This next week marks my last week at Abundant Life. It has been with mixed emotions that Cynthia and I felt God's call on us to pursue the next chapter He has for us. We have been with Abundant Life since the beginning, and seen our body grow from a few families to who we are today. It has been a profound privilege for me to serve in many ministries, to be a part of the Eldership, and more recently to serve as the Executive Pastor. Now so much that has been done and so many relationships that have been... Continue reading

The Staff at church meets for chapel every Wednesday morning. It's a great opportunity to worship and pray together, and hear a few thoughts from George. Yesterday George shared about the Christmas story, and how the Magi essentially moved out in faith towards Christ. Imagine as they were heading out, friends asking them "so where are you going?" and them responding "Not exactly sure... we're following that star up there..." They knew who they were traveling towards, but not their destination. I find myself more and more coaching Christ followers that stepping out in faith is making the right steps... Continue reading

I love riding my bike, especially during the summer. Sometimes I just feel the call of the road to get out and go, and I don my gear and start riding. With nothing but a stretch of asphalt in front of me, I explore God's creation. God has brought Cynthia and me to that kind of place in life. We just feel like we have been called to get out and go. In early October I spent time away at the mountains with Cynthia asking God lots of questions about what He had next for us. Stay the course at... Continue reading

I mentioned on Facebook that Cynthia and I got new glasses on Monday. As we drove down the 205 I looked over at the Bank Tower downtown, and it was SO clear. What a difference. Today, however, we are both struggling a bit getting used to the way things look through these new progressive lenses. Cynthia says it's like being on drugs or something (first time for her wearing glasses, let alone with progressive lenses). Things don't look the same. I can't help but relate our experience with our new spectacles to what it's like to be reborn in Jesus... Continue reading

After visiting the weekend service at our Sandy Campus today, I wanted to take a few minutes to sit quietly and pray while looking over the Sandy River valley from the viewpoint on Bluff Road. I headed to Joe's to get a big creamy doughnut and a coffee, and then off towards the viewpoint. Jonsrud Viewpoint is one of my favorite spots I stop at while cycling. The view out over the valley is amazing, and you feel like you're on top of the world. I jump up on the rock wall, sit cross-legged, and just take it all in,... Continue reading

At the Grotto they have added a prayer labyrinth designed to provide a disciplined journey that allows plenty of time to talk to God. During my prayer and planning time a few weeks ago I watched as people looked at this "patio," maybe walked across it, and then moved on. I decided to follow the path, and to my surprise, everyone after me did the same! They just needed to see someone go before them. As I sat on a nearby bench watching the others, several even offered me accountability for their journey. "Hey, how am I doing?" and "Is... Continue reading

Cynthia and I just spent five days in a cabin up near Mount Hood. We took this time to relax, reflect, and read. We even had our own church service Sunday morning, including communion! I read Shane Claiborne’s “Irresistible Revolution” and Brennan Manning’s “Ruthless Trust.” Claiborne calls us back to what following Christ really looks like, and Manning to what trusting God really looks like. That’s a powerful one-two punch! I learned from Claiborne that our faith is to be like a mustard seed (sounds familiar, right?), but he pointed out that mustard plants grow and spread like weeds, sprouting... Continue reading

Wow, what a day! The Sandy Campus public launch was today, and God was soooo present. TJ, Susan, Dave and the gang have done a tremendous job bringing this campus to fruition. We had nearly 200 there today, and LOTS of new faces. Check out some of the photos in the album to the right! Look for a picture of Dave with his "no perfect people allowed" face on... And come check thIS campus out if you haven't already! Continue reading

I spent last Monday at the Grotto again for my quarterly Prayer and Planning day. I started my morning with the Lord's Prayer and marveled at how it so wonderfully encompasses how we should pray. Check it out in Mt. 6. It goes something like this, depending on translation: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but... Continue reading

This last weekend one of our Elders, Dr. John Thickins (that's him to the left) announced George's restoration to teaching starting October 2nd and 3rd. You can click on the video below! George will start us off by revisiting the message series "No Perfect People Allowed" with new insights. A perfect series to get the fall off to a great start. Welcome back, George! Pastor George Restoration Update #2 from Dave Proehl on Vimeo. Dr. John Thickins, on behalf of the ALC Elderships, shares that Dr. George Powell will return to the platform the weekend of October 3rd. Continue reading

This weekend the Elders are announcing George's return to teaching October 2/3! Here's a copy of the Family E-mail from Bob Bergers: The last few months have been some of the most challenging days in the life of our church and yet they have been encouraging days as well. Since George shared his heart with us on June 19th & 20th and confessed areas of sin in his life, we put steps in place that we believed would be helpful to him, Ann and our church family. We know God is already using this season to change lives and make... Continue reading

Don't focus on the missed shot; reacquire the target. I attended the memorial service for an amazing woman named Alma Yoder this week and her grandson, Steve Long, spoke words that became God's words for me. Steve was telling about the police range, the training regarding "missed shots" and how it relates to our walk with Christ. Steve sent me his text about the missed shot and here are some excerpts: The Missed Shot. It cannot be retrieved; we cannot undo the choices and circumstances of our past. We must lay it aside and not dwell upon it. It demororalizes... Continue reading

It's been a very busy August as we've been preparing for the fall at all three campuses. So how are things stacking up? Well, first off, TJ and Susan Johnson have been doing a great job working with Dave Proehl to prepare for the launch of our Sandy campus October 3rd. They'll be training the varous volunteer teams this next week, and doing practice runs at Mount Hood Athletic Club in Sandy September 19th and 26th. Please pray for an amazing start to this new location for us! Parkrose has been gradually gaining momentum following the Parkrose Summer Bash, and... Continue reading

One of the big struggles I see all the time as Christ-Followers is we know God is the judge, not us, but then we abandon needed judgment for ourselves and each other in the process. I really appreciate Josh Galgan's message this last weekend from James 4:11-12. He pointed out that we are not to judge others' motives, but we can judge each others' behaviors against a standard. But first we must judge ourselves and correct our course. Matthew 7:3-5 says... "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the... Continue reading

My wife, Cynthia, has Multiple Sclerosis. She was diagnosed with this chronic disease back in 1990, in which the body's immune system attacks the insulation around the nerves. She has made it 20 years without any real horrendous symptoms until just this year. This last week she started feeling like she was being poked with pins, needles,and nails all over her body. She's had tingling all over for years, but this episode is excrutiatingly painful. Last night when she did her daily injection of Copaxone, a drug that helps arrest the progression of MS, the pain from the shot welled... Continue reading

Our Chairman of the Elders, Bob Bergers, offered an update during the weekend services last weekend. Here's a link that works (thanks Dave!!!) http://www.vimeo.com/13718935 Cynthia and I were camping at the coast this last week. Cool mornings and campfire smoke. We'll see you this next weekend. Hey, maybe at the Cruise In on Saturday at the Happy Valley Campus? Continue reading

Last Saturday night at church I was a little tired, and maybe, just maybe, life was not going exactly my way. I have a lot of trouble hiding how I'm feeling at times. Gayle DeJesus looked right at me in Life Cafe and asked "Is something good not happening?" I laughed so hard. What a wonderfully positive spin on "what's wrong?" I had to write it down so I could use this for the rest of my life. Last night Cynthia and I joined her dad, Harley, and his wife for his 90th birthday dinner at Country Kitchen. They eat... Continue reading

We continue working through the restoration process behind the scenes. With the recent events with George, Scott, and Dennis, something went "crunch" and we realized we'd had sort of a fender bender. My mentor, Bill Putman, keeps reminding me "nobody died" to help us keep things in perspective. The Elders are taking a close look at the situations surrounding the event George shared with us in June. They are meeeting with each of the pastors to see how we are all doing, spending time with George to encourage him, and meeting together to pray and review progress. In this process,... Continue reading

Every quarter we send out giving statements to a couple of thousand households. Ever wonder how they get in the envelopes? Here's the answer: We've got a very cool team of ladies that get together and help with all kinds of things around the office, including praying and prayer cards, to stuffing envelopes. Dorothy, pictured here to the left, pays close attention to Abundant Life's financial health and often catches any misprints in Coolstuff where we accidentally flip the "budget need" with the "giving to date" numbers. It happens sometimes in a busy office... Luela and Barb pictured here to... Continue reading

This year I'm serving on the Steering Committee for the annual Bike MS event on behalf of my wife who has MS, and Abundant Life. This event raises money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society that helps folks who suffer from this disease, and helps fund research to treat and cure it. Abundant Life has a team of about 10 who will ride together on July 31st and August 1st, plus others who will volunteer to support the 600 or so riders. If you've ever wanted to embrace the perspective of living one day at a time, trusting God for each... Continue reading

The Chairman of our Elders, Bob Bergers, forwarded me the statement below for everyone regarding George's restoration process. That's him pictured to the left. Our Elders are a great group of guys, and I appreciate their covering over Abundant LIfe, especially during times like these where God is revealing the next place He wants us to learn and grow. Pray for these guys. They volunteer immense amounts of time to oversee Abundant Life, and often work behind the scenes unnoticed, but ever present. Here's a link to their pictures on the web: Elders George will be serving in an inactive... Continue reading

I love Independence Day. Every Fourth of July, Abundant Life provides volunteers for Happy Valley's big festival in the city park. It's a day long party serving the city. Check out the photo album in the side bar to the right! Hats off to all those who volunteered to make this event a wonderful day for our community. Next opportunity? How would you like to volunteer for the Bike MS event July 31-Aug 1? Volunteer to host a rest stop, help out cheering along the route, or work at the start finish line. Interested? E-mail me at [email protected] Continue reading

A couple of thousand people gathered in Happy Valley Park for our all-church worship service last night. We had a blast getting to see everyone, playing together, worshipping together, learning together. The event kicked off with Jessie and Cary Samsel, father and son, bringing us some preservice music. These guys are great, and a blessing to our worship team. A part of the pre-service activities was a "duck drop" from a fire truck extension ladder. It's nice to have Jamie Karn of the Fire Department around to pull stuff off like this... Everyone had the opportunity to buy a duck,... Continue reading

We continue on a crazy ride of God working with the Elders and staff in taking a look at how we do church, what’s important, what do we need to be doing to enjoy God’s blessing and covering. The Elders met again last night (until nearly 2AM, zzzzzzz), and the focal point of some of the discussion was “how are we doing at being Spirit led right now?” The Elders recognize that George’s recent confession, while significant in and of itself, really served as a catalyst to draw us into asking questions like: · How are we doing in our... Continue reading

I spent the day today at the Grotto. I've been going there every three months for prayer and planning to reflect, refresh, and recast my vision forward. This afternoon, I met up with a friend for a while to share stories and go for a walk in the upper garden. We were talking about trust, accountability and boundaries in light of recent events at Abundant Life. I was explaining that good boundaries are important to being able to be trusted. Without them we are at a much greater risk of falling and losing trust. I've heard it said a number... Continue reading