GracePoint Church

Maybe it's all of the commercials. You know the ones, with soft music and slowly falling snow. The ones with the image of a crackling fire and a mantle hung with stockings. The ones with Christmas music heard from another room as a family bakes treats. Is it just me, or do these days between Thanksgiving and Christmas not line up with the reality the TV is showing me? I feel that we’re surrounded...

In 2003 we accepted a position to be the new Lead Pastor at a church in Northern California. When we began looking for homes to buy, we were disheartened. California is an expensive place to live. We began to resign ourselves to the reality of a small trailer park as our resting spot for the foreseeable future. (not to knock on any of you that live in a trailer park). But with three boys in tow, i...

A few weeks ago, just before the weather turned cold, my wife and I took the Kayaks out one last time. It had been a busy few weeks and we desperately needed some sabbath rest. We packed up the kayaks and sped to Lake Jocassee. We could not have asked for a better day. The warmth of the sun. The refreshing feel of cold water on hot skin. We had nothing but time and the lake practically to ourselve...

Parenting is a hard job! You work around the clock to teach your kids how to grow and be successful in the world. There are not many things more enjoyable than when your child "gets it" and they begin to live out what you have long taught. That being said, have you ever had that moment when you tell them how proud you are for learning what you've taught...only to have them give the credit to someo...

The water was cold. The material took on water and weighed me down. I was all of 4'10" tall...12 years old. I was about to be baptized in a huge robe.  Pastor Wilson came to my house a few weeks earlier to talk to me about it. He used some pretty big words that I didn't understand. Words like "salvation" and "atonement" and "propitiation." He said that my baptism was "an outward expression of an i...

I found out that someone was critical of me this week. I'd love to say that I prayed for that person and leaned into my walk with Jesus who loves me for who I am but, that didn't really happen. I let the criticism fester in my mind. I reasoned through all of the ways that that person was wrong and how I needed to guide them into a right understanding. In reality, I allowed it to get too much renta...

Entropy... a concept some of you may remember from High School Science class. It's the concept that works to measure chaos. It's used to describe how the world works: that everything is falling apart and that the natural direction of everything in the Universe is heading for disarray and disrepair. Here's an example, using my body as an illustration–it's a reality that I find more and more pronoun...

I was watching the news last night. My jaw dropped when I heard a certain politician take ownership for a huge mistake.   I opened my eyes and realized it was all just a dream. When was the last time you saw someone take responsibility for their actions? Sadly, we have to think very hard if we can come up with any example at all.  "The devil made me do it. It's just who I am. It's not my fault." W...

I met with my Financial Advisor this week. We crunched numbers and talked about the future. You may think I'm a great pastor, but I'm relatively certain that you don't want me serving in this position as a spry 93 year old. We calculated my Social Security payment at certain ages. We calculated the value of my home and looked at Life Insurance policies. We checked out my retirement accounts and ma...

Someone cut me off again as traffic ground to a halt. I could feel myself seething inside. As I sat at a standstill, I began to wonder why I was so angry. My smartphone showed that this was only going to be a 4 minute delay. And why would I let a guy I don't even know (who cut me off) have so much rental space in my head? It had been a long day. Several discouraging things had happened and my hear...

I wanted to compete in the Olympics. I had just watched the 1976 Olympics and was so inspired that I determined that 1980 would be my year. I was ten years old. I had the vision of incredible athletes fresh in my mind. Our men's 4 x 100 relay team had just finished in 8th place.   I tore out a picture of the Olympic symbol and a flag of Canada...and put it on my dresser in my room. Then I ran. I r...

In 1984, I wanted to be an actor. Who doesn't want to be famous in their idealistic youth? I was a young believer and I was certain that this was "God's Will" for me. After all, I was getting the leads in the school plays. I had joined an acting guild in a prominent theatre town (the artsy people spell "theater" that way). I applied to a fine arts school in Banff, Alberta. I was in the zone...I wa...

Money...I never seem to have enough of it. Just when I put a little away, an unexpected bill comes, the car breaks down, someone gets sick, and the air conditioner goes out. I'm getting to the age where my financial planner is calling me into his office to let me know that I might not be able to retire when I want to. And the scary thing is, I was going to call and ask if I can borrow against my r...

I took my car to the mechanic today...routine maintenance. They just called. $1000.43. Ouch! I'm shocked. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of stuff breaking all the time. My check engine light just came on in my truck. The deck is rotting. My computer keeps breaking. The house needs painting. My outdoor electricity stopped working. The internet went out again (I know, first world problems for...

I want to ask you a question: Is there anything in your life that you believe but don’t actually live like it? If I had a safe place to confess (and I hope do here!), I’d admit this: I know that getting plenty of sleep and eating vegetables is one of the best things I can do for myself… but looking at my life? You might not be able to tell.  As a teaser for our message this Sunday, we’re exploring...

Over the years, I have read some really great books on Healthy Living. Books like, "Eat to Live" and "How Not to Die." At my last annual physical, my doctor and I had a really great chat about the Mediterranean Diet and how it's a great lifestyle to adapt. I have really enjoyed reading additional articles and listening to podcasts from the experts in the field of health, and I believe it all. It's...

I threw the butter knife to the ground in frustration. It lay there, bent and dulled. Someone should've told me that one can't use a butter knife as a screwdriver or a saw. As a cheap Scotsman, I've always tried to cut corners and save a little. Having the right tool for the job can certainly save a lot of heartache. When it comes to walking with Jesus one can't skip steps or test out of the proce...

Independence Day is all about freedom. I'm grateful to live in a country that values freedom. I absolutely enjoy the blessing and joy of what that means for most of us in America. That being said, the freedom we experience now is limited. It is limited to our ability to defend our country. It is limited by a healthy economy. It is limited by our physical health. It is limited by our perspective. T...

There are just some things in my life that I don't like to do. But you and I both know that, "Anything worth doing is worth is worth doing well." As a child, I thought I'd never be done with school. So many classes didn't seem to have anything to do with life. My parents' discipline rarely made sense to me. I mean, what could be wrong with a 14 year old staying out all night? Fast forward and we a...