Mission Fargo Blog

sojournfargo.org

2011-06-19T14:50:00.002-05:00

Don't forget everyone if you have read our blog or kept up with us remember that the address now is.

Sojournfargo.org exciting things are happening here and we would love for all of you to keep up with it!

New Website, New Blog, and great news

2010-09-20T18:54:00.002-05:00

So it has obviously been a while since we have updated this blog. Our apologies, but we have been working on a new website and new blog. Our new website is www.sojournfargo.org and you can check our blog under the community tab. We will try to keep that up to date.

On another note. Sojourn Church is officially meeting every Sunday at 5:00 in the Fisher's basement. We have 8 members and are really excited about what God is doing in our church. It has been a busy year with lots of ups and downs, but God is directing our path and we see His hand at work all around us.

We will be keeping this blog active, but our main blog will be connected with our website. Thanks for all your support and prayers as we have been on this journey. If you get a chance send us an email to know you are watching the blog.

Jeremy@sojournfargo.org
John@sojournfargo.org

Hitting the ground running...

2009-10-03T00:50:00.002-05:00

We have a busy and exciting week coming up here in Fargo. Tomorrow we will be welcoming a group up from Bowling Green, KY. They will be helping us with some upcoming events we are having as we move closer to starting Sojourn church. This week in particular you should definitely join us if you can for one, or both of these events:

Sunday Oct 4^th @ 5:30 pm: Picnic in Island Park near the Gazebo

Wednesday Oct 7^th @ 6:00pm: Coffee Night at the Downtown Library, Main Meeting Room

Sunday will be our last picnic of the season, given that it doesn’t get too cold. We will be starting up the grill once again to share some burgers and brats with our neighbors and to let people know more about the church. We will also be having a coffee house on the following Wednesday for those that could not make the picnic, we hope to use this time to share and answer questions you may have about Sojourn. The following Sunday, October 11^th will be the big day. We will be having the first meeting as Sojourn church. We would love for you to join us. It will be at 5:30 at 302 9^th Street South Fargo (right behind the WDAY building. We will be eating and experiencing what Sojourn is all about. If you have any questions about any of the events give us a call 701-205-2699 or email us at john@missionfargo.org or Jeremy@missionfargo.org. Look forward to seeing you next week.

2009-09-14T10:50:00.001-05:00

wow everyone our dinner party was so much fun and some great friends came we could not have asked for a better turnout..

What's in a name

2009-09-05T12:59:00.002-05:00

Well we have been holding off to make this announcement but it looks like there is no time like the present. Mission Fargo will be changing it's name I know this sounds confusing but we will walk you along every step of the way. When Abby and I lived in Louisville we were introduced to the name Sojourn from the Church we attended. We were so blessed, challenged, taught man the words we could insert here but all that to say it was an incredible year there. So as we have been thinking in recent months about starting the Church things starting to move along we have thought about the name MissionFargo and while it was and still is appropriate for the mission we are on it is not really descriptive of who we are. Sojourn really is, as a Christian I have a dual-citizenship, it's like my older sister she was an American girl but born in Africa she was a citizen of both places essentially. We as those who follow Christ are citizens of two places. we are at home here but this is not our ultimate home our true home is with Christ. So Sojourn Fargo is born, now we won't call it both names but for the purpose to differentiating online we have both names. Website is forthcoming etc.. Also we will soon publish some logos for you guys to see, and let us know what you think about it. Please forgive the typos my editor is out of town!

we're still here

2009-08-20T21:25:00.003-05:00

I think I have some grey hair, yes yes I am only 26 but I think I have grey hair. It has been one wild and crazy summer. 3 summer missionaries, 3 mission teams, minus one job added another a second church planter on the field, baby visitors and a lot of great strides for Mission Fargo we are still here!

We have seen some great things happen and we are making a few changes but everyone will be excited to know that we are going to have our first public service the second week or October. YAY this is going to be huge. With 150+ people coming to our last event and a lot of the personal contacts we made really wanting to explore more we are going to have our first service time.

So please be in prayer for and with us, a personal update is coming soon to a mailbox near you!

The eagle has landed...

2009-07-25T14:02:00.001-05:00

Actually we (Jeremy and Pam) landed in Fargo two months ago. It has been a bit of a whirlwind, from mission teams, picnics, job searching, and the like. Needless to say, blogging has been put on the back burner for me (though Pam has embraced it full force check out her blog).

So here is a quick update.

We left our apartment in Nashville on May 19th to head to my parents home in Lawrenceburg, KY.
After spending a few days in L-burg, we head out, with Pam's mom Becky, for Fargo, meeting up with our three summer missionaries in Louisville.
After a few exciting experiences and close calls, we landed in Fargo May 23rd, and moved in to our awesome apartment the next day.
Since then we have been on the search for jobs in the community, Pam has had a few interviews, but nothing really panning out too much. I have had two interviews and finally this week was offered a job at OfficeMax on 13th Ave S. I start next week with training.
We have had two groups brave the 1100+ miles to come to Fargo and help us. The Bridge of Spring Hill came in June and Rich Pond Baptist from Bowling Green just left yesterday. Both groups totally blew us away with there service to the community and to us.
After a long week of working in the community, the Bridge helped us put on our first public event in Island Park, allowing us to meet 50+ people in our community.
Just a few days ago, the group from Rich Pond helped us with our second community picnic at which we met over 100 of our neighbors. Such a great time with some really neat people.
In addition to all this, we have had three amazing college students working alongside us. Randall, Katie, and Jen have been such a source of encouragement, assistance, and momentum for us this summer. Sadly we sent Katie off yesterday and will soon say our goodbyes to Randall and Jen as they head home in a couple of weeks. It has been an awesome summer.

There are so many more things to share, but I think that is enough for now. It is exciting to think of what's next for us on this journey. I hope to do a much better job at keeping everyone up-to-date.

did you ever see such a sight

2009-06-30T22:30:00.005-05:00

2 weeks ago a team from a little town just south of Nashville, the team was comprised of member of the Bridge, a wonderful Church that Abby and I went to and served at while in Nashville. It was so good seeing old friends and connecting with new ones. This was our first full scale mission trip and we are so thankful to the bridge for being so understanding of how we are all still figuring this whole hosting groups thing out.

We connected with some wonderful people in the city by serving with Social Justice groups, handing out fliers, and in general seeking out people to serve and love on. We threw a picnic for the downtown hawthorne neighborhoods on Wednesday night and saw an amazing turnout of diverse people that none of us had ever met before. The team was phenomenal they served and loved on people humbly and with a sacrificial spirit.

A special thanks needs to go out to Jeremy and Pam Robinson, Jennifer Whitley, Katie Lewis, and Randall Rearden, without these guys there is no way we could have done it. The spent 12+ hrs a day leading, serving, working, tirelessly to do what they could to make the trip a success for Mission Fargo and the Bridge. There are a lot of great pics on facebook and different Bridge members facebook pages.
____________________________________________________

On an ending note Mission Fargo has fallen on some tough financial times. We have been terrible about updating supporters in recent months so we very much apologize for not keeping you up to date on what is going on here but we are calling anyone who believes in the calling of Mission Fargo we humbly ask you to give if the Lord would have you give.

Please send your tax deductible donations to
Temple Baptist Church
2801 Broadway N
Fargo, ND 58102
Memo line- Mission Fargo John and Abby Fisher

We are so thankful that the Lord has made it possible that almost 100% of the funds donated to Mission Fargo goes straight to the ministry. We are so thankful that the Lord has provided us a livable income to that we can equip other to do ministry, we can ourselves, and we can directly impact people where they are.

Thank you for your gifts and support thus far and we look forward to working with you even more in the future.

"It's Summertime"

2009-06-23T23:13:00.002-05:00

A funny thing has been happening to me over the past year, I keep thinking I am busy, and then the next thing happens. HA. I can be heard using the phrase, and I thought I was busy then....

This summer thus far has been one of the most challenging, difficult, busy, hard, rewarding, needed, amazing, wouldn't have it any other was times of my life.

Jeremy and Pam and here the three summer missionaries are here and mission teams are coming and going and there are so many times I feel like I am just trying to keep up. But in the midst of it all some amazing things are happening. We had our first public Mission Fargo event and ti went spectacular, we have been expanding our reach by great lengths through the labor of the summer missionaries and also the Robinsons. We have connected with tons and tons of people people and we are seeing the Lord work his will in spectacular ways!

late dec back in 63'

2009-05-26T08:56:00.004-05:00

They're here, yes my friends our Summer interns and the other church planter are finally here. I want to take a chance to introduce the three of them. I asked them to say a little about themselves and I will add some to it.

On the left is Katie Lewis, Katie and I go way back she was a middle and high schooler when I was volunteering and working at Living Hope In Bowling Green.

"My name is Katie Lewis and I just finished my second year at Western Kentucky University, majoring in exercise science, in hopes to do something with physical fitness and training after graduation. After hearing about summer missions in Fargo, North Dakota I was torn because I wanted to be apart of two very different mission opportunities - go back to Camp Vesper Point in Tennessee and work with the Fishers and Robinsons in North Dakota. After much prayer, God gave me a peace about serving in Fargo. It was definately God becaues I had been so torn about how and where to spend my summer off from school. I knew I wanted to spend it being apart of a ministry and I felt God's call on my heart to join with Mission Fargo for the summer. I am looking forward to this summer and excited to see how God will use me and grow me up as His daughter in Christ. This summer, I hope to spend time delving into the Word of God in study, apply it more to my life, and minister to others through Christian love and service."

In the Middle in Randall Rearden, ,Randall was personally mentioned to me by a great friend of mine, Matt Haste, through many conversations etc I saw that this was a guy i wanted to work along side and we extended and invitation to join with us this summer.

"My name is Randall Rearden and I have just finished my sophomore year at Western Kentucky University. I am currently majoring in Broadcasting with a focus on Radio and Television Operations and hold a job back in Bowling Green at Christian Family Radio. My journey to Fargo has been coming for a long time. I know that God has called me to serve Him on the mission field. I was hoping to return to Camp Vesper Point or to East Asia for the summer, but God closed the door on my plans and laid on my heart the people of the Dakotas after a trip to Fargo during spring break. I would absolutely love to see Mission Fargo reach out to numbers of people in the area with the gospel and change the cultural views of who Jesus really is. I hope that this summer provides ample amounts of opportunities for me to serve the people of Fargo and to learn about long-term missions under missionaries here. I would also hope and pray that I may grow in leaps and bounds in my walk with the Lord and to learn more about His will on my life."

And on the right in Jennifer Whitely, I met Jennifer when she came to minister with us this past spring break. Through a blizzard the possibility of Abby and I having a baby at any time and the craziness of joining life us she wanted to return.

"My name is Jennifer Whitely and I recently finished my freshman year at Western Kentucky University where I am majoring in Communication Disorders to be a speech pathologist. Along with this career I have been called to be a missionary. Since this calling, I had always invisioned myself being in a third-world country, sharing the gospel in a foreign land that had never been reached. However, when visiting Fargo during my Spring Break, God really opened my eyes to the need for Christ that people have within my very own country. After hearing about Fargo and even getting to experience the culture myself, God has placed a burden upon my heart for Fargo. While I am there, I hope to be used by God by sharing the good news of Chirst and furthering His Kingdom to the people of Fargo, as well as growing in my own personal relationship with with Christ."

These three are going to be living like with us, like us and apart of from us this summer. They raised part of their support for the summer, they are also going to be working part time jobs to make a little extra cash and also to minister to others. Jen is living with Abby and I, Katie at the Medfords and Randall at NDSU. Just from spending time with them over the last few days I have been blown away by their commitment to follow Christ and touch others. They are a lot of fun and so excited about the task they have embarked on!

Welcome Jen, Katie and Randall we are so blessed and excited you are here with us.

2009-05-10T12:44:00.001-05:00

Happy moms day everyone, all you moms who have influenced and encouraged us at mission fargo, happy moms day!

Theology of the City

2009-05-08T14:31:00.000-05:00

Why do we live in the city and care for the city

check this link

Wow!! The date is drawing near...

2009-04-27T22:19:00.003-05:00

It doesn't seem that long ago that Pam and I were thinking through the possibility of moving to Fargo to plant churches with our best friends, John and Abby. Now we are less than 4 week from it becoming a reality. Though I am very excited about what is in store for us and anxious about the work we will be doing in Fargo, nervousness has really began to set in.

Pam gave her two week notice at work today, which was a big step toward Fargo for us. After she left for work this morning a wave of emotion swept over me. The hugeness of what we are about to embark on started to really sink in. We are moving to a city we love, but is totally new to us. We are leaving a comfortable life, with good jobs, going to a place where we are not real sure where we are going to work, and really how our life is going to look. It kind of made me sick to think about.

So I do what I always do when I am overcome by emotion, I started reading the bible. In the process of planning and talking about planting churches in Fargo Jeremiah 29:4-13 has been a source of vision and inspiration for us. Much of what we desire to see happen in Fargo is found in the first few verses. Our vision is to see community built in Fargo that seeks the "welfare of the city."

But this morning the famous words of verse 11 really gave me a lot of peace and encouragement.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. "

Even though I can't tell you what it's going to look like or the detail of jobs, money, and other such detail, we really believe God knows what is going to happen and His plan is not for evil but for our welfare.

I know doubt and fear are going to continue to show up as we move closer to our move, but I rest on Jeremiah 29:11 and look forward to our hope and future.

What's up in here!

2009-04-15T22:30:00.004-05:00

My goodness peoples, has it ever been a crazy 6 weeks. Blizzard, winter storm, two mothers visit, a historic flood, the birth of our daughter, got a new place, moving from the old one to the new one, and now unpacking and waiting on the next flood crest and getting back to planting Mission Fargo.

We are enjoying our sweet daughter Julia so so much and also our new place.

It has been so overwhelming lately being apart of something as daunting as fighting a flood. Something I am so reminded of is the power of God. Something like an every widening and strong flowing river is scary and so powerful, but chew on this; God made that, not only did God make that he also wills it. WOW that is a powerful God, and I am so glad i worship this powerful God.

Another thing from the flood that floors me is a word that we at Mission Fargo hold so near and dear and that is community. The city and surrounding areas lived community. People that had no vested interest in the Red here in Fargo came and gave their all to fight for peoples homes. People that had already lost so much were in the middle of large piles of sand filling bags when they could be wallowing in self pity, but instead they are in there fighting for people they didn't know and might not ever meet.

I worked along side people from many different social strata, all for one common goal. When I was on the dikes I was in a super ritzy part of town. These homes were huge and beautiful and to be honest way out of my league. These kind people who we were there to help showered us with drinks, food, use of the homes etc. In many other times of life I would not have crossed paths with them, but they were there with us loving on all of us and thanking us for our hard work.

Friends this is why we are starting Churches here. We want to build a Christ centered community in the city to love the city. Not for our own selfish gain, but because Christ is so wonderful and his grace so lovely that it compels us to pass this along and create a city within the city.

Radio Debut

2009-04-03T15:25:00.004-05:00

I mentioned last week that my father-in-laws new radio show in Jacksonville, FL would soon be hitting the airwaves as well as the webstream waves (or however you would say that). Well that day is tomorrow.

For those interested in hearing our radio debut go here and click on the "Listen Online" button. For those in the eastern time zone it starts at 11pm and those in the central time zone it starts at 10pm.

I am super excited about working with my father-in-law on this and I really think you will enjoy it if you choose to stay up a little late and listen.

Here is a flyer to check out:

Things have gotten hairy

2009-03-27T09:40:00.002-05:00

Sorry i haven't been able to get to this over the past week.

This will be brief but let me give you a quick update. This is bad, I was at homes yesterday that had water halfway up the sandbags and the water is 23 feet above the flood stage. The have evacuated the most in dager parts of the FM (Fargo Moorhead) area. Because of this there is a sense of fear and tension. Many people have already left but many are staying behind. The water is supposed to crest on Sat between 41-43 feet this is an all time record for the red river in Fargo. The biggest flood here was in the late 1800's. The problem with this crest is it is not supposed to recede until 3-7 days later. That is a lot of pressure for a long time on a very vulnerable structure.

On a family note Abby and Julia are safely on their way to St Cloud MN where they will wait for a few days until the danger has passed. I am waiting it out until, is such a time occurs, an evacuation takes place. Our prayer is that it won't come to that but it is a lot easier to get me in and out of places than my family so their safety was first priority.
Secondlyh I am staying here to help wherever I can and minister to our friends we have made in thier time of greatest need. Please pray for the safety of our city and the people we love so much.

Flood News

2009-03-26T16:01:00.004-05:00

I just talked to John, he has been at the south end of Fargo-Moorhead all day helping with the sandbagging efforts. He said it was amazing to see how much water there is on the other side of the sandbag dikes they are building.

The people of Fargo-Moorhead, along with volunteers from all over the country, have built 12 miles worth of sandbag dikes in just a few days. Keep them in your prayers.

Again, John, Abby, and Julia are doing great, no need to worry about them.

Keep up with the flood coverage at the Fargo Forum Website.

Watch this video of the river by WDAY

Bracing for the big one...

2009-03-25T14:28:00.004-05:00

If you have watched the national news the last few days then this is no news to you, Fargo is gearing up for possibly the worst flood in the cities history. You can read all about it on the the Fargo Forum (the city newspaper) website.

They are projecting over 40 feet of flooding possibly by the end of today or tomorrow morning. I just checked it here and it is now at 38.43 feet (major flood stage is 30 feet). If you want to get updates via twitter you can go here.

Please keep John, Abby, and baby Julia in your prayers. They are safe and seem not to be threatened by the flood directly, but it does affect travel and stress level quite a bit.

In other news...

I (Jeremy) am making my first radio debut this Saturday in Jacksonville. Actually my father-in-law is making the real debut. He has started a weekly radio show called "Journeys with Christ" that will air on WAY Radio 550 AM in Jacksonville every Saturday night at 11pm Eastern time. It is a real neat story of how this got started, I'll share the quick version.

For over a year now my father-in-law, Carldon Lahey, has been running a nonprofit foundation called Christ's Starfish Foundation. Their primary focus has been helping kids with noncancerous diseases in the Jacksonville area (there are two foundations in Jax that help kids with cancer).

The foundation started after Carldon had a health scare well over a year ago. It really woke him up to what he was living for and what he was doing to make a difference in the lives of hurting people. So he started the foundation as a way to share the love of Christ with hurting people.

That is where the radio show comes in. Carldon realized that there were all kinds of ordinary people doing extraordinary things and their stories needed to be told. So back in November we started working on the first show. Just this past weekend with finished it up and sent it off to the station. I play a very small role in the whole thing, but I am truly proud to be a part of it and honored to have a father-in-law that is so passionate about helping others.

You can listen to the show via the web here, just click the "Listen Online" button. It starts at 11pm Eastern Standard Time (that's 10pm CT for those in Bowling Green, Nashville, Fargo).

2009-03-16T22:32:00.002-05:00

Look at what my fam did for Julia, toooo sweet!

Click Here

Jules is here!!!

2009-03-16T14:36:00.002-05:00

Well to all of you she is here. A whooping 7 lbs 34 ounces. 21 inches long!!

My old co-workers at Jersey Mikes

2009-03-13T21:03:00.001-05:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Well everyone is asking!

2009-03-10T19:49:00.000-05:00

BLIZZARD CONDITIONS BRING F-M TO STANDSTILL
UPDATED 12:05 p.m.
FARGO – Blizzard conditions have brought the Fargo-Moorhead area to a standstill, closing businesses, schools and government offices and forcing the city of Fargo to close one of its main east-west thoroughfares.

By: Forum staff report, INFORUM

UPDATED 14:25 p.m.

FARGO – Blizzard conditions have brought the Fargo-Moorhead area to a standstill, closing businesses, schools and government offices and forcing the city of Fargo to close one of its main east-west thoroughfares.

Conditions are so bad, the United States Postal Service announced at 1:30 p.m. that mail delivery had been suspended in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

Minnesota officials closed Interstate 94 from Moorhead to Fergus Falls and Highway 10 from Moorhead to Lake Park at 11 a.m.

Fargo closed 19th Avenue North between 18th Street and Dakota Drive shortly after 10 a.m., according to a news release from the Fargo Public Works Department.

Fargo Police Sgt. Greg Stone said officers responded to crashes at the intersection of 19th Avenue and Dakota Drive, and visibility on 19th was greatly reduced.

Clay County Sheriff Bill Bergquist advised residents not “to go anywhere unless they have to,” as roads were quickly blowing shut with snow.

“The deputies are getting stuck. We’re heading up right now to rescue one near Felton. It’s just getting to be a pain,” he said.

Stone said he'd heard an unsubstantiated rumor that officers were pulling people over just for driving in the blizzard.

"We're not doing that. I mean, if you drive around a barricade on a closed street, you're subject to being cited. But we're not stopping people that are out going to work or doing whatever."

Hector International Airport remained open, but a number of flights had been cancelled.

The cities of Fargo and West Fargo, and the Cass County Sheriff’s Office, have issued no travel advisories for the city and rural areas as roads continue to fill in with blowing snow, while shopping centers and MeritCare clinics will not be open.

MeritCare locations in Fargo, Moorhead and West Fargo - including walk-in clinics and FastTracks - will close at 10 a.m. today. Innovis Health announced its clinics in Fargo and Moorhead will close at noon.

The number of cancellations have poured into The Forum this morning. Check weather-related announcements on www.inforum.com to see the latest.

WDAY Radio News is reporting both West Acres and Moorhead Center shopping malls will be closed. However, the Herberger's store in Moorhead will be open.

The city of Fargo announced just before 10 a.m. that all non-essential city offices will close at 11 a.m. and reopen Wednesday, weather permitting.

MeritCare Hospital announced that clinics in Halstad, Mahnomen and Ottertail in Minnesota and Hillsboro and Mayville in North Dakota will be closed.

Elsewhere in Minnesota, MeritCare clinics in Hawley, Perham and New York Mills will be closing at noon today.

MeritCare's emergency center at 720 4 St. N., Fargo, will remain open.

The Fargo Park District announced it was closing all of its facilities and canceling programs for the day.

Courts Plus Fitness Center & Court Plus Southwest plan to close at 10 a.m.

Four vehicles were abandoned on Cass County 10 this morning between West Fargo and Casselton, Cass County Chief Deputy Jim Thoreson said.

Drifts on the road were 4 feet high just west of West Fargo this morning, Thoreson said at 8 a.m., adding he expected the road to be closed soon.

“As soon as they make a pass, it’s closing in behind them,” he said of the snowplows.

No serious accidents had been reported, he said.

“I’m hoping people just kind of hunker down and ride this thing out at their homes,” he said.

Interstate 94 remains closed between Fargo and Jamestown.

In Fargo, a water main break flooded 10th Street at Seventh Avenue North with water up to a foot deep in the gutters and 6 inches deep across the street, said Reid Graf, the city’s water department supervisor.

City crews got the water flowing down storm sewer drains and were moving slush off the roadway as they attempted to shut off the main about 7:45 a.m., Graf said. Age and weather both likely contributed to the break, he said.

Traffic was being diverted. One lane of 10th Street may open this morning, but it will probably be mid- to late afternoon before the road is fully opened, Graf said.

The Fargo Public Works Department said it’s becoming difficult to keep primary and secondary roads clear, and some may be closed if public safety becomes a concern. Residential roads won’t be plowed until storm conditions improve and all primary routes are in good condition.

Dozens of metro area business were closing.

“Business operations should be advised that throughout the day weather conditions are going to becoming increasingly worse and travel will become nearly impossible for employees trying to return home in afternoon hours,” a Public Works news release stated.

Any stranded vehicles found on city snow emergency routes or other primary routes will be towed at the owner’s expense, the release stated.

The Cass County Courthouse will open at noon today.

All morning and afternoon appearances scheduled at Fargo Municipal Court were canceled. Court offices will remain open to provide other services.

The city of Fargo announced that all residential and commercial garbage pickup will be suspended at 11 a.m.; the landfill will also be closed at 11 a.m.

Metro Area Transit will cancel all bus service starting at 11:15 a.m. Storm detours will be implemented at 10:15 a.m. Detour maps are available online at www.matbus.com.

All Fargo Public Library locations are closing at 11 a.m.

Highway 46 near Litchville in Barnes County, N.D., was closed after two jack-knifed semis blocked the road.

Tonight's Fargodome concert by the Beatles tribute act, Rain, has been rescheduled for Wednesday night at 7:30.

What an orientation!!!

2009-03-09T11:19:00.007-05:00

So I (Jeremy) am here in Fargo for the week and I must say it has been quite the orientation.

A group of college students from Western (John and I's alma mater) are here working with us this week, doing some discovery and scouting for us. I am also here looking for a place for Pam and I for our big move in May. It has been quite eventful thus far, here are some interesting highlights:

-I email Pastor Dude Garrett at Temple Baptist a few weeks ago about borrowing a car for the week. Here was his response:

I recently gave a minivan to a blind man in our church. He of course cannot drive, but wanted to have the car for his college daughter when she visits. However, the doors don't work properly. You must use the sliding door to enter the vehicle. When I gave it to him, he said he might have someone who fixes cars look at the door problem, but I don't know if he did. If you are interested in using it "as is" then I suspect it would be available.

My dad always told me that beggars can't be choosers so I accepted the offer and went to pick the van up on Friday. After an hour of digging it out (it was lodged in a couple feet of snow), jumping it (the battery was dead), and climbing in the sliding door I was on my way.

-Remember the door problem mentioned in the email, yeah that was no joke. At one point while driving to John and Abby's place I was talking on the phone, making a right turn, and reaching out to grab the swing driver door. It was quite invigorating.

-Keeping on the subject of the van, while driving home from the church the group is staying at, I was backed into by a cab, yet no visible damage was done to the van, further supporting my theory that the worse the car looks and functions the more indestructible it is.

-This morning we awoke to something North Dakotans are quite accustomed to, snow.

Needless to say we are really getting a great orientation to the Upper Northwest today and tomorrow. Here is what we have to look forward to tomorrow:

Tuesday, Mar 10

Day

High: 10°F RealFeel®: -14°F

Blizzard conditions with strong winds, low visibility and heavy snow, accumulating 6-10"; colder

View the Hour-by-Hour Forecast

Winds:	N at 28mph
Wind Gusts:	56 mph
Amount of Precipitation:	0.25in
Amount of Snow:	6.6in
Hours of Precipitation:	12 Hrs

Night

Low: -5°F RealFeel®: -38°F

Very windy; mostly cloudy with snow tapering off, 1-3", blowing snow

We are living it up, keep on praying for us, especially for the group to get back to KY on time.

Heres what's going on!

2009-03-08T15:34:00.001-05:00

This article is very telling and convicting about the state of Churches nowadays and how we can be apart of the remedy.

Churches blame empty pews on fewer babies

Denominations see membership drop as boomers age

By Bob Smietana • THE TENNESSEAN • March 8, 2009

Too many old people. Not enough babies.

That's what almost every major Christian denomination in the United States has in common — from Southern Baptists to Missouri Synod Lutherans.

In fact, 21 of the 25 largest groups in the United States reported a decline or flat line in membership last year, according to the 2009 edition of the Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches. In most cases, the so-called birth dearth is the reason.

Carl Royster, a Church of Christ statistician, says that churches are seeing the aftereffects of the baby boom.

For example, in the mid-20th century, conservative groups like the Southern Baptists and Church of Christ saw their membership spike. "You had humongous growth in the '40s, '50s and '60s," Royster said. "Now, the baby boomers are beginning to die off."

Those boomers had fewer kids than their parents, leaving fewer descendants to replace them in the pews.

Royster said that he's not panicking about the church decline. But he's worried about the future.

"The sky is not falling yet," he said. "But in a few years, it might be."

Paul Prill, professor of communication at Lipscomb University and the part-time preacher at Acklen Avenue Church of Christ, says the congregation once averaged about 120 but fell to 50 when kids in the church grew up and moved away and older members became too frail to attend.

In recent years, young married couples settling in the area have begun returning, at a trickle's pace, bringing the congregation back to about 80 members.

But it's a slow process, Prill said.

"It's hard to reach people who are in their 20s and are not going to church," he said.

Trend hits conservatives

Until recently, the membership decline had affected mostly mainline Protestant denominations, like Episcopalians and Methodists. Now the nation's two largest groups, Southern Baptists and Roman Catholics, are watching their numbers drop. In the 2009 Yearbook, Roman Catholics lost about 398,000 members, or 0.59 percent. Southern Baptists lost
about 40,000 members, or 0.24 percent.

That's still relatively healthy compared with other denominations.

The United Church of Christ, for example, lost more than 6 percent of its members. The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church was down more than 3 percent. The mainline Evangelical Lutheran Church was down 1.35 percent, while the more conservative Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod lost 1.44 percent.

On the other hand, four denominations reported growth.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gained 1.63 percent. The Assemblies of God were up 0.96 percent, the Jehovah's Witnesses grew by 2.12 percent, and the Church of God, based in Cleveland, Tenn., was up 2.04 percent.

But John O'Hara, statistician for the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, said even those groups are struggling.

"They may not have lost members but their rate of growth has slowed," he said.

Then there's the issue of U.S. population growth. While membership in the largest 25 churches dropped by 0.49 percent in total, the U.S. population grew by an estimated .98 percent.

"It's not just a matter of decline," said Conrad Hackett, a postdoctoral fellow in the Population Research CenterUniversity of Texas at Austin. "It's a question of not keeping up with population growth." at the

Hackett agrees that most of the decline of mainline churches can be linked to declining fertility rates. As early as the 1930s, women in more progressive or liberal denominations had fewer children than women in conservative churches. Now conservative Christian women are having fewer children as well.

"The fact of the matter is that there are demographic trends that hit the liberal or progressive denominations earlier," Hackett said, "and some of these trends are now catching up with the more conservative denominations."

Go forth and multiply

Ed Stetzer, director of Southern Baptist-owned LifeWay Research, believes that denominations got complacent during the baby boom.

"We had home-field advantage," he said. "We had gotten used to being the place where people went when they had spiritual needs. And now we are like bears fed by tourists, and the tourists are gone."

Until the 1960s, Christian denominations faced little competition in the United States. Until that time, immigration from non-Christian parts of the world was largely banned.

Once those immigration barriers were lifted, people from other faiths, such as Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists, came here in large numbers. But established churches weren't ready to reach out to people of other faiths or other ethnic backgrounds.

"We send missionaries overseas," Royster said, "but we neglected our own backyard."

Now, several denominations have begun intensive outreach efforts to reverse the decline in their members. The Southern Baptist Convention, for example, starts more than 1,000 new congregations every year. The United Methodist Church and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod also plan to aggressively plant new churches.

Those efforts will help, Hackett said, but not as much as having more babies.

Sociologists of religion like Rodney Stark argue that the early Christian church grew from a small group of followers to the dominant religion in the Roman Empire by having more kids than non-Christians.

Churches might want to try that approach again, Hackett said.

"The fact is that one of the most reliable predictors of growth is fertility," Hackett said. "In the long term, for denominations, having members who have more children is one of the most likely means of growing the denominations."

Books that have been very influential to me and Mission Fargo

2009-03-07T12:58:00.011-06:00

No Perfect People Allowed: Creating a Come-as-You-Are Culture in the Church
-John Burke-

They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations
-Dan Kimball-

Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church
The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out without Selling Out
Vintage Church: Timeless Truths and Timely Methods
-Mark Driscoll-

Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community -Steve Timmis & Tim Chester-

Simple Church: Returning to God's Process for Making Disciples-Thom Rainer-

Please Know that I do not agree with everything any of these authors say and think but I do find a lot of good in different things they say and believe it is well worth the time to read and ponder.

what we've been up to

2009-03-06T09:38:00.002-06:00

I got advice from some wise sages a few months ago and one of the things they told me to do was do things that you and Abby enjoy but might be more difficult when you have a little one.

So we have been doing just that!

We've been frequenting restaurants that might be a little more difficult to go to-

Double dates have been a regular occurrence-

For 6 weeks we had out birthing/parenting classes every wednesday night well we replaced them with movies, abby and I love movies. We did a midnight showing of one the other night and it was so much fun-

Lots of us time and it has been soo wonderful-

Well today is 3-6-09 this is the day Abby wanted to give birth so lets see what happens. Alll of our friends up here have gone early so .... Our due date is Mon but here's hoping!

still no little one here

2009-03-04T22:03:00.001-06:00

Keep holding on soon and very soon we will have the pitter patter of little feet (well not really but it sounded funny)

Thanks Jordan for sending this great things to think about

2009-02-25T08:22:00.001-06:00

Short-Term Missions

(Tony Meridia, http://tony.tbclife.net/)

I recently read through Engaging the Church: Analyzing the Canvas of Short-term Missions, which is a practical book on short-term mission efforts commonly emphasized in the church. Temple has a number of short-term trips every year, and I was helped by reading some of the selected chapters. One chapter in particular is called "Short-Term Trips Are Great, IF...."

Here are some helpful reminders:

Short-term missions are great if volunteers remember that the career missionary knows the field better than they ever will.

Short-term missions are great if participants remember that their primary responsibility is to be servants to the missionaries and national partners.

Short-term missions are great if they increase the mission spirit of the church back home.

Short-term missions are great if they call people into career service.

Short-term missions are great if volunteers remember to give God all the glory and the missionary credit for the planning, preparation and labor that made their trip a success.

Short-term missions are great if they are never viewed as substitutes for career missions.

I would add a number 7 to the list (mentioned elswhere in the book); namely, that short-term mission teams work great if there is a long-term commitment to an area, and communication is sustained with the long-term missionary. One of the new emphasis at Temple is the fact that are short-term trips are plugging into long-term commitments with various ministries in Ukraine, London, East Asia, East Africa, Puru, and other places.

Another helpful set of reminders is provided by Jim Lo in a chapter entitled "What Have We Done?" Lo shares four reasons why short-term missions have gotten out of hand. We will do will to keep these in mind:

Lack of Training - Even though we "are all missionaries" sometimes Christians leave for other countries without adequate training. This includes everything from apologetic training to social customs and physical fitness training. Often Christians go to foreign countries and complain about the food, the amount of walking, etc. They end up being a distraction rather than a help in these cases.
Tourists or Servants - Lo is also concerned that mission trips are sometimes "spiritualized vacation trips." Mission teams must go with a mindset of service and help.
Self-centeredness - Lo provides some expressions of American self-centeredness like our quest for immediate results in evangelistic presentation, which is sometimes more about personal glory the the good of others. Another example is wanting to go on a trip because it is a new location or other selfish reasons that have nothing to do with the Gospel.
"Youth Camp" Mentality - Lo cautions us to guard against taking youth who are unready for the mission field. Granted, many of our students will do well, but unprepared students may create more of a headache for the long-term missionary. If students must be "entertained" then they are not ready for certain experiences.

These are some helpful reminders for us as we seek to make disciples of all nations.

May God be gracious to us and bless usand make his face to shine upon us, Selah2 that your way may be known on earth,your saving power among all nations.3 Let the peoples praise you, O God;let all the peoples praise you! (Ps. 67:1-3)

2nd interesting article of the day, take it with a grain of salt

2009-02-24T08:07:00.002-06:00

I have become fascinated by what's going on economically. I have been reading a lot trying to keep up and really enjoying finding out more. I found another article about our current financial times that I though was very interesting.

10 Ways To Survive Without a Bailout

Rick Newman
Monday February 23, 2009, 8:06 am EST

If you haven't qualified for a bailout by now, your chances are sinking fast. Washington has spent just about all the money it can stomach for awhile and done its best to give something to everybody. If you're not in a line for a tax cut or housing rebate or mortgage modification or green-energy job, you may have little choice but to wait for the next financial meltdown.

But who says the whole solution has to be about jobs and money? There are plenty of ways to while away a recession and maybe even bail yourself out in the process. Such as:

1. Fix something. Look around your house. There are plenty of things that don't work right. Maybe it's something old and mechanical, like a blender or the bike you haven't ridden in years. Or maybe it's something new and digital, like a camera or a laptop with a virus. You used to pay somebody else to fix things like this, or just trash the offending gizmo and buy another one. But now you're cutting back on extravagances. So find the manual, or download it, and tackle the job yourself. And when you start to feel comfortable with your new repair skills, come over to my house and help with my pile of projects.

2. Learn how we got into this mess. For people who don't work in the financial industry or the news media, the financial crisis is hard to comprehend. But new resources are emerging that do a good job of demystifying esoteric stuff like subprime lending, mortgage-backed securities, credit-default swaps and all the other things that helped cause the recession. The nonprofit Milken Institute has published a dry-sounding report - "The Rise and Fall of the U.S. Mortgage and Credit Markets" - that's actually a concise, readable explanation of how the housing boom and bust produced the worst recession in at least a generation. A new book by Dave Kansas, The Wall Street Journal Guide to the End of Wall Street As We Know It, tracks the crisis back to its roots in the S&L debacle of the 1980s - in merciful plain English. Other useful primers are sure to materialize soon. A better understanding of what happened won't end the recession, but it will make you a lot smarter about your financial life and other decisions in the future.

4. Start a blog. Feel like adding your voice to the growing national rant? This is how. A lot of hosting sites, like blogger.com, are free, while others, like wordpress.com, charge a few bucks a month and give you more control. If your friends like what you have to say, your blog will gain popularity. If they don't, then it's better that you channel your vituperations into cyberspace anyway. And there's a good chance you'll discover other bloggers who feel the same way you do.

[Find out how to skirt taxes and still land a plum job.]

5. Solve a problem. We've all become experts at complaining about the problems that ail America. How about solving one? Start small. Mediate a family spat or help a struggling student raise his grade by a notch. When you get bogged down, pretend you're Tim Geithner or Ben Bernanke trying to solve the foreclosure epidemic: Sure, you could dither forever trying to figure out the fairest outcome for everybody. But you might die of old age first, while the problem mushrooms. So do a little something now instead of waiting for a universal solution to materialize later.

6. Make a movie. Decent digital videocameras cost less than $200, and less than $100 used. Software for adding background music and special effects is cheap, or free. Your movie doesn't have to be great - in fact, it probably won't be. But it will fire up some synapses that have been dormant or dedicated to worry, and it will be fun to see it on YouTube. Combine with No. 3 above, and you'll discover the most profitable industry on the Internet.

7. Stop using clichés. Please, no more economic tsunamis or Ponzi schemes for awhile. Stop throwing out the baby, with or without the bathwater. Everybody knows the party's over, so you don't need to keep reminding us. Stop looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. And if you feel the audacity of hope or some variation, keep it to yourself. Mouthing clichés is a hard habit to break, because these well-known turns of phrase often express ideas in more vivid terms than most people can come up with on their own. But speak a little slower and give it a try. Maybe by the end of the recession, we'll be a more eloquent nation. Bonus points go to anybody who can come up with fresh words to replace "bailout," "stimulus," and "shovel-ready." (Send nominations to flowchart@usnews.com.)

8. Innovate. Come up with a better way of doing something. You don't need a business plan or investors, just some keen observational powers and a bit of cleverness. Maybe there's a better way to clean up after your dog. Or get your groceries home without using plastic bags. Or plan a week's worth of school lunches for your kids. When you feel like you've actually done it, say so in your blog or just mention it to friends. Even if you don't get paid for it, you'll find it satisfying. And who knows, you might discover the kernel of a business idea.

9. Babysit for a working Mom. Everybody's got it tough. They've got it tougher. Just an hour or two of extra childcare per week could ease a great deal of stress. Tell yourself you're doing it for the children of the world. If you really want to be a saint, do it for a single working Mom.

10. Help fix capitalism. Spend your money smarter. Pay as you go. Ask a million dumb questions until you're sure you understand what you're getting into. Take intelligent risks, but ask yourself what could possibly go wrong - and have a plausible backup plan in case they do. Shame the deadbeats by outperforming and outmaneuvering them. Most of all, solve your own problems instead of hoping that somebody else will. Because there will never be a bailout big enough to cover everybody.

Oh a world without sbarro or Krispy K, and 6 flags yeesh, Fargo has neither...

2009-02-24T08:05:00.002-06:00

5 Companies That Might Not Survive 2009

February 06, 2009 09:29 AM ET

Corrected on 2/9/09: An earlier version of this article used the wrong company name for Apollo Management and gave the wrong year for real estate declines.

Who’s next?

With consumers shutting their wallets and corporate revenues plunging, the business landscape may start to resemble a graveyard in 2009. Household names like Circuit City and Linens ‘n Things have already perished. And chances are, those bankruptcies were just an early warning sign of a much broader epidemic.

Moody’s Investors Service, for instance, predicts that the default rate on corporate bonds – which foretells bankruptcies – will be three times higher in 2009 than in 2008, and 15 times higher than in 2007. That could equate to 25 significant bankruptcies per month.

We examined ratings from Moody’s and data from other sources to develop a short list of potential victims that ought to be familiar to most consumers. Many of these firms are in industries directly hit by the slowdown in consumer spending, such as retail, automotive, housing and entertainment.

But there are other common threads. Most of these firms have limited cash for a rainy day, and a lot of debt, with large interest payments due over the next year. In ordinary times, it might not be so hard to refinance loans, or get new ones, to help keep the cash flowing. But in an acute credit crunch it’s a different story, and at companies where sales are down and going lower, skittish lenders may refuse to grant any more credit. It’s a terrible time to be cash-poor.

That’s why Moody’s assigns most of these firms its lowest rating for short-term liquidity. And all the firms on this list have long-term debt that Moody’s rates Caa or lower, which means the borrower is considered at least a “very high” credit risk.

Once a company defaults on its debt, or fails to make a payment, the next step is usually a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Some firms continue to operate while in Chapter 11, retaining many of their employees. Those firms often shed debt, restructure, and emerge from bankruptcy as healthier companies.

But it takes fresh financing to do that, and with money scarce, more bankrupt firms than usual are likely to liquidate - like Circuit City. That’s why corporate failures are likely to be a major drag on the economy in 2009: In a liquidation, the entire workforce often gets axed, with little or no severance. That will only add to unemployment, which could hit 9 or even 10 percent by the end of the year.

It’s possible that none of the firms on this list will liquidate, or even declare Chapter 11. Some may come up with unexpected revenue or creative financing that helps avert bankruptcy, while others could be purchased in whole or in part by creditors or other investors. But one way or another, the following 15 firms will probably look a lot different a year from now than they do today:

Rite Aid. (Ticker symbol: RAD; about 100,000 employees; 1-year stock-price decline: 92%). This drugstore chain tried to boost its performance by acquiring competitors Brooks and Eckerd in 2007. But there have been some nasty side effects, like a huge debt load that makes it the most leveraged drugstore chain in the U.S., according to Zacks Equity Research. That big retail investment came just as megadiscounter Wal-Mart was starting to sell prescription drugs, and consumers were starting to cut bank on spending. Management has twice lowered its outlook for 2009. Prognosis: Mounting losses, with no turnaround in sight.

Claire’s Stores. (Privately owned; about 18,000 employees.) Leon Black’s once-renowned private-equity firm, Apollo Management, paid $3.1 billion for this trendy teen-focused accessory store in 2007, when buyout funds were bulging. But cash flow has been negative for much of the past year and analysts believe Claire’s is close to defaulting on its debt. A horrible retail outlook for 2009 offers no relief, suggesting Claire’s could follow Linens ‘n Things – another Apollo purchase – and declare Chapter 11, possibly shuttering all of its 3,000-plus stores. (Update: See this response from Claire's.)

Chrysler. (Privately owned; about 55,000 employees). It’s never a good sign when management insists the company is not going out of business, which is what CEO Bob Nardelli has been doing lately. Of the three Detroit automakers, Chrysler is the most endangered, with a product portfolio that’s overreliant on gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs and almost totally devoid of compelling small cars. A recent deal with Fiat seems dubious, since the Italian automaker doesn’t have to pony up any money, and Chrysler desperately needs cash. The company is quickly burning through $4 billion in government bailout money, and with car sales down 40 percent from recent peaks, Chrysler may be the weakling that can’t cut it in tough times.

Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group. (DTG; about 7,000 employees; stock down 95%). This car-rental company is a small player compared to Enterprise, Hertz, and Avis Budget. It’s also more reliant on leisure travelers, and therefore more susceptible to a downturn as consumers cut spending. Dollar Thrifty is also closely tied to Chrysler, which supplies 80 percent of its fleet. Moody’s predicts that if Chrysler declares Chapter 11, Dollar Thrifty would suffer deeply as well.

Realogy Corp. (Privately owned; about 13,000 employees). It’s the biggest real-estate brokerage firm in the country, but that’s a bad thing when there are double-digit declines in both sales and prices, as there were in 2008. Realogy, which includes the Coldwell Banker, ERA, and Sotheby’s franchises, also carries a high debt load, dating to its purchase by Apollo Management in 2007 – the very moment when the housing market was starting to invert from a soaring ride into a sickening nosedive. Realogy has been trying to refinance much of its debt, prompting lawsuits. One deal was denied by a judge in December, reducing the firm’s already tight wiggle room. [Update: See this response from Realogy.]

Station Casinos. (Privately owned, about 14,000 employees). Las Vegas has already been creamed by a biblical real-estate bust, and now it may face the loss of its home-grown gambling joints, too. Station - which runs 15 casinos off the strip that cater to locals - recently failed to make a key interest payment, which is often one of the last steps before a Chapter 11 filing. For once, the house seems likely to lose.

Loehmann’s Capital Corp. (Privately owned; about 1,500 employees). This clothing chain has the right formula for lean times, offering women’s clothing at discount prices. But the consumer pullback is hitting just about every retailer, and Loehmann’s has a lot less cash to ride out a drought than competitors like Nordstrom Rack and TJ Maxx. If Loehmann’s doesn’t get additional financing in 2009 – a dicey proposition, given skyrocketing unemployment and plunging spending – the chain could run out of cash.

Sbarro. (Privately owned; about 5,500 employees). It’s not the pizza that’s the problem. Many of this chain’s 1,100 storefronts are in malls, which is a double whammy: Traffic is down, since consumers have put away their wallets. Sbarro can’t really boost revenue by adding a breakfast or late-night menu, like other chains have done. And competitors like Domino’s and Pizza Hut have less debt and stronger cash flow, which could intensify pressure on Sbarro as key debt payments come due in 2009.

Six Flags. (SIX; about 30,000 employees; stock down 84%). This theme-park operator has been losing money for several years, and selling off properties to try to pay down debt and get back into the black. But the ride may end prematurely. Moody’s expects cash flow to be negative in 2009, and if consumers aren’t spending during the peak summer season, that could imperil the company’s ability to pay debts coming due later this year and in 2010.

Blockbuster. (BBI; about 60,000 employees; stock down 57%). The video-rental chain has burned cash while trying to figure out how to maximize fees without alienating customers. Its operating income has started to improve just as consumers are cutting back, even on movies. Video stores in general are under pressure as they compete with cable and Internet operators offering the same titles. A key test of Blockbuster’s viability will come when two credit lines expire in August. One possible outcome, according to Valueline, is that investors take the company private and then go public again when market conditions are better.

Krispy Kreme. (KKD; about 4,000 employees; stock down 50%). The donuts might be good, but Krispy Kreme overestimated Americans' appetite - and that's saying something. This chain overexpanded during the donut heyday of the 1990s - taking on a lot of debt - and now requires high volumes to meet expenses and interest payments. The company has cut costs and closed underperforming stores, but still hasn't earned an operating profit in three years. And now that consumers are cutting back on everything, such improvements may fail to offset top-line declines, leading Krispy Kreme to seek some kind of relief from lenders over the next year.

Landry’s Restaurants. (LNY; about 17,000 employees; stock down 66%). This restaurant chain, which operates Chart House, Rainforest Café, and other eateries, needs $400 million in new financing to finalize a buyout deal dating to last June. If lenders come through, the company should have enough cash to ride out the recession. But at least two banks have already balked, leading to downgrades of the company's debt and the prospect of a cash-flow crunch. (Update: Moody's recently upgraded its long-term outlook for Landry's - but maintained the company's short-term liquidity rating - after the company refinanced some of its debt.)

Sirius Satellite Radio. (SIRI - parent company; about 1,000 employees; stock down 96%). The music rocks, but satellite radio has yet to be profitable, and huge contracts for performers like Howard Stern are looking unsustainable. Sirius is one of two satellite-radio services owned by parent company Sirius XM, which was formed when Sirius and XM merged last year. So far, the merger hasn't generated the savings needed to make the company profitable, and Moody's thinks there's a "high likelihood" that Sirius will fail to repay or refinance its debt in 2009. One outcome could be a takeover, at distressed prices, by other firms active in the satellite business. (Update: Sirius recently averted a bankruptcy filing when Liberty Media took a 40 percent stake in the company.)

Trump Entertainment Resorts Holdings. (TRMP; about 9,500 employees; stock down 94%). The casino company made famous by The Donald has received several extensions on interest payments, while it tries to sell at least one of its Atlantic City properties and pay down a stack of debt. But with casino buyers scarce, competition circling, and gamblers nursing their losses from the recession, Trump Entertainment may face long odds of skirting bankruptcy. (Update: Trump Entertainment declared bankruptcy on Feb. 17 but said it will continue to operate normally.)

BearingPoint. (BGPT; about 16,000 employees; stock down 21%). This Virginia-based consulting firm, spun out of KPMG in 2001, is struggling to solve its own operating problems. The firm has consistently lost money, revenue has been falling, and management stopped issuing earnings guidance in 2008. Stable government contracts generate about 30 percent of the firm's business, but the firm may sell other divisions to help pay off debt. With a key interest payment due in April, management needs to hustle - or devise its own exit strategy.

—With Carol Hook, Danielle Burton, Jenny O'Shea, Bobbie Kyle Sauer and Stephanie Salmon

misconceptions from the movie Fargo

2009-02-21T14:16:00.008-06:00

1. I don't think I have seen a woodchipper the whole time I've lived here, now I have seen my fair share of snow blowers maybe that should have been used. (I'm just sayin)

2. Most of the bars are in town so you don't have to travel way off in the boon docks to get to them

3. Some people do have the wicked strong accent but not all, but some (I have to say that again)

4. Lot of people do like to fish, summer, winter (the other two season are to short to mention)

5. Minneapolis is farther away from Fargo than the movie lets on

6. There is a real metro police dept in the FM and also NDSU and MSUM have full police forces now brainerd maybe they do look like this and act like this but I have't seen it haha.

7. Fargo is much more than a bar in the middle of no where-a town of 120,000 but with the sister city it is almost 200,000 (depending on the stat you're reading of course).

8. Now while there are stretches of road where there is nothing and if a car was run off the road and people murdered it might be a little while before they are noticed but at the same token usually there is some movement. (this would be 50 or so miles outside of Fargo heading west where the stretches are). Forreal I don't let my car get below 1/2 a tank on long car trips.

9. A true statement, there are towns where everyone knows everyone and there are no real secrets. but isn't that true in every state ?

10. Lastly another true statement There are a lot of crazy names up here that really struggle to pronounce. HA. hjelmstad (how would you say it)(kjristen)(lutefisk)

I hope you enjoyed the Fargo ramblings and if reading this compels you to watch the movie I caution you it is a murder mystery and I would also invite you after you watch it to consider coming for a visit.

"Although the film is named Fargo, the location of the initial scene in North Dakota, most of the film's action is set in Minnesota (the towns of Brainerd and Minneapolis) and on the road to and from Fargo, during approximately a week of time in late January and early February. None of the film was shot in the city of Fargo."-filmsite.org-

"Janes addiction" no no Johns addiction

2009-02-21T14:03:00.003-06:00

Well peoples I have to go ahead and admit something, it might make all of you think less of me (I know for some that's not hard). A few months work laid off a lot of people because of the tough economic landscape. I kept my job but I had to scale back hours a lot. Things are almost back where they were on the hours front but in the mean time I picked up an addiction.

Lost

That great ABC show has sucked me in and won't let me out. You can ask Abby through Nov and Dec and Early Jan that is the vice that regularly kept me up till 2 or 3 in the morn. Now I didn't let it take away from responsibilities but it sure did take away from sleep. Guys it is a really good show and they have all of them online. If you want to watch go to abc.com and go little by little. I have found it nice to have it on in the background while I am doing other stuff.

So people ask what are my fave shows

West Wing
Lost
Heroes
24
Scrubs
Cosby show

The addiction has subsided but I still watch it every other week. There it is out in the open I am on the patch now so I am recovering but I hear it a long road of 18 steps, so life a journey now it's time to go to my L.A. group and talk about how the dharma intiative and the smoke monster!

Lets take a poll

2009-02-19T14:26:00.002-06:00

Go ahead and chime in when you think Abby is going to deliver. March 9 is the due date so please lets get some thoughts on when Julia is going to join us here on the outside. I was hoping for fri the 13th but alas it was a no go. ANY THOUGHTS?

New things a hapnin

2009-02-15T22:28:00.002-06:00

We have had a crazy turn of recent events.

Around the first of the year we had a new tenant move in upstairs. We were glad to bring in a new neighbor. The very first night we smelled a super strong scent cigarette smoke. we called our landlords and told them about it. This began a string of 10+ times telling them we smelled smoke. With Abby being pregnant and the dangers of second hand smoke we began to get frustrated by the situation not being reconciled. I approached the housemate but he became very combative with me and that was the end of that conversation. I set up a meeting with our landlords the next day and told them about what was going on and that it needed to be fixed. To complicate the matter the housemate in question is their youngest son. He is in his early thirties and has been going through a sort of life crisis the last few years. So he is a little unstable and has always made us nervous.

The meeting went ok but at the end of it all we didn't feel that they had our best interest in mind anymore. So we started the search for a new place. They even suggested we move(ha) we feel confident we have done nothing wrong but see the need to make our own change if nothing is going to be done. We start this process with no ill will but a knowledge that being in a more stable and secure environment will be best for Abby and Julia Ruth. We think we have found the place but we shall soon find out we are looking at moving some time in late March early April and are in need of your prayers. We are thrilled the Lord has called us here and re pressing on to the goals of starting Churches. (He never said it would be easy) thanks for all your support.

Now this is bad

2009-02-10T23:55:00.001-06:00

Guys I thought we had it bad in Fargo, wow this is bad news.

Guess we shouldn't complain. Its never as bad as it could be.

Remote start is always good...but what about a remote plow????
j

What's in a name?

2009-01-29T22:27:00.005-06:00

Well, birthing class numero cuatro is in the books. We are 34 weeks along with our sweet daughter and are we ever thrilled!

I was thinking the other day that I have never explained the meaning behind what we are naming her. It is actually a funny story. So since before we were engaged we had, you know in passing, talked about kids. We decided that we wanted to use biblical names as the names of our children. So for the longest time I would joke with Abby and tell her when we had a girl I was going to name her Gomer. Needless to say that didn't fly, so I assured her I would find another obscure (or just strange) name. Abby on the other hand had always loved the name Julia. Though we weren't aware of any Julia's in the Bible. However, one day Abby was reading the last chapter of the letter to the Romans where Paul is giving thanks go people and sending greetings to his friends. One of those friends was a person named Julia. Around the same time, I was looking up names on a website that lists the names of biblical women and again found the name Julia there. We do not know much of anything about this woman except that she was a supporter of Paul's church starting missionary journeys and a meaningful part of the church in Rome. We thought back on our life experience of Julie's/Julia's we knew and they were all sweet, wonderful women of faith. Something that is doubly wonderful about the name Julia is that it was also Abby's great-grandmother's first name. Though Abby never knew her, we are proud to carry on that legacy as well.

In very recent days we have finally decided on Julia's middle name. The name Julia like we said before mentions a great woman of faith, we decided to continue that by using a middle name that also has double meaning. Ruth will be Julia's middle name. Ruth is a (more well known) great woman of faith in the Scriptures and also is my mother's middle name.

We are praying that our daughter will grow up to love the Lord and leave a legacy of following Christ as these women before her have. We are so so excited about what the Lord is doing in bringing us this daughter. It is fun to say that we are already parents and have consider ourselves such for over 8 months.

To Julia Ruth Fisher (who will probably never read this) we love you very much and can't wait to meet you for the first time. Love you, Mommy and Daddy.

4:30 well no its really 3:45

2009-01-24T03:44:00.002-06:00

Well this weekend is a different one. Judy is in town, we are very blessed and excited to have her (Abby's mom) here to help us set stuff up for Julia's room. Painting and assembling etc etc etc is the docket for this weekend.

It is also neat to be able to take her around to the places we go to do the things we do weekly with us. Tonight dinner with Susan was so fun and then home depot yayyayyay.

Bar night was pretty un eventful really and truly since Halloween it has been pretty lame when it come to bar nights. Sadly it got really cold today (-somethin) as opposed to the upper 20's we've had all week.

Thursday was a rare treat I got to go to a 21'st birthday party at Old Chicago, oh so fun I got to meet tons of people and we really got to have fun conversations. Rachel and neeva josh beth, jess, alex and Josh and then Abby and I. I think this might have been the first 21'st party I have ever been to, I didn't even have one myself, ha.

So then tonight the specks for the evening.

1. 3 amigos talking to loud and in my face that I was covered in drunk man spit (gross)

2. 3 high fives

3. 4 "do you like working with drunk people:

4. 2 people try to convince me they paid for something they didn' t

5. 5 "give me whatever is the best"

6. working with three fab people, rick, suz, katrina (new to the bar shift)

Over all a good night, not to terrible exciting but it was fun and I got home at 3:30. (This was after sending one home at 2:15 and one at 3).

Come on down and enjoy a pita with us. (and no joke just now I straight up fell asleep and the dreams started, whoa time to go to bed.

PS 0pardon the typos-

what do you do before you go back to work at 1am

2009-01-24T00:08:00.002-06:00

I wanna open this up to readers, every Friday (if you haven't bee reading) I work the opening shift and then go back to work at 1AM till 4AM. Now Abby and I do some stuff in the community every Friday from 6-10 or so but sometimes we get done early and I come home and ask myself what should I do. Now I will eliminate a couple of things (nap) when I have napped in the past i am groggy the rest of the night. I do some work a lot of times but please chime in give me some suggestions on things for me to do between 9PM-1AM to stay awake before I go back to work.

hahahaha

2009-01-15T12:52:00.026-06:00

Brrrr it is cold but my friends we are surviving, below is the hour by hour of the day yesterday. I am very proud to tell everyone that I was out at the coldest points of the day. But I have t remind everyone far off who reads this, LIFE GOES ON, it really does. Schools still in session everyone is still open for business (except for DQ of course).

Time

Condition

Felt
like

Dew
Point

Humid.

Visib.

Press.

Wind

12:05 AM

Partly Cloudy -27°F

-27°F

-33°F

68%

10.0
miles

30.71
inches

From WNW
3mph

1:05 AM

Partly Cloudy -28°F

-45°F

-34°F

67%

10.0
miles

30.72
inches

From WNW
6mph

2:05 AM

Partly Cloudy -27°F

-27°F

-33°F

68%

10.0
miles

30.70
inches

From W
3mph

3:05 AM

Partly Cloudy -27°F

-44°F

-33°F

68%

10.0
miles

30.72
inches

From WSW
6mph

4:05 AM

Partly Cloudy -28°F

-47°F

-33°F

72%

10.0
miles

30.71
inches

From WSW
7mph

5:05 AM

Partly Cloudy -28°F

-45°F

-34°F

67%

10.0
miles

30.72
inches

From SW
6mph

6:05 AM

Partly Cloudy -27°F

-47°F

-34°F

64%

10.0
miles

30.72
inches

From WSW
8mph

7:05 AM

Clear -28°F

-48°F

-34°F

67%

10.0
miles

30.73
inches

From WSW
8mph

8:05 AM

Partly Cloudy -29°F

-48°F

-36°F

63%

10.0
miles

30.73
inches

From SW
7mph

Sunrise at 8:08 AM

9:05 AM

Sunny -28°F

-45°F

-34°F

67%

7.0
miles

30.73
inches

From SSW
6mph

10:05 AM

Mostly Cloudy -26°F

-42°F

-32°F

68%

10.0
miles

30.73
inches

From SW
6mph

11:05 AM

Sunny -22°F

-40°F

-29°F

64%

10.0
miles

30.73
inches

From SW
7mph

12:05 PM

Sunny -19°F

-34°F

-26°F

65%

10.0
miles

30.72
inches

From SSW
6mph

1:05 PM

Sunny -17°F

-35°F

-24°F

65%

10.0
miles

30.70
inches

From SSW
8mph

2:05 PM

Sunny -16°F

-35°F

-23°F

65%

10.0
miles

30.69
inches

From SSW
9mph

3:05 PM

Sunny -14°F

-34°F

-22°F

62%

10.0
miles

30.68
inches

From SW
10mph

5:05 PM

Sunny -16°F

-34°F

-24°F

61%

10.0
miles

30.65
inches

From SSW
8mph

Sunset at 5:06 PM

6:05 PM

Partly Cloudy -18°F

-36°F

-25°F

65%

10.0
miles

30.64
inches

From S
8mph

7:05 PM

Partly Cloudy -19°F

-37°F

-26°F

65%

10.0
miles

30.63
inches

From S
8mph

8:05 PM

Partly Cloudy -22°F

-42°F

-28°F

69%

10.0
miles

30.63
inches

From S
9mph

9:05 PM

Clear -22°F

-42°F

-28°F

69%

10.0
miles

30.60
inches

From S
9mph

10:05 PM

Partly Cloudy -21°F

-40°F

-28°F

64%

10.0
miles

30.57
inches

From S
8mph

11:05 PM

Clear -22°F

-42°F

-28°F

69%

10.0
miles

30.55
inches

From S
9mph

We are totally safe bundled up I am calling snow shoveling my new part-time job. We were talking to someone the other day about weather fears and like we feared severe cold they fear 80 degree heat with humidity. So there's something everywhere you go. But I have to assure all we are doing great and not frost bite (but I must say for the weather aspect i envy Abby being pregnant)

Blizzard Warning ??? Really??

2009-01-11T18:27:00.002-06:00

Lets get ready for some more. We had a winter storm warning on Thurs PM- Fri AM and we had none so the blizzard warning for today doesnt scare me that much but then again I've said that before.

Off to dinner with Sam and Robbie we are psyched

Invest in Your Valley

2009-01-03T23:08:00.001-06:00

Some great clips about the Red River Valley (Fargo and Grand Forks are in this valley) Check out the Fargo Mayor and also the FMCVB director. Check them out

2009-01-03T13:18:00.003-06:00

One of my friends started a really cool website here in Fargo I think you should check out. It is ourfargo.com. YOu'll need to register (takes seconds) but it is a forum for people to talk about Fargo, annoucements, reveiews of local establishments, events, or just general conversation of the things of Fargo. We would love to see it grow so check it outand join!

33.5

2009-01-03T12:44:00.004-06:00

Yes everyone we set an all time monthly record for snowfall last month: 33.5 inches of snow fall in a given month. That is a new record for amount of snow to fall in any given month let alone as early as December. We are currently experiencing some major snow fall today, so here's to setting another record. Now, my Fargo friends please chime in on this, but this hasn't just been a normal month but this has been for real tough. So all that to say that we feel like the real deal here. I have seen 2 blizzards and this much snow so I feel like the real deal. When we first got here everyone would say stuff like "you just don't know" or "just wait". Well my friends we have arrived and we have seen the real deal. WOOHOO

Now New Years was awesome! We had a blast at the OB with Drew and Susan. We had a great meal and the company was even better. Thanks so much for the invite and we look forward to doing it again soon!

Many of you have been asking how things are going at the Pita Pit in Fargo. Well things are looking up. The current economic situation coupled with inclement weather has hit us hard (we rely on a lot of foot traffic so sub-zero natually keeps people away). Because of this, they had to make some major changes at work: we are all working less, the three owners are working much more and we have had to downsize the staff. So it has been chaotic lately in our lives. Things are looking better now than they had in the last couple of months. So there is a sense of hope at work, now in my opinion I think this can work and both of these places can be very proftable but it will take all of us stepping out of the box and often times out of the store and spreading the word. I am excited to be apart of making this better, so in my opinion this'll work if we all start not doing business as usual and really working because we want to make this work.

Lastly a shout out to my Fargo peoples, come on by we are open 10-8 and have weekly pita specials. Coupons are also in different places, so it is very affordable. Now I am the type guy who loves to buy home grown, local etc. Some might say (but it is a chain) let me tell you friends it is a chain, that is true, but it is run by people that struggle and toil just like the rest of us. There is no big brother carrying us along. So when I eat at the Pita Pit it is like eating at any other locally owned place. So if you're like me at all and love Fargo than lets support Fargo by supporting those local businesses and business owners who are't getting rich off of cheating or taking advantage of anyone but who are getting by only by putting out a great product because they take pride in what they are doing. I know I am biased because I work there but downtonwn needs the Pita Pit just like the Pita Pit needs downtown. Let's support local commerce in our grocery shooping, coffee choices, furniture, RESTAURANTS (of the Pita persuasion), hardware and whatever else one might need.

We love Fargo and we know many of you do too. Let's all work to make Fargo a better place.

Thoughts on life...

2009-01-02T15:22:00.002-06:00

It has been a crazy last several weeks for Pam and I. I have finished my semester in seminary, preached at my church, drove to Jacksonville, FL for Thanksgiving, flew to Ocala, FL for Pam's grandma's funeral, drove a total of 1500 miles during Christmas, and am now gearing up for two January classes. Needless to say, blogging has been put on the back burner for me.

But lots of things have been running through my head the last several months. One of the big things I have been thinking a lot about is making my life count. Several things have made me consider this over the last month or so. One major thing is the recent passing of my wife's grandma Ann.

We got a call from Pam's mom on December 4th that her grandma was being rushed to the hospital. After getting two free round trip tickets to Jacksonville from a man in our church (thanks Gerald) we flew to Orlando the next morning to be with the family. On that Saturday Grandma passed away very peacefully.

The 40 something hours we spent at the hospital and the week we spent with my in laws planning the funeral, though sad and full of mourning, were some of the most revealing and challenging days I have had.

I think death often makes us look back at our own lives and consider if we are living in such a way that we would be pleased if we were to go. Not that we had marked everything off our "bucket list," but that we had lived a life of influence.

I didn't know Pam's grandma as well as I wish I did. They lived in Ocala, FL so we only saw them a handful of times in the last couple years. But in the week we spent with her family I learned several things about her. 1) She loved her husband and he loved her too. It was so challenging for me to see the relationship, how much sacrifice and commitment they showed to one another. 2) She loved her family and they knew it. She never missed a birthday, anniversary, or significant event, even if you were technically no longer a part of the family. 3) She loved her faith. The pastor who did her service talked about how much her and Grandpa Lahey sacrificed in there commitment to the church and to helping people. They were founding members of his church plant there in Ocala and she taught Sunday school for children for years and year. 4) She was a light to a lot of people. Grandpa talked about the different places they went throughout their routine every week. Whether McDonald's, Boston Market, or the bank, everywhere they went they brought a little joy into the lives of the workers there, and each place looked forward to seeing the Laheys. 5) She didn't care about her popularity, wealth, or power. They lived a simple life, didn't have high profile jobs, didn't live in a mansion, or eat at pricey places. Those things weren't important to her. She knew what mattered, her faith and her family.

The reason I say this is that it would be easy for us to say that Grandma Lahey lived a simple, ordinary life, nothing extraordinary or revolutionary. The problem with that conclusion is that there are thousands of people that were dramatically influenced by Ann Lahey, whether directly or indirectly. She has 6 children and lots of grandchildren who are doing amazing things, partly because of the grandmother who showed them how to live a life of influence.

For the last few weeks I have thought a lot about my life and have asked the question, "what am I doing to be influential to those around me?" The very reason we are moving to Fargo is to make an influence and hopefully impact the community by starting churches. But what about my everyday comings and goings, am I making a difference? I guess I will keep asking the question because there is always more, alway opportunities.

Sorry this is so long, but it has been a couple months since I posted last. Next time I will try and make it shorter.

this is a great article from the Forum

2008-12-27T03:58:00.003-06:00

The rebirth of downtown: Renaissance Zone helping revitalize old city center

Helmut Schmidt, The Forum
Published Saturday, December 27, 2008

Sometime in the past 10 years, downtown Fargo was reborn.

An old city center that once saw plunging property values and merchants fleeing for malls is now witnessing rundown buildings being refurbished and new buildings being built. Opportunity is once again in the air.

Much of that can be tied to a 1999 state law that allowed Fargo and other cities to create downtown renaissance zones.

“There’s a visible, discernable improvement in downtown,” said Fargo Senior Planner Bob Stein. “The cumulative effect of the investment has been to upgrade the entire area in terms of safety, appearance and value.”

Stein estimates $93 million in private investment has been made downtown.

The Hotel Donaldson is one of the downtown Fargo properties that was improved by participating in the Fargo Renaissance Zone. Dave Wallis / The Forum

The city put more than $8 million into infrastructure improvements on Broadway, he said. Another $2.5 million in railroad quiet zone work makes it possible to sell housing downtown, he said.

Nonprofit entities also invested, Stein said. MeritCare Hospital spent $55 million to expand its downtown campus, and North Dakota State University has spent $15 million to buy, expand and remodel two buildings to house its College of Business (Barry Hall) and for architecture (Klai Hall).

Dave Anderson, president of the Downtown Community Partnership, said the results have been transformative.

“I think culturally and socially, for the community, it’s provided a gathering place that we just didn’t have,” he said. “You can come downtown and live. You can be entertained. You can go to school, and shop and work.”

Vital tax base

The changes have also rebuilt a tax base vital to the city and Fargo School District, Anderson said.

Several blocks in the Renaissance Zone have had building values increase 300, 400 and 500 percent since 2000, city records show.

The block holding NDSU’s Renaissance Hall (the former Northern School Supply), the Old Broadway entertainment complex, the 12 Broadway condominiums and other improvements had an 852 percent increase in value on buildings, city records show, rising from $1.88 million in 2000 to $17.9 million for 2009.

The block holding the 300 NP condominiums, the Vogel Law Firm and Keifer’s Big Value store posted a 495 percent increase in value on its buildings, records show, going from $1.8 million in 2000 to $10.7 million in 2009.

In all, building values in the Renaissance Zone rose from $103 million in 2000 to

$218.5 million for 2009, records show, an increase of 111 percent.

Property tax receipts for Renaissance Zone projects that were at $400,000 in 1999 should be nearly $2.2 million by 2014, when the latest projects return to the tax rolls, records show.

Extension sought

The Legislature created renaissance zones in 1999, setting aside $2.5 million in tax credits to spur revitalization statewide, Stein said.

Another $2.5 million in credits were later added to the pool, Stein said.

There are also income tax credits for people who buy condominiums or apartments for use as residences.

More than 40 communities now use renaissance zone funds, Stein and Anderson said. They said they’d like to see the next Legislature:

E Expand the program from its original 15-year limit, which will end in five years.

E Increase the pool of tax credits.

E Offer tax credits to utility companies to bury power lines.

E Let cities move renaissance zones from fully developed blocks to blocks that need the incentive program.

Kevin Bartram, owner of Mutschler Bartram Architects and an owner of Sterling Companies, both of Fargo, took on the 300 NP Avenue and the Historic Ford Building retail, office and condominium projects.

“I just hope it keeps going,” Bartram said of the program. “It’s definitely helped the more marginal projects.”

Two recent eye-grabbing Fargo projects were both spurred by Renaissance Zone incentives: the $5.4 million 300 Broadway retail and condo project by the Kilbourne Group, and developer Mike Bullinger’s $18 million Cityscapes Plaza, retail and student housing project.

Without the benefits from the state, “This kind of investment wouldn’t have been possible,” Anderson said. “The state and the community have benefited in a growth in tax valuations. But the whole community has benefited because we have a place that didn’t exist 10 years ago.”

Readers can reach Forum reporter

Helmut Schmidt at (701) 241-5583

The old Ford plant on Broadway is one of the downtown Fargo properties that was improved by participating in the Fargo Renaissance Zone. Dave Wallis / The Forum

Foundation forms are beginning to appear around the edges as machinery digs out the lower level of what will be a planned five-story retail and housing complex to serve North Dakota State University’s growth in downtown Fargo. The complex is in the Fargo Renaissance Zone. Dave Wallis / The Forum

Check it out

2008-12-26T21:43:00.002-06:00

This is a very thought provoking piece and one that would probably be echoed with a lot of people. Check it out here

"and Happy Holidays"

2008-12-26T19:50:00.002-06:00

We have had a great time spending the holidays here. We have missed our families in KY and TN but we are confident that we are n the right place. I have had 2 blizzards and over 24 in of snow this month and if the snow comes tonight like it should than we will be at an all time high for December.
The snow has been an adjustment but really and truly it doesn't stop life at all A no travel advisory during a bad blizzard does stop life but everything else is just stuff you deal with, like humidity in Nashville or tornadoes in KY every place has something. We drive slower leave earlier and wear better shoes. We have loved being here this holiday season the people have been welcoming and we have had some great opportunities to get to know people better since staying here this season.

we miss everyone a lot and have been overwhelmed by your generosity and kindness while we have been here thanks everyone.

what we are doing

2008-12-18T21:27:00.002-06:00

I really enjoy teaching people about what we are doing. We have learned a lot over the years about good practices and bad practices. We have seen far to many CP fail and because of that it compels up to do things differently. I want to teach people on different ways that people CP. I see some major flaws in this timeline. I think there is good in laying out goals, but there is a huge problem in moving to fast, making moves before understanding, and also treating every situation as if they were the same. Check this out and lets learn together different ways people starting Churches.
Check it here

Let it snow (no forreal really snow)

2008-12-14T17:38:00.002-06:00

WOW

Check this, and this out....

I wish abby weren't out of town this is no fun without your wife.

Needless to say this has become a inside work day.

This is the Local News Paper

2008-12-14T12:15:00.001-06:00

Needless to say it is hard to get around today.

I tried walking to the grocery store today but it's not happening.

one of the many reason why we are here.

2008-12-13T23:10:00.003-06:00

At any given time there are 85 Churches in the DBC in North and South Dakota with a population of 1.4Million. Now this is not saying that the DBC is the most important group or that we have all the answers but we are a group that loves Jesus, wants to be apart of Jesus changing peoples lives and we love the Bible.

To put the need in perspective Warren, Simpson and Logan counties in Kentucky (all three of these are neighboring counties) have more affiliated Churches (92) and a population of 135,000.

So to recap 3 neighboring counties in South Central KY with a population of 135,000 there are more Baptist affiliated Churches than in both North and South Dakota combines and a population of 1.4 Million.

Facts compiled by Census.gov and thearda.com

Dual Employment

2008-12-10T19:42:00.000-06:00

Disclaimer: The following could be considered a little rant and may be more for those church folk that read.

Ya know I was reminded this week why we are so intentional about being bi-vocational/dually employed, whatever you would want to call it. I had a friend tell me about another church plant that has disbanded and the different groups of people have gone their separate ways. Hear me now and don't forget that I said this.
The Lord can realign passions, change paths, direct people in different directions. Here is what I am saying: it is often that a change of direction is accompanied by a change in a money situation. Once again, this is not an indictment, but a severe flaw in the way we do things. Being a leader in the Church is so tied to a full time vocation and there are flaws to that line of thinking. I spoke to a pastor friend of mine that was telling me about a time in his pastoral ministry where his church couldn't pay him, in fact he told them not to pay him but rather concentrate on the bills and they would figure it out later. Now the Lord worked through it and brought the funds needed to pay him and pay the bills and it turns out to be a tremendous story of the Lord working in situations. (Some members who had moved away were led by the Lord to give an offering to their former church as a way of continuing to show faithfulness to those who had loved them)
But think about this: when a church comes to the point of deciding between paying the pastor or keeping the lights on, that is a tough spot to be in and the ministry of the Church is severely hurt. The first Church in question has been doing some great things, I have been in awe of the direction they are going and many of their ideas I have applied to what we are doing. So this hits me pretty hard because I have seen such camaraderie with this crew.

But we do what we do (being bi-vocational) for these reasons:

1. We meet and impact more people, hands down, this way rather than being full-time and trying to find ways to be with people.

2. Financially, it frees us up to be able to use funds raised to minister and not pay our bills.

3. When times are lean (like now) or people aren't giving then we can still continue on the task to starting Biblically faithful/culturally relevant churches in the Dakotas.

4. Whenever anyone asks me if I wish I could be full-time and supported by an agency to start churches, I emphatically say no. It is so un-natural to employ someone to connect with people who are not in church by employing them to be a full-time church person. I know for the Robinsons and for us, we are so thankful that we get to raise support from various sources: people and churches, our jobs, and a mission agency.

5. This is how I see it as the most helpful: Abby and I pay our bills, the mission agency equips us financially to do ministry and our supporters fund big projects and other on-going and future mission efforts.

So this isn't saying at all that we have THE WAY or we are totally correct but this is a convictional thing for us. We are totally understanding that the Lord changes directions etc, but at the same time we want that to be the Lord, and the Lord alone, and no other peripheral issues to be catalyst for changes.

Please hear that this is not a slam on anyone, rather it is an explanation from real life situations on why we are so intentional about the direction we are going. We are hopefully learning from the successes and mistakes of others that have gone before and to be totally honest are striving to be great examples of following Christ.

4:30, 4:30 in the morning

2008-12-06T04:35:00.003-06:00

Just so everyone knows the typo errors are for good reason. I leave them because you need to experience the real experience because as my wonderful big sister says int he comments, I am totally fried by this time of night. HAHA

Winter has come to the Northern Plainss. The temp is in the teens and yes snow has fallen. We enjoyed or first decent snow today. It started snowing around 1 and didn't stop till around 5:30 (P.M.). We had a fab night frequenting one of our usual spots. Get to take some cool steps with people and we are thrilled about that.

Then we went to a holiday party with Abbys co workers and it was wonderful, chatting with new friends and getting to know each other better. This was a huge step and we are starting to do some more stuff here. It was cool for me as a husband to see how much these people love Abby and get along with ht.

So now the part we are all waiting for

Where else would......

1. I was propositioned by a girl with her BF in tow (weird)

2. Super slow night but me and shanna and suzy had fun

3. Got to drive shanna home to moorhead.

4. Had a couple of boys" that for whatever wonderful Reason couldn't stop knocking things over

5. Chairs knocked over, table knocked over.

6. Trash everywhere in the dining area

7. I was so proud of my co-workers for cleaning up so well before I got there and then when we closed

8. The weather brought out a particularly committed groups of fri night partiers.

All around a nice slow pita Pit day nothing crazy to report...

What a Weekend

2008-12-02T10:01:00.005-06:00

I'll have pictures up soon, so the story will have to suffice.

Thanksgiving was fantastic! We stayed here and hosted a friend from Louisville, Hilary, who is seeking the Lord's will as to whether the Dakotas are where God would have her. She and our friend Sam from BW's, whom we've talked about before, but this is the first time Sam has come over. It was a fabulous time, we had so much fun with them laughing, telling stories, and just genuinely enjoying each others company.

We then took Hilary to Sioux Falls on Friday so that she could see that city ,and what's going on there. We got to take her through Wahpeton, Watertown, and Brookings, and tell her the vision we have for starting Churches all throughout the region, and in particular up and down I 29.

While spending time together we found that Abby, I and Hilary all have similar passions, gifts, vision, and desires to follow Christ. It was refreshing for us to meet someone that we instantly became friends with. Abby and I also saw a definite future ministering along side Hilary.

While in Sioux Falls, the DBC put us up in a hotel. covered our meals, and paid for our transportation expenses. It was a wonderful time for Abby and I to get away and to get to know another city more intimately. Thanks to Jim and Lisa for hosting us, Zach and Jen for showing us around, Karen for covering all the details, Travis and Becky for letting us in their home and showing us what the Lord is doing on Summit. And to Set Free Church, Church at the Warehouse, Ridgecrest, and Crosspoint, thanks for you kindness and showing us how to love people just for who they are.

I'm having an excited dad moment

2008-12-02T09:59:00.001-06:00

Sorry for this, well really I'm not, I am having an excited dad moment. Check it out

summer missionaries

2008-11-25T12:02:00.002-06:00

We are pumped to have the opportunity to have some summer missionaries (interns you might call them) this summer. We are in the very beginning stages of talking, getting to know one another. From there we will send out applications, interview and hopefully bring some of them up here. Each of the people we have gotten to know have been great and we are so excited to get to know each of these talented guys and gals.

We are pumped to have Living Hope in Bowling Green partner with us in sending us names and talking to students on our behalf. Matt, the college minister there is doing a fabulous job of raising up leaders and ministering to the students there at WKU.

So please pray for us as we get to know these students and as they contemplate their summer plans and which direction the Lord is leading them.

"why we do what we do"

2008-11-24T22:14:00.001-06:00

We had an absolutely fabulous trip a couple weeks ago. We traveled from Fargo to Minneapolis to Nashville to Bowling Green to Nashville and back again. We got to see family and friends, speak at a meeting in Nashville, and then two churches in Bowling Green, as well as a conference. It was a great time and got to meet some fabulous people.

While we were in Nashville we got to work on a video that tells about us, what were doing, and how you can help. We were talking to the guy doing it, Jeff Henry, and he asked me how I would describe the direction we are going.

I said, "We want to study the culture so we can get to know people to share the Gospel in hopes of starting Churches.

Culture

People

Gospel

Church

I had someone this week ask me to explain better why we are doing the specific things we do. I am endeavoring to, at the end of every post, tell why we are doing the things I talk about, but I am sure it would help for me to just give a blanket here.

We love the people here in Fargo. We have never loved a place and the people in that place more. And I know this isn't a news flash, but we are here to plant a Church. I know, catch you're breath and move on, haha. We realize that loving a people and a place doesn't necessitate a new Church popping up. We have to be out there meeting more and more and more people. So what do we do to accomplish that end. Work at the Pita Pit, YMCA, go to the OB, B dub's, concerts, coffee shops, shows, donate plasma, workout at the Y, and among other things join different groups. Ya know it might look like we moved to Fargo just to live our lives up here the way we would have down there in Nashville. Well there is some truth to that, we do firmly believe that every Christian is called to a similar lifestyle that we are leading, but there is a difference, not every Christian is called to start Churches in Fargo.

But we are living out the life of a missionary here in Fargo, which in many ways is a real natural thing. Living day by day looking for oppurtunities to talk to people about who we are and what the Lord has done in our lives. So we are here living intentional lives in order to be apart of what Christ is doing here in Fargo and our prayer is to see Churches planted.

"a picture is worth a thousand words"

2008-11-11T14:55:00.003-06:00

So we've been working on getting some materials together to tell people about the Church we're planting. So we tontracted one of our good friends Rachel Utecht, she and her husband Jeremiah have become wonderful co-laborers in expanding the kingdom of God in Fargo. Thanks to you guys for your help and I hope we can use this amazing gift again in the future.

Whoa.

2008-11-08T15:28:00.006-06:00

My friends (do I ever sound like a former presidential candidate?)

This has been a heck of a week. Between voting, working, various meetings in Mandan and all sorts of other things, it's been crazy. On top of all that, I survived a BLIZZARD. You don't have to tell me twice, but yes, we did know that we were moving to the northern plains. The meeting was in Mandan, ND, which is the sister city of Bismark. As I was heading out the door on Wednesday, Abby was acting more worried than usual about me leaving. She mentioned shortly afterwards that there was badweather approaching Mandan. I travelled on I-94 heading west, the weather was quite windy, but fine for the most part. Bismark was a different story. When I got there, it was 15 degrees colder and very overcast. I went in a store for 20 mins and by the time I came out, the bottom had dropped out and there was a ton of wind and rain. That evening, it didn't snow at all, but it rained up until midnight. At 3 AM, I was awakened by a tapping sound on my hotel room window. It ended up being sleet, which didn't stop until today. There were 40 mile per hour winds with gusts over 50. 18 inches of snow fell, and in some places, there was a thick layer of ice under it all. The reason I was there was because of the annual meeting of the Dakota Baptist Convention. It was a great time of meeting people from all over northern plains. We were missing around 40 people, but it was such a blessing to meet everyone. Ryan Bell at Dakota Hills, and Andre' and his lovely family at the Indian reservation on the Candian Border were just two of the several great people I met.

Here are some blizzard highlights.

1. Wind so strong that when you're facing it, you have trouble breathing.

2. Being blown over by the wind after getting to the gas station, only to find that it was closed.

3. Learning that my money clip fell out of my pocket when I fell.

4. Going out to find it, and getting blown over again.

5. Driving back from the church with a car full of people, and hearing an older pastor ask, "why is that pole in the middle of the road,?" then telling him that was the sidewalk, not the road.

6. Fishtailing and almost losing control of my car on I-94 coming back.

7. Experiencing 50 mph gusts of wind against my car.

8. Talking to someone who spent the night in his car.

9. Seeing hotel workers that opted to stay the night rather than brave the elements.

10. Taking 2 hours to get my car out of a parking lot. Some lady also decided to park her car in the middle of the lot, and the snow drifted up 6 feet beside her.

11. Walking through snow drift that was up to my waist that had blown up against my car.

"4:30 well actually 5 in the morning"

2008-11-01T04:57:00.004-05:00

So this installment of 4:30 in the morning will be the craziest and wildest yet. It is so late/early that Foxnews is starting their morning newscast. WOW

It is all a blur, today is Halloween, well yesterday was if your being technical. Imagine with me 200+ drunk young people in Halloween costumes. It was crazzy. We were so busy that I couldn't take orders from people because the line snaked around so far of people waiting for their food.

The night began with a great dinner with theMedfords and Drew Hubbard, he is visiting Fargo figuring out how Living Hope in KY could best work with us this next fall. Drew and I spent a lot of time downtown with the crowds that were collecting all over the place. Then came 12:30, time to go in. Here is the recap:

I was called a "great ringing up man"

"My favorite pita dude"

"Ohh, you're dressed as a pita guy".

I was hugged by sarah palin, a gypsey, and beyonce.

I female boxer grabbed my shoulders, reaching over the counter to do so (weird).

Given 5 dollars for knowing what the west side story was.

For some odd reason had to witness 3 different couples kissing, 2 heated and I mean heated political debates.

Had to run off the kids at 3:15 because they didn't want to leave.

Was promised everything under the sun if I would give then ........ or .......... for free.

I saw smurfs, fairies, vampires, quail man, Austin powers, bumble bees, ghost, Frankenstein on stilts, 80's weight lifting star, and a whole host of others.

There was so much it would take such a long time to go through, please call or email and I will say more but some of the people who come are starting to recognize me other places and it looks like some great stuff is happening.

Please forgive the typos.

"whoa"

2008-11-01T04:57:00.001-05:00

So we awoke Sunday to a startling surprise, yes it was snowing. Short lived and it barley stayed, but it most definitely snowed. Last Wednesday we had saved up enough money to buy Abby a remote starter for her car. We have asking around over the last few months what we needed as prep for winter. Well, they said "you need to buy a remote start for her, you don't need one." That made me laugh and I took their suggestion. I shopped around, found the best deal I could, and we love it. The remote starter is manufactured by a company called Astro Start with some great security features and good range; we are very pleased with this product.Sunday was a big day for us we joined Temple Baptist Church. Pastor Dude Garret has been a huge encouragement to us. Emails, comments on the blog and over all support he has made the transition to Fargo so much easier. Thank you to Temple Baptist Church for your warm welcome and taking us in as members.Lastly, we have been under a mountain of letters, stamps, envelopes, and printing. We are almost done, but people I have to tell you when you are trying to keep everyone up to date on what is going on it takes a long time to put it together. Thank you to everyone from Kentucky, Tennessee, North and South Dakota and everywhere in between that are supporting us through prayers, emails, phone calls, and monetary help.Many people have been asking us to give them tips on how we do what we do. We couldn't do it with out support, you need people behind you affirming you saying, "We believe in what they are doing, and we are showing that by walking this road with you."

Making a difference in our communities

2008-10-30T15:55:00.004-05:00

Pam and I spent last week in Chicago at a Feeding America, Formerly Second Harvest, conference. Pam has worked there for a almost two years as their registered dietitian. It was a great time to hangout with my wife and a few of her work folks.

On the first night we went to Gino's East, a great place for Chicago deep dish pizza, with several of Pam's coworkers. We had a great conversation about hunger and the role of food banks and churches. Pam's boss, a really neat lady who has worked at the food bank in Nashville for several years, made a few comments that really stuck with me.

When I asked her about the ultimately vision of Second Harvest she said quoted their mission statement, "engage our country in the fight to end hunger." Even though their primary purpose is to feed hungry people, she sees the need to work toward ending hunger in America. For this reason she is seek to make advocacy a bigger part of what the food bank is all about. I talked about this a few week ago (check it out).

We also talked about the role of the church in the work of ending hunger. As a Christian, she sees the great need for the church to get involved in the work. As the husband of someone passionate about helping needy, hurting people, it is devastating to see that the Christians in America have become less and less involved in ministering the the practical needs of people. Jesus was all about this in the Bible; every miracle he performed fulfilled a practical need (feeding 5000, healing sick, causing blind to see...). Although we should be about much more that fulfilling practical needs, to totally be divorced from it is a great tragedy.

The last thing that stuck with me from our conversation was when she said, holding back tears, "I go home everyday, regardless of how bad it may have been, knowing that I made a difference." Can you say that about your life? I can't always say that about my life.

How can you make a difference in your community? Think about it; look for opportunities to get involved in something bigger than the daily grind. One way you may start is to check out your local chapter of The United Way. Find a way to be a difference maker.

Check it out

2008-10-27T23:24:00.002-05:00

I come from a family of super creative entrepreneurs and my younger sister is keeping with the tradition. Check out Rachels Etsy Site and see the stuff she is making.

"4:30 4:30 in the morning tryin to find a way to get back to sleep"

2008-10-25T04:27:00.005-05:00

Tonight was great we had a rush from pretty much 1:15-2:30 A.M. so it was a kickin night. I worked with two extremely hard working ladies, Corrine and Shanna. They rocked, two gals from MSUM that have been working there for a little over a month and are impressing all of us.

Today was a great day for connecting with people. Today at the Red Raven I got to meet hawk, a nice guy that works upstairs at a sub shop. Abby and I met a wonderful waitress Gretchen at the OB and we really connected with each other. Spending time down town tonight with the Medfords was time well spent and work was actually pretty fun. But for now good night.

"Where Do I Go from Here"

2008-10-22T23:00:00.007-05:00

Over the past week I have had the pleasure of visiting 3 other cities in North and South Dakota. Grand Forks, Sioux Falls, and Brookings. A question that a lot of people are asking me is "where should I go to learn about the culture where I am?" I can't point to an absolute answer, but I can give you a pointer. I am a city center guy, I love the downtown (these terms are interchageable), and often times that's a haven for art, commerce, education, government, religion. There are so many layers to unfold, so much culture to explore, and so many needs to discover. Poverty often times is concentrated in the city center, lower income housing, and sadly (but not necessarily related ) higher crime rates.

A way to get know your context is look for the watering hole, and while that can be a little sketchy, do it within reason. Often times, it is the locally owned restaurant or store that has been there forever, and can tell you all about the history of the city. Locally owned cafes, coffee shops, and bars and grilles give a great taste about the people. In all the towns that I visited, I went searching for the city center and when I found it, I went searching for the watering hole. It is different in every town, but there are similarities to look for (as mentioned above). So tonight, or whenever you read this, go to your city center, and do it as a date or personal mission. Take some time to take in the sites, sounds, smells, and experiences of the city center. Find the watering holes, visit a few of them see what they have to offer in the way of information and connection.

New Email addie

2008-10-21T12:41:00.002-05:00

Hey friends and neighbors, many of you have been asking the best way to get us here in Fargo.

John@missionfargo.org

Shoot us an email we would love to hear from you

"B.I.G.G.I.E, BIGGI, GGIE"

2008-10-18T13:54:00.003-05:00

Over the last few days, I've had the great pleasure of traveling to Sioux Falls, SD. The DBC (Dakota Baptist Convention) had a leadership training that they invited me and about 20 other pastors to. I got to meet people from all around North and South Dakota, and they were great.

On my way down, I decided that I wanted to stop by some of the cities on the way to Sioux Falls. When you look at the demongraphics of the two states, the heaviest concentrations of people are on the eastern side of the states. From the beginning, we have been passionate about planting Churches. I got to see some of the places that we talk about in the vision first hand. From Winnipeg, Canada to Sioux Falls, SD. This is commonly called the I 29 Corridor. This includes places like Grand Forks, North Dakota(Home of UND), Fargo (where we are now home of NDSU), Wahepton (Home of NDS College of Science, Madison South Dakota (Home of DSU), Watertown, Brookings (Home of SDSU), Sioux Falls, and Vermillion (Home of USD). As you can see, these are the centers of education and culture for the region. The largest cities in the Dakotas, Sioux Falls and Fargo, are in this region. Winnipeg has as many people in its city limits than North Dakota as a whole, and there are only 2 SBC Churches.

All this is to say is the vision is large, and we want to plant Churches in these communities to raise up leaders to perpetually plant Churches. We want to see people come here from other places to plant Churches, and live intentional lives to expand the kingdom of Christ. We want teams to come and lock arms with us in reaching the people of these communities. So here we are in Fargo, just starting something that will undoubtly take a very long time, but this vision begs of us to change the way we view Church. Do we view Church from a building or a place, or do we view Church as a body of people gathered together to worship, learn, and explore Christ together? In order to plant Churches like this, we can't be locked into a method, we have to be locked into Biblical truths. Simplicity is a key thing for this to work.

Will you come, will you come as a week long missionary and serve with us? Will you come for a summer and lock arms with us joining God on his mission here? Will you come as a Summer missionary and help us start some groups that impact people? Will you join us here for real, for good, and make this wonderful place your home? You will be welcomed by believers that love and support you. People that, when your car has a flat, will be there in a minute to help you. Will you join us as we join God on his mission?

-Missio Dei Dakotas -

Concerning the Kingdom

2008-10-17T09:39:00.003-05:00

My church, Ridgeview Community Church, is doing a series right now on the Kingdom of God, which is a topic I have really been studying and contemplating for a year or so now. One guy that has some awesome thoughts and discussions on the Kingdom is Dr. Russel Moore from my seminary SBTS. Here is an article he wrote a few weeks ago that rocked my world.

Although the article is concise and doesn't get into really fleshing out what the Kingdom is, Dr. Moore gives a powerful definition of the Kingdom:

"The Kingdom of God is an explosively veiled inbreaking into the present world order of the reign of Jesus himself as emperor of the cosmos. It ought then to change the way we see ourselves, and our place in this age and in the one to come."

That concept "emperor of the cosmos" may see kind of hard for some of us in and outside of the Church to accept. The idea that someone else has authority over our lives is just not something we want to admit. This is especially true for pastors and church leaders. As much as we want to serve Jesus and make Him known, we often seek to do it on our terms and through our power. But when we understand the Kingdom of God to be how Dr. Moore describes it above then we realize there is no room for our arrogance, our attitudes of superiority, or our individualism in the Kingdom.

At the heart of human nature is a desire to rule our own destiny, to be great, powerful, and respected. Just look at the New York Times best sellers and four of them are all about pursuing health, wealth, and life purpose in and of oneself. It is totally opposite of what the Kingdom of God is all about.

Jesus says "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matthew 6:33 ESV)

And "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." (Matthew 10:39 ESV)

What does this have to do with church planting, living like a missionary...? Everything! The very reason we live and breath is for the Kingdom of God, whether you are willing to accept it or not. So much of our lives is spent striving after wealth, power, and prestige and yet we will eventually die and loose all that we gained. But when we understand what we were created for and what we are living toward it should inextricably change us: the way we spend our money, the way we organize our schedules, where we work, where we live, who we talk to on a regular basis, what we do for fun, how we love our husbands or wives, how we raise our kids, where we go to church, how we drive, how we eat, how we sleep, what we wear...

It comes down to this, we must embrace the fact that we are a part of something bigger than the tiny little world we live in, that we were created to serve a mighty, awesome, compassionate King, and that the only way for us to really get what our hearts truly long for is to accept that we are nothing apart from our King, Jesus.

I don't mean to be all preachy or super spiritual sounding, but I so desire to be so overwhelmed by Christ and His Kingdom that I give up all my selfish, pride-laden desires and endeavors, and live a Kingdom-motivated , Gospel-focused life.

I have a long way to go, we all do really, and of course we will never get there this side of eternity, but we can pray and we can take steps with the hope we are moving closer.

"been around the world yeah yeah yeah"

2008-10-13T12:07:00.005-05:00

We had a great time in NOLA for the NAMB commissioning service, we got to spend some time with Chuck and Christy Rheam from San Diego, they are planting San Miguel Community Church. Chuck and Christy have been such an encouragement to us. There are so many similarities between the two of us Abby and Christy have so many similarities and Chuck and I are such kindred Spirits (except he’s a germ-a-phobe, which I am not).

Matt and Becky West are also in San Diego but they are in La Jolla (pronounced Hoya) Barabbas Road Church. Matt is one of those guys that is so in your face that you know you are in the presence of someone anointed by Christ to take his Gospel around the world. Matt has a keen sense for seeing holes in peoples worldviews. Becky and him are perfect for one another they are extremely out going full of conviction and so good at ministering to those around them. Another couple starting Elevate Church, Kevin and Susan, were such a blessing to get to know.

Lastly Max and Sara Stabenow, they are truly a blessing. He serves as associate pastor for a Church in Phoenix(that I couldn’t find on Yahoo so Max if you read this post your URL in a comment). They also minister with a group called Apartment Life, with which they connect with an apartment group and work something out with the complex to get an apartment for its people and in turn they do events in the community. Great idea and it has really gotten my brain working on the possibilities. Max and Sara are a few weeks behind us in the bun in the oven and we enjoy so much spending time with them.

We got back to a quiet apartment but we know the decision we made was the right one. While we were in NOLA local Churches invited those being commissioned to come and attend their Churches. Abby and I we privileged to attend St Bernards Baptist and First Baptist Chalmette, both of which were destroyed by the hurricane and the ensuing after math. While we were looking at the list of Churches that NAMB gave us we noticed that Abby and I were the only couple that were by themselves. We were picked up by “brother Kenny” a true saint of the Faith. When we got there the two pastors asked us if Abby and I were both preaching, well I tried to think fast, and I didn’t want to embarrass anyone so I said “Oh we think it would be best if I did”, He then asked “How long were you wanting”, I said, “20-25 mins would be perfect. So with 5 mins before the service, I was now preaching for two congregations and three mission teams whom were used to having 2 sermons a Sunday. I preached from Romans 10 and shared about what Abby and I were doing in Fargo. After the Sermon the Pastors were so compelled by the Spirit to invite the congregation to take up a love offering. I want you to see how the Lord works, the amount they took up was just the amount we needed to pay for all the vet bills we incurred with all the stuff with Wilbur. Oh how the Lord works…..

And lastly a shout out to our landlords and neighbors, Lowell and Rachael Disrud, and our upstairs neighbor Mike. They took Wilbur to the vet, got a second opinion and then they stayed around while he was put down. While this all blew us away there's more. They brought him back and buried him for us and put up a little stone there with a sweet poem. Anybody else have a landlord that would do that. Thanks Disruds and Mike.

IT'S A GIRL!!

2008-10-13T11:50:00.004-05:00

Well everyone we found out today that we are having a baby girl.

I know I know, as one friend said, I hope John has a baby girl it would be good for him to not be so mean. I love it, this made me laugh. We are absolutely thrilled, we are keeping the possible names to ourselves, for now, but if you're good than we might tell you.

Other news I had a holter monitor put on me this morning (a continuous EKG machine). I have been having heart palpitations lately, mainly before, during and after our travels to NOLA. So I went to the Dr and because there were no chest pains, they said that it wasn't heart attack stuff, they then did an EKG and found that I have an extra beat, which is no big deal but needed to be found out. They are thinking it is stress related, (traveling, Wilbur situation, money issues, church planting, pita pit) and they are thinking that it might have caught up with me. So we are working on me loosing weight and taking it easy a couple more days to try to get rid of whatever is going on in me.

4:30. 4:30 in the Morning, Tryin' to Find a Way to Get Back to Sleep

2008-10-11T04:05:00.003-05:00

We are now back into the swing of things: bar night at the Pita pit.

There's been nasty weather here the last couple of days, so it's been pretty uneventful, but there have been a few exciting moments.

I am now dubbed the Gyro extraordinaire by a young woman that came in.

I saw 3 plus people fall while sitting in their chairs.

I trained a new guy who seems to be a hard worker; I hope he works out.

I messed up closing out the till about 4 times. I still think I messed it up in the end, but I am sure I will find out next week. For those of you who know me, this will be of no surprise, but I stink at math, formulas, equations, etc. I work great with Biblical absolutes, but when it comes to mathematical ones, give me a computer, or better yet someone who knows computers and math and I will be flying high.

It was a good night over all, the crew I worked with was great. I think some of them have some great promise.

It was funny, on my way home, I noticed it was lighter than when I left. Well, the sun was starting to affect the ambient light outside because it was close to sunrise. It is also funny to notice that I was at the airport the same time on Tuesday, and I haven't even gone to bed yet.

Mentors Revisited

2008-10-10T11:14:00.001-05:00

Sorry we haven't posted in much lately, John and I both have been crazy busy. I wanted to take a sec and talk a little about something on my heart the last week or so. John shared a few weeks back about one of his mentors so I want to introduce you to one of mine.

We are heading to Kentucky today to spend some time with my parents and go on a hot air balloon ride, which I am hugely excited about. On Sunday I am preaching at my old church Trammel Fork Baptist in Scottsville, KY. I am really looking forward to seeing my old church family and sharing with them from God's Word and about our vision for Fargo.

To share a bit about Trammel Fork Baptist: It is a small, country church in a small rural town in southern Kentucky. The church is over 200 years old, meeting in a building that was built in the mid 1800s. I served as the student minister and sort of assistant pastor for almost 2 years and God used those two years to really grow me as a minister.

One big reason it was such a place of growth for me was the pastor, Jim Gifford. Jim has been a pastor for over 25 years, taking his first pastorate before he was 20 years old. He is definitely an old school baptist pastor; wears a suit every Sunday and knows Roberts Rules of order almost as good as he knows the Bible (maybe better j/k), and still insists on having a Sun Rise service on Easter morning (I had to get up at 5am).

Regardless of how old school Jim is there are a few things about him that make him someone I want to be like. First off he is a devoted pastor and husband. Trammel Fork is not a mega church, it is actually quite small (only about 50 or so on Sunday morning), but every week Jim spends hours preparing to faithfully preach the Word of God. Of course many pastor put long hours in to their weekly sermon, but Jim does this while maintaining a job that sometimes requires him to put in 50 plus hours a week. On top of that he is an amazing husband who takes is madly in love with his wife Carolyn. It is not odd for me to call him at night and catch him out on a date with her just because. He seems to never waist a moment, whether it is caring for his church members or loving on his wife.

Secondly, he is intentional about training and mentoring future pastors. In the two years I spent at Trammel Fork I grew more as a minister than ever before. Jim doesn't have a curriculum he goes through with young guys, he simply teaches us "on-the-job." I can remember following him through the line at a funeral visitation as he shook hands and hugged necks of family members in mourning. I remember asking him questions about how to deal with certain situations in ministry and hearing stories of how he has deal with similar things in the past. He was so intentional about loving me, training me, and equipping me to fulfill my calling.

Thirdly, he is wise beyond his years. Jim lost his wife after a long battle with cancer back in 2000 or 2001. It was amazing to hear the stories of how he cared for her and fought along side her for so long. Beyond that, 20 plus years of ministry leads to a lot of stories and experiences to share with young ministers. I rarely make decisions concerning my family or ministry without talking to Jim about it. He was a big part of my relationship with Pam, and even officiated the wedding. He has also helped me find my way in ministry as I talked through God's call on my life. And as we move to Fargo in the next several months, he and the church will be one of our main partners.

The reason I share this is that Jim has taught me what is really means to be a pastor. It is not about degrees hanging on the wall, or how many people come to hear you preach, or how many big conferences you get to speak at. It is about loving God, loving people, and living for the Glory of our Creator. Our vision for Fargo is not to raise up a bunch of super pastors, but to raise up a bunch of men like Jim, Godly husband, devoted leaders, humble servants, and hardworking ministers of the Gospel. With men like that we can change the world.

"The Troubles I've Seen" "Bright Sunshiny Day"

2008-10-04T23:20:00.004-05:00

We have two big items of news.

One: Our beloved dog of 15 months had to be put to sleep yesterday afternoon. It has been an emotional 48 hrs. He ingested a foreign object, and it was blocking his digestive track. The bill was such that, so so so sadly, we had to put him to sleep. We loved Wilbur, even though we made fun of his antics. At the end of the day, he was a great pet, and such a sweet kind hearted puppy dog. He rarely barked, was always excited to meet someone, even more excited to see us, played well with Callie, and never ever lashed out at us or anyone else.

Two. We are in the Big Easy for the weekend, loving spending some time with old friends at the NAMB commissioning celebration. A group of Church planters and I had the wonderful privilege of visiting with Kelley and his wife Diane at the Carver Baptist Center. The center is working so faithfully to empower the people of North Magazine street to be transformed Christ followers.

Max and Sara Stabenow (Phoenix AZ), Chuck and Christy Rheam (San Diego CA), and Adam and Christy Dorsey (Newfoundland Canada) are some friends we have known from seminary days, and also from the interview weekend. We have a full couple of days spending time with these friends, but we will keep you up to date.

"how bout them apples"

2008-09-30T23:26:00.003-05:00

What a fantastic weekend, we loved having Nathan and Jeremy up here for a weekend of planning strategizing and an all around great time.

We got to show them tons of the stuff that we have been doing, things that they have only been aple to hear about via phone calls and blog entries. I have been light on the blogging recently becasue for some reason my content blocker has seen fit to knock out the blogger website. So, I am going to try to figure this out so I can get back on the horse letting you guys know what is going on here in Fargo.

I want you to see this article I found and look at city number six under population 150,00-500,000.

We love living here!!

Carpe Diem: Seizing the day

2008-09-30T14:55:00.002-05:00

One of the pastors at the church I am interning at posed a question to us today that really got me thinking. He asked us why God has called us to Franklin, TN?

I just got back from an awesome extended weekend in Fargo talking, walking, and surveying the city seeking what God wants us to do and be there. I am so excited about moving there and seeking to share the Gospel with the city and this weekend made me want to fast-forward eight months, but that question this morning reminded me of something. It reminded me that God has a lot of great stuff planned for Pam and I here in Franklin the next few months and if I spend the remainder of my time here counting the days before we leave I will be waisting time and opportunities to be a part of His mission in Franklin.

I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 7:18-24. Granted the passage is not necessarily talking about me working in Franklin, but the idea of embracing our situation really speaks to where I am at. Discontentment and seizing the moment have been common issues in my life over the last few years. Ever since I started seminary it seems I have been preparing for my next step. Whether it was moving to Nashville to marry Pam, or working at the church doing maintenance until something else popped up. It is hard for me to focus on where I am at when the next step is looming in front of me.

We are about 8 months from leaving for Fargo, but that is 8 months where I can grow more as a leader and church planter, influence the lives of people, grow in my marriage to my wonderful wife, grow stronger spiritually, and enjoy the fellowship of a great church.

The answer to pastor Eddie's question for me I believe is this: I am called to Franklin to learn more about church planting, grow in my relationship with Christ and others, influence the community of Franklin and the community of Ridgeview Community church, and to experience ministry along side my wife.

So my question to you who are reading this is why are you doing what you are doing? Why are you working the job you are working, living in the neighborhood that you are, interacting with the people you are? God has got you where you are for a purpose and you must ask yourself what that purpose is. For some you may have to ask yourself if you are using your circumstances for the promotion of the Gospel of Christ Jesus or for your own personal gain.

"there's more to life"

2008-09-24T18:47:00.005-05:00

We have all heard the age old phrase "just be yourself" and yes there is tremendous truth to the statement, we don't need to change with the prevailing wind but "just be yourself" only goes to far. Think of the missionaries that go to foreign lands and have to do some sort of inculturation. Now you don't abandon who you are of course but you also don;t just blindly say, "just be yourself" you adapt, change some of your cultural defaults etc.

So why do I do this rant, well, I went on a little shopping excursion today. Abby and I have been going to some different places where there is high concentrations of people who do not know Christ. As we are hanging out in these places, I, don't act surprised, stick out like a sore thumb.
I know I know who would have thought that oxfords halfway unbuttoned would ever not be the rage, but as it turns out that has happened. So I pose this question to you, how are you trying to blend into the environment where Christ has placed you. Are you looking for things in you that might be hindrances to those you are ministering to. Now I have to say this isn't saying that you just dress to be cool etc. But it is saying if looking like a college professor could be difficult for the teens you are ministering to then maybe tone it down. If wearing jeans instead of khakis is smart, do it, t-shirt rather than polo, do it.

Thanks for listening to fashion tips by John

Spirit Led Ministry and Pragmatic Methodology

2008-09-22T11:28:00.001-05:00

I have been thinking a lot lately about the biblical idea of being "filled with the Holy Spirit." It is a debated doctrine among different Christian traditions, that is not what I have been thinking about. Rather I have been convicted recently that my focus in ministry has not been on being filled with the Spirit, but on pragmatic methodology.

Sadly I believe this is a common problem in the western church today. We are all about strategies, methods, and leadership philosophy and often ignore or forget about the work of the Holy Spirit in us and in those we are ministering to.

What has been so convicting personally is that for the last several weeks, even months, I have been so focused on strategy and methodology in Fargo and at Ridgeview that I have thought little about the Holy Spirit in my ministry. It hit me a few days ago as I was listening to a sermon in my car that I have no clue what the heck I am doing. I am not smart enough, not talented enough, not social enough, definitely not cool enough, and obviously not creative enough to do what I am doing now or what I will be doing in Fargo.

I have realized that the things God has placed on my heart to do are totally above anything I am able to do. Church planting requires someone much more talented, much more intelligent, much more creative than me. Yet it is exactly what I am called to, no doubt in my mind.

Acts 1:8 says we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us to be missionaries (witnesses is the same thing). I take a lot of refuge in that verse right now, because without it I would have not hope for what I am going to do in Fargo. All through Luke and Acts the phrase "he/she was filled with the Holy Spirit" occurs and what follows is always amazing. It is my greatest desire to be filled with the Spirit. To be empowered to do what I have been called and sent out to do.

My challenge to those of you reading this today is this: pray to be filled with the Spirit. If you are a believer you have the Spirit, so I am not advocating some kind of second experience or baptism; rather pray that the Spirit would provide you with the power, ability, strength, authority, courage, and conviction to be a missionary as we are all called to be.

"4:30, 4:30 in the mornin tryin to find a way to get back to sleep"

2008-09-20T04:37:00.005-05:00

We had a fantastic night tonight. The Night began with a wonderful dinner with my bride at The OB. We had a fantastic tasting meal, beer cheese soup has become a favorite of mine.

Then off to the Plains Art Museum for the High Plains Reader 14th Birthday Bash. We got there a little late but had so much fun, and yes Abby and I had to wear wrist bands that said Pabst Blue Ribbon, we had a good laugh about that. The Birthday party bled over to Aquarium over Dempseys bar. We had a ton of fun listening to live bands suckin down our sprite and and regular COKE. Then our date ended at a new trendy hangout called Teaberry. A little different but so freakin good. There was a much younger crowd there (high school kids). Yeah we were worn out by the end of the night.

After a quick nap it was back tot he PIT for the Bar rush. I was the supervisor on duty so I took this one especially serious. It is interesting that I am always the one working the line of Bar nights. I guess I move it efficiently. Loren and Rick were great, especially staying till like 10 after to help me finish up some things.

The good news is that I do not have to open tomorrow. I am blessed that Ryan is giving me the weekends off so that I can do some work on and with the Church plant. Thanks RYAN, you ROCK!!

Where else would I

Witness a woman easily in her 50's lay it on so thick with a 20 yr old Pita Pit worker.

Have a guy buy two Dagwood Clubs and add a full piece of chicken to both.

Be cussed out in what was supposedly Chinese

See some of the same people before Noon and After Midnight in the same day.

See a mentally challenged man blatantly pick a fight with a drunks guys girlfriend

See a Drunk guy carrying a sponge Bob toy with him everywhere he goes.

Meet such kind drunk people

Have an ex co-worker come in trashed and be crazy go nuts.

Laugh and Laugh at Loren and Rick.

Get off work at 4:10, eeesh long night.

Pardon the typos I can't keep my eyes open!!

Lending a hand in Franklin

2008-09-18T10:18:00.004-05:00

Ministry is sometime one of the most overwhelming things to be involved with. Just turn on the TV and watch MTV for a few minutes and you will see just how overwhelming the lostness in our culture is. Or maybe watch the news and see just how many murders, drug busts, and rapes there are. If that does overwhelm you maybe you should come with me the next time I go out with Willie Otey from Feed Franklin First.

I went out with Willie today for about three hours. Feed Franklin First is a ministry that Willie started about 8 years ago. Almost everyday he goes to grocery stores in the community of Franklin, TN (where I am interning at Ridgeview Community Church) and picks up the out-of-date bread to bag up and give out to needy folks. In addition, Willie works with churches and organizations to provide food, clothes, and other essentials.

Now I have witnessed poverty before, I spend 7 weeks in India and Nepal just over a year ago and have done some ministry in impoverished areas, but there was something different about today. We were going around to houses that are barely standing, with little or no furniture, and hardly any light. And we are in the middle of one of the wealthiest counties in the United States (check this out). I couldn't help but think, how can there be so much need when I drive by multi-million dollar homes everyday?

Don't get me wrong, money is not the answer to this problem, it is much bigger than that. Poverty is a result of many different things, mindset, culture, injustice, economic issues... As our government welfare system has shown, money does not solve the problem, it rather causes many people to continue in their poverty (this is not the case in every situation, but is overwhelmingly true). In addition, food banks and shelters are not the answer for the same reason as welfare, and my wife works for the largest of food bank in Nashville, Second Harvest of Middle Tennessee. Both of these are means to the end, but they are insufficient at best.

So what's the answer? Well that is what is so overwhelming about ministry, finding the answer. In every context there is a different answer. In Darfur the answer maybe foreign government intervention; in India poverty is ingrained in culture and religion. As I rode around Franklin today I thought of some possibly ideas for attacking poverty:

1) As I rode around today I noticed several younger adults walking the streets. It is clear that if a change is going to happen, it must come from the up-and-coming generation. I go to a church of innovative, talented, and motivated people. There are former presidents of companies, musicians, and technically savvy folks, great moms, great fathers, and great neighbors. What if we got into the neighborhoods in such away that we could start classes and mentorships with some of these young folks. A successful business man could mentor a young kid who is running the street, show him how to do something productive and meaningful; or a mom could teach a group of young mothers classes about parenting.

2) Pam and I went to a mini-conference a while back that talked about creating small, low-tech busniesses that people without jobs can work at. The basic concept is to provide a source of pride in work for people. Poverty has a defeating effect on people, causing them to have a low self-worth. Thus, creating jobs they can earn money at would hopefully lead to a better view of self.

3) Obviously one of the biggest issues in needy areas is drugs and alcohol. In order to attack poverty we must develop some kind of help for drug and alcohol abuse. There are all kinds of programs out there, but there needs to be someway of connecting the people to the programs. This maybe an opportunity for us as the church to step in.

These are only my initial thoughts. I hope to write more on the subject of poverty and the church's responsibility to fight it. For now I want to challenge you to think about your context. For many of you, you probably live in nicer areas of your town and maybe totally unaware of the needs around you. I encourage you to go driving, drive down a street you don't usually take; call up a local food bank or shelter and ask questions about the needs in your community. It is our responsibility as God's people to help the needy, so seek out how you can help.

This is a big passion of both Pam and I and the Fishers and we intend to make mercy and justice and big part of our ministry in Fargo. We will be sharing more about that later on so keep reading. If you have any ideas or insights please comment on this entry, I look forward to your feedback.

"lend them a helping hand"

2008-09-16T23:50:00.004-05:00

You have got to see this In Forum Article.

I would love to hear your input and also to challenge

you to check into the neighborhood that you live. Also

check out your local new paper there is a wealth of

information right there at your fingertips. Find your

local newspaper and look for the website that corresponds

to it. We need to be more aware.

I already love being an uncle!!!

2008-09-15T12:41:00.004-05:00

As of September 14, 2008 at 10:55am my sister and her husband gave birth to their first child. A 7lb 5oz, 21in long baby boy. It was amazing holding him only minutes after he entered the world. Here is a picture of him all comfy in his aunt Pam's arms.

I Have Been Blessed

2008-09-15T10:01:00.006-05:00

So I don't know if many of you remember, but we have been looking for a place to go to on a weekly basis where we could get to know a lot of people, and become "our spot." Well, we have been looking around ever since we have been here, and we've finally found it.

Every Sunday night, and at least one other night during the week, we go and dine at Buffalo Wild Wings.

This is a picture from their website with some different merchandise that they sell. But we have loved getting to know the girls and guys at BW's. Emilee, Emily, Nikki, Sam, Perry, and a whole host of other extremely kind and wonderful people.

They have been opening up their lives, and have been tremendously encouraging to us. Now we are figuring out what we can eat, what we can't eat, and that too much fried food can take a serious toll on you. We order out meal in stages, sometimes even a three course meal, so we can stay around for a while. We also try to leave a tip that will take care of our server for the amount of time we stay there (1-2 hrs usually). We absolutely love it, and they have been so fantastic to us. So if you are trying to find us on Sunday night, this is where we will be. We had been going on Thursdays, but we are looking for another time that might be better.

Friends, look for a place that you can go on a weekly basis where people can start to know your order, your name, or at least your face. Show the people that serve the love that Christ has shown you. Yeah, it is a sacrifice, and yes, financially, you can take a hit but the ripples you can make in someone's life can be huge. Abby and I pay for ours by me giving plasma every week. I give plasma, an area where I get to meet a ton of people, in order for us to go to BW's twice a week, where we meet lots of people. Now you don't have to do it the way we have, but the point is that you need to find a similar outlet. Where can you get plugged into to get to know people who don't believe the same things you do? How can you start to have an influence on these wonderful people?

4:30, 4:30 in the mornin tryin to find a way to get back to sleep"

2008-09-12T20:59:00.003-05:00

Well seriously my life seems to pale in comparison to those in Galveston and Southern Texas. Thanks goodness this week will be the last week of the Fri Double and then Sat open. Thanks to Ryan for changing the schedule around. Abby and I are going to start doing more mercy ministry projects on Saturdays.

But enough of that on to the happenings of the evening.

Where else would I,

Be able to hang out with crazy rick and his bushy hair

Get to drive Sara and Adara home, they are a ton of fun

Be officially dubed Super Pita Man

See 5+ of the same people I saw earlier today

Have to break up another potential fight (not as serious as the last one)

Have to help a guy figure out where he was

Turn away a hundred dollar bill as tip because I knew he had no idea what he was doing

Have a guy buy three steak pitas, FOR HIMSELF, and HE ATE THEM ALL!

Have not 1, not 2, but 4 different dudes reach across the counter just to pat me on the back

It was an exciting night not a crazy one but still exciting and now it is 4:30 and it is time to go to bed. 10:30 will come quickly!!!

HAPPY TIMES

2008-09-11T12:53:00.002-05:00

Check out the Haste blog for some great news about Baby Haddon!

"And I'm Out of My League Once Again"

2008-09-09T23:18:00.008-05:00

Well, today marks a very special day for us. It is Abby's Birthday. My lovely bride turns a special 26 today, September 10th. I wanted to write a blog post on how wonderfully the Lord has been in shaping us, and in particular, how the Lord's glory shines so brightly through Abby.

The pictures you see are from our engagment pictures taken in Bowling Green, KY. Imagine Abby even more beautiful and imagine me even uglier (you know it is true).

As we all know, Abby and I uprooted ourselves from the South and went about as far North as you can go in the continental US. She willingly, and with much joy and excitement, left all the things she knew so well and moved to Fargo to plant a church that would reach out to those who do not know Christ.

To let you know a little about what she has been dealing with, she left a thriving career teaching elementary school students--she is now overseeing before and after school care at two local elementary schools and overseeing a staff of 10 or so. She just started to really enjoy seminary on campus and now she is back to the dreaded DVD's. We were a family of two, now we are a family of three (14 weeks along). She left one of the best churches we have ever been apart of to come and visit different churches while preparing to start the ones the Lord would have us start. She left a part of the country where she knew so many people, and could hang out with people almost every night, to a place where we are starting from square one.

Needless to say, she has sacrificed much to follow the burden the Lord has placed on our hearts. She and I talk often about how we are so conviced that we are in the center of the Lord's will, and that he would have us no other place. She has sacrificed so much, and all the while she has shown overflowing joy. She has never questioned that we are where we are supposed to be. Yeah, our jobs are fairly stressful right now, and we come home wanting to throw in the towel, but at the end of the day when we are lying in bed, we always end it thanking Christ for what he has done.

So on this (what should be) national holiday, go to Abby's blog and post a comment wishing her a happy birthday.

http://johnandabby.wordpress.com/

The missional aspect of everything I have just written is God's goodness in marriage. He is so good to show marriage in Genesis and in Ephesians (among others). He has fashioned us perfectly for one another. Often times, we are like sand paper to one another, but what he has created and joined together will never be broken. In our calling to be on mission, he has given us helpmates. For most of us it is a spouse that sacrifices much for us and us for them. For some, it is close friends and family that run this race with you. Take some time to go to those who shoulder the burden with you, go to your husband or wife, and tell them how much they mean to you, and how you see Christ in their lives.

Abby, how I see Christ in your life:

Your...

humility

evident joy in Christ

unique way of empathizing with people

gentleness

patience

submission

respect

putting my desires before your own

unfailing love

following me even when it doesn;t make sense

convicting me of my sin

showing me a better path to take

refining me to be gentle and kind with my words and actions

the beauty you show from the inside

caring touch

loving words

There is a favorite song that comes to mind when talking about Abby!

-----------------------------------------------

And many many more

It's her hair and her eyes today

that just simply take me away

and the feeling that I'm falling further in love

makes me shiver, but in a good way

All the times I have sat and stared

as she thoughtfully thumbs through her hair

as she purses her lips bats her eyes

and she plays with me sitting there, slack-jawed and nothing to say

[Chorus:]Cause I love her with all that I am

and my voice shakes along with my hands

Cause she's all that I see and she's all that I need

and I'm out of my league once again

It's a masterful melody

when she calls out my name to me

as the world spins around her, she laughs, rolls her eyes

and I feel like I'm falling but it's no surprise

[Chorus]Cause it's frightening to be swimming in this strange sea

but I'd rather be here than on land

yes she's all that I see and she's all that I need

and I'm out of my league once again"

-Stephen Speaks-

"4:30, 4:30 in the mornin tryin to find a way to get back to sleep"

2008-09-05T23:39:00.005-05:00

(* remeber this is written at 4:30 in the morn typos are inevitable*)

Yes yes I know I know it is Friday night so for this weeks installment of 4:30 in the morning I will recap the night. I should Add before I get started that this will be the first official Pita Pit Bar night that my name is in red. The name in red means I am a shift leader. So here it is, one of my co-workers started flipping out, encouraging flipping out, when she saw I was a shift leader so that meant a lot that they were happy for me.

Where else would I

Get pulled over by a cop at 12:15 for not using my left turn signal, I won;t tell you the things I had been putting off but he was kind enough to let me off with a stern warning. He chuckled when I told him I had just come from home, had not been drinking and was heading to work!

See the same customers in the morning and then at night in two completely different frames of mind

Be called hommie a bigillion times by my co-worker

Meet the nicest drunk people

See someone doze off right in front of me while waiting for his food

Have 2 guys in a row, be so out of it that they both add so much to their pitas that they are almost 11$ a piece.

Get to know some of the regulars that have started to get to know me and me them

Since schools been back this place has been hoppin. Once again I am so sure on why Christ has placed me at this job.

So it is such a blessing to work at the Pita Pit with some fantastic co-workers and great people coming in. It is so obvious that the Lord has a reason for me being there. If you are in the Fargo area and reading this come on in and see us, we have a great product I think you will love it.

Why it says the time below I know not it is exactly 4:41AM?

Check, Check, Check it Out

2008-09-03T12:11:00.008-05:00

The High Plans Reader is a great weekly magizine that is widely read by the young, trendy hipsters in Fargo. I love it, look forward to it coming out, and I tell everyone to go pick up a copy. It is well done, informative, compelling, and fairly agreeable. But that doesn't take away from the fact that it is really good reading.

There are three articles that I think you should read from last week.

One is about the worldviews of many people that we interact with on a daily basis, regardless of where you are, with a specific focus on the people we meet here in the South Valley.

Two is on a new group that is meeting here in Fargo. I want you guys to see the different groups up here. While this group uses similar language to us, we have very different theology. There is a lot of confusion out there, and this emphasizes that.

Three I have to preface this by saying that while these articles are raw, it is a result of the climate up here, so understand that before you read them.

Go to the website and check out the new articles. The ones above are from last week, and there are some interesting new ones up now.

"We are Family"

2008-09-02T08:29:00.006-05:00

This has been a fascinating turn of events in the presidential campaign. Not picking sides, (I would pick neither) but something interesting to notice from the McCain campaign is the news about Sarah Palin's 17 yr old daughter, Bristol.

This compels us to think about something. I am about to be a first time father, so these type of things are rattling around in my head. How would we handle the situation? What would we do to prevent such a situaion? Every life is something to be cherished and celebrated. Would we freak out and take it out on our child? Would we become a tyrant and start making demands of our child? Will we express dissappointment in the decision, but also come along side them lift them up when they need it? Will we talk to them about Christ's plan for families, and still encourage them and be someone for them to come to and talk? I know there is a lot more to this than meets the eye, but as my mother-in-law says, "it is what it is, now what are we going to do with it?" There are so many things that can be considered and I haven't even scratched the surface of the issue, but what I want to get across is the importance of communication before and after. There are so many conversations that can be helpful in preventing the situation, however, such conversations are unfortunately few and far between.

The are some clear missiological implications of this situation. In the context that Christ has placed us, how will we deal with people that are going through similar situations? Christians need to be known as people of love. We need to be known as people that help make the sitatuion better, not worse. Am I for preserving the life of the baby and the mother? Absolutely. Am I pro-adoption? Sure. But before that, I am pro-christlike lifestyle. That means abstaining from sex before marriage, along with loving and expressing the love of Christ to those who are expressing that behavior, and also those who have to deal with the repurcussions of that behavior.

It is funny in some of the places I have worked, people are so timid to tell me they are pregnant or to talk to me about their lifestyle. They will chat it up behind my back, but when I'm in the room, they would either whisper or go somewhere else. After several months, they saw that they could talk to me about it. They could seek relationship advice. It took a while, but I became a counselor to them. They would come to me with their issues, and I had the oppurtunity to speak Christ into their lives.

So, the real question is what would you do, and who will you be?

"The Motivation Proclamation"

2008-09-01T22:19:00.005-05:00

I spent a couple of hours in Borders today with the intention of working on Greek, but since my computer only works when it is plugged in I grabbed a book I have been wanting to read off the shelve. "The Almost True Story of Ryan Fisher" by Rob Stennett is about a struggling real estate agent who, in order to increase sales, begins to market to Christians, claiming to be a Christian realtor. He has lost of success and begins going to church in order to gain more insight into his clientèle. After a few visits, Ryan decides he and his wife should move to a small town in Oklahoma and plant their own church.

I didn't get to read the entire book, but I was struck both with concerns for the Church as a whole, and specifically for our efforts in Fargo. Ryan is clear that the purpose behind planting a church is for people to admire him and also to get money. Obviously he wasn't too aware of the fact that church planting rarely leads to yachts and vacations in Dubai (my dream), but the first motive struck me. I had to ask myself, are we moving to Fargo and planting a church for some other reason than transforming the city through the story and message of Jesus? Am I seeking to create my little Kingdom where people admire me and hold me up as if I am something great? What is my motivation?

I am not going to lie, I struggle with right motivation and pride when it comes to church planting in Fargo. Whether it be a desire to do something great and become a "church planting rockstar" (trust me we have some); or it is an attitude that I am going to be the savior of Fargo, as if I was a gift of some kind.

Ultimately I know I am called to this work and that Romans 10:9-15 is my motivation, yet Satan is crafty and knows that pride is a weakness I have. I realize that my abilities and aptitude is not up enough to be apart of God's mission in Fargo, but that God's call and the Holy Spirit's presence is more than enough to complete all He desires of us there.

My challenge to those who may be reading this is to question your motives. If you are a believer, why do you do what you do? Are you motivated by Christ's example or by desires of the flesh? Do you want people to look at you as a good Christian, or do you wish to be Jesus to someone else? Read through the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7 and seek out what pure, righteous motives really are.

If you are not a believer, first I apologize for the back example we Christians have been to the person and message of Jesus Christ. Some have said if Jesus came back today He would not be apart of many of the churches here. But also I ask you to consider your motivations as well. Are you motivated by greed (the desire for wealth)? Are you motivated by fame or popularity or power? Why do you do good things? We believe God created all things for His glory and fame, so we can only be satisfied in our doing good when we do it with the motivation to make him known to others. I encourage you to read the Sermon on the mount as well, and the entirety of the gospel of Matthew, you will see who the real Jesus was.

Pray for John and I and our families as we seek to be rightly motivated.

"4:30, 4:30 in the mornin, tryin to find a way to get back to sleep"

2008-08-29T22:26:00.005-05:00

Yes yes my friends we have once again arrived at, lets say it together FRIDAY!!!!

This week has been a little different instead of going in at 8 or 10 I went in at 1 A.M. Yes my shift started at 1 so please lift your jaw back up. HAHA

This was by far the most eventful and stressful but still it is so worth it

So where else would I:

Be called "darlin", "sweetie", "hun", and "sugar" over and over and over!!!

See people sober and drunk all in the same day

Cook Pita sandwiches for dozens of inebriated young people (and a few old)

Have 2 groups of 5 guys screaming at each other about to start a fight

See a 5'0' woman go out in the middle of the crowd yelling and screaming at them to stop

While she was doing that I dial 911, because I didn't think she was going to come back alive and a cop shows up (right after the guys leave (of course))

Have two guys try to tell me they already payed for their food then call me a racist and then threaten the young lady I work with, UNTIL I yell back at them, get in their faces and grab the phone (both of them were taller and bigger and I) and they immediately back down. (and apologize. And I told them I had no problem with them whatsoever and wished them a fun and safe rest of the night.

Please tell me when would I ever be in such situations, I know I know no where that is why I am so thankful for where the Lord has placed me.

Rick and Sonda did a great job (this was Sondas and my last night to work together (so sad) Rick and I have many more to go)

Yes this was an eventful evening (schools back in session) but a lot of things learned and the best part was I got to hang out downtown from 11-1 not working and just hanging out it was great to be there in that capacity and observe people.

PS I don't care what time it says below it is 4:41 on my clock hahaha Goodnight

PPS the typos are all apart of the aura of the "4:30 4:30 in the morning post"

"tonight, tonight, tonight hold tight"

2008-08-28T17:08:00.007-05:00

In the words of the great theologian -Hank Willians Jr- "Are you ready for some football"

College Football begins today all across the country. From the smallest of schools that many of us haven't heard of to the largest ones that we see all the time.

Look at the culture around you, where do people spend their leisure time. Are sports something they take seriously? If so that does that mean for your Fri, Sat and or Sunday nights. If you live in an area of town where everyone goes to the game, than go to the game. High School, College, Pro. Basketball, Hockey, Football, Tennis etc, look into it.

Often times it means that we curb our preferred way of rec in order to be more strategic with our lives. So with all this said where are Abby and I going to be tonight.

We will be at the

Watching the NDSU Bison take on Austin Peay, hailing from Clarksville Tennessee. Don't worry I will update you on the outcome of the game but let me assure you the Bison are a great team and should be a formidable foe for Austin Peay.

"biggie"

2008-08-27T14:04:00.003-05:00

Who on earth would ever say you don't need to plant a Church in Fargo, look at what is happening here in Fargo with NDSU and MSUM.

Here is our sister school in Grand Forks, UND (60 miles north of Fargo)

This community is busting with activity and here are Abby and I in the middle of it looking for in roads to people and culture. Today was a plasma day for me and I got to chat it up with 6 or so people telling them about what we are doing. Exciting stuff..

Abby is meeting lots of people at the Y, at the schools she is coordinating and also her workers are sweethearts at MSUM she is treating them to coffee and breakfast regularly.

My Pita Pit co-workers and I enjoy coffee together regularly, they are great!!

"Tweet, Twedidillideet, Tweet"

2008-08-27T09:22:00.003-05:00

Hey team check out our Twitter account, we want you guys to know what all the Lord is doing and I think you will enjoy this..

www.twitter.com/missionfargo

"Follow me, everything is alright"

2008-08-25T18:12:00.006-05:00

I have been reading through the book of Acts for a bit and I have noticed something about Paul. As he goes around to different cities, planting churches, strengthening churches, and preaching the Gospel, he always has guys traveling with him. Titus, Timothy, Apollos... there is always someone with Paul. Why does this matter?

One of the most influential books if have read is Robert Coleman's The Master Plan of Evangelism. Coleman presents what he believes is Jesus' method of evangelism, built upon discipleship. He presents 8 elements that constitute Jesus' method of evangelism. I'll save you a long summary of the book, you should pick it up and read it. The gist of what Coleman presents is that Jesus lived life with the men he was discipling. As they traveled around, Jesus taught them theology, ministry methods, and all kinds of other things. He gave them a reproducible, relationally based model for evangelism and discipleship.

What does this have to do with Paul and his companions? Well the way I see it is that what Paul did was much like what Jesus did. He brought guys along with him as he went from town to town, teaching them, equipping them, and empowering them to continue the ministry. We can see in 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus that two of his disciples actually did continue the work he started and trained them to do.

This idea has been really challenging to me in thinking about church planting. If we want to see a movement start in Fargo we must seek out men we can train, equip, and empower to do the work. It is easy for us to build the work around ourselves, but I believe if we are to see the Church grow rapidly, we must learn from Jesus as Paul did. Whether we are planning our sermon, visiting a potential contact, sharing with a lost person, or what ever else it may be, we should seek out men who will walk beside us.

So my challenge to you who may be reading this: for those of you living as a missionary, take someone along with you, train them, equip them, and empower them; for those who are new to this missionary lifestyle, find someone you can follow and be a sponge as you follow them. Pray that God will bring about a movement as we seek to train, equip, and empower believers to live as missionaries.

"Let Us Pray, Let Us Pray" the Boys (and Girls) are Back in Town"

2008-08-25T17:30:00.010-05:00

Well, it turns out that we don't live in an abandoned part of town. The streets are filled with students. Every inch of free side street and shoulder are taken up with students parking. Downtown was overrun with smiling friends and bummed out parents dropping their kids off for fun, adventerous, and as we all pray, safe times.

We can all remember our college years, Abby and I have had a blast sharing stories and reminiscing about our college days. I also can remember the terrible and stupid decisions I made. Abby and I have often said that we probably wouldn't have been friends because of how silly, stupid, and foolish I was my first year.

But thanks be to Christ that he held so tightly to me. I say all that to say for you to think back to those days, the decisions you made, and the things you did. For good and for ill, try to remember.

Then please join me in praying for the college kids here in Fargo. Join me in praying for their safety, friendships, course work, but most of all and infinitely more important, the impact of the Gospel on their lives. Pray that they will come to Christ and that they will flourish in Him. Below are the list of schools here in Fargo, you can check them out and read about them to better frame your prayers.

NDSU-North Dakota State University

MSUM-Minnesota State University Moorhead

Concordia College

Rasmussen College

Minnesote State Community College

University of Mary Fargo Center

"The Price You Pay"

2008-08-24T16:17:00.005-05:00

Lately Abby and I have been weighing the price you pay to live a missional life. There are definite costs to being a missionary.

Two addendums need to be made.

One. This is not a shout out for any sort of support (but if the Lord leads you to then praise be to God)

Two. This is a not proclaiming the greatness of the Fishers, we are proclaiming the greatness of God

___________________________________________

There are certain things that have to sacrificed in a missional lifestyle. This is not exhaustive or set in stone, these are just some things we have seen.

1. Time at home

If you're like me, and you're a homebody then this will resonate with you.

Abby and I guard our time together vigorously. Something that we are missing in our quest to be missional and starting Churches through evangelism is things like meals at home, lounging in the living room. We still spend a lot of time together, but sadly it is while we are out. I love sitting in my recliner with Abby on the couch taking in a favorite show, watching a movie, or our personal favorite, sitting and talking. We make sure that we do most of the things, but for us it is a sacrifice to be out this much. We know that the Lord is great and gracious and sees fit for us to sacrifice.

2. Supply

Abby and I often experience the goodness of Christ in the way he provides for us. Of course he provides for all of us, no matter how much the richest person makes or how little the poorest person makes. Christ calls people to minister to all sort of different people, and the people he gave us a heart for are here in North Fargo. The Lord has supplied and continues to supply us with exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. But a missional life is often a call to small supply or a call to using the supply more than we would normally.

3. Relationship

We moved far far away from our friends and family. Now to live missionaly you don't have to move 18 hrs, drive time, or a $350 roundtrip plane ticket. But with us the Lord has called us to live a missional life in Fargo, ND. We hear from different people that we have made the wrong decision by moving so far away from our parents, siblings, college friends and people we have known for years. Is this a hard calling? Yeah, especially in light of the new life growing within Abby. Do we regret following Christ here to Fargo? An emphatic NO. His will for us is so obvious and we are so excited and his provision for family here in Fargo, friends here in Fargo has been overwhelming.

So what is the price that you pay to live a missional life?

Well you won't have to do all the things the way we did it. The Lord was obvious about his plan for us, so we followed but his plans are different for everyone. While the principles are the same, the way the principles are acted out are so very different.

How has the Lord been showing you he wants you to live a missional life? What do you need to sacrifice, finances, prestige, comfort etc? How you do it is so different depending on strengths, giftedness, life but the point is DO IT!

Do it and then look back together at what the Lord has done in and through you by your living a missional lifestyle.

"it's 4:30; 4:30 in the morning tryin to find a way to get back to sleep, 4:30 in mooorniiinn oohoo"

2008-08-23T04:19:00.013-05:00

Well friends it's that time a the week again, yes yes it is bar night at the Pita Pit.

You can keep up with it on the MISSION FARGO TWITTER but I will recap.

206 Broadway N

Open Until 3 am Weekends!

Where else would I have

Been called sweetie, no sugar, no honey....... BY A MALE!

Witnessed a fight outside the front door

Hung out with the owner of Pita Pit for twelve hrs today

Talked about the deep things of life with Sonda

Seen the same group of kids I see every Friday night

Chatted it up with the security director of Dempseys

Gotten to know the Rooters security guys even better

Seen peoples need for the Gospel in person after person after person after person.

"Prepare ye the way"

2008-08-21T09:38:00.002-05:00

It is a crazy time in the Robinson house (apartment). I have just started a few new endeavors. First off, I am doing an internship at a cool church in Franklin, TN (south of Nashville) called Ridgeview Community Church. The church is about 4 years old and has already been involved in planting 4 new churches (even one in Montana). Officially I am the Church Planting Intern, what that basically means is I am there to participate in the leadership and learn what all goes into church planting. I have been there for about 3 weeks and have already learned a few things. I foresee the Lord really doing some neat things in the next several months here at Ridgeview.

I have also recently started working with Lifeway Research. They do all kinds of cool research on all kinds of issues for pastors, lay folks, and anyone else who may be interested. It has been a pretty neat experience so far. I did some work on a this book by Brad Waggoner on spiritual formation. I actually saw a couple of interviews I did in the back of the book, which is kind neat. I have recently been working on a project with Outreach Magazine on the largest and fastest growing churches in America (by work I mean filing hundreds of emails, surveys, and other docs). I have a few thoughts from this study that I will share later on. I think I am going to really enjoy working with them.

Beyond these two ventures I am still a fulltime student at Southern and a fulltime husband to Pam and am working on getting things ready for moving to Fargo. I am excited to see what the Lord is going to do over the next year in preparing us to go. Stay tuned as we add updates and insights from our lives as church planters. Grace and Peace...

"keep on keepin on"

2008-08-20T22:22:00.002-05:00

twitter.com/missionfargo

This is the latest installment for those of you who want to keep up with what is going on up here. We will be keeping up with a twitter account, the link for it is in the left corner of this page.

Thanks friends and family and please feel free to comment and ask questions about things you see.

Ode to a Mentor

2008-08-18T15:00:00.006-05:00

There are those rare people in your life that you can say you would follow them into a burning building.

When I started at WKU it took no time at all to hear about Living Hope Baptist Church, a prominent local church. Living Hope was doing some major ministry on the campus and you could see the Lord at work through them.

At the time, the College Pastor was Jeff Carlisle. Jeff had started as an intern, became Children's and Youth minister, the Junior High and College pastor, then Jr High, College and Missions, then College and Missions and now he is the Missions pastor. Quite the job description for one person. All that to say, he has experienced a lot in church ministry and brings a wealth of wisdom to his current role.

When I was a sophomore, I became acquainted with Jeff via a ministry I was co-leading called Alive. Jeff became a great source of counsel for the ministry, and began a strong relationship with me. Soon after, during my junior year, I started to intern at Living Hope. Jeff and I would have times where I was laughing so hard my belly hurt, and 3 hour conversations where we are nose to nose disagreeing on all matters of subject, where I was usually wrong but isn't that the way it's supposed to be?

He would confront my sin but would also be the biggest encourager in my life. He and his precious family, including wife Mary Beth, daughter Annye and Maddie(I probably mispelled please forgive me), would invite me over weekly for meals, movies, and always great conversations. He helped me buy my first suit, used mentoring meeting as times for us to labor beside one another physically and ministerially,called me when I was on my first date with Abby just to see how it was going, presided over our wedding ceremony, took me on my first hospital visit, and taught me how to study the Bible. Through his mentoring, I have mentored others and they have mentored others and they have mentored others. The legacy trickles down and through his influence (and more so the Holy Spirit's prompting) we are here in Fargo and Living Hope is supporting us every step of the way.

He continues to mentor me even today. While time and distance changes some things, he doesn't hesitate to call me out on issues, but is always the first to call to see how we are doing and to encourage us. Even today, he and I corresponded via email on different issues.

What are the Church planting implications of this?

Through the obedient work of a mentor, the Lord worked to have Abby and I come to Fargo. We need mentors and we need to mentor. You don't have to go through some class to do this, you don't have to go through a 3 week training. Love God, love people, hold tightly to the scripture, and seek out those that you can raise up in the faith. This can be done by sharing the Gospel with non-Christians, seeing the Lord draw them unto himself, and calling you to be pivotal in raising them up. It could be a new Christian, an immature Christian, or someone who wants mentorship for you to mentor.

Check out www.livinghopewired.com ,specifically the missions page.

Mission Fargo Blog

sojournfargo.org

New Website, New Blog, and great news

Hitting the ground running...

What's in a name

we're still here

The eagle has landed...

did you ever see such a sight

"It's Summertime"

late dec back in 63'

Theology of the City

Wow!! The date is drawing near...

What's up in here!

Radio Debut

Things have gotten hairy

Flood News

Bracing for the big one...

Jules is here!!!

My old co-workers at Jersey Mikes

Well everyone is asking!

What an orientation!!!

Heres what's going on!

Books that have been very influential to me and Mission Fargo

what we've been up to

still no little one here

Thanks Jordan for sending this great things to think about

Short-Term Missions

2nd interesting article of the day, take it with a grain of salt

10 Ways To Survive Without a Bailout

Oh a world without sbarro or Krispy K, and 6 flags yeesh, Fargo has neither...

5 Companies That Might Not Survive 2009

misconceptions from the movie Fargo

"Janes addiction" no no Johns addiction

Lets take a poll

New things a hapnin

Now this is bad

What's in a name?

4:30 well no its really 3:45

what do you do before you go back to work at 1am

hahahaha

Blizzard Warning ??? Really??

Invest in Your Valley

33.5

Thoughts on life...

this is a great article from the Forum

The rebirth of downtown: Renaissance Zone helping revitalize old city center

Helmut Schmidt, The ForumPublished Saturday, December 27, 2008

Check it out

"and Happy Holidays"

what we are doing

Let it snow (no forreal really snow)

This is the Local News Paper

one of the many reason why we are here.

Dual Employment

4:30, 4:30 in the morning

What a Weekend

I'm having an excited dad moment

summer missionaries

"why we do what we do"

"a picture is worth a thousand words"

Whoa.

"4:30 well actually 5 in the morning"

"whoa"

Making a difference in our communities

Check it out

"4:30 4:30 in the morning tryin to find a way to get back to sleep"

"Where Do I Go from Here"

New Email addie

"B.I.G.G.I.E, BIGGI, GGIE"

Concerning the Kingdom

"been around the world yeah yeah yeah"

IT'S A GIRL!!

4:30. 4:30 in the Morning, Tryin' to Find a Way to Get Back to Sleep

Mentors Revisited

"The Troubles I've Seen" "Bright Sunshiny Day"

"how bout them apples"

Carpe Diem: Seizing the day

"there's more to life"

Spirit Led Ministry and Pragmatic Methodology

"4:30, 4:30 in the mornin tryin to find a way to get back to sleep"

Helmut Schmidt, The Forum
Published Saturday, December 27, 2008