I stand in AWE.

This is a big one... I'm struggling to even begin. This past Friday night (May 25th) I had the privilege of acting as "Worship Leader" for an event at BRV called FREE.IN.DEED. Over the past few weeks the youth of BRV have been busy being educated and becoming aware of the reality of modern day slavery particularly in the area of child sex trafficking. I got witness firsthand the reaction these kids had to this tragedy. It was a reaction which was clearly driven by love, compassion, a fire in the souls of the youth that burned with a hope of freedom! These kids have been on fire ever since they learned about the reality of slavery. There has been fundraiser's, pie sales, pie's to faces of youth leaders and pastors and all in the name of freedom. The Lock-in event was designed around many things. First was prayer, from West Virginia to Maine youth groups were getting together to cry out to The Lord from 9:30, also meeting with friends and with The Holy Spirit was high on the agenda, and freedom from anything that the youth were struggling with was something on the hearts of the leaders. Last, the kids all got up in the morning to go into Media and silently protest human trafficking, they made their passion and presence felt in the town.

Now, i guess that's some background but what i really want to say is this. Friday night was the most sincere, Spirit led, Spirit filled, worship experience that i've ever been a part of. This is not to discredit God's presence in any other moments but there was something so powerful about this night. I had a great team of people to play music with and was certainly blessed by their talents. So, a little breakdown of the night. Kid's got there and everything was crazy, the rules were explained and a speaker from LOVE146 was present to further educate the youth on sex slavery and what the organization was doing about it and what they could do about it. Let me just say... this is an issue i am very passionate about. The seed was planted when my WWC class skied in honor of Katie Nolan and raised support to end human trafficking. That seed has grown to be something much bigger in me. But, it is such a hard thing to deal with. No mount of positivity, hope, or anything will get me past how much it hurts every time the topic comes up. It is so dark and draining. That being said after the representative from LOVE146 was finished we were short on time so we had to move two songs from the opening worship set to the second set (lemme tell ya God had a plan for that one!) so we played three songs. Finishing with How He Loves by John Mark Mcmillan. WOW these kids really appreciate the love of their God! So i was full, I was ready, I could have sung the praises of My Savior for 3 more hours. But, we had to stop for the scheduled time of prayer which was equally as powerful but much much darker and heavier. The reality of the darkness we were praying against was very evident. So I was worried how was the Spirit going to show up after that feeling? But I was also excited because I didn't know what God was going to do but I did know He'd be there.

OH HOW HE LOVES. That's all i gotta say. We got back on stage and Angela said "ok lets do what we did before... again!" I was all in for that. So we did our best and oh goodness did God bless it. The Spirit led every word, not, and voice that filled that room and channeled it into one voice, one loud, loud voice, one cry for freedom and praise and glory to our LORD. I can't really explain in words how different this worship experience was in comparison to others. But, i can say that when the room was filled with the rising cry that went from "Glory Glory send your Glory" into a literal shout, scream, cry, or whatever else you wanna call it that was singing "SET THE CAPTIVES FREE." God was so evident, every heart, every voice, every body was in complete and total surrender to God. I nearly lost my voice on that one. We cut out all the music and so loudly continued crying out "SET THE CAPTIVES FREE!" Now, we'll never know for sure what that cry did but we do have the promise that if we ask in the name of Jesus Christ that our requests will be granted. I can't say i know this, but i have faith that chains broke at the sound and sincerity of this worship. Doors were opened and hearts were turned to the LORD in the darkest of places. I don't know for sure but I feel so strongly that it's true.

I apologize for the length but i'm probably not even halfway through. I must also admit that this is as much for my own good as for my loyal readers. I've been so full of this experience ever since and it MUST BE SHARED. so yea...

Now for the thing that has affected me the most. Being USED!!! somehow i "led" 70 kids and my Brother's and Sister in Christ in the worship team to a level of worship that i've never experienced. Now, clearly it was not my "leading" that had any profound affect but CHRIST IN ME?! as if I deserve that? and what's even crazier is that it felt like the most natural and right thing i could ever do. In every moment of worship I was solely focused on the words, the people, the presence of the Spirit. Nothing else mattered and I was so content in that. It was truly a high.

C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity- "The point is, God wants you to know Him: wants to give you Himself.And He and you are two things of such a kind that if you really get into any kind of touch with Him you will, in fact, be humble-- Delightedly humble, feeling the infinite relief of having for once got rid of all the silly nonsense about your own dignity which has made you restless and unhappy all your life."  Couldn't have said it any better Clive! and then he finishes this bit with one last beautiful piece of imagery. "To get even near this, even for a moment, is like a drink of cold water to a man in a desert." YES YES YES! I literally struggled to put what it was like into words until i found the words of C.S. Lewis and adopted them ;)

Well goodness gracious where do I go from here? well, many thanks to all who I have led in any sort of worship. You've all helped me in realizing what it means to be a leader in that context. I have literally been able to "Forget the channel, seeing only HIM." even though I've been the channel?! That's something I've learned only by the grace of God through the community of His people. So thank you dearest friends!

I'm so excited about the youth in this Church, the Faith of the upcoming generation, I'm so excited for them, I've seen their faith and strength! So, let's get behind our younger brother's and sister's in Christ!
Ok, thanks for reading if you actually finished... you're wonderful.

Spread the Love,

-Ethan Pierce

A lesson from Albus Dumbledore.

By all means call me a geek but I'm attempting to "Lighten" the mood. Albus Dumbledore has a magnificent quote that has stuck with me from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Albus says "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."

Now, there is no denying we have dealt and are dealing with a dark time. For many it began with the morning news regarding the earthquakes and tsunami's that ripped at the homes, cars, and emotions of our brothers and sisters in Japan. This news only became more upsetting when we found out that the effects were not over and that they'd be making there way to Hawaii, California, and Oregon. There's no real telling why God allows such devastation to occur on this beautiful planet He created. But i do know this, that it is not too dark a time to turn on the light. The switch can be as simple as a small and sincere prayer, a properly placed donation, or the comforting of a friend who has been shaken by this or any other unfortunate event. Dumbledore is on to something with his quote and I pray we don't forget. God has blessed us with a light and doing good in the name of His son is precisely how we turn this light on.

So shall we pray for Japan and the other areas affected by this event?
Shall we pray for the community surrounding where I live after three people were hit by a car in which the driver sped away?
Shall we pray that the turning on of "Light" will become a contagious action?

I say yes and ask all my dear friends, brothers, and sisters to join me in the simple and intentional act of turning on the light.

Spread the Love,

-Ethan

Quick note!!!

I do hope that people are reading this blog and that in some fashion it is a positive experience for you :)
if this is the case i would REALLY appreciate comments. I don't want to aimlessly (to my knowledge) write to a non-existant audience. I want conversations and so if you'd be so kind leave me a comment/ suggestion about whatever you'd like. Thanks friends :)

Spread the Love,

Ethan

Lent it begin..

So we probably all know that Lent began Yesterday (Ash Wednesday.) Lent is the traditional 40 day period (or period between Ash Wednesday and Easter) in which, Christians participate in all manner of traditions like prayer, and fasting. This is designed to mimic the 40 days Jesus Christ spent in the wilderness before beginning His public ministry. There He prayed, fasted, and was "tempted" by satan (Have at that Theologians ;) So what's the point of me mentioning this? Well, I am observing and participating in the tradition of Lent this year. Maybe in a non-traditional way? idk. But here's what I'm going for. At BRV there is a church-wide challenge designed around the Lenten season. It's original to another Vineyard Church from Boston. This challenge has been dubbed "Leap of Faith." It's purpose is to inspire and unify the Church to GO FOR IT! There are a few focus points involved. They are, Reading through the book of Luke. Imagine the great conversations and insight that can come about because an entire congregation is focusing on/pondering the same words at the same time. Second, asking God for a specific concrete personal "Leap of Faith" I am not totally sure but i think this goal for me will be to be BOLD, FEARLESS, and SELFLESS in my Faith. I want the "Saul of Tarsus" idea presented by the band For Today (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctnObP4cS-k) All of this within reasonable boundaries set and influenced by the Savior and Holy Spirit. Third, praying for (at least) 5 people daily, I definitely cannot limit this to 5 people but my focus is certainly much more on praying for others than for myself. Typically my prayers are self-centered...problem... Fourth, Spend money on/ show extravagant hospitality on someone who I've been praying for. This one i'll admit will be hard but I'll be praying hard for guidance and means to accomplish this goal. Next, daily prayer for two big requests of BRV. One is a new Church plant within 2011. It will be beautiful to see a new expression of a beautiful Church reach out and do all over again what BRV has done and continues to do in Media, Pa. The second, is not yet decided but will be by service on saturday and I'll let you know what that is. I'm hoping it's a safe-house to further our BRVHEART ministry which is a group of loving dreamers set on ENDING slavery for keeps, locally, and worldwide. Last bit of this "Leap of Faith" idea is to consider some form of fasting.

Some thoughts on the title "Leap of Faith"


In the most recent sermon by Mark Tindall (BRV pastor.) He presented an idea (not original to him) that Grace and Faith work together in a very interesting fashion. Grace is not a hammock or armchair that we sit back and relax in. Though we are thankful for grace as we are for an armchair it is much more important than that. Mark connected Grace to the net underneath trapeze artists, and Faith to the trapeze artist his/herself. Grace and Faith working together this was show Faith as a very active, exciting, going for broke kind of action. And, Grace as the net that keeps us safe if our actions made in Faith do not lead us to success. When this happens we are caught up in Grace ever so thankfully and are given the blessed opportunity to climb back up the ladder and swing out in an act of Faith as bold as ever. I really appreciate this idea and it helps put into perspective exactly what this Lenten "Leap of Faith" is all about.

Just a quick shameless plug, if this sounds like a sermon you'd like to hear type "Blue Route Vineyard" into a podcast search on Itunes and download "The Specifics: Faith" :) I love that BRV has free podcasts!

I'm hoping to post more things regarding how this Leap of Faith is going as well as any fun or exciting things that happen over spring break. like.... An Ethan Pierce five song EP... we'll see!

Spread the Love,

Ethan

Here ya go Liann! Church...

I'm sitting at Burlap and Bean, great music playing, my pals having a good time working, and I can say right now this is going to be a loooooooooooong post. The topic of Church is well... one that i have a lot to say about. So here goes... I grew up in Folcroft Union Church, My Father is the youth Pastor there. I will not say too much about that other than the fact that there was a time when it was everything to me, then that was over and I felt I had reason to be upset with this Church. So I removed myself from Church and had no interest in it for some time. Then WWC came around. And I was able to see and be a part of a community that was so reflective of what I had always wished for in a Church that I began to re-think being apart from a Church. One of the major things that truly felt like Church and sparked a longing to find a reflection of the Kingdom in which to attend was Family Time. Particularly second semester. It was second semester when i was blessed with the opportunity to lead my brothers and sisters in worship from time to time. It was the unity that was felt in those moments that made me realize that a meeting place called a Church could actually foster an intimacy and closer relationship with God. So, one day I decided to have a chit-chat with Mark Jalovick (bless his soul<3 ). At WWC it was kinda sorta a requirement to be a part of a local Church and i was not... I wasn't ready. So within this 2 hour conversation with Mark I asked (and admitted) that I didn't go to Church and asked what his thoughts were regarding that. So he said I was in a phase and that to get out of it I should evaluate what it is about the Church that I didn't like and also what the Church is really supposed to be. He reminded me that the Church is a human institution inspired by a divine being. The attempt is to be an expression of the divine through this human institution. This can never be done, it's like in Romans, we all fall short, I think this applies to Churches as well. So with that in mind i decided to seek out a Church when i returned from Wisconsin. I found Blue Route Vineyard and I love it. I have began to understand and experience the Holy Spirit's role in my life and I really appreciate being able to participate in the worship. Furthermore, I believe in much of what they do especially small groups. I realized that what I had in Wisconsin was a Church and in it there were many small groups. They brought different aspects of the whole to life. This is the idea put in place at BRV. Lastly I am blessed to be a part of a movement called BRVHEART. This is the Churches ministry to end sex slavery and we are in the very beginning stages but it's a group made of BIG hearts and even BIGGER dreams. So what have I learned about the Church through all of this? Well, that there really is a reflection of God's love that I fit into and it's called the blue route vineyard. That within a Church i can really maximize my potential as a disciple. There is really a place that is not content with being stagnant, with doing "enough" or willing to settle for anything less than everything God wants. I'm not trying to sell this Church to anyone. Merely explaining that God has led me to a place where i can progress as an individual and disciple. As well as, help other's progress. I am thankful for sure that God led me to where I am.

P.S. given the fact that this is merely a personal blog i'm not proofreading or spellchecking much ;)

Spread the Love,

-Ethan Pierce

Post-North?

Hey it's Ethan, I've been thinking of blogging for awhile now and so i'm going for it. First, I'll have to say I may not be very consistent with this but we shall see. Now, the name.... Liann Whitstone has a really cool name for her blog (Excel Still More) so i decided i needed something better than "Ethan's blog." So what's Post-North supposed to mean anyway? Well, it's kind of a play on words/ themes. Clearly blogs have to do with posting. But i'm also a huge fan of Post-Rock. And, I will primarily be using this blog to discuss my life and how God has been working in and around me. Most, of my close friends will know what i'm talking about. Except for the beloved family i have in the 09'-10' class of WWC. So this blog is for me and those who live near me, but especially for my WWCers. That's where "North" comes in. Wisconsin is North of where am now, and it is a part of my life that has past. So, I mentally, physically, and Spiritually am Post-North. I hope this makes a bit of sense. I've already written too much. So, friends, follow me and be on the lookout for post's about Church, Lent, and many other things.

Spread the Love.

-Ethan