epiphany

In the News

Mars Hill gets a surprising amount of good press from Seattle. Today we made the front page of the Seattle P-I, including a very large photo from last Tuesday's 57 convert baptism at Golden Gardens. (The pastors are wearing wetsuits because they had to stand in the very cold Sound for a long time.) I didn't get to attend because of a scheduling conflict, but they put together a booklet of testimonies from each of the new believers*. (Warning: that file is 1.5 MB. If you don't have a fast connection, don't try to download it.) I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I thought I'd share it anyway.

I went to a Mars Hill outdoor baptism two summers ago, and the people's stories were really powerful. One in particular stands out in my memory. A man had planned to drown himself in Lake Union. When the time came, he found he couldn't go through with it. Shortly after, he was searching for truth and meaning and learned of Jesus' completed work on our behalf and the forgiveness available in and through him. (I don't know if he was going to Mars Hill at that time.) But at the very place he had planned to die several years earlier, he demonstrated his death to sin and self and his rising with Christ. He's since become a real leader in the church.

*Looks like the opening "What is baptism?" section didn't translate into the PDF. The explanation appears in sections throughout the booklet. I also heard that the the pastors gave a verbal explanation for those who did not get a booklet. Very simply, baptism is a visual example of Jesus' death and resurrection on our behalf. It is also symbolic of the believer dying to sin and his old life and rising again to eternal life in union in and with Christ.

Getting Busy

When I have little to do, I get little done. Hopefully that will change as I move into the fall. In a life worthy of Joy, I'm starting to take on more responsibilities apart from work.

I'm going to be helping with post-production on my church's new video programs. Actually, it looks like I'll be building a team to edit and burn DVDs of various sermons and classes. As we get started, a lot will rest on me. But as we build and train our group of volunteers, I'll likely move toward more of an oversight or managing role. Prior to last week, I knew only that I was going to be taking over one of the ongoing DVD projects. The extent of the role came as a bit of a shock. We're still in the process of imagining all that this position could be as we plan for the future of the church. It'll be a lot of work (I spent about seven hours at church Saturday getting some projects caught up to where they need to be), but it'll also be nice to have something constructive to do with my excess of free time.

In addition to that (actually, long before that), I've volunteered to start training for community group leadership. For those unfamiliar with the concept, a community group is a small group of people, most of whom are from church, who get together for a Bible study sometime during the week. If you're used to having a Wednesday night prayer meeting at your church, this is sort of a replacement that some churches use. I've been in an excellent one with Drew and Lisa over the past year (and the four months I was in Seattle in 2003). But it seems like there's a need for more groups, and I think that guiding a group would be a good way to help with my personal growth and my understanding and appllication of the Bible. So in addition to my present community group on Tuesday night, I'm going to be participating in an official church training group on Thursdays from September through November. Top that off with another two nights a week plus Saturday mornings (present estimate) for the video work, and Jonathan will finally be a busy boy.

But being appropriately busy is a good thing. While overwork can kill you, too little leads to mental rot. I'll have to see how things go throughout the fall and adjust my schedule and time commitments as necessary. Although it's a little scary from here, I'm definitely looking forward to autumn. With all the other things to do, I may actually get some of my own projects started and completed.

New View

I got thoroughly soaked walking home from church tonight. I had seen the forecast for rain and carried my small yellow umbrella with me all day. But a small yellow umbrella is no match for a tall man in a heavy rain. Everything from my knees downward is wet, and even my pockets are damp.

But rain is a good thing. During the summer, Seattle gets very little rain, so all of the unwatered yards turn a toasty brown. Rain means the seasons are changing. It means that Seattle will turn green again.

It also means that I discovered a beautiful new view from my apartment. Since Rainier and the Space Needle were clouded over, I looked toward the southwest tonight and saw layer upon layer of trees separated by sheets of rain. The watercolor layers floated back to the hill of Magnolia, which was capped by a thick gray sky.

It was too dark for a photo, but if I have a better opportunity, I'll be sure to post one.

Whoa, Baby!

A hearty congratulations to Drew and Lisa Maxwell on the birth of Madeline Lauden! Madeline arrived at 2:27 this morning. She weighs 8 lbs. 14 oz. and was right around 20 inches long.

I stopped by to see them after work (the hospital is across the street from our office). Mom, Dad, and baby are doing well. They expect to go home tomorrow.

(The other lady in the photos is Drew's mom.)

Good Article

Lame title. ;-)

While trying to study for community group tomorrow night, I stumbled across a very interesting entry on John Piper's site. It has nothing to do with what I was looking for, but I found it quite insightful.

New Apt.

I moved into my new apartment two weeks ago. It's big, quiet (generally), and warm (also generally).

We'll start our tour with the entry. The kitchen is an immediate right, with the livingroom being a slight right at the end of the short hallway.

Off the livingroom is the dining area, and off the dining area is the kitchen. The deck is also off the livingroom, with its views east, south (!), and west.

If you turned left instead of right from the entry hallway, you'd come to another short hallway (note the small closet on the left) that leads to the bathroom. At the end of the hall on the right, you come to the bedroom with its view (yes, that is Mt. Rainier!) and wall of closets!

Having moved from a house that had one closet in the entire building (and that was a hallway linen closet), I'm thrilled with the storage. I also didn't realize I had the view of the mountain until the day I moved in. Nice bonus!

It is far better furnished now, though I still have boxes out and haven't taken new photos.

Peace

This song's been running through my head lately, what with various recent occurances, among them, the death of a boy from my mom's church. We could all use a little bit of

Peace on Earth

Heaven on Earth
We need it now
I'm sick of all of this
Hanging around
Sick of sorrow
Sick of pain
Sick of hearing again and again
That there's gonna be
Peace on Earth

Where I grew up
There weren't many trees
Where there was we'd tear them down
And use them on our enemies
They say that what you mock
Will surely overtake you
And you become a monster
So the monster will not break you

It's already gone too far
Who said that if you go in hard
You won't get hurt

Jesus could you take the time
To throw a drowning man a line
Peace on Earth
Tell the ones who hear no sound
Whose sons are living in the ground
Peace on Earth
No whos or whys
No-one cries like a mother cries
For peace on Earth
She never got to say goodbye
To see the colour in his eyes
Now he's in the dirt
Peace on Earth

They're reading names out over the radio
All the folks the rest of us won't get to know
Sean and Julia, Gareth, Ann and Breda
Their lives are bigger than any big idea

Jesus can you take the time
To throw a drowning man a line
Peace on Earth
To tell the ones who hear no sound
Whose sons are living in the ground
Peace on Earth

Jesus this song you wrote
The words are sticking in my throat
Peace on Earth
Hear it every Christmas time
But hope and history won't rhyme
So what's it worth?
This peace on Earth

Peace on Earth
Peace on Earth
Peace on Earth

-- Bono