Seattle Stories

Six days ago, Philip, Luke and I were pedaling frantically to cover the 203 miles between Seattle and Portland.  After numerous powerbars, powerblocks, gels, gallons of water, heaps of sunscreen, and minor mechanical issues we made it.  Crossing the finish line was exhilarating!  Being able to pass family and crowds of screaming fans at 8:30pm in the evening was a rush.  It was a glimpse of heaven, when we are finished running the race on earth and can join our Savior.

However, heaven sat differently on my mind at mile 135, when my pedal crank was almost dropping off.  My knee hurt and the sun beat down without reservation.  The large rolling hills were not my choice of terrain at the time.  Feverishly, I prayed for wisdom as no tool could be found to remedy my problem.  Seconds later, I noticed a guy working in his garage up the hill.  He gladly tightened my crank and resolutely, I pushed southward.  Two water stations were purposefully passed to make up time, then two more to restore liquid and energy.

The ride was a blast, for the most part, for the three of us.  We stayed together for about 120 miles, then spread out to reach our potential.  Philip and Luke became more dear to me on Saturday, and we hope to accomplish the ride again next year with a few others. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support.  You can still give towards our ministry through the ride by going to http://sponsorhudsons.com.  View pictures of me at the finish line on Colette’s blog http://coletteshoneycomb.blogspot.com.

Around the time of the ride we encountered trouble with our van.  We have some critical areas of rust that are potentially affecting the safety of the vehicle.  We have a couple of mechanic friends giving advice and there may be an inexpensive fix.  However, if that fix does not work, the van may need to be replaced.  Please pray for wisdom with us in this as we depend on this van to transport our children.  We do have a second car, but that requires Asha to sit in the front seat between us which is not completely safe for highway travel.

We are beginning to recruit certain 20 something friends to a leadership conference held at our headquarters in Colorado Springs in September.  The purpose is to further invest in the “stakeholders” of the movement.  These are men and women are actively living out their faith in Christ and seeking to gain additional encouragement and wisdom for deeper steps among peers from around the country.  Would you pray for wisdom for these friends, that they would listen to God’s voice on whether to attend?

Would you pray for wisdom, lastly, for a few friends who continue to struggle in their faith.  Transitioning to life after college can be messy, and some, unfortunately, grow passive with God and lay dormant spiritually.  We need the courage to love and engage these men and women – trusting Jesus’ work in their lives.

Thank you again for your partnership in the Gospel.

The last couple of days, our son Jeffrey has asked me to guide his hand as he learns to write letters and numbers.  I take his hand in mine (though this is challenging as he is left-handed), and we draw the character together.  He’s thrilled to see the shape emerge on the paper and participates in the joy of accomplished work.  Even though Daddy is doing most of the labor, Jeffery is proud of his achievement.

We all can relate to this, having had our parents or teachers show us a new skill in this way.  As we get older, however, we’re encouraged to go at it alone and be achievers forging our independent identity.  The labor put into building independence into our children can be wise, but we must also impart what it means to be interdependent on God and each other.

Watching our friends in their 20’s arrive in Seattle or graduate locally to begin a career, they immediately seek out others who can help.  However, it can be easy for them, once they feel “confident”, to be less proactive about guidance and forge their own path.  This can be especially dangerous when beginning to operate independent of the Lord.

Yesterday we received an email from a friend who’s moving away for a new job and desires to be enveloped by their friends for encouragement and guidance as they step forward.  We have been impressed by their humility and maturity to do this.  A few years ago, a friend was sharing how he went to each of his neighbors to ask their thoughts on him moving to a new house outside the area.  Both these families desire and are pursuing interdependence on God and others, building intimacy and trust that would have never existed if they made decisions in a vacuum.

Recently, I’ve spent time refurbishing a bicycle to ride in a long tour next month (Here’s the before and after pics below).  Along the way, I’ve sought to bring friends and family into the process by asking advice and sharing progress.  It has been fun to include others to because I can tend to “go it alone”.  Hence, I’m also writing powerfully to myself in this entry.

Will we allow His Hands to guide us this week?

Before - A 1990 Peugeot Triathlon Bike

The Final Product - "hudsonite"

We’ve been hearing a lot about the Gulf oil spill (maybe more than we care to hear).  After almost 30 days of leaking crude, the overarching question still remains, “How do we stop it?”.  We all know, however, that many sub-questions persist, “Who’s fault is it?”, “Why didn’t the U.S. Gov’t respond faster”, “Why is BP dragging their feet?”, “Who’s going to clean up the shoreline?”, etc.

Whenever change, trials, opportunities, or relationships enter our lives we begin asking questions of God much like these of BP.  Are these inquiries bad?  Not necessarily.  However, if we expend all our energy on the questions it can be dangerous.  In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul is struggling with an ailment and begs for the Lord to remove it.  He doesn’t.  The Father does say His strength “comes into its own in our weakness (MSG)”  Paul realized he couldn’t waste anymore time on belaboring his condition and needed to trust that Jesus had a purpose in it.

Often when coaching young adults to live more godly lives it can be easy to fall prey to mentoring without perspective.  Recently, when having coffee with a friend, he asked for advice on certain services for his apartment.  I gladly listened and then gave my two cents.  When the conversation continued on that topic, restlessness came over me as I thought, “Why are we talking about this?  It’s such a waste of time!”.  Then, gradually, we began to visit perspectives on decision making, values, and learning to inquire.  After our three hours of dialogue, we both came away excited at what had transpired.  We could have easily stayed on the “surface questions”, but through purposefully moving into the realm of how the situation was being processed below the surface and how he could approach other life choices more wisely next time eternal purposes surfaced.  This being crucial as my friend has yet to know Jesus.

We ask for you to pray for wisdom for Colette and I as we dialogue with young friends, that we can be sensitive to the Spirit (as Paul was) and know how to coach towards eternal truth.  As you may know, every two weeks we have 20 something friends into our home to investigate the life of Jesus.  We are walking chronologically through the Gospels, chewing on familiar stories that direct and sometimes upset our lives.

On July 17th I (Matt) will ride 202 miles from Seattle to Portland with a couple of our 20 something friends.  Currently, I am rebuilding a bike and training for this endeavor.  You can pray for safety and stamina as we train (our next training ride will be Memorial Day – riding around 100 miles).  I had a training ride about three weeks ago of 100 miles and it went well.  I will give more frequent updates as the day approaches (http://twitter.com/seattlestories) or @seattlestories.  You can also just check here because we stream our @seattlestories tweets on the right sidebar.  I am also going to use this ride to raise money for our ministry with the The Navigators 20’s Mission in Seattle (details to come).  If you want to find out details about this event, go to http://cascade.org/EandR/stp/index.cfm.

Media is playing a significant role in God’s Kingdom across the globe.  Here are a few links to video, audio, and web sites that will encourage and inspire you with God’s work in The Navigators and beyond.

1.  New Webpage for the Pacific Northwest launching this week in The Navigators:  http://pacificnorthwestnavconnect.navigators.org
2.  Latest video from The Navigators depicting His work over the last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_KbuVQsAu8
3.  Great Bible reading and study resource: http://youversion.com
4.  Inspiring Sermon from our Pastor Mike Kelly on God’s Will:  http://anideafirm.com/GLPC/player-LW.html

Finally, we’d like to add that our http://seattlestories.org site is now iphone/itouch friendly.  Just go to the address in your Safari browser and enjoy the slim, sleek and easy user interface.

We appreciate your partnership with us as we walk with friends in their 20’s.

As a potential jury, we wrestled with this question for hours.  Many opinions were voiced, but no definitive answers became of it.  I don’t think the intent of the attorneys was to solve this, at least not right away.  Even if I have been dismissed from serving on this jury, I still feel emotionally tied to the issue.  The question lingers…

Bridging this issue to our walk with Jesus – are we being intentional in our relationship with Him or negligent?  There are, obviously, many ways this can be interpreted.  Instead, let’s focus on our first gut response to hearing the words voiced out loud.  Go ahead, let them be spoken by your lips.  Here I go, “Am I being intentional or negligent with my relationship with Jesus?”  Don’t feel bad, I just repeated this in serenity of the local library.  You have no excuse now.

This very question can encompass the core of our mission to friends in their twenties.  Are we helping them to move from negligence to intentionality (or enabling a greater intentionality) with their connection with the Lord?  Please pray along these lines with us.

If you haven’t figured it out, I just finished two days of jury duty.  I was almost pulled into a three week murder case.  This was my first experience with jury duty.  Even though I was loathing it beforehand, it turned out to be an enriching experience.

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We are so grateful for your donations and prayers.  The last 3 months we have been experiencing a shortfall in meeting our monthly budget.  If you would like to give an additional gift (if you are a current donor friend) or a new gift, please visit our secure site at The Navigators through this link http://bit.ly/seattlestories.  If you are not comfortable giving online, feel free to mail us a check made out to “The Navigators” (Just click on the “Contact Us” tab above and send us a message asking for the address).

Jesus called his disciples over and said, “The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together.”

This text from Mark 12 proposes wisdom in which libraries could be filled.  Picture Jesus, with an excited expression, passionately motioning for the twelve to not miss the widow dropping her coins into the treasury.  Many locals, of course, were dropping noteworthy amounts of currency.  However, for grand reasons, Jesus almost stops the show for the spotlight on this humble lady.  She was the one who caught Jesus’ eye.  Her action revealed a courageous spirit and a heart of sincere faith.  She, in a sense, was speaking, “God has to come through now, because this is the last I have to live on”.

A few days ago, as I sat at a local establishment working on my computer, I noticed a “widow” scene.  As with Jesus, He could have easily overlooked it, but it was too earth-shattering (in His eyes) to pass up.  For a similar reason, Jesus grabbed my attention and allowed me to “see” a scene.  Here’s the scoop…

Shortly after I had sat down a weather-worn man sat down with his many belongings.  It became obvious that he was homeless and had located a spot to enjoy his Starbucks coffee.  I assume he was given money earlier and immediately bought the drink.  He carefully transferred the coffee to a semi-clean mug he had brought.  Then, without hesitation, reached into his bag to scoop a powder to add in the concoction.  Having begun to drink the beverage, I returned to my work, leaving him to stare at the parking lot.

After a few minutes, a young African child ran to the counter near me to gaze at the cars.  It wasn’t until thirty seconds later that my eyes connected these two people partaking in the same action.  Both were intently watching the activity in front of the store (it was strange to see a four year old boy standing still for so long!).  As I pondered the scene, I began processing what each might be thinking.  I can only assume the homeless man, rehearsing scenes from life-lived, maybe painful memories.  The boy, a simple cognitive about the neat cars in the lot.  The contrast between the older man and young boy stuck me deeply.

Yesterday, my friend “Neil” and I met for coffee in the afternoon.  We joked a bit, then started into recapping our weeks.  What I didn’t expect was for him to unpack a situation from work for 60 minutes.  I was glad to listen, but found myself getting restless as he repeated many details.  I asked God for patience and wisdom.  God answered beautifully, just as he had pointed the widow out and showed me the scene at the store with the boy and man.  Neil bridged the content of his story to a question about God’s Kingdom.  We dialgued for another hour over “Eternity set in the hearts of people”.  Neil is wrestling with Jesus, just as Jacob did.  There is even a more candid similarity between Neil and Jacob if you want to ask me about it sometime.

These lessons prompt us to listen and value the whole person.  It is so easy to pick and choose what we deem as valuable and worth our time.  However, only Jesus can really determine that and sometimes has to call us over to view what’s eternally important.

We want to grasp this even more deeply as we walk with each other and our children through a myriad of circumstances.  What does this look like as Jeffrey fights off chicken pox?  How do we process when our boy is exposed to violent video games at a neighbor’s house at age seven?  What is God whispering to a friend who just lost another job?

We are on mission to the twenty-somethings of America, the World and in Seattle.  How can we live, listen, guide and teach so as to point out the unobvious lessons.  Being a person after God’s own heart does not necessarily mean you observe great acts of God, but that you know His heartbeat and ways (Psalm 103:7).

This time of year is packed with parties, activities, bathing muddy little bodies, and eating delicious cake.  If you haven’t guessed, three people in our household are celebrating birthdays this month.  Asha hit the nine year mark last week and Luke/Lana will turn seven tomorrow.  These milestones seem to come around more quickly every year.

Yesterday, another “pillar” was laid as Jeffrey made his first visit to the dentist.  Even though the appointment was for the little guy, Daddy got in on the action by providing the familiar lap for him to sit on (actually he was laying on Dad).  Just having his father acting as the “seat cushion” was enough to give Jeffrey the confidence to open his mouth for the entrance of scary hardware.  It was enough for the many questions and advice from Mr. Dentist.  This was as fun an experience for Papa as it was for Jeffrey, even without getting a “toy”.

With the onset of painful circumstances, difficult decisions, or challenging relationships, the picture of our Father graciously letting us perch on His lap brings tremendous comfort.  It is so easy to forget how involved He is in our lives, even our messes.

Yesterday, as Matt talked with a friend at a local coffee shop about grace vs. works, he sought to paint this “Dentist” picture.  It was powerful to see this friend grasp (to some degree) how God leads us into situations that require great dependence on Him, yet He provides unlimited comfort and companionship while encountering the circumstance.  This friend breathed more easily as he, along with so many, have been programmed to believe that we must “achieve and perform” before “earning” God.  He expressed how he is beginning to believe and longs to embrace this truth.  Please pray for his heart to surrender and to walk into this reality.

After this encounter, another guy (~29 years old), spoke up and expressed his excitement over what just happened.  He was thrilled to overhear God beginning to draw another son more deeply into His Kingdom.

Here are some brief updates…

1.  Our Bible Discussion (every 2 weeks) has been going well, with our focus on the chronological Gospels.  We have had a couple of new people join this journey.  We had a party a couple of weeks ago with swing dancing, lattes, and board games – it was a blast to have these friends at our house until after midnight.

2.  Our friends, Jon and Pat Sween, who were assuming leadership for the 20s Mission have transitioned to a broader role in Seattle.  Even though we will miss their direct leadership, we’re excited that they will continue to be connected in different ways.  Jon and Matt will continue to meet on a regular basis for Matt’s development.

3.  Matt will be riding from Seattle to Portland (208 miles) on his bike with twenty-something friends on July 17th (Yes, in one day).  More details on this later…  Pray for their training as they coordinate rides and build up endurance for this challenge.

4.  We thank you for your generous gifts and prayers.  Please pray that the Lord would provide for our financial needs.  We have had two low months, receiving anywhere from $1000 to $1500 below our budget.  If this continues, we will enter into deficit to The Navigators.  If you would like to help give towards this need, just click here.

On Saturday, after dropping a off a gift to a friend, I noticed the powerfully gentle rotation of wind turbines north of West Lafayette, IN. After a few miles’ drive, the grandeur of one of these machines stood before me. I couldn’t help admire how quiet the blades rotated, even at close to 150 mph. With no power lines in sight, it was hard to believe that electricity from this structure was transported off to the national grid in order to aid the resources of some city. Also, the mystery of how wind power is converted to something that runs our computers, heaters, etc.

Jesus, as we know, talks about the mystery of wind in John 3 in relation to the Holy Spirit. We’re not too different than these wind farms, aware of the need for turbines to be in the right area to generate the most power. We are exhorted to, in a similar way, to plant ourselves in the right “wind zone” to allow the Holy Spirit to empower us as we show up and allow His character to move through us.

This spiritual power was clear this weekend as I spent time with my parents, friends and childhood church to be reminded of God’s mission to the world. Many thanks to my family and friends who had me into their homes, took me ice-skating, and out to a local coffee shop.

This trip all-the-more reminded us of the urgency of planting ourselves among 20 somethings so that we can reap a generous “wind harvest” by God’s Spirit.

Being “renewed” by His power as He renews others through us,

Matt and Colette

It bursts out among us. The emotions that follow are liberating and sometimes uncontrollable. Glimpses of unexpected sensation are rare, but powerful. If you haven’t seen the viral clip of Susan Boyle from last year http://bit.ly/boyle042009.   The beauty of the unexpected, with Boyle and with our Lord, is that grandeur leaps out from simplicity or even perceived “ugliness”.

Today, a friend in North Carolina sent this update about his insight into the story leading to Jesus’ birth. He’s a fellow laborer among The Navigators’ 20’s Mission. God submerged him in the unexpected wisdom from this passage in Luke 1 – it describes so well our intention with friends in their 20’s. Here’s his writing – we hope you are blessed by it…

There is a story I would like to relate to you because it resonates deeply with me about what I see the Lord doing among 20somethings.

The setting was a meeting with my peers, getting acquainted with the new national director of our 20s Mission. The purpose was to brief him on what we had seen the Lord do as we launched this work over the last decade. It was a west coast meeting, so the time shift had me up before dawn the second morning. I grabbed my Bible and headed out to find coffee. When I had my cup in hand, my reading program opened to Luke 1.

It’s the start of the Jesus story and act 1 is Gabriel announcing to Zachariah – and therefore to Elizabeth – that this childless couple is now going to bear a child who will become John the Baptist. The second act is Gabriel talking to Mary several months later about the virgin conception that is about to take place in her body. Most of us know these parts of the Jesus story well.

What got my attention is what happens next – Gabriel tells Mary about Elizabeth’s pregnancy. In effect, God himself orchestrates a connection between the older established generation (I was thinking of me and Susan) and the next generation of young adults (here the men and women we have mentored and coached came to mind). Whatever else God had in mind, for Mary this connection serves a very useful purpose. How does an engaged single mother learn how to bear a child? By learning from an older woman who has gone (however recently) through that experience.

Mary immediate heads off to find Elizabeth. And you know what happens next. The six-month old baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaps and Elizabeth joyously utters a profound statement of blessing to Mary. I see this all the time with Susan and me (and with our peers) – we interact with men and women in the next generation, perceive what God is doing, and then give a word of affirmation regarding that truth.

Mary promptly responds to Elizabeth’s benediction with a statement of vision. It is astonishing in its scope and depth. She begins with the acknowledgement of what God has chosen her to do – bear His son. She notes that the story will never be forgotten. She focuses on the nature of God – his holiness, mercy and strength. She envisions God deposing tyrants and raising up the oppressed (in essence, making all accounts right). She speaks to the national destiny of Israel and concludes with a reference to the promise to Abraham.

Wow! This is vision straight from God – it certainly exceeds anything Mary has seen up to that point in her life. Reading it that morning, it was less surprising than it was thrilling. Because this is what I get to see all the time – our 20something friends embrace great vision. They get a large view of God and a big view of what can – will – happen. Often it is the dynamic of affirmation from the older generation that incites seeds of vision in the younger. This is why we are called to do this ministry.

This is a clip we’re excited to share depicting Mike Jordahl, director of City Life for the 20’s Mission, dispensing the heart behind a structured initiative to enable young men/women to land well in cities.  It also captures much of our passion for helping young professionals in Seattle.

This statement, “Fish don’t want to be caught”, rang eerily among the congregation a couple of weeks ago as I sat in a church in Birmingham, AL.  Ronnie Stevens unpacked the interaction of Jesus and the disciples, specifically regarding being “Fishers of men”.  That statement has probably been read and heard by most of us many times.  However, once Ronnie leaned over the pulpit and stated these six succinct words, it brought home the difficulty for man and the power of God for mission.

Ronnie is the pastor of the Danube International Church in Budapest, Hungary (danubechurch.org).  Ronnie’s simple, yet profound communication of the Scriptures is a breath of fresh air.  It seems that so many are eager to expound God’s Word, but so few are clear channels of God’s grace.  Ronnie quickly struck me as such a man.

Below, you’ll find three of Bernie’s messages (with his permission) from the Missions Conference I attended January 30 to February 2.  You can either left-click on the link to begin listening in your default media player or right click and “Save target as:” to download the file to your computer for local playback.  Enjoy!

Ronnie Stevens Part 1

Ronnie Stevens Part 2

Ronnie Stevens Part 3