What's A Path Finder?

A Path Finder is a young person in grades 5-8ish who loves Jesus or wants to know why others do. They are willing to trust God to help them find their path way at school, work, and their ordinary lives.

Similar to Boy Scouts [except girls are welcome too!!!], this Christian youth organization meets the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month from 2:00pm to 4:00pm and the 4th Sunday of every month. Most meetings are in the Fellowship Hall of the Toledo First church. Please pick up a blue invitation card to share with your friends and family this week in church. What a great ordinary outreach!!! You do not have to be a member of Toledo First to participate.

Is Cars 4 Kidz Over?

Yes, this year's car show is over. And because a non-profit organization exists by the same name, we have to choose a new name for next year. So far we've got Kruizin' 4 Kidz, Jesus Loves Wheelies, and Smokin' Wheelies Car Show. Like any of those? Comment below to add your own name and in a few months we'll have a contest and let you vote on your fave. Click any of the pics below to see even more cool cars, guests and volunteers, burnouts, and awards.

Labor Day 2008 dawned with the promise of cool cars, great music, hot dogs, fresh-squeezed lemonade and most importantly, raising $3k to purchase Webkinz to comfort kids with cancer.

The abundant sunshine, willing volunteers who arrived @ 7:30am [to truly Labor on this day!!!], and generous guests made this event a resounding success. Forty-nine cars were shown at this year's car show and they did not disappoint.

Johnny Rodriguez kept the 50's and 60's hits rolling until 3pm and then it was time for some burnouts! The Hot Wheels truck did some wheelies across the Toledo Junior Academy parking lot which got the crowd fired up. Then Greg LaPoint pulled out several of his cars and put on a smoke filled burnout show!

The car show spectators circulated through the lot with their voting cards and listed their top 3 choices. The children also got to pick their favorites and separate awards were given. Finally a group of judges that are highly knowledgeable about classic cars made selections for several categories. Special thanks to Hugs the Hippo from our sponsors at St.V's Mercy Children's Hospital. And BIG thanks and WTG to all the TF volunteers who served!!! Save Monday September 7, 2009 for our car show next year!!!

Which Picture Will We Take?

We've been known as a church that worships on a different day and that doesn't eat certain kinds of food. But we at Toledo First are creating a new normal Adventist church—one known primarily for making the cross and Lord of the Sabbath who died on it central in our teaching and in our lives as illustrated in the pictures below. The first one, commissioned in 1876 by James White [one of the founders of the Adventist Church] emphasized the law and was entitled "The Way of Life, From Paradise Lost To Paradise Restored."
It is a picture of the plan of salvation and mission of the church from Eden to Eden. You see Adam and Eve exiting the Garden of Eden. There is Cain and Able, the sacrificial service. Over on the right of the picture is the baptism of Jesus, the Lord’s Supper, and the New Jerusalem. But in the middle is a huge tree with ten branches, one for each of the Ten Commandments. Jesus is on the cross. But it is the law that is the dominant motif in this picture.

But James White died in 1881. And after he did, his wife [and co-founder of our church] Ellen White commissioned a new picture to illustrate the plan of salvation and mission of the Adventist Church. This new picture was completed in 1883 and was entitled "Christ—The Way of Life." The same elements are there but note the big change: The law has been moved to the foothills of Mt. Sinai behind the cross pointing people forward toward it. What were the ramifications of this paradigm shift? Have they been realized today? Which picture do you like more? Join the conversation as we discuss the implications of these pictures at our upcoming fall business meetings.

Click the top pic to download the latest draft of our Toledo First Assimilation Manual as a PDF or the bottom for the same file in Microsoft Word. No logins or passwords are required. Big thanks and WTG to Pastors J.David Newman, Kumar Dixit, and Ann Roda at the New Hope Adventist Church in Fulton, MD for giving us permission to use much of their content. Which picture do you think we will take?

What's an Adventurer?

An Adventurer is a child in grades 1-4 who loves learning about Jesus and working on awards similar to Cub Scouts. Parents or Guardians of Adventurers can accompany their children in family friendly activities every TUE night @ Toledo First starting September 9 from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. Admission is free but some school supplies are required [see below]. You do not need to be a member of Toledo First to participate.

Be sure to pick up the invitation cards at church to share with all your neighbors, kids, grandkids, and friends this weekend!!! What a great family friendly ordinary outreach!!! Here's the stuff each child accompanied by an adult [18+] will require:

Stick glue
Scissors
Colored pencils
Duct tape
Masking tape
Set of measuring spoons
Thimble
Needle nose pliers
Flashlight with batteries
Mosquito repellent
Sunblock
Bandaids & ointment

Are You About Your Father's Business?

Are you a business owner, President, CEO, or General Manager who could benefit from the insight and counsel of other business owners who will help you make business and personal decisions from a Biblical perspective? That was the question Jim Lange asked me via email. I met him at the Prayer Breakfast during the National Day of Prayer last May. And while I don't own a company, I checked off on their survey that I did because I am committed to being about "my father's business" [cf. Luke 2:49]!!! LOL!!!

So yesterday when Jim introduced Ray Hibbert from Truth @ Work, a non-profit organization out of Indianapolis [click pic for more], and Ray challenged 50 local business owners [and the only pastor present, me!!!] to give 5 hours/month and pay a significant chunk of monthly change [he told us to think of it as "tuition" pursuing your MBA — which actually is available through Drew University] to join one of their monthly Business Roundtable Groups, I decided to do it [hoping the tuition money could be raised].

The rationale? The Barna Group says 78% of Americans will be having spiritual conversations this next week. But 71% of those conversations will be taking place at work because that's the number of Americans who will NOT be attending church this weekend. So the idea? Get 10-12 local business owners together to hold each other accountable to leading with integrity. It's basically a high cost, high expectation, high reward small group full of people unconnected to God but wanting to be.

So I'll keep you posted. I already told them I'm the pastor at the Toledo First Adventist Church in Sylvania. But they let me stay anyway. LOL!!! I know God is going to use them to grow me up. And perhaps, God will use me to grow them too because together we'll be about our Father's business!!!

Does Jesus Love Wheelies?

I bet the guy who loved to walk on water loves wheelies too!!! And this year at our Car Show, there will be more wheelies, dragsters, burnouts, trophies, and cool cars than ever before in addition to hot dogs, fresh squeezed lemonade, and free middle eastern food from our good friends at Aladdins just down the road [YUM!!!]. Local Toledo legend Johnny Rodriguez and his "one man band" will also be here to play 4 solid hours of live 50's and 60's music. And he takes requests so be ready to pick your fave!

There will be a special Kid Zone inside the air conditioning [showing the movie Cars!!!] and another outside with a giant inflatable to jump on. Tours of our school, daycare, and church will be leaving the registration table at the top of every hour. And invitations to Cars 4 Kidz 2008, Kid Connect, Circles, Adventurers, Pathfinders, and Turbulent Times Family Finance Seminar will be at church and on the registration tables throughout the day.

Once again, all donations go toward the purchase of Webkinz to comfort kids with cancer all winter long. And any donation gets you entered into the drawings to win Best Buy gift card and new this year — a suite for Blue Suede Cruise the weekend of September 5-7, 2008 at the Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. Click the top pic for more on Cars 4 Kidz 2008 including online pre-registration for car show owners. Click the bottom pic for more on Blue Suede Cruise.

Cars 4 Kidz on September 1, 2008/Labor Day from 11-4pm promises to be a great day for family fun. What a great way to introduce your family and friends to the God who loves them [and wheelies] like crazy!!! You do not have to be a member of Toledo First to participate!!!

Time To Help Ty?

It’s true – Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is coming to Toledo! The excitement begins on Sunday, September 7, 2008, when Ty Pennington and his team of designers will lead the build in a remarkable 106 hours over seven days.

Five families living in the Greater Toledo area are currently in the running for this honor and the chosen family will be announced on Sunday, September 7. Once chosen, the family will travel to a dream vacation destination for a week of rest and relaxation. Meanwhile, back in Toledo, over 3,000 sub-contractors, skilled trades, and volunteers will be performing a labor of love to make this home happen.

And THAT'S where you come in! Wouldn't it be cool if a bunch of Toledo First folks in Haven of Hope T-Shirts were part of that volunteer army fixing that house? We could be! Click the pic to register!!! The family will return to Toledo on Sunday, September 14 for the Big Reveal. Friends and family will be there to welcome them home and to help Ty Pennington “MOVE THAT BUS!”

Is Silence Golden?

Joshua and Lydia went back to school on Tuesday. Joshua is in 3rd grade and came home telling me he wants to have his multiplication race car at the finish line by Christmas. His new teacher has a race care bulletin board marking the progress of the students memorization of the times tables.

Lydia is in 1st grade and is already collecting Banana Bucks. Which is currency in the land of no naps. If she's on time for school and if she finishes all her work at school, the teacher gives her a Banana Buck. When she accumulates enough Banana Bucks, she gets to buy a book she likes. Our school has such great teachers!!!

Here's a pic taken on their first day. After they left for school, we realized that silence truly is golden!!!

Pounds For Petrol?

Fifteen members of a New Hampshire church have volunteered to lose weight to pay for church heating oil this winter. Pounds for Petrol participants at Newfields Community Church have sought sponsorship for their weight loss to pay for the oil. The volunteers began the effort in June. Their final weigh-in will be in November.

Pastor Jean Bass says with members helping to fund fuel costs, the church will not have to sacrifice its other missions, such as the food cupboard it offers. Bass says the Newfields church spent $7,700 on fuel last year, and prices have soared since then.

Anybody think this is a good idea to raise money for our gym?!! [Click pic to see what the new gym will look like.]

Will The Justice League Stand Up For The Sweathogs Or The People Of The 301?

I don't know. But those are the names of the 3 fantasy football leagues I'm playing in this year. That's right people. Pastors play fantasy football. But aside from the petty cash, the "Dennis" trophy, and bragging rights, why do we do it? Three reasons.

#1 Because everybody knows your [team] name. Mine is Cold Stone. Named it after the ice cream. And because it's SO easy to speak truth in love with it on Monday mornings LOL!!! For example, week 1: "I TOLD you to watch out for that Cold Stone win blowing in from the Midwest!!!"

#2 Because everyone is always glad you came. Especially when you man up and log on for the live draft this Saturday night. Funerals and honeymoons and interviews are no excuse!!! Get online and be there. Or the computer picks your team for you and you hear about it week after week after week. Does that happen to you when you miss church?

#3 Because God loves people like crazy. And so should we. Big thanks and WTG to Roy Bing Wu for inviting me to hang out with all my Takoma Academy peeps in Maryland's 301!!!

Aren't Both Beautiful?

Seven year old Chinese singer Yang Peiyi (left) with her crooked teeth and chubby cheeks was deemed not good looking enough for the Olympics opening ceremony. So nine year old Chinese girl Lin Miaoke (right) lip synched the song Milli Vanilli style.

Peiyi is a well behaved 1st grader who loves the Peking opera. Miaoke knew she was lip syncing, but didn't know it wasn't her voice!!! Her father is a photo journalist at Beijing's Legal [as opposed to the illegal] Evening News.

But before we criticize the communists, didn't they make the switch for the same lame reason successful Christian singers seemingly all look picture perfect slim and thin? Christians who don't deny the diversity and beauty of all the red and yellow black and white God created should be above such foolishness. But are we? Aren't both these little girls beautiful?

Why Did Leno Laugh?

Probably because, like many people, he doesn't understand how rising food prices [the August 13, 2008 Toledo Blade article I read said food prices are forecast to rise by 5% this year which is the largest annual increase since 1990 and another 4.5% in 2009] will have a devastating impact on the working poor.

Click the play button above to see why praying at the pump [and refinery coming soon] is really no laughing matter. Though this video from his clever monologue on the July 29, 2008 Tonight Show implies otherwise...If you don't see video player with triangular play button above, click here to watch clip from the NBC website.

Ready To Register?

On September 1st, 2008, we'll be hosting our 2nd annual Cars 4 Kidz car show to benefit children in crisis. In addition to more cars, prizes, games, live 50's and 60's music, free food and fresh squeezed lemonade, we will again be collecting donations for Webkinz stuffed animals to comfort kids with cancer at St. Vincent's Mercy Children's Hospital on Saturdays all winter long.

Click the pic to register online or to download a hard copy to share with friends. Additional flyers and invitation cards are available at church.

Did The Son Still Shine?

During our Summer of Service picnics in the park this year, we got rained out twice. Leaving the jogging paths and playgrounds empty. But we still managed to have a delightful day. Even when it rained, the SON did shine!!! Big thank you to Donna for organizing the delicious food and to the Wilkins and Riegers for their help in setting up the lemonade stand!!!

Fortunate Vacation?

I can’t wait to go on vacation August 1-12. And do [next to] nothing for two weeks. Which means I'll be floating in my parent's pool reading my new fave James Michner novel Chesapeake [click pic for a great summer read] while pretending I'm actually in Aruba!!!

Also on the agenda: Taking the kids to Warren Dunes, watching the Redskins in the HOF Game [if I still lived in Canton I could walk to the game!!!], making my annual pilgrimage to Willow for the Leadership Summit in Chicago, and not blogging!!!

Was Her Majesty Impressed?

I don’t know, but Glen of The Glen Mansell Show was. His radio show on the British Forces Broadcast Service deals with current affairs, defense, welfare and consumer issues that impact upon the lives of British service personnel around the world and often contains interviews with people making the news in politics and the arts.

On July 29 toward the very end of his show that day, he put me on live radio in Afghanistan, Belize, Bosnia, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Kosovo, the Middle East, and Northern Ireland as well as all Her Majesty’s Royal Navy ships at sea so I could talk about praying at the pump. Click the pics to hear Glen and me going global!!! LOL!!! Who knew asking God to intervene in the most ordinary aspects of our shared lives for the sake of others would be such a big deal?!!

What's The New Gym Gonna Look Like?

So we started fundraising money for a new gym and classroom addition to Toledo Junior Academy. Here's a picture of what the finished project will look like with the last 2 sections on the left added. With an estimated price tag between 1 and 2 million, this is certainly a God sized project. But already many things are revealing His favor.

Kyla Reams is coordinating the subcommittee bringing excellent advice to the church in business session from her dad. Who, get this, just so happens to be the contractor who has built many of the most recent schools and beautiful buildings and churches in NW Ohio. We've raised $107k so far. But need another $500k before we can even think about getting a loan for the rest from the Columbia Union Revolving Fund [CURF].

So spread the word!!! And leave a legacy!!! Growing from the children's divisions up a Christ centered church shouting the Gospel with our lives is attractive to people. And it requires more space!!! If you have any time next week, stop by the Rummage Sale to contribute!!! No treasure is too small or large to give. Click the pic for details about that.

Junk For Jesus?

Thank you for packing all that precious stuff in your house these many years. And thank you for bringing it to our Rummage Sale. We're raising money for a new gymnasium and classroom addition for the kids in our church school — half of whom are from the community areas of NW Ohio.

Please consider this your invitation to donate your unwanted items to the Toledo Junior Academy Gym Fundraising Rummage Sale!!! Drop your items off at the church fellowship hall located at 4909 W Sylvania Ave in Toledo on these dates & times:

Sunday, July 27th from 2pm-6pm [Drop off]
Monday, July 28th from 3pm-6pm [Drop off]
Tuesday, July 29th from 3pm-6pm [Drop off]
Wednesday, July 30th, from 9am-4pm [Let the sale begin!]
Thursday, July 31st, from 9am-4pm [The sale continues!]

Drum Roll Please?

My 30 gig iPod is nearly full with 4,532 files on it. Not all of that is 80's music. I've got the Bible Experience actors reading me dramatized portions of the Bible when I wake up in the morning. I've got a hilarious book by economist [!!!] Steven D. Levitt called Freakanomics that is so thought provoking you have to listen to it more than once. I've got Walter Wangerin Jr.'s book called Jesus: A Novel which does such a good job of weaving the Gospels together into one cohesive but riveting story it makes me cry. And a bunch of 80's music.

But with Playlist, you can share that music with others by creating an online playlist of your favorite songs and then adding them to your Facebook, Myspace, blog, or website for free [click pic for details]. So this week, that's what I did.

To the right you can see some of my easy listening faves. I tried to pick songs that wouldn't give you a headache while you're reading my blog, but if that still happens, feel free to turn your computer volume down or click pause on the top left of the media player. After all, they're a few of MY faves not necessarily yours!!! Drum roll please!!!

Who Prayed @ Night?

In Luke 18:7, Jesus asks, "And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?" The implied answer to His question is: Yes!!!

And while we're learning to do so during the day, my new pastor friend, Brother Paul of the Anglican Church of the Pentecost, challenged us to do so at night as well. He actually prays all Friday night every Friday night as he explained in his presentation called Night Watch during our National Pray Down the High Gas Prices Summit we hosted June 20, 2008.

Click the pic to read more and see some of the presentations that were shared that night including Stacy Rankin's personal call to stewardship entitled God Is Green and the very animated Pastor Niboro Colomba of Son Rise Community Church tearing the roof off ours [figuratively] with his presentation entitled Spiritual Warfare. Big thanks and WTG to Shawn and Mindy for making these available on our church website!!!

Who Cares About The Crummy 13%?

This is probably a crummy way to introduce today’s post so I hope you don’t toast me for it. All my other ideas seemed half baked. I knew we kneaded something to increase our appetite for serving the less fortunate and this was fresh out of the oven. So crusty as it may seem, I’m going to serve it anyway. Hoping that you, like my friend Nestor, will do something about the 13% of Ohioans who cannot afford to buy bread.

Psalm 37:25 says, "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread." My friend Nestor believes this verse. And God is using him to see that it is fulfilled.

He went to Panera Bread, brought me a piece of paper I signed representing our church, and now he is giving away free bread to those who can't afford to buy it. Much of it is available to be picked up on Fridays from 7-9am at the church. Some folks at church are going to add some of their own freshly baked bread to the distribution pile. And what's left over will be hand delivered by Nestor and friends to those who cannot drive to the church to pick it up. What a great ordinary outreach. WTG Nestor!!! Special thanks to Lee Vendon for that punny intro [click pic for more!!!]

What You Doing This Summer?

Last weekend some friends invited us to their place in Port Clinton [thanks Eric and Sharon!!!]. Nearby we saw Marblehead Lighthouse. Took a ferry to Kelleys Island for a day at the beach. And introduced the kids to their first roller coasters and rides at Cedar Point. They also enjoyed driving their own cars!!! What have you been doing this summer?

Why God Rests?

Joshua finished the 2nd grade, but he just showed me his Jesus journal he made in school. In case you can't read it, his entry from September 27, 2007 says, "God made a day of rest because he wanted to spend time with his children. I love Jesus." Isn't that a good reason to rest?

Were We Courteous Christians?

In the June 21, 2008 Toledo Blade article "Fueled By Faith" [click pic for more], it was mentioned that the Exxon station lost 2 diesel sales while we were there praying. What it doesn't mention is that one of largest gas stations around only had 1 diesel pump and while we were there, we PAID for ours.

The other sale was lost because the reporters from The Blade and the cameras from all 4 TV stations continued blocking the pump. We moved our people and vehicle when we were done. They did not.

And finally, everybody knows gas stations make their largest profits by the food and beverage items they sell, not the gas that's pumped. So highlighting those loss of diesel sales makes very little sense aside from making it appear that people were displeased. In fact, they were not. Photos courtesy Lisa Dutton/The Blade.

Fueled By Faith?

Reaction to our Prayer at the Pump [click the pic to read the June 20, 2008 article "Pumped To Pray" in the Toledo Blade] has been mixed [Google it!!!]. But what I find most interesting in the reaction [especially among professed Christians] is the reason why we prayed in the first place is ignored: 13% of Ohioans can't afford to buy bread!!! Much less gasoline.

So mock me if you want to. But turning to God and asking Him to intervene in the most ordinary aspects of our shared lives is not crazy. That's called normal Christianity. And asking God specific things for the sake of others is not crazy either. That's called intercessory prayer. And while I don't understand how it works, I do believe it does. Both in Bible days and in ours [click here for proof].

What's crazy is that many intelligent Christians either don't know these things or, even worse, don't care!!! God have mercy and save us from ourselves!!! Maranatha!!! Photos courtesy Lisa Dutton/The Blade.

Average Joe July 4th?

Over a million people have watched "American Joe" explain his 4 part plan to solve the energy crisis in this 10 minute video. If Ron Paul won't run for President, I wish this guy would. What do you think this July 4th?

Fortune Fun?

On June 4, Lydia graduated from Kindergarten. Next up, 1st grade!!! But not before she spends some some time at the YMCA's huge outdoor pool!!! Joshua's tolerance for baseball is growing. I'm coaching his YMCA Little League team this summer. Here, we made it through nearly an entire 9 innings of Mudhens baseball!!! On June 15, we celebrated with Jay at his high school graduation party. God is good!!! On cool evenings when I'm done mowing the lawn, I let the kids [and their friend Cassidy when her daddy is around] take a victory lap around the drive way...on "turtle" speed. Does that look fun or what?!!

How Was International Neighborhood Day?

International Neighborhood Day went great!!! Volunteers started arriving at 10am at the church garage. We loaded the juicers and bottled water, generators and extension cords, and caravaned downtown. After getting rained on twice earlier in the day, many of the 250 people who braved the weather gathered @ 4:00pm in the Aurora House parking lot to pay respects to the countries represented, listen to special anthems and music, special remarks by Denise Fox, Executive Director of the Aurora House and resident Laura. Last year we emphasized that God loves people like crazy. This year, with the cultural displays and music and fashion show, we emphasized that God loves ALL people like crazy. And next year promises to be even better!!! So save the date for our Mission Trip to Toledo 2009 a.k.a International Neighborhood Day. Sunday June 21, 2009!!!