Weekend Reflections

1. Friday night was our Sweet Life Cafe for the women's ministries. I heard lots of great things about the night. I appreciate all the hard work that Brenda Smith and the ladies put into this event. We really need ministries in which we can fellowship and be a community. I have been praying once again about a Men's Ministry and what we can do to fellowship as men.

2. Saturday was day of relaxing. Basketball is over so it was weird not to be rushed. We headed to Oskaloosa for the day and did some shopping for the kids. Caleb keeps growing like crazy so he needed new jeans and tennis shoes.

3. Sunday we started our series on 20/20 Vision. Nehemiah is a great story in the Bible. Vision will always start with a burden of what 'could be and should be'. Nehemiah had a vision to go back to his homeland and restore the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah teaches us two things about the burden we carry;

A. Seek God- Nehemiah got on his face before God and prayed and fasted about his burden. We cannot forget to seek God's will on the things in our lives. Prayer and fasting will internalize our burdens and insist that we quiet our hearts and listen to the voice of God.

B. Make a plan- I love what Mark Batterson says, "Pray like it depends on God, work like it depends on you." Nehemiah had a strategy in place to see the vision come to pass. I know a lot of people who have a vision, but they don't do anything to work towards seeing that vision to come to pass. For example I know pastors that will say, 'I want to see my church reach my community." But my question is, "What is the church's strategy in reaching the community?" Does it have opportunities for people to evangelize? Are your promoting missions in your church? Do you have a system for discipleship? Are you following up on guests? What's the plan? I am so thankful for my time at Berean Assembly in Des Moines as Pastor Weets my former Pastor taught me this valuable lesson. He taught me to have goals and make action steps to obtain those goals.

3. Sunday was also our Ministry Spotlight on BGMC. Remember to fill your buddy boxes for the month of March with any loose change. If the kids reach their goal of $300.00 for the month my wife will die her hair green. ( Still not for sure how I feel about that one.)

4. After church we headed to Grinnell with the Bushongs and ate Mexican. I love Mexican food. I think I can eat it at least three or four times a week. Especially chicken fajitas. Yummy!

Ministry Spotlight

This Sunday is Ministry Spotlight Sunday and we will be featuring BGMC. For those who don't know BGMC stands for Boys and Girls Missionary Challenge. BGMC money goes to help missionaries in all sorts of ways like funding for sound equipment, teaching materials and other supplies for missionaries on the field. We are asking everyone to help our children out with BGMC this month. Everyone will be getting a buddy box to take home. We are asking that you fill that box with change and on the last Sunday of March please bring back the box. We want to help our kids make their goal this year of 2010.00 for 2010. BGMC is a great cause so let's fill our boxes with change and support our children.

Father & Son Cake Bake

Last night was our monthly Boy Scouts meeting and this month was Father & Son Cake Bake. Caleb wanted to make a Koopa Troopa from Super Mario Brothers. I was pretty pleased on how it turned out. We got third place over all. Caleb did most of the frosting and I did the drawing. The cakes were auctioned off later that night. We won our cake back for a whopping $12.50! Can't wait to bite into the Koopa Troopa.

Starting a new series this coming Sunday called "20/20 Vision". We will be going through the book of Nehemiah the next four weeks. I am really excited about this because I think this is the first time we have actually went through a book in the Bible on a Sunday morning. Nehemiah is an awesome book because it is book about a man who had a vision to do something big for God. I believe this series will challenge us to get a vision for our lives. I also want this series to challenge us as a church to have a vision to reach our community. Looking forward to this Sunday.

Video on forgiveness

Here is the video we showed on Sunday on forgiveness.

Weekend Reflections

1. Had a great date night with my wife on Friday. Went out to eat and then saw "Percy Jackson and the lightning thief." Basically it was the only movie at the theater that was rated PG. Kind of corny movie but hey, a date is a date with your wife.

2. We wrapped up the Upwards Basketball season on Saturday. I was really proud of our girls as they improved a lot over the season. We even ran a few plays correctly. I am going to miss meeting with them every Tuesday night for practice and Saturday games.

3. Had lunch at Red Lobster with friend and our crazy drummer Pete Smith. Both of our wives hate seafood so we decided to head to Iowa City just the guys.

4. Sunday we a great day of worship. Worship team did a special number called "Love is not a fight" from the Fireproof movie. We wrapped up our "Love is a Battlefield" series on the 'Battle to forgive." Talked about the story of Joseph and how Joseph chose to live a life of forgiveness. Here are the three points if you missed it;

1. Joseph had the right attitude
2. Joseph let go of the past
3. Joseph chose to bless instead of curse.

We wrapped up the message with a video on forgiveness that I found on Youtube. Really powerful video. If I can, I will try to post it on here this week. Felt the Holy Spirit really move in our second service. I believe God was doing a work in some people's lives.

5. Sunday night was the Q & A discussion on our building project. I thought there were a lot a good questions and ideas on the building. Not as many people there as I would have thought but the discussion was uplifting. It is really awesome to be part of church where there is unity.

Q & A this Sunday

We will be having a Question and Answer time this Sunday night at 5:00 p.m. for our proposed building. This will not be a voting meeting, just a meeting for anyone who might have questions or suggestions. We are in the early stages of this building and are open to any suggestions. We want to make sure that everyone is on the same page and we simply want the Lord's will to be done. We will also be sharing some ideas that we might have on our current buildings and how they can be best utilized. Looking forward to Sunday night for a time of sharing and a time for vision casting.

Pastor Board Banquet

Had our annual Pastor/Board Banquet last night in Oskaloosa. This is a time that our District officials share their vision for Iowa to the local pastors and board. I thought it was interesting that the theme of the night was "Reaching the Next Generation." Many of the things that were shared last night was in my message from Sunday. I feel the Holy Spirit is moving our leaders and churches to realize the importance of this truth. Many of the things Tom Jacobs our superintendent shared were right on. Here are a couple things that stood out to me;

1. Some of the greatest ideas are not going to come from my generation but the next generation. It is my job as a leader to help cultivate and fund those ideas.

2. As a church, we must not choose our traditions over our children.

It was a great night of vision and can't forget the great food as well. I am exciting that our state leaders have a vision and heart to reach our state in creative and innovative ways.

Just got done creating our Easter Postcards for our Easter Weekend. We will be printing 3000 cards this year and sending them to Montezuma, Deep River, Malcom and Barnes City. We will also use these cards as invite cards as well in church. Easter is not that far away so begin praying about Easter services and the lives that will be touched this year.

Weekend Reflections

1. Had the touch of the flu on Friday and Saturday. I don't get sick that often so it was definitely an unpleasant experience. Still pretty weak on Sunday when I preached but got through.

2. Rhonda Minner hit a home run on her song on Sunday. She definitely has a great voice and an anointing as she sings.

3. We picked up twelve kids on the van on Sunday! That is great numbers for the winter months.

4. Preached on the "Battle of Parenthood." Continuing our "Love is a Battlefield" series. Talked about the importance of reaching the next generation. We must realize that if we don't reach the next generation, the church could easily become extinct. We have an opportunity as a church and as parents while our kids are with us. Statistics show that we only have a 4% chance of reaching someone after they reach the age of 18. This has to be a wake up call for us all. We must fight for our children and fight for our teens. We had a powerful time of prayer for our kids and teens around the altar this Sunday.

5. Still no solution on the sewer system. It looks like we have a frozen pipe somewhere underground. The question is where?

We are up and running (Kind of..)

OK, so are sewer system is still not working. It looks like we have a frozen pipe underground and not quite for sure yet what we are going to do. We brought in some external tanks so we can have running toilets in the main building so church is on. I think we got most of the stench out at least. What a crazy week. I am believing God for some GREAT things tomorrow with all the chaos we have experienced this week.

Our Church Stinks!

No literally, it really does stink. Our sewer backed up in both buildings on Tuesday night. What a mess! We have sewage water in the foyer and in the Education building bathrooms. Problem is still not solved as we are going to have to blast out the sewer underground with a huge water blaster of some sort. Just praying that it works. There will be no Bible Study or youth tonight due to the horrible smell. YUCK!

Lent

The season of Lent has officially begun. I want to invite everyone to the Lenten Breakfast that will be taking place every Wednesday at the Methodist church from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. until Easter. Lent is a season that leads us to Easter and it is a time of prayer and self-denial. I know we are not a liturgical church but there are some things we can learn about Lent. We will be doing our own 21 day fast leading to Easter in March.

New look

The blog is getting a makeover. I thought it was time to change the look of it. Hope you like.

Weekend Reflections

1. Went to Joe's Crab Shack on Friday night with the family to celebrate my birthday. Gotta love Joe's. I enjoy the fun atmosphere. This is the one time of year I get to enjoy seafood since Jen despises it.

2. Most of Saturday was spent on basketball and then to Cedar Rapids for hospital visitation. Jen and I are also looking for a Wii Fit but can't seem to find them anywhere.

3. Sunday was a great day. We had 185 in attendance and it was just one of those fun Sundays. We are in part two of "Love is a Battlefield" and I talked about the fight for marriage. Paul gives us two commands in Ephesians 5 for men and women. He calls the women to respect their husbands and he calls men to love their wives. When we don't do these two essential things, we get caught in the crazy cycle. The key is learning to stop this cycle and energize each other with love and respect. Jen bought me some crazy glasses to illustrate that men see through blue lenses which represents respect and women see through pink lenses which represent love. Got a few laughs out of that one. The key is to look through the lens of your spouse and not your own lens. Also, remember Jesus is our example. Jesus' love for the church should be present in our love for our spouse.

4. Sunday Night was our Valentine Banquet. The ladies did an excellent job decorating the fellowship hall. It looked amazing. The food was great and the fellowship was great as well. We played the "Newlywed Game" and had lots of laughs. It was a fun night.

Cookie Outreach

Today we did our annual Valentine Cookie Outreach. We wrapped over 120 plates and gave them away to the community. What a great and practical way to show the love of Jesus!

We started our series entitled "Love is a Battlefield" last Sunday. I really felt it was important that before we talked about relationships in general that we needed to understand God's love towards us. If we don't understand God's love, then we will not be able to show true love towards others. Remember that Jesus prayed that we would be filled with the same love that He and His Father have for each other. (John 17) God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit are able to express perfect love. There is no selfishness in the Trinity. We are to be filled with this love and then give this same type of love. This was Jesus' prayer for the church. Let us know our worth in Christ! Know the the battle that Jesus went through on the cross so that we can experience this love. When we understand this truth, then we will be able to go to the battlefield for others.

More Snow!

Anyone tired of snow yet? Working at home today because we are snowed in once again. Looking forward to Spring and warmer weather.

Blogging Again

Hey everyone, so it has been a long while since I have blogged. It has been a crazy year for me especially in my family life. I am excited to say that things are starting to slow down and so I want to try to blog again. There are many things happening right now at CH and I am excited about what God is doing. I feel that the blog is a great way to keep everyone posted and share their thoughts. Please stayed tuned!

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.

Snow Day and Breakfast Club

Today was a crazy day. We started out with the Breakfast Club and we had seventeen children that attended this time. As the children started coming so did the snow. Half way into our time together we got the call that school was canceled. With all the craziness of the morning I think we handled the situation pretty well. We entertained the kids and everyone got home safely. I even had a nice phone call from the Elementary Principal telling us he appreciated us doing the Club for parents who had to work. Great job to all who helped make it happen!

December is here!

Wow, December has crept up on us already. I look at my calender and I wonder how in the world did it get so full. I think starting next week I have something going almost every night. With the snow on the ground it is starting to feel more and more like Christmas. The main take away from this busy season is that we don't get too busy to forget the real reason for it. Remember that Christmas is about Christ and His birth and how God loved us so much that He gave His Son. And oh yeah, if you are in a store and someone says "Happy Holiday", respond by saying "Merry Christmas." Last I checked December 25th was Christmas day not Holiday day.

Happy Thanksgiving

We are headed to Des Moines this afternoon to spend time with family for Thanksgiving. It is that time again to stuff ourselves full of food until we are sick. I can't wait! Seriously though I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. Remember to be thankful for all the blessings that God has given us this year.

Pop, Soda or Coke?

We have some friends visiting us this week from Texas and I got in an interesting discussion about soft drinks. I have always grown up calling it pop and I have heard many people call it soda but in Texas they call it Coke. This confuses me! So when you go to a restaurant, what do you say, "I want a Pepsi Coke?" or a "Doctor Pepper Coke?" Coke is Coke, there is regular Coke, Diet Coke and Cherry Coke and that is it. Anyways, what are your thoughts? Do you call it Pop, Soda or Coke?

Goble, Goble

We had a great Turkey Sunday yesterday. We gave away fourteen turkeys to guests and had great services. Thanks to Cody and Derek for the skit. They did a great job and it was quite humorous. Also thanks to everyone who invited someone to church. Outreaches like these wouldn't be a success if it wasn't for everyone coming together and inviting people in our community. Way to Go!!!

Turkey Sunday

Turkey Sunday is this Sunday and it has always been a great outreach for us as a church. We will be giving away turkey's to every guest in our church so make sure you invite a friend. Tomorrow we will also be going door to door to some of the areas in our community so we also could use the extra hand. We will meet at the church at 9:45 a.m.

Celebrating Wins!

This past week I have received a very encouraging card and email from some new people that have been attending our church. Here are a few things they said.....

I have finally found my perfect church home and best of all through you, a rewarding relationship with God that I never had before. I always 'thought' I had a relationship with God, but not like I do now. ..........Three Sundays ago I did raise my eyes to you when you asked us to and it had a powerful effect on me since then. You and your church seemed to come along for our family when you needed us most. Unhappy where we were, I felt myself beginning to drift away. Now we are anchored, and it feels so good!

Here is another message I received this week as well.....

What a tremendous blessing each Sunday service has been for us, attending Community Hope! We thank you for the warm welcome and your prayers! We feel God's leading in requesting to become members.

I share these letters with everyone because these letters represent victory for all us! Every person who volunteers at Community Hope from the greeters, worship team, to the nursery and Sunday School teachers to the ushers all play a part in these letters. We are all a team and we are making a difference in this community and lives are being changed! Thanks to everyone for helping make these type of life transformations happen.

Browns win on Monday Night

My Cleveland Browns are not having a great season but last night they won their second Monday Night Football game. I think Brady Quinn will make a good quaterback someday but he still has a lot to learn. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out.

Healing the broken

We continued our message series yesterday on "Heaven." We talked about the importance of the resurrection and what that means for us today. I know growing in church I was always confused about the resurrection. Not the resurrection of Jesus but the resurrection of the believer and how that whole heaven, resurrected body, new earth thing fit. It wasn't until I took some classes to get my credentials that I understood it. I hope I didn't confuse anyone yesterday with a bunch of theology. My prayer is that through resurrection we understand God's heart. God's heart is to restore the things that are broken as a result of sin and the curse. When we understand God's heart the resurrection gives us a whole new understanding. It is not just information but transformation. We are transformed in the light that God wants to heal the things that are broken which should move us to heal the broken things around us. That is why Paul closed the chapter in 1 Corinthians 15 on the resurrection to tell the people that their work was not in vain.

I think Operation Christmas Child is a great example of healing things that are broken. Our church partnered with Christmas Child and we are giving away shoe boxes to kids that who would probably not have a Christmas if it wasn't for the shoebox. When we see the world through God's eyes we are moved to projects such as these knowing that our work is not in vain. Thanks to everyone who participated in healing something that is broken.

Day in Des Moines

Spent the day today in Des Moines with other pastors at our Next Generation meetings. We are reading a book called "Leadership Challenge." This is definitely a great book for any type of leader not just ministry. Today we talked about the four key things that people look for in leaders. Here are the four:

1. Honesty
2. Forward-Looking
3. Inspiring
4. Competency

Great things that all of us should aspire too.

Convention and Sunday

We took ten kids to youth convention this weekend. It has been awhile since I've been to Youth Convention so I expected to pretty much get no sleep but out teens actually went to bed around 2 a.m. I was pretty surprised. It was a great weekend with some great services. It is so important that we get our kids to events like these where they can get away and experience God. It was at a Youth Convention that I was called into the ministry. I know that some of our kids were really touched this weekend. Looking forward to Spring Convention as they are moving it to HY-VEE Hall and bringing in KJ-52. Pretty cool!

Sunday we continued our series on heaven and in week three we covered 'hell.' This was a heavy subject and definitely not an easy subject to preach on but it is so important that we understand the reality of hell. Hell is a real place, so much so that Jesus talked more about hell then He did heaven. My prayer is that we will be burdened like never before to reach our community knowing that hell is a real place. I closed with the challenge to make a "heavens top ten list" of people you want to see come to know Christ in the coming months. Let's pray that their hearts will be opened to receive the message of God's love. Jesus said that He would build His church on the gates of hell and that promise I am standing on for our church.

Breakfast Club and MA Meeting

Had another busy day today as we had our second Breakfast Club at the church. The Breakfast Club is an outreach we started on late start days at the school. We had fourteen kids today as we cooked pancakes and had cereal and juice for them. Thanks to all those who helped out this morning.

I also had our monthly community ministers meeting today. It sounds like we are going to do a community memorial service for the first time this year in December. We are going to hold it at the funeral home and light candles for those who have passed on this year. We also talked about the Christmas Joy project. It looks like we will be helping over 100 children this year with presents. CH will be taking 25 of them to sponsor. Look for the angels in the foyer in the coming weeks. It is great to work with a bunch of guys in our community that is Kingdom Focused.

Time to Vote

Today is finally election day! I can't say enough about how I am so glad this is finally over. I have never seen our nation so divided over the last year. People get hot tempered when you try to talk about politics and don't always agree with their views. The one thing I challenge us all with this election is this-GOD IS IN CONTROL! I really believe that there is a spirit of fear racing through our country and especially Christians with this election. Remember that fear is not from God. 2 Timothy 1:7 clearly teaches us this principle. God has not given us fear but a spirit of love, power and a sound mind. These are the three things that should guide us as believers. Let me break it down for you:

1. Love-We should love everyone, including those of the opposite party. Some believers really believe it is ok to gossip and accept slander against politicians. I don't see that in the Bible. I know some people would not agree with me but there will be republicans and democrats in heaven. Jesus won't ask us at the gate what political party we are a part of, rather He will ask us if we have accepted Him as Savior and Lord.

2. Power-God has given us the power through the Holy Spirit to overcome fear. We shouldn't live everyday with this fear of what will happen if a certain candidate gets elected.

3. Sound Mind- God has given us a mind that can reason and know what to do. That sound mind should guide us, even when we go to the polls. The sound mind should also help us to decide which candidate best stands for moral and biblical values. Where do the candidates stand on issues of abortion, marriage, the elderly and compassion for the poor? These are important issues as believers.

I hope that that these three things will guide us today and the months ahead. Believe that God will still be on His throne after the election process is all over. Jesus Christ is the true King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Heavenly Tension

We had great services on Sunday. We continued in our series on heaven and talked about "What heaven is like." We talked about what will not be in heaven and what will be in heaven. The main take away was that God has called each of us to live with a heavenly tension. The heavenly tension comes from Philippians when Paul said, "To die is gain but there is still fruitful labor to be done on the earth." Paul knew that heaven was going to be great but he also knew all the work that still had to be done in his ministry. God wants us all to look forward too and anticipate heaven but at the same time, that anticipation should cause us to want to do more for God while on the earth. Each of us should look at how we are spending our time and how we are spending our resources. Are we spending those two things with eternity in view? When we get to heaven I want to know that I did all I could do while on the earth. Let us all live with this type of tension while we still have the time.

Night at the food pantry

We took our our teens last night to the food pantry to stock some food and hang some clothes. We have been talking about what angers God over the last few weeks and I thought this would be a great idea to actually put actions to our faith. One of the things I believe more and more is that our kids need to start being the church instead of just coming to church. We need to find opportunities for them to be used by God. It may not seem like much to just stock some food but it is an opportunity to for them to go outside their comfort zone and know that they can make a difference. We had lots of fun and I know Virgil, the food pantry coordinator was blessed by us being there.

I hate flat tires

OK, so since I live on a gravel road I have had more flat tires then anyones business. This week coming to church I had a flat tire, got a newer tire and had it replaced and three days later my newer tire is now flat. Jen has been dropping me off at the office as I haven't had the time to go and get it fixed just yet. You would think that with all today's technology that they would have come up with an indestructible tire by now. If they ever do, I will be the first buy.

Weekend thoughts

We had another great weekend, here are a few things things that went on:

-Saturday we had our "Fall Fun for Food" kids event. My wife did a great job organizing this event as the kids had a blast decorating gourds, cupcakes, coloring pages, spitting pumpkin seeds and playing pumpkin soccer. We had a lots of guests and some good help as well that made this event a success.

-Sunday we started our new series on "Heaven." We took a look at the John 14 and dissected it verse by verse. I had a lot of fun with this message and if you missed it you can check it out on the podcast at www.communityhope.org

- We also launched our new "Crown Club" ministry for 50's plus group. Thanks to Pastor Jim Snare who has done a great job leading this new ministry. They watched a video together and ate some "Hobo Stew." Very interesting, but I've got to say it wasn't so bad.

It was another great weekend, I can't believe next week is November already. Times surely flies when you are having fun.

We start a new sermon series this Sunday on "Heaven." I can't say enough about what a great opportunity this will be to invite someone in the following weeks. We will be discussing these issues when it comes to heaven:

1. Truth about heaven

2. What is heaven like?

3. Truth about hell

4. What about the resurrection?

Make sure you come the following weeks and make sure you bring someone with you.

Olivia turns nine

I can't believe my baby girl turns nine today. It seems like yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital. We are having a family party tonight and girl sleep over on Thursday night. (Please pray for me.) Lots of fun and activity this week.

Weekend Reflections

We wrapped up our Missions Weekend tonight and here are some thoughts:

- Saturday night we had some great Mexican food and the Meadowlarks Ministry did a great job sharing in song and testimony of what God is doing in Mexico. What is neat about Meadowlarks is they are from our area and it is neat to partner with someone who has been called to Missions that is so close to home.

-Sunday morning we had the Women's Teen Challenge and I don't think there was a dry eye in the building. If you went to one service and missed the other you missed out on some of the girls testimonies. It was great to hear what God is doing in some of these ladies lives. One lady had only been there four days while another was getting ready to graduate from the program. It is exciting that we have a program like Teen Challenge to help ladies with addictions and hurts and to have a place of refuge for them.

- Sunday night we concluded with Paul York. Paul was a missionary child and missionary himself for many years. He now teaches at Central Bible College and is teaching students to go and be missionaries themselves. I was really blessed by Paul as he challenged us from God's Word for the purpose of Missions. I was reminded that Missions starts at home and each of us can reach someone and disciple them for God's Kingdom.

It was a great weekend and we were truly blessed as a church to have all these ministries represented. One of our core values is Missions Minded. Let's continue to be Missions Minded as a church and do what we can to reach our community and reach our world with the good news of Jesus Christ.

Missions Weekend

This weekend is always a great weekend for us as a church as it is our annual missions weekend. This year we are doing a few things different as we are adding a Missions Dinner on Saturday night with a Mexican theme. The Meadowlarks ministry will be back with us and ministering in song and testimony. Bring some pinto beans and rice as they will be taking these things back to Mexico. On Sunday morning we have the women's Teen Challenge sharing with us and on Sunday night we have a dynamic speaker in Paul York sharing on Missions is a central theme in the Bible. This will be an awesome weekend so make plans now to attend.

Catalyst thoughts

As promised, here are some take aways that I received from Catalyst. For those that don't know Catalyst a young leaders conference that is held every year on Atlanta GA. John Maxwell was the one who actually started Catalyst almost 10 years ago but it has now developed into its own thing. Lots of great leaders spoke and lots of great information. Here are few things I wanted to share:

Andy Stanley on leadership: Moral Authority is the best authority. In order to be a great leader I must have character and lead by example. That includes in the area of forgiveness, family and finances.

Jim Collins from Good to Great: So much good information from Collins that it would take forever to explain. My main take away is as a leader I need to have the right people on my team. Jim calls it the bus. We need to find the right who's before the whats. He also nailed it when he talked about focusing on one big thing. The big thing is; 'what are we passionate about', 'what can we do better then anyone else', and 'what are our resources to fund it?' Good stuff from Collins

Steven Futrick from Elevation Church: Steve is 26 years old and is pastoring a church of 3500. This guy blew the top as he preached from 1 Kings 18 about the small cloud that Elijah saw. He talked about staying with your dream and being faithful in the process until you see it come to pass.

Craig Groeschel: I have never seen Craig so passionate. Craig talked about the "It Factor" and why some churches have it and why some loose it. The difference comes from those who try to build God's church from those who try to build their own church. Craig challenged us to pray two prayers that I have begun to pray: 1. God stretch me 2. God ruin me

Dave Ramsey: Dave talked about the ememies of unity. I didn't know Dave Ramsey was such a great spiritual leader. I love what Dave said about the state of our economy. We must realize that fear is a spirit. What is going on in our country right now is a spirit of fear. This fear is not from God. As believers we should not panic. If we have done things God's way from the beginning there shouldn't be any problem.

Billy and Franklin Graham: Billy Graham could not be there due to his health but Franklin spoke and talked about the power of the Gospel. I thought his word was good as in today's culture in church we can get caught up in all the trivial things of the worship service but we must realize that it is only the Gospel that can change lives. We must not be ashamed to preach this message. It is the power of God and salvation to all who believe.

There were a few other workshops but these are the highlights. Like I said in an earlier post, God really shook me last week and I am seeking Him for a specific word for us as a church in the coming year. I am thankful for all these great leaders and their investment to speak into our lives this past week.

Browns win!

What a day yesterday! I found my ipod which I have been missing since last April. I thought it got stolen when I was in Des Moines. It happened to be in a bag in my office when I purchased a print cartridge awhile back. WhooHoooo! To the end the day off my Cleveland Browns were featured on Monday Night Football. It has been five years since the Browns have been on Monday night and they faced off the undefeated NY Giants. No one gave them a chance including myself. What a game! The Browns pulled it off with great offense from Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards. There may still be a season left. Go Browns!

Myths Conclusion

We wrapped up our series yesterday on "Mindset Myths Busted." We wrapped it up with a talk on the myths of sex. Our culture today is filled with different mindsets on sex. If we fill our mind with these myths it will lead us to the wrong actions. Our big idea for the message was "What we do today affects our tomorrow." We may not realize it but our actions today do affect our tomorrow, especially when it comes to our sexuality. Satan is the author of lies and wants to believe in the myths of sex. David is a great example of one who gave into the myths when he slept with Bathsheba. David tried to cover up his shame but David found out that there are always consequences for our actions. David ended up loosing his kingdom for a time and the baby Bathsheba was carrying died. Thankfully in the story of David, he repented and God gave him back his kingdom and a son. The point is, when we give into the myths we will always regret it later. There are three commitments that we need to make as believers when it comes to this important subject:

1. Honor God- Put God first before any relationship
2. Honor the other person- If you love the other person then honor them by waiting to have sex until marriage. If you are married, then honor your spouse by being faithful.
3. Honor you- Don't settle for less then God's best! Too many ladies settle for some jerk who treats them like an object instead of a person. YOU ARE BETTER THAN THAT!

Don't give into the myths of sex. Know if you do things God's way there is always blessings involved.

Back from Atlanta

Just got back last night around eleven. It is good to be back home and with the family. Catalyst was awesome. It was great to be with other pastors and build some relationships with these guys. Sometimes pastoring can be a bit lonely so it was good to share ideas and stories. I don't think I have laughed that much in a long time. I will post over the next few days some of the workshops what I learned. God definately rocked my world this week and I am excited to share some of my thoughts. For now it is time to study for tomorrow.

Headed to Catalyst

I will be gone all this week as I am headed to Atlanta for Catalyst with a bunch of pastors from Iowa. I know it will be a great week and I'm looking forward to some learning and spending some time with a great bunch of guys. Please pray for safety on my trip and I will post when I get back.

Supernatural

We talked about the supernatural today in church. The Myth we busted is 'God doesn't need or do the supernatural today.' We went back to the 30's when Morris Plotts came to Montezuma. I hope to get the video posted on either here or the website. Morris Plotts is known for his tent revival meetings around this area. When he came to Monte he was imprisoned for 30 days for being a public nuisance to the community. When Morris left it was said that he put a curse over the town. The myth of the curse has been busted because seventy four years later Community Hope is a thriving church in Montezuma. GOD IS BIGGER THEN OUR THOUGHTS AND IMAGINATIONS! One of the ways that God often works is through the supernatural. Many of the old tent revivals were known for supernatural occurrences. What about today? Does God want to work the supernatural today? I believe so and as we approach these last days I believe we will see more and more of the supernatural. The supernatural is simply something that we cannot do ourselves and can only come from God. In the Bible there is a pattern of supernatural things that happened. I believe that these things can happen for us today. What are they?

1. Power of the Spirit with a supernatural language given as evidence- Acts 2
2. Healing
3. Signs and Wonders
4. Gifts of the Holy Spirit-1 Corinthians 12

These things are not given for theatrical sensations but they are given to glorify God so that people can be drawn to Him. That is always the purpose of the supernatural. If you need the supernatural, don't limit God to what He can do. Know that He is the same today as He was in the Bible. Go to Him for your needs and believe that He is a supernatural God!

E2

Just got back from E2 last night in Des Moines. Once a year our District hold meetings for area pastors and it is always good to get together and get refreshed in the Lord. This years speaker was Denny Curran from River of Life AG in Cold Springs MN. Denny was very encouraging because Denny is a pastor in a community of only 3000 people. Denny has been used by God to do some incredible things in this small town. Since he has been there, his church has grown to over 600 people. That is not only the incredible thing about his ministry. His church has planted five other churches in other small towns. Denny is doing big things in a small community. God really challenged me the last two days to think outside the box. I know God has already done some incredible things in our church but I really feel that God is not done. I feel in my heart that the best is yet to come and seeing what God has done in Denny's church encourages me to know God can do it here too!

Amazed by God

We had great services once again yesterday and I think the worship team was right on. The special they did from Casting Crowns was amazing. It also good to see some visitors in church yesterday as well. What I was most amazed about was our baptism service last night. We baptized three people at the Jackson Church and I always love baptisms because you get to see and hear what God is doing amongst people. I also found out some pretty crazy things as well about how small our world is. Come to find out that a new family in our church, one who got baptized last night has connections with Jen's family. Jen's real dad used to work for this family's parents at one time. Here is the crazy thing- Jennifer was born in Fairfield, Iowa and this is the area that that Jen's real dad used to work as a hired hand on the farm. Now we all have ended up in Montezuma. It even gets crazier, the brother of this new family has connections with Jen's step dad and mom through a church in Adel Iowa. They knew each other though church and when they showed up last night all the connections came together. (Are you confused yet?) Small world huh? What was also cool is another man that got baptized last night was the original owner of our building. Through the testimony of one of our men in our church, he has now given his life to Christ and now is serving God. God amazes me! It is truly cool to see God at work . He is alive and changing lives!

Proud Hubby

I am a proud husband this week! My wife Jennifer finished her book, "In the Rain." It has been a long journey and a dream of Jen to be a writer. I know there is a still a long road ahead but the fact that she finished the book is totally awesome. I am proud that she is chasing her dream and finding her gifts that God has given her. One of my pet peeves is the expectations of the pastors wife. Some people believe the pastors wife needs to lead the choir, lead the women's ministry, play the piano, etc. Let's just be honest, not everyone has those gifts. It is a huge burden to carry if that is not your gift. My wife is not the type that is real comfortable getting in front of people and speaking. It is not her gift. She would rather be behind the scenes and helping in ways that many don't know about it. Her main calling is that of mother. We have three precious little ones at home and that is a great responsibility all to itself. She is also called to be my help mate. I know that there are times in ministry that I couldn't do it without her. Thirdly, she is now found her gift in writing. This is exciting because it is something God has gifted her with. It is her passion! I am excited to see how God is going to use her in this gift. Please be in prayer as we look to the second step in this road of finding an agent and publisher. Who knows where God will take us next!

Danger of Routines

So I have convicted as of late about routines. Not all routines are bad of course like brushing your teeth which I hope you all did this morning but some routines can actually stump our creativity. As of late I have been stuck in a rut. I'm not for sure why and I can't put my finger on it. As I was reading a quote from Mark Batterson a light bulb when on in my head. Here is what he said. "Change of place + change of pace =change of perspective". Isn't that the truth. How many of know when you simply change the place you are at and change your pace you gain a new perspective on things. Yesterday I decided to go the lake and pray and read my Bible instead of spending my prayer time at the church or at home. What a refreshing feeling to be outside in God's creation and read His Word. I am going to make it a habit to change my place and change my pace. Whether that's studying somewhere other then my office, have meetings other then the church, do something with the family that is unexpected. I am going to try hard to not get stuck in a routine. I have found that God often speaks in times when we are not in our routines. I have heard God speak at camps, retreats, missions trips, etc. It is not that these places are all that special but it simply the action of getting out and getting a fresh perspective on things. If you are stuck in a routine and feel like you are going no where, take the challenge of doing something different. You never know, you may gain a new perspective on something and God may speak to you in whole new way.

Umbrella of Authority

Started our series yesterday on "Busting Mindset Myths." We talked about a difficult subject yesterday as we busted the myth of authority. Many people have given in to the myth that we don't need to listen or be under any authority. This is such a deception in our culture today and as we found out it is also a lie of Satan. God is the one who established authority and as Romans 13 states if we go against authority we are going against God Himself. The only time we are given permission to go against authority is if the person in authority is asking you to go against God's Word. Other than that we are told to be under authority. We also looked at the story of David and Saul and how David had two chances to take Saul's life but chose not to because Saul was the king that God had chosen as the authority. I truly believe that authority is like an umbrella. If we are under God's umbrella of authority, God's blessing and protection will follow. I have seen it time and time again that when people go outside the umbrella it always cost them something in the end. Let me recap the three ways we can get under the umbrella:

1. Pray for those in authority- We need to be praying for those in leadership.
2. Honor those in authority- Romans 13 tells us to give respect and honor to those in authority.
3. Submit to those in authority- This takes humility on our part but it is always God's way.

Let's not give into the myth that we don't need authority. Look to God's Word and know that authority is for our good and has been given by God.

Wild Goose Chase

Just picked up "Wild Goose Chase" by Mark Batterson this week. Many don't know this but Mark is an Assembly of God minister in Washington D.C. He is one of the most creative guys I've ever met and God is using him to influence thousands of people. They currently have church in Union Station at the theaters there and on Saturday nights they have church in a coffee house they built. I got the chance to meet Mark personally last year and take him out for some Starbucks and got the chance to have some one on one conversation. He is an extremely nice guy and has a heart to see the church go outside its walls to reach the unchurched. The "Wild Goose Chase" is definitely going to be a good read and I'm only in chapter four but I think this book is better then his last, "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day." The "Wild Goose" is what the Celtic Christians used to call the Holy Spirit. The whole idea of the book is that as believers we need to listen to the Spirit, get out of our cages and begin to pursue God. When we begin to truly listen to the Spirit, life becomes an adventure. I know I have a few cages I need to get out of so I'm ready to get out and let the Spirit lead. Awesome thought!

I am really excited about our new message series starting this Sunday on "Mindset Myths." There are so many people that have different mindsets when it comes to spiritual and cultural topics. For the next four weeks we will be tackling four topics that I believe people have certain myths about. This will definitely be four weeks you won't want to miss so I will see you Sunday and invite a friends as well.

Heath and a cold night

We had great services yesterday as we were blessed to have Heath Adamson back with us for both services. If you were at the second service and missed the first, Heath preached a different message and you can check it out on the podcast. I am so amazed how God is using Heath to reach the public schools and using him in the area of signs and wonders in the church. Heath and I went to the same high school, was in the same youth group and even served together on staff at Berean Assembly of God in Des Moines. Heath has always had a passion for God and has been used by Him in incredible ways.

Last night we also had our annual picnic. It felt more like late October then September. It was cold and rainy but we still had a good turn out. We had some great food and wonderful fellowship. I also learned that I need to get in shape as I played basketball with some of the college guys and teens. Needless to say, I was out of breath.

Yesterday was a great day of being in the presence of God and hanging out as a body!

7 comes to town

What a great week we had with the Seven Project. Heath and his team did a great job speaking in the school and the night time rally was a huge success. We had 94 commitments to Christ at the night rally and over 126 teens attended. We had an arm wrestling contest between the schools and Monte won. It was a great time of fun and most importantly seeing teenagers come to know Christ. I was so proud of all the help we had at the evening rally. It went very smooth because of all the great help we had. Thanks for your prayers for this project and let's continue to pray that we will see many of these teenagers discipled for Christ.

Sunday

I think all the summer plans and vacations are over as we had a lot of people back this past Sunday. It was good to see the sanctuary full again! Sunday was once again a whirlwind of day, so here are my thoughts and reflections:

- Wrapped up the 'Move' series yesterday. I changed my message the last minute as I felt God wanted us to talk about the topic of faith. We took a look at the life of Abraham and how God took him to the very point of uncomfortable faith. The story of Abraham is amazing as you see how Abraham was moved from one faith to the next. Through and through Abraham learned to depend on God even when it was uncomfortable. My challenge to us all is, "What are we doing right now in our life that requires faith?" Good question for all of us to ask.

- Had nursing homes yesterday and it is always a joy to minister there. I had the people pick out the songs and I am embarrassed to say I didn't know half the hymns they chose. ( I just faked the words.) I need to brush up on my hymns!!!!

- Went to Diamond Life and grilled out hot dogs for the residents there. It was fun time to build relationships with the people at Diamond Life. They are truly special people.

- Went home after Diamond Life and watched my Browns get destroyed! The offense didn't look so bad but these guys are going to have to get some defense by next week. The Cowboys had their way on the offensive end.

7 Project Countdown

We are now less then a week away from the 7 Project coming. We start Monday at BGM, Tuesday to Tri-County and Wednesday here in Monte. We still need lots of help for the huge event. Here is the run down of what we need:

Set up Crew- Be at the school on Wednesday at 8:00 a.m.
Prayer buddies- These will be people that will lead the kids in the salvation prayer on Wednesday night. Please be at the school no later then 5:45 p.m. for training.
Registration help- We need people to sign the kids in for the evening rally.
People to represent CH- We need people wearing our blue and white t-shirts to hand out information about our church and new youth ministry.
Tear down crew- About ten volunteers to help tear down the equipment.

If you can help in these areas, please let us know. We can use all the help we can get. If you can't be there, please be in prayer. Pray that God moves and that many teens receive Christ into their lives.

Breakfast Club

We kicked off the Breakfast Club yesterday morning for the late start at the school. We had some great help and lots of cereal for the boys and girls. I think this is a great idea and a good bridge to build with the local school. Many parents don't have a place to take their kids during a late start so what an opportunity for the church to open their doors. By the time the kids ate their breakfast and watched Underdog it was time to take them to school. I'm looking forward to doing this again and looking for other opportunities we can build bridges into our community.

Past Sunday

Labor Day is over and it is back to the office. We had a good time with our family as we went to Des Moines and grilled out with my family this weekend. I don't get the chance to hang out with my sisters that often so it was good to see them. If you missed this past Sunday due to Labor Day plans, I want to encourage you to check out the message on www.communityhope.org. This past Sunday we continued our "Move" series with a message on 'service'. I really believe in the power of the body and how much we could accomplish if we all engaged our gifts together to expand the kingdom of God. At the end of the service we handed out cards with specific ministries that we could use help in. Again I want to thank everyone who already uses their gifts to help the church. We couldn't do what we do on a weekly basis with out you!

Are you ready for some football?

I'm getting excited for this years NFL season. I watched a little pre-season ball last night after Bible Study. Of coarse my favorite team is the Cleveland Browns. What is funny is I was never a football fan until we lived in Cleveland for a few years. I decided to start watching the Browns so I would have a conversation starter with some of our people. (Everybody was a Brown fan) What can I say, but I got hooked. I love football! Looking forward to crashing after church and watching some games on Sunday. Go Browns!

Doing what is right

I was reading in my devotion time this morning from 1 Kings 22 and I wanted to share with everyone a few things I got from this story. It is a story of a man who does what is right even when it is not popular. Here you have a story of two kings wanting to go to war because one feels a neighboring country belongs to him. Jehoshaphat king of Judah is very smart in saying, "We should inquire of God before we go to battle." The problem was the prophets that were chosen to speak for the Lord were prophets who didn't listen to God but listened to man. They wanted to make the kings happy. They gave a favorable report to the kings that if they went to war they would surely win. Thankfully there was one prophet who didn't listen to people but God. His name was Micaiah. Micaiah had a reputation of not always listening to people. Ahab didn't even want him called upon because he knew of this. I love what Micaiah says in verse fourteen, "As the Lord lives, what the Lord says to me that I will speak." Micaiah was not concerned about what others thought. He was more concerned about what God thought. Micaiah spoke God's Word even though it was very unpopular.

There are times in life in ministry where I must speak what is unpopular. Whether that is speaking against sin or standing up for things I know that are unpopular. What is important is, is that I hear from God. I cannot be a people pleaser in my life. My tendency is to want to make everyone happy. Reality is, this is impossible. The same can be said for all of us. We must all realize that God's Word always comes first in our lives. Don't always listen to people's opinion or do what everyone else is doing. This can sometimes be unpopular with your family, co-workers and friends. But we must remember that God will bless when we do what He says.

Work Nights

We are back to work nights once again here at that church. Our new building is almost completed as all we have to do at this point is paint, stain and put in flooring. It is really cool to really see the end in mind. Just over one year ago this building opened up to us as a concrete building, garage doors and all. Now it is being used for Sunday School, fellowships and eventually our new youth ministry. We saw the miracle of God providing the $80,000 in just one year to pay this building completely off. God is surely amazing. I want to encourage you to be a part of putting the last pieces of this building together by joining us at our work nights. Our next one is this Wednesday starting at 5:30 p.m. Get there when you can and we will give you your own paint brush. Pretty cool huh?

Sunday Reflections

Here are some thoughts from yesterday:

- It was great to get back in the pulpit. I really missed not preaching for three weeks.
- Started our series yesterday called "Move." My prayer over the next few weeks if for us to get out of our comfort zones and do something on purpose for God.
- My wife is now teaching children's church. She really has a gift in this area as we did kids stuff for the first eight years of ministry. Who knows, maybe we will see the return of Giggles the Clown?
- I have had a lot of comments about worship during the second service. God's presence was truly among us.
- Change of plans with the Back to School 7 Rally. Pastor Keaton made his return and did a great job filling in for the 7 team. We gave away a whole lot of Action Boxes. Now it is up to our teens to win their school for Christ. It is really cool to get together with other churches and team together so Christ can be exalted.

My timeline

This past Tuesday I was in Des Moines for a meeting with area pastors. For the next twelve months I will be learning about leadership and pastoring headed up by Tom Jacobs our District Superintendent. This past meeting we talking about how our past experiences affect how we lead today. This was an exercise I had already went through once with the breaking the 250 barrier group last Spring but it was good to once again see how my past affects how I lead today. I have been very blessed with a lot of good things in my life. I've had some hard times as a teenager and have had a season of lows in ministry but yet I have seen how God takes those things and molds us into the people He wants us to be. I have also learned that I hate conflict because of my past and I tend to be a people pleaser. I JUST WANT EVERYBODY TO LOVE ME! I know that is impossible in ministry and I know God calls us to do things that not everyone will agree on. For example, God called Moses into the promise land and all his followers except for two said it couldn't be done. One of things I am learning is I have to be confident in myself and my leadership and what God is calling me to do and how to lead this church. If I am confident in this and I obey what God is telling me, He will do the rest. If you have never done a life assessment, I challenge you to do so sometime. Just start with your birth and start writing in the highs in your life and the lows in your life. It will reveal a lot about why you are the way you are.

First day of school

Today the kids are back in school. It is amazing how fast the summers go. Both our kids were pretty excited about going back. Olivia had her backpack packed all up on Monday. It seems to get easier and easier dropping them off. Jennifer didn't even cry this year which was a first. It is hard to believe that Olivia is now in third grade and Caleb is in first. Time goes so quickly! I'm just reminded how I need to cherish each moment with my kids because I know some day they will be gone and living their own lives.

Starting this Sunday we begin our new series called "Move". It has been three weeks since I've preached and I'm a little pumped about getting back in the pulpit. I'm very excited about this series as I really feel that these are messages God has laid upon my heart for us as a church. God is calling us to get up and move!

Farewell to a Friend

Today was Pastor Keaton's last Sunday with us and it was definitely a Sunday filled with a lot of emotion. I thought Keaton did an excellent job with his message just sharing from his heart what it means to have intimacy with God. The thing that stuck out the most is how we need to start seeking God's face more then His hand. As we begin to seek God's face, His hand will come naturally. I totally lost it at the end of the first service as I saw my daughter Olivia crying as she will miss Keaton dearly. Keaton will be missed by us all and we appreciate all he has done for us the last two years.

Prodigal Friendly Church

I was reminded once again this week by an article by Dary Northup why it is important that we should be a prodigal friendly church. You may know the story from Luke 15 where the young son runs away from home and ends up spending his inheritance. This son finally comes to his senses and decides to come home thinking that he will work for his father as a servant. To his surprise, his father welcomes him with open arms but yet his elder brother would not even acknowledge him as a brother. We must remember that Jesus was talking to the religious leaders of his day. They were the picture of the elder brother. This spirit of the elder brother is still amongst us today. It is important that as a church we do not allow this spirit amongst us. We must be a church that welcomes all no matter what their spiritual background is. Here are five things Dary Northup says is a important to a prodigal friendly church.

1. Appreciate diversity- from clothing, hairstyles, etc. Sometimes as Christians we get a cookie-cutter mindset of what a Christian is to look like.

2. Respect the spiritual journey of every person in the room- The church should be a safe place to ask questions, to disagree and to share opinions. We are all on a different journey with our walk with God.

3. Trust the Holy Spirit to lead people in lifestyle changes- Remember that we are not called to be the Holy Spirit in a persons life. When we try to clean a person up, it just brings confusion.

4. Church must understand the differences between absolutes, cultural expectations and preferences. Some Christians try to make our preferences Biblical absolutes then they are not. When churches place cultural expectations or personal preferences on a prodigal or the unchurched it places an undue burden that they may not be able to carry.

5. Prays for an authentic move of God in people in every church service- There are no gimmicks in the world that can compete with God's Spirit moving in the heart of a person. The prodigal friendly church prays for that move of the Spirit in people's lives.

Let us not have a spirit of the elder brother but continue to be a church that welcomes people and allows God to move in their lives.

Focus

Back in the office today and my prayer for today is "Lord, help me to focus." Being gone for seven days on a cruise and looking out at the beautiful ocean and now I'm looking out my window and seeing LP tanks. Quite a difference! In all seriousness, I have a lot to focus on right now. Please be in prayer for the following:

1. The future of our children's and youth ministries
2. Seven Project is just around the corner is so is our Back to School Rally
3. Wisdom and guidance for the direction of our church
4. Find and recruit new leaders for ministry

I know God is in control of it all but my prayer is that I can be the vessel that He can work through to see it all accomplished.

We're Back!

Just got back late last night from our trip. It was a great time of relaxing and enjoy God's creation. The service on the cruise was amazing and the islands were beautiful. I will have to say it is good to be back and see our kids. Seven days a way from them was a little hard. Here are some pics of the scenery.