The Welcomed End of an Old Routine

     I'm sure whenever most of us sit down on the computer we have some sort of routine we go through, or at least a few select websites that we check on a daily basis.  It may be checking email, facebook, the news, the weather, sports, or whatever else interests you.  For me, for the last 2 plus years, this routine has included visiting church "help wanted" websites.  (churchstaffing.com, churchjobs.net, the banner classifieds, etc...) Everyday, I would check to see if any new job postings came up at churches that interested me, and then I'd spend time perusing the websites of the churches that piqued my interest. 
     I no longer have a need to go through this routine anymore.  After a year of school, a lot of waiting, and a lot of praying, God has led Nicole and I to Hillside Community Church in Grand Rapids.  The job search is over.  It's crazy how we are creatures of habit.  The past few days, just out of habit, I visited the same "help wanted" websites, only to stare at the home page and think to myself, "There is nothing to look for here.  I've found what I was looking for already!"  It's really a great feeling.
     While there will be many new challenges ahead, and many more obstacles to overcome, and more ways that our faith will be tested, for now, we can take a deep breath, exhale, and say "Thank you, God!  You have been faithful to us."
     Philippians 4:4-7  "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

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Worship and Prayer

I believe the church needs to relearn the importance of true worship and prayer.  In a culture that is dominated by consumerism, the goal of the church in America has become to meet the needs of its market.  Through top rated programming, concert like Sunday services, and high quality marketing, the church has taught it's attenders that church should meet their needs, and if it doesn't, they should go somewhere else where it does.

My senior pastor has said on a number of occasions, "If all we did was pray and worship, God would blow the roof off our building!"  In other words, God will move mightily in his church if all we did was pray and worship.  I'm not sure about your church, but if my church canceled all programming and just prayed and worshiped, I'm pretty confident we would lose at least half of our attendees.  Worship and prayer is much more about giving of yourself sacrificially and dying to the flesh than it is about meeting our perceived needs.  When we surrender the desires of our flesh and give ourselves in submission to God, then God is able to move and demonstrate his power in our weakness.  The Holy Spirit is the only person capable of radically changing people's hearts, so why do we try so hard to do it on our own?

A few weeks ago, I quoted pastor Brady Boyd on my facebook page.  "If you don't teach your church how to worship, you'll be responsible for entertaining them every Sunday."  The quote came from the video below. Enjoy!


Brady Boyd:The Nines:Game Changing Moment from Timothy Dumais on Vimeo.

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Oh. My. Word.

I would rather...

I will never forget walking into the student lounge at Reformed Bible College nine years ago and seeing the World Trade Centers on fire and then burning to the ground.  I watched for fifteen minutes and then had to go to Christian Doctrine class with Professor Felch.  Class was let out early, and I drove home and spent most of the rest of the day watching the events on TV. 

For most people, September 11, 2001 represents emotions like fear, despair and hate.  To this day, these emotions are very real in the hearts and minds of the people of the United States of America.  They even dictate how we act, how we legislate, how we vote and how we feel about certain groups of people.  I can't help but see how fear, despair and hate are in direct conflict with the Kingdom values of faith, hope and love.  (1 Corinthians 13)


I would rather be known as a person driven by faith, hope and love, than a person motivated by fear, despair and hate.

I would rather burn with desire for the presence of God, than burn the Koran in protest against Islam.

I would rather fight to build more churches in the darkest corners of the world, than fight with other religions about where they can build theirs.

I would rather support causes that reach out to illegal aliens in the name of Christ, than support legislation that shows them no mercy in order to protect the rights of the "hardworking taxpayers"

I would rather be a voice for the poor, the marginalized, and the mistreated, than join the many voices that speak up only when their own rights, and their own bank accounts are being threatened.

I would rather do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God, than do work, love money, and walk proudly because of my accomplishments.

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Love and Marriage

"Love and marriage, love and marriage
Go together like a horse and carriage
This I tell you brother
You can't have one without the other"
           -Frank Sinatra
           (and later ruined by the stupid show, Married with Children)



Marriage is a wonderful, sacred relationship.  I have been married for 8 years, and I can't imagine life with out my wife.  She has been a part of shaping who I have become.  My wife knows me deeper than anyone else.  She even knows the ugly things about me - my short comings, my failures, my sin - yet she is committed to me anyway.  That's what love is.  It's a commitment.  It's not a feeling, or an emotion, or a longing for, although those things often accompany love.  Love is mainly a commitment.  A commitment to die to yourself, your rights, your desires, for the sake of another.  That is what love and marriage is about.  I don't think many people understand this.  Most people want more to be loved, than to love.  This is why over half of marriages fail.  We can only truly love once we embrace how deeply we are loved by our Father in Heaven.  When we believe that he loves us, that we belong to him, then we are free to give our love away with out fear.

Jeff and Katy

Last week my youngest brother asked a lovely young lady to marry him.  It is a happy occasion that we look forward to celebrating.  I pray that they may know, and that you may know as well, how deep, how wide, how long and how wide is the love of the Father.  A love that is beyond all understanding.  A love that is able to do more than you could ever ask or imagine.   You belong.  You are loved.  Nothing can change that.

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