Torn ACL

Today I found out that I have a torn ACL in my left knee. The injury occurred in Poland on July 9th while I was playing basketball during free time! As luck would have it, I decided to stay in for the last couple of minutes and whamo! I went up for the ball and landed in a horrible position!

On Wednesday or Thursday I find out my day for surgery!

An interesting side note. I was talking to the Doc today about how

I have something in common with Terrell Davis. Terrell tore his ACL, but I found out today that

what took him out of the league was a problem with degenerative cartilage that couldn't be repaired, not his torn ACL. I had forgotten that little known fact that took a phenomenal runner out of the game forever!

More to come...

Broncos - Week 8

Broncos 49 Eagles 21!

What a game today! Above is the logo painted on the motorhome that we use for tailgating! Philly Cheese Steaks were the main course! Unbelievable!

What a great game! As it started raining I headed into the club level area. Yeah, I was sitting in seat one, row one on the 25 yard line of club level tonight!

A big thanks goes out to my dad who was at home taking care of his wife who had back surgery on Monday. Thanks for the tickets dad! We missed you and Lynne at the game! Everyone says, "HI!"

EPIC! Plummer's sixth game without an interception!

The bye week is next week and that means I head over to a family friend of my wife's for the game with her brother-in-law Chris! I can't wait to spend a Sunday afternoon watching the NFL on Direct TV and eating Anthony's pizza!

Way to go Dustin!

Way to go Dustin! Dustin is a student in our ministry who had a stellar game on Saturday. He made the headlines! Check it out - "Albright, Faith Christian stay perfect, swamp Holy Family."

Do you know what is even better about Dustin?

He has a lot more passion for Jesus than he does football! Thanks for being you, Dustin. A follower in the Way of Jesus who has the talent and ability to play football!

How sweet would it be to repeat as Class 2A State Champs?!

Captain Hook & Peter Pan

Family Fun Night took place last night at our church! Julie's mom came through with some AWESOME get-ups for the boys! That's right, she made these from scratch!

She'll be taking orders for next year!

They stole the show!

All we needed was Tinkerbell!

Maybe next year!

Fundamentalism Quote

Dr. Vernon Grounds from Denver Seminary had a great quote the other day on Fundamentalism. It went something like this...

"There's not enough FUN. There's too much DAM! Very little mental!"

Shawn McDonald

Shawn McDonald is the man! I first heard him one day when I was in Atlanta Bread Company listening to the Christian music channel while I was working. What an album! "All I Need" is a powerfully written song expressing the longing of his heart. At the end of song 6 he shares how he was ambushed by the love of Jesus Christ and it is a great testimony of God's grace invading a soul!

As I sat there and listened to his story my eyes filled with tears as I remembered when the God of Light called me out of darkness to be a part of His Story!

I will never forget August 1, 1992!

The Use of God's Name

This Sunday my pastor preached on God's Reputation. Good stuff! I often use God's name in the context of great things that are happening. You'll often hear me say, "Praise Jesus!" He quoted Michael Horton and it's sticking with me this week.

“The casual use of God’s name is prohibited precisely because it wears away our sensitivity to the enormous reverence we owe it.” (Horton, The Law of Perfect Freedom, 104)

Starbucks Gets PURPOSE DRIVEN?!!!

So I am reading USA Today and I find out that the mega-pastor, Rick Warren, has made his way onto a Starbucks cup!

Check out the article - "Starbucks stirs things up with a God quote on cups."

Here's what I believe is going to be printed on the cup,

"You are not an accident. Your parents may not have planned you, but God did. He wanted you alive and created you for a purpose. Focusing on yourself will never reveal your real purpose. You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life will never make sense. Only in God do we discover our origin, our identity, our meaning, our purpose, our significance and our destiny."
- The Rev. Rick Warren for Starbucks

You gotta love this!!!!!! I wonder if this is what Paul meant in 1 Corinthians 9 when he wrote, "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some."

Go RICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't wait to meet someone who says they met Jesus drinking Starbucks!

You gotta love God!

Broncos - Week 7

Broncos 23 - Giants 24

2003 - Broncos lose game 7 to the Vikings on the road.

2004 - Broncos lose game 7 to the Bengals on the road.

2005 - Broncos lose game 7 to the Giants on the road.

At least they are consistent! Hey, here's the scoop. We are 5-2 and in first place in the AFC West, the toughest division! My buddy Brian would love for his Packers to be 5-2!

Go Broncos! Tim and I are going to see McNabb and T.O. on Sunday! I can't wait to post a 6-2 record!

Why We Are Waiting...

...to find out the gender of our third child!

We are in our 22nd week of pregnancy and I am constantly getting bombarded with the question, "What are you having?"

My first response, "A human!"

What they are wanting to know is what did the ultrasound at 20 weeks reveal...a boy, or a girl?

Here's why we are waiting. We don't want some nurse, who could care less about us, telling us the gender of our child. We are just one of a 10 couples that day who are seeing their little ankle-biter. How anti-climatic is this? We wait twenty weeks to hear a woman say, "Well, Dan, it looks like you put the stem on the apple!" NO thanks! Or, "Looks like your boys are going to have a little sister to protect!" NO WAY!

Instead, we want to wait twenty more weeks to find out the child's gender. The anticipation of the night...the day...leaving work...who knows how it will start. Going through the birth experience with my wife and then...the moment of truth! I get to look into the eyes of my bride and tell her, "It's another little boy", or "It's our little princess!"

There's no way we want some nurse telling us that news while I am rushing from work to make the appointment and Julie is running late from dropping the boys off at Nana's!

No, we are waiting...and I can't wait for the end of February when I get to look into her eyes and be the first person to tell her what God has blessed us with!

Preaching Re-Imagined

I picked up this book because I feel like I need to start re-evaluating the "method" of teaching that I use week in and week out as I teach our high school ministry. This book is the first of many I am reading to evaluate and redefine myself in my role as the primary Bible teacher to the students who attend our church.

The cover cracks me up. I seriously wonder how many of my students feel that way?

While there is much in here that didn't spur me on, there was one thought that caught my addition. Pagitt suggests that the role of the sermon in communities of faith should be a "progressional dialogue" (allowing the community to interact during the sermon), rather than what he calls "speaching" (a sermon that is like a speech - a one way form of communicating).

What struck me about the differentiation between "progressional dialogue" and "speaching" was not how I can become a more progressional speaker, but is my "speaching" really making a difference in the lives of the students I am serving?

At times, I truly do feel like I am the Bullhorn youth pastor and my fear is that my students don't walk away transformed, but impressed with my ability to communicate. For example, I expositionally taught the Word and brought it all to an emotional high-point, where I then laid some homelitical napalm (thank you Scott Wenig) with a great illustration that leaves the students wanting to hear more of me next week! Ugh!

It reminds me of a quote I read today in an article, written by Tom Peters, posted by my friend Charlie Dean on his blog,

"In classical times, when Cicero had finished speaking, the people said, 'How well he spoke,' but when Demosthenes had finished speaking, they said, 'Let us March.'" -- Adlai Stevenson. "In my own small way, I want to be Demosthenes." - Tom Peters.

In a small way, I want to be like Demosthenes too, but in a big way, I want to be like Jesus! I want our students to hear this message out of Mark 8:34-37,

"Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"

The Naked Christian - The Myth of the Spiritual Six Pack

I just finished reading this book that was published by Relevant Books.

The thing that caught my attention the most is his take on the myth of the spiritual six pack!

He was talking about how he desired a six pack when he looked in the mirror and how that was supposed to mean he was important in a physical sense.

He made the jump to the spiritual life and started talking about what we do spiritually to get a six pack. We want to be the best speaker, the best worship leader, the most recognized in our pastoral area of work. We want to write THE BOOK that gets everybody talking. We want to be the one that everyone calls when they need advice. We want the spiritual six pack.

After making his case that there is some of that desire in all of us to want a spiritual six pack he throws out this verse from Matthew 25:45,

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'"

He challenged that the desire for the spiritual six pack is a myth. Where does the least of these fit into the six pack spirituality? It hardly does in our contemporary Christian culture. I have been challenged this week to look deep within my heart and surface the myth of the spiritual six pack that I have bought into. I have been challenged with what does a life and ministry to the least of these look like in the context of white-suburban church.

My High School Baseball Coach - Senior Year

Whoa! My heart is broken today.

I was watching the news last night and my baseball coach who started coaching our team my senior year in high school pleaded guilty to sexually assualting a teenager at the school he was coaching.

I just about fell out of the bed! The article is here. Apparently he was a basketball coach when this happened.

His sentencing is December 20th. He faces 2 years to life in prison!

I really liked this guy. In fact, I caught up with him about 4 years ago at a basketball game and we talked extensively about life, faith and relationships. Coach D was always a guy I thanked God for putting in my life during my senior year as he allowed me to be the person to pray for our team before the games and when we had meals together.

But what about this teenage girl? There is a young lady who will never be able to say that about Coach D. He stole so much from this young girl. Man this breaks my heart today. She will live forever with this picture of a man in a position of trust breaking that trust. I don't know the whole story, nor do I care to!

It's interesting to note that Coach D has been single all these years.

I think I might try to make his hearing.

Senior Sneak in Breckenridge, CO!

Here is a picture of the seniors that made it up for our annual Senior Sneak! We had a great time this past weekend. We ate some great food! We watched an amazing message given by Louie Giglio on what our purpose in life should be. We had some great time in prayer! A lot of free time! We ended the trip watching the Broncos vs. Patriots on the HD widescreen at my in-laws!

We did a lot of other stuff too! One of the best parts of the weekend was being able to hear what God is doing in their lives and where they sense He is calling them. It is a great weekend to talk about college and leaving a legacy in 180!

Thanks for a great weekend Class of 2006! BTW: we missed the rest of you who couldn't attend!

Broncos - Week 6

Yeah baby!!!!!!!!!!!!

This team is slowly making a case that it is going to be around at the end of the year in the playoffs. A quick take! 4 of the first 6 games have been at home! 4 of the next 6 are on the road. The true test is coming. We kick of the first of the 4 road games this Sunday in New York!

I can't wait to watch Eli Manning play!

The Church of Irresistible Influence

I just finished reading this book.

I like this quote, "Without its own bridges to the world, church life - in time - fades into isolation, self congratulation, and finally, irrelevance."

Wow! What a quote about the church eh? You know, as I read this book it was easy to start thinking about the church and what it's not doing! How isolated it is! How we pat ourselves on the back!

You know what was harder? Thinking about the above quote in my own life.

Before we can start asking these questions about the church in general, we must first start with those who make up the church, us, you and me!

As a pastor, what bridges am I really building? How isolated am I? How often do I pat my own back? I seriously encourage my students and others in our church to build bridges into the lives of those who haven't been ambushed by the love of Jesus, but how can I ask those to do something I am not willing to join them in? I wonder what a church would look like if not only the people in the church lived that quote, but so did the pastors?

Broncos - Week 5

Broncos 21, Redskins 19! I'll take it. My takes.

1. Jake didn't make mistakes.

2. Tatum Bell stepped up when Anderson was ineffective.

3. Two rookie corners starting did the best they could given the conditions. They got a first hand taste that in the NFL wide receivers are still quicker than ever no matter what the field conditions are. Props to them not giving up the big play.

4. Lelie - The man needs to catch a short pass to get in rhythm of the game. Going deep first without him catching it does something to his psyche. My call...go deep after he has caught a couple of short passes.

5. Broncos Win - Last year we lose this game. This year we won! That's why I like this team!

First Snow!

It snowed! This picture doesn't quite represent the total amount! We only got about an inch where we live!

Anyway, you gotta love living in Colorado. By the weekend it will be in the 70's! I am praying that my sprinkler system isn't trashed as I have not winterized the system!

Winter is coming!

Fall Colors

This is a picture taken on Owl Creek Pass! Fall in Colorado is my favorite time of year! Here are some of the reasons.

1. The fall colors all over the mountains!
2. The air getting cooler at night!
3. The sun rising later in the morning!
4. High school, college and pro football!
5. The anticipation of Thanksgiving and Christmas - being with family!
6. Ministry start up!
7. I move from drinking Iced Americano's to Hot Americano's!
8. The Rockies painful season comes to an end!
9. I journey to Invesco Field at Mile High for at least 3 games!
10. SNOW!

Dad & The Boys for the Weekend

Mom is heading to Winter Park for the weekend to my dad's condo! A bunch of her friends are joining her to do some serious scrapbooking!

The men of the home are going to have a great time with mom away!

I have a feeling we will be finding Neverland quite often.

Go Buffs! Go Broncos!

Week 4 - Broncos

Broncos absolutely dominated the Jags on Sunday. The defense was stellar and Plummer played within the limits the game presented. All in all, a good outing. Washington comes to town this week and should get absolutely spanked! The following week is the Patriots!

Sanctuary Golf Course

Here is the ninth hole of the Sanctuary Golf Course! I got the chance to play this unbelievable course this weekend! Even though I have a bum knee I teed it up!

Check out the website for more info. on this course. There are two ways to play this course. One, play in a tournament that is raising money for a charity. Two, know someone.

I know Brian! At least my wife does because he is in her Sunday school class! He works for Remax and invited me and my friend Tim to play this epic course. This course is right next to Castle Pines which hosts The International, a PGA tour event!

The course is amazing! Click on the video! I took 10 penalty strokes because they have a lot of holes that are risk and reward! Guess which word characterized my score?!

David Crowder Band - A Collision

I picked up this cd this week and I haven't stopped listening to it! I really like the unique sound this band cranks out!!

The song on this album that has captured my heart this week is "Come and Listen." I used this song for a time of reflection this morning after we studied the 1 Kings 17:17-24.

I can imagine the widow in this narrative singing this song to her son after she witnessed the power of God raising him from death to life. We know she believed in Yahweh, but I could see her singing this song softly under her breath as she held her son.

Here are some of the lyrics:

"Come and listen, Come and Listen to what He's done...what He's done for me, what He's done for you, what He's done for us."

I can imagine her singing this song the rest of her life! It's true, God has done so much for me, for you and for all of us. And when life starts getting hard, when we experience death, disappointment, hurt...you name it...we need to hear this ballad whispered in our ears so it touches our heart.

We need to remember that He has done so much for us, namely, that He sent His one and only Son to pay for our sin and conquer death. This means that I can handle anything on earth because in the end, what God has for me is going to provide me with an eternal residence where there is no more tears!

So as I journey towards home, I want to be allowed to come and listen to what He's done for you!

24/7 Prayer

It is early in the morning on a Sunday. The 24/7 prayer movement has started across the hallway from my office. Students and young adults have been praying in one hour blocks since Friday at 6:00 p.m. This morning in our services, the students are going to call our body to join them in praying for our church, community and the world.

What will come of this? Jeremiah 33:3 is running through my head! What a verse to be thinking on before the sun has even come up!

'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'