Baptism

We are planning to have a New Hope Christian Fellowship baptism service on Sunday, April 13th. We plan to have a potluck lunch after church, and then we'll be "borrowing" the facilities at Adventure Christian Church for the actual baptisms. It will be a great afternoon!

We have at least 5 New Hopers lined up to be baptized that day. If you have given your life to Christ but have not yet been baptized, let us know! We'd sure love to include you in this special event!

Early Easter

You've probably noticed Easter is early this year (March 23rd). It turns out it's really early! Did you know the next time Easter will fall as early as this will be in the year 2228? My friend put an interesting little blurb about this on his blog, The Treasure Chest. Check it out!

Reuinited, and it feels so good...

Regular readers will recall the sad story of my broken guitar, and I am happy to report that, following a 2-week $231 trip to The 12th Fret guitar shop... "It is risen indeed!"

I used it this week at Awana and Youth Group and it was glorious--like changing from uncomfortable dress shoes into my favorite sneakers; like drinking a 44 oz. ice-cold Diet Coke after a long trip to Europe; like moving from a folding metal chair to a cushy Bertolini; like seeing The Bourne Ultimatum in the theater rather than on a laptop; like getting an OG Tour of Italy after eating generic mac & cheese; like sleeping in my own bed after tent camping for the weekend...

Spring forward this weekend

Don't forget to set your clocks forward one hour on Saturday night! We'd hate for you to miss most of church this Sunday!

Crazy Hair Night at Awana!

Join the Easter Choir!

We have about 20 singers so far in our Easter Choir, and even though there are only three weeks of rehearsal left, there's still time to jump in! If you can carry a tune, come and join us on Wednesday evening at 7:35 p.m. We'll be singing up front in the worship services on March 16th and 23rd.

We could especially use a few more men in our group, so guys, don't be shy! If you have any questions, give me a call at 503-472-1144.

The Emerging/Emergent Church

This subject probably interests pastor-types like myself more than the average church-goer, but every once in a while someone asks me about the "Emerging Church" and what it's about. It's tough to explain because some use the term in a broad sense to mean a church style/philosophy that focuses on reaching an "emerging" younger generation, while others are referring to a more specific movement that I personally believe has fallen prey to some of postmodernism's weaknesses.

Anyway, today I ran across a terrific article by provocative Seattle pastor Mark Driscoll, who describes the issues in a wonderfully succinct way. You can read it here:

A Pastoral Perspective on the Emergent Church