Yep, I just sent all my kids off to school again.  It’s amazing how quickly the summer flies by…

Just as life in our communities kicks into high gear again, so we are kicking off a new season of ministry.  This weekend we start a new series, “Imagine – Life the way it’s supposed to be.” I will be taking five weeks to lay out the vision that God has for us during 2008 and 2009.  We will start with the foundation of who we are, and build upon this by looking where I believe God wants to take us.

We look forward to welcoming everyone back.  All the weekly youth programs resume this week, with new times for Pioneer Clubs and Revolution.  There are also four weekend services for you to choose between (but remember that 10:30am tends to be the most crowded).

This year, I know we will begin to see beyond ourselves more than we ever have.  We are part of a huge world that we can impact, and over the coming months I will be speaking more specifically about this.  From Trenton to Waveland, to Mexico and beyond, God has a plan for us to be part of.  What a privilege!

See you this weekend.

Last weekend we talked about Proverbs 3:5-6 and the simple process that it outlines for following God’s leadership.

This is what Steve shared during the last weekend service.  It’s the confidence we have when the path we are on is actually the one God chose for use, rather than the one we decided upon and asked Him to bless.  I hope you spent some time this week practicing this process.

This weekend will be our last in the book of Proverbs.  The topic will be laziness.  As you study Proverbs this week, look at how many verses speak to this issue.  So, how do we recognize and overcome it?  Find out this weekend.

Were you slower to anger than you were the week before?  Do you continue to struggle with anger?  No matter where you are, let me encourage you with a few key verses: Ephesians 4:26 and Proverbs 19:11.

I had a great first week back from my sabbatical.  One of many pleasant surprises was a visit by the president of our denomination, Dr. Gary Benedict, who spent Wednesday morning with our staff.  Dr. Benedict was excited to see the great ethnic diversity in our state, and very glad to hear that so many different backgrounds are represented in our church today.

But this diversity extends well beyond our building.  Did you know that as part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance we are among 2 000 diverse churches in the United States, and an even greater number in 51 countries?  I bet you didn’t know that our denomination supports more than 1 500 people working in various overseas missionary enterprises.  And I bet you didn’t realize that our denomination is the only Christian organization that continues to plant overseas churches who send their own missionaries to share God’s grace in other countries.  We are part of a pretty cool family…

This weekend we have the honor of welcoming Richard Herring to our services.  Richard oversees missionary work by the C&MA in several Asian countries, and he will tell you a little more about our work there during each of the worship services.  Steve Mayer will then continue our current series as he speaks from Proverbs 3.

See you this weekend!

Hey, I’m back!

Let me start off by saying thank you to so many. Thanks to the Governing Board for graciously allowing me a two-month sabbatical to work on my dissertation. Thanks to the staff for pulling off a great summer of ministry. Thanks to Josh Conn for taking the helm so well.  And thanks to all of you for understanding my need to do some dedicated writing.

Here is the good news – I finished the first draft!  It was just a few weeks into writing that I realized how necessary this sabbatical was.  With my involvement at the church, it would have been impossible to write and defend my dissertation by next May, the deadline set by Temple University.  But having the draft finished this early means that I have plenty of time for editing and for preparing my oral defense over the next few months.

You have had an exciting summer here: mission trips to Mexico and Trinidad, our always energetic Kids Klub Camp, and 16 baptisms!  God is good!

I am glad to be back, and look forward to seeing you this weekend.

$57,000 — the total offering received for sending our young people to Mexico.  I am grateful.  And I am not surprised.  I have come to expect the generosity that so epitomizes our community.  I also know that when God sets a plan in place, he resources it as well.  Thank you for participating.  If you missed the service but still want to provide for this mission, you can give online to the Ensenada Youth Fund.  Now we pray and send 60 intentional servants to Ensenada to make a difference for Jesus.

I am very grateful for the 8 weeks given me to complete my dissertation.  The clock starts this Monday, June 16, and I ask for your prayers to remain focused and to be able to complete this task.  For those of you who want to know more, I am writing a historical study on the background of the New Testament book of Jude. My specific thesis shows the connections between Jewish Apocalypticism, early Christianity and Gnosticism through what Jude writes in his short letter… alright, now wake up…

You can continue to read the blog while I am gone during the summer.  I still want you to be encouraged and updated as we journey together, so Josh Conn will writing a few entries until I return.  This weekend we kick off a new series:  “Witness - It doesn’t take a superhero.”  Good stuff.  Come and be challenged!

I know I say this often, but I am pretty pumped about this weekend’s service.  And if you like interaction, then you will definitely enjoy it.  Join us as we worship with a new band and be ready to get out of your seats for more than just the music!

I believe that all of you have been praying about your portion of the financial gift we will be raising this weekend to enable our high school and college teams to minister in Mexico. I could not be more excited about this — do you realize that if everyone who comes were to give $50, we would go well over our $60,000 goal? Please seek God’s wisdom on this before you come.

This Sunday at 1:30pm we will have the first 50+ Club meeting in the chapel (youth room). As I mentioned last weekend, we will be talking about how to embrace our best years that still lie ahead. This is so important for our community, because of all age groups, this one is best able to set the standard that helps the following generation in whatever way we can.

See you on the weekend!