I wrote this devotion for a meeting of the Oregon Free Methodist conference Pastor’s, which we held here in Salem yesterday.  I’d like to share it with you:

I had a professor who always asked me, “Are you abiding in the truth?”  I never really knew what to say in response. It did, however, get me thinking about what it meant to abide in Christ. This idea of abiding seems incredibly appropriate for those of us who are busy “doing” God’s work.

John 15:4-5 says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”  We rarely do what we do, because we are always trying to get to what’s to come. We suffer from amnesia of the present moment. There is a slippage where the past runs into the future, and there is no present. We do this even in service to God. Leanne Payne, a famous poet wrote,  “The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service to him.”

As we attempt to serve Christ we ought to be mindful of how that service can often get in the way of what it means to abide in Christ. We forget to be who we were created to be, with God. We identify ourselves with what we have to do and forget that being with God makes us more human, just as the vine is more truly a vine when connected to the branch. You see, we are who we are because of our relationship with God and not because of what we do for God. Don’t be too busy to be, that is, to be what God created you to be, connected to him. How long has it been since you took time to actually do what you were doing? Maybe the better question is, how long has it been since you were presently attentive to God, even in this moment?

This is my encouragement for you this day, this morning, and as you go back to your churches, to truly abide.

It’s been two weeks to the day since I became a Father.  Everyday I grow more and more in love with Addison, its a pretty great experience. Yet, thinking of myself as a father is as hard to get used to as it was when I first became a husband. I don’t know what it means to be a Father, especially since there isn’t a lot of “fathering” going on right now; all Addison does is eat, sleep, and exercise various bodily functions! I’m finding myself a bit overwhelmed at what I perceive to be a Fathers role. I’m faced with all my hopes and desires for my daughter to have the best life I can provide for her, for her to choose to follow Jesus, and for her to live out her own hopes and dreams.  It could be that the unknown of the future is frightening to me, especially since I’m a “planner”; that is, I like to prepare ahead of time for what’s to come.   In all of this I’m finding that trusting God is difficult, and to say that I trust God doesn’t necessarily take away my apprehension or fear. I think I’m finding that trust is most powerful in the midst of fear, and that faith grows best in uncertainty.

About three days ago I was driving to the store to get something for my wife. I was listening to a new album by Matt Redman and God comforted me. I was thinking about my new role as a Father and God reminded me that though I’m a father, I’m still his son, and I’m still a child. I was comforted by the fact that my growing love for Addison is nothing compared to his love for me, and in the midst of that experience I bowed my heart in surrender to my Lord, to my Father, and simply asked for help. It was pretty great. Then I went home and held my daughter!

And now fun pictures of Addison with her arms in the air!!

Sorry, I only had three pictures of her arms in the air on my work computer, I’ll add more from home later!

Life with a baby is starting out to be filled with a lot of learning, much love, and a serious lack of sleep.  Not only do I find myself learning to know my daughters needs and wants better, but I also find myself falling more and more in love with her everyday. Check out the short video below of some of her more awake moments!

Wow, what a couple of days its been.  We been learning how to live life on very little sleep and how to take care of a little one who is completely dependent on us.

This is Addion’s first diaper change after coming home from the hospital, about 5 minutes after we got home.

Addison’s First Bath at Home

This is where Addison “sleeps” for the night, which last about 30 minutes. She doesn’t sleep for very long in her bassinet, she likes it better when someone is holding her.  Therefore Christina and I are taking turns for about 2-3 each rocking and holding her each night in between feedings.

Grandpa Wayne has been an amazing help for us the last week. He has cooked, cleaned, and much more.  He has held Addison for a hour or two while Christina and I take naps, it amazing. Thanks so much Grandpa Wayne, we love you very much.  Also, Addison is funny because she hates having her feet wrapped up.  She will kick her feet out of swaddles and loves to have her feet hanging uncovered, its really funny.

She’s so Cute

We love our little girl!

Wow, it has been a very long time since I’ve updated my blog. However, this posting will most likely be one that can’t be topped.  Two days ago I welcomed into the world my first daughter, Addison Grace Welstad.  She was born August 21, 2009 at 6:32am. She was 6lbs 10 ounces and in good health.  We have a lot of pictures and some video of the last few days.  I will upload most of those later, seeing as it has been since last Thursday that I have slept through the night.

Thank you to all the friends and family who have been so wonderful sending congratulations, support, and messages of love.  We love you all. Check out the video below of some of the last few days, and remember more is coming!

A while ago my friend Tyler asked me to be a part of a blogging series on the sovereignty of God. The post I submitted is being featured today and you can see the schedule of people posting here and you can see the posts themselves at Tyler’s blog.

Here is my submission, please let me know what you think.

“I believe in God, the Father almighty.” These are the opening words of the Nicene Creed. The Bible along with ancient statements of faith inform us that belief in an “almighty” or sovereign God is an essential part of the Christian faith. But, what does it mean to say that “God is Sovereign?” The theology involved in the sovereignty of God is complex and fills volumes of books. It is therefore difficult to distill  a concept which can be so involved and complicated into something which can grip people’s hearts and provide opportunity for real change in their lives. For example, recently, a member of our congregation who was a 40 year old mother of two passed away unexpectedly. The question becomes how do I explain to her two sons (one a second grader and one a fourth grader) that God is still in control and that he loves them in spite of this terrible tragedy.

For the rest of this short submission I would like to address, very generally, what I consider to be a good outlook on the sovereignty of God. (As a way of qualification keep in mind I am heavily influenced by Wesleyan Theology and will be operating with certain theological presuppositions.)  I’ve come into contact with many people who struggle with the tension of a God who is  good in nature and a world which includes human suffering. It’s the classic problem of pain argument. Many of these people operate under what I consider to be a lower view of God’s sovereignty.  In other words, the idea that for God to be God he must be in control of every detail. That is to say he is the cause of everything. Theologically speaking this term is known as, “omnicausality” (now you can sound smart in your small groups!). This understanding of how God works in the world comes with its own set of issues and questions, which I will not get into here.

Rather, I think it is better to understand that God is not the cause of everything, for God cannot be logically impossible. An example of this would be to say that God is the source of all that is good, and that God is the source of all that is evil. This is simply not true. God’s sovereignty does not mean that he is the direct or sole cause of all that happens; rather he is Lord over all that happens. (This is what I would consider a higher view of God’s sovereignty) In other words, God is capable of dealing with all circumstances, and nothing can ultimately defeat or thwart his plan for his people. This is a simple yet profound distinction which has had significant impact in my ministry and can help even two little boys dealing with the passing of their beloved mother.

I’ve recently had several conversations with people who consider church technology to be important.  “What does church technology communicate to you?” I asked.  They told me that things like good quality websites, the use of various forms of media, and the like are important in terms of how that church is interacting with its surrounding/current culture.  Some people I’ve talked to even told me that they would look a churches website and that would help to determine whether or not they would visit the church?  I am a huge proponent of updating church technology. In fact I recently pushed our church to update it’s look online (you can see it here) it’s better but we still have a ways to go! However I’m not a proponent of updating technology and forgetting our spiritual responsibilities.  That is to say a church could have the best looking website in the world, and still be spiritually lacking.  What do you think, how important to you is something like a good website?

Wow, this is the third post of the night.  My mind is racing with a bunch of random thoughts…so I’ll blog! I have a pastor friend who always tells me, “Blogging is writing without thinking.” It’s pretty funny when he says that.

I’ve been thinking about what it means to be a leader a lot lately, especially because the birth of my daughter is something like five weeks away. Further, our Bishop Matt Thomas, was speaking to what a leader is during our church’s conference last month.  I’ll just leave you with his quote excluding the context for now. I’ll write more about it tomorrow.

“Leaders should be people who are willing to lead, yet eager to follow.

I can’t decide if the new header picture looks too much like a kids camp logo.  What do you all think, do you like it?

Hello everyone. We are back from our vacation, and have been since Thursday despite the lack of a new blog posting.  We had a great time of rest and rejuvenation at the Oregon Coast.  I hope you all have somewhere you can go and rest well; for Christina and I it’s the beach.  Going to the beach for us is a time to get away from everything that so easily distracts us and spend quality time together and with God. It’s wonderful.

A few weeks back my friend Tyler asked if I would participate in a blog series he is hosting on his blog. The series is on the sovereignty of God.  I’m really excited about joining the conversation.  This is a topic I’ve interacted with quite a lot in my schooling, thinking, and writing. It’s a cool idea, the blogging series that is, and it’s going to be a great experience. Plus, Tyler has lined up some great bloggers. Check it out!  Click here to see the schedule and the list of writers involved.