Tory Farina

Who Should WE Vote For- by Paul Stewart

By Good Friend Paul wrote this today. I thought it was timely and worth sharing. I pray you make your election choice with Gods wisdom.

Who Should I Vote For? (1 of 4)

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior - I Timothy 2:1-3

I am struggling with this election more than any other I can remember. I honestly have no idea who I will be voting for on November 4th. As I watch and observe the political ploys by the candidates, their surrogates and the talking heads in the media I quickly become cynical to the entire process. How could an honest leader ever emerge from a system so saturated in corruption?

When I sit down and listen to both candidates in more civilized forums, like Saddleback or the first presidential debate last week, I find myself agreeing and disagreeing with both candidates almost simultaneously. I often walk away with more questions than answers…

Is it best to protect the unborn by electing a candidate who will criminalize abortion or one who has a plan to reduce the number of abortions? Was the financial crisis caused by too much regulation or not enough? Is the best way out of Iraq through a series of objectives or a definite timetable? Will we be safer as a nation by continuing to display force or by increasing our standing in the world? Do we need a president who sees the world primarily through the lens of past experience or vision for the future? 

On top of all that, the evangelicals seem to be front-and-center (again) in this election - whether it be the old “moral majority” or “religious-right,” or the “new evangelicals” - this year even the “Pentecostals” have a stake.

Over the next few days I’ll be exploring how a Christian should “vote” in this year’s election. However, for the purposes of this conversation, I would like to expand the meaning of the word “vote” to “influence.”

Shane Claiborne puts it this way in his latest book Jesus for President:

"What is more important than how we vote on November 4 is how we live on Nov. 3 and Nov. 5… We vote every day with our lives... we vote every day with our feet, our hands, our lips, and our wallets. We vote for the poor. We vote for the peacemakers. We vote for the marginalized, the oppressed, the most vulnerable of our society. Ultimate change does not just happen every four years."

In other words, in the midst of the daily political melodrama with all of the familiar characters - liberals, conservatives, red states, blue states, independents, swing voters, and of course the crucial idgit voters - what is the best way to rise above the madness and gain influence in our nation and our world?

Pray For Jeff pt.2

I wanted to update you about Jeff Kirby. He has been apart of the church over the last year. I have loved getting to know him and look forward to when he gets feeling better so he can take me on his Harley he is planning on getting when this cancer is out of his body. Some of you know he has been battling ALL leukemia. It has been a rough road. Lots of ups and downs. I wanted to update you so you can pray for him more specifically.

• His Job has been a concern for the family. He is a police officer with the Minneapolis Parks Police. They lost a contract recently and were talking about laying off his team. His job was held with the Minneapolis police and they have told him that He has a job when He gets better. PRAYS the LORD!
• He will soon need to go on disability which is not what they want but his donated vacation and sick time has run out. Pray it comes quickly so they can afford this time on one income.
• His cancer has been very aggressive and his body has felt the effects of months of chemo and steroids and other medications. He is feeling tired and has no appetite. This week the doctors are going to put him through a bone marrow transplant. This will involve heavy chemo then heavy radiation, culminating in a bone marrow transplant. Pray all goes well and that his kidneys and heart take the intensity well.
• Jeff gets New blood DNA... this is supposed to help him create new cells that are not cancerous. The interesting thing is that it zaps his immune system to 0... newborn like state. That mean he needs to get his shots again and be careful of sickness and colds. Pray he can stay away from any sickness that might compromise his health after the transplant.

This is a serious event he is going through. He needs lots of prayer and support. Leave a comment or if you know him give him a call and let him know how you feel.

FDIC or JC Insured

Last night Elizabeth and I had a chat about money, the economy and our response. I am planning on taking a few minutes on Sunday to expound on this thought a little but want to flesh it out with you here.

Elizabeth lived in Chile for years some of her family live currently in Argentina and have for years and her Grandparents lived through the revolution in Bolivia many decades ago. She is all to familiar with economies devaluing and middle class people becoming poverty stricken over night. Banks closing and money becoming worthless are all to familiar to her family members. So needles to say she and I are very concerned with the state of the economy.

Jesus said... "Fear Not for I am with you."

We talked about her concerns and we were feeling real depressed and hopeless I looked around and thought... "WOW, how blessed I am. This furniture I could do without... this house I could downsize... These rugs and curtains and clothes all of them are nice but... its all just stuff."

Stuff doesn't make us who we are. Stuff doesn't make my family what it is and Stuff doesn't make the Church what it is. People make the church, People make a family and You and I are made up by the accumulation of gifts and talents and abilities and personality. They may take your house but they can not take who you are from you. No one can.

I then began to think about what Gods word says about hard times. I wish I could say the bible gives all believers a pass on hard times. It doesn't. It says that we can expect them. Which means we should be prepared for them. But more than be prepared he says that he will provide our needs. Scripture says that all the earth is The LORDs. Scripture says that he will take care of the sparrow and the flower and how much more will he take care of you who is created in the image of GOD?

FDIC is backed by the government. The U.S. says you will have your money up to 100k. Cool. that puts me at ease. But ultimately if I look at History I see nations rise and fall. I see kings become paupers and paupers become kings. Here is what I also see... God remains the same. HE takes care of those who put their faith and trust in him. We are as Christ followers are more than FDIC insured, We are Insured by God. He will never leave us nor will he forsake us.

I and You are insured but God gave you and I wisdom. Lets exercise that wisdom. Here is what Elizabeth and I are doing to be prepared for what may or may not come. Pray about taking similar action.

1) Learning to Be content with what you have...
1 Timothy 6:8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

2) We are in a need only buying freeze. Any thing extra we are postponing to buy. We are eating in more, packing lunches more, not buying Starbucks and other drinks or extras. We have the basic cable, are not renting movies unless its at red box, I dropped my subscription music program and are done going to movies or games... we are simply cutting back. LIVING LEAN

3) We are selling things. Sounds silly but I have a car for sale, I am putting my childhood comics on ebay this weekend, (i am trying to convince E to let me sell her crystal candy bowl we haven't opened from our wedding. She is not so Keene on the idea.) The church is selling extra gear. Being prepared... able to give to those in need and weather a down tern with cash is wise.

4) Trust in Gods Promises... we are trusting the Lord. Tithing is going to continue because His word says that he will reward the faithful. It is his stuff anyways i am just a manager of it. He is who I put my trust in. He will not argue or be partisan, or care about cameras and speeches and debates. He will be a strong tower in the middle of what may or may not come.

Psalm 29:10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD is enthroned as King forever.

Psalm 31:1 In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.

Stay Positive! Stay Faithful! Live Life connected and lets weather this storm together as Gods people living out his mission and trusting in his Providence.

Gideon's Strengths

Tonight as apart of my connection group we are taking a look at different people in the bible and analyzing their strengths and weaknesses. This week was Gideon.

Read Judges 6-8
This is an amazing story of a man who didn't see himself truthfully. Didn't see the leader that God saw.
judges 6:12 LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."
Gideons story is that of a man unraveling his leadership abilities. Here is a list of a few of his strengths that we pointed out tonight.

Strengths:

• Discernment- judges 6:17-18; 36-40
• Organization- judges 7:8
• negotiator- judges 8:2-3
• Humility- Judges 8: 23-24

This is not exhaustive but was a lot of fun to talk about. Their was much much more but I thought I would give you a glimpse into "GO". I love living life connected and sharing this Strengths concept with people.

I ended the night with this question. What is God calling out in you? for Gideon it was "Mighty Warrior". What is the inner strength God wants to call out in you?

Comparing Sucks

I read this post this morning...

Then I watched a guy speak who I thought I was a better preacher than and then i saw that they are about four times the size of church we are in the same time frame and then I was all... "I suck God... whats the deal."

God is good and reminded me the things he is teaching me and that it is his church anyway. And then he reminded me of some things he has been challenging me in lately in our morning prayer time. He is a good reminder.

I prayed a blessing over the guy I was comparing myself too and then I figured you might be comparing yourself to someone and thought I would blog about it and give us an opportunity to come clean.

We have to realize that comparing to one another sucks the life out of us not them. It causes a devaluation of us and does nothing to improve the health and vitality of our own situation.  I struggle with comparing often. I am working on it and trying not to be the guy who points out what everyone else is doing and makes excuses for myself. I want to play a different game. If we play the same game we can compare but if we rise above the game... Rise to a new level of living where like golf we play against ourselves then no one or no thing can suck us dry because we are not comparable.

God is working in you and me in different ways. That is good. I need God to work in and on me differently then he does you.

Are you ready to stop letting this happen? Ready to break free? I am...

The Best at...

What are you the best at?
I am working on my connection group tonight and we are studying Marcus Buckingham's book "GO" and also looking at a bible story. Marcus says that we are all predisposed to certain strengths and gifts and abilities that make us the best at some things and horrible at others. Basically God designed us to be out of balance or rather Specialists.

I totally agree. I am one of the most unbalanced people I know. I have struggled with this my whole life. I am not good at sports and barely passed gym but felt I needed to work on it. I was a great public speaker but couldn't remember my lines so I learned how to ad lib really well and found success in a comedy sports team. In College I wasn't great at studying but was great at big concepts. I felt the pressure to be great at the things I was not and have built patterns today based on my attempt to compensate.

I am reworking my life this past year. I want to live in the sweet spot of my strengths and abilities. Trying to change the way I prepare for my messages. Allowing the preparation to aid my Sunday morning presentation and not hold me down to a manuscript I cant remember anyways. Typing instead of trying for the five millionth time to work on my handwriting skills. Spending more time with people and less time in the office.

I am the best in our organization at things and the best in my family at things and the best in the world at things. The Trick is to figure them out and live doing mostly those things. The things God originally designed me to be.

Take a look at your life. What are you the best at? What do you need to cut out so that you can spend more time doing the things that you are designed for? What makes you feel energized, excited and refreshed?  Let me know.

Weekend Mind dump...

• I heard the crack of the bat... this weekend was vintage HPC. If you want to know what we are about and were visiting... thats us. The music was FREAKING AMAZING! My message felt like it hit the mark. The presence of God was all over the place. I felt like I could have read out of the phone book and God would have set people free. He was so ready to do something BIG in peoples lives.
• I saw an old friend who moved away back on Sunday. She was their because God knew she needed it. God brought her over 1000 miles to hear the message Sunday. No other explanation for what was going on in her life and that she heard bad news Friday then was their Sunday. She is still needing God to do a miracle, but at least she knows God has her back.
• I moved E's files to her Mac Monday. It is fast approaching when she will need to stop using her PC. I just need to get her email switched over to Google Apps.
• Saw that Android is coming to T-mobile. I am interested.
• Dropped the Price on my car. I hate selling cars. I bought it for x amount and am going to sell it for thousands less. It is the most frustrating thing. I like buying things at x price and selling them for thousands more. I get depressed just thinking about it. Make me an offer Im just tired of having it.
• Saturday I got an answer to Prayer. A BIG answer. Yeah God is like that!
• E and I are cutting back and decided to start using cheap diapers. Olivia is now wet all the time on her bottom. E and I are not buying cheap diapers anymore. we will cut back somewhere else.
• I was feeling like my message was CRAP on Saturday and Sunday morning tell I presented it. I wonder what moving to two services would do to my message. would it be not as good the 2nd time? Would it be better? I don't have to worry yet about it but some day.
• We started talking about our core process on Sunday. January will be an exciting time as we unveil it.
• Connection groups had over 60 people involved in them. Not bad at all for week 1. Next week we should pick up again. Get in on them... they rock!
• What Masters You?
• Looking forward to Nov-DEC movies This one... this one... maybe this one...
• Making plans on HPC's first ever AMPLIFY night... Let the rumors start now... More is coming soon about it and you will not want to miss it. If you could be apart of one thing that week. This is it... Still nailing down final details but lets just say... Be looking for more info.
• Web Site redesign in progress. New URL. Coming soon.
• Im sitting on a church pew in a coffee shop. When did church pews leave church for coffee shops? Maybe we should use them in church... NAAAAA! theatre seats are wear its at.
• I am 3-0 in one league. and 1-2 in my other league. How do you score over 100 points and then score 50? Weird. I don't know what I am doing.
• So disappointed the pack lost in lambough but... it takes the pressure off of an undefeated season and we will see Dallas in the playoffs. Vikes finally won. Thats great. Coach keeps his job one more week.
• Lots happening this week. Pray for us and join us for Wednesday Prayer and Fasting.

What do you worry about?

I really want to know. I mean really worry about. What stirs you? Keeps you from getting good sleep. Causes you anxiety?

I am writing my message right now and would love to hear your worries and then maybe use some of them in my message.
Worry (dictionary definition) …give way to anxiety or unease; allow one's mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles... distinguished from fear, which occurs in the presence of an identifiable threat.

What thing that is an intangible threat do you dwell on?

Live Life Connected pt2

Connection Groups are in full effect. Connex in Effex. I love this time of year. "Go" was last night for me. The conference room was full, we laughed, we talked about King David and how we in our lives have to take the step out of the abyss of weakness and into the pointed purpose of Strengths.

We have had a great running start to our connection groups. I have heard good report from "Kick Boxing" and am excited about the other groups we have going on. It is just good to spend time with people who you wave to have a few minute convo on Sunday and now can really get to know. I love it. We are going to see such positive things from this session of connection groups.

If your interested in mine the table is almost full so leave a comment and let me know. Also if you were at the group leave a comment about what you thought.

Live life Connected. Its the only way to live.

Staff Fasting and Prayer

At this weeks team meeting I was sharing with the team some things I feel like we are coming up against, Some frustrations, some God sized concerns and some future visions. We looked at one another and agreed we needed to take a step deeper. Fight in the supernatural level for the things that we are feeling on our heart. We also realized that we need to get a little closer to Jesus in order to hear His heart and see what He is doing clearer.

So Wednesdays we are taking time out of our day to pray and Fast. You can join us if you like. Here are some areas you can join in prayer for High Point and us personally for. Their are others that I can not post here but let the Lord lead you as you pray and I think you will begin to pray for those things as well.

• Healing... Jeff Kirby, Lynne Cross and others need a miraculous healing
• Growth... High Point is growing both in size and in depth, but their is more and we need Gods heart in this area
• Connection Groups... The reason we have these is so that we can create pear discipleship environments. Pray relationships are created and people grow in God together.
• South East quarter of the city... Pray for this section of the Twin cities. God is doing something and we are apart of the awesome impact that He wants in this city. Pray for your neighbors and friends and coworkers and family. That they would be forever changed by Gods Presence.
• Traveling Light... This series has HUGE! potential. Pray it comes of well and that people are set free of the luggage that they carry through life. Pray for those who the enemy does not want to come and be set free.
• Salvation... Pray God would become real to people and that they would begin this relationship with Jesus that is so powerful in our life.
• Pray as God leads... 
• Personally we need back up... especially on Saturday nights. Lots f strange things happen on Saturdays to distract from Sunday. We have concerns and projects that we need Gods wisdom for. Pray we can lead this church to the place God has laid out in our mind.

Thanks for praying with us. Plan on continuing this every Wednesday. Ill let you know when we stop.

Here is a great resource for fasting and prayer.