Men's Retreat: August 20-22, 2010

Hey Stirring men, it's that time again-time to break away from the emasculating confines of society and thrive in nature as wild men of God. Last year's men's retreat featured downhill mountain bike racing, stirring (no pun intended) speakers, and a severe injury to Campus Pastor Sean Gaffner. Good times indeed.

This year, the Men's Retreat will be at Lassen Pines from August 20 to August 22, starting with dinner at 6pm on Friday through breakfast on Sunday morning. Just like last year, there will be friendly(more or less) competition, paintball, fire pits, lakes, poker, and of course, awesome man-food. UNLIKE last year, there will be enough beds for everybody, so nobody has to sleep on the floor this year. And we're trying to keep maulings to a minimum this year as well.

It'll be less intense than this:

But more intense than this:

Gaff's heading up there today to scout out the situation and plan out the shenanigans. Participants will be limited to the first 75 men who sign up and pay the full $110 fee, so get off your butt and email Sean at sean@thestirring.org or Amy at amy@thestirring.org to sign up.

Be a man. Go to the Men's Retreat.

Demolition Saturday!

by Billy Brown

It's time to get amped up for some destruction-this Saturday is The Stirring's first Demolition Saturday, so get ready to blow off some steam while tearing the new building to shreds.

There are going to be two shifts, one from 8am to 12pm, and one from 12pm to 4pm. The Stirring will provide lunch for people who sign up in advance.

This week, we'll be looking at breaking up tile, tearing down drywall, and pulling up carpet, so if you've got them, bring simple instruments of destruction (and cleanup) such as hammers, crowbars, flathead shovels and push brooms.

If you want to get involved, Dan Lance has a few words of advice:

-Proper clothing must be worn at all times. This includes: proper shoes (no sandals), long pants, hard hat and eye protection (available on-site if needed), and work gloves.

-As a volunteer, your work will consist of “light duty” tasks – no power tools or power equipment will be needed to complete your tasks. However, for “Professional Volunteers”, please provide some proof of your construction expertise so that we may utilize your skills.

-Make “Housekeeping” a constant effort. A clean site is a safe site.

Contact Amy@thestirring.org if you want to help out so Dan can get a head count and we can make sure that there's enough lunch for everyone.

You get to combine wanton destruction with a free lunch and a chance to 'get on the wall' with your Stirring family. It's win-win-win.

Community Spotlight: Gabe Kossol

by Nicole Garbutt

I had the chance to sit down with Gabe and get to know a bit more about one of the Stirring’s newest staff members.

Gabe has been a part of the Stirring community since it began, albeit long distance. After growing up here in Northern California, he moved out to Colorado to attend Colorado Christian University. There, he and his wife, Krista, followed the Stirring through podcasts and catching occasional services while home visiting family.

Once finished with college, Gabe worked as a worship pastor and youth leader at a local church in Colorado. Still, he and his wife felt very impacted by the Stirring and prayed that God would open a door for them to move back to Redding and an opportunity to get involved.

Shortly after the birth of his daughter, Lily, that door opened. God told him it was time to go and he and his family moved back to California. He is now on staff as a sound technician and even leads worship from time to time. Gabe has a huge heart for teenagers and leads a high school life group alongside his wife. He feels called to train and disciple the next generation of worship leaders.

When asked if there was anything random or quirky he had to share about himself, it turned to hair, or rather the faux-hawk. Between the hair style and the glasses, Gabe says that not a day goes by that he isn’t confused as one on Nate’s brothers or as Nate himself.

Living From the Voice

by Nathan Edwardson, Lead Pastor

In the Gospel of Luke, one of the most significant stories is the baptism of Jesus. In fact, I believe this profound moment in Jesus’ life sets the stage for the rest of the story.

One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As Jesus was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

Luke 3.21, 22

While Jesus is baptized, the heavens are ripped open, the Holy Spirit comes upon His life, and the Father speaks, “You are my dearly loved Son.” Before Jesus does anything great, before He walks on water, before He calms the storm, before the crowds surround Him, before He drives our demons, before He heals the sick, before He raises the dead, and before Jesus does any great miracles, His Father speaks with great passion, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

The Father loves Jesus, not because of what He has done, but because of who He is. Before Jesus has done anything great, He is enveloped in His Father’s love. Jesus is loved. Knowing this deep love, Jesus lives FROM the love of His Father. As Jesus lives out the call on His life, He is consumed with His Father’s love. Jesus lives FROM the love of His Father. Jesus has nothing to prove. Jesus is not living for His Father’s affection. Jesus is loved first. The Father is pleased. And from that place, Jesus lives to please His Father.

Through the years, I have found that many Christians are living FOR the voice of Father, and not FROM the voice of Father. So many Christians are working and striving FOR Father’s love, rather than enjoying and living FROM Father’s love. In these weeks to come, as we follow Jesus as a community through the Gospel of Luke, my prayer is this: may we encounter His love. May we know God’s burning love for us. May we know God’s jealous love for us. As Paul writes in Ephesians 3:18, “may we understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is.” We are loved.

Community Spotlight: We Love Ethiopia

by Nicole Garbutt

We love Jesus. We love kids. We love t-shirts. And the Borgics love Ethiopia. It’s a perfect match!

You may have noticed several people wearing “Love Ethiopia” shirts lately (or maybe carrying a nifty reusable bag). You can thank Andrew and Rosetta Borgic for that. The Borgics have been part of the Stirring community since before it became it’s own church and were even a part of the Sunday morning church plant.

This last December, God gave them His dream for adoption. With two kids already, Myra and Liam, their hearts turned towards the children of Ethiopia, and they haven’t looked back.

Since then, they have selected an adoption agency, completed the formal application, finished their home study (they passed!) and are now working on the paperwork that will be sent to both the US and Ethiopian governments. From there, they wait to be matched up with the two children God has for them. They hope to have the paperwork submitted to both governments in 4-6 weeks. After that, it could take anywhere from a year to eighteen months to actually bring their children home. Of course the prayer is that this time next year, their babies will be here in the states with them.

Where do the shirts come in, you ask.

Between brilliant ideas and talented friends, Andrew and Rosetta decided to sell shirts and shopping bags to cover some of the adoption fees. I must say, the shirts do look pretty good on us Stirring peeps.

This Sunday, June 20th, shirts and reusable grocery bags will be available for purchase at all three services. Shirts cost $20 and a bag costs $10. All of the money raised goes straight to the costs of the adoption. The following Sunday, June 27th, is “Wear Your ‘Love Ethiopia’ Shirt Day.”

So, come on out and grab a shirt (or 2 or 3) and let’s inspire the Borgics with our support!

Standing on the Wall ...

One of the most compelling stories in Scripture is the story of Nehemiah ... cup-bearer to the King, Nehemiah burns with a calling to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem ... the walls of God's city lie in ruins and God's people live in disgrace ... Nehemiah burns with this God dream to rebuild the wall and end this disgrace ... God gives him favor with the King and favor with the people ... so they gather to rebuild the Wall!

The people rally around this vision with passion ... in fact, everyone helps to rebuild the wall ... it's not just Nehemiah ... it's not just the leaders ... it's everyone ... everyone stands on the wall ... everyone works and everyone sacrifices and everyone gives their life to see this vision completed in their day!

I'm convinced this has always been God's heart for His people and His church ... that everyone would find their place on the wall ... that everyone would give themselves to the see God's work built in their day ... at the Stirring, we're looking for people who will stand with us on the wall!

Whether your passion is kids, couples, youth, missions, prayer, students, business, film or the city, our prayer is that you would find your place on the wall ... that you would stand and help us live out God's calling and purpose for our generation ... don't just sit there ... climb up here and give your life!

Vox Dei

To begin the year, we're calling our Stirring community to a month fast from noise ... we live in a culture addicted to noise ... our lives are so filled with noise ... with all the noise around us, can we even hear God's voice?

For the next month, we're fasting noise to seek God and know God and hear God's voice ... as Moses wrote, "man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" ... God is looking for a face to face people ... a people who know His voice ... a people who hang on every word ... in this coming year, may you know God more and may His voice fill your life!