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The generation gap is easily seen in my own house. If I have a free 15 minutes I might channel surf my T.V. If my kids have 15 free minutes, they will get on their laptops and surf the internet. Our world is becoming internet driven. Just look at my kids.
Which brings me to KACC.com. The number of hits on our church website is rapidly growing and is staggering. Consider that in the last 30 days:
1. 2958 visitors have come to KACC.com. That’s almost 100 hits per day!
2. People from 39 different countries have visited our website including: Philippines (19), Kuwait (12), Canada (9), China (5), Iran (2), and a visitor from Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Bangladesh Pakistan and Turkey.
3. The weekend message was watched in its entirety from someone in Japan, Kenya and the Netherlands within the last two weeks.
Our own congregation is frequently registering online for events and advertising needs in the KACC exchange. We have visitors to our weekend worship services almost every weekend who have discovered us online.
We’re just scratching the surface of our potential impact for Christ through our website. I’m looking forward to maximizing KACC.com together with you.
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Our world is buzzing about the death of Michael Jackson. I was a childhood fan of The Jackson Five. Those tunes were energetic and fun. Who wasn’t impressed with Michael’s moonwalk in the 1980’s?
I had no particular recent emotional attachment to the “King of Pop,” but apparently tens of millions of people do. I am pretty amazed at the worldwide reaction to his death. So, what can we all learn from the passing of Michael Jackson?
 1. Death has a sting (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). Whether death claims a 50 year-old pop star or your 80 year-old parent or grandparent, death cuts us deep inside with a sting of our own mortality and sin.
2. The greater our gifts and talents, the greater will be our requirements to use them well for God (Luke 12:48). There is an ultimate day of accountability for how we managed God’s gracious abilities that he has bestowed upon us. Were we good stewards of His investment into our lives? Did we humbly utilize our talents to enrich the lives of others? Did we build His Kingdom or our own kingdom? Did we honor and glorify Him all along the way?
 3. We should all follow our dreams and visions. Life is simply too short not to venture out and take a few risks and faith-inspired steps. If Michael Jackson could reach the world through music, can you or I reach our families, communities, nation or world with the best news of all time?... Truth and salvation through Jesus Christ!
4. Our conduct and character will follow us throughout our life and beyond. 1Timothy 4:12-16 urges us to be an example of purity, and to pay close attention to ourselves. Our lives should be a model of integrity. We are to live a life that is beyond reproach. Bad choices and decisions in our life will leave a cloud of mixed emotions over the lives of our survivors.
5. Fix family dysfunctions now. Family dysfunction, left unchecked, will never fix itself. Problems must be addressed at their earliest sighting, or the quagmire thickens. I’ve seen too many funerals where relationships that were broken in life are bitter in death. Let’s make every effort to reconcile our families before a tragedy unites us.
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Last Sunday was Father’s Day. I preached three sermons, then I headed home for pizza served to me on my recliner. We all watched the Dodgers defeat the Angels on T.V. Sweet!
The best gift I get as a Father is captured in 3 John 1:4, “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.”
My 19 year-old son Luke arrived home that night from a three week mission trip to Japan. With excitement he recounted how 26 Japanese people received Christ on the trip - the best results from a mission trip to Japan from Cal Baptist students.
Yes, I got two shirts, some candy and a few other items. But my best gift was learning about one of my kids living out their faith for Christ.
Luke is a business major, but his business is really about doing His business. We can always have joy in our kids, but we cannot have greater joy than when our kid’s lifestyle is pleasing to God.
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This week has been a week of celebration of my wife’s 50th birthday – a milestone she is unashamed of. I will admit that I hit that same milestone some time ago, but I was in denial of the calendar.
At 50, my wife is a joyful and fulfilled person because God has granted her the desires of her heart. Psalm 37:4 says “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Phyllis has delighted herself in God since childhood. He has granted her those very good and godly cravings in her soul such as:
Having sons and daughters
Influencing the neighborhood ladies for Christ
Starting a pro-life ministry
Helping marriages
Ministering to women in a church
Living by God’s wonderful creation - the beach
Living in a home that reflects her taste
Traveling abroad to experience God’s world
Phyllis and her God have always seemed so inseparable. She delights in Him. He keeps spoiling her with fantastic opportunities and gifts.
I can honestly say as King Lemuel said, “Many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all.” (Proverbs 31:29). Would you join me in wishing Phyllis a happy birthday? Would you join her in “Delighting yourself in the Lord…”
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Here is my first blog, ever.
I asked my fifteen year old, Haley what to blog about. She said “something current.”
Well, on June 2 Phyllis and I celebrated 30 years of marriage together. I surprised her by taking her to the new Shorebreak Hotel in Huntington Beach - a fabulous modern boutique hotel. We went to Duke’s on the pier for dinner, slept in and had room service breakfast in bed.
We love to reflect on where we were in prior years on our anniversary.
On our 5th anniversary, our firstborn was one month old. We lived in a dorm in Fullerton.
On our 10th anniversary Phyllis was eight months pregnant with our 3rd child (Luke) in Phoenix.
For our 15th we were still in Phoenix. Our fifth child Haley was three months old.
Our 20th found us living back in Southern California after a three year stay in Seattle. We went to Kona, Hawaii to celebrate.
On our 25th we did the Mexican Rivera cruise. Seems like fifteen years ago.
In five years from now on our 35th, we’ll be empty-nesters. When Haley goes away to college I’m sure there will be some tears, but I’m looking forward to a new, quieter, cleaner phase of life.
Unfortunately, the empty nest is a season of divorce for many who have built their lives around their children. When the kids leave home, the kid-centered marriage dissolves. I urge all married couples to always put your spouse before your kids, invest in each other, take hubby/wife vacations, never fight in front of the kids, get your emotional needs met primarily through your spouse and keep the romance alive. That way, when the empty nest approaches, it’s a second honeymoon phase.
Until next time,
Shane
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