Last Sunday I had preached (spoke, gave the speech) in all three weekend services at our church.

I love communicating the gospel with people. It’s fun. I really love it.

When I came down off the platform after the 9:30 service I wanted to get on my computer and send an apology email to everyone who had just listened to the message.

I’m serious.

Before reading any further please understand a few things:

1. This is not a “fishing” post - I don’t need an extra pat on the back or any, “No, you did great,” comments. That’s not why I’m writing this.

2. I don’t struggle with feelings of self-worth and I’m not depressed.

3. I write to myself as much as I write to others.

Okay, we good?

After speaking I wanted to run to my office and hide.

I’m pretty sure there was no heresy (false teaching about God) in the message, I just really didn’t like the way it came out.

I was frustrated. As a communicator, I like successful communication. After my first attempt I felt like my communication was only so-so.

Despite my wife and others encouraging words, I went to my office to stew.

As I sat in my office consumed with me.

My performance.

My message.

My perceived failure.

Two pieces of wisdom came to mind.

The first was from my first ever pastor, Wes Lindseth.

One time, after a youth service, I had described similar feelings of, “I just didn’t like the way it went…”

He responded calmly and confidently, “Andy, the word of God never returns void.”

He was quoting a passage from the book of Isaiah which guarantees that whenever God’s word, the good news is shared, it WILL produce fruit.

The second piece of wisdom I recalled was from my second ever pastor (and current) Brian Dolleman.

Just before I was going to speak on a Sunday for the first time with him as my boss, he said, “Just remember to relax, have fun, and smile.”

That was such a relief to hear from him.

I wanted to impress him, I wanted to make sure I did well.

Hearing those words from him, helped calm me down and keep things in the right perspective.

Both of my pastors had the benefit of many years of speaking experience to their credit. They probably had plenty of times in which they felt as if they could have done better and yet they lived to tell about it.

As I sat in my office waiting for the next service to begin I realized something important:

It wasn’t about my performance. It wasn’t about how well I did.

I needed to shift the emphasis.

The emphasis of any gospel message is Christ!

Here I was, supposedly sharing the good news, and I was consumed with self-centered critiques.

The very thing I was preaching about, Grace, has everything to do with Jesus and His completed work for us.

All I could think of was me.

What a dork!

It was time for me to shift my emphasis.

It was time to relax, have fun, and smile.

Why?

God’s word ALWAYS produces fruit.

Kids are inquisitive.

Very inquisitive.

They want to know about everything. Nothing is off limits. No question is taboo. There isn’t a filter or guard on children when it comes to acquiring useful facts and information.

Lately, my daughter Andrea has been very interested in authority.

You know the who’s in charge of who kinda stuff?

“Is Pastor Brian (our lead pastor) your boss?” She asks, confident she already knows the answer.

“Yes ma’am.” I respond with ease.

“Dad, are you the boss of the youth kids?” She asks, again demonstrating she has been paying attention.

“Yep, you got it.” I reply.

I nearly drive off the road after this doozy of a question.

“Dad, who’s the boss of our family, you or mom?”

Wow. I feel like how I answer this one is crucial… This is a worldview shaping type of question and response…

So I pause, take a deep breath and say, “Your mom is, I do whatever she says.”

Pheew. Crisis averted.

________

A couple weeks ago our church hosted our annual Halloween Kid’s Carnival.

A free event that is for our community. Something we’ve done for 22+ years.

It’s a great event.

Every year, thousands of people from our community come and are blessed with fun, games, and CANDY.

Over the years I’ve helped in lots of different areas:

Booth operator, greeter, shuttle driver, prize-giver-outer, and more.

This particular year I tried something new.

I helped out on our parking lot crew. A tricky job. Our lot is not big enough for the crowds and we often have to divert traffic to a nearby school.

As I was parking cars (and having a lot of fun) I noticed a familiar looking vehicle show up.

The driver was a striking blonde and I almost felt bad for staring… Then I realized, oh, that’s my car and my wife driving it. And I went back to staring.

I led them to a spot and continued parking the vehicles that followed them in. All the while, keeping an eye towards my family’s car. I wanted to see what costumes the kids had chosen.

Andrea, a beautiful bumble bee, was the first one out of the car.

The first words out of her mouth when she saw me in my costume (a florescent construction vest and flashlight) will stick with me for sure.

She yelled across the parking lot, “DAD! Are you SERVING?!”

I couldn’t help but laugh as I answered her, “Yep, I am.”

She continued, “I knew it. You’re helping park cars aren’t you?”

“You got it.” I said with a smile.

She finished with, “Dad, I’m proud of you for serving.” Then she turned and went inside to enjoy the carnival.

I’m so glad my daughter saw me serving.

Please understand me.

I wasn’t doing it to get noticed by her or anything. I’m simply glad she saw me serving. She had been learning in her Sunday school class about serving and now she had a concrete example to remember.

Jesus probably said it best when He said:

“You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”

(Matthew 20.25-28, The Message)

I want my daughter, my kids, and anyone else I influence to know that to be a great boss you must be willing to serve.

Ask yourself:

What can I do to put others first today?

Who is someone (be specific) I can serve today?

In what areas of my life am I expecting service instead of looking for opportunities to serve?

Thanks to all who have served our country. This video is for you. Happy Veteran’s Day!

For the most part I’m a “go with the flow” kinda guy. You know, easy going, relaxed, fun to be around, spontaneous.

Other more scheduled people (like my wife) would call me disorganized. They’d say I tend to fly by the seat of my pants.

Both descriptions of my personality are accurate. I suppose it’s all in how you look at it.

As much as I love my spontaneous, go with the flow persona it does have a down side.

Sometimes I get frustrated with myself because I realize how little I’ve actually accomplished in a day.

Was I being lazy? Avoiding hard tasks? Was I opposed to rolling up my sleeves?

No.

I was distracted. Often I’m distracted with the immediate and lose sight of the long range plans.

I call them front burner issues, because when I’m dealing with one everything else goes to the back burner.

I’m thankful that Jesus was a long range thinker. He didn’t fly by the seat of His pants. He was intentional with every interaction. Everything He did on this earth had a purpose and reason behind it.

When He is tempted in Luke chapter four we see a clear example of Jesus saying no to the immediate and yes to accomplishing His God given task (reuniting God and man).

He completed that task by ultimately laying down His life so that we could have right standing with our creator.

This was His purpose. His God given calling. He had many opportunities to wander from the path, but thankfully He accomplished what God intended Him to.

Jesus was a Dreamer not a Drifter.

Dreamers:

-Are obsessive about seeing their dreams becoming reality

-Take time to dream (imagine a better future)

-See a different future/outcome than others

-Won’t accept “no” or “you can’t” as an answer

-Believe anything is possible (including their dreams)

Drifters:

-Are easily distracted

-Get bogged down with immediacy and minutia

-Move from idea to idea (whatever is most exciting)

-Quit the moment things get difficult

-Lack core convictions that keep them centered

In what areas of you life have you been drifting?

What are some areas of your life that need a fresh dream?

Come on, it’s alright… dream a little.

I love this video my brother, @El_Jonesy made. I defy you to find a cooler sermon intro than this! #misfit

Every year on the opening day of the Major League Baseball season I post my picks for the division winners and wildcard teams. I also pick how I think the playoffs will go.

This year I was especially awful and I thought you might like to laugh along with me at my terrible picks.

Below are my picks with the actual results in BOLD.

I got 2 of 11 correct…

Enjoy.

AL WEST: Oakland Athletics, TEXAS RANGERS

AL CENTRAL: Minnesota Twins, DETROIT TIGERS

AL EAST: Boston Red Sox, NEW YORK YANKEES

AL WILD CARD: Tampa Bay Rays, *TAMBA BAY RAYS

_____

NL WEST: Colorado Rockies, ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

NL CENTRAL: Cincinnati Reds, MILWAUKEE BREWERS

NL EAST: Philadelphia Phillies, *PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

NL WILD CARD: San Fransisco Giants, ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

_____

AL CHAMP: Minnesota Twins, TEXAS RANGERS

NL CHAMP: Philadelphia Phillies, ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

WORLD SERIES CHAMP: Minnesota Twins, ST. LOUIS CARDINALS 

As a dad, there’s nothing like coming back from a long trip and seeing your family again.

I recently enjoyed an extended weekend away with my brothers and dad in Northern California.

Upon my arrival home I was treated to a welcome home from my family that made me feel amazing.

Andrea screamed and hugged me.

Hailey sang and laughed.

Lincoln smiled and giggled.

The welcome home party continued as we ate a family dinner and prepared for a game night together.

Then everything changed…

Andrea, who has an overactive gag reflex like her dad, suddenly was throwing up at the table.

From the table to her chair.

From her chair to the rug.

From the rug to the kitchen floor.

From the kitchen floor to the sink, finally.

I was so mad. Frustrated. Annoyed really.

Why did she have to go and ruin a perfectly fine family night?

Ugh.

She went upstairs and got her bath.

I stayed down and cleaned…

…and cleaned.

Finally she came downstairs in her pajamas and bathrobe. She was noticeably upset.

I asked her what was wrong, thinking she still wasn’t feeling well.

With tears in her eyes she responded, “You’re still mad at me.”

My heart broke.

Why was I such a jerk?

Instead of being concerned for my daughter, I was angry at the mess she had created.

I did my best to patch things up with her, but I knew her broken heart wasn’t mended yet.

By the end of the night, Andrea was laying on me as we watched the World Series. She expressed how much she loved watching baseball with me and asked which team we were rooting for.

Stacey looked over at us and said, “She loves to please you.”

________

It clicked for me in that moment.

I love my kids. They are amazing. Each one of them brings me joy in a different way.

I am VERY PLEASED to be their dad.

I hate the thought that Andrea or any of my kids would ever have to earn love from me. I love them as they are. I love them because they’re my kids. I’m pretty sure there’s nothing they could do to ever make me stop loving them.

The same is true with God.

He is our loving, heavenly dad.

He loves us.

As we are.

Because we’re His kids.

We can’t earn it.

We don’t have to work to please Him.

He is pleased with us.

With you.

There’s no need for you to earn God’s love, He loves you more than you could ever understand.

A friend of mine once tweeted, “If family is my number one ministry then family vacations are my most important ministry trips.”

I loved that tweet and I couldn’t agree with it more.

My family is my most important ministry.

My ministry as a pastor will not last forever.

There will be other ministry roles.

At some point my ministry career will end.

But I only get one family.

My wife and kids are truly the greatest gift I’ve ever been given.

As a youth pastor to a generation of students that have grown up in broken homes the word family doesn’t always bring to mind warm feelings.

The health and strength of my marriage preaches a better sermon than my latest and greatest attempt on a Wednesday night.

The love, care, and stability I demonstrate for my family is more powerful than words.

The way I play and interact with my kids is being observed by the students in our youth ministry.

I pray that our students that have grown up in broken homes can end that cycle when they get married and have kids of their own.

I hope I can pass on to them the value of being a present, involved, loving husband and father.

Yes, family is important business.

It’s my number one ministry.

I love our “business” trips together.

His distinguishing features are his jet black beard, slicked back hair and deep bass voice.

He’s worn many different hats over the years.

He’s been a teacher and the principal.

He’s been the boss and landlord.

He’s been the bassist in the band and in the choir.

He’s currently a philanthropist and board member.

He calls 11 time NBA All-Star and basketball hall of famer, Elgin Baylor, his friend.

He’s recalls jamming with rock legend Jimmy Hendrix early in his career.

He’s Seattle through and through.

He’s a bit of a walking contradiction.

He’s self-made millionaire.

Strong willed, fiercely independent and yet unbelievably generous.

He loves real estate, music, and people (but reverse the order).

His name is Bill Eisiminger.

His most important role to me has been as family friend and pseudo-uncle.

He was present at nearly every family gathering with two dollar bills for every kid under the age of 18.

He nicknamed himself, “Two-Dollar Bill.”

On your birthday, you could always expect a phone call or message featuring his deep bass voice crooning Happy Birthday.

When I was about 10 years old I remember developing quite a report with him.

“Billy, my boy!” I would exclaim when I saw him. 

He would laugh, and respond, “Andy, my boy.”

Bill has always had a way with people.

________

In December 2007, Bill suffered a series of seven strokes that left him clinging to life in ICU at Swedish hospital.

My wife and I drove up to visit him on a snowy Sunday night and we walked away doubting we’d ever get to visit with him again.

Over the last three and half years he’s made incredible progress.

He can now walk, talk and lives on his own in a downtown condo.

He truly is a miracle.

I’m proud that I know a guy as cool as Bill.

What makes him so cool?

His status as a millionaire? His connection to famous people? The fact that he always remembers my birthday?

No.

What makes Bill cool is that he’s a big time giver. I mean huge. Bill lives to be generous.

I recently was in attendance at a building dedication for Seattle University.

The William F. Eisiminger Fitness Center.

After the usual thank yous and pleasantries, the school president welcomed Bill to the stage. Bill got out of his wheelchair, stood at the podium and delivered a short speech.

His opening line was, “Today is a great day for Seattle U… and a terrible day for my wallet.”

He recalled his early days building wealth and owning 50+ properties in the Puget Sound area.

The crowd was impressed as he detailed his years of unparallelled success. 

He wasn’t gloating, he was painting a picture.

The picture of a man who had everything.

Then his speech took a dramatic, somewhat unexpected turn.

Bill began to weep…

He described how the series of strokes had effectively ended his previous life. His days as a real estate mogul were cut short. He loved to work hard and his failing health took that from him.

“Those strokes ended my former life and gave way for my new life to begin.” He said after he gathered himself.

Bill has always been a giver. He’s always been generous.

He was saying that since the strokes, his SOLE purpose in life has become crystal clear.

Bill now lives to bless and give to others.

I simply smiled as he spoke. Bill gets it. He knows his purpose.

Bill understands that he’s been blessed to be a blessing.

I’m sure everybody at the building dedication had their own reason for showing up.

I figure some were there because they’re fans of Seattle U.

Others were simply fitness fans.

I suspect that most were there, because like me, they’re fans of Bill Eisiminger.

I hope I continue to grow in my giving so that someday I can be as generous as Billy, my boy.

The following post is from my pastor, Brian Dolleman. It is a MUST read!

Please note, it is rated PG-13. To read the full post simply click on his name below:

briandolleman:

I’ve seen some strange things in church under the label of being spiritual…

Shaking, moaning, crunching, roaring, shrieking, interpretive dancing—and the list goes on and on.

Generally speaking, whoever was participating in the weirdness really seemed to enjoy themselves.

It was good for them…