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

Friends and family of theMangoTimes kicked off our summer last night with an evening concert in our backyard! Jon Troast entertained us with over an hour of requests, fun stories, and great crowd interaction. We did our best to provide a crowd of 75 for his Central Valley stop. We registered as #57 on his 100 Concerts in 100 Days tour. Aside from a few goats, helicopter transport planes, and hungry mosquitos, it was a fantastic concert. From “Lake Geneva” to “The BreakUp Song” to “Family,” he played all the crowd favorites…as well as my current fav – “One Little Corner.”

Pie? Did you say pie? Yes, we had pie…a lot of pie. We also gave the new trampoline a workout with all the kids as we welcomed our favorite season of the year. Throughout the summer we are promise to get our work done early on Saturday afternoons and open the back porch for lazy food and pool nights. If you are in the area, please feel free to join us as we wind down our week with blended drinks, barbeques and cool tunes…all summer long!

If you haven’t heard of Jon Troast, I highly recommend giving a listen to a few of his songs.

You can subscribe to Jon’s podcast through iTunes or if you want to hear our stop, click below.
#57 Hughson, CA©Jon Troast, 2009

Quietly Making Noise,
Fletch