Men's Advance Location

On Sunday, a few of us went up to Rancho Alegre, Boy Scout Camp in the Los Padres forest near Santa Barbara to...well scout it out. I have been to the camp about half a dozen times, but never got an extensive tour due to other parties being at the camp when I visited.

This time it was abandoned so we were able to walk through:

• all six (4 overflow if needed) dormatories (not great but clean, you'll w ant to bring an extra pad to sleep on or there should be extras to double up on, each man will probably get their own personal bunk bed)
• the meeting/dining hall (pretty cool way better than Cambria, the PA works, but probably not for worship...we may do a lot outside)
  
• the pool we won't get to use (long story)
• the pond that is dried up until it rains again
• the campfire area (think of the typical Boy Scout Camp bonfire area...yup that's it)
• the outdoor chapel (pictured above...it was at least 12 levels of aweso me)
• the archery and shooting range (um 12 levels of awesome cubed!)
• someone there told us about a 4 hour hike! (yeah 3 hours up 1 hour down...boooya)
• oh yeah...the mosquitos scouted us...(note to self, bring mosquito repellant)
• on the way I kept thinking how sweet it would be to ride my motorcycle there...

We ended our scouting trip with a time of prayer. That the Lord would annoint this place for all of the men that he calls to go Oct 10-12. That our time there would be "a kick in the pants." Meaning both a great time and an opportunity for God our Father to give us a swift kick in the pants where necessary. The theme is "Giving up Childish Ways (1 Cor 13:11).

I can't wait to see what the Lord does!

This is the actual sign you should look for, right after Lake Cachuma entrance...it's on the right hand side when going towards Santa Barbara on the left hand side if coming from SB on HWY 154...

Fishers of Men Softball BoxScore II Sept 15, 2008

The CalvarySLO Fishers of Men Softball team went out and totally crushed their goal of scoring a run. CalvarySLO FoM crossed Home plate 4 times. While another close game eventually got away from the FoM, the improvement in play and performance was highly evident in the 4-16 loss.

FoM recorded 2 double plays, 1 of the (by Sterling Higgins) was unassisted at 1st base. A special thanks to Kate and Maddie Johnson for coming out and watching us play ball. Game ball goes to Dave Norris and Dan Hofstee. Dave came off the bench and filled in for a traveling Greg Squires and Dan pitched a great game filling in for Greg who pitched last week for us.

Kudos go to all the men who come out and play, have a good time and encourage one another.

Its all tied up: Married vs. Singles soccer

After a grueling 2 hours of soccer, the married's team win it 6 to 4. It was 7 on 7 soccer with a few subs throughout the game. We played 20-30 minute quarters. There were a couple patches of dirt on the field, but everyone had a good time. I think this the first Kingdom builders event were we had ZERO injuries...I think thats unheard of. Praise the Lord. We grilled up about 40 brats after the game and reminisced middle school soccer games with CapriSun's. It was a good time of fellowship, meeting other men, and using muscles that never get any exercise.
In the overall Married vs. Singles soccer matchup, we are tied up 1 to 1. You know what this means. Keep your eyes open for the next MvS soccer match: The Championships.

Fishers of Men Softball BoxScore Sept 9, 2008

CalvarySlo - Dominate(d)

The inaugural game of the fall season for Lower Division Single A City Parks and Recreation Softball League has officially begun. The Calvary Men played their hearts out in a very close game that was lost in the waning minutes of the final inning. CalvarySlo almost took it to extra innings in the 18-0 loss but tonight it was not to be.

Though unmatched in heart, they were outmatched in runs though it is suspected that the opposing team was using performance enhancing softball skills as evidence by their ability to score more runs than us. While the win was illusive, the "jock"ularity had by the men and both fans who came out to watch us rivaled any mid-week afternoon SLO Blues game.

This season we had to say goodbye to a few of our players from last season:
1. Joey Hill was traded to his family for a season to be named later
2. Sean Brennan was placed on the 15 day DL until he realizes softball is part of his DNA
3. Ty McCarthy also on the 15 day DL until his hiatus is complete
3. Dave Norris, John Brandenburg and Jordan Vargas were sent down to the minors to further their education
4. Aaron Nesper was traded to Home Builders for a plate of brownies and a carafe of milk

In the absence of these fine gentlemen we've added some fresh players to this season's roster. Please help me welcome:
1. Sterling Higgins - playing with his left foot stitched to 1st base
2. John Depry catching everything hit into Left Center and throwing them out at home
3. Derek Rosenstrauch covering Short Stop like Jeter and Rodriguez put together
4. James Johnson dominating Right Field

This season holds a ton of promise and expectations are high that FoM Softball will be able to repeat the 2 win season from last year. So please, if you aren't doing anything on Monday nights (let's face it, with MNF airing games including Arizona, Oakland, SF, Cleveland and Houston they aren't making much of a case to stay home and watch football) please come out and support your local Lower Division Single A City Parks and Recreation CalvarySlo Softball team.

**Game ball goes to Carrie Squires who fearlessly retrieved a foul ball from behind the backstop.

FoM Softball Fall 2008 Schedule

Our CalvarySLO Men's Softball team will be in full effect (that's a term from the 80's I think) this Fall 2008. Below is the schedule.

Please come and support our men. There are lot's of opportunities to witness to others in the stands as well as fellowshipping with the other CalvarySLO peeps. Sometimes they bring a cooler full of drinks and hang out after the game.

They could seriously use a few more guys (even if you share your spot with someone). Contact AMac at aaronmcfarland@hotmail.com

Game Date Time Location

9-8 6:30 p.m. El Chorro 2

9-15 7:10 p.m. Santa Rosa

9-22 6:30 p.m. El Chorro 2

9-29 8:20 p.m. Santa Rosa

10-6 6:30 p.m. El Chorro 2

10-13 8:20 p.m. Santa Rosa

10-20 7:40 p.m. El Chorro 2

10-27 7:10 p.m. Santa Rosa

11-3 8:50 p.m. El Chorro 2

11-10 8:20 p.m. Santa Rosa

Fishers of Men BBQ

So Josh and I crashed the Fishers of Men BBQ @ the Brennan's house. While the team was eating I was watching the kids play on the dirt slide. This is Josh showing his sweet secret agent ninja moves...

We later played a sweet game of Wiffle Ball. I had to have a designated runner because I'm still very unsure of my back. A fun time was had by all!

Our vision for FoM Sports teams is both outreach and fellowship. I think both were represented tonight...Amen.

MvS Soccer Style: Marrieds Lose...Again

I wish I had snapped a pic with my cell phone, but try to picture 7v7 soccer, Singles:Skins/Marrieds:Shirts, the ladies (and those of us men on doctor's orders to take it easy for a while) cheering them on the sidelines. It's a really cool picture actually.

I love seeing the men "fellowshipping" in this way. I find that:

1. they meet other men in the fellowship they normally would not have met
2. they get to know the men they normally just smile and shake hands with on a Sunday morning
3. As a side note: Men also get to show off in front of their significant other
   

It's so cool.

Ok I've been avoiding it, but the Marrieds lost...big time to the Singles. The Marrieds I saw afterwards at the Parents meeting couldn't even say what the score was. We had way more Marrieds there than singles, but as one married dude said, "they didn't get tired after 3 minutes of playing!"

Needless to say Soccer/Futbol is VERY popular even here on the Central Coast of California! We'll be doing this again...and we may let the ladies play...maybe.

Thanks AMac (Aaron MacFarland) for coordinating. Thanks Greg Squires for borrowing those sweet nets. I pray that God is glorified and Jesus would smile on the relationships that were started or strengthened!

BTW i just got word that the injury/ER streak continues...Nessie (Aaron Nesper) landed on his thumb in a valiant effort to get a much needed Marrieds goal. Well he's going to the ER tomorrow morning and thinks it's broken: 6 events 6 trips to the ER.

Father/Son Campout 2008

I finally got a chance to upload these pictures from the Father/Son Campout 2008.

Through a few little trials (or potential trials) like the fires surrounding Big Sur, flooding in the Brennan home, and a very brief lightning/thunder storm; we had a GREAT time!

If you know nothing about this, every year for the last three years a few of us Dads take our sons up to Pfeiffer Big Sur campground during a summer weekend. It's a great time for some male bonding, as well as some teaching.

This year I got a few calls from some moms about the fire in King City. After a little bit of checking we realized the fires were far enough and heading in the opposite direction; so we headed out. I got to hang with Sean Brennan who drove us in luxury in his Toyota Sequoia...trailer full of gear in tow.

When we reached camp at 2pm on Friday it was 90 degrees...in Big Sur! So we left all of our gear and headed for the river gorge. The water must have been in the 60's it was wonderful.

The rest of the weekend was filled with: dips in the river, Eric Fitler jumping off the man cliff into the river, Sean and Steve jumping off the Superman cliff into the river, exploring the gorge, attempts at squirrel catching, smor's and deep fried pancakes, Steve teaching on being quick to listen and slow to speak/slow to anger, the Ring of Fire where we affirm our sons, I taught on how Joshua (from the Bible) was a hero by being a servant, humble, and responsible.

As we left Big Sur we found out we were under a voluntary evacuation due to a lightning strike forest fire a few miles south of us. Also due to that fire, Hwy 1 was closed going south. So we had to go around Monterey and to the 101. If you look at the slides I took some pictures of the billowing smoke behind us. The weird thing was we were maybe 2-3 minutes north of our campground. That smoke sure made the fire look a lot closer to the campsite!

Thanks to Rob Fitler for taking most of these pics, risking his sweet Canon for posterity. Thanks to all the Dads: Sean, Steve, Christian, Tom C., Tom H., and Rob. It was great to share the weekend with you men!

Singles Won

Preliminary data indicates the Singles won @ Miracle Miles on all counts:

• Fastest time: Wise and Christion came in at about 45 minutes each. Linda and I on the other hand 2 hours and change, so unless the Whitacres ran like the wind I think we lost that category
• Most Pledges raised: See that trophy? That's was awarded to CalvarySLO Singles for Most Money Raised by a Group! So I'm guessing they won that category as well.
• Tie breaker: even if needed, it looks like they had more sign ups unless a bunch of marrieds did walk up sign up...but like I said it looks irrelevant

I'll have the official verdict next Sunday, but it doesn't look good for the Marrieds! The only consolation is that we pretty much blew Calvary Shoreline out of the water.

It was a fun event. I'm glad we as a church could make such a big impact. Props to Nick Enns who raised over $1200 to get the Singles the trophy and some sweet gift certificates to Mo's Smokehouse.

Thanks everyone!

Nehemiah 8: Biblical R & R

And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them. (Neh 8:12)

It took us a couple of weeks, but we got through chapter 8. This is now my favorite chapter (have I said that before?).

In summary, after the people had built the wall (so now they felt safe) and God through Nehemiah had organized the people with giftings and callings (remember chapter 7?) they now wanted to hear the scriptures read and preached [screeching sound]. Yeah, they actually asked for a church service (and it went for about 6 hours!), pretty amazing huh?

Ezra reads the Pentateuch, first five books of the Bible from early morning until mid-day. The Levites walked around the congregation (50k people, think Dodger Stadium) to explain what was being read. The people respond with weeping and mourning, either out of respect for the written word of God or out of repentance for how far they had missed the mark God had laid out for them.

Imagine a packed baseball stadium full of people, listening to preaching and teaching, and they all fall face down on the ground and start weeping! God showed up in a big way to pierce the hearts of the people. This is an amazing miracle! I like to say it doesn't happen every day...is God speaking? Yes. Are we always open and listening? No.

Nehemiah and Ezra both tell the people to stop weeping and mourning, but instead to celebrate the fact that God had pierced their hearts. How may I ask does Nehemiah "encourage" them to celebrate? In the ESV it translates it, "Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready".

Many might be shocked that Nehemiah's response or way of celebrating is basically BBQ and Alcoholic Beverages, but I think the key is in verse 12 quoted above. It says that the people went to celebrate with food and wine, "because they had understood the words that were declared to them." In other words, they didn't go eat and drink to be gluttons or drunkards, to find pleasure in the food or wine in and of itself, they went to worship and praise God for showing up.

It's an amazing distinction. Colossions 3:17 says, "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." That means, with a few exceptions, that whatever we are doing can be an act of worship to God. I think the main thing is the motivation. Are we doing [fill in the blank] as an act of worship to God or to the thing he created? There was quite a bit of discussion that was awesome.

We finished the chapter discussing the amazing results of MEN responding in obedience to God and leading the people in spiritual things. Verse 13 tells us that on the second day the men wanted to dig deeper into God's written word. Uh-huh another miracle. What they found out is that they should be celebrating the Feast of Booths, Sukkot, right then. So guess what? They did!

The men, the leaders of each household, lead in the collection of branches and leaves and the building of booths and the daily rituals.

This is what KingdomBuilders is all about. We want men to be ignited to follow Jesus with all of their hearts, minds, strength, and will! This is the way to a strong family, church, community, nation, and world is the men. I won't bore you with all the statistics, because we know it in our hearts and the scriptures bear witness, men are meant to lead spiritually.

This might mean taking risks for Jesus, going on an adventure with him, and definitley forming bonds of brotherhood with the other men at CalvarySLO. That's what we at KingdomBuilders are all about!