I’ll be enjoying the groovy tunes of Jack Johnson’s latest album, To The Sea. After a free Starbucks download of “At Or With Me” I knew this album would be good. He continues to deliver some of the best music out there and his sound/lyrics have theMangoTimes written all over them. Throw this on the speakers, climb in the hammock, pull someone you love close, and call it a night. Favorite lyrics of late:“Are they laughing at or with me? People are just trying to fit in-But is there something telling you-You can’t trust anyone in this town-Ah baby those are such great shoes”.

I’ve spent a great deal of time enjoying the preaching of Pastor Britt Merrick from Reality Carpinteria church. I was introduced to him through a few videos I saw on facebook. He has been very transparent dealing with his daughter’s recent diagnosis of stage 3 cancer. His sermons are some of the best I’ve heard and if you are a fan of gospel centered preaching, you will not go wrong with this podcast. His current series, Missio Christi, will speak life into any stagnancy you’ve allowed to develop in your faith. Ever wonder why a Christian’s favorite meal is fellow Christians? Ever questioned how to speak truth without judging your brother or sister? As a teaser, I’ve included a snippet of his sermon, “Truth Telling without Judging” below. If you enjoy it, go download the whole sermon!

Jason Mraz is another great musician you will find playing through mangoland (or my office…or my car…or on my iPod). If you listen to any pop-radio station, you’ve heard his music, but I would recommend you dig a little deeper for some of his really good stuff. If you get there fast enough, you can still get a FREE DOWNLOAD from Levi’s Pioneer Sessions of Jason singing “Spirit in the Sky” and if you want to see the behind the scenes video, here it is:

YOU CAN FIND ME HANGING OUT HERE:
We are going to Mt. Hermon’s Summer Concert Series to take in some great tunes by Sara Groves. She is one of Kendra’s favorites and we’ve been waiting a long time to find a way to catch her in concert…and this one is nearly in our backyard (well, maybe not our backyard, but close enough). I love going to Mt. Hermon. It’s perfectly placed in the mountains above Santa Cruz and on a personal note, it’s where God chose to reveal His grace to me (way back in 1982 when I attended Young Life Winter Camp).

The backporch is a favorite locale for many visitors to mangoland. For me personally, just swinging in the hammock chairs with Kendra or curling up with some cute mangokids while the warm valley California air drifts through the back yard spells summer at our house. I actually notice that I rarely use the front door during the summer. Life just slows down and moves at a slower pace. So drop by, leave your worries in your car and join me on the back porch to swing and relax. Consider this your invitation…

As part of our Summerzcool curriculum, we’ve made it our goal to get back to the beach as much as we possibly can to find out “what is and what is not cool.” We continue to return to some of our favorite sandy spots on the coast. Santa Cruz at the harbor. Capitola, complete with the pastel cottages dotting the lagoon and Pizza My Heart. Want to join us for our summertime classes on sandy beaches and distant reaches? There is just something about watching your kids chase waves and seagulls that makes this life we’ve chosen that much better!

You will definitely find me standing in front of this new addition. If you know us, you know that life often revolves around our kitchen! Now that my parents have recently installed this outdoor wood-fired pizza oven, our kitchen party has moved outside. We have been busy perfecting doughs and creating our favorite pizzas. At 700+ degrees, we are spinning out pizzas every two minutes for the hungry masses.

…AND THE REST OF US WILL BE HANGING OUT HERE:

Hope to see you this month!

Quietly making noise,
Fletch

Yeah right…like that’s the way we do things around here.

We’re talking about my office here. We had a full house of staff and husbands for a night of great food and great fun. The events of the evening included a two-table Texas HoldEm tournament, staff karaoke, and then late night/early morning action on the dance floor!

“Thankfully it was fake money”

The highlight of the evening for me was the Christmas gift given to me by my staff (even my dad and mom got in on the surprise!). Due to my love for the music of Jon Troast, they all arranged for Jon to create a song about me. I was very surprised to crank up the music and hear an entire song about my life!

Yes, my staff rocks! Yes, my parents are crafty! Yes, I was surprised! And…yes…I think this song is going to be a big big hit!

Quietly making noise,
A crazy and serious Fletch

Since it is so easy for us to become focused on ourselves and what we do (and by extension, how we do it), I love it when someone reminds me of what Christ has done! Last summer, I posted about lifestyle evangelism and one of my points was that believers should never grow weary of hearing the gospel preached. It needs to be preached regularly and faithfully, so that we can know it and then go and repeat it.

Here is John Piper and the Gospel in 6 minutes. Used by permission from Desiring God Ministries.

Quietly making noise,
Fletch

***UPDATE*** : From the Modesto Bee on 9/27/09

***UPDATE AGAIN*** : We will be live on KAMB radio 7-8AM on Tuesday 9/29/09 Give a listen!

A few weeks ago, a friend on facebook recommended a new movie called, “The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry.” I linked to it and enjoyed the trailer and then looked to see if it was coming to “a theater near me.” As it turns out…the movie was going to miss our town by 90 miles in each direction. I inquired on the movie website about bringing the movie to our town and was pleased to receive a personal telephone call from the Producer/Director a little while later.

By the end of the phone call, I was behind this Rich Christiano’s vision for using a film like Sperry to bring the gospel to our movie watching culture. After confirming my plan with Kendra, it didn’t take long before I had my best friend Eric and my favorite chiropractor Dr. John Beech on board for bringing this film to Modesto. Since then, we’ve been busy contacting churches, youth pastors, retirement homes, and everyone else we know to do two simple things: First, buy a ticket and support a solid God-honoring film that clearly and plainly presents the Gospel. Second, we are encouraging them to find someone that needs to hear the message and bring them along… Everyone needs to hear the Gospel…some for salvation and others as a reminder of the grace they have been given.

The three of us have really enjoyed promoting this film in our area. Longtime readers of theMT know how much I love watching movies and enjoy discussing their impact on culture. Director Rich Christiano says this of the Sperry movie, “Ninety-nine percent of the movies that come out in the theater have almost nothing to do with the Lord and Christian themes. I think this movie can encourage a lot of people during difficult times. They will laugh, be encouraged and touched.”

Personally, I believe this is one of those times that we can actually have a positive impact on our culture and much like Fireproof, I am glad to use the medium of film. Christiano goes on to say, “The church normally just plays defense…Hollywood will do something we don’t like, and we complain about it. We need to go on the offense! Let’s put forth films that can be positive for our society like ‘The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry.’”

The Modesto Bee will be running an article on the film this week. We have planned a live interview on a popular Christian radio station in the central valley. Lastly, the three of us had the opportunity to talk about the film the other night on AVC’s LighthouseLive! radio program. I’ve edited the program down to the portion where we talk about the movie. Give it a listen…then…go see the movie and take someone with you that could benefit from the message of the gospel!

Quietly Making Noise,
Fletch

With a quick phone call, the details are provided and the connection is made. Volunteers (individuals or churches) can quickly get to work meeting the need. Sometimes it requires just muscle and momentum and at other times it may require coordinating the right people to get the job done. From the beginning, I thought this was brilliant. For a smaller church like ours, practical service in the local area is difficult to locate and initiate. Recognition of the need, organization and facilitation are all reasons why a willing individual would not typically help. That is the beauty of a ministry like AVC. They have already found the needs…all they need are volunteers.

Whereas a large church may have an active ministry to the homeless or to local missions, many small churches or motivated individuals lack that resource. So, why reinvent the wheel? God is already working in our local area. We just need to join him with our time, treasure and talents.

Last night, I had the opportunity to join the team at AVC on their live podcast where I shared a little more about what motivates me to serve with them. If you get the opportunity, give the interview a listen. I hope it motivates you to serve in your own local community. If you live in the Central Valley and want to serve in some small way, let me know and I’ll do what I can to coordinate you with AVC.

Quietly Making Noise,
Fletch