Rob Ketterling

ROCK THE RIVER

I'm excited for the upcoming youth event at Harriett Island with Franklin Graham on August 16th. It's called Rock the River and it's going to be a great time for the 13-20 year old crowd. I've been honored to be one of the co-chairs of the event (They needed some elders involved!) and I have to say that leading this has opened my eyes to a lot of great ministries in Minnesota. There are so many wonderful people working long hours to make it all happen and I'm proud to be a part of it. THis will be a must see event for the next generation.

If you fit into that 13-20 age group I want to encourage you to check out the link and sign up to be a part of this. Our youth group is going to this so you can get more details next wednesday or this weekend so find out about it because I'd love to see you there. (If you're older than 20, this event really isn't for you! You can go, but be warned it will be loud, it will be a young crowd and there will be lots of energy there!)

Thanks you to Franklin Graham and his team for having the vision to host this event to reach our city and thank you to all the churches and people that are going to make this event amazing!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOGAN

Logan turns 13 today and I want to wish him a Happy Birthday! Becca and I now have two teenagers in our house! I sure hope he likes his birthday present!

TOO INTERESTING NOT TO TELL

I had a neat experience this past weekend that fell into the "You can't make this up" type experience so I thought I'd tell you what happened. After church on Sunday we went to the Galleria to do some shopping. (We had a deal, Becca went with us to the Baseball game and we went shopping, without complaining.) and while we were there I tried on some clothes at Macy's. It was in the dressing room that I discovered a set of car keys on the bench in the room and I wondered if I was in a dressing room that someone else was using or if the keys were lost. So I changed quick and got out of the room, kind of wondering if I should do something about the keys and kind of wondering if I was in someone's dressing room.

Later that afternoon I just happened to go into the Ermenegildo Zegna store to look around at some clothes and luggage. I say that I just happened to go in there because I've never been in that store before and when I took a jacket off the shelf in the clearance area, I noticed it was $54,000! Yes, I typed that right, $54,000 but it was half off, so now it was only $27,000! (So I bought two and saved $54,000 in one day! That's the way my wife thinks but I better not go there! Also, I'm just kidding about buying two of them but I'm not kidding about the price.) While I was leaving the store, a guy came in and asked if anyone had turned in any keys to the store. Now you have to realize, this is about 2 hours after I was at Macy's and the Zegna store was about as far away in the mall as it could possibly be from Macy's. And also, I've ever been in the Zegna store, ever. (Nice stuff, but way, way out of my league!)

So I walked up to the guy and said, "Were they car keys?" He said, "Yes" with a puzzled look at this stranger talking to him. I then asked him if they were rental car keys and he said yes and then he really looked freaked out when I said that I knew where they were. I told him they were in the Macy's changing room on the first floor men's dept in the Handicapped changing room on the bench. He said his wife was on the way there and would call her and said, "Thanks". Almost in a "How did this guy know that, is he stalking me?' kind of way! I was laughing inside because it was one of those things you can't make up and you wonder, did God have something to do with this? I think it's a very strong possibility that He did or else, I just have good taste in fashion!

SOAP - IT'S THE NEW TESTAMENT NOW!

As we continue to read the Bible using the SOAP plan, (Scripture Observation Application and Prayer) I want to encourage you to continue with it and if you've stopped reading start again! It's the New Testament and you will love it and get so much out of it. We will be reading a lot about Jesus and the disciples as well as the start of the church so don't miss this, it's really great stuff!

Today's reading was Matthew 6 and it's where we find the Lord's prayer and today I read my devotions in The Message translation and it gave me a whole new look at the Lord's prayer seeing it in contemporary language and not the King James version! Here it is, see if it doesn't hit you in a whole new way.

Our Father in heaven,
   Reveal who you are.
   Set the world right;
   Do what's best— as above, so below.
   Keep us alive with three square meals.
   Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
   Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
   You're in charge!
   You can do anything you want!
   You're ablaze in beauty!
      Yes. Yes. Yes.

CHURCH AT LAKEWOOD WITH JOEL AND VICTORIA OSTEEN

This past weekend I took my family to Houston for a little vacation and we had a blast! We stayed near the Galleria and did a little shopping, went to a ballgame at Minute Maid park and went to church at Lakewood Church. All of it was so much fun, but the real high-lite was going to church at Lakewood Church, it exceeded our expectations and was so encouraging to all of us.

We had a friend of ours call ahead and let them know that we were coming to visit and all we were hoping for was a reserved seat and maybe a back stage tour, our expectations were pretty low. We arrived to the church an hour early and got a great tour and saw so much of the church and it felt just like RVC. We were all surprised that the church didn't feel impersonal even though it holds about 15,000 people. (That's a guess, I'm not sure what it holds.) RIght before service the ushers brought us to the church auditorium and asked us to sit on the front row! Connor and Logan were impressed that dad must know Joel Osteen or something for us to sit up there!

The worship was fantastic, not RVC style, but people were worshiping God and there was a real presence of God there. Joel and Victoria did a great job making sure it felt like church and not an event in some city even though there were hundreds of visitors there. Joel preached a great sermon on Inside Information and I'll be honest here, I'm going to use some of it in an upcoming sermon series! It was really good and Connor and Logan really paid attention and quoted parts of it back to me during the day. (As a parent of a teen, that's always a good thing!) In addition to all of that, at least 50-100 people responded to the altar call for salvation at the end! After the service was over, one of the pastors said that Joel wanted to say hi to us so could we come to the green room to say hi before we leave. (At this point Connor and Logan thought that dad was super connected or else we were being punked!)

We went to the green room area and met Joel and Victoria and just talked about ministry, the Hillsong conference and how much we enjoyed church today. We also talked about life and family and pastoring. They were so nice (And so were all their staff members.) and they really went out of their way to say hi and make us feel welcome, we all agreed it was the high-lite of our trip. I've got a whole new appreciation for him and his family and his ministry. I just keep thinking, here's a guy that was running a camera at church and now he pastors the largest church in America. When he says anything is possible with God, he really means it!

GETTING CONNOR AT CAMP

We're coming home from my in-laws place on Battle Lake today and on the way back we're picking up Connor from Youth Camp. I haven't heard from him (You can't have any electronics at camp and that's a good thing!) so I'm not sure how he's doing but I'm sure it's good. I've heard from Pastor Alan (He sent me a text) that Connor's doing well and that camp is going great so I'm really looking forward to getting to talk to Connor and see what god did in his life.

I really think camp is a great thing and Ilove that it gets kids out of their element and lets them focus on God. So many great things happen during the services and I know that the times at the altar area praying afterward were some of the most meaningful prayer times I've ever had. Oh yeah, I also met my wife at Youth Camp so yes, I love Youth Camp!

A GREAT VBS AT RVC

I just got a text concerning the conclusion of our VBS this week at RVC and it sounds like it was a great time! I heard that there were hundreds of children there, dozens of decisions for Christ and fun had by all! One parent said their son was up at 6:00AM this morning because he couldn't wait to go back on Wednesday! That's the type of VBS I want RVC to have! Kids begging mom and dad to bring them to church!

It reminds me of a test we did when we started RVC and we said, "What would we risk our lives for?' And the first thing out of our mouths was our children. (The next thing was those that don't know Christ.) But we realized that if kids were the first thing out of our mouths, then we had better do everything we can to reach them for Jesus and take care of the children. So that's why we have such a strong emphasis on children's ministry and that's why it pumps me up to hear the good report about the VBS. Well done team! I'm very proud of all of the GO Children's ministry workers, you did a great job leading children into a life-changing relationship with Jesus!

HAZELTINE BLOG #2

Wow! It was all that I thought it would be to play Hazeltine National and even thought I didn't play as well as I wanted to, I didn't play terrible. I shot a 96 on a par 72 and wish I could do three holes over... Who am I kidding, I wish I could do all of them over! Seriously, on hole #8 I shot a triple bogey after going into the water twice! On hole #16 I also shot a triple bogey and on hole #4 I got a double. So if I could replay those three I'm sure I could do better! And that's why I love golf and hate golf, all in the same round!

I have to say a huge thank you to my new best friend, Tom! (I said I wouldn't reveal his last name because he would be flooded with emails if I told a bunch of pastors he paid for me to golf!) It was a pleasure to play with him and also Tim and Kevin. I found out how he read my blog and once I share this with you, you can't use this to get onto Hazeltine, it was a one time thing! Because of his official capacity at Hazeltine, anytime Hazeltine is mentioned on-line, it sends a link to him. He then reads it to see what's being said and that's how he found my blog. It was out of the goodness of his heart that he invited me to be his guest. And once again, I want to say thank you Tom for making this life goal come to pass!

Now that I have achieved this goal, I have to make a new one so here it goes, I would love to play Augusta National! That's right, Augusta! I figure if you're going to top Pebble Beach, and Hazeltine, you need to aim pretty high so Augusta it is! (Here's hoping someone at Augusta has the same set-up as Tom! Augusta, Augusta, Augusta! That should help the rating on Google!) I had a blast and I promised my two boys that I'd stop talking about it all the time so I will. Until later, Augusta, Augusta, Augusta!

SURPRISED BY MY BLOG!

Well, today I get to have an amazing experience as I get to play Hazeltine National Golf Club as a guest! It's an amazing story and I'll give you the short version.

You're probably aware that I love to set goals for my life. I actually have a huge list of things I want to do as a dad, husband, christian, pastor, golfer, etc. and one of my goals was to be able to play Pebble Beach. I accomplished this four years ago and so I needed a new golf goal (Besides getting a hole in one) and so I made it my goal to play Hazeltine National. It's a private club but I thought I'd aim high and make it a goal and see when it would happen. I just thought it would be cool to play where the pro tour plays and to play the course in Minnesota.

I posted a blog about this goal and some others about a year ago and actually forgot that it was out there in the blog world until I received an email from a member of Hazeltine National! He said he read my blog and that if I hadn't already made it to the course, he would love it if I would be his guest for a round so he could help me fulfill my next golf goal! Well, today's the day and I can hardly wait! I tee off at high noon and I think I'll actually have a hard time hitting the first shot because I'll be smiling from ear to ear! Hopefully I'll settle down after that!

So today, I'm thankful that you read my blog, and I'm really glad that a member of Hazeltine National read my blog! Have a great day today and hopefully you can fulfill some of your life goals, I'm about to fulfill another one of mine!

IT'S A GREAT WEEKEND FOR CHURCH

I'm enjoying some much needed and much appreciated time off this summer as I celebrate 13 years at RVC and also look forward to what's in store for the future. It's been a great 13 years and I truly believe that the best is yet to come! 

This weekend I'll be visiting at least two churches and maybe three as I get to just see what God is doing in the local churches around us. I love all of the other churches and want you to know that as a staff, we pray for a different church in our area every week at our staff meetings because they're not our competition, they're the body of Christ. Now if RVC is your home church, be sure to be there (Unless you are on your sabbatical!) and enjoy the ministry of Teen Challenge this weekend. Rich Scherber and the Teen Challenge ministry are just amazing to hear. To listen to the stories of deliverance and the power of God to set people free and give them hope, it makes me almost want to sneak in the back to hear them! 

That being said, I'm looking forward to the time off, but I'm really looking forward to the Fall when we go to 4 services at our Apple Valley campus and 2 services at our Faribault campus. It's going to be busy, but it's going to be worth it as we see the lives changed week after week at RVC.