Random Things You Probably Don't Know About Me!

1. I was once a “Rock Star” (Sort of)

When I was in my early twenties, I led a worship band at our church (Christ’s Church of the Valley) in San Dimas. I played guitar and sang and had a good time doing it. Our band got enough attention that we were invited to play at a big youth conference in Kentucky for a couple of weeks called Summer in the Son. We got to be wanna be rock stars and hang out with the guys from Audio Adrenaline and a couple of other Christian artists.

Music wasn’t really my main gift. I wasn't going to be Jimi Hendrix, though I tried to play my guitar with my teeth once (it hurt). So not long after that I hung up the guitar and don’t play much anymore. There won’t be any big reunion tour of our band coming soon, but I had fun and I got to see Kentucky for a few weeks.

2. I can’t smell.

Here’s a random one. I have a very poor sense of smell. This has its advantages and disadvantages. It’s come in handy with the kids when we’ve had a diaper explosion or one of them throws up. I can’t smell these joys of life and so it makes it much easier for me to clean them up. On the other hand, because I can't smell, I don’t think I taste food like everyone else. I actually don’t enjoy a good steak (even though I've heard they taste great). I’d prefer fish or chicken any day. I went to the doctor once to have my sense of smell checked. He diagnosed allergies as the probable cause so I’ve never done much to find a cure for my disability.

3. I am coaching soccer.

Each Saturday for the next two months I am coaching the Knights! The Knights are my son Michael’s soccer team. I had no idea coaching a bunch of six year olds could be so much fun! We’ve lost our first two games, but the kids are having fun and so am I.

I grew up playing soccer and want to give my kids the same chance to have fun. I started when I was six and played into High School. During those ten years I actually played about 20 seasons because I was on a competitive traveling team and we played spring, summer, and winter seasons every year. I had fun and I hope my kids do too.

4. I struggle with…

On Tuesday, I met with a small group of guys at Starbucks and we shared our struggles as Christians. One of the guys shared how he has confidence that he is saved by grace, but figuring out how to live life as a Christian is a struggle. There isn’t a formula or system or plan that makes everything fit. Since we have a relationship with Jesus, it’s more like a process or journey of sanctification.

On my journey I struggle with three big things right now: 1) Approval from people; 2) Achievement so that I have value; 3) Trusting God and finding security in him. I struggle with wanting approval from people because I don’t fully understand God’s approval of me. I struggle with achievement so that I have a sense of accomplishment and value. This is because I don’t fully understand how much God values me. I struggle with trusting God, because I try to control the things that I fear instead of letting God be my shepherd. These three things can become idols in my life if I feed them.

So, each morning when I wake up I go to my knees and pray. Instead of standing up, I kneel down and I ask God to help me find approval from him and to know how much he likes me. I also pray that I know how much God values me and I pray for the strength to trust him with every area of my life. I struggle with a lot of other things too. Like how to have a good marriage, be a good dad, and stay out of debt, but these three are the big ones I am dealing with right now.

5. I constantly think about making Jesus famous.

The thing that discourages me more than anything else is the fact that so many people around us don’t know Jesus. He’s not even on most people’s radar. I sometimes stay awake at night praying about the people I know who don’t have the gift of Jesus in their life. Think about it, there are thousands of people around us who are destined for an eternity separated from God in hell. That’s horrible.

The really sad part is that most Christians (myself included) often don’t care enough to have a spiritual conversation with someone or invite them to church. We’re too busy or too worried about offending someone. Since people really need the gift of Jesus I pray that God gives me his heart so that I have the boldness to talk to people about him.

New Song Live!

Last Sunday was terrific! Our church and picnic in the park experiment went better than we expected! Lots of people came out to join us for church at 10:30 AM and then stayed for a great lunch.

During the message we broke into small groups to discuss the topic and get to know each other better. I wasn't sure how well that would work but everyone seemed to think it was a highlight of the day. I saw people laughing and sharing with each other all over the grass area. At the end of the message it was incredible to see so many people chose to trust God and rely upon him 100%.

The weather was perfect for the day as we had a high of about 75 degrees and sunny while we were there. Last Thursday, it was 104 and so we began to pray for God to turn down the heat. I think a 20 degree drop in temperature qualifies as an answer to prayer for us!

My favorite part of the picnic was watching people sit down to have lunch and talk with each other. Everywhere you looked there were people encouraging one another and connecting. Even those who have attended our church for a while seemed to be making new friends and hanging out together. We had so much fun that it seemed no one wanted to go home. Our family didn't get home until about 3:00 PM, we just loved it!

I also want to take a minute to say Thank You to everyone who helped make Sunday possible. I'd like to say a special thanks to Andrea Hamburg and our worship team! Great job! Joanna Thomas also did an super job with all of the logistics and hospitality for the morning. I also want to say thanks to Rick Kraemer, Ben & Crystal Brown, Amos & Arlene Hoggard, Brent Christiersen, Mike & Terri Murray, Tim & Debbie Zsoka, Travis & Heidi Potter, KC Saunders, Keith Haro (thanks for the chairs!), Don & Beth Tello, Bob Chipman, and Dana Adkins. Each of these people contributed in a great way to make Sunday special! Also, Thank You to Veronica Pouzelos for the photos! Thank you!

(You can click on each photo for a bigger printable version).

XX

Thank You From the Bergmanns!

Walter and Nellie Bergmann wanted to say thank you to everyone who helped with the special fund to assist with their immigration status. You can still contribute if God lays that on your heart. The good news is that for the time being Walter and Nellie are able to stay in Folsom and continue to be a part of our church family!

Here's their thank you in their own words...

To everybody who supported us

We would like to thank every single one of you so much for everything you have done! Thank you for your prayers! Thank you for the financial support for our visa extension! We can’t tell you enough how grateful we are and how blessed at the same time to have friends like you are.
We want to say thank you to Troy, Dale, and Doug who had the idea and who sent out emails. Thank you for your effort, it means more than we can say.
Because of all of you the Visa extension is in process right now. So all we can do now is pray and wait! Thanks again for this awesome gift! We keep New Song in our prayers, God bless all of you!

The Bergmann Family