The Hull Truth… and nothing but

This past Sunday I had the incredible opportunity to preach at the Iberia Church of the Nazarene.  Iberia, Missouri is a very small rural, farming town.  I’ll make the newspaper by coming to town.  It is the place where my mother spent much of her childhood.  It’s where my grandfather bought the family farm (literally he bought the farm).  It’s where my uncle Ralph and Aunt Ruby and Cousins David and Daniel and their families live.

It is also where my great grandfather was the second pastor in the church’s history.   There are few other notable facts about the Iberia Nazarene Church – it was the home church of Haldor Lillenas (who founded Lillenas music company) and it is the only Nazarene church to have a jail on the premises.  That’s right… a jail.  It was built by the town in the 40’s (I think) to throw the drunks in.  They are currently changing the stand alone building into a prayer chapel – ah, redemption at its finest!

But I digress… It was incredibly significant for me to preach to that congregation out of my grandfather’s bible.  As much as I’m all for moving forward and re-imaging the way we do church, it was incredibly refreshing to be with this wonderful group of people as we worshiped together and let God’s Word encounter our lives.

Of course in good Nazarene tradition, after the service they had a good old fashioned pot-luck with some of the greatest collection of food I’ve seen and tasted in a long time.

God is faithful!  I’m so thankful that after many generations, God has faithfully called families to share their faith with others.

I’ve been working on this event for the last almost year.  I’m really excited that it is finally coming together and believe that God has some great things planned as people connect to Him and each other through this event.  Here is the info… hit me with questions!

I’d like to invite you to an exciting event that I’m a part of this fall. I think you’d really enjoy this type of event and hope you can make it. Give me a call if you have any questions.

Emergentia:

a gathering of co-journers for conversation on ministry in an emerging culture

When:

Nov. 5-8, 2008 – Portland, OR

hosted by Community of Adsideo

Who:

All practitioners, advocates and those in between who are doing and supporting ministry in an emerging culture.

Why emergentia:

Latin, n. – “an unforeseen occurrence”. As we join God in his work in this emerging and post-modern culture, we literally join God in helping the gospel “to rise up” or “to come to light” in new and exciting ways!

What:

This is a gathering of people who are doing and supporting ministry in an emerging culture. None of us have been here before and none of us are experts, but we all bring our lives and experiences with us to share. Therefore, the format of our Nazarene gathering will be largely conversational. The various conversations will be set and lead by those in attendance. (You could think of it as a place to have all the conversations we cram into meals and breaks at other conferences!) We will also serve together, learn together, play together, pray together and worship together.

Registration:

Cost will be $39/person to help cover facilities and administrative costs. Registrations after October 7 will be $49/person. Housing and meals will be on your own. You can register and get more information at uc.nyitoday.org. Once you register you’ll get information on housing options and message boards where you can submit topics for discussion, arrange ride sharing, etc.

Schedule:

We will begin registration at 6pm on Wednesday evening with opening session at 7:30pm. We will be finished by 11:30am on Saturday. (More details to follow.)

In collaboration with

USA/Canada Nazarene Youth International and USA/Canada Mission Evangelism/NewStart

We are in the process of moving in to a new home, office, town, community, etc.  We appreciate all your prayers and support through our move.

We pulled into town just in time Monday night for open houses at the kids’ schools.  Then found some food and our place to stay for the night.  Tuesday morning I couldn’t find the keys to the moving truck (they’d fallen out of my pocket at the restaurant the night before) and so that put us way behind schedule on getting the truck unloaded.  Since then we’ve been non-stop getting things unloaded and set up in our house.

It has been tougher than I had thought physically (I’m just plain sore and tired), but easier so far than I thought in other ways.  The kids seem to be finding a spot in their schools and the neighborhood with friends which is a major answer to prayer.  Carol’s mom has been with us through the move and has been a huge blessing!  I’m moving into my office right now and trying to get my head wrapped around the classes I’m teaching.  [Kate asked the question of the year as we pulled into town and drove by the campus... "Dad, do you even know HOW to teach?"]

We appreciate your continued prayers as we pray also for you all!