Sunday reflections

This may be my earliest (and longest) “Sunday reflections” posting ever, but I’m ready for vacation, so here’s my last work-related post for a while:

• it’s always sad for a pastor to say ‘goodbye’ to good folks, and today I had to do that with some CLCers whose jobs transferred them out of the area (love you, Ramon & Candice!), or who are moving close to family (gonna miss you on the front row, Judy!) and especially people who have served so well on staff with us for the past 2 years (Joe & Sarah Dascenzo, you’ve helped us in more ways than you realize!)….sniff, sniff.
• But I am thanking God for His faithfulness in bringing Jim & Cheri Garrett to join our staff.  I’ll have more to say when they officially move here, but 32 years of ministry experience is a gold mine for CLC!  (some folks have one year of experience 32 times, but the Garrett’s really do have 32 years of experience!) I’m especially impressed with their heart to coach, mentor & train workers to help enable us to expand to many more locations in the future – knowing that already they have sent out over 200 Christian workers (pastors, missionaries, teachers, etc.)  I heard Rick Warren say one time that the real measure of a church is not its seating capacity, but it’s sending capacity, and I agree!
• Must say I enjoyed teaching the End-times series even more than I expected, and it was fun to wrap-up today on such a practical note!
• What did you think of the video review of the Philippine trip? I’d love to hear your comments below. For me, it was like being there all over again!  Thanks, Eduardo Marroquin, for the impossible task of editing hours and hours of footage into an 11-minute video!
• By the way, if you didn’t hear my ‘missions report’ today, we were just able to partner with Kids Against Hunger in sending enough food for 142,500 meals (valued at nearly $33,000) to SENEGAL for just $1,000!  Our friends, Pastors Victorien Nakigan & Eloi Dogue will coordinate the efforts to feed children for over a year with this one-time gift!  (Special thanks to founder, Richard Proudfit, and Director, Larry Langston, for making this possible for us – what a God-connection!)
• And part 2 of my ‘missions report’ is that CAPRO has decided to open a USA office, and it will be housed at CLC-Shorewood!
• Finally, part 3 of that report is that we have now opened our 4th campus – in Davao City, Philippines!  Pastor Herley Montes and his congregation and changing their charter and their name in order to become part of our CLC family! Still not sure what all that entails, but one thing is certain: we’ll be making at least one trip every year to our campus there, so be listening for more details.
• Pastors Dan & Pat report a good day in Shorewood, although they’re feeling the pain of ‘summer slump’ in attendance.  Heard great reports of the bowling outing last night, too-
• Pastors Doug & Shanna had an over-the-top experience in South Bend last night with the Ron Kenoly concert – full house!  They also reported a great time with Ron’s teaching today and a summertime attendance of 161!  Good things in the Bend…and best days still ahead!

Don’t forget that NEXT SUNDAY is our Patriotic Celebration, with some very special plans that should make you proud to be an American on one hand, and cause you to interceed for our nation on the other.

Meanwhile, Chris & I are leaving tomorrow for our summer vacation, and I’ll be checking out of the blogosphere (except for my ‘Ask the Pastor’ feature on Friday, which is already written & scheduled for the next few Fridays). You’ll be in good hands during our absence, and we’ll come home rested and refreshed and ready to move forward!

Be ready to join the conversation as we begin our “God Questions?” series beginning July 26 – and we’re starting with a bang as we examine the abortion issue that day.  Invite a friend to be your guest – it will be an incredible time of healing and hope for all!

Goodbye now, one and all-

Philippine pics

Ok, Ok…I know you’re waiting patiently for the video at all 3 campuses, but I decided to go ahead & give you a little preview here.

I must confess, we missed the greatest photo-op of all, after the incredible response to the need for school shoes that resulted in over 1,000 pairs of shoes donated from CLCers…..unfortunately, we didn’t get a single picture of a Filipino child receiving the shoes.  To be honest, once we hit the ground, the shoes were delivered to Jane’s workers and we went in a different direction.

However, I can show you some pictures of the typical kids from the garbage dump that we ministered to, no doubt some of whom would have received new shoes, courtesy of your generosity:

Look into those faces and know that your gifts ARE making a difference!

Ask the Pastor

A CLCer recently asked, “Where in the Bible do people get the notion that disease and illness is due to lack of faith?”

Great question, even though it’s so sad that it needs to be asked.  It’s perhaps the most hurtful extreme that has come out of the ‘faith’ movement among Spirit-filled churches, and that is the ‘pronounced judgement’ that if a believer has an illness, it must be because of their lack of faith.  There is NO Scripture in the Bible that pronounces that judgment upon a believer – it’s simply faulty theology.

Having said that, I will say that I don’t believe the Bible agrees with some of the statements in the original question; namely, I do not believe that God ever places sickness on us.  From my understanding of Scripture, all sickness and disease is a result of the Fall, and is further complicated by afflictions from the evil one – but NEVER from God.

Furthermore, the idea that sickness is a ‘burden’ for us to bear (as was implied in the statement about Paul’s thorn in the flesh) is also NOT Biblical.  (We can’t be certain what Paul’s ‘thorn’ was, but he indicated it was a “messenger of Satan, to torment me and keep me from becoming proud”) Again, there is NO Scripture that would ever teach that God puts sickness on us as a burden for us to bear, or to teach us some lesson.

I believe the correct and safest Scriptural position for us to take as believers is to always assume that it is God’s will to heal – every sickness and disease – and to ask Him to do so, in faith.  That does not preclude us from seeking medical treatment in the meantime, even as we continue trusting God for complete healing.  But if that healing does not manifest, there are a myriad of possible reasons, and the last thing any of us as believers should do is point a finger of judgment against someone who is not healed and tell them that it’s because of their lack of faith.

Hope this helps – it’s a subject that needs fuller treatment than this forum allows.

Now, what would YOU like to Ask the Pastor?

next sermon series

I know that we’ve got one more Sunday to go in Tinley Park (two more in Shorewood and South Bend) with our End-Times series – and I can hardly wait for this weekend, since it’s the most important message of the series….

BUT I couldn’t hold off any longer in telling you about the NEXT series, which will be the gutsiest one we’ve ever done at CLC.  (is ‘gutsiest’ a word?).  It will be called “Got Questions? Join the Conversation”, as we entertain your questions on the hottest issues in our culture.  We’re talking everything from homosexuality and the same-sex marriage debate, to abortion, entertainment choices, gambling, the environment – you name it, if it’s an issue, we’re willing to talk about it.

And I promise that this will be a series you’ll want to invite friends to, because we’re NOT coming out with ‘guns a-blazing’, and we won’t be smug or self-righteous in our approach (I hope you know that about CLC by now).  This will be a conversation that we want our community to join in, as we look at what the Bible says about this difficult issues, and how we can bring healing and hope to people in need of answers in our complex world.

The conversation begins on July 26 at all 3 campuses, so mark your calendar and plan to join in.  In fact, you can submit your question (anonymously) on our website beginning the week of July 6.

See you this Sunday for “Reading the Signs” – bring a friend!

A Philippine story

I love a good story, don’t you?

One of the neatest stories I’ve ever heard from any mission field came last week in Davao during the “First Love Conference” there with Pastor Herley Montes.  Herley had invited a network of pastors and friends to be a part of the conference, and I couldn’t help but notice one elderly pastor, Mario Gumera, who traveled 12 hours by bus to be in the meetings.  I noticed him not only because he was much older than the other pastors, but also because he had a front row seat for every single session.  I mean, he didn’t miss anything from the opening night’s festivities, to the ‘Harvest event’ for college students on Thursday night.  In fact, he even joined us for the “island-hopping” picnic on our day off at the end of the week.

However, one day at lunch Pastor Herley said to me, “did you know that guy was a hit man before he came to the Lord?”  Of course, that was an invitation to hear the story of Pastor Mario Gumero:

Turns out Pastor Mario (before he came to Christ, of course) killed his first man when he was just a child himself (seems like Herley said he was 6 or 7 yrs old), and became a hardened killer as a young man, when he landed a job for some powerful political operatives in Mindanao.  They used him for several years as their ‘enforcer’.  In fact, Herley first learned this one time when Mario visited a meeting at Herley’s church, a rented building in downtown Davao that once housed a porno theater.  Pastor Mario mentioned to him that he had actually killed three people in the building where Herley’s congregation now worships!

After his political protector was removed from office and Mario knew his life was in danger, he eventually heard the Gospel and responded by giving his life to the Lord.  My favorite part of the story was that a few years after he was born-again, he met the family of one of the men he had murdered.  As the children confronted him in anger with threats to take his life, Mario told them how sorry he was for what he had done, but that he was now a Christian.  He told them that they had every right to take his life, but he said, “if you do, I’ll go to heaven.  Meanwhile, you’ll go to prison for killing me, and when you die, you’ll go to hell.” As a result, the children began to cry, and Mario led them to the Lord!  Today, he is the pastor of a Spirit-filled church in Tubod, Lanao del Norte in northern Mindanao.

I love the power of the Gospel to change lives!

What’s your story?

on the road again

I’m hearing Willie Nelson in my head these days…..never put trips this close together before…..but I’m off this morning to Rochester, NY for the Reconciliation! Ministries International team meeting with Bishop Garlington.

As much as my body and my wife are telling me to rest, I must admit that I get energized being around other pastors, so I’m looking forward to hanging with some of my friends before I return late tomorrow afternoon.  (Besides, I get to be with my pastor again, and that’s always a joy!)

Hope you’ll check back here regularly (or better yet subscribe over on the right side of this page), as I plan to post a couple more times about our Philippine trip this week….. but I’m even more excited about this Sunday when we conclude the End-times series in Tinley Park and include a video review of the entire trip.  I promise: it’s gonna be good, so invite a friend!

Pray for Israel

If you were here at CLC-TP yesterday, you heard how I was convicted by the Holy Spirit through Psalm 122, and especially the last 4 verses. 

In the last 2 services, I asked those who wanted to be part of a special prayer group here at CLC, focused especially on the nation of Israel, to respond on a Connection card – and I’m happy to report that we already have a sizeable number on the list.  But for the benefit of the 8am attenders (where I forgot to request this) and anyone else who would like to participate, please let us know here, and we’ll make sure you’re included.  Be listening/watching your inbox for more details.

Sunday reflections

What a weekend!  If you haven’t heard the whole story, here goes:

• return from Philippines went incredibly smooth UNTIL we landed in the USA (literally) – sat on tarmac for 45 minutes before we could get to our gate-
• then discovered our connecting flight from Dallas to Chicago was delayed by 70 minutes (which I guess was actually good, since the tarmac delay would have caused us to miss the flight otherwise)
• waited in baggage claim for a long time only to discover than half of our baggage was left in Dallas
• spent over an hour at AA’s Customer Service counter in baggage claim with the most incompetent rep I’ve ever encountered in all my years of travel (ummmm, dunno how else to say this, but you wouldn’t been proud of your pastor as I did lose it a few times with her…..my only excuse is that we’d been traveling for 29 hours at this point, and she pushed all my buttons)
• finally got on the Tri-State, only to run into a gridlocked traffic jam at 11pm!
• eventually got to bed by 1am before rising at 4:50am for our 3 services in Tinley Park today-
• I’m not sure if it was jetlag, adrenaline or anointing, but I was pretty pumped today in preaching about “THE Sign: Israel” – if you weren’t there, check it out on our website later this week.
• The 9:30 folks were just as hyped as I was, and their response only made me more hyper!  (thanks!!)
• Wonderful worship and altar response and rumor has it the opening number in all 3 services was an original composition by our own Mr. Jon Jones!
• seems like many CLCers were visiting their father’s church today, at least in Tinley Park & Shorewood, where attendance was down, but perhaps they brought their dad in South Bend, as Pastors Doug & Shanna report an attendance of 162, with a great response to the message and 1 person baptized!

The interest/response to this series has been terrific at all 3 campuses…and for those who’ve asked for additional reading, I highly recommend these resources: Inside the Revolution by Joel Rosenberg (great insights into the whole Middle East situation); Standing with Israel (a free newsletter from Strang Communications); Christians United For Israel (a great group/website); and Elam Ministries (focused on reaching Iran).

I’d love to hear from you – what part of today’s teaching was most impactful? What part made me curious to know more? Please leave a comment below-

Meanwhile, my jetlag still hasn’t kicked-in…I’ve been up for 46 of the past 50 hours, and I’m still feeling pretty good – but gonna call it a night soon just to be safe.

on our way HOME!

I’m writing this from Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan between flights.  (After the ‘island-hopping’ on Friday, we flew back to Manila for a short night’s rest, then left Manila this morning for the 4-hour flight here.)  Soon we’ll board a flight for Dallas that arrives before we leave Tokyo, thanks to the ‘miracle’ of time zones and the International Date Line.  Then, it’s home, CHICAGO!

Gotta tell you that this was without a doubt the BEST missions trip I’ve ever been a part of – from start to finish we’ve had favor from the Lord and enjoyed an outpouring of love from the Filipino people.

Oh yeah, we also got some killer ‘blackmail’ pictures yesterday during the island hopping – I’m expecting to raise a lot of money for missions by keeping these shots off the big screens!

Finally, I can’t believe how TIMELY this Sunday’s message will be for CLC-TP (and just a week later in Shorewood & South Bend) – if you’ve been watching the news from Iran and/or Israel, you’ll want to hear God’s perspective Sunday morning when we continue the “End-Times” series!  Invite a friend to be your guest….can’t wait to see you there!

Ask the Pastor

A CLCer asks,”I feel I have a calling for women’s ministry. What do you suggest for a Christian looking to serve the Lord in this capacity? I have enrolled in Christian Ministry school, and I don’t know exactly where the Lord wants me or how, it might be as a minister, or server, or janitor in a women’s shelter…what steps should I take?”

While this is a personal question, I feel it’s one that many Christians ask, for their own calling, so I want to answer it here, for the benefit of all who might read.  I would also say, it’s an excellent question, since so many of us have struggles with knowing God’s will for our specific future.

First, I love the fact that you recognize it will take steps – all too often I encounter believers who feel like they’re called, and they want to fulfill that calling immediately, which isn’t normally how it works.

Read this and relax.  You don’t have to strive and stress in order to fulfill God’s will!  IF HE is the one who’s calling you, then HE is big enough and good enough to open doors and direct your steps toward fulfillment of that call!  Your part is merely to OBEY and walk through the open doors that He presents to us.

Sometimes that means getting rid of our preconceived idea as to how those doors are to open, or even what those doors will look like.  (Maybe you’ve heard the story of the man who refused several offers to help him evacuate a flood and after he drowned & woke up in heaven, complaining to the Lord for not rescuing him, only to hear the Lord say, “I sent you a rowboat, a motorboat and a helicopter – what more did you want?”)

Finally, the most important counsel I can give is this: God can’t steer a parked car! By that I mean you should get involved in ministry now, moving toward your goal.  (read Gen. 24:27 – the Lord led him while he was already on the way!) In other words, don’t wait until you have a ministry job offer with nice salary & benefits….get involved as a volunteer where you are.  If your heart is for “women’s ministry”, as the person asking this question, then volunteer to serve in women’s ministry at CLC, or in your local church.  Perhaps there is a women’s shelter where you can volunteer your time.  Even while you’re being trained/educated in a Bible school, don’t neglect the opportunity to get involved, whether large or small.  No job opportunity should be beneath you, if you truly want to minister – for the word minister means “to serve”.  And as we’ve said lately to all our CLC leaders, if you want to have authority, you must be under authority (Matthew 8:9); before you can be a good leader, you must be a good follower.

Hope that helps, but if you need more specifics, let me know.  Now, what would YOU like to Ask the Pastor?

Next Page »