Life Palette

Big Faith, Jeff's Blog

2012-05-16T10:10:00.001-07:00

Have you ever met one of those people who just had BIG FAITH! They are unshakeable, even when you try to give them information that you are sure will cause their faith to waiver. They trust and confidence in God is amazing and appealing. The good news is, God wants and is working in our lives to give us all BIG FAITH!
He is thrilled when we have faith in Him. It is one of the ways we honor Him in our lives. So what is it that causes our faith to grow? There are five things that we see in the Bible that we need to be Planted in for our faith to grow. As we plant ourselves in these five areas God will perpetually grow our faith and trust in Him. In Matt 8:10 Jesus was "amazed" at the faith of a Roman soldier. He is looking for and building that kind of faith in us all!

This Weekend at Alive:
We will be doing Baptisms during the weekend services this weekend!!! This is a time of Celebration not only for those who are taking this Next Step in their journey with Jesus but for all of us in the Church family. Baptisms will take place during the worship music toward the beginning of the service so be sure and get here early to join in the celebration! (All 3 Weekend Services)

We are going to be looking at the first of the five Catalyst that God uses in building our faith as we continue the weekend talk series Planted with Planted In Practical Teaching. If you missed the first week in the series you can catch up, Planted In Big Faith.

Ministry Team Summit is happening Sunday evening at 5pm for all of those who serve on the ministry team here at Alive Church. You guys are rock stars!!! We will be serving hot dogs and burgers, sharing some vision, strategy, it is going to be a great night.

New Work Mount Hood by Moon - 24X30"

2012-05-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

I recently gave several painting lessons to some dear friends who want to experience and enjoy some plein air painting while in France this summer. I helped them get all set up with the supplies they will need and then I asked them to bring in some photographs that they had taken for us to work from. One of the photos was of a stunning view of Mount Hood in Oregon, pink sky and moon. Kathy is from the Pacific Northwest and we have driven through Portland many times on our way to see family so I recognized it right off. We all had a great time painting. I ended up with a wonderful 14X11", auctioned it on Ebay and it now belongs to a fantastic collector in Montana. I thought I would paint it again, this time in a large format, so this is what resulted and I will be launching it to eBay in my eBay Store on Saturday, May 5th. I updated my On-Line Gallery with a fresh look and an image of Mt Hood by Moon on my home page. Thanks to Jean and Jane for the beautiful photo to work from, and I wish you both the best as you paint in France this summer. -Jeff

Jeff's Blog: One Of God's Top 10

2012-05-01T06:14:00.000-07:00

When you read God's top 10 list, Exodus 20, it may surprise you that Rest makes the list. Yet we all know it is so important for our lives, just go a few days or weeks without it. This past weekend we looked at The Rest App during the weekend talk, here is a short video of a piece of that talk. We called this illustration The Treadmill Of Life:

Thanks to staff member Mike Gray (Next Steps Pastor) A.K.A. Mike Simmons. The illustration is a picture of so many of our lives as we race at a neck break pace trying to do everything that comes our way. Let me give a few tips to help live out the talk from the weekend.
1. God has given each of us enough time to do everything He created us to do. If we find ourselves always short of time to get things done we need to look at time management, priorities or leadership issues.
2. A day of rest does not mean that you are simply laying around as a bum. Although some folks may find that as their way of resting - go for it. For others it may mean doing something different than their normal work week. Great rule of thumb: If you work with your mind, try doing something with your hands on your day of rest. If you work with your hands, try doing something with your mind on your day of rest.
For me, that's why I paint. I find it to be a very restful, refreshing, refueling thing on my day of rest away from the office. Here's one of my latest from some reference photos I took on a trip last summer in Northwest Wyoming.

My mother always tells me: "Get your rest". Who would have thought that mom was telling me to do a spiritual activity, in fact God calls it "Holy". My encouragement to you today is: "Be spiritual and get your rest!"

Jeff's Blog: My Challenges This Week And Church Online

2012-04-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

I was so encouraged this week as I received an email from a lady who watched the weekend talk from our archives on Monday and made a decision to follow Jesus. Yeah God!!! One of the things I love about Alive Church is your willingness to try new things and Church Online has been one of those risk that you all have invested in and we have continually seen our mission of leading people who are far from God to be followers of Jesus lived out. Personally, I see Church Online as an area that has more potential than we ever dreamed in our future. I want to encourage all of you who are a part of Alive Church to take advantage of Church Online. There are a few things that are of great value to you:
1. It's a great way to invite your friends to try church for the first time. Many people are willing to try Church Online when they are fearful of walking in the doors of the building. It gives them a chance to see what they will experience and pave the way for them to attend with you at a later date. I invite friends and family weekly by using the invite button. It's simple!
2. It's heating up around Tucson (Can you believe we've already hit 100%?) and that means many of us will take time to escape the heat for vacation. Church Online is a fantastic tool for staying in touch with your church while you are vacationing. Many people tell me they hate missing a weeks teaching from a series while they are away. The good news is you don't have to. You can join live at Church Online, where we always have a Campus Pastor who breaks away from the regular service to connect with the Online crowd before the service, during the announcements and for the close of the service. Or if you are traveling somewhere where the time change is extreme and you are on sleep time during our schedule live services, we always have the archive of the weekends talk posted by Monday. Thanks to all our team that make Church Online happen.
It's been a challenging week as I have worked on living out the Next Step from last weeks talk The Encouragement App. The principles that we have been looking at in this series called Life Apps add so much value toward us having healthy relationships. I have had so many folks respond with comments about how much this series is helping them in their daily life and how practical and applicable it has been. If you missed last weekend you can catch The Encouragement App on our web site. This coming weekend will be equally as powerful as we look at The Rest App. This is one I personally have struggled with all my life, I will share a little of my story during the weekend talk. While this app is very personal, it has a tremendous affect on every area of our lives, especially our relationships.
I'm looking forward to being with you all this weekend and I'm praying that it will be a special time in your journey with Jesus.

Jeff's Blog: Back In Tucson And Thanks To The Team

2012-04-17T15:51:00.003-07:00

This past weekend after our Saturday evening service Kathy and I drove through the night to Colorado Springs, Colorado to be with extended family after the sudden death of a very dear cousin. Sunday and Monday were spent with family and being at my cousin Barbs funeral. Her life story, though cut very short, touch many. There were about 1,000 people who attended the funeral with here husband receiving hundreds of letters from students she has taught over the years. One thread ran through everything everyone said about Bard, she passionately pursued Jesus. She will be dearly missed yet always remembered and her life celebrated. Please continue to pray for her family.
I want to thank everyone on the team at Alive that made it possible for Kathy and I to go and be with family. You guys rock, all the way from capturing a great recording on Saturday evening for the Sunday services to the staff who covered meetings I was scheduled to lead Monday and Tuesday.
So now we are back in Tucson and back in the saddle, as it were, getting ready for the weekend. I am very excited as I put the finishing touches on the notes for this weekends talk: The Encouragement App. Looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend!

Jeff's Blog: The Trust App

2012-04-11T05:47:00.000-07:00

Application is everything. A lot of times we hear a new truth, or make plans to do something, get a new workout CD, a treadmill, and just because we've done so we feel like we are making progress. The truth is, without application we are not making any progress. So I am taking a few weekends to talk during the weekend services at Alive about how to apply some of the most important Life Apps that the Bible gives us for our future success in every area of our lives.
One of the most powerful relational tools for healthy and successful relationships is trust. This weekend I will be talking about The Trust App. Without understanding and applying The Trust App the way the Bible teaches us, we will handicap our ability to thrive in our relationships. Because trust is so often misunderstood, it is often not applied. We are going to discover how to apply Trust to every relationship and see what to do when trust is broken.
My notes are finished and I couldn't be more excited. I love it when a weekend teaching stirs something so deep within me. I'm looking forward to the weekend and hoping to see you all.

Easter Weekend Update

2012-04-08T19:52:00.003-07:00

We had a great Easter weekend celebration at Alive. There were nearly 1,000 people on our Oro Valley campus and several hundred on our Online Campus. The best part; 26 faith commitments. Great picture of us living out our mission!!! Congrats to the 26 who made a decision to follow Jesus this Easter. You now have the Living Hope living in you.
Thanks to all the wonderful, incredible staff - volunteer and paid, you made it happen this weekend and you all rock!!!
This weekend we launched the new weekend talk series called Life Apps with the Easter teaching that we called The Hope App. During this 5 week series we are going to look at 5 distinct Life Apps that empower us to live in freedom and prepare us for the destiny we have in Jesus. From today: Application is everything. Hope shapes our future. Because of Jesus resurrection we have a Living Hope.
Unfortunately we often substitute the true Living Hope of Jesus resurrection with things that we are always having to work to pump ourselves up. Remember Hans and Franz from SNL? "we are here to pump-you-up." With substitutes we are constantly working to get pumped up in our hope. The Living Hope of Jesus resurrection is a inner hope that continues to grow, gives us vital life and empowers us daily.
I hope you all enjoyed the cookouts after Saturday evening service and Sunday 2nd service. It was great to be able to mingle around and connect with so many. I loved all the cotton candy!!! The kids all had a great time in the inflatable obstacle course and the Velcro wall. I'm sure we will find Easter eggs around the building for awhile from all the different egg hunts for the kids.
Thanks again to all of you who serve on the team at Alive. Through our partnership we will continue to live out our mission of Leading People Who Are Far From God To Be Followers Of Jesus!

Good Friday/Easter

2012-04-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today I can't help but think back to our Service of Shadows last Sunday evening. What a powerful time we had together as we prepared for today and ultimately Easter. Take a few moments and read the account of the last few moments of the cross on this Good Friday:
"By this time it was noon, and darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. 45 The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. 46 Then Jesus shouted, "Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!" And with those words he breathed his last. 47 When the Roman officer overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshiped God and said, "Surely this man was innocent." 48 And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow." (Luke 23:44-49 NLT)
While this day was a day of sorrow for Jesus and the disciples, it was the day of incredible Grace for us all. And even though they all went away in sorrow, the good news is that Easter Sunday was coming. While we remember His death on the cross today, we are going to be celebrating His resurrection together this weekend.

Jeff's Blog: Celebratiing The Weekend

2012-04-01T19:20:00.005-07:00

The atmosphere this weekend was, in a word, Party! And it should have been. We baptized 17 people. Read that again: 17! I'm so thrilled to be a part of all of your journey in following Jesus and to see you take the next step in your journey through baptism was awesome!!! Alive you are great at celebrating these incredible milestones - way to go. As we gathered for every service there was just such an incredible sense that something BIG was about to happen - that God was up to something - and He was!

The icing on the cake (we did have cake after the services to celebrate the weekend) was that there were 8 people who made new commitments in their faith to follow Jesus. Both the baptisms and the faith decisions is a picture of us living out the mission we are called to: Leading People Who Are Far From God To Be Followers Of Jesus. We have no idea of all that God wants to do through us as we continue to partner together to live out this mission.
I just came from the Service of Shadows service that our Elders put together - wow -it was so moving. I could hardly make it through it as we read the scriptures of all that Jesus experienced this week leading up to the cross. The idea of the service was to leave in darkness, with a sense of what it must have been after the cross on Good Friday. The next time we get together will be a different story - we will get together to celebrate the HOPE of the resurrection.
I am so looking forward to being with you all this next weekend as we celebrate Easter. Many of you are inviting friends, family, neighbors and co-workers. This is the one time of year that people really want to go to church. If you are a person who does not have a church home, I want to personally invite you this coming weekend to join me at Alive for one of our Easter services. Check it out at Easter At Alive I will begin a new weekend talk series called Life Apps beginning with The Hope App.

Jeff's Blog: Weekend Reflections

2012-03-18T20:39:00.004-07:00

As I reflect on this weekend at Alive there are 3 things that really stood out:

1. There were 5 people who made faith commitments as followers of Jesus this past weekend. Way to go Alive, living out our mission: Leading people who are far from God to be followers of Jesus.

2. We started gathering names of people who are far from God that we are going to invite to Easter weekend so we can begin praying for them. So far we have 86 folks that we are committed to investing in their lives and inviting them to the Easter services. This is the primary weekend that friends who don't know Christ or don't attend church will attend with you if you simply invite them. Let's make the best of it as we celebrate Jesus resurrection! We will continue to get names over the next two weeks and continue praying for these folks. This is a primary way to live out our core value of Relational Evangelism.

3. Our Youth Band led worship and did a super job. I love the life that they bring to a worship service. It is so cool to see these young teens taking on the responsibility of ministry. I love that about Alive, we are always looking to apprenticing the next generation.

As we continue to partner together we will continue to make a difference in our community and the lives of those in our influence.

Jeff's Blog: Attitude Points Toward Your Horizon

2012-03-14T09:30:00.007-07:00

Our attitude about something, anything, dictates my performance. Are there areas of your life that you would say you are under-performing in? If so, maybe it's time to check your attitude. Take a moment; how would you rate your overall attitude? Never been better? Never been worse? So-so? I like to compare attitude to perspective in painting. You see in a landscape painting perspective always point toward the horizon. In life, attitude always point toward our life horizon - where we are headed in the future.

Attitude is a choice. In the Bible we are encouraged to have the same attitude that Jesus had. (Phil 2:5) It also tells us that if we serve God with a right attitude we will please Him and that others will approve of us as well. (Rom. 14:18) Continually choosing right attitude has incredible benefits! The opportunity to change your attitude is yours alone, that is good news. You call the shots, you can choose right now.

Last weekend I mentioned during my weekend talk I mentioned that I love the moments before a service starts, those feelings of anticipation that something great is about to happen. I want to encourage you to think through your attitude as you come to each service. Are you anticipating God to do great things in your life and the lives of others? He's desiring to do just that.

This weekend we are going to continue our new weekend talk series, Whatever It Takes, with a talk titled Called To Generosity. The kick off to this series was awesome last weekend as we talked about being Called To Compassion. (Compassion, Passion what's your action?) Amazing response as almost 70 people took the next steps of compassion. Life changing!!! My expectation, i.e. attitude, is the same for this coming weekend, I am looking forward with anticipation as we talk about being Called To Generosity to seeing many life changing commitments!

Can't wait to be with you all this coming weekend. Hope you have a great rest of the week - remember your attitude!

Jeff's Blog: Big Toe Pain Means Pain Everywhere

2012-02-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

I heard the story this week about someone stubbing their toe, really a minor injury compared to many. Yet, they felt the pain throughout their whole body. If fact as the story was being shared the description was all about how having a stubbed toe affect everything in their body!
It is amazing how one area affects other areas in our lives. This coming weekend as we wrap up the "Pure Sex" series we will be talking about how unforgiveness not only affects sexuality and how God designed it but every area of our lives. Be praying for the weekend, this will be a time of absolute freedom for many as we allow God to touch this area of our lives, and it will have a profound impact on not only the area of Pure Sex, but every area of life.
This weekend, during the worship music we will be serving communion. Always a special time at Alive. And, it is a great weekend to try Saturday night service if you've never gotten a chance, because we will be having a BBQ immediately after the service in the courtyard!
As I look ahead toward the weekend I want to also look back to last weekend briefly. We rarely have a weekend when someone doesn't make a commitment to follow Jesus and last weekend is not exception as two people made the decision to follow Jesus for the first time in their lives. I know I say it a-lot, but that never gets old!!!

Greener Grass

2012-02-23T06:07:00.000-08:00

We've all heard the saying; "the grass is greener on the other side of the fence." The truth is, if the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence it's probably because someone is watering it! It's true in every area of life; relationships, jobs, church, and the list goes on and on.
Think about it, how many times have you heard people talk about something or someone like "greener grass" only to discover after they went across the fence they felt and talked the same way about the grass on that side of the fence as they did the previous side.
I had a friend when I was younger that always felt that way about his job. He as constantly changing jobs as a result, yet with every change he always felt that there was "greener grass" at another job, or sadly looking back at his previous job. The sad part about this mentality was the miss opportunities and lack of success.
This weekend at Alive we are going to be talking about how to make the grass greener in our relationships. Remember, if the grass looks greener in someone else's marriage, families or any relationships, someone is probably watering them!

Jeff's Blog: We Have A Winner!

2012-02-05T18:36:00.000-08:00

It's the end of Superbowl weekend and we have a winner! Along with the N.Y. Giants winning the Superbowl (congrats!) our super youth group at Alive was the winning team at Winter Youth Camp at Prescott Pines in Prescott. Throughout the weekend camp the different youth groups compete in games and team spirit and Alive Youth won overall - way to go gang!!! (25 of our youth attended Winter Camp along with 5 Youth Leaders) A special congrats to Chad Lacy who set an all time record for the Prescott Pines campground in Snooter Shooter (you stick a Skittle in your nose and blow it out for distance) with over 40 feet! We are so proud of you Chad. It is so great to know that our youth worship leader has other talents besides being a great musician! (I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate having Chad demonstrate for a weekend talk) Parents, if you didn't know the Alive Youth group meets on Wednesday evenings at 7pm and Sunday mornings during the 11am service.

This weekend we wrapped up the weekend talk series "Unlock", with "Unlock Freedom". (Investing in others for the sake of something bigger - freedom - eternity) If you didn't have a chance to catch the weekend talk you can watch the archived version at Alivechurch.com

I've already begun preparing for next weekend and the beginning of our new weekend talk series, "Pure Sex". We are going to spend a few weeks looking at what the Bible has to say about sex. A lot of people tend to think that the Bible is silent about sex or simply just says "no" to sex. Nothing could be further from the truth. This will be a very powerful and important series. Make plans on attending this coming weekend an inviting your friends.

Have a great week - I think I will go practice my skills in Snooter Shooter and put out a challenge to Chad and the rest of our awesome youth group at Alive - the pastors vs youth!

P.S. My favorite commercial during the Superbowl was the Hyundai one with the Rocky music. What was yours?

Jeff' Blog; Weekend Update

2012-01-29T20:10:00.000-08:00

Awesome weekend at Alive! Kathy and I attended Alive Church Online while we were away for the weekend celebrating our 28th anniversary. If you didn't get a chance to here our Executive Pastor, Jason Marsden, speak, you will want to catch it online in our service archives - great job Jason - Kathy and I totally enjoyed you from Sedona.

I love the illustration Jason used pouring the water from one container to another as he talked about the Timeless Truth of God's Word and how we are committed to continually using Relevant Environments as we communicate it.

What a great blessing it was for myself and Kathy to be able to spend time alone as a couple celebrating our 28th. We had the incredible privileged of spending a night at the Ritz in Dove Mountain - thanks to Chris from Life Group. Wow - that place is out of this world - thanks for the blessing Chris!!! Then we drove to Sedona, one of our favorite AZ destinations and spent the night there. Did some touring and hiking Sat. and Sunday and back home now ready to start the week.

I'm looking forward to wrapping up the weekend talk series, Unlock, this coming weekend. This series has definitely challenged me in Unlocking My Personal Potential! It has helped me to step up in a few places and dream and pray bigger in others.

Superbowl Sunday is next weekend - it is a great time to try Saturday night service at 5pm so you can go to your Superbowl party early.

Thanks again Jason - home run! Not only am I thrilled to be a part of a church committed to Relevant Environments - but I want to be personally as well in all areas of my life!

Jeff’s Blog: 28 Years Of Marriage

2012-01-25T05:27:00.000-08:00

This Saturday, Jan. 28^th, Kathy and I will celebrate our 28^th wedding anniversary. Just some thoughts about marriage after 28 years:

I’ve recently completed my Meyers Briggs personality profile with our staff and I am an INTP – it’s amazing anyone would want to live with me let alone for 28 years!
I married way above my head. Kathy is first class in more ways than I can share in this brief blog. – Not sure she knew what she was getting into?
One reason we made it to 28 years is our decision at the beginning was that this was a deal with no exit ramps. That decision early on made us face our problems knowing that either we deal with things and help them get better or we would be miserable.
Not much miserable about it all. Picking a mate with a lot of character and someone who is passionate about God as a follower of Jesus makes for more good times than bad.
Early on we decided that if something was of interest to the other than the other would explore it to see what the interest was. That allowed us to develop a lot of mutual interest. (now a days, Kathy says that I’m her hobby! Really my art is her hobby – but I’ll take the idea that I’m her hobby – after all I’m an INTP)
When we said “I do” we both were very clear that neither of us would ever be first place in the others life. We knew then and it has proved true, the more we each keep Christ in first place in our lives the better we can love and serve one another.
Her family – Kathy has such great roots! I hear so many young couples say that they are not marrying their fiancés family – ha!!! Ask anyone who’s been married for more than a few years – you are marrying the family! That has been a bonus and a blessing for me.
A good healthy understanding and definition of love – it’s a choice, not a feeling. It’s pretty cool when the two line up, but it that’s the barometer every storm will bring disaster – and there will be storms. I hear couples talk about how they “fell in love”. That sounds painful. Like you’re walking down the sidewalk and didn’t see a big hole and fell into it – like you had no choice! The choice of love is lasting – the feelings of love will always follow the choice but are fleeting when our choice follows our feelings.
Like anything in life that is worth our time, discipline is the key to having and staying in love. We talk about most of the disciplines we are committing to in our marriage vows - stay the course. If you do marriage can be like a fine wine – it gets better with age. (I don’t even like wine! But I’ve heard it said that it’s better with age.)
Freedom and celebration of who we are individually. She loves coffee, I hate it. I like NASCAR, she takes a nap. She likes working in the yard; I am only called upon if she needs me to carry something heavy for her. Having a King size bed helps, you can always get close for intimacy but when it comes time to sleep – give me my space. I’m an artist – she has a thing for artist!!! She’s a hot singer – I have a thing for hot singers!!!

Jeff's Blog: My Overwhelming Mercy For The Italian Cruise Ship Captain

2012-01-23T13:39:00.000-08:00

A recent international story regarding a sinking Italian Cruise Ship got me to thinking a little about leadership. Here are seven things all leaders should know that this story solidifies:

1. Stay the course: When you get off course of the final destination (vision) you are in danger of hitting the rocks and sinking the ship!

2. Know what you are getting yourself into upfront: As a leader you need to know you have made a commitment to go “down with the ship” so to speak, especially should you be the one to cause it to sink.

3. Enjoy the blessings: The charge of going down with the ship holds in it the promise of enjoying the blessings while the ship is on course and there is smooth sailing.

4. Know when to enjoy the blessings: You don’t deserve dinner in your cabin with your lady friend after you have collided with the rocks and the passengers are scrambling for their lives.

5. Listen to wise counsel: We all make stupid mistakes from time to time and that is why we all need wise counsel. When your wise counselors are saying; “Hey you idiot get back on the ship”, listen to them. You could still be a celebrated, forgiven captain even after sinking a ship - provided you weren't being totally stupid to begin with. I mean hey - look at American politicians!

6. Workout: Seriously, if you are in such bad shape that you can’t get out of a lifeboat after falling in you need to consider using your own gym that you have on your ship!

7. Find A New Career: Once you break trust by abandoning your post, it’s hard to regain it. Let’s be honest, even if the cruise line is offering deep discounts, do you really want to sail on a ship in the near future knowing this guy is the captain?

Jeff's Blog: Green Or Not?

2012-01-18T05:49:00.000-08:00

Because of my position I am often asked about things that you will probably never hear me talk about in my weekend talks. Not because I don’t care or have an opinion (If you know me you know I have an opinion on most things!) but because that the mission and vision of what I do in my position is very clear and I stick with it in every talk. So, I thought my blog might be a place to give voice to some issues that I am often asked about. Besides I would love to hear your opinion.

One that I often am asked is about being Green? Am I Green and should the Church be more Green? Here’s my simple answer: As a follower of Jesus, God the Father is my loving heavenly Father and we are called to be faithful stewards of God’s creation, responsible for its care and use. That being said let me give a few of my thoughts and observations:

1. Christian Environmentalism is more about the fact that we worship and acknowledge our creator. Be it that we are being faithful stewards with the money He gives us or the world we live in, we do so as an act of worship to our creator who gives us all things. Unfortunately, many Christians are motivated by the trendiness of being “green” or quilted into it by the world, rather than living the value of worship and the results of that being stewardship of all God has given us. Stewardship is not just a trendy thing.

2. The other concern is that stewardship is replaced with a subservient mentality. In other words, we cannot allow concern for the environment to lead to worship of the environment. We worship the creator, not creation. It could be easy to buy into the mentality that we were created for the earth rather than the truth of the Bible; God created the earth for us. Much like we see in scripture that the Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath. God has blessed us with much that is for our benefit, not so that we would worship any of His gifts. We are to worship Him alone.

How quickly the trends of society change, already this issue is quickly taking a back seat. Just listen to the political debates and you will see where the trends of society are going. For the Christian, ours is not to be trending and make the Bible fit into the latest and greatest concerns rather to live by the values God has given us through the Bible – His Word. As we do so we will be able to avoid the trendy and hip things of culture and faithfully steward the blessings of the Father.

Jeff's Blog: Weekend Wrap-Up

2012-01-15T15:49:00.000-08:00

I have to start out this weekend wrap-up blog with sadness: my Broncos got spanked! Horribly - embarrassingly - pathetically spanked!!! Disappointing, yet they ended the season a lot better than I thought they were going to at the beginning of the season.

On the upside: at Alive Church we baptized 4 people over the weekend! Celebrating a new spiritual journey through baptism never gets old. I will have to try to get the video from 3rd service; a young couple got baptized. The dad went first and while the mom was getting in the water their little boy, I think about 7 years old, went running down the aisle and onto the stage to hug his dad. It was so cool! So awesome!!! I love seeing everyone sign the certificates. (the cake after each service is pretty good too!)

I continued in the weekend talk series: Unlock. We looked at how to unlock Fulfillment in life through serving one another in love. Take a few moments and read through Gal 5:1-14 or catch the video archive at alivechurch.com. From the talk, remember we are Called to Freedom. God wants and intends for us to live in complete freedom. Next weekend the talk will be about one of my favorite topics: Unlock Truth. The more we live in Truth in every area of our lives the more we will live a rich and satisfying life. (John 10:10)

A special thanks to all the folks who talked via Skype this weekend - especially our Church Online Host, Don Young from Ohio who Skyped in all three services.

This was the last weekend for our Christmas offering, so we will be announcing the total next weekend and begin giving it out to the community and missions ministries that we are committed to supporting.

I hope and pray that you all have a great week this week. If you are like me I have a lot on the plate this week, starting with a staff training tomorrow morning. We are working through the Meyers Briggs stuff so that we can better communicate with one another. I am loving this stuff and have brought it home to work through with Kathy as well. It has really helped in our staff and personal communications. I have a couple of paintings to complete this week and putting in some time to prepare a little more for out next talk series that begins Feb. 11th/12th: Pure Sex.

Have a great week!

Top Ten Time Management Tips To Begin 2012

2012-01-12T06:49:00.000-08:00

2012 is well underway and most of us have some specific goals we want to attain this year. The number one reason I hear people say they can’t or didn’t reach their goals is they just didn’t have the time. Yet, we all have the same amount of hours in the day. In fact we have all been given enough time to do ALL that God wants and created us to do. So, here is my list of Top Ten Time Management Tips for 2012:

#10 – Set a specific time (and a limit) to check emails and social networks. If not you will spend time needed to be productive doing email and browsing your social networks.

#9 – When you do check your emails, do something with them. I am amazed at how many people keep emails in their in-box and then end up reading through them multiply times. Read them and respond, file or throw away. If you say you don’t have time at that moment to deal with them then you probably need to go back and read #10 again!

#8 - Realize you are not as good at multi – tasking as you think. Everyone thinks they can multi-task! Guess what, it shows up in your productivity and the quality of your work. You will get a lot more done and reach more of your goals when you set aside focused time to do your work.

#7 – If you are a person who does “To Do” list, make sure it is a priority list. Many times people take what was not accomplished today and put it at the very top of tomorrow’s list. A good “To Do” list should be made by priorities not by what didn’t get done today.

#6 – Delegate, delegate, delegate. If a task can be done by someone else and they can do it 80% as well as you can – delegate it!

#5 – Decide when not to be a perfectionist. Some things don’t require all the effort we put into them. Give your best time and greatest effort toward your top priorities.

#4 – Write things down. A big mistake when it comes to time management is to think that you can remember things without either writing them down or putting them in your Smartphone with an alert.

#3 – Invest time in planning. You’ve heard it before but it is so true: failing to plan is planning to fail. If you do not spend time planning toward your goals and priorities, something will come along and steal all your time!

#2 – Learn to say “NO”. This one simple two letter word will add more value toward time management than any thing else. Say it out loud right now. Practice: No, No, No!!!

#1 – Live by your priorities. This is the number one thing bar none when it come to time management. In fact your life will radically change as you begin to live by priorities. You will have more time, be more productive and fulfilled than ever. If you have never prayerfully considered your top priorities for your life – for 2012 – for the coming week – this is where you begin.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Do you love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff that life is made of.” Don’t squander 2012. Don’t make excuses, you have been given this incredible gift of time by God to do and be all that He created you to do and be. Be a good and faithful steward. When you hear yourself saying you don’t have time to do the things you really want or you wish you had more hours in the day – you are probably doing some things that God does not want you to do because He has given you all the time you need to do all that He created you to do.

Happy New Year!!!

Jeff' Blog: The Christmas Story Via Facebook

2011-12-21T07:16:00.000-08:00

Social media is a big part of our daily lives. There are a lot of good things about it, connecting with family, friends and loved ones. I can't help but wonder how Jesus and the disciples would have used this tool in ministry and in starting the New Testament Church!? The good news is no one would have been rejected as Jesus "Friend" (Maybe a religious leader or two!)

Here is a great video that considers the Christmas story through the tool of social media:

I want to personally invite you to join me Christmas Eve for one of our 3 Christmas Eve services. I will be talking about The Tradition Of Celebration, we will be doing Candle lighting, a few interactive things for the kids and some favorite carols. 3:30, 5:00 or 6:30. Be sure and invite friends and loved one to join you for this special evening.

Jeff's Blog: Character; It's Who We Are

2011-12-13T17:08:00.000-08:00

The word character is found only a few times in the Bible, a key verse speaking of it is Romans Rom 5:3-5 "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation." These few verses point out the very unique relationship between tribulations, perseverance and character.

The assumption of this passage is that the person being persecuted would endure, faithfully, and not deny their faith in Jesus. Enduring/persevering is something we do. Character is not something we do, character is who we are. The reality is that those who persevere trails are those with character. In other words our response to what is happening around us is the only evidence of our character.

Character is doing what is right because it's right. Not right because I feel it's right for me, but because the standard that God has set is what is right. Character requires a willingness to and ability to obey.

I have never met anyone who is against character. No one has ever said to me, "what we really need in our society is a little less character." We are all for character, it just that often we are not for going through all that it takes to prove our character, not willing to make it a priority. This is a matter of submitting to God and His principles and committing to obeying.

As I drive through my community, it is amazing to me how many places there are that we can go to improve our looks, out-ward appearances and character. There are so few places geared toward developing character. The church is one of the few places that would still be listed as one of those places.

Let this coming year, 2012, be a year for being committed to character development. Without a plan for character development we will eventually fall in line with the masses. Start by prayerfully listing out several things that you would like to be known for. Imagine that your spouse, friends or children are speaking at your memorial; what would you want them to say about you? Once you have your list, look for practical ways to develop those traits in your life this coming year.

Character is what a man is in the dark. -D. L. Moody

The God-given capacity to lead has two parts: giftedness and character. Integrity is the heart of character. -Dr. J. Robert Clinton

Jeff's Blog: Ton-teen

2011-12-08T06:06:00.000-08:00

I've been a MASH fan most of my life. In fact when I was younger and MASH was still a current series (before the days of DVD or VHS recorders for that matter) I would be late for dates, work, just about anything to watch the weekly series. One of my favorite shows was entitled Ton-teen, where character Col. Potter was the last of his buddies living that had made a ton-teen during the war. In the show he toast the final passing of old friends, he was the last one living, thus he received a fine bottle of bourbon that he and his buddies had left unopened and made a ton-teen with. Then he toasted his co-workers, new friends, at the MASH 4077. Well, yesterday Henry Morgan, the actor who played Col Henry Potter, died. I loved his character on MASH, so here's to you Henry Morgan! Rest In Peace! Can't help myself, if I'm channel surfing at night and MASH is on, even though I mostly have them all memorized, I have to watch. Some things are good because they are just good.

Jeff's Blog: What I Like About Alive

2011-12-05T06:54:00.000-08:00

During the wrap up this weekend of the talk series called "Why", I asked you to txt me answers to the question: What I like about Alive. Why did I ask the question? Not only did we talk about why we are here as individuals but why we are here as a church. I shared that in 2012 we are going to focus on the vision of creating a preferred environment for people who don't go to church but desire to connect with God - as we live our mission of leading people who are far from God to be followers of Jesus.So, I got some of your feed back about our environment. Here are some of YOUR answers that I didn't have time to read during the talk:

I was accepted here with no hesitation
The fellowship
We love the teaching and how it gives us a focus for each week
Being allowed to text during the service.
Its the only church I've walked into and felt completely welcomed.
Succinct, applicable bible studies that don't sound preachy and don't include emotional sappy stories.
I like that I don't feel I'm being judged, or that my mistakes from the past aren't the topic of here and now rather its an attitude of accepting the Person I am today, instead of constantly dwelling on the sins of my past.
Biblical & solid Christ-centered teaching & programs that cares 4 people spiritually & personally.
1. jesus hangs out here 2. the people 3. the atmosphere
Alive is comfortable, inviting, warm, and accepting of everyone for who they are and where they are in their walk. Alive teaches straight from the Bible!
No fluff. Teaches how it is
Certainty,Accountability,Friendship, My needs are met here beyond my wildest dreams.
I love everything. And yes I am in church instead of watching the game
The music. The people. The emphasis on making disciples who make disciple
A non-judgmental environment! You are patient with where people are which helps them to get to where they need to be. Thank you
The music, and all of the free pie you are going to be serving on Sundays in 2012
Pastor Jeff
It is real
I love the small, intimate, family-like atmosphere
I like that the pastor reminds me of Jay Leno... Seriously, i like it that Pastor Jeff gets the message across without being too preachy.
I like Alive because: They have a Lead Pastor that don't know you have to cook Pumpkin Pies.church online
The music, and the fact the service feels like you are at a party with close family
I like that I feel welcome and its not about the clothes we wear!
It has really helped me understand the difference between a relationship with God and biblical knowledge.
what i like is the free donuts!!
That we get to learn about God.. (8 yrs old)
My children can understand and it makes sense, casual, down to earth, friendly, fun.
I am here because it feels like home.. The message I get every week just speaks to me. Its hard to describe.
The church has helped me grow so much closer to God. And I feel so comfortable here.
The candor

We mentioned that we will be having a Christmas offering starting in a couple of weeks, here are some of the details: Our goal this Christmas is $20,000

Here where we are going to give it:

Care for the Community - 45% Benevolence and community care utilizing Interfaith Community Services to maximize our impact.
Save Lives - 25% International Missions (Joe and Averyl Morris) Goal - Feed 4 Widows and their children for a year and an AIDS Training course. All in Africa.
Reach Out - 15% Big Days / Digital Missions. In other words Evangelism
15% Invest in our students and children. Camp scholarships (youth and kids), youth curriculum, etc. Kid's environment and VBS.

We will be giving out more details this coming weekend as we begin a new weekend talk series called Christmas Traditions.

Jeff's Blog: My Top 10 List, Rain Makes #1

2011-11-27T18:30:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the end of a holiday weekend; Thanksgiving. Can't help but think about the things I am thankful for, here's my top 10:

10. I'm so thankful that God had someone invent ice-cream. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough has to be a little bit of foresight into heaven! (seriously if you've never had it - run - don't walk - RUN - to the nearest store and get some Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough!!!!!!)

9. For Thanksgiving itself - we all need an extra day away from the office now and then.

8. For the incredible team at Alive that I am privileged to work with - even with an extra day away from the office you guys rock - you still made a great weekend happen!!! (At least I didn't put ice-cream ahead of you.)

7. Beauty. I mean the incredible beauty of God's creation. We live in an awesome place! The mountains, sunsets, desert - all of nature is proclaiming the glory of the Lord. (Don't believe me? Read Romans 2)

6. For my evening fires in my fire-pit in the back yard. Especially over the Thanksgiving weekend. I loved having all my kids (and all their awesome friends) sitting around the fire night after night telling stories, making crazy bets about dumb things we were all sure we had the right answer to, and making up wild games. (To all my neighbors, sorry we kept you up late every night this week - next time - grab a chair an pull up to the fire)

5. I'm thankful the weekend is over - I need to quit eating all the sweets we have around the house. Somehow Monday's are always the right days to get back on track with my eating habits. (I guess I should go finish the pie that's left over so I won't be tempted next week)

4. Church Online - seems like we get use to the idea - but then someone goes and makes a faith decisions at church online like they did this weekend and I'm thankful all over again for how God is allowing Alive Church to leverage technology!!! Yeah God!

3. God's Provision - a couple of weeks I felt like I was suppose to sell my Jeep (my kids are still mourning - me to if I'm being honest) next day a guy came up to me and said "I heard you were going to sell your Jeep and are looking for a beater with good gas mileage". I said "yeah, feel like that's what I'm suppose to do!" Then he gave me a 1999 Honda Civic - Cool! I've never driven a car that small in my life. (I had no idea how tall the drive through windows are at McDonald's until I pulled up in my new - to me - Honda hot rod) Seriously - God's Provision!!! (Hey anyone interested in buying a Jeep? )

2. My wife and family - I know that you think I'm saying that because I'm suppose to say that - but seriously, I'm not just saying it. And, it's not because my wife or kids read my blog and I'm trying to score points. (I don't think Kathy even reads my blog - but it you are reading it this time babe - I hope this scores me some points!) I'm genuinely grateful for my family. I have to put our Alive family in there as well! I love you guys and are so thankful to be your pastor!

1. Christ and the Cross. The older I get the more I see how hopeless my life was and that the path of destruction that I was on was devastating. When I was younger I think I always somehow thought I wasn't really that bad off - I was wrong. I am so grateful for the Grace that my Heavenly Father continues to pour out on my life everyday. No puns in this one: my passionate desire to know Jesus and Him crucified is more intense now than ever and I pray that it will continue to grow. I remember coming into 2011 thinking I couldn't wait to get out of 2010 and get a fresh start - boy did I? I've told several pastor friends - 2012 has been the hardest year in ministry in my life - so far! Yet, I wouldn't trade one moment. God has stripped me of so many things that I was letting get in the way of my passion for Him. I'm sure there are many things that He still needs to strip away from my life for me to live as Paul said: "I am determined to know nothing among you but Christ and Him Crucified." I know the year is not over, and there may be many more days ahead that bring rain, and that's OK as long as it get's me a little closer to Christ and the Cross. I'm not sure if the song in the video (Jesus Bring The Rain, Mercy Me) is my favorite (and has been from several months) right now because of what the last year has brought or because it truly is my prayer - but I pray it:

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain