Moving In!

We just received our TO (temporary occupancy permit) for our new building, which means that we can have worship there on Sunday. Can't have classes yet. We will get our final inspection on Wednesday, then we can use the whole building! Yea!

It has been a long process! Can't believe that we broke ground way back in March. I'll post some pictures soon

Needless to say, my movie watching and my reading time have gone by the wayside the last few months. Anything good I've missed? How bout 3-10 to Yuma?

Good to see a new season has begun. Can't wait to watch Bones, House, LOST, "24", Survivor . . Any new shows look good to you? I'm think I'm done with Prison Break. It's not working for me anymore. Seems to have lost it's tension - or is it just me? I might try Numbers - I've heard good things. Too late to get into Heroes?

I've heard that LOST doesn't start until next Feburary? Good thing - no stops in new shows until the end of May. Long time to wait!

Power lines

Received some GREAT news yesterday! The city of West Jordan has been insisting for the last six months that we bury a power line on our property, although it is a line that we would not use! Cost? Between 50 and 100,000 dollars! We were on the agenda for the city counsel meeting Wednesday night to discuss our objections to the power line.

Some men gathered early Wenesday morning to pray about his matter. A few hours later - the city attorney called to say that he agreed with us! No buried power line! Praise God! A weight lifted off our shoulders!

We're just about a week away from getting our occupancy permit. One more week worshiping at Oquirrh Elementary then we're in the new building!

Carpet is almost all installed. The ceiling tiles go in today in the foyer and classrooms. The foyer bathrooms are almost done - just a little more grouting and a few unirals to go! Almost there!

Saturday we hope to have 100 people for a workday - finishing up some landscaping details and beginning the final clean up.

Stitches in two fingers!

Had a great time of worship at Oquirrh Elementary on Sunday. Our church is homeless for a few weeks as we wait for our building to be completed. Had a great crowd; good spirit in worship; people hung around until I asked them to leave because our time was up (according to our rental aggrement). I really like the times we worship "off site" - church in the park, at the school. Does your congregation ever worship out of it's building?

I received nine stitches in two fingers while putting the light canisters in the ceiling frame on Friday afternoon. It's the most serious accident we've had on site; so, I guess we've been very blessed with safety during construction.

We planted 103 trees on Saturday! 23 churches bought trees for our "unity forest"! We're hoping the media will cover the story, including KLOVE.

Reading any good books?

Rambling

I was hoping to get to the ACU lectures next week; however, with the construction nearing completion I thought that I better stay here and keep the home fires burning. If anyone goes, let me know what CD's to order.

Learned to lay tile yesterday. Always good to learn a new skill. I'll put that on top of installing OSB board, putting up rock facia and now - laying tile. A brother always needs new skills.

I'm up to season 4 of "24". My goal is to get up to season 7 by January. Loved season 3! Holy cow! Each eposide was tense and exciting with a lot of surprised along the way.

Me and good buddy ( a baptist pastor here in Salt Lake) are heading to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the Arkansas vs. Auburn game Oct.13. Can't wait! We're making it a razorback road trip. My brother lives close by in Hogeye. Haven't see a Razorback game live in a long time. Looking forward to watching Darren McFadden/Felix Jones/Payton Hillis tear it up. WPS!!

A Moving Day

Yesterday was our last worship assembly in our old building. We had a great time of worship with Valley Christian Church. Valley is the church that purchased our building. Their minister, Kent Turpin, was brought to the Lord through the Southside Church twenty years ago. Now, that's a God thing!

Lew Hancock, the first "part-time" minister came and shared some memories with us. Kent spoke of Valley's vision for the future. A very moving assembly! It is amazing our attached we get to places and buildings! Lots of memories in that place!

As soon as the closing song was over, we began loading a semi-truck with all our belongings. The move went very smoothly as we had over 100 that pitched in to help! I love it when a community acts like a community!

Carpet goes in today at the new building! Interior doors are being hung. The landscaping is going in as well. Saturday we will plant over 50 trees - including about 25 churches who have bought a tree and are coming Saturday to plant them! Now, THAT's a God thing! I call it our "unity forest". We hope to get some good media coverage, including KLOVE.

Posting Again!

It's been a very hectic summer getting this building constructed. We've done a lot of the work ourselves, which has been taxing - but as brought a sense of community which has brought us all closer together.

We're in the final stages. Painting. Laying tile. Putting in the springler system. That kind of thing. Our goal is to be in by Sept.16th. Don't think we'll make it. If not, we will worship at Oquirrh Elementary, kittly corner to our building, for a few weeks.


Just saw the movie "September Dawn". The movie is about the Mountian Meadows Massacre which occured in southern Utah in 1857. 127 men, women and children were shot down in cold blooded murder (it was a wagon train from Arkansas). If you have an interest in Mormon history, I would encourage you to go see it.

What is your favorite movie of the summer so far?

In a few weeks we are planting trees on the new property. The cool thing about that is about 20 churches have bought trees and are coming to plant them on the 15th of Sept. I love that! There is a lot of symbolism in that! If your church would like to give a tree, just let me know.

Can't believe I haven't posted since July 23! Where did the summer go?!

Thoughts on Preaching

Jesus was primarily a story teller. No question. He used familiar themes (nets, pearls, fishing, etc) and gave them new meaning. His parables were very simple, easy to understand stories. Some were humorous. Some were sad. They all had a shock value - introducing the new values of the Kingdom of God into the world.

A few Sundays ago I was telling a story for the "sermon". Got a note from one of our visitors - it read, "I don't come to hear about personal stories! We've all got stories. Not enough Bible. Needed more Bible!" A few years ago a retired "gospel preacher" told me that I would make a fine gospel preacher one day myself if I would just quit telling so many stories and start "preaching". (I ask him to go to the gospels and count how many stories Jesus told versus how many "sermons" he preached. He never got back to me.)

Now, this person didn't qualify what "enough" would have been. (I used three verses). Being a older Christian (I would put her in her mid 70's) - I realize that she comes from a different generation - and being a "lifer" in the "c of C" - I realize that comes with some built in slants as well.

However, I even began my "story" with the thought that Jesus was a story teller. And in that vain, let me tell you a story . . . .

Sometimes we say that we want to do things just like Jesus. Many times we just don't mean it. I think we do that we a lot of things, don't we?

VBS and other things

Another VBS is over. I must say, we do a good VBS! Last night we capped it off with the Carnival in the Park. Now we turn our attention to packing up the building. Next week we put the rock facia on the new building. Things are really coming along! Go to our website to see the progress (www.southsidechurchutah.org)

I'm well into the second season of "24". Looking forward to getting the 7th and final Harry Potter book tonight. My daughters are excited about the movie "Hairspray". Oh, boy.

Won't get in a vacation in this summer. Where have you gone this summer?

Great idea for your cell phone!

Went to Target yesterday. Found software called "Ringfactory" for $9.99. It turns any music on your PC into a ringtone! You can even pick the part of the song you want as your ringtone! That's pretty neat!



Verizon charges $2.99 to download a song, plus $1.00 a month. This is $10 for unlimited downloads with no monthly charge! Now, that is a beautiful thing!



Yesterday, I downloaded the Andy Griffith theme song as my ringtone! Yeah, baby, that's what I'm talking about! Today, I'm putting on the Arkansas fight song so when Scott Warren calls me (a fellow Hog fan) I will hear the ole fight song to let me know who is calling.



If you're on Verizon, you may want to check out this cheap alternative to creative ringtones for your cell phone.

Checking in !

Haven't posted for a while, so thought I would check in! It's been one of those summers. We're providing volunteer labor on our construction of our new church building. We also have VBS going on right now. That takes a lot of time. We always wind up VBS with a Carnival in The Park. If that is not enough, we are beginning to pack everything up in the current building!

Right now, I'm reading "Made to Stick" by Chip Heath & Dan Heath. A great book for all communicators. I'm also reading "Life of Pi". Haven't made my mind up on the book yet. Has anyone read it? Can't wait to get the final Harry Potter book on Friday night. I always go to the midnight party with my daughter. We have a great time.

Did catch "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" last week. While not my favorite HP movie, it served the book well. Enjoyed "Transformers" more than I thought I would. Did finish the first season of "24" on DVD. WOW!! I've already started season two. I hope to have watched all six seasons before season 7 begins.

What are you doing this summer? Its time to check in!

Anonymous

Have a great book to recommend. Right now I'm reading "Anonymous: Jesus' Hidden Years" by Alicia Britt Chole. She writes in a thoughtful, reflective tone. Here is a sample:

10% visible + 90% unseen = an indestructible life

Icebergs do not grow their virtually indestructible strength top down, but bottom up. Over countless millennia, falling snow melts and refreezes layer upon layer, creating enormous ice sheets over land and extending ice shelves over the sea. When chunks break off these icy masses they are referred to as icbergs and are monitored closely because of their profound effect upon sea life and shipping.

The point being that an iceberg's strength does not emerge overnight but grows slowly, layer upon layer, over time. Likewise, Jesus' spiritual reslove did not suddenly materialize the moment he stepped into the desert. His ability to throw out an anchor in God's Word and reposition his roaring feelings behind God's will was not an istant acquisition. That strength had been growing steadily in unapplauded places as Jesus developed a severely underrated value.

More tomorrow.

Back to Blogging!

Had one of those weeks! The garbage disposal went out. The dishwasher went out. The in-laws were here for the week. You get the picture!

Had a special contribution for our building project yesterday. The goal was $50,000. We collected $90,000!!! A lot of people sacrificed to make this happen! Even better, we're getting a lot of fringe people to come and volunteer some time on the building. (We're doing a lot of sweat equity). Some of our new members are volunteering too! Love it.

BUT - we are also having a booth at the Western Stampede Days in West Jordan, VBS is going forward! Our children's ministry is having Kid's Kamp on Sunday mornings, our women's ministry is hosting a women's day in August at Valley Assembly since our building will be in shambles with packing! We are not just about the building this summer!

The van was totaled. We're now trying to decide what to replace it with. We are leaning toward a Honda Odyssey. A friend of mine will sell me a brand new one for cost. (Still expensive!) I think we'll go for it. Just trying to get over having a car payment again after a few years without one.

I am back to driving a pick up! A member of Southside gave me (yes, gave me!) a 1997 Ford F150 pick up in excellent condition. A lot of people told me that it looks natural for me to be behind the wheel! First thing I had to do? Put a Razorback sticker on the back window. Now I just need to find a gun rack at a garage sale and I'm all set.

Hey, you can take the boy out of Arkansas, but you can't take Arkansas out of the boy!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Just want to wish all the Fathers a Happy Father's Day tomorrow. I think my family picked me up a copy of "Blazing Angels" for my Father's Day present. (It is a game for the Wiii; you fly war world two planes. Pretty cool!).

The last time I celebrated Father's Day was 1974. A few weeks later, my father passed away at age 41 of a cerebral hemmorage of the brain. I still miss him. I can still hear his voice. I can smell him. I can still hear his laugh.

I see my dad in certian expressions on my kids faces. He would have been a fun grandparent.

More and more, I see that I am becoming just like my dad in the things I say and do. I sure hope so.

I'm hooked

A friend of mine and I started watching "24" season one last night. Neither one of us had ever watched an episode. This conversation started at prayer breakfast a few weeks ago - we were bemoaning the lack of good shows to watch in the summer.
So, we made a pact to watch "24" to see what all the buzz was about. He found the first season DVDs for $19.99; I found season two for $16.99. We took it as a sign that we should indeed begin watching. We watched the first two episodes last night. Holy cow! We are both hooked!
Only 22 hours to go to finish day one.
Our goal is to get caught up by the time the new season starts! We got a lotta "24" to go! Any of you "24" fans?

Trying to rest up from being rear ended at a stop light last night! I think the van is totaled. I was trying to be a good husband and fill up my wife's minivan. A guy in a old Ford 150 smacked in the rear, sending me into the pickup in front of me. Both the back and front are pretty banged up. Sad thing is, the van was paid off last year and we were hoping to get at least 4 years of no car payments. Oh, well. I'm a little stiff and sore but nothing serious. A few trips to the ole chiopractor (spelling?) are probably in my future.

Construction is coming along on the new building. Tomorrow we start putting OSB board on the studs. We're doing it with all volunteer labor (us!). Just go to www.southsidechurchutah.org to see the latest updates on the construction.

Pilgrims Progress?

Nathaniel Philbrick offers this insightful description of the Pilgrims view of the church when they were are deciding whether to go to the New World or stay put:

Catholics and more conservative Protetants believed that the traditions of the church contained valid, time-honored additions to what was found in the Bible. Given man's fallen condition, no individual could presume to question the ancient, ceremonial truths of the established church.
But for the Pilgrims, man's fallen nature was precisely the point.
A Purtian believed it was necessary to venture back to the absolute beginning of Christianity, before the church had been corrupted by centuries of laxity and abuse, to locate divine truth. In lieu of time travel there was the Bible, with the New Testament providing the only reliable account of Christ's time on earth while the OT contained a rich storehouse of still vital truths. If something as not in the scriptures, it was a man-made distortion of what God intended. At once radical and deeply conservative, the Puritans had chosen to spurn thousands of years of accumalted tradition in favor of a text that gave them a direct and personal connection with God.
A Puritan had no use for the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, since it tampered with the original meaning of the Bible and inhibited the spontaneity that they felt was essential to attaining a true and honest glimpse of the divine. Puritans refused to kneel while tking communion, since there was no evidence that the apostles had done so during the Last Supper. There was also no biblical precent for making the sign of the cross when uttering Christ's name. Even more important, there was no precedent for the system of bishops that ran the Church of England. The only biblically sanctioned organizational unit was the individual congregation.
(pp, 8,9 "Mayflower).

Boy, that has a familiar ring to it, doesn't it? Fellow Pilgrims, have we made any progess in discarding traditions that have nothing to do with God's word?

Recommendations and reflections

Got a movie for you to go see. "Gracie" is based on the true life experience of actress Elizebeth Shue. She was the first girl to out for the boys soccer team in her high school in 1978. Dads, take your daughters to see this movie! You will be inspired.

Have a couple of books to recommend as well. "Mayflower" is a fasinating account of the pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower to settle in the New World. 'The Heavenly Man" is the story of one man's experience of being a minister in communist China. After reading this, you will not complain about anything! Both would make great summer reads. Have a book to recommend?

Went to the Truth Project workshop this past weekend. Awesome! Produced by Focus on the Family, it is designed as a small group study to encourage a Christian world view. Dr. Tel Tackett does a marvelous job of leading you through 7 basic areas in which we need a christian perspective. You have to attend a workshop to get a copy of the DVD set (which is included in the price of the workshop). I highly recommend this material!!! The production values are what you would come to expect from Focus on the Family.

Half time report

The year is nearly half over. I was just taking stock of how I'm doing on my new years resolutions. I lost my weight - in fact, I've already gained back about 5 pounds! SO - back on the diet as of today. I'm caught up in my One Year Bible reading. That's good. Those were my two big goals this year.

My ministry goals are also going very well. One was to get our new building completed - we should be in it by Sept.1! The worship planning team is going very well. We had a very successful bring your neighbor day. One thing we haven't done on the ministry goals is to get our guest services ministry up and going. Time to refocus on that!

In the prayer accountability group that I am in, we have five personal goals and five ministry goals that we review twice a week. It really helps to maintian those goals so you can prioritize time and keep focused on what is really important.

This Sunday marked the beginning of my fifthteenth year at Southside. God has indeed been good. I think our best days as a church are yet ahead of us.

People who have inspired me

My daughter told me that I was whinning in my last post. That wasn't my intent. I was trying to point out that preachers do a lot more stuff than people realize.



The USA Today ran an article for its 25th anniversary to site the people that have inspired them over the last 25 years. Some great names were on the list: people of flight United 93, Lance Armstrong, "Mattie", Oprah, Nelson Mandella, etc.



Got me to thinking about the people that have inspired me. (Jesus is a given). Here is a few on my list - in no order of importance following my parents and children :



1.) My father and mother.

2.) My children

3.) George Washington

4.) Abraham Lincoln

5.) Ronald Reagan

6.) Jerry Jones (teacher, mentor)

7.) Jimmy Allen (professor in college)

8.) Mrs. Howerton (my high school biology teacher)

9.) Bill Hybels

10.) Mrs. Humphrey (5th grade teacher)

11.) Norman Dale
12.) Brick Hendricks
13.) Ruby Bridges
14.) T.L.Spears
15.) Billy Blakney
16.) Max Lucado
17.) Alexander Campbell
18.) George Baldwin
19.) Lillie Rucks
20.) Lucille Walls
21.) Marcille Breeding
22.) Steve Saint
23.) "Mattie"
24.) JFK
25.) Martin Luther King, Jr.
26.) Marvin Phillips
27) Randy & Martha Crider
28.) Jackie Robinson
29.) People of United 93
30.) Jim Cymbala
31.) Steve Osborn
32.) Ann Kullberg
33.) Rick Atchley
34.) Mike Cope
35.) Harry Fox
36.) Chuck Mix
37.) George Patton
38.) Ben Franklin
39.) Harold Abrahams
40.) Steve Meeks
41.) Marshal Keeble
42.) Rick Warren
43.) Clint O. Crowe
44.) Erwin McManus
45.) Andy Stanley

I'm sure I'll think of a few more - right after I push the "publish" button. Here's a question worth pondering today - you has inspired you? and why?

What does a preacher do anyway?

I've been asked the question a million times - just what does a preacher do anyway, besides just working for one hour on Sunday?

Saturday (day off, right? It's a holiday weekend!) - we have a celebration for our high school graduates. Lasted about 2 hours. Our youth committee did a great job!

This past Sunday we only had one worship assembly (holiday weekend), with class at the normal time (10:15 a.m.) "Boy, Randy had a day off today!" What they don't know is that I was at the building at 7:45 a.m. to rearrange the chairs so I could get about thirty more chairs from the storeroom to allow for the one service. I then dowloaded my powerpoint slides, got the DVD I was using as an illustration all set; then downloaded the worship slides from gmail. That was all set. By now - it's about 9:00 a.m.

Saw that my secretary forgot to print the children's bulletins. I run them through the copier (both sides) and folded them. Time is now about 9:20 a.m.

While I'm doing this, the person in charge of the praise team asked me if I had a couple of minutes to help her do a mike check - she forget to tell the sound person to be there early. No problem I tell her - I've got all the time in the world!

I unlock all the doors for the building. Check the thermostat to a cool 68 - with a packed room it will get hot in a hurry.

Go to the kitchen to prepare the Lord's Supper. Our small group was in charge this month - so I go back to do that. Since we're having one service - we'll need two more trays of everything.
Time is now about 10:00 a.m.

During the class I take about five minutes to look over my sermon notes.

After class its apparent that we have a ton of guests! Need more chairs! A few guys see me getting folding chairs from the classrooms and pitch in to help!

Get a call that I'm to be in charge of the silt fence that surrounds the construction of our new building. That requires a staple gun and hammer. Got both so I'm qualified. Actually, I live just two blocks from the site ( I was NOT on the land committee!) - so I get volunteered for a lot of things. (For example, a few weeks ago I was called on to water the entire six acres with a fire hose for my Friday night's excitement!)

Monday morning (day off, right? ) I go to the building to put up the extra chairs and return th e folding chairs to their classrooms as our Christian school will need them. Have a nice picnic with a life group at a city park. I go back to the building around 10:15 p.m. to meet Won by One from Pepperdine and get them to their houses. night. They will sing for us on Tuesday Get home around 11:00 p.m.

It's good that I have a Master's Degree in Bible, otherwise I wouldn't be qualified to do these things! Actually, I'm like most preachers. A lot of what we do doesn't invovle our training. We just serve and do a lot of the day to day things that need to be done that no one will ever notice. Its not exciting work most of the time.

I do love what I do. I love ministry.

I do live for the day that all I think and worry about are preaching and people. Don't know if they day will ever come. It's a nice thought. Hey, a brother can dream, can't he?

But it does make me wonder - think Max Lucado ever sets up the chairs?

The Traveler's Gift

Just finished "A Traveler's Gift" by Andy Andrews. Pretty good book. A little cheesy, but I liked it. The sub title is "Seven Decisions That Determine Personal Success". Here are the seven decisions:

1.) The buck stops here.
2.) I will seek wisdom. I will be a servant to others.
3.) I am a person of action.
4.) I have a decided heart.
5.) Today, I will choose to be happy.
6.) I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit.
7.) I will persist without exception.

What I liked was that in each of these "decisions" - the character in the book went back in time to visit an historical figure who personified that particular trait. For example, in the first decision he has a conversation with Harry Truman. Would be a great gift for a high school grad.

Is there any question who will win American Idol? Jordan hands down. Of course, the best singer wasn't in the finale, but I've let that go. Melinda will have a great career, you just wait and see!

Looking forward to the LOST season finale tonight.

It's my "sabbath" day. I'm digging into David Baldacci's new book "Simple Genius". I'm also still listening to "1776" by David McCullough.