep...then jumped to The Church for a sweet worship time (no we didn't worship super sheep).

I'd like to make a "pie in the sky" comment about how God is stirring the church, or that something big is about to happen in my area. Unfortunatley I can't. I can however, say that God is stirring something in the heart of a church kid who has become increasingly bored with what is offered on Sunday morning and at most Christian events.

I recently heard Mark Driscoll who is a pastor and author speak here in Humboldt. That, along with a quote by Phillip Yancy (who has a sweet fro) in a recent interview has got me thinking a lot.
Here's the quote: "We need to recover the excitement that you see in the book of Acts, where people flock to the Way not because someone is browbeating them but because there’s nothing else even comparable."

Isn't that so true? I mean we call it the Good News don't we? The good news is that the sin (addictions, despair, lust, hopelessness, etc.) that has it's grip on our lives can be overcome because of what Jesus did. Jesus said himself that he didn't come to condemn the world but to save it (John 3:17). You can see in His ministry that he pointed sin out to people, like the woman at the well, (John 4:17) but in a way that wasn't condemning but freeing. So it's time for Christians to do the same. To live in a way that impacts, engages, and loves instead of condemns. Jesus did it, so can we.

Some more music to check out that's pretty good. I went to school with Sara Bareilles and she apparently has toured with Maroon 5 and just signed a deal with Epic Records.

Our church is running a basketball camp this week and because we live in a small town it's being covered by local media. I was interviewed by a newspaper and local TV station which is airing the segment tonight.

UPDATE: You can check out the small article here.
    & nbsp;   &n bsp;   &nb sp;We'll be showing the TV spot at church on Sunday. 

There's been a shift in how the church does evangelism and our purpose for running these camps has been evangelistic. The reality is that God wants to use your giftings and passions to be His hands and feet to the world. Old Skool Christianity has painted a one sided picture of what it looks like to be an evangelist and fortunately those old boxes are being shredded. What is it you are passionate about? Use those things to connect with people and live your life in an intentional way.

I got turned onto these guys when their lead guitar player came up and played with Anthony Skinner. Check out The Daylights, I guarantee you'll be hearing them soon. You can listen to some samples off of their EP here.

My brother Ben is in need of some cash. He's planning on going to Cambodia on a 4 month outreach but is short several thousand dollars. More than half his money is due on August 11th and the rest is due September 8th. If you would like to support him you can drop me a line and I can give you more information.

Issues I'm hoping to tackle in an upcoming series (starting Aug. 11th) I think I'm going to call something like "The Jesus Culture":
• The balance between engaging culture and being influenced by it.
• The difference between becoming like Christ and becoming a middle class, white, robotic Christian that uses 2000 year old Hebrew/Greek words to communicate.
• Universal truth of the Bible vs. made up traditions of man disguise d as truth.
• True 'minis try' and what it looks like as lived by Jesus.

And some questions to ask:
• Are you influenced by culture, influencing culture, or removed from culture? And to what degree?
• How many non-Christian friends do you have?
• What culture (or sub-culture) do you avoid at all costs?
• Do you feel at home in today's Christian culture?

Camp last week was dope. About 25 kids gave their lives to Christ and about that same amount made recommitments. It was a physically exhausting week but a spiritually refreshing one as well. We had over 130 8th and 9th graders so it was a mission to keep everything in order but the staff was tremendous and it was a really frutiful time.  
This month is going to be really, really busy!

- Jess graduates next week and the In-Laws will be in town
- Pastor Rick is taking 3 weeks of vacation and I will be preaching a series called "The Jesus Culture"
- Oasis (our college/career group) is starting back up and we will be attempting to remodel a new room to meet in
- Meeting #2 of local college/career ministers is happening
...and a whole lot of other stuff that I won't bore you with.