Owner: Seeking URL:http://joshuajamesolsen.blogspot.com Join Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 14:34:52 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Joshua Olsen is the Lead Pastor at Tapestry, an emerging church in Seattle, Washington. Site statistics:Click here
Virginia Tech: Tonight We Pray. 2007-04-17 06:24:00 My heart breaks tonight for the families of those who lost their lives at Virginia
Tech this morning http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266421,00.html . Thirty-plus people killed in a senseless act of violence. I have no doubt that there are many people asking questions tonight about the love of God, or what may seem like the lack there of. Tonight
my prayers are for them. The moms, dads, brothers, sister, husbands, wives, and friends of those who lost their lives.I pray that those touched by this horrible act of volitional sin, will find safe harbor beneath the wings of a God who truly loves them. That the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard their hearts and minds. May they experience the comfort that can only come from the God who knows the pain of loosing a son.Folks, for all of you who read this blog, lets not forget to pray! Don’t be one of those who turn off the T.V. and forget.We’ll talk more about today’s events in the days to come, but tonight we p Read more:Virginia Tech
VirginiaTech: Victims Photos 2007-04-19 07:31:00 At the link below you'll find photos of all but one of the Virgina Tech victims. I don't post this to be crude, but because it made it very real to me tonight. It's so easy to write off faces we see on the T.V. as someone elses loved one, but these photos made it seem closer to home some how. Each photo has a link to a personal bio of each victim. Stop for a moment and read a few of the bios. http://www.nytimes.com/ref/us/20070418_VICTIMS_GRAPHIC.html
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Supreme Court Upholds Partial Birth Abortion Ban 2007-04-19 07:08:00 I don't often express my political views, but here is one I have no problem rejoicing over. Today the SupremeCourt
upheld the ban on partial birth abortion. Two days ago we lost 32 people to a cold blooded killer, a tragedy not soon forgotten. Yet every day hundreds if not thousands of innocent lives are taken through abortion procedures, with no fan fair. We've lost to may lives this week, this decision saved lives. Read the full article at the link below. "WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court
's conservative majority handed anti-abortion forces a major victory Wednesday in a decision that bans a controversial abortion procedure and set the stage for further restrictions.""For the first time since the court established a woman's right to an abortion in 1973, the justices upheld a nationwide ban on a specific abortion method, labeled partial-birth abortion by its opponents." http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070418/D8OJ7CL00.html
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Eight Bucks to Drive in NYC 2007-04-21 09:02:00 Thought this was interesting. Check out the video and tell me what you think. It's an interesting problem. http://wcbstv.com/video/?id=98806@wcbs.dayport.com
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Only in America 2007-04-23 06:27:00 Can you imagine a world where the Govoner of New York State has to ask permission to have access to a no talent, nobody, wannabe singer? I can. Last nights White House Correspondents Dinner reached new lows. Click the link and read for yourself. Only in America
could this nonsense be real. Something is truly, and fully wrong with this picture!"Sanjaya Malakar, the shy, slender, 17-year-old "American Idol" reject, was at his table when a tall, middle-aged man stopped by to ask for an autograph. The boy's hosts, from People magazine, tried to shoo him away. "We are trying to let him eat," they explained.The man protested: "But I'm the governor of New York."read the article here http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/22/AR2007042200353.html
Slavery In America 2007-04-27 18:09:00 Did you know that there are around 27 million people in slavery today? Many of those people are right here in the united states. Human trafficking is something that has been heavy on my heart for quite some time now, and I believe it is something heavy on the heart of our saviour. When we think of human slavery, it's easy to dismiss it as a problem only in the third world, but some experts are saying there could be as many as 2 Million people in slavery in the united states. Most of these people are young women who are forced into the sex trade and 50% are children. My heart breaks over this issue, and I hope you'll take a moment to read the article and take a look at the video I've attached. I, along with Tapestry (the church I pastor), will be getting heavily involved in this matter and I would encourage you to pray about what you can do.Short Documentary: http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/Trailer01.aspxTrailer (Not for sale Campaign): http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/Tr Read more:Slavery
, America
Today I write all of you from the airport somewher... 2007-04-25 20:30:00 Today I write all of you from the airport
somewhere near Saint Paul, Minn. It’s been a crazy week. I got home from a three day engagement Saturday night and had just enough time to kiss my wife, get in a fight with her, make up, get some sleep and stop by the office. I flew out early this morning (Monday). I’m on my way to meet with a group of church planters from around the country who are affiliated with the Conservative Baptist Association. We’re meeting at a conference in Orlando. Tough life I know. You may be wondering why I would have anything to do with an association/denomination of churches, since I generally want nothing to do with them, but this situation is a little different.My dad is the director of church planting for the Rocky Mountain Conservative Baptist Association, based out of Denver Colorado. Although my dad and I are separated by at least one cultural generation, we have some similar views on the role of the church, as well as, similar views on what we beli Read more:Today
The New Bible 2007-05-02 06:45:00 Loved ones, things are a change'n. Are we ready? California Hotels Go Green With Low-Flow Toilets, Solar LightsBy Ari Levy and Carole ZimmerApril 27 (Bloomberg) -- Visitors to the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa won't find the Gideon Bible in the nightstand drawer. Instead, on the bureau will be a copy of ``An Inconvenient Truth,'' former Vice President Al Gore's book about global warming. Read the rest of the story here. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20670001&refer=us&sid=afIESX3LdgnQ
A New Discussion 2007-05-04 00:32:00 I’ve been around church planting my entire life. My grandfather was a church planter, my dad is a church planter, my uncle trains church planters, and I’m planting now for the second time. The men in my family are directly responsible for planting literally hundreds of churches worldwide, and I’ve personally watched my father plant numerous churches during my lifetime, all of which are still going strong, and most of which have planted their own churches. Church planting is the only thing I really know how to do. I’ve been bottle-fed church planting since infancy, and it’s become my passion. Church planters are an interesting breed of men, and pioneer church planters (guys who plant a church with no money, or resources) are plain old disturbed. It’s one thing to take a chunk of money and open a new church in a neighborhood; it’s another thing to “John Wayne” your way into a community and organically begin a new ministry. Although every planter would love to Read more:Discussion
A Few To Many Drinks... 2007-05-15 06:15:00 I’ve begun to understand something profound. Maybe it won’t hit you in the same way its hit me, but I think it’s worth a little thought. Satan is a tricky little weasel and I’ve bought one of his biggest lies. The lie is that being non-judgmental equals participation. The conduit for this lie is Christian freedoms. Let me explain.Little by little I’ve been noticing that my generation of believers is beginning to look a lot like the culture. At first I made the mistake of calling this cultural relevance and even propagated it to a certain extent. The assumption was that in order to reach a particular culture it was imperative to immerse oneself in that culture. When the people who function within that cultural context see you are like one of them, then you will have the trust necessary to deliver the message of Christ. The problem is, Satan is smarter than we are.As we have immersed ourselves in the culture we have failed to realize the subtle deceptions of the evil one. In a Read more:Drinks
Homesick 2007-05-22 08:10:00 From time to time I get really homesick. This past few weeks has been one of those times. I’m so homesick I can barely function. You see I grew up in small town Southern Oregon, where men are men, women are women, and no one has had surgery to change that. Kids play in the street, keys are left in the ignition, and life moves at a slower pace. It’s my preferred mode of doing life. A couple of times a year I get so homesick I have to make a trip home. I need the air in my lungs and the sound of the river in my ears. This weekend my wife and I are going home and I’m truly excited! It’s like my aunt said to me last night when I called to make arrangements to stay with her, she said, “Joshua, you can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy.” She’s absolutely right. But, as I’ve been thinking about home I’m reminded of how temporary this life is. Over the years, as I’ve watched several of my friends die, I’ve begun to reali Read more:Homesick
Funny Stuff !!! Semi-Truck Take Man 2007-06-07 23:37:00 This is some funny stuff....... Whole story here: http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070607/News01/706070318 A 21-year-old man was taken on a wild ride Wednesday afternoon when the wheelchair he was in became attached to the grille of a semi-truck and was taken four miles down a highway at about 50 mph.The man, whose name police did not release, was not injured. The driver was unaware he was pushing the man, according to a news release from the Michigan State Police.Authorities began receiving calls about 4 p.m. that the semi was traveling westbound on Red Arrow Highway, just outside of Paw Paw, with the wheelchair.
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, Truck
Emerging Past the Emerging 2007-06-10 17:03:00 What would happen if a church were willing to give up its individual identity, building, programs and vocational staff, and simply lived within the communities as the Body? They would still gather together in homes or in rented location from time to time, but the actual body life took place in the market place by running into one another in a business or walking on the street. Friendships were made with business owners, neighbors, city officials and civic groups. Believers intentionally developing community in their neighborhoods by identifying locations throughout the neighborhood that they support and frequent in their day-to-day lives. There is no agenda other than to love people and create a livable community within their neighborhood that leads to shared experiences with those who live there. These relationships soon providing opportunities to share the gospel. The Body, being the Body and enveloping anyone who had a heart for the community at large. Evangelism through comm
Heaven Quakes 2007-06-21 15:57:00 Check this out guys and gals, it brought me to tears. Folks this is Christ, this is church, this is real!!!http://maxgrace.wordpress.com/2007/06/08/heavenquake/
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Pain is Pian is Pain. 2007-09-26 14:33:00 A few years back a man came to me with a question that a professor had presented to him. The question was odd, but made some sense. The question was this; “which hurts more, the death of a loved one or the death of a loved one?” The students were supposed to think about the question and then present an answer to the class. I told the man asking me question that I would think about it and get back to him.My conclusion was that the professor was presenting a statement regarding the nature of pain. In other words which hurts worse, pain or pain. The question made the statement that when you reach the place of true pain it’s the same in every language. Pain is pain is pain. The way the question was worded was kinda stupid, but the truth behind it is relevant.Today I find myself in this conundrum. I have two choices before me, both of which are going to cause pain. The decision in and of itself isn’t difficult, but the reality that no matter what my choice is I’m still going to hu
Food for Thought 2007-09-24 03:33:00 From one of histories most notorious sinners...'And so he who would live a Christlike life is he who is perfectly and absolutely himself.... He may be a great poet, or a great man of science: or a young student at a University, ore one who watches sheep upon a moor: or a maker of dramas like Shakespeare, or a thinker about God, like Spinoza; or a child who plays in a garden, or a fisherman who throws his net into the sea. It does not matter what he is, as long as he realizes the perfection of the soul that is within him. All imitations in morals and in life is wrong.....There is no one type of man. There are many perfections as there are imperfect men. And while to the claims of charity a man may yield and yet be free, to the claims of conformity no man may yield and remain free at all.'from a SOUL OF MAN UNDER SOCIALISM- OSCAR WILDE
Not the Smartest Peach on the Tree 2007-09-20 16:24:00 Some of you may have heard that good old Ahmadinejad (President of Iran the world largest contributor to terror) is coming to New York. That’s right; the man who may very well have helped fund the men who flew planes into the World Trade Center has a seat at the United Nations.While in New York Mr. Ahmadinejad thought it would be nice to visit Ground Zero and lay a wreath in memory of all the people who died on 9/11. How sweet!!! Well the New York Port Authority and NYPD didn’t like the idea so much and neither did millions of Americans. But, apparently Ahmadinejad is perplexed as to why we are a little sensitive about ground zero. Not the smartest peach on the tree is he?Read the rest of the story here: http://www.drudgereport.com/flash6.htm
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First Cloned Human Embryo..FAKE! 2007-09-19 15:22:00 Well, once again the world of science proves itself to be less than perfect (go figure). Today the "Drudge Report" is reporting that the reports of the first cloned human embryo are FAKE!!! Check it out here http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070918162804.uvrmo7xl&show_article=1
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, Cloned
Great New Blog 2007-09-19 14:28:00 Hey All,Well.....our little blog community is growing again. After my months of scilence I lost a lot of readers, but it looks like many of you are finding your way back to read my ignorence. Thank You :) Hey, I wanted to let ya'll know about a great new blog that I've added to my roll called Hurting Pastors http://blog.hurtingpastors.com/. The bloggers name is Tony and he pastors a church in Texas. I'm enjoying the blogs, thought some of you might find them enjoyable as well. Check it out, and subscribe you might just learn something. Once again, thanks for supporting my blog and keep those e-mails coming!
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Unlearning 2007-09-19 03:29:00 Recently I’ve come to the realization that I have a lot of things I need to unlearn regarding God. That’s right unlearn. My entire life I’ve been pumped full of Christian ideals, methodologies, rules, and old wives tales. The sum of them created a weight so heavy that I finally rebelled and denied the faith. After seven years of drunkenness, women, and worse, I have emerged a man who truly loves God, but absolutely hates religion. Today I’m on staff at a great church in Seattle, WA (www.lifebites.org) and I’m beginning to unlearn some things. In particular, I’m unlearning my definition of grace. I’m beginning to understand that the Grace of God is not the byproduct of his irritation. Grace isn’t when God’s had enough of me and still lets me live. Grace is so much more than I ever imagined, and because of my new found understanding of grace, I’m beginning to realize how misguided I’ve been on so many fronts. I’m beginning to understand that Gods grace is
My New Plan 2007-09-06 19:24:00 I’ve got an idea. How about if we grow a mega church and then go into every part of the city and shut down existing churches. We’ll just move in and take over. Obviously the ministries that are already serving the community are not ordained by God if our presence completely halts their effectiveness. Granted, we have millions of dollars backing us, which affords us the ability to trade real community ministry for programs that atract church hoppers and marginalized Christian, but that's irrelevant. What really matters is that we propagate our vision in every way possible. God will be on our side, so everyone else should either join us or just struggle until the fade into oblivion.People will ask us why we are starting a new campus right between three church plants that are struggling to get off the ground, but we’ll just tell them that God is on our side. If we run into a church that we believe will be competition we’ll just offer their pastor a staff position and then take ov
A Fifth of Jack Daniels, My Dog, and Someone Else's Life 2007-10-13 04:36:00 For those of you who are wondering; 6 hours of sleep a week is not enough. This may seem physically impossible, but I assure that it is not. I’ve spent so many hours staring at the ceiling in my room I think I’ve counted every one of those little lumps. I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, and I can’t think straight, all of which are pretty important elements of my life.Early this morning around 3:30AM I couldn’t take it any longer, so I got up, got dressed and started thinking through what sort of trouble I could get in at that hour of the morning. Unfortunately, in the community where I currently suffer, there are literally no options for trouble causing at 3:30AM, so I resorted to public intoxication. I grabbed my coat, what was left of my Jack Daniels
, my dog Jake, and I set out to take a walk. I hate walking, but I don’t mind drinking, so I settled for walking and drinking.Jake must have been as tired as I was, cause the exuberance with which he normally moves, was seriously Read more:Fifth
Extravagant Love 2007-10-09 19:05:00 This morning, with sleep in my eyes, I headed towards my favorite little coffee stand. Jake (my dog) and I are regulars, and Jake always gets excited when we pull up cause he knows he’s going to get a couple of milk bones. Today as I waited for my coffee I saw something that made me tear up a bit. I’m doing a lot of that lately; there must be a lot of pollen, or dirt in the air, or something.Just ahead of me an old couple probably in their 70’s or 80’s pulled into a parking stall. I watched as the little old man slowly got out of the car, opened the trunk, and pulled out a wheelchair. He folded the chair into the sitting position and wheeled it to the passenger’s side where he carefully and lovingly helped his beautiful little wife out of the car and into the chair. It was cold out this morning, and the fog was still lifting, so the old man reached into the back seat and grabbed a little knitted blanket and tucked it around her shoulders. As he wheeled her away I watched as h
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh 2007-10-07 16:52:00 Today I’m angry. So angry in fact I’m having a hard time sitting still long enough to write this. But my shrink says I’m supposed to write instead of hitting people, or things. I guess that makes you all my therapy this afternoon. Apparently, fighting is not a socially acceptable form of anger management. Then again I’ve never really been a socially acceptable kinda guy.In addition to having a tendency to fight, I also learned at a vey young age to compress my emotions to a dangerous level. As a child my Dad used to tell me to “control my emotions.” He didn’t mean that I should force myself not to feel anything, but as a child that’s what I heard. As a result, today I feel very little. Unlike most “normal” people, I only have a couple of primary emotions to serve as my filter. I don’t feel fear like most people, I don’t feel pain like most, and I don’t feel excitement or joy in the same ways you do. I never really understood this until recently and
The Fathers Song 2007-10-06 03:11:00 Wouldn't it be cool if life were set to music? You know what I mean, like in the movies. The moment you lean in for that first kiss, the Boston Philharmonic fades in with a beautiful string movement. What if every time you got in your car and rolled down the window, you heard Tom Petty singing, "Free Falling?" You would be a living, breathing episode of “Dawson's Creek.” How cool would that be? Okay, not so cool, Dawson's Creek was pretty lame. Not that I ever watched it. JHave you ever thought about what the soundtrack to your life would sound like? I know it seems dumb, but it's an interesting thought. Would your life sound like a mixture of the "William Tell Overture" and Incubus? What about a hybrid mix of Bruce Springsteen and Enya? Undoubtedly, each of us would have a unique list of artists on our album, because we're all so beautifully different.Sometimes I wonder if God sees and hears our lives set to music. Today as I was reading in the book of Revelations it struck m Read more:Fathers
Then and Only Then 2007-10-04 18:30:00 Remember what it felt like to watch your friend fade into nothing through the back window of your dad’s 1976 station wagon? It was on that day you pulled out of town headed to a new city where dad had the new job. How about the day you saw your best friend off to an out of state college? Do you remember how it felt? I do. I remember that sense of loss, the feeling of loneliness, the overwhelming boredom that quickly found its way into my life.Researches have long said that many, if not most, of our deepest human needs are met through relationships. In other words as humans we need connections to other humans to function properly. I hate that. I know that hate is a strong word, but it’s the best word to describe how I feel about this. I hate that I have to be connected to feel normal. As a matter of fact, scripture makes the same assertion. We are all a part of a body, each of us place a specific part in a divinely appointed economy. If a single part is missing, the whole doesn’t
An Interesting Animal 2007-10-18 17:51:00 Life’s an interesting animal. It’s interesting because it exists on so many plains. What do I mean? Think about it. Each day you and I wake up and start living in the second, the moment, and the hour. Our lives are a series of interactions between sleep cycles. The vast majority of the time we see our lives in the now. We live in the moment if you will. However, there are days when we make plans for the future, and days when we look to the past. These are the times when we widen the scope of out thinking and look at our lives as a whole, rather than the sum of its parts.On a completely different plain exists other people’s perceptions of your life. For example, we all have people in out lives who see us up close and personal (spouses, friends, family, com-workers etc.). However, although they see our lives, they are not living them, they are only watching them. No matter how close someone is to you, they cannot live your life, because they cannot think your thoughts, dream your d Read more:Animal
Sinner, Saint Combo 2007-10-16 16:15:00 I’m fat. Let’s just get it out there. Because of this fact I’m on the Atkins Diet. For those of you who have never had to diet (I hate you by the way), the Atkins is a diet on which you eat only protein (i.e. beef, chicken, eggs, bacon, cheese etc.). This diet works well for me, because these are the things I eat on a daily basis. You see, in addition to being fat I’m also a meat eater. On the Atkins I’m not allowed to have any carbs (i.e. sugar, bread, rice, etc.), so the meat is plentiful.This diet is amazingly effective; I lost 14 lbs in my first week. This is my second time on the diet; the first time I lost over 70lbs. Okay so I gained back the majority of it, but that’s not the point. The point is that if I can manage to deprive myself of anything white, then I can loose weight at a rapid rate. It’s amazing, and it’s easy.However, there are a couple of problem associated with this diet plan. The first problem is that of maintenance. In other words, in order to kee Read more:Saint
, Combo
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