All Forward!

This summer is turning out to be a little different than I had anticipated. The Hummer tour company I have been working for got sold out this year, so I won't be wheeling like I did last year. The good news is I got certified to guide river tours on the river that runs through town. This week I checked out and took my first clients through the rapids. It's been a fun process learning how to navigate the river and I've gotten to know some great people on the crew I work with. It is so amazing to be able to do things like this along with pastoring CTK. Yesterday, one of my fellow guides put it this way, "It's so cool that you're, like, a pastor, but you're a real person".

I'm realizing as well how much being in the water matters to me!

Are We There Yet?!?

Last night we got home from our family road trip to Idaho, via CA. We drove about 3900 miles in two weeks attending Steve's wedding and visiting the Hoffmans in Coeur D'alene, Idaho. We also got to visit Salinas Valley Community Church and see many of our friends from before Durango. Our kids, as it turns out, were born for road-tripping and camping on a road trip is my new favorite thing. I discovered the power of Starbucks Doubleshot, and we got to see Montana which turns out to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. The highlights for me were being with Steve the night before the wedding, smoking pipes and blessing he and Amy as well as catching up with the Hoffmans and seeing how they are settling in to Coeur D'Alene. Thank you to everyone who was part of our trip...we had a great time!

End of an Era

Yesterday we said goodbye to Steve. Steve Boutry has been my partner and friend in the CTK Durango journey. We will still be discovering the impact he has had on this ministry for years to come. I will certainly miss our conversations and "what if" talks over the campfire in my back yard. I will also miss his contribution to the teaching in our services and his companionship in leading the Farmington crew. Most of all, Steve has been my friend these past two years. Having said goodbye to so many of my friends in moving here, it is even more difficult to see Steve go. I felt like we were able to honor him yesterday as a community and we are certainly glad for his marriage to Amy. I'm also pretty excited to see what Boston has in store for Steve and Amy. In moving to Boston, Steve is pretty much living out the pattern God has developed in dealing with us in Durango: the "you won't have any idea what it will look like, but I am sending you to ____________" pattern.

Steve, never ask for a picture of the future. Instead, continue to learn how to recognize when you are exactly where God wants you, and may you always be able to say, "this is the best day of my life".

Bring on the Summer!

Most of the snow has finally melted and the wind is dying down, so Durango has turned the corner to summer. Rafters are starting to dot the river and the occasional Jeep tour is heading up the mountain (even though the high trails are still snowed in). Jenn and the kids have one more week of school before vacation. I start guide school (learning to guide raft trips on the river) at the end of this month and the Hummer tour season should start gearing up soon. We are really looking forward to our road trip to California in the beginning of June. We will be in Salinas for Steve's wedding and then head up to Idaho to visit our friends the Hoffmans.
In the mean time, Jenn and I are starting to check out our favorite hiking trails and enjoying the sunshine!

Coach Chip

We are now two weeks away from the end of our six-year-olds soccer season. I somehow ended up as the coach of the Gutheads (if you think that's bad, you should hear the choices that didn't get voted for!) when there was no one stepping up to coach the boys from Oscar's kindergarten class. It's been a lot of fun and I have really enjoyed working with the boys and getting to know the families.

A CTK Wedding

Last night, Ruthie and Jason from our church got married. It was a lot of fun as far as weddings go. The best thing was that it was our first wedding for CTK in Durango. The whole crew was there and it was pretty cool to be part of their story. We are so excited for Jason, Ruthie, Annie, and Jackson--oh, and Eddie too!

How Honest Do We Have To Be?

One of my favorite things about CTK Durango is our honesty and transparency. We "let it all hang out" with each other. I've heard people talking in our worship services saying, "I feel pretty crappy. In fact, I didn't feel like coming today, but I figured, what the hell!" We've shared the good and the bad. It's a cultural reality for us that has shaped the kind of church we've become.

Recently, however, I was confiding in a friend about some of the difficulties we are having as a family and he mentioned that he was surprised to hear about the struggles because everything seems so positive and upbeat on this blog. Part of this is that there are really so many things going well here. The church is thriving in it's own unique and earthy way. We are reaching the people that no one else seems too interested in. On the other hand, I am feeling pretty convicted that I would showcase these amazing things without also being willing to share less attractive and more difficult happenings.

So, here goes...

While the church is thriving and people are connecting in ways I never thought possible, Jennifer and I are struggling to make it financially. This year, Jenn went to work teaching. We have been living off her income along with a $500 monthly stipend from the church. I guess I don't need to put our budget here, but suffice it to say that we are living on a shoe string. We do not have any form of entertainment or clothing or extra-curricular activities in our personal budget. We don't have cable and I just shut down my final luxury--an account with Nexflix. Our housing costs are low for this area. Our mortgage is less than what it would cost us to rent a house. We have done everything we can to cut costs but we are still not able to quite make ends meet. Right now we are running on about a three hundred dollar deficit each month. As far as debt goes, we have one $240 car payment and about $5000 left to pay on debt we accrued over the first year moving to and settling in Durango. On a positive note, in two months, my income from the church will go from $500 to $1000/month which will be helpful.

I'm not sharing any of this to generate sympathy (or donations for that matter). I am fully aware that there are people all around us who are in far worse condition. My goal here is simply to be as honest and authentic as the faith community that has risen around our efforts here in Durango. I feel no sense of entitlement to any level of income or standard of living. I do, however, have some very real concerns about our financial reality--it is a struggle for us, to say the least. If you're still reading, I will close with this: God has been good to us. He has often affirmed what we are doing here and is moving in fantastic ways in this community. I am having some great moments with my wife, and both my kids--almost daily. I am building on new friendships that challenge and inspire me, and I am looking forward to many things in the coming months. It would be less than honest of me, however, keep such close accounts of all these things and not also share the struggles and costs of working for God in such an unorthodox context as this.

Fishing with the Boy

Yesterday I took Oscar fishing for the first time. He's been with me before when I've been fishing, but this was his first time casting and reeling himself. We didn't catch anything, but he learned how to cast (with a real rod and reel) and reel in a spinning lure. We're going out again today. This spring and summer are going to be a lot of fun--Oscar can do so many things now that we will be able to do things together instead of him watching me have fun. If you know me at all, you know that this time of life has been one of my greatest aspirations. To run down to the river in the afternoon with my son casting lines and laughing when he has to poop in a plastic bag because we are too far from the bathroom! This is going to be one of those summers I will wish I could just wrap up and freeze in time.

Easter

We had a fun Easter service this week. The band was huge (for us) with two guitars, a bass player, a drummer and three vocalists! It sounded great. Stephen, who played bass just started showing up with his wife, Amanda--what a great addition they have been to our group.

My grandma is here visiting. It's pretty fascinating to see her responses to what we're doing here. This is a woman who has been going to church for many, many years. She seemed to enjoy herself, although there were times during the teaching when I could see that her eyes were following the tattoos on my arms as they moved around!

Even though we had a good time, every week that goes by is one week closer to Steve leaving. For two guys who don't know how to express emotion very well, we've grown really close over the last couple years. I'm going to miss his friendship, for sure, but what's really going to get to me is losing my partner in audacious church experimentation. I'm not sure I can live without those conversations that start with some random idea and end with, "why not, let's do it". So much of what has turned out to be an amazing movement of God in our community was birthed from a couple of guys who really didn't have much to lose and couldn't be more in love with the idea of Jesus making great things out of our poverty.

Shared Space (update)

Yesterday we had our first gathering in the new building at Matthew's House. There was a great energy there in the new space with everyone there. I'm sure I will eventually get over my aversion to meeting on Sunday mornings...the benefits will outweigh my hesitations, I'm sure.

After our meeting, a group of us met at my house with some of the people from Patrick Crossing for lunch. We talked about the prospect of looking at what it would be like for us to work together as a team in ministry. It was exciting to see people respond to the concept of biblical unity--especially since there aren't many examples of it working well around us. I can't wait to see what this looks like six months from now!