October 31, 1517

Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the Wittenberg door.

You can read them here.

Reaching the Next Generation

(Sorry, I couldn't decide which picture was best...so I put both.)

I know, I know...this is my second post of the day...I'll try and pace myself from here on out. Kevin DeYoung has some good insight on reaching the next generation so I thought I'd link to them:

Grab Them With Passion

Win Them With Love

Hold Them With Holiness

Challenge Them With Truth

Amaze Them With God

Fishing with Dave

I had a great time this weekend with my friend Dave McNay. He flew in Thursday night, then after breakfast on Friday morning we took off to see if we could catch a few trout with our fly rods. Friday morning was cold and rainy...not what most people would consider good fishing weather. It didn't bother Dave and I a bit, and we layered up and had a great day of fishing. The weather kept most people inside and we had the streams to ourselves. Our first stop was Hickory creek in Neosho. I had only been there a couple times before, so I wasn't real familiar with where to fish. A guy from Neosho told us about the other part of the stream that was in a city park...so we headed there and finally found some fish. Dave found a sweet pocket where several trout were holding. We both caught fish out of it...the picture at the top is one of the fish I caught out of there. Dave landed 6 trout from Hickory, and I managed to bring two to hand. We were off to a good start!

From Hickory, we headed east to Granby - the oldest mining town in the Midwest evidently. In Granby, we grabbed some lunch at JJ's. It's pretty much the only place in Granby as far as I could tell. Over lunch we talked about some ideas Dave has for a children's book. He has some good ideas, and I'm excited about the prospect of doing some illustrations for it! Who knows where it ends up, but it will be fun!

Our next stop was Jolly Mill and Capps Creek - which is several miles east of Granby. Jolly Mill was great...Dave and I both landed several fish and were a little disappointed we didn't bring a cooler to keep some of the trout we caught. We braved the wind and rain the entire afternoon...which is pretty easy to do when you're hooking fish! The sunset was amazing as the clouds in the west were finally clearing and turned bright red as the sun dipped below them. At dark we packed up our gear, took off our waders, and went searching for some mexican food...which we finally found in Republic, MO.

After dinner we headed to Branson, resisted to temptaion to see Yakov, and found a campsite at Table Rock Lake. We were looking forward to the prospect of hooking into some large trout in Lake Taneycomo in the morning. At daybreak we got up, packed the tent and headed out - only to find that Taneycomo is blown out because of all the rain we've had in SW MO lately. It was unfishable. So, we found some breakfast at a place where a Monopoly tournament was starting and some old dude that looked EXACTLY like Santa Clause was eating with his friends who weren't even close to looking like elves.

After breakfast we took the scenic route to Roaring River State park. The weather was amazing on Saturday...warm and sunny. So there were a TON of people trying to catch trout at Roaring River. Neither Dave nor I was excited about the idea of elbowing in between two people to try and catch anything...so we left Roaring River without even getting out of the truck. Part of the joy of fishing is in the solitude...and Roaring River looked more stressful than anything else. We went back to what we knew - Capps Creek at Jolly Mill! There were several people fishing Capps when we got there, but nothing like Roaring River, so there was plenty of space to find your own stretch of water. Dave and I both caught several fish...and had a great time enjoying the weather and the fishing. I haven't had the chance to do anyhting like that in a while and it was great to be able to spend osme time with an old friend.

I am grateful to Jesus for Dave. I always have been. He was someone I looked up to in Youth Group growing up...even though the more we talk, the more we both come to see that we desperately needed saving form our religiosity! Christ has proven himself faithful to both of us and we are both blessed beyond measure with salvation, good church families, great wives and beautiful children. Thanks Dave for the great weekend fishing, talking, and praying together!

Yom Kippur

Today is Yom Kippur in the Jewish calendar...here's a good article on the significance of this day for Christians.

The Heavens Declare...

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." Psalm 19:1

I am amazed by God's creativity. He overflows with creativity. I wonder how many things He has created that the Hubble Telescope will never see. I eagerly await Heaven where I will be astonished at His beauty.

Check out the slide show HERE.

What Jesus has done...

Mystery Fall Update

Hello from Joplin!
I hope this newsletter finds you doing well! Things are well here in Southwest Missouri. We have had a busy but nice summer! It has been a fairly mild here and the heat has not hit us with the full force it usually does. I am excited to be a full time pastor as I have officially transitioned from CIY to Mystery this month. A summer highlight for me was preaching three weeks in a row at Mystery this July. It was a great opportunity, and I am really enjoying being able to preach more often as I pastor here. If you are interested in any of the messages from our services, please check out our podcast. You can access it via our website or on itunes. If you happen to listen to a message I preach, I would love your feedback as I am always looking for how I can improve! I am excited about the fall here in Joplin and am looking forward to what Jesus has in store for Mystery!

So, What is God Doing?
God is doing some awesome things, both in my heart and in the heart of Mystery. I guess I’ll start with me. Jesus has used Mystery to continue to change me. The years I’ve spent doing ministry have been good, and there are some incredible things that I’ve seen Jesus do in people’s hearts and lives, but I’ve never really been a pastor to people. For most of my ministry, I’ve tried to keep people at a safe distance. Through Mystery, Jesus is changing me into a person who comes along side people to point them to Him rather than someone who keeps them at arm’s length so things don’t get too messy. I’m learning a better perspective on leading worship. I still want the music to be well done and relevant – but even more than that I’m learning the importance of shepherding the hearts of those who are helping to lead and play music. Are they worshipping Jesus? Not just on stage for the four or five songs we may do on a Sunday, but are they worshipping Him throughout their week? Do the lyrics of the songs mean anything to them as they live their lives Monday through Saturday? As we have continue to grow as worshippers, we see evidence of Jesus moving in the hearts of our church family - specifically in our Sunday morning gatherings.

Coming alongside people does indeed get messy though! We want to be a church that seeks the good of the city for the glory of Christ…and so we have seen people of the city begin to come to our church. Some of these people are quite poor as Joplin has many people who live below the poverty line. Joplin is also a city full of addictions – gambling, alcohol, meth, etc. We live in a city that is full of hurting people, people who need to know the truth and grace that is in Jesus. We have an incredible opportunity to share the gospel with people, but we need wisdom and compassion in order to best help. In all honesty, this has been something that has forced me into places that I am not comfortable. Scriptures talk a lot about the poor…and they cannot be ignored because they make us uncomfortable! Thank you for your prayers for me and for Mystery as we seek to truly help people first and foremost through the gospel of Jesus

Another one of the things Jesus has allowed Mystery to be a part of is a monthly event called ArtWalk. On the third Thursday of each month, our building downtown becomes an art gallery as it is filled with local Art, live music, and great food. Not many churches have an opportunity to love and serve the city each month in the way we do! People come to see the art, eat the food, and listen to the music and we have a great chance to meet them, and a huge opportunity to live out and share the gospel! Many of the artists who come are blown away by how the people of our church love and care for them. One of the ladies from our church prepares food for the event every week and the rumor is that our gallery has the best food in the ArtWalk…it doesn’t surprise me a bit!

Thank You!
Finally, I wanted to say thank you for your support of the work here in Joplin. You are such a huge encouragement and blessing! Thank you for your prayers for us, and thank you for your financial support! Jesus is growing a church, and changing a city through what you are doing! If you would like to talk or have questions, please feel free to email me at nate@mysterychurch.com, or call at 417.781.7771.