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!

Chuppah Stories ...

Over the next couples weeks, we offer this blog as a place to collect and share personal stories from our "Under the Chuppah" series ... whether you're single, dating, married, or divorced, we would love to hear what God is speaking and what God is doing in your life ... how has this series impacted your life? ... do tell ... please keep it short and sweet!

Thanks for being apart of our community ...

the Way begins ...

hey everyone ... the Way launches this Saturday night in Anderson ... the Way is a new church plant in downtown Anderson with a vision to reach and disciple people in the radical way of Jesus ... this new church is led by pastor Darby and his wife Melissa Anderson ... the church is located on Center Street ... you'll find it!

join the Way every Friday evening at 7 p.m. for music, coffee and outreach and every Saturday evening at 7 p.m. for weekly church gatherings ... come and hang out and support the Way over these next few weeks and months ... for details, email darbyanderson@yahoo.com ...

Stirring Men's Retreat - October 23rd-25th

the Taxi Project show

Come check out the Taxi Project in Anderson this Friday night ... live at the Way ... the Way is a new church plant in Anderson ... show your support and come out this weekend!

Blogs are up and rollin'

New posts on...

Stirring kids blog

Stirring missions blog

Stirring moms blog

Keep checking in!

Lots of BBQin goin' on!

This Friday June 19th:

BBQ @ Aaron and Sarah Hayes house, 6pm
RSVP (Bring your own meat and a side to share)
356.0729 Aaronhayes1212@yahoo.com
3035 Winding Way, 96003

This BBQ is for everyone. If you're new to the Stirring and want to meet some people while eating a hot dog, you've gotta be there!

This Sunday June 21st:

After the morning gathering (around noon) at the Eureka way campus. (click for directions)
We're having a huge BBQ for fathers day. It's free. Invite your dad...it's gonna be amazing! Sean's on the grill...you don't want to miss it!

Show and Tell

This Sunday at the Stirring we talked about living a show and tell life.

Step 1: We have something- a relationship with the God that created the universe.

Step 2: We show the world the: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, compassion, forgiveness, and justice of Jesus in the most creative ways possible.

Step 3: When the world comes running to see, we rise up with courage and boldness and tell them about the hope we have in Jesus!

Got any show and tell stories this week?

Friday night BBQ at the Hayes

If you're new to the Stirring and want to meet some people while eating a hot dog, you've gotta make it out to the Hayes house this Friday night. Here's the details.

BBQ @ Aaron and Sarah Hayes house, 6pm
RSVP (Bring your own meat and a side to share)
356.0729
Aaronhayes1212@yahoo.com
3035 Winding Way, 96003

Movies in the park

This summer, Enjoy is sponsoring movies in the park every Friday night. Admission is free (donations encouraged). Concessions are also available.

What a great way to get to know our city! The first movie is this Friday at Caldwell Park (near the Carter House), 8:30pm

Leah's in town!

Leah Rush will be with us at the Stirring on May 31st. Come and hear about her ministry and how you can be involved in supporting her on going ministry in South Africa.

We will have lunch with Leah at noon at Puerto Vallarta 2315 Eureka Way Redding, CA 96001
Please come and spend time with Leah and ask any follow up questions you may have for her.

Please RSVP for lunch in a comment on this blog.

Family Picnic and Ultimate Frisbee ...

yep, it's that time again ... family picnic and ultimate frisbee (the greatest game on earth) ...

come hang with us Monday evenings at the North end of Enterprise Park ... the upper field at Kid's Kingdom ... if you're new to the Stirring, this is a great way to get connected with our family ...

we picnic at 6 pm and throw frisbee's for a few hours ... bring your family, your girlfriend, and your own food ... see you there ...

Cypress got their shoes!!!

It was quite an ordeal but we finally got all of the shoes over to the kids at Cypress Elementary on Wednesday! If you didn't know, we raised enough money through Erase the Dark (our music, art, and film festival) to put shoes on every student at the school. They brought us into an all school assembly and thanked us...it was amazing...they gave us a COUGAR GROWL!!!
We believe this is what the church looks like. Using our creativity to make our city a better place! Thanks to everyone that pitched in for the event and the passing out of shoes.

Easter Baptism 2009 ...

We love. We make disciples. We baptize.

Just a glimpse of what's to come!

Hey guys, I just wanted to share with you a few things coming this summer ...

First of all, our Summer Life Groups will launch in a few weeks on May 3rd ... as of now, we will have training groups, couples groups, mixed groups, financial peace groups, men groups, women groups, and high school groups this summer ... it's amazing to hear the stories of how God is changing people and shaping people through these groups ... get involved in Life Groups this summer ... we'll have more information to come ...

Also, on May 3rd, we're going to begin a new 12 week series called Acts, unleashing the power of everyone ... Jesus makes one of the greatest promises in Acts 1:8 ... that as the people of God, we would be filled with power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us ... in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit fell upon everyone ... everyone ... not just super spiritual people ... not just pastors ... not just holy priests ... the Holy Spirit fell upon everyone ... they were filled with God ... I so want that for our church ... come and join us for this series in May ...

On May 7th-9th, we're hosting our first 'When God Dreams Conference' ... we're so excited to spend a few days dreaming and seeking God together ... as of now, we have more than 15 different churches in our city and beyond joining us for this experience ... my prayer is that these days together would be provoking, refreshing and encouraging ... may God raise up a generation of God dreamers ...

Lastly, I want to invite you to be apart of our Stirring Jr. High movement ... over the summer months of July and August, we'll be throwing weekly BBQ and pool parties for our Jr. High students ... I'm so proud of our Jr. High team and the vision that God has given them for this coming year ... we want to invite all Jr. Highers to come and be involved in our movement this summer ... it's a great time to be alive and be in Jr. High ...

Heaven Series - Heaven Crashing Down ...

To listen to the podcast, go here ... (should be up soon) ...

Read Revelation 21:1-7 ... the Bible ends with Heaven crashing down on the new Earth ... God Himself will live with His people forever ... the whole Bible is about a God who wants to be here, speaking to His people and dwelling with His people ...

In this Revelation passage, what glimpses do we get of Heaven? ...

Check out these verses ... Genesis 3:8, Genesis 28:12-17, Exodus 25:8 ... do you see God's heart to be with His children? ... do you see God's passion to bring heaven on earth? ...

Read Matthew 6:10 ... when you read the phrase, "On Earth as it is in Heaven," what images come to mind? ... what is Jesus talking about? ... is this the prayer of your life? ... are you living for God's will and God's Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven? ...

I am Jonah - The last two weeks

If you missed the gatherings you can listen to the podcast here.

Two weeks ago Nate asked a few questions:
- Why does God send winds and waves and whales into our lives?
- Why does God hurl us into the ocean depths?
- Why does God bury us beneath his stormy and wild waves?

God, in His mercy, humbles us and exposes us and tests us and disciplines us to shape our character ... to make us holy ... to make us more and more like Jesus ... Read Hebrews 12:1-13
Talk to someone about your thoughts.

This week Travis Osborne shared about God's character
- All through scripture God is described as gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.

The irony in the Jonah story is that Jonah accepts God's grace and compassion for himself but he refuses to share that grace and compassion with the Ninevites. But Jonah still smells like fish!

Question: How do you respond when God shows grace to others?

Read Matthew 20:1-16
It's the parable of the workers in the vineyard.
Talk about your thoughts with someone.

I am Jonah - God uses Jonah's

To listen to the podcast go here

Read the whole story of Jonah to give you the context.

Be encouraged...God uses Jonah's
Prideful, racist that are disobedient and suicidal
He used Moses, Rahab, David, Peter and a slew of other ding-dongs.

You have a call. If you've given up. God hasn't.
God uses the foolish things. I Corinthians 1:26-31

What keeps us from believing what God has called us to do?
Are you listening to the wrong voice?

The call has always been the same...GO!

I am Jonah

This week we started a new series at the Stirring called 'I am Jonah'

To listen to the podcast go here

Read the whole story of Jonah to give you the context. It's only four chapters...you can do it!

God calls Jonah to a great city ... Jonah runs, God pursues ... Jonah hides, God exposes ... Jonah sleeps, God wakes him up ...

As we read through the Jonah story, we find that we are Jonah ... God has called us to a great city ... we run and God pursues ... we hide and God exposes ... we sleep and God wakes us up to the call on our lives ...

What are ways we run?
How do we hide?
Does God want to wake you up to the call on your life?

Cypress Elementary School opportunity

In April, the 5th graders from Cypress are going to camp---2 nights, 3 days- April 22-24. The school is looking for people who are over 21 and would be interested in being cabin counselors? Ideally, they would love 4 ladies and 4 men to be counselors. If anyone is interested please comment on the blog. This could be another great opportunity for us to deeper our relationship with this school. Thanks.

Help

Tomorrow February 12th we are going to canvas Redding with Erase the Dark flyers and posters. If anyone is interested in helping just meet at the office tomorrow at 3pm, and we'll hand out assignments. We want to get the word out to everyone! Comment if you plan on coming. Thanks.

Honoring other churches

If you missed this week you can listen to the podcast here.

Nate had some great questions and thoughts from Sunday on his blog. Go check it out here. Check out Hannah's painting from the night...amazing.

It would be great to read the whole letter that Paul wrote the Ephesians as you think about these questions. We'd love to hear your thoughts. It would be great if some of you posted your prayers for other churches in the comment section.

Next week...I am Jonah!
Bring socks, shoe laces, yo-yo's, jump ropes, sidewalk chalk, and other fun stuff that can fit in a shoe box. Proceeds from Erase the Dark are going to buy shoes for the kids at Cypress Elementary School. We want to fill out their shoe boxes!

Honor- Who do you fear?

If you missed this week you can listen to the podcast here.

Here's some questions, thoughts and scriptures from Sunday to think about this week:

Read the story of Saul and David. The context is really helpful.
- David has a ton of sin issues but God forgives him and he is called a man after God's own heart.
- Saul is a good, humble leader but he fears the men he's supposed to be leading and God removes the kingdom from him.

- When God created you he already had everyone else. We don't need to be jealous of others.
- Why can't we celebrate the good that is happening in other people and other churches?

- There are times that we will be in situations where people hate us...throw spears.
- The question becomes...should I stay or should I go. There are times to be faithful and times to leave. We need wisdom and community to help us make these decisions.

Read 1 Peter 2:12. Thoughts?

Honor- Dan Lance / Bill Randall

Sorry this one is late.
The podcasts are up so you can listen to them here if you missed it.

Here's some questions, thoughts and scriptures from Sunday to think about this week:

Dan's message:
Read Philippians 2:3-11
- We live in the burger king kingdom and God is calling us to life in his kingdom. That means the me first, have it your way attitude has got to die.
- We moved from being a covenant people to a culture of convenience.
- If we follow Jesus long enough we get to the cross. Something has to die in order for there to be new life.
- If we want to be people of honor we have to have the same attitude as Christ who was willing to empty himself to the point of death for the sake of others.

Bill's message:
Read 1 Timothy 4:12-14
- We honor because we're image bearers
- We honor the Christ in one another
- There are those who are worthy of honor (merited respect)

Questions:
- What do you do when honoring someone means dishonoring God?
- How do you respond when you've been dishonored?

when God dreams conference ...

in a few months, we're hosting our first Stirring conference ...

When God dreams is a conference that inspires people to become God dreamers ... God is a dreamer, but when God dreams, He dreams through His children ... and we believe that God is looking for men and women who will lock onto His dreams and run with them ...

for three days in May, we're inviting emerging leaders, church planters and creative minds to come together for provoking dialogue, worship and teaching ... more than just an event, our prayer is that this conference will be an experience that will leave our generation encouraged, inspired and ready to chase after the dreams God has placed in them ...

Banning Liebscher (Bethel Church) and Nathan Edwardson will be speaking in the main sessions ... Jeremy Edwardson (the Myriad) and our Stirring worship leader Jenna Barney will be leading worship with the Stirring team ... we'll have breakout sessions and creative church forums to dream together for the future ...

if you want to be involved or have any creative ideas, please let us know ... we'll get the 'when God dreams' website up soon for registration ... until then, rock on ...

Women's Retreat

Gotta be there ladies. It's gonna be amazing. Start telling your friends.
April 3rd-5th
$105

Erase the Dark

we're still looking for songwriters, artists and filmmakers to get involved with Erase the Dark, our music, art and film festival ... friday night, March 6th ... save the date ... last year was amazing, and this year will blow your mind ...

and all proceeds go directly to provide shoes for the hundreds of kids at Cypress Elementary, one of the lower income schools in our city ... this is the calling of the church ... to put the love of God on display ... we can sing worship songs at church all day long, but the world is longing to see the love of God on display ...

if you want to get involved, let us know ...

LYNK

Lynk is a unique, team-taught training series to equip the saints for immediate city-wide kingdom impact. Nate's gonna throw down Thursday February 26th.
Go get more information and sign up to be a part at their website.

Honor- week two

If you missed this week you can listen to the podcast here.

Jenna and Sarah had some great thoughts about the gatherings. Please leave a comment if you have thoughts or questions. If you posted something on your blog leave us a link.

Here's some questions, thoughts and scriptures from Sunday to think about this week:

I don't even know where to start.
I don't think Derrick and Kris Vallotton should be aloud to speak on the same day. Way too much of God's heart. I feel like my brain needs a vacation.
Derrick brought an amazing message about forgiveness.
He used the Joseph story and his own story to talk about the power of our choices.

Kris brought a message about levels of honor, and passing on an inheritance of blessing.
We have never seen a revival that lasts more than a generation because we've put all our hope in the next generation. God wants to pour out his spirit on all people. Acts 2:17-18
We are so divided and God's heart is for us to be a family.

I could blog for hours about the two of these messages but they both need to be experienced. If you were there you have plenty to talk about. If you missed it check out the podcasts!

Kris Vallotton at the Stirring ...

Stirring Community, we've invited Kris Vallotton to speak at the Stirring this coming Sunday night, January 18th @ 5 pm and 7 pm ...

if you've never heard Kris speak, you've got to be there ... Kris has such a burning passion for calling out and raising up a generation of sons and daughters ... over the past few years, he has had such a deep impact on my life and our church ... I just read his new book called "purity" ... great for anyone single or dating ... or those with a passion to mentor and walk alongside young couples ... we'll have copies of this book at the Stirring ... bring your checkbook ...

anyways, I'm stoked about this weekend and this honor series ... Derrick Fleck will be speaking in the morning gathering and Kris Vallotton will be speaking in the evening ... I can't wait to worship with our Stirring family and hear God's speak to us as a generation ... may we become men and women of honor ... may we learn how to humble ourselves as a generation ...

see you Sunday night ...

Honor- fathers and mothers, sons and daughters

If you missed this week you can listen to the podcast here.

Heather had some great thoughts about the first week. Please leave a comment if you have thoughts or questions. If you posted something on your blog leave us a link.

Here's some questions, thoughts and scriptures from Sunday to think about this week:

Honor is humility in action. Honor must be shown. It's not enough to have honorable feelings.

Read Exodus 20:12
This is the first commandment that comes with a promise. Honor brings life.
Nothing sucks the life out of a room like dishonor. Agree? Disagree?

Three words that show us our posture of honor as we grow:
1. As children we obey
2. As we get older we respect
3. As our parents get older we support
Thoughts?

Honor goes way beyond our biological parents.
We have a call to father and mother the next generation. Call out, love, lead, shape, protect, and teach in the way of Jesus.
Honor is what holds the generations together.

Read Malachi 4:6
Thoughts?

One Gathering ...

hey everyone, this coming Sunday, December 28th, we're having an all Stirring gathering at the Eureka Way Campus at 10 am ... we're calling it the One Gathering ...

yep, the entire Stirring packed into the Adventist Church ... filling every pew and the balcony ... it's gonna be sweet ...

remember, NO Sunday evening Stirring ... No 5 pm gathering and NO 7 pm gathering ... One Gathering at 10 am ... everyone's invited ... coffee and donuts and muffins and pews ... bring your mom and your children and your friends ...

this Sunday, we're wrapping up the Simple Series ... it's been such an amazing few weeks ... live simple, love loud ...

and then next Sunday, January 4th, we'll celebrate our 2 year Anniversary as a church ... we'll be reflecting on where God has brought us as a church and where God is taking us this coming year ... you're all invited ...

merry Christmas and a happy new year ...