Into the Deep

I'm very excited about introducing our new study titled, "Into the Deep" (Aka 'Deep'). Deep was conceived two years ago when I was a Pastor at Springwater Church. It was written for discussion oriented small groups. Based on Acts 1-9, Deep covers the following topics: healing, freedom, faith, community, etc. Along the way, so many people helped out. Lets face it, when writing anything, I need as much help as I can get. I want to personally thank the following people: Joy Moreland, Paulette Wakeman, Cambria Hunter, Elaine Hunter, Amy Davis, Paul Campbell, and Jenny Bruton. Everybody was awesome! Hopefully, we have created something that will be useful to the Kingdom. As always, I think I got the most out of preparing it. Writing Deep changed my life. If it was only for me, then the effort was worth it. I am growing in the process.

While we were hard at work with Deep, we also took some time to revise "Taking the Plunge." We went through it and totally reworked some the verbage and implemented some new ideas and suggestions made. I'm much more confident in this version. It's amazing how these projects are never done, they are evergreen documents; always changing.

I also want you to hear from my heart. We have no delusions of granduer. I am personally humbled by the opportunity to do this. And believe me, writing anything for an audience calls for humility! You never feel like its completely right and there is always that lingering fear of criticism. In any case, Plunge & Deep are both offerings that we hope will encourage growth and transformation. If nothing else, it will be a great Doctor of Ministry project.

I am willing to be as generous as I possibly can with copies of both studies. If you know of some one, a church, a small group, an individual that would like a copy, don't hesitate to have them contact us. If they cannot afford it, I will send them a copy for free. God will provide, and thats all that matters. I also have Leader guides for both studies. And with our material you can slice & dice and not have to worry about offending anyone. And no fretting over copyright either!

I have updated my website to make both studies available by request. Simply make the request using this e-mail: orders@plungefaith.com From there we can send a request for funds through Paypal assuming it's a person who can pay. And at that, only to cover materials and shipping, nothing else. For now, Paypal will serve a store function. It's cheaper and it works just fine.

I'm also looking for a couple of small groups that will use the 'Deep' study and give me some feedback. Additionally, I am available to personally mentor people through the Plunge study. Especially if they are new to the faith. This can be done from a distance-ONLINE! Yup, you heard it. Online discipleship. A growing number of people live in rural areas where local Church involvement is difficult. This is especially true given the fact, so many rural churches are closing. Or maybe travel schedules disallow consistent involvement in a healthy Church. Whatever the case, I am willing to work with people online to help them develop spiritually.

B.T.W. If you feel led to donate to our cause, you are welcome. We cannot give tax deductible receipts, sorry. Your gifts would be appreciated though and help us help others. check out the updated website at: www.plungefaith.com

Going Deep,

Bob

bob@plungefaith.com
cambria@plungefaith.com

Can Mike Huckabee save us?

I just hate it when Christians do this. They get all hyped up & starry eyed when a candidate rings all the right political bells singaling a savior has arrived. It happened with George Bush in two elections. The big story coming out of the 2004 Presidential election was how 'values' voters propelled "W" to a second term. It's a dangerous thing to have power. And sadly I think some in the evangelical right have become enamored with it.

Here we ago again with Mike Huckabee. He won the Iowa caucuses because of the Christian conservatives. Huckabee came in as a savior from what some perceived as a moderately liberal field of candidates. And I guess it doesn't hurt to have Baptist miniserial credentials in your background. Not to mention a winsome personality and a socially conservative track record. Huckabee wooed the conservative voting block and boy did they suck it up.

Anyway, I just thought it might be fun to mention a few things that typically make some people mad. Number one, Mike Huckabee is not savior. No more than George Bush was and is. He's just a man. The political realities of Washington are not conducive to Savior activity. Washington D.C. is a place for martydom not the Savior syndrome. They call it the Washington meat grinder and it indiscriminately chews people up whether they are republican or democrat. Think about it.

Number two, we have to cool down instead of getting hyped up. The political scene is prone to hype. The big story out of Iowa and N.H. is the hype. I mean you wouldn't believe it, they hype these political rallies up like high school pep rallies. And amid all the rah, rah, you find right wing christians praying for God to bless the outcome. Pardon me, but I fail to see the point. How do we justify all that hype in light of scripture anyway? I'd like to where scripture condones it?

Number three, even if the 'wrong' candidate gets elected, it's not the end of the world. When Bill Clinton got elected with less than a majority vote in 1992, I thought I would never hear the end of it. Conservative commentators were heralding the end of the world. Yeah, some damage was done, but also some good. Anyway, it's the same crap I heard from the other side when Bush got elected in 2000. The sky is going to fall, it's the end of the world, blah, blah, blah... a bunch of hooey! The last time I checked, God was still in control. He's not unaware of politcal misteps and musings. I'm sure God has a belly laugh everytime someone spews that crap. Because it's totally false.

I'll leave you with this last thought, Jesus said, "I am A to Z. I'm the God who is, the God who was, and the God about to arrive" Revelation 1:8 The Message Who can argue with that?

Anyway, your turn. I'd like to hear about your political gripes and spiritual struggles with our great democracy.