Weekend reflections

I’ll admit it: I was quite surprised this weekend.  I knew it was a holiday weekend, but somehow I thought, based on previous years and on the price of gas this year, that we wouldn’t see a huge drop in attendance – but boy, was I wrong.  It seems we were down about  25% in Tinley Park, and our South Bend campus had their lowest attendance since we launched there.  Praise God for the report from our Shorewood campus, where attendance was actually UP, and where Pastor Dan Johnson baptized 10 new converts!

After lunch w/my family I came home to turn on the news, thinking I’d catch the latest on the Presidential campaigns, only to find that Gustav was bearing down on the Gulf coast and that evacuations had already begun.  I just now read a post from a pastor I admire in Baton Rouge and he was expressing thanks that their attendance was 50% of normal today, in view of the hurricane threats.  So that made me feel a little better – I mean, we could be facing some real challenges instead of just people enjoying a 3-day weekend.

So enjoy the rest of your Labor Day weekend while I drown my sorrows with some Diet Coke tonight and read a good novel and let’s all pray for good things from God this Fall!

An unprecedented day

It’s been an exciting and unprecedented 24-hours in America.  First, the nomination of the first African-American president in our history and the history-making speech Senator Obama gave on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s, “I have a dream” speech – no matter if you’re Democrat or Republican, it was an exciting time last night. 

And then today, less than 12 hours later, to have the nomination of the first woman for Vice-President on the Republican ticket – and the fact that she apparently holds to some Christian convictions – again, you couldn’t help but feel the excitement.

But what I’m most excited about is this principle from Scripture stated in 1Cor. 15:46.  See, no matter what happens this November, we’ll see an unprecedented result.  And I believe that what is happening in the natural in our country is a ‘prophetic’ example for what God wants to do in us and for us spiritually!  These are the most exciting days for the Church!  Our best is ahead of us, not behind us.  God wants to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we can ask or even think (Eph 3:20)!

I truly believe that for The Church of Jesus Christ, and I especially believe that for CLC!  How ’bout you? 

Ask the Pastor

Only one question this week, from someone who writes:  most ‘Christians’ I have come across believe that when a believer dies, his spirit immediately goes into the presence of God. But when I read 1Thess 4:16, it almost seems as though the dead in Christ were just “sleeping” or something. So where does our soul go or ‘do’ when we (as believers) die, prior to the second-coming of Christ?

Excellent question!  I think the key to understanding this issue in Scripture is to keep in mind that we are a tripartite being; that is, man is body, soul and spirit.   As I read the Scripture, it seems to me that the spirit of a believer does go immediately into the presence of the Lord at death (see 2Cor 5:6-10, Phil 1:20-25), whereas our body would remain in the grave until the rapture/resurrection, as the passage you quoted indicates.  Of course, unbelievers also await their judgement at death, although some people feel the story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31) indicates that they are in torment immediately upon death. 

I hope that helps!  Now, what would you like to ask the Pastor?

Mission Accomplished

Yesterday was a whirlwind of activity, beginning with the morning surprises I blogged about earlier.  Then last night, true to his word, Pastor Gordon Banks introduced me to the prophet that I’ve been wanting to bring to CLC for some time.  He was incredibly warm and down-to-earth, and we discussed the possibility of him coming to minister, perhaps at our 2009 First Love Conference.  After that I had the opportunity to hang out with the leaders of this like-minded group of pastors, and that felt good.

Nothing is confirmed as of yet, so I’ll not ‘reveal’ his name – but I feel like the purpose of my coming all the way to Seattle was fulfilled….and that’s the best feeling of all.  One more session this morning with Pastor Mike Hayes, and then I’ll be headed for the airport and home sweet home.

I had my feet washed today…

Please understand: I grew up in a denomination that practiced “communion & foot-washing” literally – so it’s not like today was a ‘first’ for me.  But in more recent years I had come to understand the truth about what Jesus did for His disciples and no longer thought He was trying to establish a church sacrament.

But today at the close of the morning session, host pastor and friend Gordon Banks felt impressed of the Holy Spirit to wash the feet of each senior pastor present (it’s a small gathering), in part to honor us.  Actually, I found it incredibly humbling – to have this precious man of God who serves on our Board of Directors to kneel before me and speak words of encouragement while washing my feet – I couldn’t help but weep.

I was probably even more touched moments later when Gordon’s pastor, Mike Hayes, spoke prophetically of what God wants to do through us at CLC, and publicly declared his love and support as a covenant-brother with me.  See, men like Mike and Gordon are my heroes, and I get tongue-tied just being around them.  Something happened inside me through their genuine display of love and brotherhood – something that can only be described here.

Afterwards I met two different people who had served in the Philippines as missionaries and lived in the same city of Cebu as Chris and me, and then reconnected over lunch with another pastor I had greatly admired in my youth.  I knew I was ‘supposed’ to come here for this meeting, but I never expected it would be for these reasons. 

What unexpected ‘foot-washing’ has God done in your life?

Family weekend

With all that was happening this past weekend and our effort to maximize the time for our special guests, I completely forgot to mention something VERY important coming this weekend, Aug. 30-31:

It’s Family Weekend and we’re pulling out all the stops to make it a weekend your whole family will enjoy – but it’s also important to note that our elementary children will join us in the auditorium for service, and if you’ve looked around, you know how crowded it can be even when they’re not in worship with us. 

So I’m pleading for some CLCers to choose to attend on Saturday night at 6pm, to help insure that we have enough chairs for everyone in our two Sunday services.  The programming and message will be the same, but you’ll be guaranteed a parking spot and space in the auditorium to enjoy the service!

Of course, this is also the last weekend with our current schedule, as we move to new service times in September: no service on Saturday, but 3 worship experiences on Sunday at 8:15 a.m., 10 a.m., and noon.

Help me get the word out – and please consider attending on Saturday to help us make room for others!

Sleepless in Seattle

Actually, I hope not…but I am pretty excited about heading there this morning for a conference hosted by our friend Gordon Banks, longtime member of our CLC Board of Directors.  I’m going at his invitation to join with several other like-minded pastors who are coming together to make a greater impact than any of us can individually (see this previous post for my thoughts about that).

I’m also going in hopes of securing a guest speaker for our First Love Conference, a prophet that I have wanted to visit CLC for some time now, but never have had opportunity to meet personally.  Gordon has promised to introduce me, and I’m believing God for favor.

Speaking of favor, I’ve just got a feeling that this whole trip is one of those “divine appointments” for me – so say a prayer that I’ll be extra-sensitive to hear and experience exactly what the Lord has in mind for this trip.  I’ll keep you posted-

Weekend reflections

Well, we certainly didn’t get the ‘bump’ I was hoping for in our special weekend with General Georges Sada and Dr. Terry Law, but here are my personal highlights:

• hearing the fuller explanation about weapons of mass destruction (WMD’s) and why most people think our government lied to us made a lot of sense to me (this was only discussed in the Saturday service, so you’ll need to get that CD if you weren’t present)
• whether you’re Democrat or Republican, pro-Bush or anti-Bush, the General’s description of the ‘surge’ in Iraq and the results it’s having on the future of that nation had to make you feel good about being an American!  (I really thought it was a class act for the General to express his thanks to American soldiers for the liberation of his country)
• It was especially great for him to suggest that Iraq should use it’s oil revenue to pay for the rebuilding of the nation AND even help us with our energy crisis – I mean right is right, but I didn’t expect an Iraqi to say that publicly!
• Seeing the video and hearing the stories of what World Compassion is doing around the world, and knowing that CLC’s ‘account’ is being credited because of our partnership is awesome!
• Having the Mayor of Tinley Park, Ed Zabrocki, visit us was a nice treat – the mayor has been a friend to CLC from our humble beginnings here.
• Most important of all – even on a day when much of the message was about current events in Iraq – the gospel still worked, and there were people who gave their lives to the Lord in each service – including at our Shorewood campus where they viewed the message on video!  I never get tired of hearing/seeing people come to faith in Christ!
• Finally – my personal favorite: a couple of very new members told me that while driving to church this morning they noticed a young man jogging along Ridgeland Avenue, and after they passed him, felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to turn around and offer him a ride.  He accepted their invitation and came to service with them and when Terry Law made the salvation invitation, the young man stood and prayed to receive Christ!

We never know how God will use our efforts or when our simple obedience to those ‘Holy Spirit nudges’ will pay big dividends!  WHO are you inviting?  God is at work and it’s a good season for growth at CLC!

Saturday night w/General Sada & Terry Law

Tonight’s service with Gen. Sada and Dr. Terry Law was terrific – both of them gave us plenty of chances to laugh and to cheer over what God is doing in Iraq.  But I’m especially happy about the most important thing that happened.

See, I was feeling a little nervous this week over the decision I’d made to advertise this weekend in the newspaper – after all, it’s expensive, and I was concerned that we might not get the kind of response to justify the expenditure.  I’m thankful to report that not only did I meet several people who came simply from seeing our ad in the newspaper, but among them was at least one man who prayed to receive Christ at the close of service.

Based on what Jesus said here and here, I’d say it was worth every penny we spent for advertising.  And we’ve still got two more services tomorrow!

Ask the Pastor

Oops – a new first this week: not a single question for me to answer in this forum.  Maybe next week.

Meanwhile, this IS the deadline for any question that you’d like to submit to General Georges Sada who will be our guest at all 5 services this weekend at all our campuses.  If there’s something you’d like to know about what’s really happening in Iraq, ask it here.

Finally, I thought I should explain one of the reasons we’re in a position to enjoy Gen. Sada’s visit.  (We sometimes fail to talk about what CLC is doing with your money in missions.)  Here’s the brief version:

Because we believe that God will bless a church that tithes outside it’s walls, just like HE blesses an individual who tithes to his church, for many years now we have given 10% of all our tithes & offerings at CLC to missions – in addition to any designated missions gifts.  In other words, when you tithe ten dollars to us at CLC, we give one dollar directly to one of our missions partners around the world.

One of the largest beneficiaries of that policy for the past several years is the ministry of Terry Law at World Compassion.  Specifically, CLC sends monthly support for church-planting in IRAQ!  In fact, this past Spring I participated in a pastor’s conference in Istanbul, Turkey where I had the opportunity to meet and fellowship with the pastor and a leader from one of those congregations we helped plant among the Kurds of northern Iraq – a church that has grown tremendously in a few short years, reaching Muslims with the Gospel!  So when you give to CLC, you have a part in reaching Iraq with the good news of Jesus!

And this weekend, you’ll get to hear good reports of what your giving is doing there.  I can’t wait!

P.S. Anything you want to Ask the Pastor?

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