During Halloween you see our cultures fascination with monsters and witches and spirits. I am of the persuasion that these are real but not in the Hollywood mode. The Bible tells us that we are in a fight against the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

The very cool truth is that The Spirit of God often called the "Holy Spirit" is the source of ultimate power and gives victory over evil. Jesus tells the disciples in Acts 1:8 "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you". That power is also available to us. When we accept Jesus Christ as the forgiver of our sins and the leader of our life we receive the Holy Spirit who takes up home in our heart and soul.

We then can rely on His power to change our life. The Bible tells us that when the Spirit directs our life the result is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Wow that is power! THe Holy Spiri does amazing work in us and when that fruit comes from our life it defeats evil everytime.

So this Halloween - consider the most amazing Spirit and invite His power into your life.

This time of year Back to school is on everyones mind. The semi chaos of the summer comes to an end and we begin the busy routine of school schedules. For many reasons this is also a time of year that more people get involved in a church.

In some ways school and church are similiar. School is not an end goal but a means to help prepare us in life. That is also a role of church - just going to church is not the goal, instead being a part of a local church helps us live out the life God has for us. In a church body you can build relationships with other "students" for support and accountability. You also have teachers who don't have all the answers - but they have a heart to share what they have learned with others. Ultimately, life requires that we can't do it alone. God designed us to need one another, to love one another, to serve one another, to learn from one another, and to worship together - all of that is why we go become part of a church.

So as school begins - make this the time to recommit to be a part of a local church. Not to just go when the bell rings - but to be prepared for life.

August is going to have some fun activities to join in as we close out the hot summer

August 1st in the Park
On Saturday August 1st we will join with Hoppin House for a fun filled time at Lakeway City Park.Hoppin House is celebrating their one year birthday with free inflatable rides for the kids.THe Church at Bee Cave will be providing free hot dogs and drinks for a fun day.
Come and join us for a fun time.


Lakeway Swim Center Night August15th, 6:00-8:00 pm
We will have the swim center rented for a fun evening. Everyone is invited to come and join in a relaxing evening at the swim center. Hope to see you there.

Vacations are a great paradox. You cannot wait to get away and do some differnt things than the routine. You look forward to taking your mind off the daily demands and the opporunity to go to some fun places. While you are gone it is often tiring to drive hundreds of miles, stay in hotels, keep up with a travel schedule and keep a family of differnt interests happy.

We definitely fit the model the past week. We ahd a great time going to Port Aransas for a few days, then onto my family in West Texas and back through Schlitterbahn on the way home. That covered alot of bases - great fun, many miles, adventure, too many hotels, family time, too much fast food, away from the routine, glad to be home.

That is the way life is - no matter what our circumstances, life is filled with challenges and demands. The only way to truly expereince peace is to live each day with Jesus. No matter if you are driving to work or driving to the beach - better make sure you have invited Jesus to come with you. Be sure to take Him on your vacation this summer.

We have the priviledge of helping Lake Travis Crisis Ministries serve the needy families in our community by holding a food drive June 22-25. LTCM serves 60+ families a week with food and other resources to help them through challenging times. It is a great ministry with a long track record of helping.

We hope that our efforts will restock the food pantry and help them meet the needs during the summer months. You can drop off food at Lakeway City Park each day from 1:00 to 5:00 PM. You can also come out and help as we work in the park for the City. Join a worthy cause in the heat of the summer. Hope to see you there.

UPDATE: We were able to collect about 35 bags of groceries and $450 to give to the Food Bank. Thank you to everyone who donated!! You can continue to donate to Lake Travis Crisis Ministries, call: 266-9810 for more info.

Let us continue to support this great ministry that serves the community.

Summer is upon us which means big changes for families with kids. Routines change, special travel plans, camps, daily adventures and challenges. Its all a welcome change now.

It also a time for 2 special opportunities in our church. The first is our EXPLORE training on Sunday May 31st and June 7th. THese two weeks we will spend going through training to use the EXPLORE tool. This is a tool that will help you to share what Christianity is abotu with another person. 2 weeks will prepare you to share with people for the rest of your life. Do not miss out on this opportunity.

The second opportunity is our Mission week June 21-25. We will be joined by a group from Ocean Springs Mississippi for the week to help us minister to the community. We will be holding a food drive for the Food Bank, working on the City Park, doing a project for the school and hosting a fun day for young kids from Mission Possible. This will be an exciting week your whole family can be involved in.

This Sunday we will highlight the differnt ways that our church has responded to the call to be on mission. Both in our community and wround the world - God has shown how he can use people who will simply be obedient and go out with a heart to share Jesus with others. In our church we have sent people this year to Thailand, Honduras, Mexico border, Inner Austin, community projects and more.

We hope to establish a DNA in our church of following Jesus into all the world. When you follow He will take you to amazing places to reach people - that is just who He is. That is who we want to be. I pray that God will continue to shape us and keep us on His mission.

Over the weekend the men had a great time at Highland Lakes on our retreat. The theme for the weekend was that to follow Jesus Christ we need each other. We need support and encouragement and accountability. God never intended for us to live life alone - He made us needy of others and designed us for relationships.

Men and women will greatly benefit from having a small group of people they meet with regularly who know waht is going on in their life and can help them stay connected to God. Left alone we will all wander from God - with partners in the Christian life you have a built in support system and you get to help others in thier walk as well.

I am thankful for the men in my life who are there to support and encourge me, and to keep me on track when I stray.

Easter comes every year in the spring. It is the strangest holiday because the date floats around between March and April - its different every year. The one constant is its always on Sunday. Easter was started by the Christian Church as a set day to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is nothing more central to the Christian faith than the fact that Jesus Christ died voluntarily on the cross for your sins and mine - and then was raised from the dead on the third day. That is why we have "Good Friday" (symbolic of the day Jesus died for our sins) and Easter Sunday (symbolic of the 3rd day when He was reurrected from death).

Our Easter holiday is not Holy just because it is on the calender. It is only as Holy as the people who celebrate it do so in spirit and truth. God calls us to live in holiness (right living according to His Word) everyday. Easter today is simply a tool for people to have a designated time for everyone to celebrate and honor Jesus resurrection at the same time.

So use this Easter for what it is intended. Bring a heart that desires to worship Jesus and offer it to Him this Easter.

Over Spring Break 10 people from our curch went to the Border community of Progreso and were able to be a part of building homes, renovating a mission church, distributing books to kids and putting on two large parties free to all comers. It was a great time and God allowed us to make a differnce in people's lives.

We have been going to Progreso for 5 years now and it is amzing to see all that has happened in that time. It is easy to recognize buildings being built and new areas being developed - but the most meaningful part is the relationships we have established over the 5 years. One thing that struck us was a 12 year old boy who a few years ago needed braces and walkers is now able to walk and play. That was a great reminder of God being at work.

May God continue to bless this little town where there is so much need but also such great love .

Have you noticed in your life how God teaches us? My kids go to scholl each day with certain subjects they are supposed to master. They go through a curriculum that is designed to give a knowledge base for a subject over the course of 9 months. They learn to do "long division"(do they still call it that?) when the curriculum says to.

God teaches us a little different. We typically learn our lessons as we face the situations which come up in life. Sickness and disease do not follow a schedule in life. Job losses and bad economies do not follow a schedule in life. Good relationships and relationship problems do not always follow our schedule.

Because of the unpredictability of much of life - God's classroom typically covers the subject of the day or season. We learn about His provision when we dont have. We learn about faith when we can only trust in Him. We learn about consequences after we make a bad choice.

The key is to realize that we are in school and that God is our teacher. We simply can't learn the lessons we need if we do not look to God for the purpose. Sometimes we are surprised to find that God's lesson for us had little to do with the topic we thought was important.

Let em encourage you to view each day as a day to learn form Jesus the Master Teacher. And yes it does include homework.

Sometimes things happen that leave you with a question. I had an occasion yesterday and just wanted to hear your thoughts. Do you ever wonder why things happen the way they do?

Friday after lunch I stopped by the church van to get something from inside. I meant to do it early in the week but never got to it. When I opened the van I realized the auto lock was not working and soon realized that the battery was completely dead in the van. So my quick stop by turned into 3 hours – getting jumper cables, charging the battery till it would finally start, driving to the Auto parts, pulling out the battery, putting in a new one and returning to the trailer to hook it back up. 3 hours and $100 later it was over.

I certainly could have done without that diversion on a Friday afternoon. At the same time how fortunate it was that I discovered it then instead of Sunday morning at 7:30 AM and all the issues at that point.

So should I be frustrated because of the inconvenience or glad because it could have been worse? Did God bring me to the van on Friday to find the dead battery to save me from Sunday morning?

I am not sure. This is a simple example – but there are many examples with much larger stakes that fit this scenario. We face a challenging issue we would rather not – but may eventually find out that something positive was related to it. Have you had this experience? How did you see God’s involvement? What do you think – just curious.

Have a great day (or if not look for a hidden blessing)

The beginning of March marks the time one year ago that 8 families came together with a vision to follow God in starting a new church. We really did not know what we were doing (of course we do now :) ) but our hearts were committed to follow God and He started us on this journey.

Starting a church is like nothing else - it is built on volunteers but our boss demands our total life. You must be willing to sacrifice everything but it will never compare to what our boss has done for us. It is not a job or a club, its not a hobby or a career - instead it is to be your life.

That is the journey we have been on for 12 months. Learning each week how to trust God and join in His kingdom work. God is always at work - we just have to be in a spiritual condition where we can recognize Him and are willing to count the cost of following Him.

After 12 months all we can say is thank you Lord for giving us the opportunity to join with what You are doing. Thank you for your provision. Thank you for your patience! Thank you for all the lessons you have taught us. Thank you for the people you have brought into our lives. We can only imagine what the next 12 months will bring. Here we go!

This past Sunday we looked at the verse John 3:16 and the amazing way that God so loved and loves the world. It reminds us that God loves us no matter who we are, what we have or have not done, no matter our race, age, status, or knowledge. His love is unconditional.

It is hard to fathom that kind of love. But we are the beneficiaries of His boundless love. It is also good to know that God's love does not result in His approval of our life. He loves us so much that when He sees what is wrong in our life - He steers us in the right direction. Sometimes we do not agree and we may argue with God about His direction. But He just continues to love us.

Of course when we recognize how much God loves us - it should spur us to love Him and to love others. I wonder if we shy away from His love sometimes because we do not want to love back or forward? Probably the biggest change God needs to do in our hearts - is to change us into people who are willing to love.

This past Sunday we spent in prayer. In talking to people the last few weeks I have heard over and over how so many people are facing tough issues and trials in their lives. It is not just one thing but people are facing list of issues all at once. Of course trials in our lives are always somewhat relative - a job loss is not as bad as terminal cancer. But trials are still that - they try us and they bring us to the end of ourselves.

Of course God does not want us to wait until we are desperate and defeated to turn to Him. He wants us to bring all things to Him and let Him walk with us through the trial. He does not promise to take all our problems away - but we do not have to go through anything alone or in our own strength.

Phil. 4:6 tells us "Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God" So God says bring it all to me - I want in on all your issues and challenges. Let me show you who I am in all circumstances God is saying. And then He makes this amazing promise: and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

That is a promise to hold onto so take GOd up on HIs offer and go to Him in prayer in all things.

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I have known for many years that God is the God of the whole world - it is a fact about our awesome God. But every so often God reminds me how easy it is for us to be focused on our little peice of the world and lose sight of God's global agenda. His Kingdom is advancing throughout the world.

Last week I was invited to a meeting where they demonstrated a device that is used to bring the Bible to the world in the native voice of each people. Megavoice is solar powered so it never needs batteries and they have 150 different languages that are now recorded either part or the whole Bible. WIth over 60% of the world illiterate it is a crucial tool to spread the Word of God.

So God is now marching around the world with His Word being spread by electronic gadgets in languages we have never heard of!!! God is at work all over the world.

In our church we are reminded of His work as we prepare to go to Progreso on the Texas Mexico border. We are taking a team at Spring Break and will be involved in building houses, renovating a mission church, block parties in the community to share the gospel, and distributing food with the local church. It is amazing to see all that God has done there in the last 5 years we have been involved.

A family from our church left last weekend for Pattya Thailand to distribute Bibles and materials to Chinese tourists. As the Chinese take the Bibles back to China - research has shown that each Bible is read by at least 10 other people. God is at work in a major way in China.

Wherever you look in the world God is at work and people who are trustng Him get to be involved. The Church at Bee Cave is commtted to be a church that trusts God and will be involved in what He is doing both in our community and around the world. What a blessing it is to join with the God of the Whole World.

This time of year in Austin is dreaded by many who suffer from Cedar Fever. My wife is one who gets hit hard by the invisible enemy that blows into town for a couple months and leaves a trail of Kleenex boxes, Allergy pills and many home remedies.

The inivisble force makes people miserable and nothing seems to work that well in countering the effects. The good part is that it blows out eventually and does not come back until next year. As I thought about that I was reminded that this allergy is ugly and menacing but also identifiable. People know when its here, they know some ways to try and counteract it and eventually it does leave.

The bad news is that our culture is under attack from other forces that are less recognized. The cause and effect that is so clear with Cedar - is different than the cause and effect of culture issues like pornography, alcoholism, materialism, obsession with sex, and so many other plagues.

It may be hard to convince an allergy sufferer today - but the reality is that the damaging effects and pain caused of these plagues are much worse and cut much deeper wounds. I pray that we as a community will recognize the reality of cause and effect when we participate in so many of the practices and activities of today's culture. It will not blow away after a couple months - it just takes deeper root in our community the more we let it grow.

May God have mercy on us when we ignore His guidelines for life - and may He stear us to a life that leaves positive effects instead of seeking quick pleasures with lasting scars.

Our community has many attractive features; a wonderful lake, beautiful country side, well kept neighborhoods, magnificent homes, great schools, and a mix of sophistication with laid back Texas. It is easy to brag about this community and be proud about living here. On top of everything else we now have the reigning two time State Champion football team – in Texas it does not get better than that.

There is so much to be thankful for and you cannot help but feel good about the community we live in. But the truth is no matter how good things are – the real test of a community comes in adversity. You find out more about a community when it must face tough challenges and even tragedy.

There is not much worse I can think of on the tragic scale than when a child comes down with a terrible disease or even loses his life. This past week brought this very much to the forefront. Two young boys, two families, two very difficult situations, one community faced with responding to the difficult challenges of life and death.

This weekend I attended two different events that made me proud to be a part of this community. On Friday night there was a fundraiser for Luke Bludau. Luke is in kindergarten at Serene Hills Elementary and was recently diagnosed with cancer. Over the Christmas holidays he was recovering from surgery that removed a tumor from his liver and is now beginning the difficult chemotherapy treatments.

Luke’s family is not only dealing with the emotional trauma of watching their son endure the painful procedures, and the uncertainty of treating cancer – they are also facing large medical bills. The fund raiser held by the owners of the Hoppin House raised several thousand dollars in one night. As I arrived that evening the place was packed. We began finding places for people to park as they continued to arrive. It was an outpouring of support from the community for this family. Even more helpful than the funds may be the sense of care the family received that night from our community.

On Sunday, I was able to witness another outpouring of care and love and support from our community. It was the memorial service for Jarred Bryant who had passed away on Wednesday suddenly and tragically. Jarred was just 11 years old, was loved by many, gifted in many ways and had a very bright future by all estimations. There is no way to answer the “why” satisfactorily, all you can do is grieve with the family and those who loved Jarred, and then celebrate the life he lived.

I did not know Jarred, but those who spoke of him shared a beautiful story of a beautiful child. The service was filled to capacity as the community told the family “you are not alone”. Thank you to all who so wonderfully expressed the love and sorrow and support that the community came to share. I pray that the Bryant family will continue to feel the support of the community and be lifted by it even as they mourn the loss of their son.

There was much to celebrate this weekend as the football team deservedly carried the banner of this community in front of the rest of the world. Looking from the outside – it made a perfect picture of a perfect place. The stories of two young boys and their tragic circumstances would not have been held up as the way we want people to see this community. But from my seat this weekend that is where this community truly shined.

To the family of Jarred we continue to pray for God’s comfort and grace to be upon you. May Jarred continue to live in the lives of all he touched so powerfully.

To the family of Luke we continue to pray for his healing and for strength and grace to face the path ahead. May Luke be a miracle in our midst.

May we continue to strive as a community that places loving God and loving one another above all other pursuits. As that happens God will continue to bless in uncommon ways.

Thank you to the community for your support of these two families!

Every New Year I am reminded that New Years is just a calender event - nothing is really different but a number on the calender. Yet, it always serves the purpose of letting us look out ahead for the next 12 months and reflect on the course of our lives and what lies ahead.

2009 definitely promises to have its share of challenges, with economic, foriegn policy, social and moral issues that seem daunting. The world also seems to be coming into an age of uncertainty. Things we have typically taken for granted will not be able to be counted on by the next generations. The world will continue to change at a dizzying rate, bringing more and more challenges and anxiety to us all.

The amazing truth is that God shines even greater in the midst of our challenges. This means that with every challenge God gives us great opportunities to see what He can do. In fact HE stands ready to show us all that He is the awesome God regardless of the world's issues.

2009 stands as an opportunity to showcase the awesome God. I can't wait to get into this year and be a part of all God wants us to do. The key is for us to focus on what God can do - instead of the all that the world cannot.

Sunday night December 21st our church went to the Galleria Mall to sing Christmas carols and give out goodies and hot cider to passers by. It turned out to be a very cold day - but we soon expereinced the warmth of Jesus in our hearts was more than enough.

As we set up and prepared to sing - it was apparent that not even the very cold weather was keeping people from coming out and visiting Santa and doing last minute shopping. People expected to see all the lights and decorations and signs that said "sale" - but it seemed that people were truly surprised to see a group of people out singing.

Suddenly I realized that we were not just sending musical notes into the air - we were truly bringing the lost message of Christmas to all those at the mall that day. We were in the largest center of commerce in the area and there was not a sign of Jesus Christ anywhere. I am glad that we could sing out into the lives of people that Christmas is really about Jesus.

Even the hot cider and cookies were messages of Jesus as they were given out with a warm greeting of Merry Christmas. The weather is cold and frightful - but the message of Jesus is true and delightful.

Merry Christmas from the Church at Bee Cave!

Sunday night December 21st the Church at Bee Cave will be singing the traditional Christmas songs and reading the Bible passages that tell the story of Jesus birth. I am excited to be able to bring Jesus to the Mall for the Christmas season.

I cannot hide my frustration with the retailers in our country who plan their whole fiscal year around the celebration of Christmas and yet too often they intentionally leave out any mention of what Christmas is. I do not expect a world that denies Jesus to celebrate Him - but to use the season that was made to recognize His birth and try to sustain their business on it without recognizing the reason is unjustifiable.

So I applaud the Galleria Mall for letting us come and bring the traditional message of Christmas - to the people who are out because of the Christmas celebration. We invite you and your freinds and family to join us at 4:30 and 5:15 PM for a time of singing and hearing the Christmas story. You can join us, sing from the crowd or just listen and reflect. We will be serving refreshments following the presentation.

Merry Christmas from the Church at Bee Cave!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it is the only one that has not gone commercial. I am thankful that on the last Thursday in November the focus is on getting together with family and freinds and sharing a meal. You don't have to buy presents, or put up decorations. Instead people truly seem to be able to be thankful.

Christmas and Easter have more meaning to me as a follower of Jesus Christ - as they were established to honor His birth and resurrection. Unfortunately - these two holidays have been taken over by a culture that wants us to buy stuff for the holiday even when we are not supposed to say what it is for. So we now get "Winter Break" and "Spring Break" - but for the sake of commerce we honor something by buying stuff that we can't afford.

So I will continue to try and honor Jesus in the mixed up holidays of Christmas and Easter - but I am thankful for Thanksgiving. Pure and simple a day to give thanks to God for our many blessings.

Once a month we practice what is called the Lord's Supper during the Sunday morning worship time. For some people this is just something you do at church, for others it is a complete mystery , and for some it is a meaningful time of worship. Which is it for you? Or maybe you have no idea what I am referring to.

The Lord's Supper (also called communion) is when Christians eat a peice of bread and drink a cup of juice or wine to help them remeber what Jesus did on the Cross for all people. This is not something that a person came up with - in fact Jesus Himself left instructions for HIs followers to practice this as a way to remember Him.

The Bible records Jesus words in 1 Corinthians: " For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.”

Christians have practiced this for over 2000 years as a way to remember Jesus. The bread symbolizes His life - that He left Heaven and came to earth as a man to walk among us. The wine symbolizes His blood - that He gave His life and died on a cross voluntarily that we may receive forgivenss for our sins and have a right relationship with God.

If you visit a Christian Church and they are practicing the Lord's Supper or communion you will know what is happening. Hopefully it will not be people just going through the motions of a religous ritual - but instead a time for people to have a deep connection with Jesus Christ as we remember the sacrifice He made for each of us.

All churches are supposed to live by faith in God. That means trusting Him for things that only He can do. Right now we are praying for God to open some doors that only He can open. A person in the communtiy told me that they had a heart to have a ministry to people in the construction industry. So we have been praying that God would show us what that should look like. We felt that we should ask the construction suppliers if they would let us do a coffee tent in their parking lot that would let us meet people and begin a dialogue. Right now we are waiting to hear from Lowes and praying that God will oepn a door for us to minister there.

We are also praying that God will open a door for us to share the Christmas story at the mall over the holidays. God is able and will work when we trust Him and pray for His will. I am not sure if He will choose to take us on these paths - but we are praying and trusting Him to lead the way.

Please pray with us and lets see what God will do.

What a great day we had at Highland Lakes encampment on Saturday. We hosted 18 children from the East Austin community in partnership with Mission Possible. The kids were great!! We were blessed to be able to spend the day with them.

We played team games, ate good food, chased each other around the park, and hiked down to the lake. There is just something natural about throwing rocks in the lake - I believe God gave us an innate desire and ability that when we see a body of water we pick up rocks and throw in that direction. Of course when you have 30 something people in an area where several kids are throwing rocks it is not always pretty. But I am excited that these kids got the opportunity to experience something God has wired all kids to do.

God has also wired us to love others. Because of the emotional scars in our lives we often try to suppress this God given desire and ability. But when we live in God's design we are blessed. What a time we had where we could just love others. We all need to have more of those times - in fact God's plan is that we have them everyday.

I want to thank Mission Possible Austin for the tremendous ministry they have. They are the real deal showing a long standing testimony of loving others and meeting needs in Austin. May God continue to bless their minsitry and may God guide the Church at Bee Cave as we partner with them and follow their lead in the days and months ahead.

Starting a new church is truly a unique journey. There are things that it is similiar to but the analogies always break down. Never the less let me suggest a couple. It is like starting family in which you make a strong commitment with your spouse and then hope for healthy kids. A church family is highly committed to God and to one another (like a marriage), and you hope for the opportunity to help people grow up in their relationship with God to be healthy and strong in their faith (like a parent).

It is like starting a Bee Colony. Jesus is the Queen Bee - in charge of the hive and birthing new bees into the hive. But each of the bees have a purpose and role in the hive. They work together beutifully to serve the Queen and as they do the hive flourishes. More importantly as the Bees are about their daily activity - they go out in the world and bring life through pollenation. We are just now seeing the critical role that bees play in the world by helping plant life to flourish which ultimately effects our ecosystem. The church should also be out in the world bringing life to those we interact with and as we fulfill our roles Jesus is served and His church becomes all it should be.

We pray for God to build the Church He wants us to be. We also pray that God will connect us with you and that we can serve you and be a help in your journey with God.