Ryan Dobson

Click on "Listen Now" on this page. Thought provoking broadcast about a "Christian Worldview" with Ryan Dobson. Great 'voice' for the next generation.

"It's never wrong to do right. It's never right to do wrong."

"Cousin Tectonic Plate"

Ok, I laughed out loud when I read the few comments under this article about an earthquake that was centered about 15 minutes from my house.

Tomorrow is RPCC 's fourth Adult Worship Experience.

Set List:

1. Glorious One (Steve Fee)

2. Marvelous Light (Charlie Hall)

3. Mighty to Save (Hillsong) [Doing this as an acoustic response to the message]

4. Beautiful Jesus (Kristian Stanfil) [The version from the album 'Hello'... I think that's stronger than the one on Northpoint's album.]

I'm nervous about tomorrow for a few reasons:

1. I hope I remember the songs as we (the band) do them all from memory.

2. My band is full of players I've never played with before and our Monday rehearsal was without our drummer!

3. It is literally getting to financial 'crunch' time at RPCC. We need our regular givers to increase their giving this month or we may have to get creative on paying our bills.

It's good to be nervous because it reminds me of my dependence on God. It's Saturday night and I've prepped all I can... now God's part unfolds.  Hoping many people leave tomorrow with a passion to walk closer with their creator!

We start a new series tomorrow called 'Home for the Holidays'. I'm looking forward to hearing what God has been teaching John!

So do you think God is punishing Southern California with all these fires? Right now I think the count is about 700 homes destroyed!

-Sleepy time! 4:40am comes early!-

Stacked!

Ok, that's unfair. This H.S. team that is 30 minutes down the 101 from RPCC is stacked in more than one way!

So imagine you're the coach of this team... which dad would you call to see if they could host a team social event? :)

Boards/Committes

This week I had a conversation with a friend I haven't seen in about 8 years. She is the Senior Pastor of a small Church in Ontario, Canada. (Yes, SHE is the Senior Pastor... I'll reserve the conversation about women as Senior Pastors for a future post.) I asked her how it was going 14 months in... she summed it up by saying something like: "I was hired under the expectation that I was to handle the leading AND management decisions of the church. In practice I am a puppet and the board (manages) pulls the strings."

She is underpaid, overworked and implements what she is told. On the bright side this allows this small group of people to keep their country club. ;)

I'm proud of her (and praying for her!) for following God's promptings to run fast from a secure pay check at this country club and head towards a ministry God has prepared in advance for her.

The age old practice of leadership by committee! I read something funny a while ago. One of the first committees formed in the Bible came to the conclusion of sending one of their own (Joesph) down a well! I laugh (with sadness) because I've seen that too many times in churches, including recently with my friend's church.

Here is an insightful post on this topic.

I am currently blessed to serve on a leadership team of 5 where we all have equal input. We get to offer our honest 'push-back' on pretty much anything but in the end respect the decision made by our Lead Pastor. He welcomes our input and we welcome his quick assessment of our input, promptings from God and his own wisdom to come up with a quick decision. It's efficient and effective. Something I will not take for granted for a long time after spending many years with committee (aka: inefficient or absent decision making!) managed churches!

How are leadership decisions made in your context? What are the pluses/minuses you've experienced with committees making management decisions?

Everyone Can Dance

This video made me laugh out loud and ponder deeply about how similar I am to different races around the globe. There are things in the world that God has invented that can bring vastly different people, who would normally dislike each other, together. And it makes me laugh that in this case it just so happens to be a stupid dance.

Have fun and enjoy! :)

I liked it when he broke into the same moves as the women from India (I think it was India.).
What does watching this make you think about?

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Why I Can't Vote for Obama

As an American citizen I have the right to make my voice heard on who I believe should become the next president. That's a very cool right. I have the right to disagree with you (and you I) and I have the freedom to talk about it. This in and of itself is a Godly position for a country to hold and I thank God for it.

I don't claim to be the smartest person and am by far no political expert. The issues at stake are big AND complex. I voted for McCain (via snail mail so I get to avoid the lines tomorrow!). One of the biggest reasons I did is because of his stance on life.

The approximate number of babies killed by abortion during the time America has been at war in Iraq: 67 times.

67 times what?

67 X THE AMOUNT OF CIVILIAN DEATHS IN IRAQ = BABIES KILLED!

Read John's post here. He shares some great information on this.

Get out and take advantage of your right to vote tomorrow.

No matter who becomes president I'll still sleep well and continue to pray for the man in that seat. For I know it is God whom this man is accountable to, whether he knows it or not, and it is in God I trust for the leading of my life, family and nation. There is something going on today that is much bigger than this election or this country and one day soon, both will not matter to us. What will matter is your personal vote for this man.

How was your voting experience? Did you stand in line, lick a stamp or just stay home and not vote?