michael sheldon

The Cost of "Free" Will

2011-03-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

Typically, I'm not a very combative person. I am not afraid of conflict when it's in regards to the truth of God and /or his word. However, when I read through Romans, as I am doing now, I feel my heart swell as my feeble mind attempts to wrap itself around the tension between God's love and God's wrath. I'm starting to think that, while I believe in the idea of "free" will, maybe I have placed

Reflection on Isaiah 53

2011-03-07T14:41:00.000-08:00

In meditating on Isaiah 53 this afternoon, I am struck by the revelation that Jesus Christ was not dependent upon politeness and perceptions to gain favor with what would ultimately turn out to be people's fickle appetites. Rather, his appeal was to the person and character of God himself. It makes sense, people-fickle; God-eternal. However, I can't help but wonder, what does it look like for me

I'm a Missionary

2011-02-28T11:38:00.000-08:00

On Friday and Saturday, Darris, and I traveled to Olympia, WA to be with other leaders in our district and to hear from Hugh Halter on what it means to be and what it looks like to be a missional congregation. God used this time to affirm who it is that he made me to be and how I have been ministering. That's always so good!I cannot say that I learned anything new, but God used Hugh to give

Leadership Conference

2011-02-25T13:57:00.000-08:00

So, here I am in Olympia, Washington waiting, anticipating, rather the beginning of what promises to be a great time with other pastors and leaders from the Evangelical Free Church Northwest. In the past we have heard D. A. Carson, David Bryant, and Wayne Grudem - all fantastic men of faith who have had a lasting impact on my spiritual journey. This year however, we are going to hear Hugh Halter,

Church? A Conclusion

2011-02-21T10:00:00.000-08:00

See? The church is a most beautiful thing when it is as God designed. I am blown away by how good God is to include us in this kind of intertwining himself with us. However, when I look at all of the various publications regarding the church, they are nearly all critical, shame-ridden, and are all prescriptive of how to do “church” better. I’m afraid that we have become a bride who is so focused

Church? A New Influence

2011-02-18T10:00:00.000-08:00

I suppose that communicating the church’s essence to the church could be done in the traditional ways of having a sermon series, a class, a small group or Sunday school curriculum, an informational pamphlet, or a dedicated page on the church’s website. However, while those things might expose people to the information and initiate conversation, they might miss the mark in what I would consider

Church? A New Destiny

2011-02-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

Even though we are many, we who are followers are bound into community by one essence. This singular essence is eternal, as it is founded on the eternal God-head and His eternal character. When Jesus proclaims to Simon that the church’s essence would be built upon the eternal person of Jesus Christ it makes sense that Jesus would follow with the reinforcing statement that not even the gates of

Church? A New Dependency

2011-02-16T10:00:00.000-08:00

To look to God the Father as Jesus did, is to live in dependency upon Him. In Daniel Henderson’s book, Fresh Encounters, Daniel says, “At heart, prayer is depending on God. Many of us in today’s high-tech world have a hard time stopping to simply focus on God (page 39).” Henderson proceeds to point to Jesus’ words in John 15:4, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by

Church? A New Power

2011-02-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

Another beautiful reality of being as Christ is the fact that we have been given as a part of our essence the same resources that Jesus had during his earthly ministry. We are given the same Holy Spirit that descended upon Jesus at his baptism. Who led him to the desert and sustained him through forty days of fasting and Satan’s tempting. This same Holy Spirit is the one Jesus promised to send to

Church? A New Face

2011-02-14T10:00:00.000-08:00

In Ephesians 6:10-20 and in 1 Thessalonians 5:8 we are introduced to the idea of putting on the armor of God. As we put this armor on we become physically identifiable as being God’s ambassadors. This clothing or enshrouding ourselves with the character of God brings us under Christ, who is our head (Ephesians 1:22, 23) and through the metaphor of being Christ’s body we see that we are clearly

Church? A New Name

2011-02-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

At one’s first glance, the words “ambassadors of love” conjure up the idea of a job description and would, as a function, be disqualified as being part of the church’s essence. I believe, however, that the idea of being an ambassador of love is more closely tied to the idea or privilege of being named into something. When I was born into my family I was given the name of Michael Sheldon. This

Church? In a Nutshell

2011-02-10T10:03:00.000-08:00

In my observations of the church, we are all, in fact, functioning out of some basic nature. It is this nature or essence that precedes everything the church does. Therefore, we must rediscover the essence of the church in order that it be led away from the shame of flesh and into the beauty of being God’s creation. I believe that it is possible to see ourselves as the beautiful bride that our

Church? An Intro

2011-02-09T10:51:00.000-08:00

One of the most difficult tasks I have ever undertaken is that of looking beyond the function or duty of the local church, past the methodology of ministry, and deeper than the creeds and catechisms of our faith into the nature of what the church is. What are we before we ever do? What is our essential nature as the church? What prompted me to ask these questions was actually an assignment for a

Mexican Food Mentoring

2010-09-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

Me and my good friend, Dusty, both really enjoy authentic Mexican food, so it is not rare for us to meet together and delight in this delicacy. A couple of weeks back, we were at "The Super Burrito" downtown Bend, when all of a sudden, he says, "If you slow down when you eat you will enjoy the food more and need to eat less." Whoah! (initial reaction) He's right (secondary reaction). As I thought

Everyone Should Hear From God

2010-09-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

In discussing how God spoke to Mary and Joseph through an angel, one of my students asked how long it's been since God spoke to anyone. Her experience, as well as many others, is that God has been silent and uninvolved with humanity for thousands of years. There were two great things about her question: 1. her honesty, and 2. her desire to actually hear the answer. I find that we tend to be

Preaching In Big Church

2010-09-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

The title is a misnomer, because, I actually get to preach quite often and I really love it. I thought I would share this particular message with you. Listen if you will. The message is the story of Simon, who would be called Peter, being transformed by his encounter with Jesus. I believe we are all a little like Peter in some way. http://podcast.fbcbend.com/2010/09/15/transformation-peter.aspx

Quick TSG Update

2010-09-16T10:16:00.000-07:00

August and the first half of September have been very difficult months at Teen Small Group. Starting about 6 weeks ago, teens just weren't showing up. I quickly realized that this was an opportunity to encourage the youth staff and for us to learn all together the importance of seeking God in prayer. Although we really wanted the teens to come to our group, that was not the focus of our prayers.

Ex-Girlfriend and America's Got Talent

2010-09-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been watching television and seen someone who looked just like someone from your distant past? I have.Two weeks ago, I was watching America’s Got Talent and saw a girl being electrocuted back to life as a part of the group ArcAttack. During the critique of the performance, I looked at my wife and said, “Sweetie, that sure looks like Kim Freeman.”Debby’s response was, “Holy

September 11, 2001

2010-09-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

On September 11, 2001, I was working for Marriott hotels as their night auditor. Part of my job was to prepare the Asiana Airlines contract for the daily arrivals and departures of the flight crew. Every morning the pilots would come down to the lobby and we would watch the news together. They were particularly interested in the weather. This particular morning was no different, at first. When we

Some Graphics

2010-09-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

My friend and former guitarist has a new band called, Sky Is Falling. Unknown to him, I created these logos for the band. The last two images are a couple of logo/sticker ideas for my dad's quartet, Obadiah and the Old Testaments. I am attempting to build a portfolio of graphics for band merch. Therefore, I am willing to design one logo each for the first five bands who respond to this post.

Singular Vision

2010-09-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

My wife and I just finished watching "The Cross". This is the story of a man who walked a wooden cross across every civilized nation in the world. When we received the film from a friend at church, we were both skeptical. I tend to loathe gimmick ministry, and that was exactly my perception of this story. Oddly enough, as we watched we began to see the tremendous heart of this missionary. What

1963 Gibson SG Special

2010-09-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while something really nice happens to me. This is one of those times. A man, who wishes to remain anonymous, showed up at my office and said that he had something for me in his car. Curious and courteous, I followed. What he pulled out of his trunk was an old tattered guitar case and inside was his grandmother's 1963 Gibson SG Special in the antiqued ivory. While this guitar is

Breaking Point Lyrics

2010-09-06T10:00:00.000-07:00

Breaking Point By Michael Sheldon Tell just one more lie It won't hurt me anymore Than I've already hurt myself Wipe the truth away Send it to some other place Flush it down the drain Bridge: When will I get a chance To prove it's more than happenstance Will I ever turn this around I'm six feet deep in my own shame Buried beneath more of the same Will I ever turn this around Chorus: I'm

The Art of Listening

2010-09-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Growing up with a performance mentality that always has something to prove has once again proven to only lead me down the path of one more thing to learn.This time, I have become aware of how important it is to be a good and genuine listener and how difficult it really is. One example is with the mail carrier who delivers to our church. I love the guy and am really grateful for how he serves us.

August Music Recommendations

2010-09-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Each month I find myself really engrossed in no more than five albums that are in constant rotation everywhere I go. Here are my top five albums for August, 2010. House of Heroes: Suburba (Gotee) Children 18:3: Rain's A Comin' (Tooth and Nail) The Classic Crime: Vegabonds (Tooth and Nail) The Ember Days: Finger Painting EP (Come & Live) Murder By Death: Good Morning, Magpie (Vagrant) There it is

Camping: In The Woods

2010-08-31T10:02:00.000-07:00

Growing up I always really enjoyed camping, and until recently, I could not figure out why I liked camping so much as a child, but I merely tolerate it now. You might ask me a series of questions to get to the bottom of this deep seeded issue. You: Is it the constant wallowing in your own filth? Me: No. You: Is it smelling like the smoke from the camp fire? Me: No. You: Is it the pit toilets? Me:

Punishment

2010-08-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

Early last week, my youngest daughter saw Debby's pearl bracelet sitting out and subsequently determined that the reason that the bracelet was out was so that she could try it on. She tried it on, but as most things are to my daughter, there must have been some other way to wear this bracelet. It most certainly could not have had only one purpose! Therefore, I imagine the bracelet finding its way

Flying Cars

2010-07-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Do you remember the die-cast cars with the opening doors? Remember the dreams that they inspired? My cousin, Chad, and I used to open those doors and suddenly, the cars developed the ability to fly and a whole new world was opened up to us. In our game, the flying cars were “futuristic” and in the afterglow of play, we would dream about the future—which was, to us, always better and brighter

Control Issues

2010-05-26T11:18:00.001-07:00

This week in TSG we are re-telling the story of Jacob wrestling with God. As I sit here reading it now, a thought came to me. In the words of Smee on “Hook”, “It’s as if lightnin’ has struck my brain.” The thought was this, control is a fancy illusion.Jacob thought he was in control, and here he is finally put into his place by God himself. Jacob walked away with a limp, forever reminded of who

Dip, Dip, Dip

2010-05-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

Something really super happened recently at a Teen Small Group meeting. There is a fine young man in our group that started to come to our music program. Basically, I let the neighborhood kids come to our church and jam on our instruments. Anyway, this boy came and the first thing out of his mouth was: “Don’t try to get me to come to church or tell me about your religion. I am an atheist. I’m

The Aftermath

2010-05-11T12:08:00.000-07:00