• Courtney & Ryan were baptized yesterday after service. Thanks goes to God
• Preached on worry… and I was worried briefly about the topic. Ironic.
• Elders, Dan, & I met about some possible big things in Forefront’s future over the next three years. Please pray. It’s exciting.
• We have 4 people getting baptized at a Gel Group this Wednesday Night. God is breaking people’s hearts for Him. Love it.
• Our band covered, “Coming Home” by New Found Glory and Jessica (vocalist) sang it 100x better than their lead singer (who makes a living off singing). He’s got a nasal vibe that drives me up a wall (sorry had to vent).
• We have a N.A. group meeting in our warehouse space weekly. I am so glad God allowed us a space to do ministry 24-7. If we aren’t doing ministry & loving people full-time (paid or not), we’re not truly living the life He’s called us to live.
• I really like the weekly announcement video during service. Big shout out to Justin Allen for dropping it like it’s hot.
• Watched the MTV Movie Awards last night. Who knew Tom Cruise had moves like that?!? Holy cow.
• Finished my second time through Wayne Cordeiro’s book “Leading on Empty.” Great reminders on how to stay full in who God made us.
• Biking everyday takes my mind off of the craziness. You should buy a bike. Today.
• It also saves a ton on gas. So, you should buy a bike. It pays for itself in a couple weeks.
• My daughter turned 2. She never got into anything before. In the last 72 hours she has painted herself head to toe in nail polish and also drank some hand sanitizer.
• Yes, we watch our child.
• Don’t call child protective services (alright, I’m done with that topic).
• The Mets should just take up another sport. I’m thinking turn the place into a regulation Cornhole Tournament Stadium. Hmmmmm.
• Have yet to see Avatar, Iron Man 2, or Robin Hood. I need a dudes night out ASAP. Who wants to go?
• Excited about this Sunday and preaching. I’m feeling in the zone lately. God is just pouring into me.
• Kind of like we talked about a couple of weeks ago… “You cannot pour out what you don’t have.” How are you connecting with God?

Love God. Love People. Turn The World Upside Down.

Jason *over and out*

Well, actually… there is nothing special about the water or the hot tub, but man it’s had a lot of use lately. Every Sunday for the last 7 weeks, people have been asking to get baptized & turn their lives over to God. It’s been amazing to be a part of and to catch you up, here are videos from the last two Sundays…
(viewing from a mobile device? see the videos here & here)

Easter Sunday:

Week Before Easter:

It’s true.
Clothing logos. Status updates. Bumper stickers. Sports team jerseys. Eye wear. Blogs. Auto Email Signatures. Billboards. TV Commercials.
Everybody’s communicating something.

Sometimes it’s things we agree with and love, other times it’s things we are against and disagree with. A few decals on vehicles I see everyday on my way to work as I drive through the neighborhood:
- Calvin urinating on a Redskins logo
- PETA (People Eating Tasty Animals)
- Terrorist Hunting License: Let’s Kill Their A**es!
- Don’t Blame Me, I Voted For BUSH
- Keep Honking, I’m Reloading…

It’s easy to be negative.
It feels good to let out frustration on another person.
When we don’t get what we desire, we throw fits. Get angry. Shout louder.
My daughter hasn’t liked a meal in almost two weeks. Every time she pushes her food away and screams “I want pizza!!!”
She’s not getting pizza. Period.
And… she’s acting foolishly. But she doesn’t know that yet.
Because she is only a child.

As the news of health care reform being voted through spread across the air waves…
Christians began to respond in ways that I prayed they wouldn’t.
It broke my heart.
I believe it broke the heart of God as well.
I have a plea.
A word of encouragement.
(following is an excerpt from a recent response, see full article here)

- Instead putting our “hope” in healthcare, let’s  put our HOPE in the power of Jesus to save, heal, and deliver. We must transition from fairy tale subscribers, to true witnesses of the life changing power of God. When a world is dying, a building is burning- the call is to the church. Let’s be like Jesus in this hour!

- Instead of labeling people liberal or conservative, why don’t we see them as people who are far from God in need of Jesus? Without forgetting, that aside from God’s grace & love we would ALL REMAIN dead in sins. Love mercy, do justice, walk humbly.

- Instead of lobbying for schools to teach creation, why don’t lead our children into encounters with the creator, settling all doubts.

- Instead of being divided within the church over as to what our role is in the political process, whether it be to be activist, or pacifist, how about we work together to advance God’s work here on the earth, following the example of Jesus. The message of Jesus transforms hearts, transformed hearts transform the culture.

So glad to be serving at Forefront.
Where we strive to Love God, Love People, and Turn The World Upside Down.

Jason *over and out*

Photo by Jessica Riehl | www.jessicariehl.com

It breaks my heart.
This boy is in the middle of chaos and looks so confused.
Westboro Baptist Church is touring VA for the next three days.
Their goal is communicating their love for God… through hate.
They are protesting and picketing everywhere.
High Schools. Performing Arts Centers. Soldier funerals. Holocaust Museum.
I received 28 emails asking, “What are we going to do about this in Va Beach?”
Pray. Write. Educate.

PRAY: Pray for the people protesting, the people protesting the protesters, and for the people who come into contact with this mobile circus of confusion. Going out to the protest and protesting the protesters can add to the chaos (and according to an interview with some of the protesters, it reaffirms their ideals &  position). Don’t fuel the fire. Pray for all the people involved.

WRITE: Write the organization. In love, let them know you are praying for them and that God outlines a different idea of love and how to communicate that to people who are far from God.

EDUCATE: Talk with your kids, neighbors, co-workers, etc. Let them know the heart God has for them. When things like this happen in culture, it’s a great way to invite positive conversation about Jesus and let others know God is not like that.

It’s moments like these we have an opportunity to share Jesus and crush people’s misconceptions of God. Praying you get to have some challenging conversations with people about this happening in here in Hampton Roads. Let me know how it goes…

Jason *over and out*

“He stood on a box, yelling into a microphone, and beside him was a coffin with a fake dead body inside. He talked about how we are all going to die and go to hell if we don’t know Jesus.

Some folks snickered. Some told him to shut the hell up. A couple of teenagers tried to steal the dead body in the coffin. All I could do was think to myself, I want to jump up on a box beside him and yell at the top of my lungs, ‘God is not a monster.’ Maybe next time I will.”
- Shane Claiborne

We had an awesome backyard style baptism service Sunday. Posted this video on the Forefront Blog and figured I would share what is going down at Forefront. God is moving and I feel humbled to be a part of it. Enjoy.

So you blog, write and communicate, but wonder… “What is it for? Is anyone reading this stuff?” Well apparently you are and you notice when a brotha goes missing.

Twitter= seldom.
Blog=deserted.
YouTube=baren.

I just want to say thank you to all the emails and texts that have come in over the past two weeks. They have been so encouraging. I am not dead. Please don’t call 9-1-1. God and I are wrestling. As a leader you have seasons where God challenges you to do things and move in ways that makes you say, “Holy crap, you have got to be kidding!?”

Now when I say that, I am under the assumption that as a leader you and God are in constant communication. If you are sitting there thinking, “I’ve never really had those moments” then it would cause me to simply ask, “Why not?”

As God’s leaders, we have been given the difficult task of communicating God’s truth. Period. I hear (and have used myself) words like culturally relevant, technology driven, leveraging all that’s ‘POP’ and so on. But I am being challenged by God. Have I bought into the hype? Have you? Possibly so.

Now don’t get me wrong, I still believe in those things and as a creative arts pastor; it’s the world I live in, but… when do we say when? Are Web 2.0, online communities, lazer light shows during worship, and over the top tech in our services working? Now I would say yes. Completely.

For the future? I’m not so sure.

Tech & Culture changes so rapidly. Is anyone really “keeping up?” Churches across the country are using the right projection, music, bands, twitter, videos, blogs and ideas. They’re keeping up. But at what price? I’m not completely set on this yet, but I would say people are the price. I “know” more about people than I ever did before, but hang out with less people than I ever have in my life. Technology is a tool we use, but I’m pondering if it will ultimately be our downfall?

On top of all this, God is pushing me to do something I’ve never dreamed of.
More on this as God speaks. Until then,

J-del *over and out*

So, I am not sure what to think of this or this, but… I know true or false– God can use this song to touch the lives of people. Craziness. [Song is embedded below]

So if you missed the Saddleback Civic Forum where Rick Warren hosted Barrack Obama and John McCain… you should check it out. Here is a link where you can view all the portions. Below is the first part with Barrack. What are your thoughts?

Yep, there I am. So I woke up this morning to find that Alltop had added me to their list of “church” blogs to read. Pretty cool and definitely something I was amped on. You might be thinking, “What the heck is Alltop?“

Guy Kawasaki is the creator and they are bringing “all the top” conversations about topics to one location for people to connect. Alltop just added a “modern church” category to their list and all sorts of awesome bloggers that I love to read are also on there. Alltop provides an quick way to follow the conversation on more than 100 topics (i.e. comics, business, politics, mixed martial arts, ADHD, you name it… it’s there).