Looking forward to our new series on September 9th called "God @ the Grand Ole Opry. We will be taking a look at three popular country music songs such as "Jesus take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood and "Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts and discussing the spiritual meaning of the songs. This a great opportunity to invite those that may not attend church. I heard a staggering statistic that said 60% of Americans get their theology about God from music and movies. Most of the time, the church preaches against these things but I believe it is time that we start speaking to our culture in ways that they understand. There are thousands of Americans that has heard "Jesus take the Wheel" yet they have never set foot in a church. My prayer is that people will really understand what Jesus take the Wheel means. Let us use this opportunity and sermon series to reach out to those that need to hear this the most.

Keeping Under the Chuppah

We had a great Sunday yesterday as God's presence was so incredibly strong. I talked about the parallels of the Jewish Wedding to God's relationship to man according to Exodus 19 and 20. I think we miss so much sometimes in the scriptures not really understand the Jewish context. We tend to think Western but the Jews were great at using illustrations to get their point across. The Jewish Wedding is a great example. The Jewish bride and groom are married under the chuppah. The chuppah represents the glory of God that rests upon the marriage. The chuppah is there when they recite their vows and it is then moved over the bed when the bride and groom consummate the marriage. The point being that God rests above the marriage. Marriage is a representation of God to the world. It is interesting how our culture has tried to take marriage out of the chuppah. Satan has attacked the marriage and has brought something counterfeit. Satan is constantly trying to break up marriages and get people to settle for less. Satan has also taken sex which is supposed to be holy and pure and has made it dirty and has plastered it all over for everyone to see. It is our job to protect what God has made holy. Whether your single or married we all can take a stand and say, "I will not settle for the counterfeit but I will stay under the chuppah, God's plan for relationships."

Whirlwind

Well, I'm officially back from vacation and it has been a crazy week. I haven't had much time to blog with all that is going on. My uncle passed away on Monday so we had to drive to Des Moines to do the funeral. God keeps using me to speak to my family. Many of them do not know the Lord so I thank God for every time I get to speak into their lives.

On a positive note, I also have a wedding this week as well. The wedding is a Hawaiian theme so this is the first wedding that I've done that I get to wear a Hawaiian shirt and lei! What is really cool is the unity candle is Toucan Sam ( The parrot from Fruit Loops!) I love it!

Fishing Trip

Well, here it is. A whole week in Canada and yes Jen caught more fish then me. I only caught one fish the whole time. Oh well, it was beautiful there and we had a good time on the water. Jen caught a 33 inch Northern in the picture. With her is her Uncle from Olkahoma. Jen didn't wan't to touch the fish so he had to help her.

Vacation

Jen and I will be gone this Sunday as we will be headed to Canada with her Aunt and Uncle to do some fishing. I'm not a very good fisherman so I'm hoping my luck will change in another country. Pastor Keaton will be preaching Sunday so make sure you give him all your support.

God Moment

Sunday was one of those God-Moments. I was preaching in Revelations 2 where Jesus talks to the church about loosing its first love. The church has all the right head knowledge but their hearts had went a drift. Christ was calling them back to their first love which was Him. I used the illustration of Mount Everest and how only 1-8 people actually make it trying to climb the mountain. What is interesting is that most of the people that have died, have died climbing down the mountain instead of up. The illustration and point was that we have to be very careful when we get in a spiritually low place. There are some serious dangers in our spiritual lives if we drift from the things that are so important.

After the service, I had a woman come up to me in tears. She was visiting from Youngstown, OH (Which I'm very familiar of since we used to live in Cleveland.) She had family and friends at the Lake and decided to come to church that morning. In tears, she opened up her Bible to Revelations chapter 2. There in Revelation 2 was two obituaries of two young men. She went on to explain that these two men had died trying to climb Mount Everest and she was very close to them both. She has kept their obituaries in her Bible ever since and they were bookmarked in the passage I read that Sunday morning. WOW!

I'm not for sure what God was trying to say to this woman, but I know that God was trying to say something to her. I believe it wasn't coincidence that she happened to come to Montezuma, IA all the way from Ohio to hear about the First Love and the illustration of the mountain. God was obviously trying to say something. This was definitely one of those God-Moments that makes you say Wow!

Bait of Satan

Last night we started our video series on the "Bait of Satan." This curriculum is so important for any church to go through. So many people find themselves in offenses in the church and some people even leave the church because of offense. Jesus said that in the last days, many will be offended. I have seen this countless of times in my ministry. John Bevere lays it out so well on what our response should be in dealing with offense. I want to encourage anyone and everyone to attend this important teaching. We are meeting at 6 p.m. every Sunday Night.

10 YEARS

Today is Jen and I's 10th anniversary! Hard to believe its been 10 years since we've been married. We will be leaving tomorrow and headed to Des Moines for a little anniversary trip. Looking forward to getting away and spending some quality time together.

Reflections

This past Sunday it was two years since Jennifer and I accepted the position to be the new lead pastors of Community Hope. It is hard to believe that two years is already gone. When I think of the two years I think of the great times we have had to share with one another. This past week I was told of two pastor acquaintances that I know who have resigned from their pastorate to take other churches. These pastors started about the same time we came to Community Hope. As I reflected on that, my heart was stirred even more to stay and reach the community of Montezuma and the county of Powesheik. I stand on the dream that I know that God spoke in my heart over a year ago that Community Hope would a church that would reach the lost and be an example for other rural areas. I stand on these principles that I will not waiver on:

1. We will be Kingdom Focused
2. We will be Missions Minded
3. Reach every generation
4. Relevant to our culture
5. Every person can minister

These five essentials are so important for us as a church to move forward. I look forward to the years ahead serving this great church.

What a great week we had at Sports Camp! Here are some of the pics I promised. Make sure you come this Sunday for our special awards ceremony. The kids will be singing the songs they learned plus we will show a video of the week.

Sports Camp

Sports Camp is officially underway! We've had a great couple of days so far. Yesterday we had 44 kids and today we had 54. Thanks to all those who are helping out and making it a great week so far. I will try to post some pictures if I can.

Planted Seeds

Yesterday I got the chance to slip away and go to Des Moines to celebrate my bests friends accomplishment of being recruited to the Des Moines Fire Department. My buddy and I have been best best friends since kindergarten. While I was there I got to see some old friends from high school. One of these friends I had worked on and witnessed too about Jesus the four years in school. Sometimes it just seemed like a dead end. A couple years ago I saw him for the first time and I could tell that he was searching for something but had not yet crossed that line of faith. I once again was given the opportunity to share with Him about God's love. Well yesterday at the party my old friend came up to me and told me I would never believe that he had become a believer and was actively involved in a church. He and his wife had also been baptized together as well! He is even serving in his church's VBS this week. WE SERVE AN AWESOME GOD! My point is sometimes we may not see the fruit for our witness at the time but the seed has been planted in those that we share. I wasn't the one that harvested the fruit of my friend but I was able to plant the seed years ago in his life. How rewarding it is to see the seed grow and have someone come to faith in Christ.

Power of the Spirit

Yesterday we wrapped up our series on "Help Wanted". Yesterday was one of those challenging messages I believe for some of our people. We covered Acts 2 and the day of Pentecost. Three things happened on the day of Pentecost.

1. Given a new language
2. Given boldness
3. Given a heart to share with other people

I believe that God's Holy Spirit will do the same three things in our lives as well. When someone is filled with God's power they will receive a new language, they will be given boldness and they will be given a heart to share with other people. One of the things that stands out to me in this passage is it says that when the followers were filled with the Holy Spirit, the crowd that had gathered and witnessed this were "amazed and perplexed". I believe that Holy Spirit is amazing and perplexing at times. Our God is a supernatural God and will do supernatural things. We cannot fit God into our image and try to explain everything there is about Him and what He can do. The power of the Holy Spirit is a supernatural gift and is given to those who seek it. It is available so that we can receive empowerment from on high. This Thursday we will be giving opportunities for those who would like to receive this gift. Come for a time of worship and seeking God. I believe it will be a wonderful time in God's presence.

Camping Idea

Last weekend I took my family camping to Iowa Lake. We had a great time with the kids at the beach and also took a paddle boat on the lake. While we were there I noticed that the lake does a lot of family activities. One of the activities is they show an outdoor movie for the campers. They have built an outdoor theater screen and campers can bring their blankets and lawn chairs and watch a movie in the evening. As I was there, this thought came to me.....What if we built an outdoor theater behind our church? We can host family movie nights for the community and show some good wholesome movies. I presented this to some of our team members on Monday Night and they thought it was a good idea and are looking at plans on how we can build the screen. Let me know your thoughts, do you think Family Movie Nights would go well in the community?

Only True Church?

I don't know how many of you read the newspapers or watch the news but last week the Pope came out with a pretty bold statement. Here is the quote from MSN.com:

"In the latest document — formulated as five questions and answers — the Vatican seeks to set the record straight on Vatican II’s ecumenical intent, saying some contemporary theological interpretation had been “erroneous or ambiguous” and had prompted confusion and doubt.
It restates key sections of a 2000 document the pope wrote when he was prefect of the congregation, “Dominus Iesus,” which set off a firestorm of criticism among Protestant and other Christian denominations because it said they were not true churches but merely ecclesial communities and therefore did not have the “means of salvation.”
In the new document and an accompanying commentary, which were released as the pope vacations here in Italy’s Dolomite mountains, the Vatican repeated that position.
“Christ ‘established here on earth’ only one church,” the document said. The other communities “cannot be called ‘churches’ in the proper sense” because they do not have apostolic succession — the ability to trace their bishops back to Christ’s original apostles."

Basically this statement is saying that the Catholic church is the only true church and all other churches are not the "means of salvation." This is a pretty bold and scary statement from the Catholic church. First of all, no church can bring salvation to anyone. Only Jesus Christ can do that. It is not faith in a church but faith in Jesus that brings true salvation. Jesus clearly said, "I am the way, the truth and life, no one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus did not say, the Catholic church was the way, the truth and the life. When you take a look at the Catholic church there are many doctrinal errors that are outside the Word of God. First of all, they believe in a purgatory (place where people go after they die and the saints basically pray them into heaven.) They also believe in praying to other saints besides in the Name of Jesus. Many Catholics pray to Mary as if she was a god. Thirdly, the Catholic church has established the Apacrapha books that are added to the Bible. Scripture clearly tells us to not add or subtract to the Word. Scripture tells us that in the last days, many will try to deceive us from believing the true truth of Jesus Christ.

I believe that we need to stay away from groups that claim to put your faith in their church and their particular teachings. Jesus never put His faith in institutions but rather simple faith in Him.

If you missed this past Sunday, we started a new series called "Help Wanted." We are talking about how we can receive guidance from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is such a vital part of our walk with God. Without Him, we could not do it. Jesus said it was to "our advantage that the Helper would come." Over the next few weeks we will be talking about how the Holy Spirit can help us with our walk with God. I am excited to see what God is going to do in the coming weeks!

Conflict Resolution

Spent all day yesterday in Des Moines for District Meetings. The District has appointed me as a part of a Church Health Team. It is pretty exciting to think and strategize how we can plant new churches and revitalize others. While we were there Glenn Reynolds did a teaching session on conflict management. It was really good so I wanted to share some of the points that he made.

There is a good way to handle conflict and then there is a bad way to handle conflict. If conflict is handled in a bad way it can result in 1) Damage to individuals 2) Loss of personnel 3) Damage to organizational trust 4) Loss of learning opportunity 5) Root of bitterness. These are five costs of poor conflict resolution. If conflict is handled the right way then; 1) Surface key issues and tensions 2)Build relational currency 3) Produce new and creative ideas 4) Cause organizations to re-evaluate and clarify goals and mission. 5) Allows for experiential learning. I have been on both sides of conflict and believe me, I would rather be on the healthy side then the unhealthy side of conflict.

So how do we resolve conflict? One way is use the triangle of Satisfaction. On the top of the triangle is the "What?". What is the tip of the iceberg? What is the conflict about? After you deal with the what, we then need to deal with the "Why?". Why did this conflict happen? Is there any Psychological or Emotional Issues behind this? One District Leader met with a board member who gave all his pastors a hard time. Each pastor ended up leaving the church because of this particular board member. Finally, a District official asked the board member if he ever met a pastor that he actually liked. The board member replied, "Yes, one and that pastor molested me when I was a child." The "Why?" behind why that board member was so mean to all his pastors was because of something that happened to him as a child and to this day he could not trust any pastor. Usually in conflict, there is an issue behind the issue. We need to discover the "Why?" of conflict. The final stage is the "How?". How do we resolve this issue or heal the past? In other words, how can we move forward? Is there issues that we need to deal with in our past? Do we need to go and ask for forgiveness to someone? Do we need to forgive the past? Conflict is not resolved unless we move forward from it.

I hope this helps anyone with dealing with issues of conflict. Conflict affects our marriages, our family and our churches. If we know how to deal with conflict when it comes, it will be a lot less painful when it happens.

Community 4th of July Service

Today we had our community service on the lawn of the courthouse. It is truly amazing that all the churches in our area can get together and worship, especially on the court house lawn of all places. What incredible freedom we have here in the United States. There are many nations that surround us that do not have the freedom to worship as we do. I know there are a lot of things wrong with our nation, but let us also be thankful for the things that we have. I am thankful for the right to go to church, play worship music in the great outdoors, and hear the Word of God preached without being scared of the government coming and arresting us or even killing us. Praise be to God! Let us be thankful for the freedom's God has given us.

Looking to be used

I was standing in Casey's yesterday talking to one of the members in our church when a gentlemen came in with no shirt, shoes and socks. He was buying some cigarettes and you could tell he was pretty distraught. He went on to say that he just got out of jail and was told he had to walk home with no shoes. (His home was about 20 miles away.) I told him that I was a pastor of the church right across the street that I could find him a shirt. I was able to take him to the church, find a shirt that was exactly his size but no shoes. I then called Virgil Scott who is in charge of our food bank and clothing shelter and he happened to be home and said he had some shoes his size as well. What was the best part of all was I was able to pray for this gentlemen and then invite him to our Celebrate Recovery ministry. I don't know if he will come or not, but I was able to plant the seed.

What do you think?

This has been passed on to me by several people in our church and I wondered if anyone had thoughts on it.
National ID Cards/REAL ID Act & Prophecy in the News
"A few weeks ago I heard something from a televised Christian news channel that sent me reeling. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, so I spent a few minutes one morning verifying the information. My husband shook his head at me when I told him about my findings… he had known about it for some time. Where have I been? Hmmm, have you been in the dark with me?The House and the Senate are debating immigration bills that include provisions broadening the uses of REAL ID cards and licenses, which do not exist yet. Both bills create a national employment eligibility verification system, which would use REAL ID cards for identification and eligibility. The Senate bill forbids the use of non REAL ID cards in the verification system after 2013. Both bills permit the DHS Secretary to prohibit the use of certain documents for employment verification. This would give the DHS Secretary the power to mandate the use of national ID card,such as REAL ID card, as the sole acceptable document for employment eligibility in the US. The US Congress has passed the REAL ID Act of 2005 which mandates federal requirements for driver’s licenses and state compliance by May 2008. If the Department of Homeland Security Secretary doesn’t grant a state an extension to meet the certification requirements, then by May 11, 2008 if your state hasn’t met the requirements—you will not be entering a courthouse, onto a plane, receiving federal benefits such as SS or Medicare. Do you get the idea of where this may be heading? DHS contemplates using the REAL ID system as part of its Federal border security program and would like to know how States could incorporate long-range radio frequency identification (RFID) technology into the REAL ID card so that it could be used as part of the Western HemisphereTravel Initiative. What does the next 5 years hold? Will we be “chipped” or have some sort of bar-code for a scanner to “read us” just to have the liberty to hold a job or drive a car? What else? Come quickly Lord, Jesus!

We know what the Bible says about end times and that everyone will be forced to take the mark on the head or arm. Could this be the mark the Bible prophecy's about? We do know for sure that Jesus is going to return soon. All the signs are here so let's be prepared.