I Carried You

Probably everyone has seen the poem "Footsteps In The Sand" pinned on the bathroom wall or down the hallway of one of our relative's homes. It's the one about a man who has a vision in which Jesus carries him, unbeknown at the time, through the darkest and most desolate times of his life. It has become almost a household standard in the United States, surely for anyone over 30years of age. But there is something special about it - something that stirs our hearts. It's one thing to be encouraged and challenged by those you love, it is entirely another thing to be lifted and carried through your greatest times of trial. That type of sacrifice resonates in us - even beyond our understanding.

I was just struck by the passage in Matthew 8:14-17 where Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law. The last verse in that section leapt off the page at me. Verse 16 says, "When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. V.17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 'He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.'" The contrast lay in this: Jesus is healing people and driving out demons, as we see throughout the New Testament, but here Matthew interprets Jesus' action through the lenses of Old Testament prophecy as one who carries our diseases. So often we read through Jesus' miraculous acts as if he were only a benevolent dictator, destroying the works of those he hates, and going on about his business of pleasure. But Isaiah paints a different sort of rescue.

Isaiah says that Jesus didn't just remove our burdens, he lifted the burdens from us - AND PLACED THEM ON HIS OWN SHOULDERS.

Once there was a village of people that were forced to leave their beautiful valley and take flight to the mountain peaks above because their land was being flooded with ravaging torrents of rain. Each carried what they must in order to survive on the heights above, less they avoid the floods only to starve on the mountaintops. In short time, however, it became apparent that the journey up the jagged peaks was too much for even the strongest among them. Yet the waters rose ever nearer. One by one they would be swept away in the torrent. To leave their burdens would mean death above, but to carry them would mean death below. When all seemed utterly lost, suddenly one appeared running down the mountain. He had no burden. He leapt past those highest on the peak and made his way down to those nearest the water's tumultuous fury. With tremendous power and skill he lifted their heavy loads and carried the burdens himself - all the while moving the exhausted people up the mountain to a precipice of safety. As the waters rose, he worked ferociously, exhausting ever ounce of his energy in the rescue. In a final selfless act, he heaved the last person over the edge to safety. As he did so, his body - utterly depleted of strength - sank back into the waters and was lost. The people looked at one another in utter and solemn amazement. Not only had he rescued their lives, but he'd made complete provision for them to live, having carried their loads and bringing them all to safety. They all noted that the man himself had left the protection of the heights above to enter their struggle, carry their burdens, and sacrifice his life so that they might now live.

Perhaps our gratitude and affection for Christ would be different if we realized that before he destroyed our sins, he first carried them where we could not. And having nailed them to the cross, he made provision for us through his death - and resurrection, to be forever called sons and daughters of the most high God.

Don't tell anyone!

Matthew 8:1:4 records Jesus healing a man with leprosy. Not an out-of-the ordinary kind of act for Jesus, but this situation is different. After healing the man, Jesus says, "See that you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." I was curious, why would Jesus tell him NOT to tell anyone, but to go to the priest. Perhaps had the man stopped and began to tell others they might have answered him, "Jesus who?! That carpenter... I doubt it" or maybe "yea sure, we'll see how long this lasts." Perhaps the stopping along the way might have hindered the man's own confidence in his experience with Jesus. Perhaps by the time that he had arrived at the priests - the very ones to whom Jesus sent the man to testify - his message and belief would have been stale at best, or maybe bereft entirely of the passion and zeal he'd experienced only a few hours earlier. Then I began to think; 'What thing has Jesus done in me - and who has He commanded me to tell?'

I shudder to think how often I have experienced some incredible sense of His working in my life, bolted out the door, and within a few hours lost the passion of that revelation...defeated by apathetic hearers or my own questions plaguing the truth and reality of what He had done. Worse yet, I have sensed something that was once hot within me, long since squandered on indifferent hearers, that I knew was for a particular people. The pain of realizing there was no zeal or conviction necessary to communicate that truth in the moment it was needed was almost unbearable.

He has done a mighty thing in redeeming us. We now must realize that His ongoing work in our lives is to be the greatest testimony to those for whom we have been sent. Do not think, oh dear heart, that His work in you is for you alone. You have become His living testimony. His very love in you is validated as love because it reaches beyond you to others.

Lord Jesus, help me to revel in awe at what you have done in me, and help me to then carry that directly to those for whom you designed my witness should be given, that they too may come a saving knowledge and worship the living God.

The Great Crisis of Christianity In Us...

The great crisis that Christianity produces in us is not usually when we're presented with our own death. The indomitability of pride and our human will to survive constitutes enough for us to sacrifice our own lives for something we hold to be true. That is the case of many belief systems and ideologies. A Kamikaze pilot, Islamic extremist or death bomber all hold the same commitment to die for their beliefs. The great crisis that Christianity produces within us is that our obedience may require sacrifice in the lives of those around us. It is one thing to die for what you believe in, it is entirely another to watch the ones you love suffer torture, disdain, mockery and death for what you hold to be true.

This crisis produces a tremendous tension between what we want to believe is true about God, and the capacity we have to respond to that truth - and - rescue the lives of those we love in that process. This is where a dissonance between the intellectual ascension of ideas and the allegiance to a person begins. We must realize that every Scripture and Biblical admonishment we received is on a continuum of understanding. Philosophy, ideology and intellectual ascension stand at one end of the continuum - where man's ability to theorize and assimilate information allows him to remain above circumstance and ultimately to have the last word. On the other end is a personhood - God, an infinite and self-sustained deity who holds all things in His sovereignty, who understands with simplicity those things which man deems mystery, and who ultimately has the last word in all things. On every issue, we filter our beliefs and interpretations somewhere along that continuum.

If we arrive nearer the end of man's intellect, then in a crisis saving the lives of those around us will trump our personal obedience to God on the rationalization that He knows our truest intent is to serve him and that rescuing lives is something that even He would have the grace for us to do. In fact, since He is a gracious God he will forgive and understand our trouble in compromising personal declaration for the chance to intervene in the destruction of another's life. Beware. When our will to save lives stands above our obedience to Him who created and gives life, we are in grave danger.

If, however, our reception of Biblical truths finds its understanding at the opposite end of the continuum, where He - the personhood of God - sovereignly reigns, exercising His will and having the the last word, then our response will be different. Until we understand that the consequences of our obedience lies in His hands, we will continue to try and intervene and run damage control in other peoples lives.

True Christianity will produce a powerfully destructive force in our own lives, until we understand it rightly. This IS the great joy and triumphant freedom, coupled with the gruesome end of our flesh that we face in surrender to Jesus Christ. For He who alone who can produce right standing in us first requires total surrender from us - even when others are drawn into our own perilous circumstances.

Imagine the Apostle John in the first century church, last of the twelve of the inner circle with Jesus. He's now talking to young men, women and children that are daily faced with circumstances where their faith could demand their lives. Imagine him turning to young men and saying, "Listen, if you are arrested and put on trial for your faith, make sure that the authorities believe that it is only you who are a Christian...your wife and children do not know about your secret Christian beliefs, and you have deceived them. In this way, they too will not be thrown to the lions."

Contrast the above with endless stories of saints who have been at deaths door, their own families drawn into their peril on behalf of their own faith. At the end of their defense and moments before torture or death, a father unapologetically and with great compassion looks to his son, a mother to her little girl, "No matter what - stand strong! Jesus is with us - He'll never let us go! If we do not deny Him, He will not deny us". The trigger is pulled. The blade is dropped. The lions are loosed. And the One name that is above every name, is as much glorified in the lives of the ones who suffered on another's account as it is on the one who testified.

Let us not become amateur deities in the lives of other people. Let us not look upon their peril as a condition for our obedience to HE who alone gives life. Instead, let us fix our gaze steadily before us and have such resolution by His Spirit that He is worthy no matter the cost. For we reckon that HE who demands life can raise it again. For when the fear of death is defeated within us, then no more remains to dissuade us from our unwavering obedience to Him.

All glory be forever to Jesus Christ, Amen.

Despair or hope; what do you see?

I had the privilege of a long talk with a good friend yesterday morning at Olivers delicatessen. Our conversation ranged across many topics, not the least being the recent political struggle for senate office in Colorado. A host of predictions and possible forecast about our country's future ensued, some positive and others not so positive.

As I drove home I began to think out loud before the Lord, and specifically about how easy it is to become disheartened at times with the political maze of injustice, squandering and manipulation. I then felt the Lord impress on my heart:

JOE, MEN HAVE DESPAIRED IN EVERY GENERATION. MEN HAVE ALSO HELD UNSWERVINGLY TO HOPE IN EVERY GENERATION. THE DIFFERENCE IS WHERE THEY'VE PLACED THEIR TRUST. Immediately Psalms 147:11 blazed in my mind, "The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love."

Those who fear Him, i.e. consider Him with awe, wonder and in submission in all their decisions - those find a special place in His delight. Furthermore, their hope is in His unfailing love; there is no power - even unto death - which can withstand the power of Love. It is mighty, it dispels darkness, it causes the weakest to become the strongest warriors and invigorates the strongest to live, and if necessary die, for a cause far greater than themselves.

My wife and I were also reading from The Lord of the Rings trilogy last night... There is a solemn part early in the The Fellowship of the Ring when Frodo (our young and unlikely hero) realizes that he must bear the responsibility to destroy the evil ring of power and save the world of Middle-Earth from the ugly aggression of Sauron. He turns to his elder counselor and companion in Gandalf and says, "I wish that it need not have happened in my time". Gandalf responds, "So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

Later in the book, Frodo reaches a safe place - at least for a time - and a great counsel of revered leaders has convened to discuss what must now be done with the ring of power. Finally a resolution is reached to destroy the ring, but it must be done in the mountain of fire from whence it first came - a perilous and almost certain destruction for those upon whom the task is laid. One of the leaders remarks that the plan is most assuredly one of despair. Galdalf, the old wise one, again speaks. "Despair or folly? It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not. It is wisdom to recognize necessity when all other courses have been weighed, though as folly it may appear to those who cling to false hope."

Once again my mind turned to the many generations of upright and brave people who have face perilous times in history. I thought of the million man invasion on the shores of Normandy in WWII... every one of those men having a family - a mom and dad, possibly brothers and sisters, or a wife and children of their own. All sent on the hope of defeating Nazi Germany and ridding the world of the evil power that existed there. I thought of sons and daughters, young men, fathers, farms, livestock...homes and all that was risked in America's Civil War for the hope of bringing the dreaded practice of slavery to an end in these United States. I thought of the many families that loaded their lives into tiny boats on European shores to cross uncharted seas and face a harsh new world of perils, all for the hope of beginning a new life, free to worship and conduct their themselves in way that reflected the values that they'd come to share. I even thought back to a group of men in Jerusalem whose dreams and lives had been given birth to and then suddenly destroyed through the body of a young itinerate preacher. A few short days later there was a knock at their door and a couple of women told them that all of their hope had not been in vain, in fact their hope lived!

Then I thought back to the circumstances that surround us now in this generation. And though at times I feel like Frodo, wishing that many of these times had not come to us... I remember Galdalf's words, and realize that though to others our hope may seem as folly, and though we do not know the immediate outcome of every battle we'll face, this one thing we know; our hope is in His unfailing love. The very reason that His love is "unfailing" is because it has never failed. It cannot be defeated. Our hope is sure.

We may see unclearly now (I COR 13), but He is working all things together for the glorious end, and thereby beginning, a world made new - deplete of evil powers that roam and raze the good place that He once created. Let us then stand, in every circumstance and precipice to which we have been called to stand in this - and every generation - for the great glory and hope that is in Christ Jesus. For to this, we have been called.

Faith...Phew, It Worked Again.

I have come realize that faith, in the end, is entrusting yourself to the character of God.

For many years I have been taught and heard and yearned to be a man of faith and walk in it as one approved by God. I have studied and prayed and continually asked for more faith, and while seeking to exercise it, have often been disappointed.

It seems that there is some mystery between asking what I think is of God, and hoping that He actually intends to answer my request. After enough disappointments and seemingly unreturned or unheard request...I often feel my faith is more like a stubbed toe on furniture in the dark than a clarion call as a Patriarch of Christianity.

If you've ever gotten up to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water in the middle of the night, then you know what I'm talking about. Somehow the inanimate furniture seems to have crept across your path and is waiting, bated with evil intent as you come clumsily along in the dark down a path that is seemingly well known. The next step is fatal - ouch! You run headlong into the coffee table, the corner of the dresser, or heaven forbid the doorjamb. Suddenly that which you thought you knew all too well comes to a startlingly painful end.

Remember the time after that time when you got out of bed in the middle of the night? Every step was painfully slow, every move calculated, muscles tense and aware of even the slightest shadow that may indicate a deadly blow to your toes. After a journey that usually takes fifteen seconds has now take forty-five, you finally reach the bathroom, flip on the switch and deeply exhale a well-earned breath of relief. You wiggle your toes and snicker just a little. All's well, no damage done, you've beaten the odds.

That is how my faith has often seemed for years. I set out to do what I believe is the path along His will. A route I presume all too simple and familiar - at least that's how it sounded in Sunday School and the other books I've read. Somewhere along the way I find an obstacle - a pitfall, a relationship, a conversation, something that says I've gotten it all wrong, and my belief suddenly feels train-wrecked against the iron circumstance at hand. Or if otherwise, having seen my request answered, I take deep breath of relief and let out a sigh...phew it worked that time.

I've been wrong.

Faith is not a matter of exercising enough sheer willpower to move things in the spiritual realm. Faith is yielded obedience to the character of God. I cannot trust hard enough. I cannot muster enough belief to bring about change. I cannot grit my teeth and slug my way to success. Oswald Chamber says of the human will in My Utmost For His Highest, "The preaching of today tends to point out a person's strength of will... The statement that we so often hear, 'Make a decision for Jesus Christ', places the emphasis on something our Lord never trusted. He never asks us to decide for Him, but to yield to Him." And what yielding to Him really means is yielding to His character.

God is not the finicky spiritual being we sometimes make him out to be. We imagine him totally unpredictable like a little child happily playing one moment and throwing a tantrum the next. Are we really to believe that the same God who set planets in motion so perfectly that we can predict their exact location a thousand years from now, is not so perfectly calculated when it comes to matters of responding to His own children?

Faith is confidence in the character of God. The more that we know God, the more that we ask of Him according to His character. The less we know of Him, the more our faith looks like stumbling around furniture in the dark - it's only a matter of time before we're severely disappointed. And the devastating outcome of that experience is that we move away from God in our hearts. Then, because we do not understand, we rationalize our experience and say something spiritual like, "well, God just moves in mysterious ways". No, there are reasons. There are always reasons. Our digress lies in one of two things; we do not know His character, or other circumstances are at play. But we must never allow ourselves to arrive at the conclusion that God is ultimately unpredictable, incongruent or otherwise temperamental in His ways. In fact He says that He has exalted His word (the consistent integrity of His creative power being released) even above His name. And those are the most predictable things in all of creation.

All of us have been met with disappointments in our faith, and usually our reasoning leads us to believe that we simply didn't have enough faith to begin with. But the emphasis is all wrong; while we're looking to amass a greater degree of willpower, He's beckoning us to meditate on the steady unchangingness of His character. While we cannot choose to mandate His ways or even understand - at times - the temporal outcomes, this we know; there is no one more pure, just, wise or good than He. In fact these are merely attributes that we're humanly acquainted with and then elevate them to the N'th degree and call them God. It is not true. He is wholly other and beyond even what those words can ascribe to Him.

Even when I do not fully understand - or even have the strength in my own mind or body to do something - I can still choose to yield to Him. And faith is yielded obedience to the character of God - even when we cannot understand His ways.

Lord Jesus, help me be renewed in the knowledge of my Creator - in His character and trusting in His wisdom and goodness. I want to walk in yielded obedience to you. Help me to know and obey you and to share in the sweet intimacy of laboring with you in your kingdom.

Can't Help But Say So...

Precious Lord Jesus, sometimes I wish to live out in experience what only my heart can describe, and at other time my heart yearns to describe what only I can live out in experience... but here goes... 

Praise be to the Almighty Maker of Heaven and earth! There is none like You! 

Robed in splendor and majesty, high above every name - every power, every circumstance - every thought - You are God. You make public spectacles of Your enemies, while lifting the head of the widow, the fatherless, even the adulterer. You are not in king's palaces, but in the hearts of kings that fear You; You make yourself known to the hungry, the thirsty, the impoverished. And while You love so much that You - for a time - allow the grievious consequences of True-Love's free will to be experienced here on earth, still constantly reveal Your mighty arm on behalf of those who fear you - and their children never lack bread.

You are returning and will gather Your bride to Yourself, even as she has longed for your appearing. Arrayed in light, heat, glory and fire, and with eyes like limpid pools of living love. Hands that worked, labored for a time in a natural father's house, but that labor for eternity -unto rest - in Your Heavenly Father's house. Robe dipped in blood, an olive branch at your side, fury and compassion interwoven into a single man of righteousness that rises with healing in His wings. 

A final gathering - of shepherds, adulterers, doctors, pilots, priest and peasants, business men and moms - the throngs gather in unending satisfaction, in captivated gaze on the One who alone is victorious...not in imagination, not in teaching, not in fairy tale worlds, not in coffee-shop conversations, not dimly or through a veil - REAL, right here, right now, present, He stands before you - the One who was and is and is to come! And all Heaven, all hell, all of creation, in awe, bow their knee for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Lamb that was slain and has received the reward of His sufferings...for HE alone is worthy. 

Farwell DLA Class of 2009

My Beloved DLA tribe,

I can hardly believe we've blasted through eight months already. It seems like only yesterday we were sitting in orientation looking at one another as awkwardly as couple of high school kids on a first date. All of those thoughts and questions... all of us wondering if we really were going to become the incredible friends that we each hoped we would. Somehow we hit a time warp along about the second week, and popped out the other side eight months later... but with a wealth of friendships and memories that usually take years to accomplish. Like the Chronicles of Narnia, one minute we're just ordinary people sitting on a bench in a train station, and few moments later we're swept into the most incredible adventure of our lives. In that place we've learned to love, to trust, to hope, to have courage, to believe in what we never thought was possible before. Now, back on the train bench and back into our daily lives, we look very much the same on the outside, but something entirely different is true on the inside. We're not ordinary. You're not ordinary. You've become kings and queens, rulers and servants, and maybe most of all - a band of brothers and sisters willing to do anything for one another in a dark and dangerous world. As we pass this season to the next I pray that you all remember three key things.

First, your reward is and always will be Jesus. No experience or event or relationship can compete with the intimacy in Jesus that you have come to know. That alone is the greatest currency and residual you can ever carry from this place. It is the only thing that will ...go anywhere, do anything, and pay any price...with you for the rest of your life. Never betray it. Never underestimate it. Never grow weary in your pursuit of it. Jesus. That is the summation of what you came for. Let not your journey here ever be in vain. Jesus obsessively - THAT is the vision. There is no other.

Second, value and respect the shared experiences of your fellow sojourners. Tell the stories often. Remember to remember. Memories in your mind become like legends and fables that transcend the intellect and take you back to the place of heart - where the deepest truths in you are held, determined and lived out. These in turn become traditions and a sort of life-liturgy that begins to form the contours of your belief systems and values for community, mission and the body of believers.

Third, love beyond all recognition. All the leadership principles in the world are useless without love. The apostle Paul says in I Cor 13 that if you can't look into the eyes of the very ones burning you at the stake and have genuine love for them, then you've missed the point of the Gospel. Leadership isn't about taking over, it's about using the influence you have on loan to transport the heritage of Jesus ministry to the next generation. Whether leading in the office, the church, or the home, remember that the most valuable commodity any leader can possess is love. It is the fuel for living. It is the cause for dying. it is the ultimate reward of serving the ONE whose name is Love.

I would like to say to Jana Philbrick - keep pressing in; what He has begun in you He will carry into completion, never doubt it... to Morgan Clark - believe that you really are who you've dared to believe you are this year; a man of courage and might - a man that loves extravagantly with no reserve... to Carter Moore - bro the same way that you take snapshots of people's lives, the Lord is taking snapshots of your life! He is crazy about you, your picture is posted all over His fridge, He is proud of what you have become and insatiably excited about who you're going to be...Alana Settle - you are a breath of refreshment; your greatest contribution is not in what you do, but like a wild flower - in who you are; your inner beauty is a delight that causes all who pass by to pause for a moment and see a piece of their God in you, His creation... to Kenneth Gracia - never let anyone talk you away from a cliff, to stay IN the airplane, at the bottom of a mountain, to settle for less - you live on the edge, you were designed to live on the edge, it is His preference in and for you; enjoy taking life to the extreme - you'll probably experience God most there...CJ Hock - every once in a while God breathes energy and life into a being in double portions, that is surely you! May the passion and zeal for living that you possess always take you where others have not the strength to tread, you are one of a kind...Jessica Bowles - may what you most earnestly desire and what He has planned for you become inextricably one; may you truly seek first His kingdom and see all other things added to your life...Jessica Seigler - had the South won the civil war, I would have been first in line to hear the sweet Southern accents in these Norther parts :) You light up a room by your presence, wit and gracious candor; I could wish for twenty more just like you, but there will always be just one Jess Seigler... Megan Cox - if fervency and joy are a recipe of Heaven, they you must be it. You are one of the most encouraging and life-giving people I've known...Kacee Saxe - may the wisdom and preponderance that you possess lead you deeper and deeper into the mysteries of God. You're intellect and desire for truth are a gift of God that He has given you for that very purpose; enjoy the greatest journey ever known in to the depths of the Unknown... Sean Shepherd - your steadiness and integrity are telling; one could accurately project that thirty years from now you will be loving God, loving people, and changing the world, no doubt about it...Megan Kallenback - overcomer; there is hardly a better word to describe. It is not the great heights that men accomplish externally that are most impressive, but the greatness of the wars won inside - that I believe will be most noteworthy on That day...Chad Prytula - it is your humility, not your strength, that is most impressive; may every venture find you being exalted by our Father in Heaven as you continue to be the incredible servant leader that you are... Joshua McGinely - you are a man of wisdom and steadfast patience; tempered men often accomplish more in their focus than ten others in their untrained zeal. You will conquer mountains, being undaunted, one step at a time...Brandon Smith - no height, no depth, no distance is beyond the vigor and passion He has put in you to reach. May your gentle spirit and zest for life lead you from the forgotten paupers of the third world to the palaces of Kings, and may favor be granted wherever you put your hand to succeed...Jacob Wheeler - may the dedication and excellence you have garnered thrust you into realms of leadership and responsibility that are prepared for you; stay the course, never give up taken ground...Jennifer Bell - if joy and laughter could be bottled and sold, every one in DLA would be millionaires! Your love of life is a gift beyond measure; it is not to be squandered or mistaken, but employed to love the hurting, the forgotten, the lost, and the very ones around you that need you most. You are a pillar in this community...Ryann Miller - may the melodies and harmonies of tune be indistinguishably woven into the heart-cry's and passions of our Savior. What you possess in music and worship is only a foreshadowing of what is yet to come in adoration at the Throne; use it well to speed the day of His return...Abigale Dean - with child-like simplicity of heart and compassion for people, I pray that you are continually ushered into the presence of our King as surely as literal children were of His day; you are precious, let the image of being His daughter remain the untarnished truth of your life... Jaylynn Widmark - like Joseph in Potiphar's house, while you still serve in yet unknown places, may our God train you in all wisdom and truth that you might one day rule as one approved unto God for purposes that only His heart can unfold... Nicholas Burgess - may no giant, no storm, no foe, no philosophy or intellectual ascension ever steal from you the raw fervor of spiritual things that you posses. May He continually bear fruit in you unto eternity, may you, like Peter, walk on water when all others stay in the boat...Leah Shaw - you are a beautiful jewel, made to reflect and adorn all others around you with joy and life; wherever you are, there is a greater degree of love and happiness in that place...Jacob Nash - you are ready in season and out of season for whatever comes your way; you seize opportunities that many others may miss because of your willingness and preparation. You are a model of ready anticipation...Aaron Gambrell - let love and faithfulness never leave you; you are a loyal friend and willing ally; may your journey be littered with friendships that are as committed as you are...Hailey Miller - you are a women of wisdom and skill; I pray that the dreams and passions of your heart are fulfilled in His timing and way. Love fiercely and never deter from His plans for your life...Melissa Zackman - may the strength and commitment to principles you possess always be used for the glory of the our Lord; may He continually place you like a guidepost for all who cross your path...Abree Manton - women of valor and zeal; you have such joy and consistency; may you lead many and be yourself led to heights unimaginable...Kinzli Schroeder - you are a vast treasure of unknown strength and beauty; may the Lord continually lead and unveil you before many people as His chosen one in whom He takes great delight...Jessica Teske - you are full of life and vigor; I have no doubt that wherever the Lord leads you, you will take ground for His kingdom; remember who you are, remember the authority that resides in you, never shrink from the battle line, the battle is not yours...Charity Luce - you have wisdom and posture beyond your years; you are a women of great patience and faithfulness; you have served when no one was looking, or maybe you thought no one was looking :) You are a rare and significant treasure, a pioneer or sorts, paving the way for many others to follow... Sarah Hanback - you awe your Creator; he delights greatly in you as the apple of His eye; for those around you, you are strength, commitment, excellence, and a safe place to be loved and listened to... Jeremy Dare - you earnestly desire to accomplish great things for the Lord; remember that you are a prince and a king in His court; serve from that place, not out of obligation or duty, but out of delight and the pleasure of co-creating with your King... Andrea Davis - you have the zeal of ten women, and the raw determination to accomplish whatever task is before you; be faithful and enjoy the incredible joy of partnering with Him for your life's purpose... Josiah Carlson - it is not great men before an ordinary God, but ordinary men before a great God that change the world; may your view of God continually increase beyond your own imagination and may you serve mightily in all the works of your hands... Alyssa Rose - true to your name, you are a rose; one which gives off the aroma of Jesus in all seasons and places; allow Him to continually build in you the power of child-like faith, faith that will move mountains and cause giants to tremble before you... Kylie Erwin - you are so full of life; I pray that the joy and timing of all that the Lord has for you will find its perfect fulfillment in you; trust that all of His purposes will be fulfilled in you in this generation...

To the CORE, Kelly Edgett - may the skills and willingness that you possess allow you to serve in measures you never dreamed of; you are a delight to lean on and trust with as a faithful steward...Kristina Trent - like a sister and a daughter to me, you have grown so much over the past two years; you have served faithfully, loved extravagantly and risked to become who you are today, I am so proud of you...J.D. Small - a mighty warrior my friend; the sky is the limit of what will be done through you in this generation; I pray that ministry never becomes a burden, but always a delight as you pursue and fulfill God's utmost for you; I love our friendship...Joel Newby - bro, you are a diamond in the rough; this year has been one of a great uncovering for you as you've begun to lead and take the steps to risk and become all that God has designed you to become... Tyler Griffith - you are a man's man, simply being around you causes men to be men :) You are faithful, steadfast, humble, willing, a servant, full of courage, willing to sacrifice and a man of immeasurable strength. It is a privilege to journey with a man such as yourself, really...Benjamin Martinez - you have been heavily gifted with so many talents its hard to know where to start; in the end, as at the beginning, I pray that you are more aware of your incredible capacity to love people than anything else; you have been given a tremendous gift to lead; I pray that no matter where or how, we have many many years together...Jimmy Jones - an unknown hero, and I'm convinced one of DLA's best kept secrets! :) You have overcome so much, led from a place of humility and patience, and been willing to take a lower job even though you may be qualified for a much higher one; I respect you greatly and am so very proud of you... John Mark Lohner - you are man of tremendous compassion; may our great God use you mightily to display His glory around the world, and may many people from yet unknown tongues call on His name because of your life...Brandon Kelly - You have loved unapologetically and with great care; I am excited to see you spread your wings and risk to see perhaps what magnificent things the Lord will do through you...Aaron Thomas - you are a rock; men with wisdom, humility and integrity like you are incredibly few and far between, I'd trust you with my life... Jamie Dunham - with patience and poise you have led and loved well this year; there is no limit to the number of children you will love; I think 20 is waaay to little :) There will be many who line up behind you on THAT day that will tell of your great love and compassion for them; may it be so... Jessica Reitveld - friend you are a pastor of leaders; I pray that the wholeness of what God has put in you would come to fruition, that you would know fully who you are and the purposes that He has for you; may many leaders come under your care... Sarah Schroeder - I believe you barely know the tip of what He has put in you! You are a queen and princess to your Heavenly father and He has plans for you as such; I am so proud of what you have become and are becoming...

To the ATeam... Jonathan Miller - we're just getting started; may the wisdom and willingness you have grant you a place before Kings; you win... Taylor Brooke-Donaldson - you are one of the most steady and reliable people that I know, truly an unsung hero; I could not have done this year without you...Bethany Diehl - your laughter and joy are contagious; you have been an inspiration and model for so many people these past two years, and the best days are ahead! Remember who you are... Benjamin Johnson - you have the heart of a lion and the loyalty of King; wherever you turn I am confident you will succeed; may His strength and joy be your unending delight.

To the staff of DLA... Amy Perkins - I don't know that I have seen someone spin as many plates as you do without dropping any of them! You are amazing. I appreciate your honesty and willingness to have open discussion; I have much respect for you and look forward to leading together in the years ahead. Thank you for all that has gone noticed, and the many many more things that no one has seen. You truly are incredible. Daniel Well - Geeza, you have been a breath of fresh air and at times a life boat; thank you for your wisdom, temperance, and incredible ability to bring things to cool place when they have been at a simmer. I respect you immensely and pray that God continues to open every door for you and the dreams that He's put inside of you. I love working together. Yo-yo - brotha you are one incredibly gifted and talented man! I have sooo loved your incredible heart and passion for this ministry and in how you have served. I am so grateful for God's goodness in bringing you to Colorado. Love you like crazy. Michelle Vette - you are a tremendous well of wisdom and spiritual discernment; I know that those who sit under your leadership will walk away having experienced more of wisdom, and much more of Jesus. It has been a privilege to serve with you these past two years! Phil and Bonnie - you are the best parents a tribe could have! We love you all dearly! Justin - thanks for making happen with one man what should take eight men; you are incredibly impressive my friend, I look forward to all of time the Lord allows us to journey together.

To our leadership in Dan, Dave and Renata - thanks for your vision, your patience, and your commitment to fulfilling the mandate on your lives from God. You have been faithful where so many others have fallen away, you are examples to the rest of us and pillars in the Body.

To my beloved wife of almost one year... you truly are my best friend, partner in ministry, and greatest dream ever come true! I love you beyond what words can express... our journey begins!

DLA, I love you, I am proud of you, I am so excited to have started a journey with you that will continue until the day of our Lord's return. Until then, remember... If you love God and you love people, you can knit socks and change the world!