Deurty

I am in the process of laying out a marriage-focused series in the new year. I am looking to you for your thoughts on the question below: What are the biggest challenges facing marriages today? Thanks for helping shape the series, sd

As the end of 2007 comes rushing toward me, I am making a resolution to read more in 2008. I already have the books - I just need to finish them/start them/reread them. Here is my starting list of books I'd like to get to. I am sure some others will jump in and others will jump out... Non Fiction: > The Courage to Teach by Parker Palmer > Three Signs of a Miserable Job by Lencioni > Simplicity by Rohr > It's All in How You Tell It by Robinson > Writing about your life by Zinser Fiction: > Black by Dekker > Godric by Buechner How about you? Any good books? Reading Rainbow, sd

I don't like snow. Snow is bad enough by itself, but when it chooses to arrive Saturday late/Sunday early it makes my sleep patterns suffer. So now, I wonder how much snow we will get... I wonder other things like: > Will this be a big storm or a lot of big news hype? > Will the High School Parking lot be plowed before we gather? > Will we be able to get both trailers to the high school? > Is it too dangerous to travel - aka: do we cancel? Watch what other churches do. > What time should I get up to find out the scoop? > Why don't I like somewhere warm? Anyways - I don't see too bad of a storm coming, but these Saturday night/Sunday storms are always a bit more anxiety producing than any other. O the joys, sd

What is the difference between the kids in these photos? The three on the swing are my kids. They live with my wife and I and have all the food, clothing, shelter, running water, educational opportunities, family and friend support they need to live comfortable and healthy lives. The four children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS and live with their grand mother in a shanty town outside of Johannesburg. The don't have running water and lack many of the basic support systems we take for granted. One of the most common values of the culture is the rugged individualism that honors the person who picked themselves up by their own bootstraps. We value the person who works with what they've been given and carves out a life of success and doesn't need others to prop them up. We may feel like not getting involved in the needs of the poor because we worked hard with what we were given and they should do the same. However, what if you weren't given much to work hard with? What i...

I am back from a ten day trip to Johannesburg, South Africa. As I stated in a previous blog post I went to partner with Vox United. I don't have the energy or wisdom to lay out the many different experiences and corresponding threads of meaning at the moment, but I wanted to share one thing that God reminded me of. Every person is valuable and is to be loved. Some of the experiences we had: > Visits to multiple townships (shanty towns). > Museums (Soweto and Apartied). > Trip to a Hospice to visit those dying of HIV/AIDS and dealing with other issues. > Sharing with local pastors and hearing their vision and challenges. > Preaching with an interpreter at Soweto Vineyard Church. > Learning about the injustice, oppression, poverty and disease from people. Through the visits, the discussions, the sharing, and the walks through townships I began to see people more and more as God saw them... as His children - His beloved - the apple of His eye - those made in ...

One of my all time favorite bands is "The Cult." I have followed them since late high school. On Friday (day after giving thanks) I went to see them perform in Grand Rapids at the Orbit Room with some buddies from high school days. It was a great show and I even got to get shoved around a bit by an enormous drunk dude. I kept thinking..."blessed are the peacemakers" and so I tried to help bring some peace to a blossoming fight. So I helped a guy get out of an intimidating moment. I'm glad I didn't have to face the "turn the other cheek scenario." :) Anyways it was a great show and they played a great mix of old and new. Recharging experience and good to catch up with old friends! Owwwwww Yeah! sd

My dad and I are traveling alongside Dr. Sherrie to South Africa. We will be hooking up with "Vox United" and looking into potential ways Watermark can continue Jesus' work in His way in Johannesburg. I'll keep you posted... maybe. :) I think black Friday is a stain on Thanksgiving, sd

Hey y'all - I hope each of you have an amazing Thanksgiving wherever you are in the world. I'm thankful for the interactions we have from time to time. Tomorrow I join my family, some friends who are like family, and a bunch of folks without local family for a feast in the Central Wesleyan gym. It is a big event with lots of people and basketball. So I eat as much as I can and then burn it off immediately. Anyways - hoping your day is special. sd

Growing up I needed to "believe" all the right stuff about God, Jesus, the cross, etc... if I wanted to become a believer I needed to learn more about the right beliefs and defend them and get them straight. Learning the Apostle's Creed was helpful. But, for much of my life I have been a "believer" in Jesus, but I didn't believe Him (or in other words - I didn't share His beliefs.) So I was (in the words of my friend John): a radical unbeliever. I believed the "right stuff," but didn't share in the beliefs of Jesus and therefore, didn't do a lot of following... I had the beliefs, but the beliefs of Jesus did not have me. I do believe it is important to believe in Jesus as God's Son and to embrace the Apostle's Creed as truth to believe in, but if we stop there - we are missing out on sharing Jesus' beliefs and seeing our lives become what we were made for. Instead we stink of hypocrisy and the average Christian (I suppo...

What comes to mind when you see this image? The verse this man references is Mark 1:15 which is the words of Jesus we as a church are walking through at the moment in our "Kingdom" conversation. The verse says, "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" I am not into sign holding. First of all my arms get tired and secondly I don't believe it is effective. Someone may have statistics that show that after someone has seen a sign ten times they will join Jesus' movement, but I kinda doubt it. So, this brings me to the verse and the word written on this poster: "Repent." This week Sunday we are going to be looking at that word. Many of you may have heard that to "repent" means to turn around, to change direction, or to return. But as I've studied the past few weeks about this verse and this call from Jesus I have come to some surprising challenges - and they were direct...

I want my wife back. Countdown has begun. I better get working on the dishes, sd

Vicki is enjoying the warmth of Arizona while I am enjoying the warmth of my son's freshly wet diapers. Gross - sorry - I needed a picture. I am home daddy slice with the three little amigos. I hope to find time to work on my study and message in the evenings... But tonight is "the office" and that is really important to see. Vicki gave me a pack of Snickers before she left and I finished them in two days. Yikes! I drug myself with those suckers... The first step is to admit I have a problem... the second step is to get out there and buy another pack. This week we are beginning a new conversation series entitled, "The Kingdom." I have wanted to focus on this for the past couple years and now it is here and I desire for the Spirit of God to change us and therefore bless our community. I feel the weight of sharing the stories... I so want to be more kingdom focused and leave behind the most basic worldview I am baptized into... stuff like, "Get more, ...

1. Johnny Papelbon's try hard stare. 2. Josh Beckett's under-chin hair patch. 3. The Colorado Rockies being in the series. 4. The Detroit Tigers not being in the series. 5. Sweeps make the series a yawn-fest. I feel better after getting that off my chest. sd

I have a new friend named Joel Powers. Here is my interview with him: Joel, where did you grow up? > Chicago, IL What were some of your favorite bands growing up? > The Cure, Pixies, Skinny Puppy, Beatles, Rush, and Elvis Costello Best book you've read in the past year? > Living Buddha, living Christ by Tich Naht Hahn How tall are you? > Five foot eight inches. Favorite drink? > Coffee Current shoe? > Dye ATC Thing you want to say to those who read this? > If you haven't been to Watermark you should and I'm not just saying that because you (Deurty) are typing this. So - there you go. You got to know Joel a bit. I especially liked his taste in music! How would the rest of you answer these questions? sd

Vicki and I had such a great time going to The Police concert earlier this year that it made me want to go to more concerts... There are a lot of bands I would love to see come to Grand Rapids... U2, The Killers, Duran Duran, etc... So, how about you? What band would you like to come to the area so you can see them? (assuming you could afford the tickets) Please no country, sd

Am I scared of technology? I have an ipod nano, a laptop computer, a cell phone, and a van with more computing power than my old TRS Model 1 computer. Has technology made life better? Every time I am in a hospital or connect online with a long lost friend I say yes! They save time, they are used to save lives, and they make life comfortable. But, I get fatigued by the way I am connected to technology and how much I have come to depend on it... for relationships... for entertainment... for learning... and what that connection has led me to loose. (Often the very things I am hoping to gain.) I secretly wish I could be an Urban Amish. Minus the clothes and beard that I could never grow. Yes, I know I am idealizing the simple life, but I think taking moments to reflect on if technology has made our lives better and in what ways is helpful. What bit of technology can you not live without and how might your life change if you lost it? I hate cell phones, sd

One thing that I've done for most of my life is think through various scenarios. I would have conversations with myself that I envisioned would take place with another person. I would get my facts straight, think through the issues, recall the why and the what, and just gear myself up for conversations that may take place. The problem is... they rarely if ever took place. But I felt more prepared anyway. It was a tool that I thought would bring peace when I was anxious and feeling defensive. However the reality is that it just created more anxiety and took up more time and head space. Rehearsing hasn't been helpful for me and I am trying to kill it. I was driving the other day and feeling a bit anxious about how someone might respond to something and I launched into my rehearsal. This and that started coming out of mouth as I drove along and then I realized what I was doing. I just stopped the stream of justifications and said,"God, you love me and I'm your kid...

I love Mongolian BBQ. I can stomach Arby's. In both of these places I have found bells that are supposed to be rung if you had good service. (And left a tip at Mongolian.) I heard a couple ladies chatting today about churches, pastors, and services at the local coffee place. They talked way toooo loudly and were quite passionate in their concerns for the church. I overheard the discussion about the pastor who is trying to implement new ideas into an established church. I couldn't help hear about the way the church is creating problems with their different worship styles. I heard about a husband who gets frustrated regularly with the church. In the midst of this I couldn't take it any more. I said in a talking voice, "Jesus bring unity." They didn't seem to slow down, but I felt better throwing my frustration with the chit chat at Jesus (perhaps the chit chat was done under the label of concern and seeking God). The chit chat seemed to treat the church ...

Tomorrow we are launching our new Watermark family website: We are Marked. Check it out. Brad Zimmerman put it together and did a great job. Brad's company is: Vinmark Productions. I recommend him to you. I also got an article up on one of my pet hobby projects for the year: Deurty.com It was an article for our newsletter, but I'll be putting up other stuff soon... Anyways go Tigers! sd

I have a friend who is currently in jail and I have been able to visit him and check in. Anyways, a week or so ago, Harrison asked me where I was going and I explained that I was going to visit our friend who is in jail. Harrison said, "Are you going to save him?" I said, "What do you mean?" He said, "Are you going to save him?" I said, "Do you mean help him get out of jail?" He said, "Yes." This exchange made me think about a couple things... 1) I was shocked to hear my four year old son use a very churchy word like "save." I wondered if I had said it around him... I realized that he wasn't talking about the "save" that I was thinking about. When he asked me if I was going to "save" our friend he was not expecting me to share the good news and have him say yes in a prayer to see him spiritually saved... that was my assumption. 2) My son thinks I have what it takes to break into a jail and set the c...