Stuff

Well obviously this blog is going to have to undergo an overhaul in both purpose and content. I'm not sure what that's going to look like yet but I have a feeling that this is going to turn into more of a personal blog.

With that said I figured that I would post a short update.

I am starting to get settled in at the Bridge and really looking forward to moving up to Dubuque so that I can really get on top of things. Currently I am driving back and forth several days a week and on Sunday's. It's about 120 miles each trip and is getting old really fast.

Hopefully we will find a house to rent soon and can move up there the second week or so of February. You can keep us in your prayers in that area.

Otherwise we are going through the normal grind of packing. You'd think that after moving 7 times in the last 8 yrs. we would have this down. In reality we are as sick of packing and moving as we can be. Hopefully this will be it for the next few years until we can buy a house, in Dubuque!

If you're interested you can check out the Bridges website here- The Bridge

You can also check out my teaching series website here- Becoming blog

Stay tuned as I try to morph this blog into something new!

Well, it's official. I'm officially on staff at the Bridge Christian Church in Dubuque. Kristina and I are extremely excited about this new chapter in our lives and to see what God has in store for us and the Bridge.

To all of my family at Adventure. We love you guys and you are always welcome to stop by if you are ever in Dubuque. We hope that you will keep in contact with us. Tony will have our new contact information. We love you and you will stay in our prayers and hearts.

You are also welcome to check out the curerent lesson series blog here Becoming Blog

Next: Update

It's been a while since I last posted so I thought that I would post an update now that I have news.

On one hand it truly saddens me as I finish my last days at Adventure. I can honestly say that Adventure grew into a home for Kristina and I. We love you and while my official role in ministry there is ending I pray that there will be more opportunities in the future for us to remain close in God's work together.

On the other hand I am excited to say that unless some unforseen action takes place between now and the end of the year I will begin a new chapter in my ministry with The Bridge Christian Church in Dubuque. Kristina and I are very excited about the possibilities and future that God has in store for us there. Tentatively as of Jan. 1 I will officially be on staff with the Bridge as the Lead Teaching Pastor.

For all of you who have encouraged me and kept Kristina and I in your prayers I want to say thank you. God has blessed us with a rich family (both biological and Christ-followers) spread across the U.S. We love you and appreciate you.

May God bless you all through this Christmas season.

Be looking for updates after the first of the year!

Through Christ,
Travis

Next

I am a firm believer that God is always teaching, maturing and prepping us for the next move in His plan. I certainly wish that the next step for me weren't so soon. The economy is tough on all of us right now and when our personal budgets hurt so does Adventure's. I would have to be pretty egocentric to believe that the nations financial system has crashed just so I will take that next step ;) In spite of what He may or may not have wanted I know that He foresaw this coming since the beginning of time and that gives me confidence that in His plan there is a place and position that He has planned for Kristina and I. Please pray for us as we search out His will and pray for our hearts as Adventure has quickly become our home, our family and our friends.

Just to give you some more perspective on our current situation I have copied Tony's letter below.


Dear Family and Friends of Adventure,

Many of you have faced some pretty tough financial challenges over the past year. You've had to make some dramatic changes to your personal economy in order to meet your obligations. Prices are rising dramatically all around us. You've cut back. You've postponed or gone without. Some of you have had to take on second or third jobs. Others of you have lost jobs altogether and are starting from scratch. Some of you have been battling the front edge of this for four or five years. Some of you have only had to deal with the challenge of fuel prices up until recently. It has been a challenge for your family.

As a church family, we deal with many of the same challenges. We, too, are forced to make some tough calls based on getting our expenses to stay lower than our income. To do that, we have reduced, recycled, reused, and cut out completely, but we are now at that point we talked about at the beginning of the summer.

Our increasing operating expenses exceed our income, and the only remaining item we can cut is staff. It is with a heavy heart that I write this to let you know that we are closing out Travis's position on staff at Adventure.

Some of you have recently experienced being laid off or having your job position cut. Some of you have shared how your job simply quit scheduling you, and you were forced to leave in order to live. Some of you have told me that all you received was "the notice" and that was it: you were unemployed immediately. Others of you were met by a security officer, handed a box, asked to gather your things, given a few days severance pay, and issued a warning against returning to your old place of employment. We're better than that.

We love the Roehm's, so we are taking care of them beyond what many of you have received in similar situations:

- We've asked Travis to finish the month of October on staff with us and prepare his ministries for his departure. We had already planned to second him to The Bridge Church in Dubuque the next two Sundays to help them as they transition after the loss of their pastor (an area in which Travis is very gifted).

- We are going to continue to pay him in full through December 31st that's essentially a total of 84 days full severance pay from the day on which we first broke the news to him).

- We are allowing him to continue to use the office, the office and staff cell phones, the church Mac, and the office resources until December 31st as he searches for a new ministry and sorts out what God has in mind for him.

- We have also expressed to Travis a desire that he and Kristina continue to consider us their church home into the future as they seek a new mission.

I encourage you to pray for them as they explore their options. I can also tell you, personally, that I feel Travis has a great future ahead of him. Yes, it was a short stay here, but sometimes God does those things to prepare us for what is ahead. Had I not gone briefly to Ankeny, IA, I would have never ended up here in Davenport - something for which I thank God daily!

As for Adventure, we want to continue to be good stewards. Adventure's strength has always been her volunteers. We may, in some strategic areas, hire part-time staff who won't be totally dependent on the church for a living. There are some areas that simply need the attention of paid staff because of the responsibilities involved. We may need to soon make the first part-time hire in order to continue our momentum, overlapping Travis's severance period just briefly.

Thanks for your generosity and graciousness in the past, and remember to keep Roehm's, Adventure, and our nation in your prayers.

Adventure Small Communities

We finally have all of our small communities together for this fall! There are a lot of great opportunities to grow in your Christ-Following this fall so check them out. Pick up a "Christ-Following" sheet on your table during the service or feel free to contact me and I will be more than happy to email you one in .pdf format.

travis (@) adventurecommunity.org

Mom & Dad are safe!

Well I finally got to talk to my parents in Richmond, Tx. (outskirts of SW Houston) earlier today. They have significant roof damage and apparently a couple of their ceilings may end up caving in but they are unhurt and fine. Keep them and Tony's family (parents and brothers family) in your prayers. I will try to keep you updated as I find out what is going on and I will try to get back to my blogging duties as I know I've been delinquent :)

Pain & Fear

I can't think of two things that are struggled with more than the issues of pain and suffering. No matter who you are, where you live, how much money you have, Christ-follower or not everybody struggles with a life full of both.

Pain in particular tends to be or become a stumbling block to people's relationship with God.

How could a good God allow us to hurt?? Why would He take away someone that I love?? How could He allow ______ to suffer?? Why won't He take _______ away from my life??

I'm sure that you can add to that short list from your own experiences.

Paul was a guy who spent his life experiencing the pain and consequences of life. He literally traveled thousands of miles planting churches all over the Roman empire and was beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned, stoned, whipped scorned by his own people and brought to trial multiple times because of it. And yet it was Paul who sitting in chains wrote these words to the Christ-followers in Philippi-

I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am. Philippians 4:11b-13 The Message

Over the next two weeks we are going to explore some of the answers to these questions in our services. Hopefully it will become a little clearer how Paul could write and believe those words.

Thinking about the race

So I DVR'd (will that ever make the dictionary?) the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing. I have to say that they did an amazing job, spent a lot of money on imagery that went completely over my head and built the largest LED screen in the world which I have to admit to you I coveted...just for a minute...alright I still am trying to figure out how to get over there and steal it ;)

Between actually watching the parade of nations at 2x speed and normal there were a couple of comments that I found interesting.

-First was the fact that less than half of the nations participating in the games have ever actually won a medal. In Athens only 851 out of 2012 nations actually won a medal
That is kind of interesting. I know that it is probably my American pride talking, but the idea that our team wouldn't win at least one has never even entered into my mind.

-Building off of that fact the commentator said "for many of these athletes this parade is as far as their Olympic glory will go." Now he wasn't saying that in a mean way. He was simply calling attention to the fact that for many of these countries and their athletes they were not sending them with a great expectation of a medal but just as ambassadors at this great event.
While they won't go back home with medals around their neck they will go home to much the same excitement, fanfare and pride as the winners. The nations and people that they represent will be blessed by their efforts and participation.

While listening to Tony this weekend those statements really resonated as he was talking about staying faithful and the "great cloud of witnesses" who cheer us on.

Honestly in my heart I want to do something great, something that will be remembered by the masses for the Kingdom. I want to go home with a medal. The reality however, is this race is not about the medals. As Christ-followers we march through life just as those Olympic athletes marched through the stadium on Friday night with literally millions cheering us on.
At the end of the day God may have not sent me to have a Billy Graham size ministry. I may not ever stand on the podium. I just pray that at the end of the race, my faithfulness and participation will be enough for God to use me, to affect the group of people that He has sent me to.

1 Do you see what this means - all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running - and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. 2 Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed - that exhilarating finish in and with God - he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. 3 When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
Hebrews 12:1-3 (MSG)

1-Olympic fact
2-Olympic fact

One of those weeks (actually several)

(Click on the comic to see it at a readable size)

I love this cartoon series! This guy writes the same children's books that I would :)

While funny it's scary how true to life it feels.

This week has been one of those weeks where no matter what I do, I feel like something is going to come out of nowhere and take me out. Ever have one of those? Days where no matter how well things are going or how hard you're trying, something is going to suddenly happen that ruins everything.
Unfortunately, these are the moments where my cynical nature can really take hold and send me in to a downward spiral. These are the weeks where I just want to go live in a cave somewhere and take the bypass away from all of my perceived problems.
In the midst of the last couple of weeks my mind kept coming back to a statement in the book of Hebrews.
For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. When he lived on earth, he was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin. Hebrews 4:15 NCV
I don't know when exactly Jesus came to a full understanding of how the plan was supposed to work. Did He know early on, at His baptism, or some later time in His ministry? When did He know what it was going to look like? When did he realize that the cross was looming and none of His closest earthly friends would be there for Him?
Surely if anyone had a reason to get depressed and run away it was Him. At the very least I know that it was on His mind in the garden when He asked His Father to come up with another way if it was possible.
That portion of His prayer though is overshadowed by His prayer on my (and our) behalf. Asking His Father to take care of us, to bring us to unity and to continue on in the Kingdom work.
I guess that is what I have to keep coming back to. If I really believe Scripture and really strive to live by it, I have to realize that these things that I deal with are not really about me in the end. I want it to be about me and my mind keeps reminding me that it is about me, but my heart keeps pointing me towards His work, towards His care and blessings.
I admit that that realization doesn't completely take all of the struggle away but it at least puts it into perspective and gives me a purpose and a hope. Every day is another step forward into reminding myself that it's not about me. Oh and honestly it really is nice to follow someone that you can never look at and say "you have no idea what I am going through." :)

Oh and by the way I am working on the pictures. We're having some web difficulty. Check back soon as I may just put them up on Flickr.

Go-Adventure update

Hey we have a page now on our Go-Adventure website just for our disaster relief teams and the pictures that they bring back.

Click on Disaster Relief Pictures to access the picture page.

I have a big backlog of pictures to upload so check back for more soon!

Oakville, IA

Oakville is just about wiped out. I am truly amazed at what I have seen this weekend. A town destroyed, a community stretched to the breaking point and disaster relief organizations pulling out leaving everyone wondering what happens next.

Keep this community in your prayers. While I know that there is a resiliency impossible to measure in them, you can see the weariness in their eyes and I have to believe that they are wondering if any one cares about them.

The video attached should give you a tiny glimpse of what their lives look like right now.

We are going to continue to run trips down there. Keep an eye on Tony's Adventure blog for details.

Trekking

Over the past three weeks I have had the opportunity to lead some of our students through a series of sessions targeted at discipleship. We designed Trekking to be an experiential journey allowing them to see, hear and be put in similar situations to what the early disciples would have been exposed to while walking in the footsteps of Jesus.

This past Wednesday we spent some time at a homeless shelter. We brought in some fried chicken and homemade cookies and in no time had these guys streaming in to the common room with us.
First I want to brag on our students. They were phenomenal. Their assignment for the night was to spend time talking to these guys and come out able to tell at least one of their stories to me. A couple got off to a slow start but by the end of the time I had to pry them away from their conversations. They did great!
Second I want to brag on our student ministry staff. These people are dedicated to seeing our students grow and this ministry could not function with out them. They have been and are an amazing group of people to partner in ministry with. They were right in with our students loving on these guys and hearing their stories.
Third I want to ask you a question. Have you ever read through the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John- these are letters recounting Jesus' 3 years of ministry) and asked "What did it truly look like to walk in the footsteps of Jesus?"

In the midst of Jesus ministry He spent a significant portion of His time with the "unclean." The people that normal Jewish society considered to be the garbage of the world. Sinners, the sick, those who had fallen on hard times and weren't considered productive members of society all fell into this category. In Matthew 9 Jesus responds to a jab from the "clean" religious leaders concerning the fact that He was spending time eating with "unclean" sinful people by saying these words ...Healthy people don't need a doctor; those who are sick do....I've come to call sinners... In the midst of your trek, your journey in the footsteps of Jesus, have you spent time with the people that He seemed to gravitate to?

In talking to the director at the shelter I latched on to a statement that he made in explaining who ended up coming in to seek help from them. He said "we see all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds come in to the shelter. There is no typical story. Some are struggling with addictions, some have gotten in to trouble and some have just fallen on hard times without anyone to help them get back on their feet. There is a huge percentage of people in the quad cities who are one or two paychecks away from losing their home." The last part of that statement really made me stop and think. In the past year that could have been me.
Many of the people that we push to the fringe of our daily lives are scarily similar to ourselves. Sometimes it is just as hard for me to realize my close ties to the people at that shelter as it is to realize that when Jesus spoke about coming to the sick and sinners He was talking about me.

I encourage you to spend some time studying the footsteps of Jesus and to see where your feet trek to.

I also encourage you to check out the John Lewis Shelter. They are doing some good work there.

The Blessing of Serving

Why do we go??? After a weekend of being up to my waist in bloated rotting meat, diapers, foul smelling oatmeal (seriously that stuff is amazingly foul!!!!! I will never be able to choke it down again) thousands of diapers, wet carpet, soggy drywall and filthy insulation I have to ask that question.

There are a lot of answers that fall in to several categories-

Selfishly I enjoy being in the midst of disaster (I know that sounds bad and it probably isn't PC to say). Honestly, it is an adrenaline rush to be there. To some degree there is this badge of honor that comes with heading in to danger and going where others don't want to be. I also always come back from these trips changed. Seeing God work and the faithfulness of His people in the midst of their own tragedy is a personal journey that leaves me with a new sense of His provision and care over my own life.

Philanthropically there is a sense of nobility and human responsibility in being there helping those in need.

Theologically there is a call that we see in the Word of God to put others needs before our own. We obey Him when we serve in the lowliest of ways. We represent Him and plant the seeds of His love and Message when we act in love.

You may decide to go for any or all of those reasons but there is another that we usually gloss over...Community.
When we serve together God opens doors and brings a new deeper sense of community to the team that serves. This weekend I was able to spend time with some really amazing people that God has brought here to Adventure. In the midst of the filth and hard work we had time to share our stories and create memories that will create community in a way that nothing else can.

If you are trying to figure out how to connect...if you are wondering how you can move from the fringe of Adventure then I want you to know that these trips are a perfect opportunity.
If you are feeling down and struggling with the weight of your own problems then this will help you gain perspective as you see God's provision in the midst of tragedy.
If you wonder whether God is near, if He really cares, if He is really active then come see and be His hands.

For whatever reasons you decide to go, just realize ahead of time that you will come back changed.

We head back next weekend. We are going to leave on Saturday @ 8am and probably again on Sunday @ 1:30pm. Check out Tony's blog for more details and feel free to contact us with any questions.

Disaster Relief to Cedar Rapids

Tony and I went to survey the damage in downtown Cedar Rapids today in preparation for organizing relief teams. All that I can say in response to what I saw is wow. "Disaster area" doesn't even begin to describe the state that these peoples lives and homes are in.

As Tony and I spoke with some of the residents one woman's statement really stuck with me. She said that the disaster relief organizations were refusing to come in at this point due to liability issues and that the only help in the city was coming from "church groups." I truly hope that statements and thoughts like her's are the witness left to the residents of Iowa when the clean up is finished. It's not about "witnessing" and it isn't about getting anyone in church. It is simply about responding to their hurts and needs with the love of Christ. God will open up the hearts and opportunities for the rest to happen.

Our first team goes in on Saturday morning. If you're interested in helping check out Tony's blog for more details. The link is under "blogs I recommend" to your right.

A few thoughts about our summer Orienteering Classes at Adventure

I was talking to a few people earlier this week and we were talking about what our next steps might be as we continue to grow as Christ-followers. the common denominator that we all shared was that none of us were completely certain.
I think that the question "What next??" is a pretty common one throughout our transformation. It is one that I have heard from middle schoolers as well as 30, 50 and 80 yr. old disciples.
I have come to believe two things about that question in regards to our spiritual growth.
1.) Rarely do I know the answer to that question before God whacks me in the face with it.
2.) Rarely do I find it without intentionally seeking it out.

So what does that have to do with classes at Adventure?? Well I'm glad that you asked that question.
I don't necessarily believe that our Orienteering classes are going to magically transform you into the perfect Christian. (Believe me I wouldn't be teaching any of them if that were the case.) I also don't necessarily think that every minute that you attend one will be a golden moment of your life were God will reveal an unknown truth to your expanding consciousness.
I do believe that when we intentionally and sincerely seek out God's will and Word He will continue in transforming us by taking us through our next step. I hope that you will take the opportunity to use one of these (or more if so inlined) classes as a step towards intentionally seeking God's next step for you.
With that said I wanted to post up a rundown of our Orienteering classes for the summer term.

Newbie 101
This is a three session class for those of us in the beginning steps of our Christ-following. Tony will be the trail guide for this one. I think that it will prove to be a great starting point that will help to fill in a lot of the blanks that we wonder about in the beginning.
It will be held in the C345 room on June 18, 25 & July 2nd @ 7PM.

Chasing Daylight: Seize the Power of Every Moment
Chasing Daylight should be a really interesting class centered on taking the every day moments of life and allowing God to use each one of them in His extraordinary plan for your life. Based on Israels's war with the Philistines you will look at several key characters and come to understand the characteristics of an Adventurers heart.
This is a series based on the book Chasing Daylight by Erwin Raphael McManus who planted Mosaic a church in L.A.
Tony will be the trail guide for this class. It will meet in the C345 Room on Thursdays from June 19-August 14 @ 7PM. The cost for this class is $15 (which must be paid by June 14) and includes a study booklet and helps cover the cost of the class.

The Man God Uses
This is a man centered (for this run guys only) study that is honestly one of my favorites. It is written by Henry Blackaby the same guy who wrote Experiencing God. (You might have caught that class with Ron Wicks.) I really like this study because instead of trying to figure out what God is going to do or how to make Him use you (which a lot of other studies do) he simply looks at men in scripture that God used despite their faults and tries to figure out what traits were in their character that allowed God to use them in such powerful ways.
Travis is going to be the trail guide for this class and we are going to meet on Monday nights June 23-August 4 @ 7PM in the Outpost. The cost for this class is $20 (due by June 15) and includes the study book.

Making Godly Choices 101 (Discernment Class)
The idea for this class came out of a long held belief of mine and from several conversations that I have had with Adventurers here over the past year. I believe that God has called us as Christ-followers to something more than just observing and following a set of rules. God has given us the ability to take His Word and actually live it out in everyday life. To do this you have to understand Godly discernment and how to apply it to the issues and problems that face us every day. While I don't believe that I am the guru of discernment, I am really excited to explore the basics of living a life outside of the rules of religion with you. This class will give you the ground floor skills that you need to take God's Word and intelligently apply it to your life. It is only three sessions long, what do you have to lose???
Travis will be the trail guide for this class and it will meet from 7-8:30PM on July 15th, 22nd & 29th in the Outpost.

How to Study Your Bible 101
This is a phenomenal class that every Christ-follower at Adventure needs to run through. (It is so important that you have to go through this to become a trail guide.) Honestly, the Bible is like any other course of study. You have to learn how to learn it before you can learn it. (Say that three times fast :) ) Seriously, if you have ever read your Bible and put it down frustrated because you are having a hard time understanding it or just know that you are missing a lot of what you know is in there then this class is for YOU!
Kathy Stevens is the trail guide for this class and it is a one session seminar from 6:30-9PM on June 16th in the C345 room. If you miss this one we are going to run it again some time later in the summer so stay tuned!

Spiritual Gift Class
This is a great class that is essential for every Christ-follower to go through. (We believe that so much that this is a required class to become an Adventure partner. ) This class will help you come to understand the unique and amazing gifts that God has given to you as a Christ-follower and what your responsibilities are in using them.
This is team taught by Tony, Travis and Ron Wicks on June 22 @ 1PM in room C345.

Discovering Adventure
This is a brief intro class that will help you learn more about where Adventure came from and where we're going. This is also the first step toward partnership.
Tony is the trail guide for this class and it will be on June 29 @1PM in room C345.