I believe there is an epidemic problem among believers in Christ today.  Their understanding of God is too small.  They don’t really know the God of the Bible.  I constantly hear and see Christians saying things and doing things that indicate what they believe about God is rather insignificant.  Their knowledge of God has little or no impact on their decisions, actions, feelings, stress, life direction or worldview.  Why do I say this?  Statistically, those who say they are Christians have lives that resemble any typical unchuched person.  They have the same stresses, problems, fears, life satisfaction as unbelievers.  Why?  Their God is too small!  What we believe about God is probably the single most influential issue of our lives.  What we believe about God impacts everything in this life.  Therefore, if this is true, we’d better believe the right thing.

Listen to Isaiah 40

Who else has held the oceans in his hand?  Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?  Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale? ¹³ Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?^[a]
Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him? ¹⁴ Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?  Does he need instruction about what is good? Did someone teach him what is right or show him the path of justice?

¹⁵ No, for all the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket. They are nothing more than dust on the scales.
He picks up the whole earth as though it were a grain of sand. ¹⁶ All the wood in Lebanon’s forests and all Lebanon’s animals would not be enough to make a burnt offering worthy of our God. ¹⁷ The nations of the world are worth nothing to him.  In his eyes they count for less than nothing— mere emptiness and froth.

¹⁸ To whom can you compare God?  What image can you find to resemble him? ¹⁹ Can he be compared to an idol formed in a mold, overlaid with gold, and decorated with silver chains? ²⁰ Or if people are too poor for that, they might at least choose wood that won’t decay and a skilled craftsman to carve an image that won’t fall down!

²¹ Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God— the words he gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant? ²² God sits above the circle of the earth.  The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!
He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them. ²³ He judges the great people of the world
and brings them all to nothing. ²⁴ They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither.
The wind carries them off like chaff.

²⁵ “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.

²⁶ Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name.  Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. ²⁷ O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?  O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? ²⁸ Have you never heard?  Have you never understood?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth.  He never grows weak or weary.  No one can measure the depths of his understanding. ²⁹ He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. ³⁰ Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. ³¹ But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.  They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

WOW!

Now remember, this is the God that loves you unconditionally who sent His Son to dies on a cross for you so you could have an intimate relationship with Him.  This is the God who will NEVER leave you or forsake you.  This is the God whose awesome power is available for you.  This all-powerful God is the One who cares about every detail of your life.  This all-knowing God is the One you can rely on for wisdom and direction.

Now, what were you stressed out about again? What you believe about God changes everything.  Maybe it’s time to get a bigger God?

Hanging on to an all-powerful, all-knowing, ever present God who loves me.  Here’s praying you are too!

Pastor Dale

As I reflect on where we are at as a church I continue to hear God say to me loud and clear; “Stay the course!”  In other words, keep running, don’t stop, stay on track, press forward, or a host of other similar phrases.  We are right where God wants us.  Now is not the time to deviate from the present direction.  Now is the time to simply keep running the race God has set before us.

As we rejoice in the $70,000 offering that many of you contributed to this weekend towards our KAC goal, we all realize we still need more funds to complete the project.  This offering puts our total to around $87,000.  We still need $113,000 to go.  Now is not the time to be discouraged.  Now is the time to stay the course and trust God.

Staying the course is not easy.  There are countless opportunities to quit along the way.  What God has called us to is glorious but it is not easy nor is it for the faint of heart.  The course is not a level one either.  It is filled with hills and valleys, obstacles to overcome, and adverse conditions to put up with.  At times as we run this race, it’s easy to begin asking ourselves it is all worth it.  Is the course worth the effort, the sacrifice, and the discomfort at times?  It is in these moments we must remember the words of our Great Coach; the Author and finisher of our faith.

Heb. 10:35-36 “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.  You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

You see…it is worth it.  Persevering on God’s course does pay off.  The promises that we cling to will one day be our reality!  Therefore, keep running.  Stay the course!  The race isn’t done yet.  There’s a lifetime still ahead of us.  God will be faithful.  He will supply.  He will give us everything we need to stay the course.  We just need to make sure we keep running the race.

Staying the course with you,

Pastor Dale

Hey…I’m back!  I realize I haven’t written anything in quite some time.  My apologies.  Life has been quite the adventure for the past several month.  Fall programs beginning, moving our offices off site, our building construction projects, 6 funerals, 3 weddings, and a host of other details that have been consuming.  I like this picture because this is how life has been lately.  It’s been a wild ride.  This image also got me thinking.

Life is a lot like white water rafting.  It’s fast moving; you can’t go backwards; you have to pay attention; you must adapt to the river; the scenery is constantly changing and it’s safer to travel together.  If you like to whitewater raft, then embracing the challenges of a changing river is just part of the adventure.

I believe that the journey God has us on as a church is like whitewater rafting.  Embracing the ever changing circumstances, culture, needs, challenges and economic climate is all part of the adventure.  Churches and people that can trust God and embrace the changes navigate safely through the rapids of life.  Those who live in fear, panic, and denial, usually get dumped out and they are left swimming for shore.

Foothills is in the midst of a season of great change.  We are in the midst of the rapids.  Honestly, I have been feeling the spray of the water in my face lately as we have navigated some pretty tough rapids.  God has shown me that for Foothills to embrace change their Pastor must embrace change as well.  God has been impressing upon my heart in the past few months just how much I need to change, grow, and mature.  How can I expect the people of Foothills to embrace change unless their Pastor does?  This season of change is not merely altering the size of our classrooms and auditorium.  It is a time to alter the condition of our hearts and the impact of our lives for His Kingdom. This is what will help us navigate safely in the future.

Where is God asking you to change?  How is God speaking to your heart?  Embracing change is not the exception to the Christian life; it is the norm.  Rom. 12:2 tells us to not be conformed to this world…BUT RATHER…let God transform you into a new person!  You see…embrace change.  It’s only by allowing God to transform us do we navigate safely.  To resist godly change is to invite disaster on the journey of life.  You see, the changes that God brings to our lives are the skills and maturity we will need after the next bend in the river.  If we refuse to grow, then we don’t have the maturity to navigate what’s ahead.  The result?  We go swimming!

May God give us all the grace and endurance to embrace the changes He is accomplishing in our lives so that we successfully navigate the waters ahead.  Here’s embracing change with you!

Pastor Dale

Fall is almost here and at Foothills, this means everything is about ready to rev up into high gear.  Ministries that took breaks, scaled back, slowed down, and relaxed a bit are on the verge of embracing the intensity of ministry for the next 9 month run.  This year we have an added dimension with our remodel projects.  It is our need to increase the amount of space to accommodate the increasing numbers of people God is bringing.  This brings us to the urgent need of volunteers.  We cannot move in the direction God has called us to go with the same level of volunteering we had last year.  It simply won’t get the job done.  God is increasing our numbers.  This translates into increasing more volunteers.  This is not a luxury…it is a NECESSITY!

The vision that God has given us is a sacred trust.  We must be committed to becoming good stewards of this vision.  Part of being a good steward is to be committed to doing your part in volunteering in a ministry at Foothills.  We all must refuse to be spectators and embrace a role and participate in the vision.  If you say you are committed to Foothills, committed to the Lord, and committed to the vision that He has called us to and you are not serving somewhere, you are fooling yourself.  You merely have “lip service” not “real service”.  It’s time for some of you to grow up and let go of being so self-centered and embrace maturity and become others centered.  A non serving follower of Christ is a contradiction in terms!  Sorry to sound a bit harsh but some of you just need the shock!

We need help everywhere as the church grows, but I want to challenge many of you to consider 4 key areas where if we don’t increase in volunteers, the vision of the church will be hindered this year.  God is bringing in so many families that if we don’t increase the number of volunteers in our ministries aimed at their children, we will lose the opportunity to impact them for Christ.  We have tremendous needs for more volunteers in Nursery / Preschool / Kids Church and Student Ministry.  The numbers of kids in some of these ministries at the end of summers is concerning.  Just last week during one of our services we had 29 preschool kids in one class.  At the 8:30 service there were 18 babies in the nursery!  This doesn’t mention the K-5th grade or the Jr. High and High School students.

Since God is entrusting these people to us we have a responsibility to minister to them.  C’mon folks!  Let’s simply embrace what God has commanded us to do in His word…Serve!  It is no longer enough to support Foothills from your chair.  It is time to support it with your hands and feet.  If you are reading this and you’re not involved, may God move you to get in the game.  If you are involved and know others who are not, it’s time for you to get vocal and help motivate others to embrace their role.  If more people do not get involved we will fail in this next step of faith as a church.  It’s not about how much the pastor or staff can do.  The Bible says that many hands make light work.  The more hands we have involved the more we can advance the Kingdom of God in our area.  We need you and we need you now!

Looking forward to serving along side of you this year,

Pastor Dale

Rev. 3:8  “I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me.” (NLT)

There are times during our faith journey where God sovereignly puts open doors of opportunity before us.  These circumstances are orchestrated by His hand for his purposes and for His glory.  It is our responsibility as followers of Christ to recognize these Divine opportunities and by faith, walk through them.  The Lord has placed an open door before Foothills and we are walking through it.

By now I’m sure you’ve heard about Foothills purchasing the Green House Cafe’ behind our building on Main Street.  After months of prayer and seeking after the heart of God, He opened a door to purchase this building and expand the ministry and influence of Foothills in the Molalla area.  We are now about to start 3 remodel projects.  We will be remodeling our current office space for expanded Kids Ministry.  We will be expanding the auditorium to fit another 200 chairs, and we will be remodeling the Green House for a new administration building. As for the Cafe’, we will be keeping that part of the building a Cafe’.  Yes, it is our plan for Foothills to have it’s own Cafe on Main Street.  How fun!

As exciting as all this is, this journey will still require faith.  Even wide open doors require faith in order to walk in obedience and fulfill what God desires.  Remember, after God delivered the nation of Israel out of Egypt and through the Red Sea; after He destroyed the Egyptian army, He led them right out into the desert where there was no water.  This great opportunity still required them to learn to trust God and walk by faith.

As Foothills takes another step forward through this open door, we must remember that it will require a tremendous amount of faith and trust to accomplish what’s on the other side of this door.  Open doors never mean everything is smooth and predictable.  They usually mean there is a tremendous amount of growth that we will need to embrace on the other side.

Therefore, let’s walk through this open door together.  Let’s embrace the growth God desires in our lives.  Let’s realize another piece of our destiny.  Let’s see the Kingdom of God advance in the Molalla area.  God is the One who has placed this open door before us.  Let’s walk through it well and fulfill all He has for us!

Walking through this door with you,

Pastor Dale

Following God is like white water rafting.  It’s an adventure.  As Foothills enters another Fall season in a few weeks, God has us positioned for the next great adventure.  Following God is not static, motionless, or boring. God moves, God flows, and sometimes, you had better just hold on for the ride.  This is where we’re at.  I will be giving many more details regarding this movement in the coming weeks, but today I want to share 3 qualities this adventure requires.

The first quality is faith.  It take faith just to get into the “spiritual raft” with Jesus and go on His adventure.  Most people just watch from the river banks.  This is not what God has called this church to.  He has called us to get into the raft of faith and trust Him for the journey.  Of course there are risks, challenges, scary moments along the ride.  The waters are not always calm and serene.  He has called us to travel where others have not.  We have to trust our river guide.  He knows where He’s taking us.  Jesus is taking Foothills forward into new territory.  Faith is what keeps us in the raft!

The second quality is fellowship.  Notice in the picture it is a group of people in the raft not one person.  The faith journey Jesus has us on is one where we travel together.  All the people in the raft are working together in unity accomplishing the goal together.  This is how Foothills must continue to function.  We must continue to work together in unity for the purpose for which He created Foothills.  Loving relationships, cooperation, teamwork and unity must be the relational dynamics of Foothills if we are going to successfully finish the journey.  Notice everyone has a paddle.  Everyone is working.  Everyone shares the work.  This isn’t a pleasure cruise.  It’s an adventure that requires teamwork.  Where God is taking Foothills will require an even greater commitment to relationships.  We can’t accomplish this alone.  We need each other.

Finally, the last quality is fun.  That’s right…fun!  The people in this picture are having a blast on this adventure.  If we are willing to live by faith and be committed to fellowship along this journey, it’s going to be a pretty fun ride.  Following together Jesus isn’t a drag.  It’s the greatest adventure we could ever be on.  This next year will be challenging at times.  It will require us to work on our relationships.  We may corporately hold our breathe in some white water.  But we will get to see the might and power of our God in ways we never have.  We will see transformation.  We will see things accomplished that others will be amazed at.  We will be the ones raising our oars in triumph as we experiencing being “more than conquerors through Christ who loves us”.  That’s pretty fun if you ask me!

Get ready Foothills.  The next great adventure is about to begin.  Grab your paddle and each other.  We’re about to push off into the river

.

Paddling with you in the raft,

Pastor Dale

I use this very familiar image not to highlight the events of 9-11 but to highlight the fact that there are just events that take place in this life that I don’t understand.  Haven’t you ever stood face to face with tragedy and said, “Lord, I don’t understand?”  I know I have.  I have sat with grieving relatives; been on fatal accident scenes; tried to comfort those left behind after a suicide; been with those when they heard the word “terminal”; buried teen drivers and still born babies.  There have been plenty of tragic events I have personally been involved in during my 24 years of ministry.  Unfortunately, another one happened just this week as a dear member of our church and community died in a kayaking accident.  This 31 year old man who had tremendous influence and impact in our community was suddenly taken from us.  “Lord, I don’t understand?”

I have discovered over the years that the Lord doesn’t mind us asking this question.  He knows our perspective on life is very limited.  But, I have also discovered it is a question He rarely answers.   It is one of those questions that in our humanness, we almost need to ask.  It’s in our minds.  It’s already on our hearts.  We might as well verbalize it and get it out before God in the open where He can do something with it.  What I’ve discovered is that even though He rarely answers this question He will always redirects our focus.  We think the answer to this question is what is important.  God knows better.  He knows what we need to focus on when tragedy strikes.  There are truths the Lord wants us to cling to when we don’t understand.  In these moments it’s really not understanding the tragedy we need…we need Him and His truth as an anchor.

When we don’t understand the events in life…

• We need to understand just how much God still loves us
• We need to understand His presence is still with us
• We need to understand the promises of His word are still true
• We need to understand that this world will always be painful and unpredictable
• We need to understand our hope is in the next life not this one
• We need to understand that relationships in Jesus are eternal
• We need to understand that His ways are infinitely higher than our ways
• We need to understand that His power to help us is available for whatever we experience in this life
• We need to understand that we all live in the land of the dying traveling to the land of the living
• We need to understand that the more in love we are with this life and this world the more despair we experience when tragedy strikes.

I may not understand why God allows all the pain we experience in this life.  But this is something we will never fully understand anyway.  God wants us to focus on what we can understand and what we can experience in Him while we live in this uncertain confusing world.

Not understanding it all yet trusting God anyway,

Pastor Dale

So, what is your opinion regarding the Bible?  Does it contain the actual words of God that carry authority as absolute moral truth or is truth relative depending upon the person and the situation?  Most people in America today believe in relativism.  According to the Barna research group…

• 22% of Americans believe in absolute moral truth
• 32% of those who call themselves “Christians” believe in absolute moral truth
• 9% of Christian teenagers believe in absolute moral truth.

Wow!  This doesn’t leave very many people left in our culture who believe in absolute truth.  Those who do are definitely in the minority.  If you don’t already know this, I stand firmly with the minority.  I believe the word of God is absolute truth.  It is truth for every person, in every situation, at all times, in every culture, throughout the ages. Following God’s word makes life work.  Following the word of God will bless your life.  Following the truth of God’s word protects us as we travel this journey called life.  It is God’s instruction manual for life.

People seem to have this perspective of God’s word that it will restrict their lives if they follow it.  It will limit their fun, handcuff their activities, dampen their excitement, and overall make their life boring.  Unfortunately, this is the lie most people believe.  God’s word doesn’t restrict our lives.  God’s word liberates our lives!  Jesus said that we can know the truth and the truth will set us free.  God’s truth liberates us when it is obeyed!

This week there was a hiker who fell to his death in the Columbia River Gorge.  The man ventured off the trail at Latourell Falls.  The trail starts off as blacktop, then goes to gravel.  There are barriers along the trail and also at the top for people’s protection.  The hiker apparently jumped the barriers and walked 20-30 feet off the trail right to the edge.  This is where he apparently lost his footing and fell 250 to his death on the rocks below.

As tragic as this accident is, it illustrates an important point.  The restrictions that were placed on this path are for the hikers protection.  They allow everyone to enjoy the freedom of hiking in safety in a beautiful environment.  Ignoring the barriers didn’t provide additional freedom.  It lead to some horrible consequences.

God’s word only restricts our lives in a way so that we can experience more freedom.  How many consequences are you dealing with that have resulted from your own poor choices?  These choices didn’t lead you into more freedom, they actually lead you into more bondage.

I know there is no “argument” I can give many of you that will convince you God’s word is true.  I do have an experiment for you to try though.  Will you let God prove to you His word is true?  Will you read God’s word every day for the next 30 days.  Begin in the New Testament.  Read until you find something the word tells you to do.  Without question, follow it that day as best you can.  Do this every day.  At the end of 30 days ask yourself; “Is my life better or worse for following God’s word for 30 days?”  I’m not saying everything will be perfect.  But can you see the benefits of obeying the word of God?  I am so convinced God’s word is true that it can defend itself.  Obedience really does lead to blessing!  See for yourself!

Clinging to the absolute truth of the word of God,

Pastor Dale

No…those are not my feet.  But I must confess, I do love the feeling of that powder white sand and warm Caribbean water beneath my toes.  To me this is just the essence of relaxation, satisfaction, and the removal of stress that is so important at times as we try to pace ourselves in this hectic, frenzied existence we tend to live at.  It’s good to embrace a bit of complacency where you’re just so satisfied at the moment nothing really matters.  Awe…the essence of relaxation!

A bit of relaxed complacency is entirely appropriate for a vacation.  It is NEVER appropriate for the church.  One definition of complacency I discovered this week was simply this: complacency is “satisfaction to a fault”.   Becoming so satisfied with yourself, your condition, your achievements, your progress, that you no longer notice the needs or see the dangers.  The senses get dull.  The reflexes get sluggish.  The passion fades.  Now, we are set up for a fall.  You see, complacency at the wrong time, in the wrong area, and at the wrong place can kill you.

Just yesterday on Tuesday as I was driving home from the office this principal played itself out.  I was waiting to turn into my driveway on hwy 211.  There was a car stopped behind me as well as we were waiting for oncoming traffic to pass by.  As I looked in my rear view mirror, I noticed a third vehicle coming up behind us very fast.  It was obvious he wasn’t watching or paying attention to us being stopped on the highway.  I slammed my truck into drive and hit the gas trying to avoid a multi-car pile up.  As I started to move forward, I now saw billows of white smoke coming from the third vehicle.  You know that look when all four tires are locked up?  He slammed into the car behind me as I moved ahead avoiding impact.  Now, don’t worry.  No one was injured and all are just fine.  BUT, the point is this: If I had been checked out mentally, sitting complacently on the road waiting to turn, I would have been in an accident.  Complacency at the wrong time can kill you.

As the church, we are called to follow Jesus advancing His Kingdom for His glory in this geographic area.  Regardless of our growth, success, blessings, achievements, we must NEVER become complacent.  God has much more for us to do and many more adventures to trust Him for.  There are churches all across this country who have embraced complacency instead of combat for His Kingdom purposes and have died because of it.  We will not become a victim to complacency.  We are going to press on, live by faith, embrace a lifestyle of risk, keep our senses sharp, and trust God for what others think is impossible.

So enjoy your summer.  Find some sand and let it filter between your toes.  Lay on a beach if you like and enjoy that complacent, relaxed, rested feeling.  It’s necessary!  But Fall is coming and the time for our senses to be trained and our vision sharp will soon be here.   Complacency will have to give way to combat for His Kingdom.  God is taking us where we’ve never been.  He is taking us into a land where complacency can get a church killed.  May we all be willing to leave it behind for the sake of the glorious adventure for His Kingdom!

Not even close to being satisfied with what God can do,

Pastor Dale

Ever felt like this?  Who hasn’t.  You try and try only to feel as if you never make progress.  Your wheels are still spinning, your plans haven’t worked, the benefits of your efforts haven’t paid off, and you just feel like banging your head against the wall.  As the frustration and stress mount, you wonder what to do.  It feels like your going backwards instead of forward; getting farther and farther behind instead of getting ahead.  You try to redouble your efforts only to discover your dissatisfaction with life doubled with it.  Sounds like the “American Dream” that most people are chasing after.  Is there something wrong with this picture?

People have been living in a way that doesn’t make much sense since the beginning of time.  God looked at the way the nation of Israel was living and this is what He said.

Haggai 1:5-7  “Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”  This is what the LORD Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways. (NIV)

Let me put this in modern language.  God looks down upon the insane way in which we choose to live and the lifestyles we are so committed to and says, “Hey, how’s that workin’ for you?”  “Do you like working so hard for nothing?  Do you like feeding your life with so much junk you are never satisfied?  Do you enjoy feeling like there are holes in your wallets and bank accounts?  Why don’t you slow down, think about how your living, and realize it doesn’t work!”  Hey people…How’s that workin’ for you?”

If we’re honest, the answer is; “Not very well.”  Instead of “Bang Head Here”, why don’t we try something new and “Turn Our Eyes Here”.  That would be upward by the way.  God has a way for us to live and make decisions that He will bless.  Aren’t you tired of making decisions about life that don’t work?  Why keep investing all that energy in a lifestyle that leaves you so unsatisfied?  It’s time for us to “give careful thought to our ways” and come to the conclusion there needs to be some major changes.  God wants to bless our lives but we need to realign our lives to Him so that His blessing become a reality.  How do we do this?

Beginning July 26th, we’re going to be discovering this together.  For 6 weeks the message series will be called “How’s That Workin’ for You?”   During this time we will discover how to live in a way that God blesses and in a way that truly satisfies.  You no longer need a stress reduction kit.  God will supply you with a life satisfaction kit.  I look forward to seeing you here!

Considering my ways with you,

Pastor Dale