Death by Church Plant

Everyone dressed as super heroes - this is the nerd herd

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All nighter - at Mr Biggs for laser tag

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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

High school friends 20 year later - where does the time go?

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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

All the cousins, but Josh - big day at the Evergreen Casa de Kraakevik

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TEAM Kraakevik climbing/training in the back country of some top secret remote sight

IMG00189

Mark Kraakevik
The EDGE Colorado - live the message
http://www.google.com/profiles/Kraakerjack
mkraakevik@mac.com
720-308-4051

We all have demons, don't face your alone***
"Faith is our relationship to and with God. And it is given life and meaning in our relationship to and with each other."

Snowshoing at Echo Lake/ Chicago lake trail

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Monday, December 28, 2009

Yesterday's thoughts on communion

Communion Sunday After Christmas 2009

Invited to a table -

Passing around the ham, and the yams, and the green bean casserole, and the potatoes.

Around the table are people you have not seen in a long time.

This morning we gather around the table. And some have joined us from far away.

Big Doug is here. We have done several missions trips together, and although he lives in Seattle, whenever we get together, we remember the adventures we shared together.

Each year is a collection of events, that become your life.

As we look back on 2009 what will we remember. What stories will be told for years to come.

What stories will be forgotten, and lost to history.

Make God your refuge - and what is most important will never be lost.

Isaiah 57

13 When you cry out for help,
       let your collection of idols save you!
       The wind will carry all of them off,
       a mere breath will blow them away.
       But the man who makes me his refuge
       will inherit the land
       and possess my holy mountain."

As we come to this table we share it with the one we have made our refuge. The one to whom we have entrusted our stories. The one who is writing our story, as we follow and trust him.

Mark Kraakevik
of Littleton, CO. Mark can be reached at 720-308-4051

Saturday, December 26, 2009

The Christmas Letter that never happend - first draft :)

Day after Christmas, 2009

It is quiet in the house. 6:45am. I have been up for a bit. Folded some laundry, check my email and facebook, read some twitter posts, made some updates to my address book, and thought about Ghengis Khan. Now that guy could lead.

I have not done the blogging/jounral thing in awhile. I think I need to return to it in 2010. It is hard to make time, but time seems to fly by "unrecorded" and "unobserved" if I don't do something.

Didn't write a Christmas letter this year. If I had I would have talked about things that happened each month, like all good Christmas letters do...

Jan - The big 4-0. Mark turned 40

Feb - Annika's birthday, and she attended a Revolve Conference. Britta sang in a school choir concert.

March - We had 175 at Easter Service, which we held at Stony Creek Elementary School.

April - Britta's birthday. Mark, Annika and Britta skied the last day of the season at Loveland, using passes purchased in Nov.

May - Annika finished up 6th grade.

June - Attended BGC meetings at Bethel

July - Traveled all over - Jefson reunion in Iowa, Heidi and girls spent time in Montana, while I went to Brazil again.

Aug - Norseman Quartet reunion in Montana.

Nov - Church celebrated its two year birthday.

Dec - Britta performed in her second Colorado Children's Chorale

Typically, these end with some kind of "Have a great Christmas Season, and remember that we can live without fear because God has sent his son to save us."

Mark

Friday, December 25, 2009

New clothed for christmas

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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas, Turtles - Don't be afraid.

The New Christmas Turtles made it into the talk to night, since it was all about "be not afraid" Dropped the turtle back into her cage as I took her out - scared her big time!

People we hesitant to take communion after I handled the turtles. But I let the ushers pass out the bread and cup, so a Salmonella outbreak could be averted.

Cold snowy night in Denver, but we still had great turn out. Personal favorite moment was singing Joy to the World A Capella after the second service.

Merry Christmas friends and family

Mark

http://www.architectureforsale.com/address/92/The-Sculptured-House

Thursday, December 17, 2009

What 8 million dollars will buy you in Denver

Too many days in a row without time to breathe

Friday, December 11, 2009

Visual Civics lesson: The RIGHT versus the LEFT

Monday, December 07, 2009

IMG00165.jpg

Shopping at cherry creek mall
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IMG00165.jpg

Shopping at cherry creek mall
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Saturday, December 05, 2009

Endless salad and breadsticks at Olive Garden - yum

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Yes, like you, the Kraakevik's have multiple Christmas events today - Colo. Children Chorale and a movie at church tonight

Friday, December 04, 2009

Death/life Two funerals today. Leaving for the first one saw that someone did donuts in snow-i laughed

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http://www.xanga.com/kraakerjack/717582727/item/

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Archive of today's discussion about whether homosexual should be allowed to adopt kids

Hey kraakerjack@yahoo.com!

kraakerjack@yahoo.com has sent you this weblog from kraakerjack on Xanga!

Personal Message:

Here is a copy of the message you sent from Xanga:<br /><hr />thought you might be interested in reading this.

For the record - I disagree with this article, but since when has that stopped me from posting something that will force you to think about your beliefs and how they play out in the real world.

http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2009/11/gay-adoption.html

I guess I'm a little confused, Mark. What part of this article do you disagree with? The part that suggests a stable same-sex couple is better than a home with an absent father and a drug-addicted mother? Or the part that a kid should go hungry in a home with a heterosexual couple or live under a warm roof and be well fed by a homosexual couple?

Perhaps we should put the full force of the church behind the movement to ban divorce currently underway in California? (http://tinyurl.com/ban-divorce)

Yesterday at 7:58pm · Delete

Ken Lewis

For the record - I support same sex marriage, a woman's right to choose, and medical marijuana initiatives. I'm going to HELL !!!

Yesterday at 9:53pm · Delete

Jim Richards

How about providing support for the grandparents so that they could continue to raise their grandkids? Keep the children in their actual family, and raise them? Where is the church here in this scenario?

I have heard that if each church in America had an average of one adoption, there would be no children left in foster care available for adoption.

Yesterday at 11:00pm · Delete

Travis - in brief - I disagree with the logic used in the article. It creates a no win situation, and then argues for a less than ideal situation as the BEST ANSWER.

I believe the Bible teaches that homosexuality is wrong. I know people disagree. I am ok with that. I don't expect to agree with everyone on everything, even when it comes to the church and God.

Now, from my frame of reference, if homosexuality is wrong, then placing a child in that situation is also wrong. To argue that it is less wrong than keeping the kid in a crack house is true, but not helpful for public policy. To place a child in a car with someone who can drive but doesn't have a license is better than in a car with someone who has a license but can't drive. Both are wrong, neither situation should be encouraged. Why argue between which is better?

10 hours ago · Delete

Not exactly an apples to apples argument there. In the case of placing a child in a car with either someone who can drive or can't drive, as in your scenario one case is legal and the other isn't. It isn't illegal to be in a same-sex relationship.

This is the real-world, Mark. We don't always get to choose from what we'd consider ideal solutions or generate win-win situations. You're right, I disagree that we've been taught that homosexuality is wrong, but assuming that premise is correct, then consider this as well, if more heterosexual couples stepped up to the plate to take in children that needed homes this wouldn't even be an issue. Yet, instead, there are hundreds of thousands of children that go to bed every night wishing they had a stable, loving home.

Many of those children are the result of pregnant teens listening to the anti-abortion rhetoric and giving the children up for adoption. The church rushed to tell those unprepared children not to terminate their pregnancies, but where is the aftercare? Were those unexpected children only of value in-utero? If Jim's statistic is true, there shouldn't be a single child that goes without a loving home, whether it be to hetero- or homosexual couples

[And for the record, after having been a party to three pregnancies and seeing a child developing through ultrasounds, I can't imagine anyone wanting to terminate a pregnancy voluntarily or as a means of birth control, but I stand behind a woman's right to choose, especially in cases of incest and rape or where the mother's health may be at risk.]

9 hours ago · Delete

Carla Grover Barnhill

Would it also, then, be wrong to place children with a family where one of the parent tells lies or gossips? Would it be wrong to place a child in a family where one or both parents uses the Lord's name in vain? The sexuality of the parents is irrelevant. If they have a stable relationship and the emotional, physical, and financial capacity to raise children then why should what they do in the bedroom matter? If you believe homosexuality is a sin on par with all other sin, then why on earth should it be the one sin that bars people from caring for unwanted or abused children?

9 hours ago · Delete

Great point Carla. All sins are equal. But not all sins are equal in their effects and consequences.

I will return to an argument that has got me in a good deal of hot water on this wall previously. If I hate someone that is a sin. If I kill someone, that is also a sin. If I hate someone, I can still raise a kid. If I kill someone, I will likely spend my life in jail, and should not raise a kid.

One of the underlying assumptions is that being raised by two mom's is morally neutral. I would contend that it is not.

9 hours ago · Delete

@Travis - homosexual marriage is illegal (in 47 states), thus my driving analogy works.

9 hours ago · Delete

@Ken - we are all going to hell without the forgiveness of Jesus. At least that is truth as best I can understand it.

9 hours ago · Delete

Aren't there thousands of couples (husband-wife) waiting to adopt children? Why not place a child in these homes? Don't we want every child to have a loving and caring Mom and Dad, committed to each other raising children? I don't see the need to place children in same sex couple homes.

9 hours ago · Delete

Jessica Mattlin Lentz

If a family provides love, shelter, food, and an educational environment, who is ANYONE to say that a same sex couple wouldn't be the right home for a child to live in?

This is the way I see it. There is so much hate, judgement, and unhappiness in the world shouldn't people be with the ones they love? Part of the problem with the world today is people get involved in stuff that isn't their business. If it doesn't directly affect you, why does it bother you? Let people be happy.

At the risk of being hated on a Pastor's page (Sorry Mark) this is one of the main reasons I don't attend church. I feel as though people with religious beliefs are the first to pass judgement.

@ Mark, yes, same sex marriage is still illegal but in 25 years we are going to look back on this debate and wonder why same sex marriage wasn't legal. It will be the same way with this situation as a woman's right to vote and civil rights equality.

9 hours ago · Delete

Ok, first, I have to say I'm Catholic, and hold to *ALL* of the Church's teachings.

Secondly, I have to say that this situation is a direct result of the previous generation failing to teach their kids to be good fathers and mothers, and of the LIE that sex is anything other than a prayer to God for children, and you shouldn't pray for what you don't want.

Ok, having said that, there is idealism and there is reality. I believe that the law, even secular law, should call us to ideal situations. It should be written to teach as well as punish. But how we implement/enforce the law should mirror reality more. Therefore, I believe both that homosexual couples adopting should be illegal- and that given the choice between no parents or very bad parents and homosexual parents, homosexual parents is the right choice

Ideally, every child should have two parents of the opposite sex- studies have shown that proper development is dependent upon this. But these kids aren't in an ideal situation to begin with. In fact, they're in very bad situations to begin with.

I know many think I'm a bigot for saying that- but defending the truth means that sometimes you're bigoted.

Oh, and I'm all for banning divorce as well, or at the very least, making it well known that divorce is not and should not be a method of escaping parenthood (there should be no outs to the implied contract of having sex, at all- once you have sex you should be bound to that person for life, no outs.).

8 hours ago · Delete

Gina Fornicoia Lind

I was the Director of a Christian adoption agency for 5 years. We NEVER had trouble finding a home for ANY child of any age, race or gender.

8 hours ago · Delete

Ah, but Mark I didn't say same-sex marriages were legal (as I am aware there are several backwards thinking states that have seen fit to bring religious morality into their Constitutions). I said that same-sex relationships (which is what the article discussed) were legal.

Should interracial couples be allowed to adopt? Should divorce be made illegal as is being proposed in California?

8 hours ago · Delete

@Nikki - No, there are not thousands of couples waiting to adopt children with troubled pasts over the age of about two. The thousands of couples you're thinking about are looking for newborns (typically white) without any physical or mental health issues.

8 hours ago · Delete

My church has spend over $1 million dollars to help families adopt children that have come with all kinds of health problems of all different ages and races, ok, it may not be thousands, 75 families I believe, but this is just one church community. I can't believe that there aren't more families in this country wanting to do the same.

8 hours ago · Delete

@Travis- I'm willing to say that ideally, interracial adoptions rarely go well, with the children being used as pawns in a hypocritical "Hey, look at the good liberal thing we're doing" sort of way, without really being integrated into the family. And I'm certainly against divorce in any form.

But that's ideals. And the reality is quite often as you say.

@Nikki, unfortunately the American story is often far more greedy than what a few churches have shown.

8 hours ago · Delete

Just a quick point of clarification: "Gay marriage is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts and Vermont. A New Hampshire law takes effect next year." - Huffington Post

That means gay marriage is illegal in (almost) 45 states, not 47. So 10% of the nation recognizes that law should not be dictated by religion (unlike Texas that has deftly avoided the entire issue by banning ALL marriages).

8 hours ago · Delete

Legal != Ideal != correct, even. I like Texas' response best, even though unintentional. Religions need protection from the homosexual bigots, and the best way to do that is to take the government out of marriage entirely.

7 hours ago · Delete

@Theodore You need to send your support to John Marcotte at http://www.rescuemarriage.org. Mr. Marcotte is collecting signatures to get the "California Protection of Marriage Act" on the 2010 ballot in California. His argument is that single-parent homes are just as damaging to children as same-sex couple families so we should do more to preventing divorce.

7 hours ago · Delete

If the government is to stay out of marriage, then they can't encourage marriage.....then there goes our society...God help us.

7 hours ago · Delete

@Travis- I would, but I'm in Oregon, land where we kill off the elderly and infirm. But thanks for the link, it's an interesting proposal.
@Nikki- the day our government abandoned God, our society was doomed to begin with.

7 hours ago · Delete

I can't disagree with you on that one Theodore.

7 hours ago · Delete

@Jessica Thanks for your input - this is not your typical pastor's page. What I am attempting to do is to encourage debate, so that the public marketplace of ideas can find solutions to these tricky issues. Thus all opinions are welcomed.

Having said that - not going to church because people are judgmental is a poor excuse. (I know its a bit ironic to judge you on not wanting to be judged)

I believe in truth. Everyone believes in something. When two truths come into conflict, debate happens. When debate is handled poorly, people withdraw. When debate is handled maturely, people grow closer. They feel their opinions are being heard, and that the issue being addressed is being handled fairly.

Having said that - this debate is not about who loves the kids more. Everyone in this debate wants to see children raised in the best possible environment. The question is, "what does that environment look like?"

6 hours ago · Delete

Click here to post a comment

Thank you Mark for doing this. The fact that you have so many friends on fb that have different opinions, says so much about how you care and befriend everyone. That impresses me.

6 hours ago · Delete

Posted at 12/2/2009 11:41 PM

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Monday, November 30, 2009

Pray for Kevin Gilman

Kevin is at Swedish Hospital right now. They are doing surgery, going into his neck, removing a disk and fusing two other disks together. He has been in the hospital since Sat. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

http://www.google.com/profiles/Kraakerjack

Please Help us Help The Mitchells - Ella Fans

Hey friends, here is a short note from a family in crisis. Help us if you can. From Amanda Mitchell: Hi everyone. Ella is recovering from her 4th UTI and we are meeting with the doctor on Dec. 9th to set a date for her surgery. We are pretty sure it will be scheduled before the end of the year. We are asking anyone and everyone we know to help us raise money for her over the next two weeks. I know this is forward, but as a mom, you will do anything for your daughter. We have exhausted our funds, Travis' 401K and other savings plans. I am hosting another jewelry/fundraiser party next week. If you know of any way to help us, please let us know. I think if we can just get through the end of the year we can be in a better position and the best thing...have a healthy daughter.

We appreciate all thoughts and prayers during this time. Thank you for listening to a mother's rambling.

Sincerely,

Amanda Mitchell

If you want to help, drop me a note and I will get you more info.

Mark Kraakevik

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Thursday, November 26, 2009

The delicious Thanksgiving meal we enjoyed at "Second Home" restaurant, in Cherry Creek

Monday, November 23, 2009

My Grampa Kraakevik died 4 years ago today. He was 99.

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A day in the life of the EDGE - happy birthday Dave

Dave celebrates his birthday with us

Post-church youth group game

Mark Kraakevik
http://www.google.com/profiles/Kraakerjack
To live is Christ, to die is gain.

Britta and I are singing - no school today!!! (Annika is sleeping)

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Thursday, November 19, 2009

The Temple in Salt Lake

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Praying over SLC

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Oops. Leatherman attached to keys. Thank you airlines security for keeping us safe

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

I have to be up at 4:30am to go to Salt Lake City tomorrow for a Prayer tour

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Monday, November 16, 2009

Newsweek Mag. made a video. Everything you need to know about this decade (in 7 minutes)

http://2010.newsweek.com/video/decade-in-seven-minutes.html

http://www.jakebouma.com/2008/08/15/a-look-at-the-declining-membership-of-the-elca/

Membership is declining in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America

Good morning from colorado

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Sunday, November 15, 2009

Wondering who will brave the snow storm this morning to get to church

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Praying for this church from Denver - van rolled in Portland, 1 died, 15 injured

http://cbs4denver.com/local/Colorado.church.group.2.1309025.html

https://twitter.com/JustinWise/statuses/5629139633

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Hosanna Lutheran Church (one of my favorite churches) is leaving the ELCA

This is a fascinating development in the church world. I used to work at the church down the road from Hosanna. In fact I spoke at several of there confirmation retreats. (A Baptist speaking at a confirmation retreat??!!) I am praying for this church and for the leadership. If you can not see the document, click the link below. It will take you to a twitter. When you click on the link in the twitter it will download a PDF doc from Pastor Bill Bohline.

Download now or preview on posterous

pastedGraphic.pdf (92 KB)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Prayer Requests from a pastor friend in Glenwood Springs

Please pray for Tomas and Luis' brother

This letter came from Juan Lopez, Pastor of Roca De Refugio in Glenwood Springs, CO
"Beloved brothers:
It is a blessing to be able to greet you in the name of Jesus, hoping that you are enjoying His blessings.
I write you to ask that you help us in prayer for the father of Tomas Cardenas. He is the brother who is in charge of the work in Grand Junction. His father is in the hospital and in very grave condition. Tomas needs to go to Nicaragua to visit him. So we ask that you pray that he will make a good decision. His father's name is Bernardo Cardenas.
Another matter is that we need to pray for the tragedy that has occurred in El Salvador. Many people have been left homeless and 125 people have died and many have disappeared in the flooding that has provoked mudslides. The story of brother Luis in Apulo is sad. When he heard that the mudslide was coming he grabbed his two children. He was hit by the current and let loose of the children but managed to catch his daughter but could not reach his son. He only heard him scream, "Papa, papa" each time farther away until he could not hear him anymore. The body of the child has not been found."

Mark Kraakevik

The EDGE Colorado - Live The Message

To live is Christ, to die is gain.