Chutzpah

We concluded our series on "Parables" yesterday. I wish we could have taken more more time on the parables as there are so many of them and they are all so important. Yesterday we talked about 'chutzpah' faith. It is a bold, persistent, shameless faith that presses in until we receive an answer. Jesus taught in His parables that God is moved by this type of faith. There are times in our prayer lives that it seems that God is not listening and may seem that when we pray things don't get better but they get worse. It is in these times that people tend to give up. They may give up on prayer or worse yet give up on God. Jesus told us that it is in these times that we press in and hold on to the promises of God. Jesus said at the end of the parable in Luke 8 that we need to ask, seek and knock until the door is opened. I want to encourage everyone to not give up on whatever you are asking from God. God is faithful and He is moved by our persistent prayers.

Leaders Meeting

We are our first all leaders meeting on Sunday night and I am very excited about what the Lord is doing in our church. This past October I was challenged by the author of "Good to Great" to get the right people on the right seats of the bus to move the vision forward. I feel that God is definitely putting the right people in the seats. John Bushong has just took over our Christian Education and I am very excited about the possibilities of what we can do with Sunday School and Vacation Bible School and other events this year. My wife Jennifer is also doing a great job with our children's ministry department and we are moving in the right direction with new curriculum and a vision for outreach. Our youth team is becoming stronger and I believe that over the next few months we will see strong leadership arise to take over this ministry. I was very excited to hear reports from our Missions Team as well as they are seeing the needs in the community and world and taking action. God is doing some great things and I believe the vision is moving forward and best is yet to come.

Desiring God

Last week I got the opportunity to got to Minneapolis to the Desiring God conference. One of the speakers was Matt Chandler and Matt did a great job explaining the role of ministry. Here are the seven things he taught from 1 Timothy chapter 4.

1. The Gospel matters- If we don't get the Gospel right people will conform to a pattern of religion not the pattern of Christ.

2. Avoid myths and train in godliness

3. The Gospel will be a stench to some- I think we sometimes forget this principle. Not everyone accepted the message of Jesus. Some turned away and did not receive the truth. If we are offending some with the Gospel we must be doing something right.

4. Be the example- As a leader I must be devoted to the scriptures and not what every other church is doing.

5. Pastoring is a part of sanctification- Our calling is to Christ not the church.

6. Practice the Word- If we are not careful our faith can stagnate. As I grow the church will grow.

7. Pay attention to myself and my teaching- If I pay to attention to my own life and my teaching I will be able to save myself and those who hear what I teach.

Valentines Outreach

This will be our third year that we will be doing our Valentine Cookie Outreach. I am always amazed on how a simple thing like handing out plates of cookies to people in our community makes a huge difference. This year we will be inserting our new Hope Cards (more on that on a later time.) in each plate. If you know someone who could use a plate of cookies, make sure you mark their name down and put it in the offering as it passes by. We will be delivering the cookies the week of the 9th. Can't wait to see what God is going to do through this outreach!

Faith vs. Works

I was reading in my devotion time this morning from Romans 4 when Paul is talking to the Jews about forcing circumcision on the Gentiles. I am not going into details on the chapter but I encourage you to read it. The point of the chapter was Paul was telling the people that circumcision was just an outward sign of what God had already done in the heart. Paul uses Abraham as the example. Abraham was a man of faith and had faith in God and His promises. God told him to go to a land where he had never been and Abraham went. God told Abraham that he would have a son in his old age and Abraham believed. Paul makes the point that Abraham had faith before he had circumcision. It was faith that allowed him to receive God's promises not circumcision. The point is simply this; God doesn't judge us by our outward works but God judges us by our faith. This is so important! As a pastor, I am simply judged by many outward things; whether or not my sermon was good on Sunday, what was our attendance as a church and even our budget and finances. These are all measurable things that we can look at and say whether or not a pastor is a success or not. If you are not a pastor you have other measurable outward things that people possibly measure about you. Here is the point: God doesn't measure our outward works, He measures our faith in Him. Here are some questions I am asking myself:

1. Am I doing something right now that requires faith? Something bigger then myself and something I cannot do on my own.
2. Am I trusting God's promises and His Word as my resource?
3. Am I believing that God will come through and am I taking action towards that thing that requires faith?

I would rather be known as a person of faith then any other outward works. If this matters to God then it should also matter to me.

Prophecy Series

Pastor Weets wrapped up week three in our prophecy series. Pastor Weets has given us so much information the last two weeks to possibly make your head hurt. I would encourage you to listen to the podcast or pick up the CD and listen a few times through to let the message sink in. This Sunday he spoke of the coming Anti-Christ and the Mark of the Beast. It is interesting that the number 6 means man and three is perfection. The Mark of the Beast is a picture of man's attempt to be God. We see this today in our culture. There is a spirit of anti-Christ in which people no longer want to have anything to do with God and take God out of everything we do. As we move towards this we can see how this will eventually set up the things to come with an eventual ruler and system. I am so thankful that the Word promises us that as believers we have nothing to fear. These things will take place during the Tribulation period where the church will already be raptured. We will be with the Lord in heaven during these terrible days. One of the things that Bible prophecy should move us towards through is a heart to reach those around us who do not know Christ. You may know some that if Christ returned they would not go and have to go through the Tribulation. It is our job to reach them and share the love of God with them. Bible Prophecy should give us that compassion and heart to win people for Christ.

Girls Basketball

Just started helping with the 1st-3rd grade girls basketball league this month. We are holding practice in Monte which resulted in thirty some girls attending. Last year we practiced in Grinnell and only had around eight. We have broken up into four teams and we are practicing twice a week. It has been a blast to help with the girls. The coolest part of all is the league is Bible based. As we get into the season the girls will learn Bible verses and at the half-time of games they will learn a Bible story. What an awesome way to present the Gospel and reach families. Looking forward to the year and getting to know the girls and seeing God do some great things.

Year and Review

Sorry I haven't posted in a while as it has been crazy the last few weeks with weather and wrapping up 2008. Last night we had our year and review meeting where we went over the previous year, casted vision for the new and looked at finances as well. God has truly blessed us. I reminded everyone last night the importance of our core values as a church. As we look ahead to the future it is important that we keep our focus on the things that have got us here. Our values are as follows:

Biblically Based
Kingdom Focused
Missions Minded
Reaching every generation
Every person can minister
No one stands alone.

I challenged us that in this coming year our focus needs to be evangelism. I was posed with this question a few months ago and it has always stuck with me. "What would happen if our church left our community? Would it be missed not by those who attend the church but by those who do not?" That is an important question for us this coming year. This coming year we need continual focus on reaching the people outside our doors. In the coming weeks I will be posting some ideas and things we can do to be an influence to those outside our church. I am believing God for a great year and seeing people come to know Christ as Savior.

Last post of 08

Can you believe that 2008 is over? What happened to the year? It was a great year for me personally and for us as a church. Here are some of the highlights from 08:

- Our whole church went through the New Testament and fasted one thing to the Lord in the month of February leading to Easter
- Was able to raise $80,000 less then 6 months and pay off the expansion for the new building!
- 2008 Easter Egg Hunt saw over 300 people attend from the community
-May went to Drive and got to experience North Point up and personal.
- Started our Breakfast Clubs when the school year started to try to bridge a way to the school and church.
- Jennifer and I celebrated 11 years of marriage and went on a cruise.
- Catalyst 08 was a turning point for me spiritually.
- Partnered with Meadowlarks, Grinnell College ministry and Chris and Shawna Mann for monthly missions support.
- Gave away lots of turkey's on Turkey Sunday
- Partnered with all the other area churches and helped almost 120 children with Christmas presents.

These are just a few highlights. I am looking forward to seeing what God is going to do in 2009. I am so blessed to be a part of a great church.

Iced in

What a weird weekend. We were with family in Des Moines for the Christmas holiday and planned to come back Saturday and then we had all that ice hit our area. We thought about coming home but decided and it wasn't safe. Thankfully we did stay home as we found out later that I-80 between Grinnell and Victor was at a stand still for three hours because of semi's that had jack-knifed. I then called Pastor Jim Snare to fill the pulpit for me but the leadership decided the parking lot was way to icy so we decided to cancel church.

Sunday morning we went to Christian Life Assembly and listened to Pastor Dobbie Weasel and had a great time of worship but when we came home we found a flooded basement. Our sump pump had froze and backed up. WHAT A MESS! All day yesterday we spent cleaning up. Thankfully we had sump pump coverage.

That pretty much sums up my weekend. I am hoping for a less exciting one this coming weekend and looking forward to worshipping with everyone on Sunday.

Merry Christmas

Just finished with this years Christmas Eve service. I love Christmas Eve! There is something about coming together as a church family and worshipping together the day before our Savior was born. I love the atmosphere, the carols and the candles. Tried something different this year by splitting up the service into several parts. We sang a couple songs, I intro the message, choir sang and we interspersed scripture, song and the message throughout. We ended with candle light and sang Silent Night. It was a great evening and we had a great crowd. I hope everyone has a great tomorrow and I wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Crazy weekend and weather

We had a crazy weekend of weather that affected church and our musical. We had to cancel Saturday nights performance and Sunday night's performance was down as well with the musical. Nothing we can do about the weather except take it as it is. We live in Iowa and it is December. Thanks to all those that worked hard the last month practicing and taking time to use their gifts for the Lord. You will be rewarded for your time. Special thanks to Gala DeJong who worked especially hard organizing and planning all that went into the musical. You all did a great job and I am grateful for you all.

We are gearing up from an incredibly busy week. Make sure you plan on attending some of our Christmas events in the next few days:

Child of Wonder Musical

December 20th at 7 p.m.

December 21st at 6 p.m.

Christmas Eve Candles and Carols

5 p.m.

Christmas Joy

Was at the Memorial Hall most of the day for Christmas Joy distributing presents to people in the community. I believe we were able to help 118 children. I am so thankful for all the churches that came together that made this project happen. It is amazing to see the people's faces as they saw the presents that were given. I will never forget the face of a single mom that came in and when she saw the presents for her son, she broke down in tears. It is awesome to see God's love in action. Thanks to everyone who was a part of Christmas Joy. We surely brought joy to some children's lives this Christmas.

Missionary Support

This past weekend our missions team approved the support of Chris and Shawna Mann who will be new appointed missionaries to Israel. I can't say enough of how important missions is to the growth of our church. In tough economic times, everything would say to hold off supporting missionaries. I would disagree! In tough economic times, the best thing to do is support missionaries. God's Word never changes no matter what the economic situation is. His Word tells us that if we give, He gives back pressed down and shaken together. We already know God's heartbeat for missions so giving to missions aligns us with what God cares about. When we do this, I believe He will bless. My prayer is that someday we will support all Iowa Assembly of God missionaries. It is a big goal but I know with God, all things are possible.

Kids Christmas Program

We had our kids Christmas program on Sunday and it always amazes me how cute the kids can be when performing. You never know what to expect. We had instances of one walking head first into the microphone, one falling off stage (intentionally) and others waving at their parents as they performed. Kids are truly a blessing and it is awesome to see our the kids use their talents for the glory of God.

Top 8 of 2008

Here is the list of my top 8 favorite book of 2008. Most of these are ministry related.

1. IT- By Craig Groschell/ The last few chapters of this book really shook me. After hearing Craig at Catalyst I have been praying that God would break me and heal me.

2. UnChristian- By Kinnaman & Lyons/ This book was so insightful of how the unchurched views the church. We really need to rethink how we do ministry.

3. Communicating for Change- By Andy Stanley/ This book has changed the way I preach every Sunday.

4. No Perfect People Allowed- By John Burke/ What a great book of what the church is really supposed to look like.

5. Wild Goose Chase- By Mark Batterson/ This is a great read for anyone who wants to get out of the rut of every day spirituality

6. Crazy Love- By Francis Chan/ Very challenging book about our spiritual walk

7. Fusion- By Nelson Searcy/ Book about turning guests into members, 2009 we will be putting some of these ideas into practice.

8. What got you here won't get you there- By Marshall Goldsmith/ This is a business book but I found many the things Goldsmith said to be very applicable. I love the idea of "FeedForward" instead of "Feedback." Many churches could use this idea to look to the future.

So there it is, the top 8 of 2008. I already have a list of books I need to read for 2009. I have heard it said many times that "Readers are Leaders." It is good to get insight from others and be challenged to take it to the next level. If you have any suggestions for a good book to read next year, go ahead and post a comment and I would like to pick it up.

Ice and Snow

School was cancelled again yesterday and we have another late start today. I hope this isn't a sign of what the rest of the winter will be like. Last December was a crazy with all the ice and now this year we have snow. What happened to Global Warming? Maybe we should ask Al Gore that question.

Sunday reflections

Here are some thoughts from Sunday....

- Started a new message series called "Stories of Christmas from the book of Luke." Talked about Zachariah and Elizabeth yesterday and how they held on to the promise of God even though they hadn't seen the answer. The big idea for the day was to trust in God's promises even when things don't make sense. John Bushong did a great job with communion and I took a step of faith by playing my guitar and playing the song "How He Loves." I have had this song in my spirit since October at the Catalyst conference.

- Finished our night with a Christmas Party at Diamond Life. It is always fun to hang out with the residents there. They are always so appreciative when we come. We sang Christmas carols and served some snacks. I had this thought this morning as I reflected on our time together at Diamond Life, "What if the church would start being the church instead of just coming to church?" I know there is a big debate in the Assemblies of God right now about Sunday night services. Twenty years ago, Sunday night services were hopping and many people attended them. Today there are not many churches that have a thriving Sunday night. Some complain about those who have decided to forgo the Sunday night but here is an idea, if we really want church then let's go outside the church doors and be the church. Opportunities like serving at a care center like we did last night is a great way to have church. I think God is pleased when we get our minds off ourselves and serve others who are more needy then us. This is truly having church. That's just my opinion.

Christmas Saturday

Today was a busy day as we started out by decorating the church Christmas tree. It is definitely the biggest tree I've ever put together. Barb Long made her yummy cinnamon rolls and man were they yummy! We then headed to the Memorial Hall for the community's Hometown Holiday. The church had set up Plinko and we played a little Price is Right. All the kids were hitting the 100 slot and we gave away all our pop in an hour. I tried to hand out flyer's for our Christmas events but it got way to crazy. There were a lot more people then I expected. Next year I will try to be more prepared and will probably need more help. All in all it was good day. Looking forward to spending time with my kids this afternoon and evening.