If you were at CLC-Tinley Park this past weekend, you heard the announcement about our newest ‘experiment’ with our weekend service schedule starting in September.  Here’s the change: instead of meeting on Saturday at 6pm and Sunday at 9am and 11:15am, we will now not meet on Saturdays, but instead have worship services on Sunday at 8:15am, 10am and noon.  But here’s what you really need to know:

• Everything we do at CLC (in terms of programming) is an experiment.  For too long, too many churches have treated methods like the message/values.  The message must never change.  The values must never change.  But methods should constantly change, as people change and culture changes, to insure that the church remains relevant.  (How many churches have you known who are perfectly designed to reach people like they reached people in the 1950’s?)
• One of the advantages to experimenting with methods is that it enables us to make discoveries we can never make sitting around in discussion meetings.  Who knew that more people would attend church if they had other options besides one morning service…. until someone tried it?  Who knew that people could sing better if their heads were up, seeing words on a big screen, than if their heads were down, looking at a hymnal with small print….until someone tried it?  Who knew the people could receive teaching via video on a big screen, rather than from ‘live’ preaching….until someone tried it?  We know that Saturday services as we’ve tried them have not enabled us to continually reach more people each weekend, so now we’re going to try to accomplish that with three Sunday services.  If that doesn’t work, I can promise you already we’ll try something else!
• By offering this as an experiment for a trial period, it removes the fear of failure….which I suspect keeps far more of us from stepping out to do what God is nudging us to do than you may realize. 

Tomorrow I’ll share some of the convictions that drove this decision.  Meanwhile, don’t forget to invite someone for this weekend with General Sada!

In the spirit of Proverbs 15:30 in the good ‘ole KJV that I grew up with, I thought I should pass on this email I received just today - don’t think I’ve ever had one quite as encouraging from a new attender:

“I’m sorry I don’t have a question, but I would like to take this time out to say that I attended the Tinley Park campus as a visitor and I enjoyed myself tremendously! The praise and worship was so anointed. The atmosphere was so welcoming and the teaching from Pastor Chris McQuay was just what I needed.
 
I have 3 children (ages 3,5&7) and they also enjoyed themselves. My 7 yr old ramped and raved about what she learned and how much she wants to go back next week. It warmed my heart to hear my little girl talk about how much she enjoyed learning about the Lord.

My father, who is a member of your ministry ,always talks about how much loves the Christian Life Center. He has been inviting me for a while and I finally decided to visit. I will never regret it! You can count on my attendance next Sunday.”

So to ALL of you CLCers who work so faithfully every week and serve in ways that many people never ever notice to ensure that our guests can have that kind of experience here - my hat’s off to you!  I hope you are as blessed by her words as I am in serving as your pastor!

As our presidential election approaches, both Senator McCain and Senator Obama are focused on a few issues, with the economy, energy/fuel prices, and Iraq being at the top of the list.  Every pundit seems to have opinions as to what went wrong there, what’s happening now, and when we need to get out.  But how many of them really know from an insider’s perspective what’s happening there?

This weekend, August 23-24, you and your friends will have an opportunity to hear this important topic from a true insider: a man who was intimately involved with Saddam’s murderous reign as one of his top military advisers, was on the ground when U.S. forces brought liberation, and who has been a part of the rebuilding of that nation, now serving as a spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister: General Georges Sada. 

General Sada has been a guest of Hannity & Colmes as well as numerous other newscasts; he was recently on the Daystar network’s Celebration; he’ll be a featured guest on the Sandy Rios show this week (details to follow); and this weekend he’ll be on our stage at CLC.  We’ve invited local mayors, council members and even Senator Barack Obama to join us - now I’m inviting you.

Here’s the cool thing: if you have a question about Iraq that you’d like the General to answer, you can submit it here any time this week until Friday, and we’ll get those questions to him, hopefully to address in one of the services this weekend.  We announced this offer at South Bend and Shorewood yesterday, but it’s also good for anyone else reading this blog: submit your question now, or just leave it in the comments below.

This has been the best summer in my memory (didn’t hurt that I had 30 days off in the middle), and this weekend was great:

• Our Saturday attenders weren’t too hard on me after the announcement of our new service schedule starting in September.  I know it’s disappointing for many of them, and I’ve been troubled about it for weeks, but at least you accepted the news with grace - gotta love the people who make up this church!
• My wife “delivered her soul” (as the old-timers used to say) this weekend, and besides the impact on folks who are stepping up to serve in many different ministries, she was even Spirit-led in her closing illustration in each service (kudos to Laurie Wharton, Pat Earley & Terrilyn Franklin!)
• Meanwhile, my visit to our South Bend campus was a blast - I think I saw more brand new families today than I have any time since our opening weekend there!  Kudos to our Campus Pastors, Chris & Amber Payne, and praise the Lord for a real sense of anointing as I challenged them to give their donkey to the Lord.
• Tonight’s Membership Class back at the Tinley campus was one of the largest I’ve seen in quite a while, and it was really neat to hear some of the stories of the varied ways that God has drawn new people to become a part of our family…..I’m always jazzed to see how He’s at work when we’re not even aware of it.
• Finally, our first ad for next weekend with General Sada appeared in today’s Southtown, and I’m expecting we’ll see lots of local interest for his visit next weekend.  YOU can help insure that by inviting a friend or co-worker to join us.  Use this handy e-vite now.

That’s it…gonna relax for a bit with the wife before heading to bed.  G’night-

I’m still waiting with bated breath for my copy, but the reports I’m hearing about “Wild Goose Chase” is that our friend Mark Batterson has done it again, with his sequel to “In a Pit With a Lion On a Snowy Day”.  I promised Mark that I’d review it here, but in the meantime, here’s the lowdown:

Summary:

Most of us have no idea where we’re going most of the time. Perfect.

“Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something….

Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.” –from the introduction.

Author Bio:

Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of Washington, DC’s National Community Church, widely recognized as one of America’s most innovative churches. NCC meets in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the city, as well as in a church-owned coffee house near Union Station. More than seventy percent of NCC’ers are single twentysomethings who live or work on Capitol Hill. Mark is the author of the best-selling In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and a widely read blogger (www.markbatterson.com). He lives on Capitol Hill with his wife, Lora, and their three children.

Cover art:

We only had one question submitted this week, and to be perfectly honest, I didn’t understand the question itself, so I can’t even make up an answer!  While I’m waiting for clarification on that one, let me ask you:  are you the same person wherever you are?

Last night I had Cold Stone here with our Missions Director Scott Pachol, to start fleshing out our plans for 2009 missions trips.  Afterwards, I rushed out of that meeting to get to a store before closing, to pick up an order I’d placed.  While standing there in my shorts, T-shirt, baseball cap & stubble (remember, it’s my day off), I was approached by one of the workers (maybe one of the owners, I forgot to ask) who introduced himself by saying, “I’ve been wanting to meet you”.

Turns out his adult daughter just recently began attending CLC and has been baptized in water and with the Holy Spirit in the few months she’s been coming, so she had expressed all sorts of positive reports about the church and her pastors.

As I drove away, I couldn’t help but wonder what he must have thought about my appearance.  Don’t get me wrong: pastors are entitled to a day off like anyone else, and that includes looking grubby (especially when my wife isn’t around), but the real question is this: does the way you live your life around others - on the job, around the neighborhood, with your server in a restaurant, even with your family inside your own home - truly reflect the same values you demonstrate in church on Sunday morning?

We’re going to address that issue, and more, during our “Faith at Home” sermon series this September 7, 14 and 21, concluding with an amazing conference September 26-28 with nationally-known speakers Mark Holmen, Joel Brooks and Gregg Johnson.

Now, what would you like to ask the pastor?

It’s Thursday, my regular day off….but this week Chris is in MI helping her mom.  In the past (pre-Margins series & 30 day vacation), I would just go ahead and work on my day off when my wife wasn’t around. 

But I’m a new man.  So today, I’m going to have some adventure all by myself.  Gonna start by checking out a Mac at the Apple Store (it’s about time to replace my laptop, and some of my friends swear by their Mac’s) and maybe even look at the new Iphone while I’m there (never even been in the Apple store before - I generally avoid malls except when the wife drags me there.)

After that, I dunno - maybe some new lunch spot OR just an afternoon at Border’s with a good book (detective novels, naturally).  If you have any other suggestions for a married guy spending time by himself, post ‘em here - maybe I’ll check back if I get bored.  But I’m determined not to do any WORK - everyone needs a sabbath one day a week!

Naw, this is not going to be a sad tale of frustrations.

Actually our friend Mark Batterson is releasing his newest book by that title next week.  My advance copy is on it’s way, and I’ll post a review here soon - but I wanted to give a shout out to CLCers and others to get ready!  (Hey, anticipation is half the fun!)

Anticipation is the only way to describe what I’m sensing just around the corner for CLC.  I mean it!  God has some big things in store for this church, and I’m hearing the buzz everywhere I go.  I’ve got a feeling that Wild Goose Chase is only going to stoke that fire!

I’m also glad that Mark has already promised to include CLC on his Chase the Goose tour - so stay tuned for further details.  Meanwhile, learn more about the book here.

What do these nations have in common? No, it has nothing to do with the Olympic games.

Each one is a nation where CLCers are making a difference now (Honduras - Akilah Bronaugh) or very soon (Uganda - 5 terrific ladies leaving Aug. 31 to minister to children, youth & women at a huge conference hosted by Pastor K.L. Dickson and China - Rob Brown, leaving Sept. 4 to fulfill a God-dream & minister to hundreds in the house church movement there) or in the near future (Venezuela trip deadline is next weekend - is God calling you?) 

So while you’re watching the Olympics this week and seeing representatives from various nations, just keep in mind that you can get off the couch and be a part of making history yourself on a CLC missions trip!

Right now, I’ve been at the church building for about 16 of the last 27 hours, so I’m posting this just before I go home to crash.  Here’s my thoughts about this weekend:

• Boy, I can tell summer is almost over & folks are trying to get away one last time (at least I hope that’s what those empty chairs mean!) - but school is just around the corner and I’m expecting a GREAT Fall at CLC!
• You guys are FUN to preach to - especially when I told the cat story today.
• I love it when God speaks to us in unexpected ways, like the gift-box-stage-prop mix-up last night, and according to the prophetic word Chris had this morning, we can look forward to Him speaking and working in lots of unexpected ways just ahead!
• Based on the response from the last 2 weekend’s teaching, next Sunday’s membership class should be overflowing!
• Based on some of the meetings I’ve had this weekend (outside of church services), I think God is really up to something at/with CLC.  I’m not quite sure what it is yet, so I’ll keep it to myself - but I’m excited at some of the possibilities!
• I can’t wait for General Sada’s visit on August 23-24.  I really expect folks from the community to come out IF we invite them.  (You can do an e-vite here)
• Our Tinley campus pastors, Doug & Shanna Neal, should really know how much they’re loved - and I’m thanking you for your generosity today that should enable Shanna to help lead the trip to Uganda later this month knowing that the cost is “paid in full”!
• Steve Wasmundt just stuck his head in my office while I’m typing this and we chatted for about 15 minutes - you know, I love this team that God put together at CLC!

that’s it….I’ve now been in the building for over 12 hours today…time to head home and crash-