Sunday evening reflections

This was one awesome weekend and an incredible Sunday with Gregg Johnson of J12.com.  Here’s what I’m thinking about it all:

• I already posted about the MEGA retreat, but I keep hearing from CLC leaders about how impacting it was for them.  One of our trustees told me tonight that “if I owned a business, I would have paid for each of my employees to attend!” We did record each session, so I hope to have them posted later for your benefit-
• Considering that it’s already after Easter (when attendance tends to dip) AND that it was a gorgeous Chicago day with blue skies, low humidity and mid-70′s temps, we had an incredible attendance of almost 1,300 in Tinley Park!  The 9:30 service was absolutely slammed with hardly an empty chair anywhere!
• Gregg Johnson is a preaching machine!  He was throwing down one-liners faster than I could take notes in all 3 morning services!
• More importantly, people prayed with Gregg to receive Christ in every service today!
• We got the cutest babies in the world!  How neat to dedicate five boys in Tinley Park today!
• Pastor Dan Johnson reported strong attendance today in Shorewood, where my wife ministered about the Holy Spirit outpouring at Pentecost, with the help of a strong cast of children….and afterwards they saw a wonderful touch of the Spirit upon the kids who responded in the altar!
• At our South Bend campus, Pastor Shanna Neal reports full altars, several children filled with the Holy Spirit, and a strong prophetic flow on Pastor Doug today…..God is doing something special in the Bend!
• What can I say about tonight’s “J12 Encounter”?  Pounding music, cool videos, fun games, tons of excitement and over 200 screaming kids….but my favorite part was when Gregg personally laid hands on each child, called them by name, and released the spirit of Jesus at 12 upon them….the same anointing that’s on Gregg imparted to our children!  I didn’t see it coming, but it messed me up when I saw kids, some of whom I’ve known since they were born, obviously under the influence of the Holy Spirit!  I honestly believe some of our children will look back on tonight in years to come as one of those ‘God-moments’ that changed their life!
• One last thing: for those of you who’ve met Eric & Kristen Stone from Chicagoland Church in Lisle (some of our newest friends at CLC) – they report that in their 10:30 a.m. service today the building was almost completely full, with 9 brand-new guests, several who prayed to receive Christ, and just a sweet move of God on Pentecost Sunday!

I’d call this a good, full day!  Now my bed is calling me-

MEGA retreat recap

Just got in from “the best” MEGA retreat ever! (we say that every time, but this year’s participants all agreed)

MEGA is the Greek word for “great”, and it’s our acronym for Mission, Encouragement, Growth & Accountability – as it consists of the “leaders of leaders” at CLC – all of our pastors and leaders across all 3 campuses who not only oversee other ministries, but actually have other leaders who serve alongside them.

From the opening worship set last night at the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza in Merrillville, IN, to the closing session this afternoon, it was an incredible time of anointing, challenging messages, practical teaching, mutual sharing, and encouragement…..with lots & lots of laughter along the way.  Major props to our team: Dan & Pat Johnson, Doug & Shanna Neal, Steve & Shae Wasmundt, Eduardo Marroquin, Kevin Carter and my bride – seriously, it was the BEST!

Over 100 of CLC’s top leaders left unified around the vision and encouraged to lead better than ever, and while I’m tired now, it’s the most contented tired I’ve felt in a long time!  (So glad I’m not preaching tomorrow – looking forward to Gregg Johnson all day!)

I’ve heard other well-known pastors say there’s nothing better than serving with people you enjoy, and I gotta tell you……..I ENJOY the team that God has brought together at CLC!

Ask the Pastor

Another week went by with NO questions…..does that mean I’ve done such a great job you don’t have any more questions….OR that I’ve done such a poor job of answering that you don’t see the need to ask any others…..OR just that you’re too busy to write a question in the comment section below?

I’m here for you, every Friday, so let me hear from you….

Meanwhile, don’t forget the close of our “Legacy” series this Sunday, with Gregg Johnson as our special guest at the Tinley Park campus.  He’ll also be leading a great J12 Rally at 5pm for all ‘tweeners’ – children aged 8-12 especially, and their parents.  I’ll see you here!

Are we living in the end-times?

I’ve been getting questions like that from various CLCers for the past few months, and understandably so, considering some of the recent developments in our world:

• North Korea testing a nuclear bomb
• Iran developing weapons that could easily reach Israel
• The global economic crisis
• Bankruptcy filings from such well-known companies as Chrysler and General Motors
• Banks failing
• Swine-flu and other global pandemics
• Weird weather patterns
• Tension between President Obama’s administration and the nation of Israel

I could go on, but you get the point.  Does all of this add up to Armegeddon?  Is this addressed in the Bible?

I’m excited to tell you that we’re going to look at these issues in our June sermon series, “End-Times!”

(P.S.  This is one of those series that even your unchurched friends are interested in, so spread the word.  In Tinley Park, we begin June 7; South Bend and Shorewood on June 14.)

Sunday afternoon reflections

Here’s my biggest impression of today: holiday weekends are nice! It really seemed like life s-l-o-w-e-d d-o-w-n, at least at my house, and I’m kinda enjoying this change of pace.  Now, for today’s services:

• it was such fun doing a husband-and-wife-team-teaching approach at each campus! Chris & I always enjoy it, but it was so neat to hear from Shorewood and Pastor Dan’s evaluation that his wife had done an incredible job; and from South Bend, where Pastor Doug said the response to the message was great.  The biggest surprise came from Lisle, where Pastor Eric Stone decided to team up with his wife Kristen for the first time ever (he sat in on our sermon-planning meeting this week) and told me this afternoon that Kristen got more compliments afterwards than he did!  Go, ladies!!!!
• Seriously, I think the value of that approach, especially in teachings like today, is giving both perspectives: husband and wife, father and mother, male and female. I’m sure we’ll do it again, but I think this was a first for all campuses to experience it on the same weekend.
• I was again pleasantly surprised by the attendance….I long ago learned that holidays often cause attendance to plummet, but we were near-normal today at all three campuses (PTL!)
• I LOVED the closing song at the Tinley campus in all 3 services – the genuine worship and energy was incredible.  May we never take for granted the visitation of the Holy Spirit!!!
• Mega-props for the second week in a row to Eduardo Marroquin – the video of Casting Crowns, “It’s a Slow Fade” was absolutely perfect for today’s message!  Thanks, Ed, for recommending that song and making it happen for all 3 campuses, too.

That’s it for today….gonna relax for the rest of this holiday weekend….enjoy my wife & kids and some good food.  May your Memorial Day be especially blessed!

Ask the Pastor

One of our CLC-Shorewood members asked about deliverance ministry, specifically: “Does Psalm 107:20 mean that just like we can send the word and heal, that we can also send the word of deliverance and set people free?  I do not find anywhere where Jesus healed a demoniac by sending his word; they were always “in person”.  Can you bring more clarity to me on this?  Am I going in the wrong direction?  Because if the person does not want to be delivered we cannot pray against their will?

Great questions, although some of my readers probably are not acquainted with what we mean by “deliverance ministry”.  Without belaboring that point, it is my understanding that many people, both Christians & non-Christians, have been demonized through trauma, repetitive sin, etc. that opened a door in their life for demonic interference.  ‘Deliverance’ ministry is the term we use to describe how those folks can be set free from that demonic influence.

I see nothing in Psalm 107:20 that specifically refers to that type of ministry; in fact, other translations don’t even use the word ‘delivered’ in that verse, as you see in NIV, NLT, CEV, HCSB, and AMP translations.

To answer your question more specifically, I’m also not aware of anyone who was delivered from demonization by someone ‘sending’ the word from another place; I’ve only experienced deliverance ministry in the context of ‘on-site’ ministry.  However, I would quickly add that there is probably more weirdness and flaky practices associated with deliverance ministry than just about any other ministry I know.  That’s why we’re so pleased to offer the ministry of Cleansing Streams at Christian Life Center.  I’ve found it to be a sound, balanced, biblically-based ministry that combines practical teaching, small group accountability, and anointed & authoritative prayers to accomplish genuine deliverance that enables the believer to be set free and stay free of demonic influence.  I highly recommend it to any CLCer who struggles with ‘baggage’ from their past.

I hope this helped a bit.  Now, what would YOU like to ask the Pastor?

mentoring with CLC & Kids Hope USA

I’m pumped about this: it really looks like the opportunity we’ve been looking for to begin building relationships in our community to make a difference in tangible ways!

If you weren’t able to make the informational meeting last night when Drew Peirce was here from Kids Hope USA, let me just say the premise is quite simple: one church partnering with one school as each mentor spends one hour each week with just one child for one year.  The results have been staggering all around the country, and I believe the at-risk children in our area will be no exception.

Check out their website here, and if you’re interested in joining our efforts at CLC beginning this next school year, then shoot me an email here or stop by Connections Desk to indicate your interest this Sunday.  Woo-hoo!

Porn Wednesday

It’s not often that I post something here from someone else, and I don’t think I’ve ever posted something that I haven’t fully ‘investigated’ myself, but our friends at Community Christian Church in Naperville recently conducted a “Porn Wednesday” for their junior high and senior high students, and made the event available online.

Like I say, I didn’t watch the whole thing personally, but I have enough confidence in Mike Foster (you may remember him from his visit on ‘Porn Sunday’ at CLC a few years ago) and Anne Jackson nonetheless to recommend this to our CLC students AND any parent of a teen.  Trust me: this IS an issue that your student is dealing with, and it’s time for the Church to address it.  I would urge each parent to watch this with your teen, and discuss it afterwards.  To see the video, please click here.

Parenting challenges

I’ve ooohed & aaahed with several newborns (and their parents) at CLC lately – it always such a happy time.  I love it that young families are growing.  How nice it would be for parents if it was always happy & exciting like that.

This afternoon I say goodbye to my babygirl, as Jen leaves for an 11-day trip to Uganda, to begin the process of moving there after her wedding to Churchill.  She’ll be meeting with the U.S. Counselate, investigating ministry opportunities, hopefully purchasing a car and much more.  Even though she’ll be back next weekend and living here for a few more months, it hit me today that my daughter’s life is soon to change, and our relationship will be much different in the future.

And that’s nothing compared to the challenges that many parents face.  Reading in my devotions the last couple of days about David and his relationship with his sons Amnon and  Absolam certainly made me pause to reflect.  In fact, the Scripture is filled with examples of godly parents who botched it, and suffered the consequences in their family.

We certainly don’t have all the answers, but Chris and I have found some in our study of Scripture, and we’ll share some of those insights this Sunday at all 3 services in Tinley Park (our campus pastors will share in South Bend and Shorewood, too!), as our Legacy series continues with “Passing Your Character to the Next Generation”.  I know it’s a holiday weekend, but if you’re in town, I hope you’ll join us – let’s help each other in the challenge of parenting!

Sunday lunch…and a whole lot more

Yesterday we had a surprise visit from a long-time friend I hadn’t seen in several years, Pastor Larry Langston.  He also brought his friend, Richard Proudfit to introduce to me.  As we grabbed a quick bite at Culver’s after our service, I was blown-away at the story of this 80-year old man, and the ministry he has launched.  It’s called “Kids Against Hunger“, and last year they served 110 Million meals to starving children in 40 countries of the world!

It was another reminder to me of the possibilities when one person gets a God-idea and runs with it!  Bishop Tudor isn’t here, so let me ask: what miracle is in YOUR hand?

We’re going to investigate the possibilities of getting our CLC youth involved in serving with Richard’s ministry by packaging the food for starving children, so stay tuned for more.

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