Jason Bedell Online

I am having a college flashback day and clicked on an old playlist. I love this song. You should too.

I've seen video blogs here and there, but doing them all the time and never posting in text can be a beast. But, I figured every once and awhile I'd do a video blog to catch you up on things, and more importantly so you can see the progress of my Paul Bunyan beard (which you will see has now been shaved). I needed a change people.

Aww yeah! Enjoy.

I am a total fan of live drums & rhythm sections rocking out, but this is pretty impressive. The kids hands are too fast for his camera in sections and you see it lag. Enjoy.

So, imagine my wonder and dismay when I found out our student ministry pastor had been talking about me behind my "internet back." Here is a photo of Joaquin Phoenix and a photo of me. Apparently, he claims that Mr. Phoenix and I share a likeness in appearance. I have two points to share:

1. I did not shave my beard recently due to this comparison.
2. If I ever flip out on my full-time career and start trying to pursue rap stardom like this guy, someone please punch me in the face.

So in light of a few different events going on, I took a few days to rethink why I blog in the first place. Our family has a blog about Chloe and her growth & journey as a child. We love it. My sister has a blog to catalog her adventures and life as a journalist in Northern VA. I keep up with 68 blogs on faith, culture, and leadership to keep myself fresh and aware of the trends happening in our world.

But why this blog?

Before I became the lead pastor of Forefront, this blog was solely about status. I wrote about tech & gadgets, ministry tools and newest trends at our church... all in the hopes that people would notice. I checked stats daily, visitor length, where are people from that check it out? I would look for comments every half hour, I would google my blog name to see how many people had linked back to me. I was/am fairly pathetic.

As I stepped into the lead pastor role- it just got worse. I thought about how many people across the country were watching Forefront. They knew about this "church for people who don't like church" who were ambitious enough to start a campus in a bar, and church planters from all over the country would come and visit to see "how we do what we do." That pressure began to mount.

Who would be reading my blog? Would they be important? Would they talk about me? Are they mega church leaders who would take notice? Would I get invited to speak at conferences and rub elbows with other uber bloggers who have acquired fame through writing their thoughts on the Internet machine just like me?

Well- I've had the privilege of speaking at conferences and I've had the chance to rub elbows with other big time bloggers- and I've realized in the process I've sinned against my God. Under the guise of being a pacesetter and wanting to share ideas...

I let technology become my master. I've had to apologize to my wife. We've discussed regulations on my computer/iPhone/blog/web 2.0 usage. But I needed to step back a bit. So, as you've noticed, I don't update everyday. And I won't.

This blog is an outlet of expression. When I have bad days, I'll rant and rave. When I have great days, I'll share my joys. The day my kid takes her first steps, you bet it will be here. When people come to Jesus, I'll share it. As our church moves in the community, I'll share our victories so we can celebrate together.

But, I ask you to do this one thing for you and for me. "If you and I spend more time blogging, twittering, youtube'n, facebooking, and all the way down the list- and just a few moments with our God and Saviour... I believe it breaks the heart of God."

Aiming to not break His heart.

Jason *over and out*

I'm a pastor- not a personal trainer. I've heard several people say to me, "Well, what I need to do is to just come to you if I ever have questions. Why would I try and research things on my own? You're here to do what I can't, right?"

Wrong. Well, sort of. I always tell people I have an open door and I am willing to talk about anything and everything (which is completely true). But, if people begin to rely solely on me for whether or not they are spiritually growing and I am the only one feeding into them with no work on their own... that is a bad scene.

Just in case you haven't gotten the memo yet- "I sin too." Yes, I am a professional Christian and I sin. I might be pastor, but I'm no personal trainer. I've got a couple of guys I pour a ton into because I believe they are the next leaders in the church, but if everyone looked to me for making sure they were doing everything with no work, searching, & reading on their own- man, we'd be in big trouble.

Sharing some thoughts from my daily Bible reading...

SLOW DOWN. On a daily basis I think the majority of us are so consumed with how to pray, what to read, how to serve, how to conduct ourselves, wake up early to set-up for church, hurry to small group because we can't miss it...

But in the process we are missing it. We're worrying about the appearance of our faith instead of just living it at the feet of the Master. In verses 38-42 of Luke 10, we see this acted out before our very eyes.

Jesus visits the house of Mary and Martha. Martha is going nuts! She's cleaning, cooking, preparing the home. She's got the dirt devil out, some mop & glow. She's ready to whip that place into shape. Then there's Mary.

When Jesus gets there- she just plops right down at His feet and begins to listen. Uh Oh! Martha has just seen the stuff hit the fan. She's livid and calls her sister out (right in front of Jesus).

I love His response " you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

In the midst of trying to "keep up the image" of being the strongest Christ-follower, maybe we need to just slow the crap down and "just follow Christ." I know it's a novel idea, but I think if Christians began to catch on to this, we really might have something.

So... I went ahead and moved to the dark side. After consulting a few friends and fellow iPhone users: I jailbroke my iPhone (and I will never go back). I wondered about the warranty, etc. It doesn't void it. "Unlocking" your phone to use on another network does void the warranty, jailbreaking does not. This enables me to do a few things I've been wanting to do with my phone.

#1. Theme My Phone
I've been wanting to do something other than the simple black look and I am finally able to do just that (see photo below)

#2. Live Video Streaming from my iPhone
I've been wanting to have the capability to send video no matter where I am at in real time to my twitter, blog, and youtube accounts. Now with this Qik.com App I can do just that. (see photo below)

#3. Copy & Paste Function for All Programs
If I'm on a webpage and wanted to copy a section of text and paste it into a text message, I couldn't do it before- but I can now. Clippy is my new best iPhone Friend. No matter what it is, I can copy, paste, send, etc. It rules.

#4. MMS Messaging
On the iPhone, Apple has pushed people to use email to send messages and I did not have the capability to send them like I used to- until now. Swirly MMS is a program that allows me to send all kinds of photos as I choose in the way I want to use them.

I know this is a stupid, techie, nerdy post- but I'm a nerd so you'll have to accept that your pastor is a nerdy, geeky dude who loves gadgets. It's true (or "it's da troof" is how James Davis would say it).

Later Geeky Friends,

Jason *over and out*

So it's a new journey for me here at Forefront and I'm reflecting back on the last 10+ years of ministry. There are so many different paths I could have gone down, but here I am...

a Professional Christian.

It's totally bizarre for me to think about. Seriously, have you ever thought about it? As a paid pastor at a church, I collect a pay check for doing what Christians should be doing if their heart is following after God. Again, bizarre.

But, there are quite a few misconceptions about what the role of a pastor is at the local church level. I figured I would take the time to share a series about what I've learned from being a paid pastor and some of the things that people don't see when they simply come from week to week and participate in the service.

I'm looking forward to this series and would love some inspiration with questions, ideas, topics and more to cover over this series. Talk to you people soon.

Much love,

Jason *over and out*

Woke up early this morning to hear the news about Flight 3407 and the 49 men and women who lost their lives. Please pray for their families & friends and everyone involved. For more on what's happening, click here.

Last Sunday, our family went to Mt. Trashmore and braved the hundreds of people there (seriously, it was insane). If you didn't get a chance to last weekend, take the opportunity to get outdoors with friends and family. It was a much needed break from the norm of being cooped up inside with the cold weather. Here are a few pics.

Anyone else do anything fun with the nice weather the other day??

We are looking to kick off our Assimilation Team here at Forefront. "Jason, what the heck is an Assimilation Team?!" Great question. An "A.T." is a group of people who will help every single person who ever walks through the doors of Forefront, have the opportunity to move in their growth and relationship with Jesus. No one "has" to move to another step, but we want to make sure that if people want to take the next step, that we're there to help them and guide them along.

It's going to be a daunting task and we are looking for 14 people who are willing to really put in some time, phone calls, relationship building, and energy into making this system we've adopted work.

If you are good at, excited about, or willing to do any of the following, please shoot me an email at jason@forefront.org and put in the subject line, "Project: A-Team"

• Make phone calls to current and future Forefronters
• Be a part of guiding people through Starting Point, Gel Groups, Serving, Etc.
• Input information into our office database to track every single person's journey towards Jesus (i.e. have they been immersed? are they serving? are they in a gel group? are they committed to forefront? etc.)
• Friendly and enjoys building relationships with other people

You use twitter to get someone there with a key to let you in.
46 minutes. Bummer.
But it did give me a chance to respond to 38 emails. Nice.
I know how to turn a frown upside down people!

Jason *over and out*

Ever wonder what two pastors talk about at 10 o'clock at night via texting?
Here ya go...

My wife informed me that we are total morons for having that conversation. And just in case you are wondering, I'm almost positive there are no bong photos of Vince, but I could be wrong...

I just had a talk with a pastor friend who started a new position last week at his church. He was almost in tears. He just had a bad run in with some people and it made him feel absolutely awful. He just didn't feel very accepted. He's pretty new to ministry in general and I gave him some kind words and helpful advice, but it made me think about another aspect of acceptance at churches...

How do the new people at your church feel?

I know other pastors who keep up with the blog and I wondered... When they walk through the door, what is their experience like? Do they feel welcome? Are they overwhelmed by 85 people telling them hello? Do they carry around a "new person" welcome bag that's more like a bright red signal flare saying, "Hey, I'm new here in case the look on my face wasn't enough." How do you communicate to people from the stage? Do you explain things so someone new feels comfortable?

I know we are constantly asking ourselves this question at Forefront, but there are always better ways to make someone feel accepted. Nobody needs to attack the newbs.

Our frontline & usher "backstage passes" arrived in the mail today and they look great. If you're ever looking to do quality badges in bulk, I highly recommend them.

I wonder what God's church would be like if we acted on opportunities to share life and conversation with others. I love the way the following video portrays the passion of making a connection with another person. I pray I can have this same kind of passion every single day, in the form of reaching people for Jesus. I never want to miss an opportunity...

I think this photo sums it up.
It's my daughter's little Vans and my ol' Vans side by side.

This journey is going to continue. It's just how I choose to respond to the journey that I have control over. Actually, I don't even have control over that if I am truly living life the way it should be lived. I will respond as God has called me to respond.

So when my marriage gets tough- talk to God.
People get mad at church- seek God.
Someone needs a meal- be like God and feed them.
A person is hurting- be Jesus to them, comfort them.
Others talk slander and gossip- teach them in love.
A struggle with personal sin- bring it to Jesus.
My daughter asks questions- seek God's guidance.
Things are going great- praise God.
Watch lives changed for eternity- thank my God.
An addict gives up addiction- be his accountability.
Families are hurting- show them Jesus.
And the list could go on and on...

I know many pastors live a fairly closed life because of their roles. I respect them and the decision they've come to. I've prayed to God and will continue to take a different approach. As long as I am breathing and living on this earth, I will strive to be an open book. With my triumphs, I will celebrate the joys of life. And with hardships, I will truthfully tell the stories of pain. All the while, praying that if my life can aid others in their journey- that these ol' Vans can help your ol' Nike, Reebok, Addidas, whatever... it's worth every post, blog, message, conversation, and comment.

Keep truckin' along in the journey and there will be plenty more to come. Stay tuned.

Jason *over and out*

So... as a family over the last year we've gone from two full time jobs to one full time job, moved from an apartment in with my in-laws, experienced a miscarriage, had a beautiful baby girl, experienced the loss of Carrie's mom, watched a dear friend move to Vegas, and I've trusted God enough in the midst to take on leading His church.

It's interesting to look at it all in the grand scheme of things. You'd think that as a husband, father & leader I would break down and lose my mind. The news flash is that in the confines of my home when I curled up next to my wife on the couch... I did just that.

But in the thick of it, as I prayed to Him to give me wisdom: God answered back. This is what I wrote in my little journal I carry in my bag everywhere I go...

"Jason, I've built you for so much more. I knew your path and what would take place. I knew the choices you would make and the burdens you would allow yourself to carry and I love you through it all. I picked you for this moment at this place to be a husband to Carrie, a father to Chloe and a leader to these people before you were ever born.

You trust me, right? Then please, take me at my word that I know what's best for you and my church. I will take care of your family. I will take care of my people. Just lead. Just be the man I called you to be from the very moment you asked me to be a part of your life. Live your life as an example of what it means to follow me. Not so you can boast about yourself, but so people can see what it looks like to be a true Christ-follower.

Guard your heart my friend. Don't let your past try to over take you, but instead learn from your experiences that I have the best life possible for you. While doing this, teach my people and the community around you to bury their old self and live for me. Quit living selfishly and trying to serve only yourselves (that includes you Jason), but instead, serve one another. Love one another. Take on each other's burdens. Don't get hung up in the when, who, or how... just do these things because I commanded you all to. Don't worry about people's opinions about what my church should be or how you need to move. I have provided wise counsel, your leaders, spiritual men who will guide you to make decisions that honor me.

But don't neglect your family. Lead them and teach them about me. Let them know they are extremely important to you. While loving me first, they are the next most important love of your life. If the church is 10 or 10,000- it doesn't matter. Your family is a true test of the legacy you leave behind. Love me, love them, and love people. I will handle the rest, Jason. Don't you worry about that."

And here I am, just trusting his promises,

Jason *over and out*

This is just ridiculous. Assault Rifles & Prayer?! This is the best way to communicate prayer to teenagers? Seriously?

I love the thought, "See, the assault rifle is like your prayer." Hilarious.



[ht: link]

Sharing some thoughts from my daily bible reading

Reading Luke, Chapter 1 this morning... it hits me, "Luke was the first Evening News Anchor!" Seriously. You read the opening and he lays it out for you. In case you missed it, check this out:

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

Luke here is truly giving us the lowdown-

1. He isn't taking the accounts of Jesus and his ministry lightly, "I'm gonna get to the bottom of this and do some investigative work" seems to be his main concern with this.
   
2. He has done the interviews, research, investigations, etc. and has written an "orderly account" for us. It's not the National Inquirer, it's real deal events that have taken place.
   
3. He has done this so we can "know the certainty of the things you (we) have been taught."

Are you one of those people? When someone starts talking about a movie you exclaim, "Yeah, well the book was better." I'm not one of those people. I'd take the movie any day. Well, in my spare time I like to pursue creative ideas, painting, writing music, videos, etc. Well, to get inspired I check out a number of art websites (ya know, to get the ideas flowing). I came across a guy who created 1960's style book covers for movies of today (so you people who dig the books should pick these up).

They are very clever and well done. Figured I would pass them on.
Enjoy. [HT: Neato]

During our Christmas Eve Service, we played a video that apparently sparked a lot of emotions. I've received countless emails (still getting them over a month later) about where people could find it. You guys have been wanting to share it with friends, family, etc.

Under license we couldn't hand it out via DVD. It was created by Igniter Media Group, and they were kind enough to post it on YouTube for you to share and enjoy. So, check out this video titled, "Regrets."

"What do you regret about this last year?"

So, I was heading home yesterday listening to the radio, and they began to play this tirade and I had no clue who it was. Well, come to find out it was Christian Bale as he was filming his last movie "Terminator 4."

Who goes off like this? Seriously. And the news caster notes, "People there said he might have just been having a day day." C'mon, a bad day?! Dropping 36 F-bombs on someone in less than four minutes for walking into your shot on a movie scene is more than just a bad day. Two words: Anger Management.

Check out the video below, but it made me think... How do we respond when things get heated? How do we handle outbursts from others? Better yet, how do we handle our own outbursts when the emotions are rising?

This week at the Beach Campus we're starting a new series, "BROKEN PEOPLE." You may totally see the brokenness in your life or maybe you think you have it all together. If you fall into one of those, or anywhere in between- this is a series you won't want to miss.

If you're having questions, hurting, or already going through some brokenness right now- my email is jason@forefront.org and I would love to talk with you.

I've been praying about this series for awhile now and can't wait to see the impact it's going to have on Forefront and the people in our community.

Special thanks to Justin Allen for making a sweet series graphic. You're the man.

So, like I mentioned in the last installment, I've blogged about this here, but occasionally, my wife will be posting here and sharing thoughts on life, family and ministry here as our family serves Forefront.

Here is her journal entry in streaming thought on the loss of her mother...

Mom passed away around 4am Dec. 14th 2008.

She had been admitted to the hospital wed afternoon 12/10.

She was taken by ambulance after finally giving in and deciding to go to the hospital because her legs were extremely swollen and seeping fluid. My dad and i had been urging her to go to the doc for the past few weeks because she was having increased difficulty breathing and was becoming very short of breath when walking.

Over the past few months she had given going out to lunch with friends, going to Bunco, and any other activity that meant exerting effort. She only went to the credit union and McDonalds (the drive thrus).

The two weeks before she went into the hospital i had stayed home from work one day each week--first because i was sick, then because Chloe was sick. Both days i stayed home my mom fell and couldn't get up. The first time i successfully helped her, the second time i had to call an ambulance to come assist her.
Her diagnosis in hospital was just as before congestive heart failure. when we went to visit her she was her usually self stubborn and board. She was putting up a fight with the PT, i felt so bad for him. We didn't' see much improvement in her legs or her breathing but she didn't seem worse.

She wanted to go home so bad. Around 10pm the house phone rang downstairs and i didn't get to it in time. I didn't know anyone that would call my parents house that late so i thought it was my mom calling from the hospital. I called her room back and she answered the phone, i could tell she had been asleep. I asked if she called and she said no. I said well are you alright. She said she was fine. I said well go back to sleep, we will see you in the morning. She said okay and hung up.

That would be the last time I would ever talk to my mom.

A few hours later in the middle of the night Friday night I got a phone call from a doctor telling me she had gotten worse and couldn't breathe, she had agreed to let them put in a breathing tube and she was transferred to the ICU. Now my mom had made herself a dnr when she was admitted so i was really confused as to why she would be okay with a breathing tube, but I guess when you are short of breath and craving oxygen, you will do anything.

The doctor did say they agreed this was only a temporary thing to see if she could improve her heart function while on the vent. I wholeheartedly believe that my mom knew she was getting worse, maybe on the verge of dying and the doctor told her she would be sedated while on the breathing tube and would be comfortable. I believe my mom was okay with getting the breathing tube because she knew she would be kept asleep. I think she knew she wouldn't wake up.

The next morning my dad and i went to the ICU, the nurse was in there. She was hooked up to medicine for her heart and sedation. She was out and just looked horrible. Later that afternoon my dad and sister went back and they said her kidneys had shut down. They hadn't been able to wean a medicine that was helping her heart pump and while that medicine helped her heart, it harmed the rest of the body. I planned on going Sunday morning before church to see her.

Jason and I went to the staff Christmas party sat night. I got a phone call around 11 Sat. night from the same doctor I had talked to the night before. He wanted to know if we had been updated that day. i told him what i knew and there wasn't anything new. He even talked about if/when she got stable, she would need to go on the transplant list. I told him she wouldn't want to go through another surgery. She had been adamant about that.

A few hours later, the doctor called back. i knew when the phone rang that time what it would be. I answered the phone and he said " This is Dr. ________ again. I have some really bad news. You're mom passed away a few minutes ago. Even on the heart medications her heart just gave up."

I was in shock, although she hadn't been well for a while, it was still a shock. He asked if we wanted to see the body before the morgue took it, I said no. I had to go downstairs and tell my dad which was the hardest thing i have ever done. I had to comfort him as he wailed. I had to call my sister and tell her. Then Sunday morning I had to go to the hospital and collect her personal items which was incredibly difficult. Walking into that ICU by myself and seeing the empty bed where she had been the day before was awful. All the nurses looking at me knowing was hard too. They were very helpful and comforting but i was still there alone.

They handed me a bag and i broke down. How could my mom and all my memories of childhood come in a large white paper bag. The next few days were a blur with planning the funeral, contacting insurance companies, and having the viewing and funeral. Thank goodness for Chloe--she has been my dad's comfort and focus during this entire time. I am also thankful that God and my mom made the decision when she would die instead of it coming down to my dad having to make the decision to take her off the ventilator.

Thank you Carrie for sharing so openly. I love you and love your strength in all of this. God is continually rebuilding us. He's going to keep us moving in this journey.

More from these ol' Vans coming soon...

When you get the opportunity to work in your sweet spot, what should you do? You could...

A. Accept the job and get going.
B. Interview, but see what else is available.
C. Take the job and two years later jump out of what you love because God said so.

If you chose "C" you'd be absolutely right. What in the world?! I couldn't believe it in a million years. I honestly never imagined, dreamed, or desired to be a lead pastor. But, God has a funny way of moving us even when we aren't ready, looking, or possibly ever going to be capable. That's the beauty of God's leading.

He takes us to new heights. He throws us into NASCAR-like traffic right after getting our license. He could care less if we are ready or not. Because He is with us. God did an amazing thing in my life and I couldn't ever imagine being in this place. But here I am...

A 29 year old, Husband, Father, Pastor, Mets Fan, and all around Lover of Life. I've seen quite a few things, disappointed God in a number of ways, but nothing really prepared me for moving in with my mother-in-law and taking on the responsibility of taking care of my family and my wife's as well.

And honestly, I don't think we are at all built to handle the loss of life. It's something I've blogged about here, and my wife will talk about from her ol' Vans in the next entry in this series...

Yep. That's a cat with a machine gun. You're eyes are not fooling you. Search Google Images for the word "crazy" and this little nugget of goodness is what pops up first. It's disturbing on many levels.

Anyway, this weekend/start to the week has been insane, but in a good way. God has been throwing things my way that I actually dreaded and in every situation- it ended up being an amazing thing. So cool.

I can't tell you enough how excited I am to lead Forefront. It's a place where people are real, they ask questions, want to serve, are wrestling with big challenges... and I savor every minute of it.

• I had a phone call Monday morning thinking a guy was going to never set foot in our church again, now he and I really have the beginnings of a friendship.
  
• Another guy was looking for a place to serve and I wasn't sure where that would be... but the meeting couldn't have gone better- he's gonna do great.
• Met with Mike DeSelm on Sunday to go over computer stuff as he heads soon to PA with Richie to start the new church. I'm really excited for him.
• Had a guy in my discipleship group on Saturday wonder whether or not God is calling him to make BIG sacrifices and move to a lower income neighborhood to share Jesus. Awesome!
• Sent away our design work for the advertising at the Chesapeake Campus. It's going to look really good. Check it out soon at Greenbrier Mall in Chesapeake near Cinema Cafe.
• Speaking of Cinema Cafe, our first service went great and there were a bunch of new people with some old faces we hadn't seen in awhile. To all my Chesapeake Peeps, you guys are amazing. Keep it up!
• Sunday's message at the Beach Campus was really great and tough all at the same time. God prompted me to give my car to someone in need. Bones was in need, so now he has a way to get to Vegas. People after service came up to me and gave over $1,200 for Him to get there to do ministry. You guys are truly the hands of Jesus in the community.
• I'm now driving a borrowed soccer mom mini van (I know the jokes are coming, bring it!)
• Bummed the Cardinals couldn't pull it together in the last moments, but it was a GREAT game.
• Had our Gel Group over for the game and ate enough food for a small country.
  
• Finishing up the final 4-5 posts in the series I've been doing on the blog.
• They start tomorrow morning. Don't miss it.
• Love ya guys (and gals)