“The hurrieder I go the behinder I get.” At least that’s what my father used to say. It was one of his fondest statements. It comes to mind today as I look at Pastor Dave Online and realize it’s been 13 days since my last post.

Truly, where has the time gone? The last two weeks have been a blur of meetings, budgets, appointments, more meetings, message preparation, teaching, and consultations. Please understand, I can document the time; I just don’t know where it went.

The wisdom writer in Ecclesiastes says “there is a time for everything.” (3:1) Today, I’m wondering if that’s true.

At any rate, if you’re a faithful reader, I apologize for the absence of thoughts and posts over the last couple of weeks. If you will keep reading, I will keep writing (and in a timelier manner). Thanks for your patience.

How’s your week been? If it’s been like mine there are probably some moments when you weren’t at our best…for which you are feeling regret. Maybe you’ve thought, “I wish I hadn’t said that.” Could it be there were some things you probably shouldn’t have done? Were there some attitudes you shouldn’t have nursed? And you’re thinking, “Yeah…Again.”

There are some great lines, a prayer actually, in Chuck Swindoll’s book, Hope Again. Read them, personalize them, pray them, live them:

“Dear Father, every person reading these words, including the one writing them, has experienced failure. It has left us broken and disappointed in ourselves. And there are times when a flashback of those failures returns to haunt us. How sad it makes us when we recall those moments! Thank You for the remarkable transformation made possible by forgiveness. Thank You for understanding that ‘we are but dust,’ often incapable of fulfilling our own promises or living up to our own expectations. Renew our hope – hope beyond failure…We look to You for the ability to hope again, for You, alone, have the power to make something beautiful and good out of lives littered with the debris of words we should never have said and deeds we should never have done. Our only source of relief comes through Your grace.”

An interesting L.A. Times article today “paints” an unusual picture about an ongoing battle involving the famed Christian-theme-oriented painter, Thomas Kinkade, and some of his art dealers. Apparently Kinkade’s dealers are not becoming as rich as the self-proclaimed “Painter of Light” and that irks them.

Accusations include drunken behavior, cursing, inappropriate touching, and public indecency. In a letter emailed to his licensed gallery owners earlier this week, Kinkade suggested that he “might have behaved badly during a stressful time” but also blamed disgruntled former dealers and employees of launching “media attacks” on him.

I don’t know if any of the charges are true. (I’m not sure I really care.) But two thoughts come to mind. The qualifying phrase “might have” is disturbing to me. Either you behaved badly or you didn’t. If you did, then confess it, repent of it, seek forgiveness and grace, and move on. If you didn’t, then move on quietly without accusation.

A second thought: we so quickly and so often lift our human heroes to such high pedestals only to watch them fall (sometimes with our help). And we walk away scratching our heads. I’m reminded today that there was only One who was perfect; only One who never faltered or sinned; and only One who can truly claim to be the “Painter of Light.” It’s Him, and only Him that we worship. The rest of us, at best, are plagued with “feet of clay.”

I’m fairly certain you’ve heard of the ONE Campaign. If not, I’m even more certain you’ve heard of Bono, lead singer for the band U2.

The ONE campaign is receiving much press in both secular and Christian worlds, and to narrow the focus a bit more, not a little in the evangelical world.

I’m still researching it but it speaks to me, and appeals to me. For a great perspective on the ONE Campaign, visit the BLOG site of Mark Roberts. Mark is the Senior Pastor of the Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a community in Orange County, just outside of Los Angeles).

Read it thoughtfully, prayerfully, and with an open mind.

My name is Dave; I’m a pastor. (“Hi Dave!”) Thank you. As a result, I’ve never really had to find a church to attend. You know, never moved to a new town and wondered, “Hmm. I wonder what church we should go to tomorrow.” So I can’t identify with the majority of church attenders who had to, at one time or another, decide on a church.

What kinds of things do you look for? What kind of questions do you ask? Those are appropriate subjects to think about from a pastor’s point of view also. I must recognize what is running through the minds of first-time attenders at my church on Sunday.

If you happen to be in the Boise, Idaho area on Sunday, why not give New Heights Christian Fellowship a try? If you do, you’ll probably wonder sometime, “What kind of church is this?” I hope to answer some of those questions in both of our weekend services on Sunday.

Tomorrow, I begin a trilogy of vision messages titled Made for a Mission. The first message is called “New Heights 101.” It’s a basic description of who we are, what we are trying to accomplish, and even more important, HOW we’ll do it. Tomorrow’s message includes the unveiling of our seven-step strategy to accomplish our God-given mission.

Check us out tomorrow. You can also go to the New Heights website to find out more about our church. But there’s nothing like being there. If you come tomorrow, please look for me; I’d like to meet you.

I’m in Spokane, Washington tonight where I’ll meet with the Board of Directors for the Columbia River Conference of the Free Methodist Church of North America tomorrow. That means, for the first time, Pastor Dave Online has hit the road. Where will my blog journey take me on the Information Highway? I have no idea.

Like many, I’m learning as I go, and the learning curve is pretty steep these days. A very helpful tool is a book by Hugh Hewitt, Blog: Understanding the Information Reformation that’s Changing Your World. His information provides inspiration and excitement to say the least, not to mention vision expanding ideas and possibilities.

My son, a young aspiring film student in southern California, put me on to it. (Check out his Blog as well as Hugh Hewitt’s.) So, again the question, where will my blog journey take me? Don’t know; not sure I really care. But stay tuned. As I learn, you’ll learn, and maybe both of us will be the better for it.

I’m a news junkie. I love to hear and know what’s going on. BUT – I’m tired of anger. I’m convinced we live in the angriest age ever. Whether it’s anger over who’s in the White House, who’s number one in the college basketball polls, or why the Pastor won’t do it my way at my church, anger is everywhere. There is a great Washington Times piece on anger in politics and, even more specific, the results of it.

This week’s antics by the likes of Jimmy Carter at the Coretta Scott King funeral should be proof enough of our problems with anger management. When will we learn?

I’m moving into a different age. This begins my blogging attempt. What will it do? What will it accomplish? I have no idea. But my son tells me this is important so I will dutifully do it. Who knows where this will go?