Church on The Rock Homer

I’ve been to prison… …and there is a difference between prison and jail. Jail is a place where you wait to be moved to your final destination. Prison is where you go to stay, to be confined…where you go to rot. I was recently reminded of a trip I took to San Francisco. While there I visited Alcatraz and I distinctly remember refusing to stand inside one of the cells. The thought of the door closin...

You know that moment when your brilliant idea suddenly reveals itself to be... not so brilliant? Mine came on our first vacation as a family. We were camping in Estes Park, down to our last few dollars before payday. When the kids wanted candy at the grocery store, I proudly stood firm: "No candy. Put it all back." Father of the Year material, right? Then I turned to my wife Renda, and her body la...

It gets messy. And complicated. “What about this?” “What about that?” And “Oh wow, didn’t expect that!” Look around, take a poll, everyone seems to agree, the world is broken and is inhabited by broken people. But few agree as to why.  According to the Proverbs, “Where there are no oxen, the stalls are clean.” You want a clean home? Get rid of the inhabitants. Scrub until every surface shines and...

You know what it's like to go to a new church as an adult not knowing what to expect. There are so many variables to consider especially if you're exploring or new to faith. What will they talk about, who will be there, will they ask anything of me, how much will I have to donate, will there be snakes on stage…etc. Coming to church as an outsider is a scary thing, especially when the church is suc...

Isn’t it interesting that we sing “O come O come….. Emmanuel?” Do you remember what Emmanuel means? It is a title given to God that means “God with us.” In other words, He is the God who is with us. And to the God who is with us, we sing “O come O come.” To the God who is already with us, please come CLOSER! Please engage! Please get involved in all of the nitty gritty details of our human affairs...

Before Maranatha and I were dating, our friend group liked to attend Christian concerts. One evening, we went to see Jake Hamilton, and after standing next to me and hearing me belt out every song, she told me that I have a good voice—but I can’t carry a tune. That was news to me. My wife is talented and gifted musically, and many of you have experienced her leading us into worship. For me, it is...

It’s human nature. We judge others by their actions yet we want to be judged by our intentions. You need to DO well. I need to MEAN well. “I didn’t mean it that way.” “I was planning to do that… I just forgot.” “I know I did, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care.” This week we’re going to crack open the book of James. Here’s a preview: Faith is more than meaning well. The life of following Jesus req...

You know that moment as a parent, where you walk into the room without your kids noticing and you catch them in a moment of weakness. Hitting, biting, scratching, shoving, and on and on. All kids are sinners, even the pastor’s kids… For a moment they thought they could get away with it, but this time there's no opportunity for defense, no need for an accuser. I saw it with my own two eyes and as t...

Ever had someone say somewhat dismissively “Well, you’re on your own.” In other words, I can’t join you where you are going. Or, I won’t join you. Sometimes this means I can’t support you in what you’re about to do. Like when someone says to me, “I’m trying to stop drinking coffee.” Well, you’re on your own. There is another more complex situation in which I say something like “I want to join you...

The memory of his booming voice still rings loud and clear in my mind. During my single digit years while living in Homer, I remember Ray Arno closing out many an evening service with the Eliza Hewitt hymn refrain: When we all get to heaven, What a day of rejoicing that will be! When we all see Jesus, We’ll sing and shout the victory! As an eight-year-old, I found myself both inspired by the air o...

Spring is in the air; can you feel it? Typically, I know Spring is around the corner because conversations about Little League begin. I played baseball as a kid and have fond memories of it. For the past five years I have coached T-ball, starting with our oldest at the age of 5. I calculate that I have three more years of coaching until our youngest moves up to coaches pitch. That will most defini...

I wrestled in high school. It was my main sport. However, I went to high school overseas where wrestling was not a competitive sport at the high school level. As a result, our entire season was spent preparing for one tournament that put us up against all the American military schools scattered throughout Southeast Asia. Our wrestling coach was very big into conditioning. His assertion was that if...

Isn’t it funny how certain people who dislike something are confronted about their choice by others who love the same thing. I often am confronted about my disdain for mayonnaise, especially by my parents. I eat salads dry, and admittedly not that often. But anytime I do, it never fails that I hear the remark, you’d like that better with dressing. Actually no, I wouldn’t. Or someone upon becoming...

Imagine being a complete and utter failure. But not just by some arbitrary standard. Imagine simultaneously failing every commitment you made to yourself and every commitment you made to others. Now imagine that someone had rudely predicted you would fail your own commitments and you forcefully assured otherwise. “I will not fail. I cannot fail. I must not fail. I PROMISE YOU, under no circumstanc...

I remember the moment I laid eyes on the woman with her hair put up under an ascot cap. We were both in a bar called The Whig in downtown Columbia, S.C. Our church used social events like this to draw in people who would not grace the doorway of a church building. We were there with separate groups who attended the same church. As I was introduced to her, I could not help but notice that she is a...

While living with my parents, sometime in early teens, we attended one of the oldest churches in the south. We'd dress in our Sunday finest, traverse the winding country roads, and find “our pew.” After a few stares from my parents, a pinch or two under the thigh, and some monotone words from the pulpit, we were free. The church would empty and we’d head to the car, ready to ditch the Sunday best...

For Thanksgivings in Homer I have been labeled the Mac n Cheese guy, according to my family. I have become the authority on noodles, spices, and cheese. Rightfully so, although I make it a little different than Pauline, my grandmother, it’s pretty delicious. For a few hours on Thursday morning I spend my time at the stove stirring a pot of delightful dairy products. It is not possible to walk away...

Does anyone know what the bicyclist hand motions actually mean?  I feel like blinkers are commonly understood and fairly self-explanatory; left side, left turn, right side, right turn.  But despite my many years of experience on the road, I still don’t know what the left arm, straight out at the shoulder, bent 90 degrees at the elbow and hanging downward means about the bike operator’s intentions....

If you’re over the age of 30, you’ve probably done the limbo. Or at least tried. The once party favorite has slowly faded from public life but I remember a time when the Limbo ruled social events of all kinds. Yes, I did it too. Honestly, even the recollection of what was required of my back muscles to get under that crossbar makes me hurt today. As we continue our study in Philippians and the the...

When life gives you lemons… I guess you're supposed to slice those lemons, squeeze those lemons, filter out the seeds, add water and plenty of sugar, mix in a pitcher with some ice, pour it into a glass and DRINK LEMONADE!  It is a very practical bit of advice about turning something bad into something good, even something delightfully refreshing. Thankfully, I think everyone knows about lemonade...

Spring 1999. I was walking down the hall of my parents ranch home, past the collage of pictures on the wall and a feeling of dread fell over me. My plans for the coming year had fallen through. I would graduate high school in a couple of months, with no real plan for the next chapter of my life. Everyone I knew seemed to have it together, plans for college, a career, a life beyond their childhood...

It was November and I was in the Philippines enjoying the beginning of the cool season and the end of the rainy season. In Manila, cool temps are in the high 70’s and low 80’s and November is when the monsoon rains subside and the season turns toward the dry and cool part of the year. On that day the temps were tolerable but scattered rain showers threatened outdoor activities. The outdoor activit...

It's the dead of night. The wind is still and Jesus is bowed on the ground. The silence can be cut with a knife as the trees of the garden stand still. His tears have covered the ground beneath Him, tinged red by the blood they contain. As he stands, his knees feel feeble from the exertion poured out seeking His Father. He moves towards the disciples, His friends, and finding them asleep a sound e...

During my initial foray into the home construction realm, I had the pleasure of being invited to the open house of a very nice home that I helped to build over the course of a few months.  To my 18-year-old eyes, this particular home was dressed to impress. The highlight of my tour through the home was the “home theater” room.  Yes.  A whole room of the house designed for visual entertainment.  It...

My dad loves fishing! In the south, fishing looks a little bit different than here in Alaska. Back home, fishing is grabbing a cooler, a bucket of crickets, a lawn chair, and rod and hanging out on the edge of a pond back in the woods. My dad was and still is a little more serious, waking up in the wee hours of the morning and putting the bass boat in the lake. As a boy my dad would tell me the ni...