tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365621552024-03-06T21:59:28.300-08:00theo museencounters of God in normal, everyday lifeJoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-85768221993277692882010-03-02T09:12:00.000-08:002010-03-02T09:12:03.722-08:00switching blog platforms today...I am in transition today...switching my blog and writing...if you want to continue to follow my writing and thinking see here: http://joshkerkhoff.wordpress.com/Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-10739841441508136702010-01-29T11:25:00.000-08:002010-01-29T19:24:34.630-08:00internal tensionThis past week, I was in a Doctor of Ministry class called Leading and Managing Your Ministry taught by Leith Anderson, the Senior Pastor of Wooddale Church and the National Association of Evangelicals.
I really appreciated the practicality of this class but one word kept coming up that when I hear it, I have an internal reaction.
When I hear the word organization used in reference toJoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-30839583002671559622009-12-23T21:48:00.000-08:002009-12-23T21:49:35.313-08:00merry christmasWe are grateful to you, our friends and family, and want you to know how you bring joy to our lives.
With these pictures from the past year, we hope you catch a glimpse of our family.
Love,
Josh, Amy, and our Boys
Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-5264305110476261852009-11-30T22:26:00.001-08:002009-12-01T09:14:14.295-08:00from bog wader to drink serverTwo visions three years apart.Three years ago when we moved to San Diego so that I could work on staff with our church, I had a vision prayed over me. It was by a faithful young man in our church and he asked if he could share with me a vision. This was his vision: I was wearing hip waders (the ones you would wear if you were fishing in a body of water) and found myself moving toward the middle Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-49271543195036596682009-11-23T12:26:00.000-08:002009-11-23T12:29:28.914-08:00crying in the library...Okay, so I'm man enough to share this with you. I found myself crying in the library or at least holding back tears and choking on my adam's apple as I read a post by Pete Wilson.Yesterday, he baptized his oldest son Jett and then wrote a letter to him through the blogosphere. You can read it here and see the video as well. What an amazing experience!I can only hope for the day when I have the Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-63817719524002247052009-09-30T10:45:00.000-07:002009-09-30T11:08:25.912-07:00wonder woman versus batgirl(posted by my wife Amy)Our boys are obsessed with Superheroes. Most days they are several different incarnations – Mr. Incredible, Superman, Batman, and Luke Skywalker are perennial favorites. Recently, they received matching Wolverine costumes from their Nana and Gramps, which they are wild about, even though they have never seen X-Men (and won’t for a long time). We spend time discussing at Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-52522225788357409072009-08-19T20:42:00.000-07:002009-08-20T12:34:59.197-07:00one beautiful messYesterday, I was in a conversation with some friends and local pastors that I have been journeying with for the past year and I realized something new about myself.In the last few weeks, there are two books that I have found myself frequently carrying around with me. The first is a book called The Practice of Adaptive Leadership by Ronald Heifetz, Marty Linsky, and Alexander Grashow. The second Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-15765316943939836822009-08-09T22:53:00.000-07:002009-08-20T12:26:08.349-07:00which Jesus are we talking about?Recently, I've been reading Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch's book, REJESUS: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church and some of what they write I've heard before in their talks but I love the following quote on 111: "we need to go back to the daring, radical, strange, wonderful, inexplicable, unstoppable, marvelous, unsettling, disturbing, caring, God-Man."This morning I was speaking on a story thatJoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-4241805617941997692009-05-16T20:20:00.000-07:002009-05-18T14:33:46.880-07:00not sleeping in the closetI need to preface this story by saying I should be finishing my sermon for tomorrow morning. I have a few tweaks to make to it but one of my take away points is that children (and others we overlook) are not a burden to our lives. And so my son helped me take to heart this point tonight as I was putting him to bed. Our oldest son Brighton talks a long time to go to bed...I mean a long time. EveryJoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-60684929923687366262009-04-21T15:12:00.001-07:002009-04-21T15:19:53.075-07:00love you good or badThe post below is from my wife Amy. Since this blog is dedicated to encountering God in the everyday reality of life and we frequently talk about what God is teaching us through parenting, she will be a regular guest writer on my blog.A good friend of mine told me about a grocery shopping trip with her little girl, Janie. It was truly a revolutionary story for me, one that changed my whole Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-1758268449797769372009-03-16T14:35:00.000-07:002009-03-16T15:24:26.493-07:00seeing God's KingdomJesus spoke and taught a great deal about God's Kingdom. In fact, I would argue that this is what Jesus cared about more than anything else. He described God's Kingdom through story and metaphor and it seems like his followers had a difficult time grasping what it was and how this related to the religious institutions and factions in the first century. I'm not so certain we understand any better Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-66908747373672408342009-02-13T10:57:00.001-08:002009-03-16T14:35:14.927-07:00engaging the world we live inYesterday, I caught up with a friend from Seminary named Shane Hipps who has published a few books both focusing on how media influence and affect our lives and perspectives of lives.I admit that I haven't read either of his books yet but would love a free moment to do so at some point in the near future. What I find engaging in my conversations with Shane is that he has a remarkable way to Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-8474991127557993712008-10-13T16:11:00.000-07:002008-10-13T16:35:57.126-07:00already pondering ChristmasFor whatever reason, I don't like Christmas.I think it has something to do with the over commercialism of Christmas and the reality that I feel like I have to buy things from shopping malls. In the past, I would have pushed back my emotions, stuck my head in the sand and kept going on with the season at full pace but this year is different...I am already preparing myself for something different. Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-9843569371669894912008-09-25T20:35:00.000-07:002008-09-25T20:40:36.692-07:00Tom Wright with Stephen ColbertGot to love this clip of two greats.Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-60224179065967957212008-08-26T12:31:00.000-07:002008-08-26T12:52:15.549-07:00the myth of a Christian nationLast year, I bought a book The Myth of A Christian Nation by Greg Boyd and I brought it on a trip to Londrina, Brazil to visit a mission partner. I love Greg and I was planning on reading it while there. The book is based on a six-week sermon series titled "Cross and the Sword" he did with his church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Approximately 1000 people left his church as a result of the viewpoint ofJoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-8960617712946756822008-08-21T16:10:00.000-07:002008-08-21T16:26:50.172-07:00the missional questionQuestion: How does a person live missionally?Here is a practical look at this question that was in the Neue Weekly e-newsletter today. After reading it, what do you think:By Ashley WolpertIn a culture that feeds off a vast array of social justice causes, it seems that the term missional living is being bandied about increasingly in our churches. But what does this really look like? Recently Dr. Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-85407570286805285702008-08-15T00:53:00.000-07:002008-08-15T00:57:08.478-07:00The Inside-Out ConferenceHere's a post that I wrote quickly tonight for the Inside-Out Conference in Long Beach.Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-82470425919877302412008-07-21T09:59:00.000-07:002008-07-21T11:59:07.665-07:00Community and Sentness After almost 2 months it is time to get back on the horse of blogging (I have a couple blogs that are partly written in drafts). Last week, as I found myself in conversation with a friend and then later reading a book, I was reminded that I need people in my life. It wasn't simply that reality that I need others to survive (a created need for community) but I need others to thrive (to understandJoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-89846305387759683362008-05-27T21:21:00.000-07:002008-05-27T22:01:30.636-07:00getting dirtyIt is hard to imagine how yesterday, I was building a house with a group of people from our community of faith and Amor ministries for a family in need of a safe, dry place to lay their heads at night. It was an amazing experience as within two and a half days, we built relationships with each other and the family we were building for and put up a house that is significantly better than the Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-49516928108447051682008-05-19T09:39:00.000-07:002008-05-19T10:44:57.047-07:00a new road of accountabilityOver the last 2 weeks, our small group hosted two dessert and awareness nights in order in two different locations with friends outside our small group invited.We focused our efforts to support Opportunity International who works with people in developing countries to give microfinance loans. They give loans to people who are not typically good investments by banking institutions. The microloans Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-3535864346600833132008-05-12T11:09:00.000-07:002008-05-12T14:56:23.062-07:00movementLast night, I had the opportunity to anoint with oil half of our 545 Gathering and I found myself honored as people from our community moved forward toward me, allowed and even welcomed me to put my finger on their foreheads and make the sign of the cross as I said this simple phrase, "I anoint you with oil but be filled with the Holy Spirit."There are certain tangible acts (the Lord's table, Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-20815936094752048182008-04-28T20:03:00.000-07:002008-04-28T20:21:12.073-07:00the bigness and smallness of the KingdomTonight I found myself talking with my oldest son in our kitchen about the reality of the Kingdom of God. I want him to understand at an early age how big God's Kingdom is and how he gets to participate in God's work wherever God is present. So here I was talking with a little boy about this huge idea that many brillant theologians, let alone me, have a difficult time explaining in a clear and Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-69305066386272416512008-04-19T19:11:00.000-07:002008-04-19T19:19:32.505-07:00What is the purpose?I've had a number of conversations this past week that speak to the purpose of the church, programs and even small groups. If the goal of our church is to reorient everything around the hub of mission (we are becoming missional) then we must engage this challenge and reimagine why and how we exist. Who do we exist for?I've got a few ideas about how a small group can be intentionally organized Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-53840368162264519332008-04-15T22:59:00.001-07:002008-04-16T18:21:37.020-07:00Opportunities to Change Our WorldTonight, Amy and I had so much fun together as we dreamed and wrote about a challenge that someone put forward in our faith community for different community groups. We sent out an email and facebook notes that pointed people to a great opportunity, which I mention below.When a group of people make a little time, dream together, think creatively about how to use limited resources and finally makeJoshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36562155.post-45729358772405568552008-04-09T11:13:00.000-07:002008-04-16T18:22:57.116-07:00Orbiting the Church (a.k.a. "a giant hairball")Last Monday, I found myself reading a book called Making a Meal of It by Ben Witherington III that examines the history of communion.Ben writes this about a section out of one of Paul's letters, “‘Be imitators of me as I am of Christ’ (I Cor 11:1). This may indeed allude to Jesus’ practice of eating with anyone, even notorious sinners, and perhaps to his ruling (see Mark 7) about no food being Joshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17550798482584898203noreply@blogger.com0