Preaching, presents, & popeye

Hey gang... I didn't realize it has been 12 days since my last entry on this blog. I guess Christmas had a way of getting my focus elsewhere. We did the Christmas play on the weekends of 12/9 and 12/16 and then I attended the Christmas play at Evergreen Community Church in Pine City on 12/23. This was the church that we were involved with helping start which is transforming lives up in Pine County and baptizing another 11 people this Sunday. Today I had the honor of speaking at New Hope and we went "In search of..." a hope that does not disappoint.

Preparing for this Sunday was grueling. I went through about 9 re-writes of the message. It felt like the Holy Spirit just kept saying..."No; not quite" and I would do down a different path. This hope that becomes an anchor for us is soemthing I needed a big dose of so, perhaps, this was God's way of having me look at the issue from multiple perspectives so that I would deepen my own understanding of it. Finally, on Friday night he solidified what I would share and then had me do some fine tuning Saturday.

Typically preparing to deliver a message is much easier, but for whatever reason this was a much more demanding challenge. I do feel, however, that God said what he wanted to say. I think we were all challenged to search out the deeper things of God and live our life according to them.

Without much of a break over Christmas, I'm planning to take the rest of the day off today (perhaps watch the Vikings slip out of the playoff race) and hopefully have New Years Day off (I know you all really wanted to know my schedule!).

I don't get a ton for Christmas, but it was probably the least expensive thing I received that mean the most to me. My brother put a can of spinach in my stocking. It is not uncommon for us to put goofy things in each others stockings.... I put hot dog buns, bread, macaroni, and butt paste in peoples stockings this year. Honestly, there is such a thing as "butt paste" and it makes a great stocking stuffer. Anyway, the reason the spinach was so meaningful is that he said he knows I am on the verge of a "Popeye" moment. These are the moments I've talked about before where people reach the point of "That's all I can stands and I can stands no more" and then act on it. It's no secret that there are some social justice issues burning in me, that are holy discontents, that are bubbling into popeye moments. This meant a lot to me.

Later...

Follower infusion

Hey crew! What a blast it is to be part of a community of faith that welcomes everyone to the foot of the cross. This past weekend was great as we saw many new faces come and hear the story of Christmas... "from the beginning." So often we get excited about telling the story to people who have never heard it (or at least never heard it clearly), but I found myself also very excited to share this re-enactment with those who have heard the story many times. Based on feedback I received, this production was a blessing to those long-time followers as much as it was to the newbies, seekers, or those drug there by the ear. I'm thrilled to be part of the "seeker" movement in making church accessible and relevant to all, but the downside can come in the form of providing what long-time followers need. In the "seeker" model, we try to move long-time followers toward a personal ownership of their growth while encouraging them through the Sunday morning programs to own their growth, to show radical grace toward others, and to give themselves to complete surrender to God. Sometimes, however, we are able to provide the followers with a real shot in the arm for their walk - my prayer is that this happened over the past couple of weeks.

I'm so honored to call y'all family and to be serving you in any way I can. Merry Christmas!

The rest of the story

This Sunday we had an opportunity to tell the "story of Christmas" through a musical troupe of story tellers. For many people, the story is just some unrealistic fable about a virgin giving birth to a guy who would later die and be raised from the dead. Unrealistic and, even if true, irrelevant.

Seeing God's creative gifts embedded in musicians, singers, writers, and directors in such a way that the "rest of the story" comes through is what blows my mind. It is amazing to me that God can use his people to share, in 35 minutes, the outline of His story. Starting with creation ("in the beginning") to the human condition (sin) to the sending of His son to satisfy our need and longing (Christmas) to the ultimate death and new life (Easter).

God was at work this past Sunday as individuals in the service and in the children's ministry made 1st time decisions to accept Christ as savior and to follow him as their Lord. Although not always a stroll in the hay, what a joy to be serving God and advancing His kingdom on earth as we prepare the bride (church) for His return.

Devotion

Today, Pastor Bill talked about devotion. What does it mean for us to be fully devoted; to be passionate followers of Jesus Christ? The more I become entrenched in the Old Testament, the more I am convinced that our devotion and Christ-followership must start with our fear, honor, and worship of a holy, all-powerful God.

It is easy to be devoted to a trend or a current cause or even an new and cool church. But that devotion only lasts as long as the trend it trendy, the cause is current, or the church stays new and cool. But if I want to be a fully devoted passionate follower of Christ, I must be fully devoted to our God of Wonders who does not change.

What does it mean to be devoted? To be set apart? To be fully surrended to the work of God in my life? For me, I need to continue to deepen my understanding of who God is.... I must understand the story of which I am a part of... I must acquire a deep appreciation for what God demands of me. Only then will I be able to understand how unworthy I am to be able to stand in the presence of God; only then will I be fully able to grasp the awesomeness of God; only then will I be filled the the fear of God and His awesome power. And then, and only then, will I be fully able to grasp what the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus really accomplished for me and us.

I long to have my legacy include being a passionate follower of Christ; I want to be regarded as one devoted to God and to the teachings of Christ; I want to be led by the Holy Spirit to live the life that God has called me to (good, bad or ugly). I am going to miss it plenty - as a leader I will make poor decisions; as a friend I will not always be as friendly as I should be - the examples are plenty... but my heart yearns to desire righteousness so as to honor the God of my fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I desire to lean in to worship God and His Son who stood in the gap for me; I desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit to give me peace, patience, kindness, gentleness as well as power and confidence.

I desire to be devoted.... 'hopelessly devoted'..... to God.

Gratitude

Many days I feel like a citizen of the nation of Israel. I lived my life for 20+ years in service to myself and my sinful desires - I was in bondage to myself and to the ways of the world (my Egypt). God sent people into myself to teach me about who God was and who could deliver me from my Egypt (my Exodus). For a while I enjoyed my freedom, but pretty soon I found myself complaining about areas of my life; I found myself longing for my previous life of selfishness - I was no different than the Israelites grumbling to Moses about the lack of water, or food, or being sick of bread, or being sick of qual, or whatever. As God works to transform my life I still find myself at times grumbling to God rather than clinging to his faithfulness of the past and promises of the future. It's easy to rip on the Israelites, but I wonder how different I would have been. It's easy to rip on Adam and Eve, but I wonder if I would have been covered with fruit. It's easy to think about how good things were back in Egypt, forgetting about the slavery and bondage - but the truth is, we (I) were slaves and have no found freedom in our (my) deliverance. As we paint pictures of Egypt (copyright Sara Groves), let's make sure we remember the full picture.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so thankful to be serving God at "such a time as this" in His kingdom history as He is on the move calling people to himself in Isanti County and beyond. I am so thankful for a church that is like family to me - for people that love unconditionally and serve intentionally. I am so thankful to be surrounded by people that continually make me want to be a better man; to be more Christ-like. I am so thankful that God's mercies are new every morning. I am so thankful that the God who made the universe and who is perfectly Holy would allow me into His presence.

I am very thankful this Thanksgiving.

Holy of Holies

God instructed the nation of Israel to build a tabernacle which was split into two pieces... the "Holy Place" and the "Most Holy Place (or Holy of Holies)." These two parts were separated by a thick veil. God's presence resided between the cherubim on the ark of the covenant which was located in the Holy of Holies and only the High Priest was allowed to enter that area and only once per year.

What Jesus did through his coming and subsequent death was to open the door to the Holy of Holies to each of us... in fact, when He died, the veil was torn in two (from top to bottom). We have access to God and through the work of the Holy Spirit in each of us, God lives inside of us. I think we often take this for granted as a "nice" thing. The Bible says that God doesn't change - he is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. What significance does that have? God was so Holy that no one could be in His presence without His permission or they would die. God sent plagues on Egypt to let the Israelites go. God parted the red sea. God came in fire, smoke, and earthquake on Mount Sinai. God flooded the earth, but saved humankind through Noah. God is a God of wonders, power, and awe! This is the God we serve and worship; this is the God that is still alive and working; this is the God that lives in each of us through the Holy Spirit. God deserves to be honored, worshipped, and yes, even feared.

"Take me in to the Holy of Holies; take me in by the blood of the Lamb. Take me in to the Holy of Holies; take the coal, cleanse my lips, here I am!"

What-if-a-cation?

We had a great class yesterday at church where we discussed the 10 commandments that God gave to the nation of Israel through Moses. We didn't even talk about the 10 specifically as we focused on the need for the law... why did/does God give us "laws"? Why do we have laws in our culture? Is God punishing us or protecting us? Does this create captivity or freedom? If the law defines our sin, then what is the importance of recognizing that we are sinners? How does recognizing our sin help us understand the nature of God?... or what Jesus did for us?

Obviously, there was some riveting conversation. Through it all, we talked about how God "consecrated" Moses, and then Aaron, setting them apart for meeting with God on Mt. Sinai. We talked about what consecration means which led to wondering what the difference was between consecration and sanctification. Is consecration a state of being set apart whereas sanctification is the process of being consecrated? Are they tied that tightly together? Are they much different?

I took it upon myself to "ask the experts" and committed to bringing some insight back to the class next Sunday. I will also ask the experts to post their comments on this blog as well. If you have thoughts on this, please share with the rest of us.

Heart & Soul

As Pastor Bill taught on Sunday, Jonathan's armor bearer was with him "heart and soul" no matter what the situation; no matter what the odds. He was passionately sold out to Jonathan and his mission. What are we sold out to? God calls us to live lives that are passionately sold out to Him... to understand that the purposes God created us for included being "crucified with Christ" so that it is no longer us living, but Christ living through us. What then, does it mean, to have Christ living through us? Well, how did Christ teach us to live? It is better to love than hate; to forgive than hold bitterness; to help than to walk away --- I believe Christ calls us to a radically inclusive kind of love. When we live our lives walking in love (not mushy gooshy words over action, but the kind of love that transforms lives) then we are showing that we are with God "heart and soul."

"Do all that you have in mind," his armor-bearer said. "Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul." - 1 Samuel 14:7

Longing thirst

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? (Psalm 42:1-2)"

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 121:1-2)."

We serve and awesome God. The nation of Israel was set apart and as a people endured a lot (captivity in and Exodus from Egypt, entering into Canaan, etc.). So much of the story of Israel (the people) is the story of waiting, expectation, & longing for the one who would ultimately ransom them, Jesus.

Israel's story is our story. We are a continuation of the story that started with Adam & Eve and continued through Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc. The redeemer that they longed for came and redeemed us all. "Come thou long expected Jesus" is a song about the longing of the nation of Israel, of us, for the messiah. We think, "I didn't need to wait very long" because we don't have the mindset of the collective "we" as in human kind... but "we" waited a long time, thousands of years for the one who would redeem the world. As individuals, we don't need to wait any longer for the messiah to come, but now we wait for the messiah to return. However, as we wait, are we longing for His return? And are we longing for the presence of God in our lives? Our we longing that the spirit of truth would infiltrate our hearts & minds?

I believe this generation is designed to long for God - perhaps not for the entrance of the Messiah, but for the reality of God in our midst (the kingdom of God on earth). Are we deer panting for the water of God or are we just hangin' out by the stream? May our souls thirst for God.

Job

This week the Biblical Growth Class I was teaching was centered around the life of Job from the Bible. Job went through unbelievable trials with the loss of his entire family, livestock, and possessions. Then he went through the loss of his health and the support of his wife. Ultimately Job had many discussions with his friends and with God that created in him a transformed, contrite, humble heart before God... he came to the point where he realized he had been living a holy and upright life for the sake of obtaining protection and blessings from God, rather than living that life as simply a way to honor and give praise to his creator. It was through Job's repentance that God opened the avenues of blessing and he was able to live long life and God doubled all that he originally had.

The theme of "we" that I talked about last week carries over into the lesson of Job. Job had to go through more than most of us feel we could ever handle, but ultimately his suffering was for the glory of God. But let's not also forget that God allowed Satan to kill other humans as part of this whole story. There was tremendous suffering by many individuals, but the glory God brought about was for all of creation.... when we consider our own suffering and how God might bring glory in and through us, I wonder if that might be a little short-sighted.... perhaps we need to consider how God might bring glory in and through others because of the sufferings in us. If we can somehow wrap our minds and hearts around this, then we can perhaps gain insight into what community is and how "we" are going through life's journey together.

We

During the Biblical Growth Class, we have started putting the pieces of the Bible together starting with Genesis and moving forward in God's story for us. I was sitting in on the first part of both classes and shared during the second one that I have had this overwhelming sense of "We" throughout God's chosen people. As Joseph struggled in captivity and ultimately understood his purpose, he spoke of how his purpose related to all of Israel. So many times, the people of Israel used a universal "we" when speaking of their struggles, victories, etc. This seems so different from our personal view of struggles, victories, etc. We discuss God and his will in terms of his will for our individual life, rather than his will for humanity. We talk about our own struggles and victories rather than the struggles and victories of "us" as God's chosen people.

Perhaps this feeling is why I get so excited about doing life and experiencing life together in community. Perhaps that is why I get moved by taking communion together (as we did today) or saying the Lord's prayer and singing "Amazing Grace" together (as we did last week). Perhaps that is why I desire a strong small group where we truly do life together. I think God does have direction he gives to each of us, but I think the story of redemption is about redemption of an entire people... each of us write a chapter and continue the story, but I don't know if any of us are the central theme of the story.

Amazing Grace

Today at church we finished up a 5-week teaching series on the book of James. James is very passionate about teaching how to live the life we are called to live. At the end of the service, we took time out to recognize the greatness of Gods's grace when we miss it. We sang together the traditional and acoustic version of Amazing Grace. It was a sweet time of unified worship as we recognized how God's grace turned us from the blind lost wretches into the seeing found saved.

As we prayed with people after the services, I found myself once again in awe of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. What a humbling experience to have people I've never met pour out their heart as they try to get a handle on the fact that God can forgive even them; or that God has a plan for them; or that an enemy exists that we have authority over. These experiences drive me to continue our intentionality about the church being a family.

The psalms end with "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord." Sometimes there is nothing left to say, except, "praise the Lord".... so, "Praise the Lord."

THINK & Noah

Today during the church service, Pastor Bill pulled out the cow tongue again to make his point about how the Bible warns about the power of a tongue to either build up or tear down. Over the past few days I've been on the receiving end of some significant tearing down by the use of the tongue - I call this "sniper fire" because it feels like someone is up in the tree taking shots. But, unfortunately, the story doesn't stop there. I, like most of us, am also susceptable to giving into the temptation to tear down with the use of my tongue. Bill used Psalm 141:3, "Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips." He also used T.H.I.N.K. as an acrostic as we consider what we say... it needs to be Truthful, Helpful, Inspiring, Necessary, and Kind. This does not mean we don't speak the truth in love, but we make sure it is in love!

I also taught/facilitated the Biblical Growth Class during 2nd service and we talked about the fall of man, the expansion of the fall, God's intercession of the flood, and then our relapse into sin with the Tower of Babel. Interestingly, during the class I thought about our (humanity's) legacy of sin and how this relates to our temptation to gossip and use our tongue to tear others down. I would like to be like Noah in my faith - being righteous and doing what God has called me to do despite what the world might say. And I want to be righteous in my tongue - build others up (Ephesians 4:29) despite what the world is saying and despite what bullets I'm taking from snipers.

God, give us the courage to stand like Noah stood and to use our tongue for spurring each other on to love & good deeds! Amen.

Non-producing faith

Happy Monday y'all. It was quite the weekend for our family - Saturday alone included two different kid-based parties with a total of 10 kids over (4 of them overnight), campfire, ghosts in the graveyard, soccer, painting, game cube, etc. Saturday also included my trying to do an on-line conference call at perhaps the worst possible time... as the girl party was ending at 4, the boy party was starting at 4, and my conference call was at 4.... it was quite interesting (especially for the parents who saw me tucked away in the corner of the kitchen talking into a headset while staring at a computer trying to ignore the sugar-induced screams and balloon popping). Very interesting day.

On Sunday, Pastor Bill really brought home that our faith, if kept personal, is dead. James 2:14-26 talks about this - that faith without works is dead. The word "dead" does not mean that faith doesn't exist, but what it means is that faith is "barren, useless, idle, non-producing."

The last verse of that section says, "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." If dead means the same thing in each case, then our body without the Holy Spirit is also "barren, useless, idle, non-producing. Is that true? I know people that haven't accepted Christ that are very productive. Perhaps what James is getting at is productivity in the kingdom of God?

James says, "What good is it...if people claim to have faith but no deeds? (v.14)" I think we would argue that the "good" is for our personal salvation.... however, if we are talking about our productivity in the kingdom of God, the rhetorical question hits home: it's no good.

Interesting topic to dig into further. You all have an AWESOME week! Let's be people that walk across the room and show our faith through our actions; let's put the needs of others before the desires of ourselves.

Life blood

I just blogged on this in my personal daily blog today (stevefredlund.blogspot.com), but I felt it was appropriate for this weekly blog as well. Normally I wouldn't duplicate, but I thought it was an insight that could be beneficial to the two different audiences.

I spent the weekend in Brainerd for my MBA program - about 19 hours of lecture and work studying managerial finance & decision-making. One of the key elements from the discussion was how important cash flow is to any organization. Even if turning a significant profit, if an organization is not realizing positive operating cash flow, it could be in trouble.

What about our personal lives? Sometimes we do so many good things which creates a net profit for us in terms of our current good deeds and our future (volunteering, working, studying, etc). The question is,: do we have positive cash flow, which is the life blood of any organization. I think positive cash flow for our lives are those things the give us energy (relationships or fishing or retreating or soccer or whatever) and negative cash flow for our lives are those things that drain us of energy (lack of sleep or relationships or fishing or retreating or soccer or whatever). I think we need to make sure we are experiencing not just profit (good things > bad things) but also positive cash flow (energy givers > energy drainers).

I could get into a discussion on the parallels between this and "working capital" versus "shareholder equity" but then I might annoy all of you (negative cash flow for ya).

May we be Colossians 3:23 people that in whatever we do, we do it as if we are working for God and not for man. But may we also be wise in knowing what it is we are to put our hands to based on our current personal "cash flow" and an understanding of the sources of cash flow.

3-launch weekend

What a great weekend!

On Saturday night we held our annual meeting / vision night where we had a chance to share stories of what God is doing, recap the past year, look forward to the future, and share communion. The membership overwhelming affirmed the strategic plan, the budget, and the four recommended new elders.

Then Sunday where we opened the next chapter in the history of New Hope by moving to three services. There was a buzz among the staff and volunteers that was not unlike when New Hope launched officially on September 12, 2004 or when Evergreen Community Church publicly launched on September 26, 2006.

Change is always difficult and the process had its challenging moments, but God was faithful in getting us to this point and making the day a success. I have not yet received final numbers, but we had about 140 people at the first service, which is very exciting. I'm also thrilled about the launch of Guest Central as a "one-stop-shop" for ministry information, questions about New Hope, sign-ups, etc. By all accounts, this is off to a great start and will be an important lynch pin in our ability to provide a connection point for all those who come through the doors.

The staff and volunteers continually go "above and beyond", but this weekend they went
"beyond above and beyond." I wouldn't possibly try to list them all as I would undoubtedly miss people - but you know who you are. What a blast to be on this great adventure with such a skilled and passionate group of people... of fellow church-goers... of extended family... of friends.

Chippin' Away

Yesterday at church, the service was focused on restoration. Worship, the Lifetalk, and the interviews were all focused on how God is in the business of restoration, not demolition. One of the interviews was with a man named Billy who I have talked with several times before through his involvement with the Fish House - a community of addicts and recovering addicts seeking God's truth for their lives. Billy said something I found incredibly profound and relevant for my life - he talked about how he tries to let God take the crowbar to his life and pry away those pieces that are not what God intended for him. I love thinking of my life in the same way...

God, please chip away at those aspects of my life that are not submitted to or honoring you. Shape me and mold me into the man you've intended me to be. Help me not add new stuff to the sculpture of my life that will later need to be chipped away. Amen.

Something else about what Billy shared really struck me and I've been processing it ever since. It wasn't what he said, but how he said it. As Billy was talking about how God has been chipping away at the junk in his life, he wasn't talking about it with an overly agressive sense of urgency. Obviously God has been working in Billy and he desires God to continue the work in him, but Billy seems very much at peace to allow the process of complete restoration to take place over time. Sometimes I think we (I) are in such a hurry for things to happen that we don't adequately allow the necessary process to occur. I praise God for the restoration work He is doing in Billy, me, and all of us who are desiring to be transformed into Christ-likeness. I also pray that each of us will be open to the restoration process God desires us to go though.

Evergreen Baptism

Wow, what a day in Pine City! This morning, 11 people were baptized at Evergreen Community Church. On a personal note, I had the unbelievably great honor of baptizing my mom as the first ever Evergreen baptism.

For those of you who may not be aware, New Hope Community Church in Cambridge helped start Evergreen which officially launched in September 2006. My family and I were commissioned from New Hope to help lead the new church; we worked with Pastor Seth Hinrichs from December 2005 through May 2007 helping prepare for launch and then working through the first school year.

For about 6 months, I got up at 5:00am, drove to Braham to pick-up drums, then to Rock Creek to pick up a trailer, then to Pine City by 6:30am to start the process of unloading and setting up for the portable church; this process was reversed in the afternoon - typically getting home by 1:30pm in the afternoon. Starting a new church is an unbelievably grueling process, requiring motivation through the potential of transformed lives. All of the time, money, energy, and sweat was made so worth it through the testimonies of those 11 lives who have been transformed in powerful ways.

I'm reminded of the "faith chapter", Hebrews 11, which talks about many of the great people of faith throughout history culminating in the beginning of Hebrews 12 which talks about these great people of faith being our "great cloud of witnesses" who are now cheering us on in what we are doing. It helps me to think of the many, many people who, in faith, started churches before us and are now cheering us on in our efforts. It's easy to forget that we are not just talking about New Hope and Evergreen. Instead, Evergreen is a 4th generation church. It started with the creating of North Isanti Baptist Church which eventually birthed First Baptist Church of Cambridge which parented New Hope Community Church and now Evergreen.

Today was a very emotional day for our immediate family and for the larger church family. The day reminded me of why we do what we do. Stay encouraged - lives are being radically impacted through what God is doing through us! Thanks for your partnership!

3 Services

Last night (Monday, 8/20) we had a Leadership Council meeting in which we had excellent dialogue around the decision to move to 3 services this fall. The decision itself has pros and cons, but the heart of the dialogue revolved around the desire to create a culture of open & candid communication throughout the church. Overall the issue is around appropriate process for decision-making (creating ownership through process) as well as honest feedback around what people are struggling with. Much of our communication and gatherings focus on how God is moving through New Hope and centering on the great stories of transformation that we all enjoy.

God is moving and people are being transformed; however, there is a feeling among some that we don't create an environment for enough candid conversation around what things we are struggling with. For whatever reason there can be a tendency for individuals to be struggling with issues or certain decisions, but these items do not get communicated to higher levels of leadership. The crux of the issue is uncertain: is leadership unapproachable? are people afraid of not having faith for questioning decisions? There are a number of potential reasons, but as leaders we need to make sure that we are welcoming concerns and issues; it might not be enough to say we have an "open-door policy", but instead we might need to create other welcoming opportunities.

There is a lot to digest with this; but leadership is commited to having these conversations because ultimately they result in better decisions, greater ownership, and deeper trust in relationships. Romans 12:8 calls those with the gift of leadership to lead with all diligence; this means we are willing to continue improving our leadership including allowing people to hold up mirrors so we can see our blind spots.

As a staff today, we continued the conversation including all new information & perspectives we have received and the decision was made to continue pursuing three services on 9/9. In addition, the staff recognizes the need for volunteers in certain ministry areas (specifically the technical area) and will each work to provide leads for potential volunteers or alternative solutions. Finally, as a staff we will commit to pray that God will expand our tentpoles and that the lord of the harvest will bring in laborers.

Thank you to all who continue investing in New Hope. Conflict on the process is welcome as long as we stay unified in the purpose. Based on the discussion last night and those involved, I know we are all focused on the same purpose: To honor God by making passionate followers of Jesus Christ through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must embrace conflict as long as the motivation stays on living out our purpose. I'm honored to serve along side each of you. For what it's worth, my door is always open.

Welcome

Welcome! I have been blogging my personal journey for over a month and if you are interested in that, feel free to check out stevefredlund.blogspot.com. Posts to this blog will likely be about 2 times per week to give updates and insights as the Executive Pastor of New Hope Community Church in Cambridge, MN. The more personal blog is not intended to reflect the views of NHCC, but instead share my personal journey with those interested. Thanks for taking the time to check it out... comments are always welcome; off-line comments can be directed to steve@newhopecambridge.org. Blessings...