Weekend Reflections

1. Great weekend of NBA basketball. The Spurs are up 3-1 against Dallas. I have doubted my Spurs all year but they are beginning to look like the old Spurs that won the four championships. There is still a long way to go but if they keep it up, they could go a long way.

2. Pat Cashman gave his testimony on Sunday of the events that happened to him regarding his near death experience. Pat is such a great guy and he is a testimony to the power of prayer.

2. Sunday we continued our Fearless series and talked about worry. For some reason we tend to accept worry as a part of our everyday life. When you look at Matthew 6 Jesus taught something entirely different. Our big idea for the day as 'our point of worry often points us to our greatest devotion.' We only worry about the things we are devoted too. For example, we worry about the things we have invested in like our jobs, our marriage, our children, our money, etc. We worry about these things because we have devoted our self to them. Jesus' answer to this; don't be devoted to stuff. Life is not all about stuff. We don't add any value to our life by worrying about the stuff. Instead Jesus' answer was to "Seek the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness." Don't seek the kingdom of this world, seek the Kingdom of God. When we pursue after God's Kingdom, we know that God will take care of the stuff. That is the promise Jesus gives, 'seek the Kingdom and all these things will be added to you.' It is not that Jesus isn't concerned with our needs. But what Jesus really wants is our devotion totally to Him and not the cares of this world.

3. Ken and Trudy Moeckel was with us last night for our Family Potluck. Ken and Trudy have a great ministry of taking the Word of God to countries that do not have the Word or are not trained in the Word of God in their particular language. Ken in particular distributes Fire Bibles which are Full Gospel Bibles with commentary along side of it. Ken and Trudy have distributed Bibles all throughout Africa, China, and Europe. It was a great time of fellowship and learning what God is doing throughout the world.

Thursday Download

It is going to be another great Sunday at Hope. We will be in part four of our series called "Fearless." We will be talking about the little brother of fear, 'worry'. For some reason we accept worry as a part of our every day life. I would beg to differ that worry should not be a regular part of our life. We will be looking at some things Jesus had to say about worry. I am also excited because Pat Cashman will be sharing his testimony this Sunday from some of the events that has happened to him last month. Pat is a living, breathing miracle and I know as Pat shares, God will use him greatly. Invite a friend and see you Sunday.

Weekend Reflections

1. Friday and Saturday our youth were in Des Moines for Spring Youth Convention. We ended up taking eleven students this weekend. Many were last minute which meant they all had to cram in two hotel rooms. We are so blessed to have such great leadership with our youth. Derek does such a great job with the kids. I pray that things they learned will truly impact their lives to make a difference in their families and in their school.

2. Friday was Spring Cleaning day for the Jones family. We threw away a lot of stuff and bagged more to give away. It feels good to get rid of so much clutter.

3. Jennifer's cousins stayed with us this weekend from Des Moines. Went to Williamsburg to do some shopping and got some good deals.

4. Another great day of worship at Community Hope. We had 181 in attendance on Sunday. Thirty nine were children in children's church. God is doing some great things. We were short-handed on the worship team but our team still did a tremendous job. They did a remix of the Doxology and closed the service with the Jeremy Camp song "Walk by Faith'. Way to go team!

5. Sunday night was our monthly Missions Team meeting. Our team decided to support Rural Compassion on a monthly basis, and give $1000.00 to the Iowa Camp project. What a great group of people to work with. We also discussed ways to reach out this summer. Loved some the ideas that came from the meeting. Talked about a single mom, widows free oil change for the community. Also talked about a date night for parents and also the 4th of July weekend. As a church we constantly need to be outwardly focused and be visible in the community. It is great to know that our missions team has this heart.

6. Finished the day watching the Spurs lose by six points in their first playoff game to Dallas. I think it will be a tough series but I'm not for sure if the Spurs can pull it off. Sure hope so!

Pray for our Youth

Just a quick post to please pray for our youth this weekend as they will be going to the Spring Youth Convention in Des Moines. We have nine teenagers going and many of them are unchurched. Pray for Derek and Samone as they will be leading this trip. Pray that God would truly touch these teens and we would hear many testimonies of what happened this weekend. We desperately need a Jesus Revolution in our school and it has to start with a few teenagers that get on fire for God. Please Lord, let it happen this weekend!

Don't be that couch!

OK, so growing up my mom and dad had the ugliest couch you could ever dream of. I believe they got it in the seventies when orange was the thing. It had orange and brown flowers all over it. I would bring up to my mom every once in a while that it was probably time to get a new couch. After all, she had new carpet, new blinds and a new chair. Right before she passed away she even had a new LCD television. But for some reason, she wouldn't give up the couch. It didn't match anything in the house and stood out like a sore thumb. Now I realize why my mom wouldn't give up the couch. There were lots of memories on that couch. My dad sat on that couch, all of us children sat on that couch. We celebrated Christmases, birthday's and other special occasions and the couch was there for them all. Good memories that go along with the couch.

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to Chicago for One Day Catalyst and Andy Stanley was speaking on that old couch. I had to laugh because as he was illustrating the old couch to old ways of doing ministries, I could relate as I thought about my moms couch. What Stanley said makes perfect sense. Here are some thoughts on a few of his points:

1. Church programming always began with an answer to a question, over time though the answer becomes a part of the churches culture. Here's the problem, as the culture changes, many of the questions remain the same but the answers don't. For example, we still need couches to sit on but probably not orange and brown ones from the seventies. Many churches are still doing church like it was the seventies. We no longer live in the seventies and that means church may look a little different. The message is still the same but our methods have to change with the culture.

2. We must be more committed to our mission than our programming. Programs are never the mission of the church. Winning the lost is the mission of the church. Sadly, some churches are more concerned about their way of doing church than reaching the lost.

It is easy to get comfortable on the old couch. Over time we get used to the old couch that we don't even notice that it sticks out. The funny thing is, when new people enter your home, they notice it right away. They think, how strange. I wonder why they kept that old couch over all these years. I wonder how many people who enter the church wonder the same thing. Here is the question I think we need to be asking ourselves as a church body and a good question for many churches today; 'Are we falling in love with the methods of doing church that may not be effective in reaching people anymore?' Remember, mission not methods wins people. The mission is to reach the lost. The message of the Gospel never changes but methods must change with the culture. Let's not be that old couch!

BGMC Hair

If you were not here on Sunday, you missed the unveiling of the colored hair for the kids BGMC fundraiser. Since the kids raised over $900.00 the great surprise was Austin Young coloring his hair rainbow colors. What a great group of leaders we have for our kids. They are absolutely awesome!




Jennifer's green hair for $300.00

Lisa's pink hair for $400.00

Kyra's purple hair for $500.00
















Austin's Rainbow hair for exceeding their goal!

The Unveiling!

Last month we gave everyone Buddy Boxes to put their change in as our kids set a BGMC goal to raise a certain amount of money. If $300 was raised, my wife Jennifer would color her hair green. If $400.00 was raised, Kyra Smith would color her hair purple and if $500.00 was raised then Lisa Huff would color her hair pink. Everyone participated and I am excited to say that we raised over $900.00 for the month of March for BGMC! That is truly incredible. This Sunday we will unveil the new hair dews with another special surprise. Don't miss out!

Fearless

This Sunday we continue our series on 'Fearless". We will be talking about how we can overcome fear. This will be an exciting Sunday as we will have another testimony from someone very special on how they were able to overcome fear in their life. Let's keep the momentum going from Easter so make sure you are here and bring someone you know.

Easter Reflections

What a great Easter weekend we had. I have been out of town since Sunday afternoon so I haven't had the time to blog about some of the great things that took place. Here are the highlights.

1. Maundy Thursday was a good time to get together with the other churches in the community. I spoke on the symbol of the cross and how God views the cross opposed to how we view the cross. When we look at the cross we see love, grace and forgiveness but when God looks at the cross, He sees sin, wickedness and judgment. It was a great time of reflection and worship to our God for all He has done.

2. The Easter Egg Hunt was a blast on Saturday. We had almost 300 children attend the event this year. Thanks to John Bushong for doing a a great job once again for organizing this event. I was so thankful that we had a beautiful day and no rain. God is so good! It was awesome to see all the kids have their baskets filled with candy.

3. Easter Sunday was a wonderful day of worship. We had 219 in worship combined for both services. The worship team did a great job, special music and a special skit by Gary Smith and Derek Bates. I was very proud of Austin Young who gave his testimony Sunday of how the Lord changed his life. When we hear stories like this, it makes ministry worth it all.

I want to encourage you that if you invited someone and they didn't come for Easter, don't give up. Keep planting seeds and you never know when the door will opened. For the guests that were there, let's pray that the seed of God's Word was planted on good soil and that seed would grow a harvest thirty, sixty, hundredfold!

Ten Questions the Unchurched aren't asking.

1. Who is speaking on Sunday?
2. Do you sing hymns or choruses?
3. What denomination are you affiliated with?
4. What version of the Bible do you use?
5. Do you have Sunday School or Small Groups?
6. How do I go deep?
7. Are there a lot of crosses and pictures of Jesus in your church?
8. Is your pastor's teaching exegetical, topical or some other method?
9. How do I become a member or transfer my membership?
10. Does your church have the latest technology?

It's Easter so it's not time to think inward but outward. Many first time guests who do not know Christ will be showing up at church. People need Christ and Jesus is the answer! They aren't asking the questions that many church people are asking. They don't understand all the insider language of the church world. This weekend we need to give them Jesus. They need to hear the simplicity of the Gospel. God and His Word is the only thing that can change lives!

Thanks to http://www.perrynoble.com/ for the inspiration.

Firefighter Outreach

Today we packed thirty bags for our volunteer fire department as a special thank you for all their hard work. I know our guys work hard and do a great job at what they do. Here is what was in the bags:

1. Fireproof Movie

2. Bag of candy

3. Home made bread

4. Popcorn

5. Easter invitation

Praying that some seeds are planted as we distribute the bags on Thursday night. Thanks to our Missions Team that came up with the idea and helped getting all the things we put in the bags and putting them together.

Ready, Set, Go!

Easter is usually one of the biggest weeks in ministry. This week seems to be especially crazy. Here are some of the things we have going:

1. Mailing out 2500 postcards to Montezuma, Barnes City, Malcom and Deep River.
2. Finishing up the filling of 14,000 eggs and getting all the prizes together.
3. Special outreach to the Fire Department for Easter. Each fireman will get a Fireproof movie along with some candy, popcorn and thank you from the church.
4. Maundy Thursday I am preaching at the Methodist church. Really pumped about the message.
5. Easter Sunday!!!! Starting our new series called 'Fearless'. We will be talking about the fear of belief. What are we supposed to do with an empty tomb?

Please be in prayer for the weeks events. Ready, Set, Go!

Weekend Reflections

1. Went to the Montezuma School play on Friday night. We had quite a few of our church kids in the play. I didn't realize we had that many talented kids. They did an awesome job and Derek did a great job leading them. My kids loved the Little Red Riding Hood played by Emily Cashman. Her mood swings were awesome!

2. Saturday went to the pig farm. Read "Today I rode a pig" and you find out how that went. I know a lot of people got few laughs out of that one. I'm just thinking of a way I can use it in a sermon illustration but without reacting the whole thing.

3. Another great Sunday as we wrapped up our series on 20/20 vision. We talked about the importance of "Finishing Strong." God has called each of us to a vision but over time something called vision drift will settle in. Things will come that will try to drift us away from the purpose that God has for us. Jesus illustrated this in a parable of the seeds and the sower. Jesus listed three great distracters.
1. Satan
2. Trials and Tribulations
3. Worry
In order to finish strong, we must not allow these vision distracters get us off course or trip us up. Remember its now how you start that matters but how you finish.

4. Sunday night was our business meeting to move forward with our building project. I am excited to say that we had a unanimous vote. God has truly blessed us with a spirit of unity in our church. I am thankful to God everyday for every person in our congregation. I can't wait to see what God is going to do in the next year. I know He has big plans.

Today I rode a pig

Well there is a first for everything. I got up this morning and met a couple of our guys at a pig farm of one of our congregation members who just got out of the hospital. We are trying to help with the chores while he recovers. I grew up in the city so for me at a pig farm was interesting enough. Things were going pretty good until we found that a couple of the pigs had gotten out of their pen. We tried to coral them back into their gate but one of the pigs weren't moving very easily. We thought we had him when the pig came straight at the city boy. He went straight at my legs and I ended up riding him for a few moments before I got threw off. Needless to say it was experience. We did finally get the pig in the pen and all was well. This will definitely be a experience I won't forget.

New Building

This Sunday night at 5 p.m. will truly be a historic night for us as a church. We will be voting on the proposed building project that we presented a couple months ago at our annual business meeting. It is so important that everyone is in attendance that night. We want every one's voice to be heard on this project. I was reminded once again a couple Sunday's ago of why we need to build. I was told that we had a person drive into our church and could not find a parking space and ended up turning around and leaving. This presents a huge problem as we are not called to turn people away from worshipping our Lord. The new building project will present solutions to many of our problems.

1. Parking - We will ad an additional fifty spaces right away with more coming.

2. Sanctuary Space- We can go to one service and have room for growth

3. Sunday School Space- We will have adequate space for our children and youth rooms.

The new building also presents possibilities of using our current buildings for outreach. I am excited about some of the things we can do with our facilities.

We have fasted and prayed and now it is time to move. Please be here this Sunday night for our business meeting.

Sunday Thoughts

We had another great Sunday at Hope. We are in week three of our series on Vision. Yesterday we talked about the importance of 'moral authority'. This was one of those messages that was a little hard hitting yet it is so important. Moral authority can also be defined as your character or your integrity. It is the alignment between what you say and what you do. Nehemiah was a man of moral authority. People listened and followed his vision because there was alignment in his life. As Christ followers we are called to walk with moral authority. If we ever want to influence people for the Gospel then our walk needs to match our talk. When there is misalignment between these two, people will not want to follow us. Christ said that we need to be salt and light. In other words, people will be attracted to what we have. Today in the church there is just too much dead religion. People don't want dead religion, they want to see people with a living relationship with the living God. This is what will make a difference in the world.

21 Day fast

Today we are on the fifth day of our fast leading us to Easter. I want to take a minute and explain a little bit about fasting.

What is fasting?
- Abstaining from something, usually food for spiritual purposes.

What does the Bible say about fasting?
-There are so many examples in the Bible that deal with fasting. Moses fasted, David fasted, Ester, Daniel, Paul and the early church all fasted. Jesus placed fasting on the same level as financial giving and prayer. Paul even tells the church that there should be a time to prayer and fasting.

What is the purpose of fasting?
-The purpose of fasting is to focus on God and center our attention on Him. Fasting can increase our effectiveness of prayer, bring guidance to our lives in our decisions, it can help our physical well-being, and bring deliverance in certain situations.

What are the different types of fasts?
- Absolute fast: No food or water
- Normal fast: Only water but no food.
- Partial fast: This is often referred to as the Daniel Fast
- Lenten fast: giving up something specific for the duration of Lent
- Fasting from things: media, telephone, habits, etc.

Whatever type of fast you chose to do, I encourage you to do something. Let's believe God for a great outpouring in our church services and also for many to saved this Easter.

Weekend Reflections

1. Had to deliver girl scout cookies to Des Moines so we made a Friday and Saturday trip out of it. The kids had Friday off so we went to Chuckie Cheese and stayed at a hotel so the kids could swim. Hoping to build fun memories with the kids.

2. It was Spring Break during the Sunday School hour at Hope University. The kids had their beach party and the adults had a good time as well. Thanks to John Bushong for all the hard work decorating the sanctuary and putting on a great program. Looking forward to the new semester of classes this Spring.

3. Sunday was another incredible day. We continued in our 20/20 Vision series with Nehemiah. Yesterday we spoke about how to face the opposition. If you have a burden from God, expect opposition and even critics. This is the hard part of the vision. No one likes opposition and no one likes to be criticized. I know that early on in ministry I had a huge issue with this. I constantly wanted to please people. When people opposed or criticized what I was doing, I would get upset. I have had to learn to not always be a people pleaser. We need to learn are we going to please people or please God? Nehemiah wasn't concerned about the opposition or the criticism. Nehemiah did three things that I think we can learn today;

A. Intensify your prayers- Nehemiah was a man of prayer. He was God-focused not critic-focused.

B. Be on your guard- Nehemiah got his men ready for battle with swords, bows, shields and armor. We need to be on our guard against the enemies attacks. Remember, our enemy is never people but rather Satan.

C. Surround yourself with fellow warriors- The Jews that were rebuilding the walls had to depend on each other. While one was protecting the walls, the other was rebuilding. As a church, we need each other. We need to uplift each other in prayer and when the other is weak we need to strengthen each other.

4. Started our 21 Day fast Sunday. Our whole family is doing the Daniel Fast. I am praying that God will truly lead us in the days ahead as want to see many people come to know Christ this Easter and as we also move ahead with the building project.

This Sunday

Don't forget this Saturday to move your clocks ahead one hour. You definitely don't want to sleep in and miss our 'Spring Break' Sunday. We will kick things off around 9:45 a.m. with our activities. The kids will head to their beach party in the fellowship hall and the adults will be in the sanctuary. Also, come dressed in your favorite spring attire. It should be an interesting Sunday. We will also continue our series on 20/20 vision. Don't miss out.

Business Expo

Last night was the Montezuma Business Expo. This year our church gave away the "Book of Hope" to teens and kids. We also gave information about our church and Easter events. The business expo is always a good time to meet people and know the area businesses. Thanks to everyone who sat at the table and greeted people as they came by. We are so blessed!

Easter Candy

Our Easter Egg Hunt is quickly approaching which means we desperately need candy. We are once again so thankful to Montezuma Telephone and Iowa Telecom for their generous donation to get us started but as you know we fill around 13,000 eggs which means we need a lot of candy. Please no tootsie rolls or bumble gum. Anything else would be awesome! Our goal was to have the eggs out Sunday for people to take home and start filling but at this point we still don't have enough candy to do that. If everyone could get a couple bags of wrapped candy from your local store or Walmart, that would be great. Thanks for all your help.

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!