The conference has been going well thus far! The Lord has really met the young adults that have come. On Thursday night, the main auditorium and the overflow were totally packed. We had about 1200 people here. I heard rumors we actually had to turn away a few walk-in registrations because we were over capacity and would be in violation of fire codes. It really stinks to have to do that... All the more reason to register (its free) ahead of time to guarantee a spot.

Anyways, Jen Roberts spoke the first night from Song of Solomon 4 and the extravagant love of God. Many young adults were deeply impacted and responded at the ministry time. What kind of God do we serve and love that would give Himself totally to us, even to the point of death on a cross? Amazing.

This conference was a little unusual schedule wise, because we normally don't hold a Thursday night session but typically start on Friday. It was nice for the team to be able to sleep in on Friday morning!  read more »

We're here at Redeeming Love Church in Maplewood, MN and Jason Upton is sound checking right now. The conference begins tonight at 7pm, with Jason Upton leading worship and Jen Roberts speaking. There are over 2,000 attendees registered and the capacity of the main sanctuary is only 1,000 people, with about 400 for overflow. But if this conference is like any other regional onething this year, some folks will not come even though they registered (registration was free). Nevertheless, we'll have a packed house!

Here are some photos from the conference:

For more photos, make sure you check out my onething Minneapolis photo gallery, to be updated throughout the conference!  read more »

After our customary Starbucks run, this time at KCI Terminal C, we're sitting at gate 62 ready to board our flight to Minneapolis. Matt Gilman said the flight is only about an hour.

Tim is reading the inside cover of Jason Upton's CD "Beautiful People", Matt, Audra, and Kristen are laughing about the pronunciation of "Minneapolis", Steven and Whitney are playing dominoes on the floor, Justin and Grace are talking about something a few rows away, and I can't hear them :)

Shawn is doing something on his computer and messing with his new iPhone... *drool*  read more »

On Wednesday the onething team, Justin Rizzo, and Merchant Band will be off to Minneapolis, MN for a regional onething conference. I'm pretty excited I get to travel again for a few days. I haven't been on a trip with these guys since onething Nashville earlier this year.

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Today is an awesome day in IHOP-KC's history. On September 19, 1999, the prayer meeting that started is continuing this very moment. IHOP has, by the grace of God, gone for 8 years straight, 24/7, without stopping.  read more »

I was talking with my roommate the other night about what David meant when he said in Psalm 27:4 that he wanted to “behold the beauty of the Lord” all the days of his life. Now if you’re anything like me, the first time you heard that you probably instantly thought about David wanting to spend his days staring at a bright and shining being, full of color and light, that somehow is outwardly more beautiful than the best sunset or most amazing sandy beach scene you have ever seen. I think there is a limited perspective in many circles in the body of Christ today that this was all David was longing for, and thus we should wholly seek after the somewhat mystical, mind-boggling experiences, dreams, and visions from God that would blow us away like John or Ezekiel saw. While I believe God wants to pour out supernatural dreams and visions before He returns (according to the prophet Joel in Joel 2) and that we should definitely ask for them, this was not directly what David was asking for. David was longing for something different. Don’t get me wrong - I am sure the external appearance of our God is absolutely stunning. But David was longing for something so much more than just to see God’s external beauty with his eyes.  read more »

It's been interesting to see how my website has been browsed by you, the end user. By far, the most popular section of my site is my photos. Did you know you can comment on them?

Instead of clicking on the photo thumbnail, click the title below the thumbnail. You will still see the photo (in addition to a cool description or something from me explaining the photo) but you'll also be given a form to comment.  read more »

My kitchen is in bad shape. The home was built in 1967, and when I moved in, my kitchen contained some of the most dated looking appliances I had ever seen. I mean, even my grandmother wouldn't have them in her house. The oven I am sure is the original from when the home was built, and the microwave was this large noisy monster that heated parts of your food to scorching temperatures and left other parts ice cold. (That's my mother's purse on the counter, by the way).

Within a couple weeks of moving in, I replaced the stove and microwave with something much more recent. However, I am left with the problem of old cabinets and hardware, an old linoleum floor, a 1970's marble-effect counter top, and a big hole in the wall where the oven was. Needless to say, my kitchen needs remodeling.  read more »

At the IHOP spiritual warfare and intercession conference here this weekend, Stuart Greaves talked about the emerging global prayer movement as God's chosen way to birth the second coming of Jesus and usher in the "speedy justice" that Jesus spoke about in Luke 18. Put simply, justice is making the wrong things right. My post on environmentalism a few days ago is only the tip of the iceberg in some of the social issues affecting our world today. As a very brief follow-up to that post, Stuart made some good points that I wanted to make again here.  read more »

I posted a reply to this thread on the onething forums and I figured it might be appropriate to post here as well. A poster had a question regarding why Christians are not more active in attempting to help our environment. After all, global warming is a big problem (sarcasm).

I recognize the problems with our environment today and what it means for our kids if we don't clean up our act. But we have a bigger problem on our hands than the environment and the condition of the earth for our kids. That greater problem is God Himself.  read more »

Today is the first day of our monthly 3-day fast here at IHOP-KC. Folks from around the world join us in taking the first full Monday through Wednesday of each month (and the first full week in December) to position our hearts before the Lord in a 3-day solemn assembly with prayer and fasting. Everyone at IHOP makes it a priority in their schedule and attends at least two intercessory prayer meetings each day.

My roommates and I made some amazing blueberry, banana, and chocolate peanut butter chip pancakes on Saturday, and I think all that white flour and sugar is catching up with me today. My body is screaming for food!

But I am slowly learning to love the place of hunger. Not just hunger in the natural (actually, I think I still really hate that) but also spiritual hunger. But if you really stop to think about it, what makes something so satisfying when you are hungry? It is the very fact that you are hungry. If you weren't hungry, that perfect slice of pizza or the huge Spicy Chicken or Chipotle burrito would not be as satisfying.  read more »