Author: Adam Mashni

Dad

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father. dad. pops. old man. sir.
whatever term you use, today is their day.
here are some things that are true about my dad…the best dad around.
i may be bias, but here goes…

he’s gentle
but still could kick your [you know what]
he has rock solid integrity
a man of conviction
loves Jesus with all his heart
loves his family
has wisdom for any circumstance
isn’t afraid to get under the hood of a car
or even under the car itself
knows how to work hard
but also knows how to sit back and relax
he is compassionate
he is loving

is my dad perfect? nah.
he’s my dad though.
and that’s all I need. and besides…
my dad could beat up your dad.
just sayin.

happy fathers day, dad.

God, give me wisdom

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have you ever found yourself saying “God, give me wisdom!”
i have.
i’ve said it alot lately.
then i remembered something (or rather, God reminded me)
it was almost like God was yelling…
“HEY! I wrote a book once. and in that book there’s another book. it’s ALL ABOUT WISDOM.”
you laugh.  but it’s true.
i wonder if we should stop asking for wisdom and start pursuing it.

or perhaps it’s one of those both/and things.

By Faith…

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was thinking today about all that we, as christians, believe.
conclusion:  we believe some pretty wacky stuff.

by faith we believe

that behind this created world is a loving creator
a virgin gave birth to God’s son, Jesus.
Jesus lived a perfect life (didn’t sin), died on a cross, and rose again.
that by rising again Jesus defeated death…so that we can live.
that anyone who calls on Jesus will be saved

that hell actually exists, and that it’s gonna suck
that Christians make up the Church.
that as the Church, we have access to the Holy Spirit.
that this is the same Holy Spirit that rose Jesus from the dead.
that through Jesus we are “adopted sons and daughters” into God’s family.

that the power we have (God in us) is greater than the power that’s in the world.
that Satan is really real and he’s really mean.
that the Bible is the only inspired word of God.
that one day the world as we know it will cease to exist.
that Jesus is coming to our world again…this time to reign forever.

that no matter what a person has done, Jesus loves them.
that he died for them.
that no one is beyond grace.
that anyone can be redeemed.

I believe all of that.

NorthRidge Brighton-Howell

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i love being apart of a church that gets it.
not exactly sure what “it” is..
ya know, the feeling when you walk in the church building and there’s a holy expectation.
something huge is going on.
well, northridge is no exception.
a year ago we launched northridge saline.  a video-campus in the saline area
this year we’re launching northridge brighton-howell.  a video-campus in the…yea, you get it.
our vision is simple:  we want TONS of people to discover Jesus, develop in Him, and experience Him in their everyday life
so this is just one way we’re reaching the “TONS” of people

if you’re in the brighton-howell area, make sure to check us out

Ragamuffin Soul: Why I love it

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so this has been a long time comin…
i bought carlos whittaker’s album literally minutes after it dropped on iTunes
i had his EP and loved it.
so i was pretty excited to get the full length album
here’s why i love it:
the album was recorded in such a way where it feels like carlos is leading you in worship
it’s obvious that its recorded in a studio…
but the way its recorded is so unique.
carlos literally “leads” you like he would if he was live at a church
you hear the occasional “sing louder now” or “sing like you believe it”
it’s the first time i’ve heard this kind of worship album…and i love it.

it’s unique. it’s personal. it’s non-conforming. it’s just great.

bottom line:  buy it.

Comedy Night @ Velocity

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this past sunday we brought 321 Improv to NorthRidge.
they seriously had everyone in the room crying from laughter.
this was our 3rd annual comedy night, and it was the group’s 3rd time coming
we just like them a lot.
this also doubled as an “8th grade sneak peak” event
in two weeks, on June 20, the 8th graders will become freshman in high school
this event was to open up velocity to them…
simply so they wouldn’t be totally freaked out when they came on June 20


this kid had some serious fashion sense…we were almost wearing the same thing.

here’s to a good laugh.

not your average friday night

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most people aren’t youth pastors
so most people don’t spend their friday nights with junior high students
94 of them to be exact
rustproof hosted what we called “destination unknown”
we split the students up into 4 teams…and sent them in four buses to complete 4 challenges
first team back to the church with all four challenges complete won the race (think of “amazing race”)
here are few pics from the evening



(notice the student bottom left covering her ears due to the screams)


the winning team! (below)

and here were the runner ups…




this event, for us, is a bridge event for our 5th graders.  we “promote” 5th graders to middle school on June 20…so this is a “pre-RustProof” event to get them acquainted with everything.
love that I get to do this

the theology of private ryan

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i watched Saving Private Ryan on Memorial Day.  great reminder of the sacrifice made for the freedom we enjoy.
i had seen the movie before, but had forgotten the power of the plotline.
to do an injustice to the movie i will now sum it up with this statement:
a team of soldiers mobilize to find another soldier, private ryan, in order to grant him his freedom (a trip home).
throughout the entire movie the discussion is had – how valuable is this one life (private ryan’s) that we would risk a team of 8 soldiers to bring him home safely?
that’s a great question.
most of the 8 soldiers end up dying to save private ryan…and one of the last words muttered from the captains mouth was:
earn it.
translation: live a life worthy of the sacrifice me and my team just made for you.

I couldn’t help but think of christianity.
ephesians 4:1 calls believers to “live a life worthy of the calling you’ve received.”
pause:  there is NO WAY we can earn salvation.  i’m not saying that.  we are not under the law anymore…we’re under grace
it’s not by our works that we are right with God…its by Jesus’ finished work on the cross.  amen.

every analogy breaks down somewhere…but the lesson is the same.
every day we have the opportunity to live our lives in such a way that it would be considered “worthy of our calling.”
all too often we use that “we’re-saved-by-grace” mentality as an excuse to do absolutely nothing about our faith
that’s not how its supposed to be
let’s pursue discipline
let’s pursue stronger faith
let’s pursue generosity
let’s pursue sacrifice

let’s pursue lives that are worthy of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ