Reminders

So far, I can’t honestly say that I’m begin stirred or challenged by new insights or fresh truths on this trip.  (And I still haven’t experienced what I came for).

But I have been reminded of several truths or principles that I dare not neglect – and that may be what this was all about.  It’s so easy for us to slip into maintenance mode as believers, putting our spiritual walk on ‘auto-pilot’, and neglecting or forgetting some of the very principles & practices that got us where we are in the first place!

I’m thankful for Che’ Ahn and John Arnott who each reminded me of some of those key principles yesterday, and by faith I received the impartation they offered – even if it didn’t happen with ‘carpet time’ or the emotional impact that I often associate with the manifestations of the Holy Spirit.

What has the Lord been ‘reminding’ you about lately?

He has a reason.  I hope we receive.

Can’t wait to see you this Sunday – “What Women Wish Men Knew” is likely to be FULL of reminders!

Ask the Pastor

One of my favorite CLCer writes: “Lately, I’ve heard more people choosing cremation over burial.  I was told as a child that cremation is a sin.  I’m reading the bible from cover to cover (something I’ve never done but have been compelled to do since being @ CLC).  I’m now in Ezekiel.  Up to this point, I haven’t recognized anything on this.  Did I miss something?  Is there any reference to this in the bible?”

Great observation and great question.  The short answer is “NO, there is no reference to cremation in Scripture”.  It’s also true that more & more people seem to be choosing it over burial, in part probably because of the lower costs.

Since the Bible is silent, I do think you are free to choose for yourself or your family.  However, I can say that the Jewish people have not practiced cremation from OT times until now, in part because of their regard for the human body as God’s creation.  Burial has always been the Jewish way of disposing of their dead, and Christians followed suit until more recent times.

Regardless of one’s conviction along those lines, the clear truth remains: at the Resurrection, our earthly bodies (whether reduced to ashes or remaining intact in the grave) will be transformed into a new body, like His, and we’ll never be separated from Him again!  (1Thess 4:13-18; 1 Cor 15:35-58)

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

Just bein’ honest…

Last night felt like Eddie Cupples & I landed in a family reunion for charismaniacs!

It’s been along time since I’ve seen so many weird things in a church service, not the least of which was the people sitting around me who kept taking pictures of each other while the service was going on!

Pastor Bill Johnson did give me some things to chew on, including this exhortation: “Feed on what God is doing instead of what hasn’t happened!”

Of course, the fellowship with Eddie has been good for me, especially after some of the stress of the last week or so, but I didn’t come here just for fellowship or for some tidbits – I really came to receive ministry, so I’m praying that today will be less chaotic and that I’ll be able to tune in & receive.  I’ll keep you posted…..

off to Baltimore

For the first time in a long time, I’m headed out of town today for me. Usually my travels are for missions, or to fulfill a commitment to someone else, or perhaps even to acquire new ministry skills.  But today I’m meeting my friend & CLC Director, Eddie Cupples, in Baltimore, Maryland for the “Voice of the Apostles” Conference at Rock City Church.

Years ago I learned the spiritual principle about “virtue out, virtue in” – which means when we expend virtue, giving out to serve others, that virtue or energy MUST be replenished.  Those who minister MUST be ministered to, else we get burned-out, depleted, exhausted and vulnerable to the enemy.  And for the past several weeks, I’ve been feeling the need to receive, so I can get filled-up again.

This particular conference features some of the ‘biggest names’ in terms of the miraculous, signs-and-wonders, apostolic-ministry crowd, and I’ve already told Eddie he may have to leave me on the carpet, because I plan to get in line every time they  offer to lay hands on anyone – as we used to say down South, “I’m gonna get all I can, and can all I get!”

I hope to post from Baltimore as we go along, so stay tuned.  I’ll be back for the last part of our “Family Fest” this Saturday, and can’t wait to hear “What Women Wish Men Knew” from my wife this Sunday (maybe I’ll even learn a thing or 2!)

Live. LAUGH. Love.

It’s been a long time since we’ve laughed as much in church as we did last Sunday (maybe the First Love Conf. with Pastor Andy Thompson? Here’s the video if you missed it.)

But I got a feeling you ain’t see nothing yet…..THIS Sunday we’re going to open my wife’s message in a way that’s guaranteed to get your attention….and your funnybone.  In fact, in all our 19+ years at CLC, we’ve never done anything quite like this on a Sunday morning.

Fortunately, you get an extra hour’s sleep on Saturday night thanks to Daylight Savings Time change, so you’ll have no excuse to arrive after the message already begins.  In fact, I’d suggest you get here a little early to get a good seat up front so you can take in every moment of the introduction to her message on “What Women Wish Men Knew”.

By the way, it’s another great opportunity to invite someone to be your guest – since EVERYONE needs help with relationships, and while they’re here for the practical tips, the Holy Spirit will also have a chance to work on their heart.

See you Sunday!

Monday after a Bears loss

I’m a little surprised, but I’ve not heard a single word from anyone today about da Bears – either in person, or even in response to my blog post last night.

I know it’s depressing & especially to be humiliated by 45-10, but have we given up on the season already?

Are there no Jay Cutler believers left in Chicagoland?

Or are CLCers too ‘spiritual’ to be bothered with such trivial pursuits?

Since I chose not to watch the carnage last night, can somebody weigh in?

I’m waiting to hear from you-

Sunday evening reflections

I left home at 6:15 this morning, and I just got back home about 9:35 this evening – that’s a long day, with a lot of stuff packed into those 15+ hours:

• the only way I know to summarize the 3 services in Tinley Park today is that we got the “Live. LAUGH. Love.” part of the series today.  Been a while since I’ve heard this much laughter in church, and I’m hopeful that the humor was helping some ‘strong medicine’ go down better, too.
• How sweet it was in the final service of the day, to make the altar invitation (only one I felt to give today) and see four precious adults respond to receive Jesus…….I don’t ever want to get over that – never gets old!
• I really do appreciate the kind words & appreciation I heard in the lobby after each service today – this is such a HUGE subject and this much I know: God wants us to get our relationships right.  It’s the enemy who wants to divide men from women, husbands from wives, parents from children, friends from friends – God wants us to enjoy relationships!
• Pastor Dan reports similar things in Shorewood today, expressing special appreciation to Marcus Moore & the worship team for pulling the whole congregation into the Presence, and to Pastor Pat Johnson, who joined him to team-teach today.
• Pastors Doug & Shanna Neal were back in the saddle today at our South Bend campus after their time away to Texas, and said it was a “fun service“ (do you see a pattern here?) with them teach-teaching, lots of laughs and incredible worship led by Chad Wasmundt and the team there.
• For the second week in a row, our soon-to-launch campus in Lisle takes the prize, as they broke their all-time attendance record (not including Easter) with 105 present, and experienced a powerful time of momentum with their members connecting with some CLC-TP’ers and other first-time guests!  They’re excited about the upcoming launch, and so am I!
• Which reminds me, Pastor Eric Stone will be leading the midweek service in Tinley Park at 7:30 pm this Wednesday – everyone will enjoy him, but it’s also an opportunity to hear more about the vision for our next campus launch and the role that perhaps YOU can play – so join us Wednesday!
• Enjoyed another Membership class this afternoon with about 20 more folks who want to join what God is doing at CLC – that’s always exciting!
• I then had an incredible dinner at Pappadeaux’s (fried alligator, gumbo, Pasta Mardi Gras, & banana pudding!) with CLCers Ron & Tymeka Miranda for Pastor Appreciation Month, and I’m still stuffed!
• Finally, even though I TiVo’d the entire game, after I heard what the Bengals did to da Bears, I’m not gonna watch a single play….. c’mon, 45-10?  How was it possible for Cincinnati to score 6 TD’s and a FG the first 7 times they had the ball?  And Cedric Benson set a personal record for yards rushing??  That Cedric Benson???

Somebody put me out of my misery – I’m headed to bed…..but I’m thankful for a good day at CLC, even if it was a sad day to be a Bear’s fan.

CAPRO USA & a busy campus

Right after our Men’s Fraternity session this morning (not too late for you to join us – we’re just now getting to the good stuff – every Saturday 7:30-9:00 a.m.), I’ll be playing host to the CAPRO USA annual board meeting.

For those who don’t know, CAPRO is an indigenous missions agency based in Nigeria that we’ve worked with in Senegal for the past 9-10 years.  I am very impressed with the caliber of their African missionaries I’ve met, and we’ve enjoyed hearing from Amos Aderonmu, their current International Director, as well as his predecessor, Pade Tokun, and, of course, our dear friend Charles Bavelloni, who now serves with CAPRO in France, in the CLC pulpit.

I’ve been a member of their USA board for the past year and participated in several teleconferences, but this will be my first opportunity to meet the other members in person, so I’m looking forward to strategizing with them for the Kingdom.

I’m pleased to announce that CLC is not only hosting this board meeting, but that we’ve agreed to house the USA offices for CAPRO.  What a privilege for us toward fulfilling our vision of “Loving God, Serving People, Reaching Nations”! (We’re also ‘serving people’ by hosting the northern Illinois Cleansing Streams retreat at CLC last night & today – so things are especially busy this weekend at the Tinley Park campus)

If you’re interested in more about CAPRO, here’s a great article about their work.

And if you’re interested in living & laughing & loving, don’t miss “What Men Wish Women Knew” tomorrow - what a fun weekend it’s gonna be!

Ask the Pastor

My favorite questioner asks, In Psalm 22, when David wrote and cried out to God, did he know that he was actually prophesying about Jesus? Did God let him know about the messiah in a dream or vision? Did he know what he was saying or was he caught up in a parallel place where he could actually feel and see what our Lord was going to go through?

Excellent questions – and a very good observation, that the Messianic Psalms go into amazing details about Jesus, hundreds of years before he was born!

The Psalms or other Old Testament prophecies don’t reveal the answers to your questions directly, but I think 1Peter 1:10-12 sure does.  (You may enjoy The Message rendering of that passage, too)

It seems from those verses that David did know that he was prophesying about the Messiah, but whether he knew that from a dream or vision, we don’t know.  It is possible that he was just writing the words as the Holy Spirit moved upon him (see 2Pet.2:20-21), but it’s also very possible that, at the moment he was writing, David felt completely forsaken and the cry was his own cry, with a deeper application to the suffering of Christ.

Another interesting concept (I think) is found in John 19:28-30, which shows us that Jesus, who is The Word of God in human form (John 1:1, 14) was so aware of every prophecy concerning Himself that He would not die until He had fulfilled the last one!  How trustworthy is God’s Word! If HE said it, HE will bring it to pass!

I’ll get off my soapbox now to say, I hoped that helped a bit.

Now, what would YOU like to ask the pastor?

No Cancer!

I don’t often use this blog to send out a praise report, but I know many of you have been praying for my wife’s mother, Eleanor Hansen, who underwent surgery one week ago today to remove half of a lung because of cancerous tumors.  At the time of surgery we were told that the tumors were malignant, but the surgeon was certain he had gotten everything in the lung – but that the lab would have to run tests to see if the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes.

I just spoke to my Chris (who’s in Michigan caring for her mom post-surgery) and they got the report today: no cancer in the lymph nodes! The doctor said the cancer in her lung was Stage 1, and since they it was removed surgically, there will be no need for chemo or radiation – Ellie is cancer-free!

We’re all praising the Lord for this good report, and I want to thank you sincerely for your prayers!

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