C3 conference

I am headed to Dallas this week to hang out with Ed Young at the C3 conference. Well not actually Ed, this year, but I will see him anyway.

So my posts will be randomly dispersed between driving and listening. We are driving to Dallas because we are taking 6 total from our team. I am super excited to be going with such a great group of people who really want to change out city!

I am blessed to be surrounded by such a creative and hard working team.

Daniel Fast

Here is a link to the paperwork we passed out today in service. It has some guidelines and multiple recipes.

I challenge everyone to take a look at what we are doing, listen to this week and last weeks sermon and join us as we fast. Go to sidebar and subscribe through Itunes!

Be journaling, reading your Bible and praying during the next few weeks, as we discipline ourself to do what we ought, so later we can do what we want.

Blessings.

Larger Than Life Video Bumper

Just thought I'd post this weeks series intro video.

Volunteer Video

This is a video my friend Rob Ketterling from River Valley Church. It is such a great piece. I love creativity.

Wednesday Thoughts

Well it is Wednesday again, and the good ole middle of the week.

We have had a crazy one at that. Tuesday was a great day of meetings. I try to stack most all the meetings I can in one day. It helps to be in meeting mode.

We are in week 2 of Dave Ramseys Financial Peace. It is awesome, but trying to get out of debt seems to create all kinds of other scenarios. My truck broke down. I love a diesel, but I sure dont a whole lot about them. I did get the truck up and running this afternoon!

Drake Bulldogs finally lost. What a great run though! We are so proud of them.

My kids are taking swimming lessons and it is hilarious.

Gearing up for this fast starting this weekend. 21 days to change our church family. I cant wait, and I am getting the meat in this week! Daniel Fast here we come.

I challenge everyone to pick up a prayer journal to log what God is doing in your heart.

Lisa Little

Just wanted to again say how pumped I am about Lisa Little taking on our younger kids (3-K) at creek kids.

She is rocking it. I have been cruising around the blog world at church, and she is getting rave reviews!

You can check her blog out here and dont forget to come to the Creek Kids Meeting tonight at 7 at the Christ Life Office.

Way to go Lisa!

Weekend Update and More

~Today's service was great! Worship transition between songs was better than ever. Sermon was very direct about fasting and spiritual growth, but had a wonderful response. Next Sunday we begin a 21 day Daniel Fast. It is going to be a turning point in the Life of JCFC. You wont want to miss one sermon in this series.

~If you missed it today, then download the podcast here.

~Dara and I have committed to get out of debt before the end of the year. God has supernaturally made a way were it didnt seem possible. It is amazing what God can and will do if you align yourself with His Word.

~I have been training like crazy to compete in a Triathlon this year in June. I am in better shape than I have been in years. Loving my time at the gym. It just allows me to decompress and relax, as I push my body further than I have in long time.

~Colin is at a stage where he is just hilarious. We have story after story, about him right now. From eating food off the floor to picking up the scent block in a urinal, to being totally smitten with adult women to the point he is showing off to them with whatever he can think of to impress them. Tonight he told Megan, Rachel Crouse's room mate that (in his man voice) "Hey Megan, my dad has a black grille"

~Creek Kids 2008 Meeting is this Tuesday from 7-8.30 at the Christlife Office. You wont want to miss it!

~Lisa Little is Rocking the new Creek Kids Early Ed group. The kids love her, the parents love her, and it is great. Bring your 3-K kids this week.

~Great videos the past two weeks. Should get them up on the blog tomorrow and on Youtube. You'll crack up.

Snow, Snow, Snow

We are buried in Snow here in the metro. I am not a fan of winter at all, but I must say the snow is beautiful. (I have had plenty so far this year though.)

Just so everyone knows, it is supposed to snow and be cold this weekend again! But never fear we will be having service. If by some starnge reason it is absolutely too dangerous to be out on Sunday, check your local news stations Sunday morning.

We need to have church this weekend though! we kick off a new series about fasting, Larger than Life. If you want to live according to God's plan, and be blessed more than you ever thought imaginable, you won't want to miss a second of this series.

Invite a friend to service this weekend!

Almost

Well Giants took in the last few moments. I guess they worked hard, but I was hoping for the Patriots.

Does anyone know if this is the first time quarterback brothers have won the Super Bowl? I am sure back to back...

Oh well

City Wide Church

Had a great lunch today with several pastors in the city. There is a movement beginning here in Des Moines to do some city wide mens groups. Each church is partnering together to help men become real men. Ed Nichols from Hope has had God dealing with him about this for quite some time.

We have been using Men's Fraternity this year, specifically "The Quest for Authentic Manhood." It has been great.

This new para-church ministry will be loosely based around Mens Frat and linking lay leaders from different denominations, ethnicities, and age groups together. I think it is going to change the face of Des Moines.

Super Pumped.

Greatest quote from the day was from Michael Hurst from Elim Fellowship.

"The largest church in this city are the people who don't go"

That should do something to us.

God stir me, move me, break me, help me to see this city with your heart.

Creek Kids Addition

Lisa Little is getting ready to rock our younger kids in our Creek Kids department. We are dividing the current structure this weekend. Lisa will be taking the the 3 year old through kindergarten kids. She has an awesome curriculum plan laid out that kids and parents both will love.

We have been praying for this opportunity for quite some time now. Lisa is perfect for this ministry. She has a degree in early ed and loves to teach.

We are still looking for the perfect name for this new addition. Any suggestions?

This weekends video

Check out this video of Sophia. She did such a great job. I video is just a touch dark, but check out how powerful it is!

Curse of Knowledge

How many of you know this song?

Bum,badum, dum, dum, dum. Bumbadum, dum, dum, dum. Bumdadum, dum, dum, dum, Bum badum, dum, dum dum.

Easy right? One of the most commonly known songs in the world.

Guess it yet? Happy Birthday.

It seamed really easy for me, but I was singing it in my head, as I typed it. Try is with someone, pound out the beat to someone on a table and see if they know it.

99% of people wont, yet it seems so easy in our minds.

The curse of knowledge. We do this in the church all the time. In our minds it sounds like service was great. Or the terms we use, we expect everyone to know. Or when we expect everyone to know that song we have sang 20 times, when its their first time in a church. Or when we as pastors say, we all know the story of ________. When sometimes we dont all know.

Lets examine what we do with believers, and unbelievers alike.

Sad state of affairs

Erwin McManus weighs in on Why Churches are Declining in America…

“My primary assessment would be because American Christians tend to be incredibly self-indulgent so they see the church as a place there for them to meet their needs and to express faith in a way that is meaningful for them.”

While that is a part of most every church in the nation, that is not the reason we have church. Jesus didnt come for the spiritually healthy. He didnt come for the religious crowd. HE came for those who need Him.

It is our focus to be a place where unconnected people can connect with God. We exist as a church body, not to just Hi-Five our Christian buddies. No, we exist to help people become fully devoted followers of Christ.

Whether they have some church background, none, or are disenfranchised with the church for whatever reason, I believe that God has placed JCFC right in the heart of the marketplace for this reason. I have had email after email in the past two weeks about what God is doing in people's lives. It is awesome.

We are gearing up for a series starting in February called Larger Than Life. We are taking 4 weeks to discuss some basic spiritual growth principles. I know God is going to do something radical in all of our lives as we draw near to who He is during February.

We are going to do something never attempted in the History of JCFC. You wont want to miss Larger than Life.

Great Travel Agency

If you are needing to travel and need an agent, take a look at this guy Bryan! My wife took a trip in November and due to the writers strike a show was canceled. Bryan offered to refund my our money and took care of the details.

Bryan J. Stevenson, President
CCIS, Inc.
Group Travel Specialist Since 1993!
724.287.3222
724.287.5333 (fax)
www.ccistravel.com
PO Box 1877
Butler, PA 16003

Grape Lady

I know most of you have seen this, but it makes me cry, I laugh so hard.

Just Listen to her,and remember the days as a kid whe you crashed your bike so hard you cant get your breath.

Weekend Update

Another chilly Sub-zero day. I have to say, it was cold going out to start my truck early yesterday morning. Despite the freezing weather, we had a great service.

Dara and the band did a great job leading everyone in worship. It truly was good, and God was touching people! I love to look around and see people engaging with God. At the start of the sermon they covered the song Dirty Little Secret by the All American Rejects. They really did a great job, we have some really gifted musicians.

I spoke about Secrets, and how our life is like a fish bowl. If we dont let God do some routine maintenance we get full of algae and nasty on the inside. It is time to allow God to clean us from the inside out.

Great attendance with 8 new families! A few from the Article in Juice Magazine about the up and coming churches in Des Moines that we were featured in.

I am going to be blogging for Juice on a weekly basis along with a few other pastors in town as well. Going to be great.

I am off to take some food to the Bridge people at 80/35 and Hickman tonight. Its a cold snowy evening to be sleeping under the bridge.

Online Giving

Thank You to all who informed us that our Paypal link online was down. It is now up and running. If you would like to make an online donation or give your tithe you can doing so securely here.

I know many of you use the online giving each week and month, and we so appreciate it!

While you are there, go ahead use the e-invite tool to encourage a new guest to attend this weekend!

Confirmation that Joshua 25:1 is part of the canon

Take a look at this:

Scary Clown Ministry

via churchrelevance.com by Kent Shaffer on 1/18/08

Children’s ministers and missionaries have been using clown ministry for years, but University of Sheffield researchers discovered that most children ages 4 to 16 dislike clown images. The research was an effort to find ways to improve healthcare environments for children and young people.

As adults we make assumptions about what works for children. We found that clowns are universally disliked by children. Some found them quite frightening and unknowable.
- Dr. Penny Curtis :: Researcher :: Centre for the Study of Childhood and Youth

Very few children like clowns. They are unfamiliar and come from a different era. They don’t look funny, they just look odd. Children are much more happy with things stuck on the wall that have some sort of personal relevance for them, not some images that are foisted upon them by adults.
- Patricia Doorbar :: Child Psychologist

I find Patricia Doorbar’s remarks particularly fascinating because she suggests that clowns are from an era that is no longer relevant to today’s children. Despite this, I am aware of some clown ministries that children do enjoy, but I wonder if they would be even more effective if they repackaged their look but kept the same techniques.

Random things

1. Apparently all the swimming techniques I have learned all my life are WRONG! I am training for this Tri and Chris my trainer, pretty much changed everything I do in the water.

-Did you know you are supposed to exhale the entire time your head is in the water!

2. On days like this, (wake up to like -8) you just wonder what it would be like to wake in say... Miami...

3. Apparently there is a button on my BlackBerry that changes all the keys to some Greek characters. Of course, I accidentally found it. And I dont know how to switch it back!

4. Ana did a great job cheering last night for the Des Moines Lions! It was her first time on the floor!

5. Tomorrow is going to be great. I am believing God to free some people from some past failures, and confessions. You wont want to miss it!