Pastor John’s Blog

…One thing he modeled to me is growth. I want to be that way. I want to stay active and be growing and changing all the way up until the end. He was always a warrior, and yet I watched him grow and become more tender over time with his loved ones. It’s the Gospel that does that in our lives, that helps us grow, become more teachable, more approachable, able to admit wrong, better at extending and receiving forgiveness, and the wisdom to know how to become a tender warrior.

…I started back home, looking for it along the way. Sure enough, there it was lying by the side of the road at an intersection near our house. It looked pretty beat up. That’s one way to wear out a Bible, but there’s a much better, and slower, way. It’s the way Larry Peercy wears out his. I recently saw his Bible sitting on a table in the chapel. It had tattered pages, a faded and cracked cover and spine, and tarnished gold gilding on the sides. It was obvious he is a man who cherishes and studies God’s Word. In 1 Timothy 3:9, Paul tells Timothy that deacons “must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.” There is simply no way to hold the mystery of the faith apart from serious Scripture study. May we love God’s Word the way Larry Peercy does and wear out our copies of it the right way.

Our theme for the month of July is “Grow.” One of the commitments I’ve made this summer is to try to grow in my prayer life. I already have an established time of personal prayer in the mornings, and I often pause and pray throughout the day for various reasons, but I wanted to add a more focused time of prayer for our church. I thought I’d start small, so I added a bullet point to my daily to-do list to pray for 15 minutes in the afternoon. During that time I planned to pray specifically for the people of Valley View, both the established members and guests.

In 1987, 50 miles north of Tucson, Arizona, the Biosphere 2 was launched, an effort to study an enclosed artificial ecosystem. Every ecosystem needs trees, and trees grow rapidly in this protected environment. Everything seemed to be going great until one day some trees started falling over for no apparent reason. Jonathan Haidt in The Anxious Generation explains, “The designers had not realized that young trees need wind to grow properly. When the wind blows, it bends the tree, which tugs at the roots on the windward side and compresses the wood on the other side. In response, the root system expands to provide a firmer anchor where it is needed, and the compressed wood cells change their structure to become stronger and firmer.” (p.72)

…When I came to Valley View my main prayer was from Isaiah 61:3, that we would become “oaks of righteousness.” The challenge is that a mighty oak tree takes a long time to grow. Strength takes time. Plus it is hard to tell when an oak tree is growing. Look at it any given day and you can’t tell a difference from yesterday. Yet it is growing a little bit every day, and incremental growth is still growth.

…“Our experience has been that we need to do the opposite of that advice. It is better to speak the truth in love to people, rather than altering reality to fit their deception. That is the better way, and it’s a path that has led many to question their sinful lifestyle decisions over time.”

This past week Vacation Bible School was all about friendship, in fact the theme was “Friendship with God.” In John 15:15, Jesus says to his disciples, “I have called you friends.” There is something powerful about a child coming to embrace part of their relationship with God as a friendship.

…Grant acknowledged a divine hand at work directing his life far beyond his ability to do so in his own strength or insight. His acknowledgment, along with our song Sunday, “even when I don’t see it He’s working… He never stops working,” both fit with the storyline of Esther that we’ve seen over the last few weeks. God’s hand has been working all along the way, even when it doesn’t seem He was near, even when His name is not even mentioned, He was still working in Esther’s life to protect her people.

Bridging a gap the width of the Mississippi required ingenuity, it required new methods, it required steps of faith. Sunday I presented a mid-year direction and financial update for the church. I shared some of the ministry highlights from the year, of which the following are a few:

Worship attendance is averaging about 100 more than a year ago. 
Since January there have been 20 new members join the church and 18 baptisms.
Kidzone average attendance has increased by about 20 kids.
VBS is shaping up to be a record year.
Kids’ soccer and basketball had record participation. 
Our Home School ministry is growing and touching families all over the South End.

That story, and the similar story where He walks on water, has many layers of relevance to our lives. One that is hard to stomach is the reality that Jesus took the disciples directly into the storm. He knew there would be a storm, a challenge, a difficulty, and he brought the disciples directly into it. He gave no warning, and He did nothing to divert them from it.