Author: Kevin

2008 Year in Review

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2008 was an historic year in my life.

When I look back at this year later on in my life, I imagine that I’ll see this year as a major turning point. I’ve had big years before (marriage, ministry change, college), but no year compares in my mind to this year. Not only was it historic, it was a great year.

The first big thing that happened in my life was that I completed my Masters degree. It took me just under two years of focused, self-disciplined dedication and I did it while working full-time, but in May I graduated from Liberty Theological Seminary with a Master of Arts in Religion, Church Ministries concentration. I had a personal goal at one point of having a Masters by the time I was 30, and I accomplished that goal at the age of 29 (no need to point it out, I know I procrastinate).

The second big thing that happened this year was I became a dad. Emory Nicole Rossen came into my life on May 27 (just a few weeks after I finished my Masters) and my life will never be the same. Seven months into this adventure I have to say that it’s an amazing experience. I love being a dad. I love watching Brea be a mom for Emory. I love the joy that I feel when Emory smiles at me. I love the fact that I understand God’s love for me more now than I did 8 months ago. There’s so much more that I love about being a dad, but I’ll save that for another time.

The third big thing that happened this year was I ran the White Rock Half Marathon. I recently blogged about this, so I won’t elaborate a whole lot, but this was a big deal for me. I had become very sedentary, partly due to my graduate studies, and I really needed something big to motivate me, but not so big that I got too discouraged in the process. 13.1 miles turned out to be the perfect distance for me to race. It was achievable, but it was also a stretch for me. I lost over 15 pounds along the way and I feel so much better physically now than I did before I stepped out the door to run one July day.

Here are more highlights from this year, in no particular order:

  • Vacation to Chicago in October
  • Watching Emory try to tear open presents on her first Christmas
  • Emory falling asleep during fireworks on July 4th
  • Flying to Houston to buy the Sonata
  • Getting hooked on Twitter
  • Getting hooked on Facebook
  • Transitioning to a one-salary household
  • Seeing Foo Fighters in concert for the first, and hopefully not the last, time
  • Starting Financial Peace University and Men’s Fraternity at church
  • Teaching Greek at church
  • Preaching on Father’s Day and my 30th birthday

Of course, not everything that happened this year was positive. The biggest shadow over the year was the death of my last living biological grandparent. I hadn’t really been close to him since I was a kid, but I still loved him and have very fond memories going back to the days we’d spend at their house in Illinois. It was also a neat thing to spend time with him and my Aunt/Uncle’s family over Thanksgiving. Probably the most sobering thing to think about is that I’m no longer a 3rd generation family member. I’m now part of the 2nd generation of my direct family on both sides. It’s a sobering reminder of the fragility of life.

The other biggest low was the personal struggles of one of my siblings. I won’t elaborate here, though.

So what about you? What happened in 2008 that you’ll remember? Maybe it wasn’t such a great year for you, but it’s good to talk about those things too. I’d love to read your story!

The Race of Life: Biblical lessons I learned from running the White Rock Half Marathon

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I taught this lesson to our Senior adults ministry today. Ten life lessons.

  1. Run with a purpose
    • 1 Cor 9:24, 26
  2. Running has distractions
    • Gal 5:7, Heb 12:1-2
  3. Running takes discipline & perseverance
    • 1 Cor 9:26-27
  4. Running a race requires hydration & food intake
    • John 4:13-15
  5. Running has rewards
    • 1 Cor 9:25, 2 Tim 4:6-8
  6. Running is not fun at times
    • 2 Cor 11:25-29
  7. Running with a friend is easier than running alone
    • Ecc 4:9-10
  8. Runners come in all shapes and sizes
    • 1 Cor 12:12-20
  9. Running a race starts with just a few short, slow steps
    • Matt 14:28-29
  10. Running a race is really just putting one foot in front of the other
    • Philippians 3:12-16

I did it…half marathon complete

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I finished my first long-distance race today. I ran the White Rock Half Marathon in a respectable time of 2:20:47. It was a great experience and I think I’ll do it again someday. The race capped off a stellar year for me: finished my Masters in May, had my first baby in May, turned 30 in November, and ran the half marathon today (Dec 14).

I trained about as well as I could have. I think in my next training I won’t push myself so hard in my pace, but train steady and follow a training calculator verbatim. I ran faster than my suggested times in almost all of my runs. I think that might have slowed me down a little since I was fairly tired at the end. Another thing I’ll do different is to bring my own water bottle to keep with me while I run. The aid stations were great and all, but there were a few times that I really wanted something to drink but the next aid station wasn’t for a while.

The last thing I’ll do differently is I’ll exchange my shoes when my instincts tell me to. I bought an expensive pair back in October and they gave me a terrible blister. I went back to the store to exchange them, but the salesman gave me some pointers on how to prevent it from happening again. I should have just gotten a different pair, because I got a few more blisters during my training and a pretty bad one at the race today.

Other than that, it was a great experience overall. I really feel like I pushed myself to do this and I was able to rise to the challenge. If you’ve never ran a long-distance race I’d encourage you to give it a try.

After all, you have 365 days to train for next year’s White Rock Marathon or Half Marathon.

Spread the Wealth Jesus-Style: Worldwide Missions

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This year is a momentous year for me. I finished my Masters in May, my first child was born shortly thereafter, and I’m turning 30 in just over a week. I will also be running my first half-marathon on December 14. My quest to run the half started almost by chance. I was at church on the first Sunday of July and a friend asked me if I wanted to run a half marathon with him someday, to which I quickly said no. That prompted me, however, to realize how out of shape I was, so I went out the next day, bought a pair of running shoes, and went out the door to try to run a mile. Let me tell you, that was one of the most exhausting experiences I’ve had in a long time. Frankly, it was embarrassing.

You see, I used to be in great shape. Growing up I played baseball, soccer, basketball, and a host of other sports that my friends and I would make up then play in the front yard. Those days had long since vanished, so this day of running was a wake up call for me. I ran at least three times a week for the next few weeks then decided to take the plunge and register for the White Rock Half Marathon to take place on December 14. It was then official, I was going to run 13.1 miles.

It’s been a very rewarding experience since then for me to train for this race. I’ve lost over 15 pounds, have more energy during the day, and I’ve gained confidence in what I’m physically capable of doing. But those benefits are not enough for me because they’re all selfish, at least to a degree. I want my race to go to something bigger than myself.

After doing some research I’ve decided to raise support and awareness for a project sponsored by Pioneer Bible Translators, specifically for their translation project in Tanzania. Here’s some info about what they’re doing there:

PBT TanzaniaIn the last 3 years the East Africa Branch of Pioneer Bible Translators has started 10 translation projects in Tanzania, and believe God is moving them to begin another 10 projects over the next 2 years. Training programs are held for native speakers recruited from the various language groups. National translators are being trained to do more of the work that was traditionally done by overseas missionaries in the past, and the local (Tanzanian) churches are providing much of the office space, furniture and utilities for many of the translation projects.

Translation projects are beginning even now and thru early 2009, as funding permits. As of August, 2008, 6 of the proposed language groups had no nationals lined up for training to work in translation. Funding will also help to bring in more people to train for that work.
PBT Tanzania
The current translators and national workers are underfunded, but continue working in spite of severe financial strain on their families – current salaries are about $75/month but this really needs to be raised to about $125/month. $50 per person, per month is needed to supplement the National translators. Currently they are working with 30 National translators.

You’ll notice above that they’re needing only $50 more per month, per person. I know that I can go through $50 easily on a weekend. Can you find expenses you currently have that you could go without, even if only briefly, to help advance the Gospel throughout the world?

From a Christian perspective, we’re all called to take care of each other. In terms of a tangible thing that Americans can do is give money to the cause. Paul told Timothy about this type of thing. He wrote: “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

If you’re ready to help, here’s what you can do. To donate online go to PBT’s website, click the “Click here to make a Donation…” button and you’ll be taken to a PayPal page, where you can donate either by credit card or checking account. From there, fill in the amount you would wish to donate, log in with your PayPal account (or create a new one), and in the box marked “For Ministry Of:” enter “Tanzania Translators (Rossen Run).” If you’d prefer to donate by check make it payable to Pioneer Bible Translators, and “Tanzania Translators (Rossen Run)” to the memo section, and either mail it to PBT or you can hand-deliver to me and I will make the delivery.

May God bless our brothers and sisters throughout the world.

A Lesson on Communication from the Election

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Today is the day after the Electuon and it’s typically called the election hangover day. You may be tired of hearing about it along with all the political ads, but I learned an extremely valuable lesson from the whole process that I knew was true before, but saw it come to fruition on a nation-wide scale last night.

That lesson is that in communication delivery trumps content. How I saw it in the election is that by most standards John McCain is far more qualified to be the leader of the USA, but Obama was always called a great communicator. The only message that Obama was putting forward was “change” but didn’t really elaborate on what that meant. McCain had a longer record of service and he has been a proven leader for many years, but the packaging of that message was not nearly as compelling as Obama’s to the majority of people.

For me, that’s a stark reminder to make sure that I have both good content along with great delivery. I know that content matters, but if it’s not delivered in a compelling way it won’t be heard.

New Comment System, powered by Disqus.com

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[UPDATE: I’ve switched to IntenseDebate starting 1/17/09)

I’ve just implemented a new comment system on my blog (it’s over at kevinrossen.com for all you facebook readers). It lets you reply to other people’s comments, rate others’ comments, and much more! I’m pretty excited about the potential it has, so check it out and let me know what you think (at kevinrossen.com, again for you facebookers).

Here’s a post that’s already generated some comments: http://ping.fm/DJuJp

Is God a Republican or Democrat?

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I’ve heard more discussion about this year’s election than I’ve ever heard in my entire life. This might be because I’m getting older and my ear is tuned more to politics, but it could also be an indicator that our nation is more interested in this election than any other time in recent history. There have been numerous stories of record early vote turnout and the expectation that there will also be long lines at the polls today. If the 75+ people that were lined up outside the church building this morning at 6:55 am are any indication this is no doubt true.

Being a full-time Christian minister I’m privy to a number of conversations that I most likely would not have otherwise heard. I’ve discussed and heard discussions about this year’s election from a number of different angles. I’ve heard people say things like “If you’re really a Christian you will vote Republican.” I’ve heard someone say, “I’m a Christian so that means I’m voting Democrat.” I’ve also heard people say that neither candidate is really worth of the Office, so they’re either not voting or writing in another person. This election is being hotly debated for sure.

The Bible has some things to say about the role of Christians in politics. It talks a lot about being submissive to earthly rulers:

  • “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment” (Romans 13:1-2).
  • “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men” (Titus 3:1-2).
  • “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men” (1 Peter 2:13-15).
  • “My son, fear the Lord and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise” (Proverbs 24:21).

Christians are also instructed to pray for our leaders: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). One of the coolest ideas I’ve seen lately related to this concept is for us to “Pray Backwards” (RagamuffinSoul.com), which basically means to pray for God to bless the other candidate(s) that you did not vote for with wisdom in leadership. This is a valid idea and it also teaches us a dose of humility, since our way always seems the right or best way.

I’ve seen and heard a lot of discussion about praying that a particular candidate is elected President.  I’m not opposed to praying bold prayers (see Luke 11 & 18), but I also know that God will accomplish his will on earth regardless of who is in office. He’s done it before and he will do it again and again. As Christians, our hope is built firmly on the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ and His Kingdom alone, not the Office of the President nor any earthly kingdom.

So, should you move to Canada, France, Mexico, or another country if your candidate is not elected? Absolutely not. Will America be more of a Christian nation if a particular party is in power? No. Our Founding Fathers may have been religious people, and possibly even Christians, but it’s most likely that they were Deists. The laws they established may have biblical roots, but that is where the connection ends. Their goals was not to establish another Christendom. It was to establish a county with religious freedoms.

History has shown us that when the church has too much power it can become corrupt and unspiritual (think about the Crusades) and lose sight of its mission. When the church is in power it’s easy to get comfortable and forget that Jesus commanded us to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). We should be involved in politics, but our primary allegiance is to God and His true Kingdom: the church.

So if you’re hoping and praying that McCain will be President, but Obama wins, or if you’re pulling for Obama and McCain wins, don’t lose hope. Also, don’t get too confident if your man wins. They are earthly leaders and are prone to sin (Romans 3:23). Place your faith, hope, and trust in the unchanging power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Interesting reads related to this topic:
http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2008/11/barna-the-president-and-our-mi.html
http://www.leadingsmart.com/leadingsmart/2008/10/a-single-issue.html
http://www.leadingsmart.com/leadingsmart/2008/10/donald-miller-o.html

New Post Coming Soon…

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I’ve been thinking about it for a little while and I’ve decided I’m going to do it. I’m going to write a post about the election in regards to Christians and political parties, but it will take a few minutes to write. In the meantime feel free to email/tweet/facebook me your thoughts about this issue.

Really, though, I’m writing this post to test out a new way for me to post to my blog that *might* make me post more. We’ll see.