Here it is Labor Day weekend, the official end of Summer, but it feels like Fall started a week ago. Many Portland area kids started school last Monday and the weather today is autumn—ish. I hope you had a chance to get some down time this summer or at least a slower pace of life for a...
“If you hear someday that I’m in prison, please pray for me.” The comment was made offhandedly, half-jokingly by Pastor Alexey Shipovski in his sermon to us last Sunday. But the reality out of which his comment arises is no laughing matter. The government of Russia has recently...
For more than six weeks now, Paulette and I have been on the receiving end of fellowship. We made the move to our new home on Father’s Day weekend. In the weeks before our move and in the weeks since, very many of you in our church family have “fellowshipped” by sharing your...
I have written before about how I enjoy the time between seasons more than the actual seasons themselves. There is a mixture of both relief and anticipation in these ‘tweener’ times. Relief, for example, that winter is over and anticipation of the spring and summer ahead. A mixture...
Last Sunday, Palm Sunday, we concluded another session of our “learning to live the Jesus life” course which we call Core. Core is a month-long experience in the intensive practice of several spiritual disciplines. As is our practice, during that last session, we took some time to...
The last couple of weeks have brought significant gains and losses for our church family. We are excited to welcome David Smith and his wife, Ruth, into our community as our Worship Pastor. We will be ‘installing’ David in his new role this coming Sunday. I hope you can be with us to...
I hope most of you have heard by now that David Smith has enthusiastically accepted the position of Pastor of Worship and Global Partners at GPBC. David and Ruth will arrive in Portland late in the day on Sunday, March 6th, and will be with us in church the next Sunday. We are excited to...
The search for new pastoral staff is an arduous process for the search team, the elders, and the applicants. Most applicants don’t survive the process either because we see that they are not a fit for our church or they see that we are not a fit for them. I’m happy to report that one...
You are receiving this newsletter on Christmas Day. So, Merry Christmas! Here are two things that are more important for you to do today other than reading this blog. Do both of them if you can. Engage in a meaningful conversation with one or more of the family members or friends that you...
We are in the Advent season now, officially looking forward to Christmas. However I still find myself looking backward at my recent trip to visit our church’s families in Spain and the Middle East. I am very grateful to John Brunton and our Global Partners team along with a great team of...