Not long ago a local Central California reporter and a cameraman walked through the doors of our church and asked if I'd be willing to do an interview on a recent report on the decline of religion in America. Though hesitant, I said yes. Here you will see the entire video that the reporter did including a short interview with me. Overall I thought the interview was very fair and honest. They say that we each get 15 seconds of fame! If that's so, I still have about 7 1/2 seconds left!
While they asked me a lot of questions, they only had time for a short part of what they filmed. Ironically, when the reporter asked me what denomination I was a part of, and I answered, "The Evangelical Free Church of America," her eyebrows went up and she said, "Well, actually, that's one of the few denominations that is growing!" The entire interview was worth that moment! Enjoy the interview by copying and pasting this link.
http://www.keyt.com/news/local/41230257.html
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The Divine Whisper of Spring
I was sitting on my back veranda one day not long ago gazing over our beautiful Santa Ynez Valley countryside. It was barely spring, and as I was looking at a row of trees that line my neighbor's long driveway I noticed something that seemed amiss. One tree, amid a cluster of old brittle leaves that had still not fallen, had one single solitary bloom. We have some powerful winds that blow on the top of our hill and it amazed me that the old leaves had not yet fallen off. For some reason, the old leaves stubbornly resisted leaving, but that couldn't stop the new life from appearing.
Over the next few weeks I noticed that more blooms were appearing, but still a number of old leaves refused to abandon the branches. I couldn't help thinking of our human natures, mine at any rate. While God is causing wonderful new things to grow in our spiritual lives, blooms like patience, kindness, and a hunger for His Word, older leaves, old habits and sins still cling stubbornly to us. At any given time these two realities struggle within us; the new man and the old man. It can be so very discouraging to be the host of two competing powers, the power of death and sin and the power of new life.
Today I look out at the same tree and the old leaves are gone, they finally had to fall. Only new blooms and the green tender leaves they produce are visible. One day this will be what happens to those of us who are in Christ. The old leaves of sin will no longer have a host, they will have to fall away. Only new life will be found in me, fresh new life that finds its source of power and life in God. In that Better Country that I will one day enter, the leaves will always be green and alive, and death will have been destroyed forever. Spring is God's eternal whisper that death and sin cannot prevail.
Over the next few weeks I noticed that more blooms were appearing, but still a number of old leaves refused to abandon the branches. I couldn't help thinking of our human natures, mine at any rate. While God is causing wonderful new things to grow in our spiritual lives, blooms like patience, kindness, and a hunger for His Word, older leaves, old habits and sins still cling stubbornly to us. At any given time these two realities struggle within us; the new man and the old man. It can be so very discouraging to be the host of two competing powers, the power of death and sin and the power of new life.
Today I look out at the same tree and the old leaves are gone, they finally had to fall. Only new blooms and the green tender leaves they produce are visible. One day this will be what happens to those of us who are in Christ. The old leaves of sin will no longer have a host, they will have to fall away. Only new life will be found in me, fresh new life that finds its source of power and life in God. In that Better Country that I will one day enter, the leaves will always be green and alive, and death will have been destroyed forever. Spring is God's eternal whisper that death and sin cannot prevail.
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