Battle Ground Buzz

For any Clark County readers out there or for anyone interested in the goings-on of a small town in Western Washington state I'd like to recommend a new website started by a friend of mine:

Battle Ground Buzz

Battle Ground is where I grew up and I'm pretty convinced it's the best place on Earth.

Battle Ground: Summer

My family is a family of gardeners. My dad and youngest brother are cultivating a great vegetable garden and my mom has various garden projects around my parent's 5 acres in Battle Ground, Wash. On top of all this the wild plants on the uncultivated areas add to both the fruitfulness and the beauty of this land. Some pictures below:

A sugar-snap pea flower

Cabbage

Artichoke

Young corn-silk, with morning dew

Blueberries

Honeysuckles

Astrantia major

Salal berries - these grow wild in the hedgerows. A tasty wild treat that was a staple of the Native Americans who inhabited the area.

Wild rose hips - not quite ripe

First-fruits of the blackberries

Pumpkin blossoms and a daddy-long-leg

Independence Day Collect

Lord God Almighty, in whose Name the founders of this country won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn: Grant, we beseech thee, that we and all the peoples of this land may have grace to maintain these liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(H/T T19)

The flag on my parent's property in Battle Ground that my dad has always maintained. I'm thankful I was taught to have respect for the flag as a child.

Happy Independence Day to everyone!

Wolves in sheep's clothing and works-righteousness

This morning I worshipped with brothers and sisters at Hockinson Apostolic Lutheran Church in Hockinson, Wash., and was very blessed by the preaching of Pastor Ron Holmgren. We also received the sacrament of Holy Communion this morning and it was a great joy to break bread with these brothers and sisters for the first time. When I make the 2-hour trip home to Battle Ground on the weekend it usually means worshipping either at Battle Ground Foursquare Church or at Hockinson Apostolic Lutheran. Hopefully soon I will also have a church to call home in the Lacey area near where I work.

Pastor Holmgren made two interesting points in his sermon this morning that I wanted to post on this blog. His text was Matthew 7:15-29. The first point he made was from verse 15, the warning about false prophets as ferocious wolves in sheep's clothing. I liked something he said and I'm paraphrasing here but it was something like, the false prophets want the people for themselves - to devour them, but the true prophets, the true preachers of God's Word, also want the people, but they want them for Christ.

I think the two on the surface can have some similarity (sheep's clothing) but for the false preachers, their own worldly benefit is the end for which they preach or prophesy, while for the true prophet or preacher the only end is God and His glory. When I heard Pastor Holmgren's statement I thought of the celebrity culture within so much of Evangelical Christianity where many ministries seem all about the glory of whoever is running the ministry and not about Christ's glory. I think the point being made here is also a good example of the extreme counter-cultural values of Christ's church - while in the world people seek to misuse whatever they've been blessed with to get a good name for themselves or gain riches and power, in the church we should be using properly all the things God has blessed us with to point only to Him, boasting only in Christ and His cross, knowing that every good thing we have is not because of some inherent goodness or merit of our own but solely by the grace of God.

The second point that really hit me from today's sermon was from verses 21 through 23, Christ's warning that not everyone who says to Him "Lord, Lord," on the last day will enter the kingdom of heaven. Pastor Holmgren drew many points from this Scripture but the one that really struck me was that those who said "Lord, Lord," here but do not enter the kingdom of heaven seem to proudly point to their own works, even works done in Christ's name, as a reason why they should be allowed into heaven. I had never thought of this Scripture in this way but it is a frightening example of those who rely on their own works, outwardly "good" works, to get into heaven. But to those finding security in their own works the Lord declares, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness."

One thing I've come to appreciate about Pastor Holmgren's preaching is that he always reminds us of the gospel, that all of our hope is in Christ and His work and not in our own. For anyone aware of their sin, for Christians who love the Lord and yet see so much rebellion remaining in their sinful flesh, only this message of Christ and His righteousness imputed to sinners can bring comfort and joy. I was thankful to hear that message this morning.

Random Update #5

Writer's block... I don't feel I have the ability to write at this point but I don't want to completely neglect this blog. It's happened from time to time but I've always gotten over it before so this is probably not the end of Northwest Anglican. The "update"...

1. I had a good two weeks at home for Christmas break. The high point (or points) was 4 snowboarding trips I made with friends and family to Mt. Hood. On New Year's Eve I was on the mountain with a brother and a friend snowboarding (in the rain) until 2AM on New Year's Day.

2. Over the break I attended the Apostolic Lutheran Church in Hockinson and then met with the pastor during the week. It was a good experience. I hope to worship there again.

3. Lately I've been reading Memoirs of Early Christianity in Northern Lapland as a devotional book before I go to bed. The stories are interesting and there are some wonderful exhortations about the Gospel which renew my hope and remind me of how wonderful and merciful my Lord Jesus Christ is.

4. I'm on my family medicine rotation now at Riverside Community Regional Medical Center. It's been a good first week in which I've gotten to do and see a lot. On Tuesday I assisted on a circumcision.

5. As is often the case when I quit writing, this time has been for me a time of spiritual struggle. I read something which seemed to speak to my condition lately. I don't agree with every sentiment expressed but I think this article by Michael Spencer offers a corrective to some falsehoods often believed and preached in the church. Here's a quote:

I fall down. I get up….and believe. Over and over again. That’s as good as it gets in this world. This life of faith, is a battle full of weakness and brokenness. The only soldiers in this battle are wounded ones. There are moments of total candor- I am a “wretched man” living in a “body” of death. Denying this, spinning this, ignoring this or distorting this reality is nothing but trouble in the true Christian experience. The sin we are killing in Romans 8 is, in a sense, ourselves. Not some demon or serpent external to us. Our battle is with ourselves, and embracing this fact is the compass and foundation of the Gospel’s power in our lives.

Read it all here.

Winter in Battle Ground

Here are some pictures I took around the farm at Christmas break.

The farm with some interesting clouds in the background.

Ice on one of the ponds.

This horse kept following me around.

Frost on a salal leaf.

Chinese lanterns.

Venersborg

Since arriving at the Portland International Airport on Saturday evening I've met an apt northwest welcome of nearly ceaseless rain and reunions with friends and family. The high point of my return since my longest absence from home was church this morning with friends and more importantly brothers and sisters in Christ who never cease to challenge and encourage me. As usual I was blessed this morning by the preaching and worship at Battle Ground Foursquare Church. From church I headed with some good friends to their new home in Venersborg, not far from where I grew up and enjoyed an afternoon of food, chai and playing Settlers of Catan. In Venersborg I was surprised to see that the small country store had reopened there. This store had been open 15 to 20 years ago when I was in middle school but closed while I was in high school. I stopped in and bought a red bull and also snapped a picture.

Random Update #4

The last few weeks have been a sort of blogging hiatus for me as I've put most of my time and energy into preparing for the Step 1 USMLE, otherwise known as the medical board exam. Many would say that this is the single most important test that a future physician will ever take. This test does a lot to determine a medical student's competitiveness for various residencies after med school. I'm taking the test on June 20th in Portland, Ore., and I'm attempting to spend 8-10 hours studying each day up until then. I'm very happy to be back in Battle Ground, Washington where I've mostly been hanging out at a local coffee shop to study.

One of the big events during my "break" this year was the wedding of one of my best friends. My friend Josh and his bride, Lacie, tied the knot at Vancouver Apostolic Lutheran Church on Saturday. I was honored to be a groomsman in the wedding which was the best I had ever been to. The wedding was very focused on how the marital covenant finds its definition in Scripture and the officiant gave a short message where the traditional, Scriptural view of the complimentary roles of the man and woman in marriage were presented. He also talked about the way in which the marriage relationship reflects the relationship between Christ and the Church. But above the message and the presence of friends, it was the powerful and blessed presence of the Holy Spirit which truly made this wedding a wonderful experience.

Christmas Break Reading

I went into Christmas Break this year disappointed that there weren't any books high on my reading list. But thankfully, through the kindness of some friends, I have been supplied with some excellent material...

A good friend from Loma Linda has been reading Marsden's biography of Jonathan Edwards and he was kind enough to allow me to borrow it over the break. Marsden is such a great writer that I think I would enjoy reading about almost anything if it were written by him. But in the first third of his detailed and lengthy biography, Marsden has also succeeded in making me a great fan of Jonathan Edwards. It's sad that in our left-wing propaganda infused public schools the only thing most students ever hear of Edwards is his "Sinners in the hands of an angry God," which, by the way, I have heard is a great sermon. Edwards did not downplay God's wrath, as I think many modern preachers are mistaken to do, but he also did not downplay God's amazing goodness and love as seen in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. As I read Marsden's biography I have an idea for a blog-post seemingly every other page so I'm sure I'll write more on it later.

The second thing I've been reading this break was a Christmas present from my friend, Josh Monen, who, on Friday, asked a wonderful girl to marry him. Congratulations Josh. Josh was thoughtful enough to find me a book that you wouldn't find in any bookstore and one that would normally only be owned by a very select population. It covers a subject that I am very interested in though, Apostolic Lutheranism. It is actually the history of a single church in my county, located about six miles from my house in Hockinson. The book also covers a little of the history of the Laestadian movement in general and I was very excited to see that it has a little to say about a part of the history that I am very interested in but have had a hard time finding information on. As with the Edwards' book, I'm sure more blog posts will follow.

Giant Snowman... and an igloo

That's right...

My brother Joey, our friend Bryan and I.

Why I'm Stuck in California...

The family farm in Battle Ground, Washington:

"The snowstorm that hit Portland over the weekend was one for the record books. The storm dropped 11-13 inches of snow on the area, the most since January 1980. It is also the biggest December snowstorm for Portland since 1968." -weather.com

The Chicken Controversy

As we enter this contentious day of elections and ballot measures I was happy to read about the latest controversy in my own hometown in a letter to the editor entitled, "Battle Ground Short-sited to Ban Chickens." Made me a little homesick. Happy voting.

98604

Having spent a wonderful four days in Kentucky, I finished out my spring break among friends and family in Battle Ground, Washington. I love going home. I love the town I grew up in. While I was home I lounged around my parent's house, I went out to eat with friends and family, I watched a friend's ice hockey game and I went to a wedding.
As I did these things I thought of a conversation I had with a friend at Asbury Seminary a couple of years ago. We were talking about Tolkien and the philosophy behind his The Lord of the Rings. I liked what my friend, Daniel, had to say about it. He said that the point of The Lord of the Rings was not the adventure. It was not about being out in the world, achieving notoriety or personal greatness. The point was that The Shire was worth fighting and dying for. Those simple Hobbits, going about their simple tasks, living their ordinary lives was the real point of Middle Earth, not the slaying of dragons or taking the Ring to Mt. Doom. The older I get, the more I come to embrace this kind of thinking. It's not that the adventure doesn't appeal to me. But if I didn't have a place to call home. If I didn't have a hometown filled with people I love and people I have a hard time loving, filled with the best and worst memories of my life, filled with all kinds of broken people who God died for, the adventure would be meaningless. So maybe I don't completely agree with Daniel that adventure is not at all the point of The Lord of the Rings. But without the Shire, I think the adventure would have been empty and selfish.

Last Night in Battle Ground

Well, it's my last night in my beloved hometown of Battle Ground, Washington until Christmas-time. This is the third time I've gone on the adventure of moving to a new place and a new school where I don't know anyone. The first time was to Spokane, Washington to Whitworth College in 1998. After that I went to Wilmore, Kentucky to Asbury Theological Seminary in 2005, and now I go to Loma Linda, California to begin medical school at the Loma Linda School of Medicine. I realized today, though, that this kind of move never becomes "normal." I leave this place which I already loved having grown close to a group of friends from my church, Wellspring Foursquare Church, which makes leaving all the more difficult. After church today I hung-out with some of these friends, Josh, Lacie, Loretta, Roman and Heidi. I also had Josh and Ross, who had been the preacher at Fan the Flame, both pray over me to send me off. I think these "sending off" prayers are important. When I left Asbury, I was blessed to receive this kind of prayer from my friend Blake Brodien and my priest, Father Peter Matthews. Having grown to love this place where I call home, I always feel bad for what seems to be the majority of people feel no connection to a "hometown." There is nothing all that special about Battle Ground. The scenery is beautiful and it has its own unique qualities but if I hadn't grown-up here I don't think I'd have any strong desire to spend much time in this town. In fact, it wasn't until I left for college that I had any special love for this place. But it is the place where I first met my Lord Jesus Christ and that alone should make this sacred ground for me. My family and some of my closest friends are here and, Lord willing, I will return to this place after my schooling and army commitment to raise a family.Almighty Father, in your love you made this land which I so love. You have blessed it with a special beauty which declares your glory. In your merciful providence you have put many in my path here who have pointed me to You and shown me your love. Lord bless Battle Ground and bring revival into this town so that every tongue here would confess that You are Lord. And bring me back to this place, O Lord, that I might once again recieve and give love and blessings to these brothers and sisters.
Amen

Apostolic Lutheranism: From the Death of Læstadius to the Present

Juhani Raattamaa
At the time of Læstadius' death, one of the greatest lay evangelists in the Læstadian revival was Juhani Raattamaa. Raattamaa was born in Kaaresuvanto in 1811 and served as a catechist under Læstadius. About his conversion Raattamaa wrote, "But then it came to pass that when I was permitted to look to the blood-red Savior who was crowned with thorns, a power came out of Him and effected a living power in my soul which had been unknown to me. I believed my sins forgiven in the shed blood, sprinkled upon my heart, from which followed the knowledge of the risen and living Lord Jesus. He whom I had sought from afar off was very present and worked a joy and peace in my heart. Now I was ashamed of my unbelief and realized that I had never before believed with my heart."

It was under Raattamaa's ministry at the Lainio mission school that a distinctive practice among Apostolic Lutherans arose. In his study of Luther's Church Postil, Raattamaa became aware of Luther's understanding of the "Power of the Keys" from Matthew 16:19 and 18:18 and John 20:19-23. In some of his sermons, Luther taught that a minister or any other Christian should lay his hands upon a penitent sinner and pronounce absolution of sins upon him and that these words of absolution should be believed as if Christ himself had said them. Raattamaa tried this in the case of a woman who was burdened by her sins. He pronounced absolution to her and she was released and began to praise God. Raattamaa said, "I and some brothers and sisters have put the keys of the kingdom of heaven into use, by which troubled souls began to be freed and prisoners of unbelief began to lose their chains, and they rejoiced in spirit." This began the use of personal absolution among Apostolics which began in 1853. For Apostolics, this absolution is always pronounced "in the Name and Blood of Jesus." It seems that for Raattamaa, the use of the keys was related to freedom from guilt and assurance of salvation but that it was not a means of justification as it now seems to have become among the Old Apostolics. Raattamaa also believed that there were true Christians in various churches and groups outside of the Læstadian revival. This belief seems to have been lost in the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church which claims to be the only true Christianity on the earth. Raattamaa recognized the work of the Holy Spirit among the Methodists and Baptists among others. He died in 1899.

The Læstadian movement remained within the state churches of Sweden, Finland and Norway, desiring to bring renewal to these churches rather than form new, independent denominations.

The Finnish Emigration to America
The 1860's was a time of economic distress in Finland, Sweden and Norway. Areas in the United States became particularly attractive to these people, especially the northern parts of Michigan and Minnesota. In 1864 the flood of Finnish immigrants from Norway, Sweden and Finland began. These Finns settled primarily in what is known as the Copper Country of Michigan. The Læstadians formed their first church in America in Calumet, Michigan in 1871. Salomon Korteniemi came from Hammerfest, Norway to serve as Pastor. The name "Apostolic Lutheran" was first adopted under the leadership of John Takkinen in Calumet in 1879. Apostolic refers not to the Apostolic Succession but to a desire to return to the practice of Christianity at the time of the Apostles. For this reason, Apostolic Lutheranism could be viewed as a restorationist movement. Some of the problems currently seen in the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church seem to have first arisen under the leadership of Takkinen. One source says of him, "Takkinen started to pressure people into obedience through the power of the elders. Then a doctrinal dispute began, for Takkinen demanded obedience to the firstborn, and, in his opinion, these firstborn were the elders of Swedish Lapland. This was the whip that he swung and with which he ruled. In his opinion, those who were obedient to him and these firstborn were in the congregation of the firstborn, but those who dared show opposition were condemned to leave this congregation, and it was said that such have no part in heaven, that they are heretics."

The Formation of the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church
The origins in the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church lie in a number of schisms that occurred both in America and in Lapland. A split occurred among the U.S. Læstadians in 1894. After the death of John Takkinen in 1892, there was disagreement as to who his successor should be. Those who would become the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church followed a pastor named Matoniemi while the other Læstadians followed Charles Ojala. This split in the U.S. was then solidified by a split that occurred among the Læstadians of Lapland in 1897. A mission school had been founded in Lannavaara village in Lapland in 1888. The annual meetings of the Læstadians were held there and were led by Raattamaa. There were, however, many preachers in the region of Gällivare in Swedish Lapland who were suspicious of the school. The Gällivare Læstadians, also known as "Western Læstadians" were more pietistic, laid more emphasis on separation from the world and accused the "Eastern Læstadians," associated with Lannavaara, of moral laxity and of being harmfully influenced by their stronger ties with the official state church. In 1897 the last "big meeting" was held in Lannavaara. The Gällivare Læstadians presented accusations against the Eastern Læstadians but Raattamaa acknowledged all Læstadians present as faithful Christians. A schism began at this meeting and at the time of Raattamaa's death in 1899, the Læstadian movement had broken into two parts, the Western Læstadians or "esikoiset," also known as "The Firstborn," and the Eastern Læstadians or "vanhoilliset," also known as the Old-Laestedians.

In America, the followers of Matoniemi joined the Firstborn Laestedian group which gave rise to the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church. Some of the strict legalism seen today in the movement was introduced or at least encouraged under Matoniemi's leadership. When he broke with the other Læstadian Christians in Calumet he moved to Lake Poinsett, South Dakota and began to preach that many innovations were a danger to Christians. He preached against curtains, pictures, neckties and telephones.

Apostolic Lutherans in North Clark County
The first meetings of Apostolics in North Clark County most likely occurred in Hockinson when that community was still called Eureka in 1878. The meetings were organized by Abraham Lehto. In 1884 the elders in Lapland sent John Henry Lumijärvi to the Calumet congregation but he relocated to the Portland area and ministered to the small congregations on both sides of the Columbia. In 1894 the Finnish Apostolic Lutheran Church was officially organized in Hockinson. In 1922 the eighteenth annual conference of the Finnish Apostolic Lutheran churches was held in Hockinson with around 700 in attendance. This was of course after the split had occurred between the Old Apostolics and the other Laestedian groups. Although it is not clear from my sources, it seems that the Old Apostolics may have established their first separate congregation in Brush Prairie in around 1926. In 1937 this group bought an old schoolhouse and later built at their present location on 142nd Ave.

The Present Old Apostolic Lutheran Church
The Old Apostolic Lutheran Church today is distinguished by its continued belief that the "church government" is in Gällivare, Sweden. In all important affairs, the Gällivare elders are asked for counsel. The Gällivare elders decide what should be the "fashion of Christianity." In 1947, when Saarnivaara's book was written some of the requirements from the Gällivare elders were that, men were forbidden to wear neckties, photography was forbidden, women were forbidden to wear hats (only kerchiefs were permitted), Christmas trees were forbidden, life insurance was forbidden and flowers and wreaths at funerals were forbidden. Of these prohibitions I know that neckties are still banned along with television. I'm not sure about some of the other prohibitions. Old Apostolic youth are allowed to befriend children from outside the church, which they call "the world," until they are confirmed in the church at the age of fifteen. After confirmation, it is sinful to befriend anyone who is outside the church. The Firstborn were the first among the Læstadian groups to introduce the English language to services and to translate Læstadius' sermons to English in what are known as the New Postil and the House Postil. The elders from Swedish Lapland visit the American congregations about every four years. I attended part of one such meeting which occurred at the Amphitheatre at the Clark County Fairgrounds a few years ago. The elders preached in Finnish and the preaching was translated into English.

While this series is on the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church, it should perhaps be mentioned that there are other groups of Læstadians in Clark County who also are known as "Apostolics." There are also the so-called "New Apostolics." These people are actually part of a denomination called The Apostolic Lutheran Church in America. The Apostolic Lutheran churches in Hockinson and Vancouver are part of this group. I don't know much about the "New Apostolics" other than that while they also are very conservative Lutherans, they are less legalistic than the Old Apostolics and are obviously allowed to use the internet as their churches have websites. The New Apostolics are one of the groups that did not align themselves with the elders in Gällivare but are based in the United States. There is also an "Independent Apostolic Lutheran church" in Ridgefield. The Independent Apostolics are also known as the Pollarites as they broke away under a leader named John Pollari in 1928. The relations between the Old and New Apostolics seem to be somewhat hostile.

We will continue to look at present-day Apostolic Lutheranism in the next post where we will consider some of its theological distinctives.

Apostolic Lutheranism: Introduction

Since getting a site meter and seeing how much of my blog traffic comes from google searches, I’ve decided to write on a subject about which there is not much information on the web. It is also a regional issue (for Battle Ground, Washington and North Clark County) and the subject is religion so it fits well with my blog.

The subject is Laestadianism or Apostolic Lutheranism. North Clark County, in which Battle Ground is the largest city, has a large population of Apostolic Lutherans. They are mostly of Finnish descent. There are some different groups in the movement but the largest group in this area is the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church, a fundamentalist*, restorationist and, I would say, heretical Lutheran movement. They are usually called just “Apostolics” but two other, probably more popular names, are used. These are “bunhead” or “bunner.” The reason for this name is that most of the Old Apostolic women wear their hair in buns. I find the name “bunhead” to be too derogatory sounding but I am good friends with an ex-Apostolic who doesn’t see any problem with the term, at least when used by those who are or have been in an Apostolic Lutheran church. Other attributes of Apostolics are that they tend to have very large families, often of at least ten children and when they greet each other they say, “God’s peace.” Some of the funnier cultural characteristics of Apostolic Lutherans are that they tend to drink a lot of mountain dew, which in Battle Ground is also known as “bunner-beer” and many of the Apostolic young people have been known to wear almost exclusively quiksilver brand clothing. In Battle Ground the Apostolic young people are also known for hanging out in large numbers in the Fred Meyer's parking lot.

Most of the Apostolics I’ve known have been very kind people. I went to the church once with a good Apostolic friend when I was in middle school. All of the ex-Apostolics I know are fervent followers of Jesus Christ who have accepted the fullness of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. There are serious problems with the Old Apostolic Lutheran Church, though, and most of the ex-Apostolics I know would question whether many people in that church are actually even Christians. I trust these ex-Apostolic's judgment. I believe that the revival in Lapland which gave rise to Apostolic Lutheranism was a true act of God but since that time the movement has gone far wrong. This blog post will begin a series on Old Apostolic Lutheranism. My goals in this series are to shed light on a subject that I think many people in Clark County would find interesting but more importantly to reach out to Apostolics who are in a dark place and to let them know that the power of Christ is real and that it brings freedom and joy. My primary resource will be “The History of the Laestadian or Apostolic Lutheran Movement in America” by Uuras Saarnivaara. The book was kindly given to me by an Apostolic man whom I befriended while I worked at Barnes and Noble. I find part the preface of the book to be a good introduction to this series:

…God has led thousands of people to the saving knowledge of Christ through the Laestadian revival. But at the same time the powers of evil have endeavored to destroy this work of God and to break the bond of love between the children of God. Consequently the history of the Laestadian movement is an account of the great saving work of the Holy Spirit in its[sic] conflict with the deluding and disrupting work of the devil. A study of this history therefore brings to us both joy and sorrow.

*I hesitate to use the word "fundamentalist." Its definition is ambiguous and some liberals would probably consider me to be a "fundamentalist." One definition I've heard which I like is that a fundamentalist is any religious person who is more conservative than you are. When I use the word here I am referring to a highly legalistic way of living where the teachings of church eleders are not to be questioned.

Summer wouldn't be complete without buckin' some hay

Well, I thought I had escaped the yearly ritual when I went down for the conference at Bethel in Redding. But alas, today my dad asked me to help him move some hay. I don't know why this is blog-worthy but I'm posting it anyways. In the picture you can see our barn, my dad getting a haybail I just handed to him and our little dog, Sunny, helping out.

The Making of a Charismatic or “Fan the Flame”

Some of you who know me well know a bit of my Christian journey. I was baptized as an infant at Ontario United Methodist Church in Ontario, Oregon and I asked Jesus to be my Savior when I was 13. I remained a very immature but zealous Christian until college. In college I wanted to party so I decided to become a liberal “Christian.” God by his grace brought me back to the faith with some relationships, some books and with my own inner struggle. For the next few years, while I was a youth pastor at a United Methodist church, I tried to embrace mainstream Evangelicalism. It was actually a very good time where God’s presence was very evident in my life and where I began to ask the Holy Spirit to take control of my prayer. I felt called to seminary and went to Asbury where I was richly blessed by God.

God messed with me a lot during my first year at Asbury. I came out of that year broken. I struggled regularly with fits of depression and anxiety. I told a friend that I felt “weak.” I also struggled with doubt a lot during that time. There were weeks when I had to will myself into being a Christian. But during that time God continued to meet me, I would say, miraculously. When I returned home to Washington from seminary in 2006 I was invited by a good friend and brother in Christ, Josh Monen, to a church service that was a ministry of a local Pentecostal church. The ministry was called ‘Fan the Flame,’ taken from 2nd Timothy 1:6 - “For this reason, I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” I was suffering the first time I went. The service was held in a barn in the countryside not far from my house. We worshipped and there was a short message. Then there was a prayer time. A family went up to be prayed for and I imagined that the service would wind down and I would talk with my friend for a while and go home. But that’s not what happened. As I said, I was suffering. I was standing about halfway back in the congregation, minding my own business, when the guy who had preached, Ross, pointed at me and said something like, “you need prayer.” He couldn’t have been more right. I went up and balled my eyes out before a whole congregation of people (something I had never done before and couldn’t imagine myself doing) while brothers and sisters layed on hands, prayed, prophesied and spoke in tongues. I asked for healing and I received it. I was free of the frightening depression and anxiety that had plagued me for months and it has not returned since. That was the first miracle of that summer. Fan the Flame continued to amaze me throughout the summer. I’ve commented to Josh that Fan the Flame has been the only place where, on a Monday, I was excited about what might happen at church on Sunday that week. There were a number of amazing things that happened that summer but one other thing is worthy of note. I’ve mentioned it on this blog before. One Sunday we had a guest preacher at Fan the Flame. I came to the service as usual not knowing what to expect but excited about what God had in store for that night. After he had preached, the guest preacher began telling random people from the congregation to stand up. He would then lay his hand on their head, pray, speak in tongues and prophesy. I am a skeptic. My natural reaction to every situation is to find a naturalistic explanation. I was skeptical about this preacher. I didn’t want him to prophesy over me because I loved Fan the Flame and I knew that if he said something that wasn’t true, I would be devastated. He walked down the center aisle, pointed at me and said, “stand up!” I obeyed and he began to speak in tongues and prophesy. He said something to the effect of “you have been hurt by a church in the past and you still need to forgive them.” First of all, I was happy that what he said was true. But I was also able to remain skeptical because I thought to myself, “lot’s of people have been hurt by churches - he could probably have said that to three quarters of the people here.” The fact was that I had been hurt by a church - the liberal church I had grown up in. But I thought I had forgiven the people there. After the service I went up to the preacher, Frank, and I let him know that what he said was true but that I felt like I had already forgiven those people. He looked at me and said something like, “I have something more to tell you - you are bitter about that church and that bitterness is affecting your theology.” I was surprised about having been contradicted but two words he used surprised me. The two words were “bitter” and “theology.” As I thought about it, I realized that this guy who didn’t even know me told me the same thing that the guy who knows me best, Blake Brodien, had been telling me for months at seminary. Blake had been telling me that I was bitter about liberalism and this ‘prophet’ now said the same thing. The other word that struck me was “theology.” This struck me because I was studying theology - and bitterness certainly was affecting it. In fact, I’d be willing to say that bitterness about liberalism was the primary force driving my theology. As you can imagine, that is a pretty unhealthy source of theology. As I thought about this true prophet’s words I grew more and more amazed. I was so amazed that I later asked my friend Josh whether he had talked to this preacher about me before the service - he hadn’t. On further thought, another aspect of the words of this prophet which struck me was that what he had to say was what I really needed to hear. At the service, before he prophesied over me, I had thought about what God would probably want to say to me through a prophet. I thought about the obvious struggles with sin in my life. I thought about lust among other things. But the struggle that this prophet hit me with was something that was very real but also something that I was in denial about. Hearing that I was bitter from him made me finally listen up after my best friend had been telling me the same thing for months. I would be lying if I said that the bitterness was gone - it’s not. But I’m aware of it and I realize that stoking it and feeding on it is keeping me in a kind of bondage that God wants me to be free of.

In my experience with Pentecostalism, I have seen little of what seems so problematic to those on the outside. That’s not to say that the problems aren’t real. But in my experience, Pentecostals are a group of people who value intimacy with God above all else, who believe the Bible and who are willing to live self-sacrificial lives. They are also aware of the marvelous and miraculous ways in which God acts in people’s lives today and they expect miracles in their churches. I believe that God honors this openness to His power by doing amazing things in Pentecostal churches.

June in Western Washington

A week ago I was swimming in the Lewis River with temperatures close to 90 degrees. The last few days have reminded me that I really am back home in Washington. . . weather in the 50's, gloomy clouds and constant rain. I do love this weather though, as there is no better weather to drink coffee in, read good books or spend an inordinate amount of time reading blogs. . .

Battle Ground Skate Park

I thought I should join in on the skate-park craze and write a blog about it. Most of my readers are not from the wonderful city that is BG WA so I'll fill you in. The city decided to build a skate park a year or two ago and it opened this weekend. The cool thing is that Battle Ground, with a population of just over 15,000, now has one of the best skate-parks in the whole country. I for one am proud of my town for having decided to build it. I tried skating a few times but never stuck with it. . . guess I wasn't cool enough.