Senegal FLSC, Day 1

We’ve just completed the first day of our Front Line Shepherd’s Conference in Dakar, Senegal sponsored by CLC and Global Advance.  In addition to Chris and me, we’re also thrilled to have Evangelist Rick McNeely participating as one of the speakers for this conference.  He’s a missions veteran, and it really showed on this opening day in his teaching.

The conference got off to a much smaller start than I had anticipated, but delegates are continuing to arrive, so I’m hoping for bigger things tomorrow.

I dusted off an old teaching I’ve done in several countries about the importance of “Not Overlooking the Child”, and it really seemed to connect this afternoon.  Tomorrow Chris will spend the morning training the children’s workers, while Rick & I handle the pastor’s conference, and then tomorrow afternoon she’s planning to do a mini-H2H conference for all the ladies in attendance.

I was off by an hour yesterday – the conference runs from 4am-1pm Chicago time on Thursday & Friday, so please do pray for us and for the delegates to receive – we didn’t come this far just to speak; we want the anointing of the Holy Spirit to grace the entire conference.

All 3 of us look like wet rags now, so we’re headed to dinner and an early bedtime tonight.  I’ll touch base tomorrow after the sessions-

Greetings from Senegal

Amazing how the mind works, to forget the ‘joys’ of international travel.  But after a 4-hour layover at Washington Dulles (with a Fuddrucker’s burger to sweeten the wait) and an 8-hour flight in the most-confining airline seat ever invented, we arrived safely in Dakar this morning (just after midnight on Tuesday morning in Chicago).

Walked off the plane into the most extreme humidity I’ve ever encountered, including the Philippines and other tropical nations we’ve visited.  Our wonderful hosts from CAPRO explained that this is the wet season for Senegal, and it dawned on us that all of our previous 6-7 visits have been in the Spring of the year, which (as it turns out) is actually the most moderate time to come to Senegal.

So while you’re donning an extra layer this week as Chicagoland moves into Autumn temps, we’re sweating it out here in Dakar – which has undergone tremendous change in the 3 years since we were here last: lots of new construction, modern expressways, new hotels, etc.  Our hosts say the Arab Gulf states are investing heavily here, and it shows.

I was also thrilled to hear good reports from Pastor Eloi Dogue (who succeeded Charles Bavelloni) – the central church in Dakar that was built with CLC funds back in 2006 has been expanded to include a second floor (completely finished with local funds from the growing congregation, which now numbers about 300, and is certainly the largest Senegalese congregation in the whole country!)

After a quick dinner we’ll spend the evening in study & preparation for the Pastor’s Conference which begins Wednesday morning (about 3am Chicago time).  Please do pray for us to deliver what these precious pastors & leaders most need to hear, and for them to be able to receive.  Ciao-

off to Senegal

Chris and I are headed to O’Hare this morning for a flight to Washington, DC and then on to Dakar, Senegal.  It’s actually our first trip there since dedicating the headquarters church built with CLC funds back in 2006, so I’m looking forward to seeing all our CAPRO friends and the other pastors we’ve come to know there.

Senegal will always have a special place in our hearts because of the God-dream I had back in 1999 and the wonderful partnership we’ve established there with CAPRO.

We’ll be leading a pastor’s conference for Global Advance Wednesday thru Friday and then return home by Saturday morning….. can you say, ‘quick trip’!

Please keep us in your prayers, especially for the Pastor’s Conference to be anointed & strategic – I’ll try to post if I get internet access – and I’m already excited about the next installment of our ‘COURAGE’ series this Sunday – you won’t want to miss it or the VERY SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT we’ll be making for the first time!

more Sunday reflections

I was a little impatient in posting, as Pastor Shanna Neal just sent more details about the incredible service in South Bend today, and it was too good to keep to myself:

“Well,  first we had an a great intercessory prayer time, and God spoke through that, but we didn’t plan on it spilling over….

Chad opened up worship with one of Israel’s songs, “I am saved by GRACE” which was ” the bomb” that just led to a real excitement in the service.  Then something really cool happened, there was just a lingering of the Holy Spirit that made it difficult to move on to the next song and so I gave Doug a nudge to share some of what He shared in prayer this morning, and he was just getting ready to go up before i nudged him, so he gave almost what seemed like an “altar call” but without calling it that, the scripture he gave was about humbling ourselves, “he that exalts himself shall be humbled, but he that humbles himself shall be exalted”, and he gave an exhortation  for us to just humble ourself and every circumstance that we are in a place to “be” exalted…

But there was something in how he shared that scripture that everyone and I mean “EVERYONE” came to the altar or the front row and kneeled, or sat on the front row and just bowed, and it was like people couldn’t move, I think Chad had to play a couple extra songs because people just laid out and wept while worship continued.

Then one woman came up and brought Doug a word about God wants to bring His light into the darkness, which although she wasn’t there, she was definitely bringing up some other things shared in our prayer room, so, I came up afterward to confirm what she shared and gave the fullness of what God had given me about it,… and the hearts were just so open that it felt like God could have done absolutely anything this morning.  Mind you, no one had laid hands on anyone at this point, but there was such a sweet move of the Spirit.

Then came the offering and the offering song was perfect…. “Amazing Grace.. my chains are gone… I’ve been set free..” nice transition,  Doug introduced the sermon…. which by the way was outstanding… but what really great about that, was how many times you mentioned SB and spoke directly to SB… thanks for remembering that… but also, folks just laughed OUT LOUD hilariously at you rolling off the pulpit.. and you couldn’t help but feel that the laughter really added to receptiveness of the message.  There was lots of clapping, amen’s and laughter all throughout the message.  We are very thankful for that…

So when the dvd sermon was over, Doug came up and shared about God speaking to him about Restoring Dreams and we had an altar call, more people than we have ever had came up for prayer, one by one, it was hard to close the service and people lingered for a very long time.  It was just an absolutely incredible service.  This afternoon H2H was outstanding with a spill over of ministry & fellowship, some women were weeping in their groups.  Praise God, we give it all to Him!”

Sunday reflections

I don’t even know where to start…..

This was one of the most amazing weekends of my life.

It started with my only daughter’s wedding yesterday morning.  Many of you in attendance told me afterwards that it was the most beautiful and most ‘spiritual’ weddings you’d ever attended, and many others told me you cried with me at various points.  (I was able to do most of mine while the doors were closed before we came out, watching those pictures of my babygirl while listening to “Butterfly Kisses” – just wasn’t even fair!).  Pastor Gordon Banks officiated in the most incredible way I’ve ever witnessed, and the entire wedding was filled with prophetic words, anointed music and the sweet Presence of the Holy Spirit.  Thank you, Jesus!  Thank you, Pastors Gordon & Derozette!  Thank you, CLC!

Then today across CLC:

• Tinley Park had a 3-message seminar on ‘Courage’ from Gordon – you really MUST buy the CD’s or watch the podcasts later this week.  Each service was different and one built on another, until the close of the last service, when several folks prayed to receive Christ and at least 4 people were baptized in the Holy Spirit!  (I haven’t seen the official totals; those are the ones I know of personally)
• Loved his quote from Winston Churchill: “when the ‘what if’s’ loom larger in your conscience than the ‘why not’s', cowardice rules over courage and dreams go unfulfilled” – that’s a mouthful!
• Pardon me for saying so since I’m obviously biased, but I don’t recall EVER hearing the Praise Team sing with more energy/anointing than they did today…..in ALL 3 services!  Pastors Steve & Shae Wasmundt and Director Jon Jones and each member of the Servants of Praise: thank you for an awesome job of creating an atmosphere for the miraculous by leading us all into the Presence of the Lord where anything can happen!
• We definitely had some new friends return from last Sunday and had nearly 1,300 folks worship with us in those 3 services, and Pastors Jim & Cheri Garrett just informed me that we had the largest newcomer’s reception in our history this afternoon!
• At Shorewood, Pastor Dan Johnson says they didn’t get the response for Friend Day they’d hoped for, with an attendance of 215, but the Cardboard testimonies were wonderful and about 10 folks prayed to receive Christ!
• Campus Pastor Eric Stone from Lisle reports a wonderful move of the Spirit during worship with some deep intercessory prayer that later resulted in a real outbreak of JOY, and at least 8 new friends who returned from last week’s Friend Day!
• Finally, Pastors Doug & Shanna Neal said their service in South Bend was “incredible”, with a flow of exhortation & words of knowledge during their worship today!

On a personal note, it was great to have our ENTIRE new family together for lunch today: Brent & Sol, Jen & Churchill, & Chad & Dorothy – what a strange (but good) feeling to have each of them married and our nest completely empty now.

AND I got home in time to watch the Bears finish off the Seahawks on that terrific Cutler to Hester TD pass – this was a very GOOD day!

Pastor Derozette prophesied in Tinley Park this morning, but I believe it was a ‘word’ for all of CLC: we’re about to be ‘catapulted’ into another level….so I’m saying, GET READY, CLCers…..the best is yet to come!

Today is your BIG day, Jen & Churchill

Today is the day for which you’ve waited several months.  Actually, it’s a day you’ve dreamed about for years.

Savor every moment.

Enjoy the people who surround you on this, your wedding day.

Smell the coffee.  (By that, I mean take in every detail – it’s all for YOU!)

We’ll capture it all in pictures, so you can re-live it again and again.  So you can show your children someday, and tell them how special this day was for you.  (You knew I’d have something to say about grandkids, right?)

Most importantly, may HIS Presence grace every moment today, from beginning until end.  Remember Ecclesiastes 4:9-12!

I can’t wait to walk you down the aisle, even though we both know I’m going to be a ‘hot mess’, as you kids say.

Then I’ll release you to ‘the love of your life’ that Pastor Barbara prophesied about that fateful night in Witbank, South Africa two-and-a-half years ago.

So glad I was there then; so glad I’m here today.

You’ll still always be my babygirl.

Your mother and I are very proud!

Ask the Pastor

A faithful CLCer writes, “I would like to know if I have the legal right/authority to repent on behalf of members of my immediate family that have not committed their lives to Christ?”

If I’m understanding the question, or more importantly, the desire behind it – the answer is ‘no’.  Turning from sin and receiving Christ is an individual and personal decision.  The word repent literally means, ‘a change of mind’ (see Matthew 21:28-30 for Jesus’ own illustration of repentance).  Once you understand that, it’s easy to see that no one could have a ‘change of mind’ on behalf of someone else, no matter how much we wish we could.

Probably all of us have loved ones that we earnestly and deeply want to come to repentance so they can receive Christ and enjoy a relationship with Him.  We can, and should, pray for them, and do our part to make the Gospel attractive to them by our lifestyle and our love – but we cannot make that decision for them.  Scripture is quite clear that each of us is responsible before God for our own choices.

Now, in case I misunderstand your intent, there is an “identificational repentance” championed by John Dawson and C. Peter Wagner in some of their writings – but that is a method of spiritual warfare, not a repentance intended to bring forgiveness for someone else.

I hope that helps.  Now, what would YOU like to ask the Pastor?

rehearsal time!

Today is normally my day off.  Chris & I usually run some errands, eat out, sit at Borders with some books, or perhaps take in a movie.

Not today.

Today we’ll welcome our friends, Pastors Gordon & Derozette Banks, who will be officiating at our daughter’s wedding this Saturday so I get to focus on being the ‘father of the bride’.

We’ve dreamed of this day since Jen was a little girl.  Like every parent, we’ve tried to prepare her for it for years.  For the past year, I’ve been trying to prepare for it financially (didn’t work, but I’ll make those payments with gratitude). And for the past few weeks, we’ve been trying to prepare for it emotionally.

But it’s still hard-to-believe that time is almost up!  Tonight we’ll gather at the church I love with some of our closest friends & family, and go thru the steps for the real thing on Saturday.  Maybe even twice.

And before that, this morning, a friend is even gonna give Chris & me our first-ever dance lesson.

Gotta remember – I grew up in a church that didn’t believe in dancing (anytime, anywhere).  Chris, too.  And even though GRACE has replaced legalism in our theology, somehow we’ve still never made it to a dance floor.  But that all changes Saturday.

Yep – for the first time in my life, I’m going to dance (well, not counting those spontaneous expressions of joy in worship).  I’m going to dance with my babygirl at the reception Saturday afternoon.  And then I’m going to dance with her hot mama – just me & Chris – the way it ought to be.

Can’t wait!

Our multi-site strategy

I was asked about our multiple campuses and their history on Sunday, so let me explain.  More & more churches are going multi-site these days, and the ‘experts’ say that trend will only continue in the future.  It only makes sense, because we can reach more people for less money, by leveraging the resources we already have (especially our people & experience resources!)

In our case, it was a combination of factors that led us to become “one church in multiple locations”:

• we were basically maxxed-out in Tinley Park and knew that reaching more people would require an expensive relocation – more land, more square footage, and, in our case, more debt!
• from the beginning of the ministry in 1990, we’ve always wanted to help plant churches in other areas of Chicagoland, knowing that no one local church could ever impact an area this large!
• God had blessed us with capable people who needed new & greater challenges in ministry (I’m still amazed at the gifts & talents & experience of folks He keeps bringing here!)
• (most importantly?) – the Holy Spirit kept nudging us at different times & in different ways about expanding our influence-

So, in late 2006 we asked for about 100 people from Tinley Park to sign-on as part of the launch team for a new campus in Shorewood (about 30m from our Tinley campus). Pastors Dan & Pat Johnson, who had served as our Youth Pastors for 8 years, led the charge and, after a direct-mail campaign in January of 2007, we opened with over 300 people in attendance!  That campus has seen a lot of the original launch team move on to other places, but is now a church family of more than 300 people, many of whom had never attended CLC-TP!

Then in August of 2007 we assumed responsibility of the former Christian Tabernacle in South Bend, IN (at the request of their pastor & our friend, John Nordstrom, Sr., as well as the congregation of about 100 people). After several months of preparation, including a complete makeover of the facilities and a direct-mail & TV blitz, we saw 300 people on opening day in March, 2008!  After a few hiccups along the way, Pastors Doug & Shanna Neal have brought stability & renewed vision to that campus, and had 170 folks in attendance this past Sunday, with the vast majority not having a background with either Christian Tabernacle or CLC!

Now we’re preparing for campus #4, as Pastors Eric & Kristen Stone and the 50-or-so-members of Chicagoland Church have asked to come under our umbrella to become CLC-Lisle.  Already about 25 of our TP folks have accepted the challenge to be a part of the launch team there, so we’re still looking for another 25 CLCers who will step up and experience the joy of seeing this new congregation get off the ground with a targeted launch date of February, 2010.

I have every expectation that this newest campus will also see 200 or more new folks on opening day, many of whom will not only be introduced to CLC, but more importantly, have their lives changed by meeting the Lord Jesus Christ, just as we’ve seen in Shorewood and South Bend. That’s why we do multi-site. It’s not about us; it’s about other people coming to experience Jesus, because we gave them an opportunity in their neighborhood.

I also believe that the prophetic words we’ve received from Bishop Garlington, Mark Chironna, and others will be fulfilled in their season and that we’ll expand from four campuses to five, six, seven, eight….well, you get the picture.  (If you’re really counting, we already have one in Davao City, Philippines for a total of four currently & Lisle will make five).

Here’s the $64,000 question: where do YOU fit in this strategy? Are you called to remain in TP, or is the Holy Spirit nudging you to be a part of this new launch in Lisle?

If you think maybe He is, click here.

If you have questions or comments about our multi-site strategy, I’d love to hear from you below-

If God is Good…

That’s a question we hear often…sometimes from skeptics or scoffers, but sometimes even from genuine believers who are hurting.  It’s a question I’ve tried to answer many times over the years.

That’s why I was excited to learn that best-selling author Randy Alcorn has just released a book by that title.  I got a copy in hopes of reading and being able to share with you here.  Unfortunately, I didn’t count on how much my daughter’s wedding this Saturday or next week’s Pastor’s Conference in Senegal in addition to preparing for the launch of our Lisle campus and the normal weekly workload of serving CLC would cut into my ‘reading time’ – so the deadline for this blog is here and I still haven’t opened the book.

However, knowing Randy Alcorn’s approach to other subjects makes me comfortable to give you this recommendation.  Here’s the 411:

Summary:

Every one of us will experience suffering. Many of us are experiencing it now. As we have seen in recent years, evil is real in our world, present and close to each one of us.

In such difficult times, suffering and evil beg questions about God–Why would an all-good and all-powerful God create a world full of evil and suffering? And then, how can there be a God if suffering and evil exist?

These are ancient questions, but also modern ones as well. Atheists such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and even former believers like Bart Ehrman answer the question simply: The existence of suffering and evil proves there is no God.

In this captivating new book, best-selling author Randy Alcorn challenges the logic of disbelief, and brings a fresh, realistic, and thoroughly biblical insight to the issues these important questions raise.

Alcorn offers insights from his conversations with men and women whose lives have been torn apart by suffering, and yet whose faith in God burns brighter than ever. He reveals the big picture of who God is and what God is doing in the world–now and forever. And he equips you to share your faith more clearly and genuinely in this world of pain and fear.

As he did in his best-selling book, Heaven, Randy Alcorn delves deep into a profound subject, and through compelling stories, provocative questions and answers, and keen biblical understanding, he brings assurance and hope to all.

To get your copy, click here.  (and if you read it before me, leave your thoughts about the book below)

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