Early on in my married life, I determined, with ironclad conviction, that I would dedicate myself to the activity of surfing for the remainder of my days. I was certain, I would one day raise my yet-to-arrive-children to be comfortable with sand in their hair, their toes, and even a harmless bit of it in their granola bars and beach snacks. I envisioned us spending our days camped out along the seaside, playing together, nightly taking in sunsets over the Pacific ocean. However, my grip on that conviction started to weaken once my actual (not fantasy) children began to arrive. Because in the wake of “onesies,” and late nights with no sleep, and soccer teams, and a minivan, Amanda and I realized that kids eat sand, apparently funnel it in their diapers, and run with determination into arriving cars and crashing waves. We started to find the beach to be far more of a nuisance than a joy. I eventually, and reluctantly found ways to put my surfboards in places far less convenient to easy access, but better for long-term storage purposes and garage access.

But, that process began to reverse itself this summer. My two oldest (10 and 12) discovered a new, yet seemingly familiar love. Now, those who used to eat sand, dare cars in the parking lots to a game of chicken (a la: toddler-versus-car), and demand a nap in the middle of the day, can’t surf enough. The water that used to terrify them (and their sleep-deprived parents) now calls to them with the promise of adventure. The question: “What are we doing today?” has now been replaced by, “Can we go surfing today?” They, like most kids who surf, don’t ever stop once they’re in the water. For three or four hours they paddle in a kind of endless surf-treadmill: ride a wave, paddle out, paddle into a wave, ride a wave, and so on…

In looking back over the past few months, I’ve been trying to figure out what the “magic bullet” was. Why did they, all of a sudden, decide this was an activity they sought after? The only thing I can conclude regarding this surf enthusiasm was that they found friends to accompany them. This phenomenon is simple and time-tested. We know it with great familiarity. I find that question we ask first in most circumstances is not, “what are we doing?” but “who’s going to be there?” We can do most anything: adventurous, scary, daring, boring, or even labor-intensive if we’re with people willing to share the experience with us.

To stretch the analogy a little further… This year, as we proverbially “put away the white shoes” after Labor Day, we’ll look into the fall calendar and possibly wonder about the adventure ahead. For me, that adventure involves launching our new service on Sundays at 5pm. I’m grateful we get to take that next step together. It marks a great moment for our church community. Yet, for others of us, our present and near-future adventures are not the ones we eagerly sought because we’re in the midst of “it.” It hurts. It is a challenge. It feels like we’re ready to give up. So, we’re finding we may need other people more than ever — more than we thought we did. And, it turns out, they need us, too. So, no matter what’s ahead, don’t let an opportunity to get connected slip by. Start that process with our “Community Kick-off” on September 14th. So whether you’ve yet to complete the ROOTED experience or haven’t quite found a connection in a life group, come. Whatever’s ahead and whatever we’ll face can be met with confidence and even a sense of joy, so long as we’re not alone.

See you Sunday,

Jeff

Sunday Service Times

Sunday: 9 & 11a and 5p (beginning the 2nd Sunday in September)
Worship Center

Listen to past messages here.

“...I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”
– EPHESIANS 4:1

People talk about “knowing their calling”, “discovering their calling,” or “living out their calling” all the time. Whenever we’re dissatisfied with our lives (particularly, with our jobs) we start questioning whether or not we were called to life as it is. It seems like people who live within the rough framework of that semi-illusive idea are few and far between. For a lot of us, we wish we knew what that felt like. People who talk about that kind of life exude the kind of confidence, generosity, beauty, and comfort within their own skin, we long for. In many respects, we imagine that a clear sense of our calling will answer for us the deeper questions of our lives. We assume that the massively successful — the geniuses, the flourishing, the conquerors, and the champions must know more about calling than we do. As recently as last Sunday we could see how NBC played upon this notion during their Olympics broadcast.

Even though the Olympics have quickly made the transition out of our consciousness (except, perhaps for the ongoing Ryan-Lochte-lying-about-being-held-up-saga), I was reminded today of a soundbite on the subject of calling from the Rio games. I remembered that somewhere in the midst of the media frenzy preceding and surrounding America’s most famous Olympians, an athlete said something that stuck. It came in one of the emotion-laden backstories aired in the pre-competition moments between commercial breaks and before the introduction of the competitors. Somewhere between the home video footage of young aspiration and nascent athletic dominance, and over the rich instrumentals, the much-heralded Kerri Walsh-Jennings, offered this succinct declaration of a calling: “I feel like I was born to have babies and play volleyball.” She didn’t use the word “calling,” but the impact is the same: “I was born to…”

Kerri believes that the more she lives her life within the scope of those two things (volleyball and being a mother), the more “Kerri” she’ll become. What she’s actually saying then, is that there is an overlap between the identity behind a particular calling and the actions which authenticate it — the one always requires the other. It’s easy for us to get this one wrong. Sometimes we’ll try to create activity pretending or wanting it to be “who we are.” Other times, we’ll declare a fresh, epiphanal affirmation of who God has created us to be, without any supporting evidence of action, eventually wondering why it doesn’t seem to fit right.

This Sunday, we’ll take a look at the idea of calling. While, the longview of calling may be somewhat individual and specific, we may also discover that it is something held collectively among us. So, though we won’t answer every question about every aspect of the issue, we’ll step into and see where God leads us.

See you Sunday,

Jeff

I’ve been on a number of teams over the course of my life. Some of them have won championships. Many of the teams from my childhood could only look past devastating losses envisioning a box juice and a granola bar as the bright spot on an otherwise bleak Saturday morning. Whether we won or lost, the lessons we hope kids learn, sometimes in spite of the parent cheering/sideline coaching/referee-antagonizing, is about the team itself. We make friends. We commit to each other and to hard work. We learn about triumph and overcoming. We remember that no matter what, we’re in it (whatever “it” may be) together.

Sometimes a team stands out. To look back on the old pictures of the buck-toothed, freckled, alfalfa-haired boys of my childhood sports teams, there are only a few team pictures where I can name everyone. Those are the teams that meant the most, not merely because we posted successful win-loss records, but because those teams lived and played like family. In most cases, the teams characterized by the greatest successes on the field likewise engendered a life of selfless dedication to each other off it. We were friends first and teammates second. Generally, the line between the two was indistinguishable.

This past week, as our Mariners MV staff got away together for a brief retreat, I was reminded about the impact of serving on a staff team that loves like a family. We played together. We ate together. We discovered that foremost among those things to which God has called us, is a dedication to each other. I’m so grateful for the team at Mariners MV. I get to serve alongside the most talented, brightest, most enthusiastic, and most dedicated people I know. I’m honored to call them family.

As a staff team, we’re eagerly anticipating the arrival of our newest addition — our high school pastor, Jeff Bachman. This Sunday, following the 11am service (12:45pm), we’ll have a brief get-together for those who have high school aged kids, would like to serve in our high school ministry, or who are presently in high school. We’ll eat some lunch and then we’ll hear from Jeff. I’m certain it will become clear why we’re all so excited to have him join our Mariners MV family.

See you Sunday,

Jeff

PS: This Sunday, as we wrap up our JAMES series, we’ll conclude, as James’ letter to the early church instructs, to pray for healing. So, for the hurting, the weak, emotionally scarred, those who have blown it, the pained, and those who are willing to address the reality of their own struggle, we’ll ask God to meet us in the midst of it all. It won’t be a circus. There will be no gimmick. We will, however, with hope and faith, seek God’s healing power for us.

Thriving faith leads to a life of meaning and purpose. Jesus’ brother, James, boldly challenges us to put our faith into action—becoming people of prayer, harnessing our words and pursuing wisdom. Join us as we learn to put the practical into practice and become the people God calls us to be.

Sunday: 9 & 11a and 5p (beginning the 2nd Sunday in September)
Worship Center

Listen to messages from our James series.

Help low income students in need in our Mission Viejo community start the school year off right by giving them the basic back to school supplies that every student needs. Afterwards, join us for a Sorting Party with pizza and music to organize supplies. Click here to RSVP. Download the supply list here.

SCHOOL SUPPLY DROP-OFF
Aug 7, 14 & 21, after services

SCHOOL SUPPLY SORTING PARTY
Aug 21, 11a, after service 

I visit Texas every year — usually at the worst time of the year (Summer). I know many of you who have made Mariners MV your church home are aware my relationship to the Lone Star state is spotted at best. I know I do a less than stellar job of diplomatically talking about Texas. In August, Texas is hot, really hot… all the time. It’s like a Finnish sauna.  Only, in the case of San Antonio, the heat and crippling humidity is inescapably everywhere. People in a sauna, after too much time, get too hot and leave it. Not so, in the home of the Alamo. But, family does live there. So, we go. And, in going, I am always reminded that despite my overdone cynicism, every visit is far more redemptive than not.

My father-in-law is a quintessential car guy. He knows how to talk about cars with the best of ‘em. He loves to talk about his first few cars with great enthusiasm. They were the good ones. He’s a very practical guy. He talks a lot about “value.” He is neither stingy nor excessive. He’s generous and thoughtful. He makes sensible decisions, especially when it comes to cars…always.

However, in this visit to Texas, there was something new and distinctly car-shaped under a cover in the garage. My mother-in-law’s practical mid-size SUV was parked there next to it. Under that canvas cover was an old memory encased in a shiny silver metallic flake exterior and a red leather interior. Bob pulled back the cover to reveal something that seemed to occupy a space outside the practical universe in which he always dwelled. Bob had acquired a ‘63 corvette. His intent is to fully restore it to its original design. At present, it’s a work, not yet fully completed. Practical Bob has driven practical cars for most of his responsible adult life. He drove back-to-back Buick LeSabres in the early 90’s. He then went crazy and jumped headlong into indulgence with a base model Ford Explorer. After that, two more for the front spots in the outdoor valet rotunda at the pricey hotel parking lots, next to the shiny Italian imports: Chevy Suburbans.

And now… A distinguished fragment from past aspirations — an undeniable classic.

He took me for a ride in it. To ride in a nearly restored classic car is to elicit a different response than merely driving in a “nice” car. I have friends that have taken me for a ride in their expensive imports. It’s fun. But, it’s abundantly clear that riding in the passenger seat of a car that is over 50 years old, tells a different story to people. That story — the story of restoration — is a much more compelling story than the one told by buying something new. We can’t help but connect viscerally to the narrative of something lost and then recovered again.

It’s the same thing we want for ourselves. It’s what we want for the world, our community, our neighborhoods, our jobs, and our families. We can see glimpses of the way things are supposed to be and in so witnessing, we smile, wave, honk our approval, or give a thumbs-up when we pass by. To see things brought back to even a tiny step closer to their intended design, we can’t help but be filled.

This Sunday, will elaborate on God’s restoration project in the world and what it means for people like us as we continue in our JAMES series.

See you soon,

Jeff

Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went to an isolated place to pray.
– Mark 1:35

Do you ever feel like things are getting away from you? Just when you think you have everything under control, you realize that in reality you have nothing under control. Nothing. None of the things. When we get to that breaking point, the end of our rope, we start to think of Jesus. (Why does it always have to get there first?) Doesn’t Jesus have something to say about this? Doesn’t His transformational power have something to offer to our chaos? Please?

Jesus always blows me away with the simplicity of His actions. We often make Him out to be a complicated man, someone who changes or creates complex systems. We often subscribe to the notion that we could never model His life because it was just “too much.” Certainly if we followed Jesus and His teachings more closely, we would become overwhelmed. Few things scare us more than setting ourselves up to become overwhelmed. Especially in the days of kids, jobs, hobbies, school, responsibilities, and their balance.

As we approach Junior High Ministry’s Summer Camp season (and, if I’m being honest, as a pregnant person whose brain doesn’t work so well these days), feeling overwhelmed is the story of my life. I get so confident in my own abilities to balance life. I prepare things in advance, I bring people in the journey with me, I ascribe duties based on people’s passions and interests – and yet – I let myself down on a regular basis. Things come up that can’t be planned for. A conflict arises. Numbers don’t add up. There are few times in my life more humbling than the weeks leading up to camp.

And yet.

Considering Jesus and His life, I notice a practice he had. He would “get up and go to an isolated place to pray” before things he would have to do. His life required balance just like mine does, but he started off with prayer. Simple. Uncomplicated. Prayer.

As things move toward camp (we leave Monday!), would you join me in this charge to prayer? Before we go about our camp days, would you model Jesus with me and pray FIRST?
•    Pray for our leaders’ health, families, and connection to their students
•    Students’ health, families, and connection to their leaders
•    Camp logistics – smooth running schedules and relationships between camp staff and church staff
•    God’s transformational power to move the hearts of our students toward a deeper relationship with Him and a next step in faith

Please also keep our HSM students and leaders in prayer, who will be heading to camp next week as well, at Lost Canyon in Arizona!

Can’t wait to share stories with you when we come back.

Hilary

Join the Mexico ministry as we return to Ribera Del Bosque Church and continue to improve upon their church building. It will be a day of building, fellowship and crafts/games with the local children. No experience needed. Older children welcome!  More info here or search “Mexico” on our website.

MEXICO FAITH ADVENTURE
Sat, Aug 13, 6a-9p
$40/adult and $20/student under 16 years

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. 
His love endures forever.
– Psalm 136:1

I don’t know about you, but for our family, this summer seems to be flying by. Samantha and I keep grasping for opportunities to connect with each other, our kids and our friends and family, as the precious summer moments pass. Before we know it, our kids will be heading back to school and fall will be upon us.

I’m excited about all that God has been doing in the Mariners MV community this summer; the annual Men’s Retreat, Serve Day 3.0, and our Summer Fun Nights VBS, just to name a few. God is so good! And I am equally excited to embrace all that God has in store for us this fall! Here are some things we are looking forward to as a community:

• We are growing! You may have heard Jeff announce last weekend that we will be adding a new service time: Sundays @ 5p! You have been such a great community of inviters and this new service time will give more people in our neighborhoods opportunities to encounter Jesus. The new service time begins the Sunday after Labor Day.
• We have a new High School Pastor! With a high school student of my own, I am thrilled about Jeff Bachman joining our staff team this September.
• Our volunteer leaders are getting ready for fall! We believe that life is lived out best in community. Our Community Kick Off will happen on Wed, Sep 14 where everyone will have an opportunity to get connected through Rooted, Life Groups and Financial Peace University. Click here to sign up for any of the groups.
• MOPS! We are starting a new Mothers of Preschoolers community here at Mariners MV on Fridays this fall. MOPS seeks to provide support and friendship during a fun, yet challenging, season of parenting. For more info or to register, click here.

These are just a few of the exciting things coming our way! I love what God is doing and look forward to what He will do as we continue to seek Him in our lives. Thank you for making this community so great to be a part of. It is really you, the people of Mariners MV, who make it such a great reflection of God’s love for His people.

Don’t miss this Sunday at 9 or 11a as we continue in our JAMES series with guest speaker, Josh Griffin, co-founder of Download Youth Ministry! I will see you there!

Tim Keller
Community Life Pastor