Mark's blog | Christ Community Church

Jake's Funeral

Maybe you saw it on the news last night. Jake Herweyer, former Millard West student, popular wrestler, whose parents attend CCC, died in a tragic car accident. He graduated last spring. As an athlete, he helped Millard West to a state championship in football. In wrestling, he finished his senior season 38-1.

But far more important than his athletics is the fact that God was turning his life around. Since a stay in the hospital in June, Jake had immense personal, moral and spiritual growth. He began attending Calvary Chapel, which meets at Millard North. He heard the words of life. He trusted Christ. His parents even heard Christian music replacing the normal, well, "nasty-stuff" coming out of his ever-present headphones that he slung around his neck.

He had been headed down a dark path until Jesus, the light of the world crashed in with hope, words of life and power.

He was only 18 years old. Think about it. People at that age rarely think about death. But Jake did his business with God. He reached out and took Jesus' nail-scarred outstretched hand and let him pull him out of his muck. Jake experienced new life for a short time on planet earth, but will spend eternity with Jesus, me, and billions who trusted Him - in a kingdom with no more crying or mourning or death or pain. Jake has a new body, a new mind, and direct contact with the living God of the universe who loves him and fills him up.

So you're reading this blog...you don't know when you'll flip a car and breathe your last. If you've never asked the spiritual questions, perhaps this moment can serve as a sobering moment for you.

Have you done business with God? Have you trusted the one who took the nails to forgive you and bring you life? Have you found his ultimate life by putting yourself in his hands? If not, you need to. And there is no time like the present. Jake made the right moves in the past few months and all heaven rejoices over him!

You may need to stop right now and pray. God wants to forgive your past and pave the road for your future. God wants to lead your life and give you his blessings. Tell him that you trust him and want him in every aspect of your life. Then get around some followers of Jesus who 'get it' and ask them to help you grow in your faith.

And while you're praying, please pray this week for the parents, Denny and Elaine, Jake's sister Jenna and Jake's brother Trevor. They are going to need strength, encouragement, and comfort in these very difficult times. Pray for me, and the other Pastor - Todd from Calvary Chapel - as we officiate the service and try to bring hope from desperation. Friday, 3pm at CCC.

Labels: Death

Book Review - Think Orange

Think Orange by Reggie Joiner is a book I read this week. It is an outstanding book. Definitely the best I have read in 2010 :)

The basic premise is this: In the church, there are dozens of hours a year to be involved in the spiritual formation process of a child (about 75 hours at CCC). At home, a parent has over 3000 hours to influence a child in a given year. Many churches make the false assumption that the church is the primary place children grow in their faith.

Joiner posits the question "What if the family and the church partnered together in significant ways to mold the next generation?" What if resources and training were made available for parents of kids? What if programming was adapted to include parents in the preparation of the kids, or the event itself, or the follow up? What if resources were given to parents to accelerate the spiritual depth of their kids along the normal rhythms of life?

Think Orange not only gives me good memories of the Fighting Illini, but it is also humorous, insightful and asks challenging questions about raising a generation of kids who will cling to Jesus through college years and into the future. A must-read for childrens ministry workers and high recommendation for parents, kids ministry volunteers, and other church staff.

Gaining Wisdom

I read Proverbs 4:7-10 in my quiet time this morning. "Getting wisdom is the wisest thing youcan do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment. If you prize wisdom, she will make you great. Embrace her, and she will honor you. She will place a lovely wreath on your head; she will present you with a beautiful crown."

So where do you get wisdom? Ultimately, God's word is the obvious place. James says that if we ask God he will give us wisdom. The proverbs also say that "In many counselors there is much wisdom." How far should you go to gain this wisdom? The Proverbs would indicate we should go to extreme lengths to gain wisdom.

This has been my pursuit this week. At the 900+ conference, where I have spent the last four days, I have had the privilege of interacting with the lead pastors of about 10 of the largest churches in the alliance, as well as our president and VP. What I find here is wisdom...in spades. The 'megachurch pastors fraternity' is a pretty small group with lots of very complex and very similar issues. The wisdom they have about staffing, leadership structure, finances, vision, risktaking, theology, sloppy moral situations, elders and avoiding burnout is stunning.

I could not design a better conference for gaining wisdom and personal development. I am so glad this was set up before I ever entered the scene. It is a lifeline for many of the pastors in this group to gain wisdom and make good decisions. And that could make all the difference.

So, I'll ask you. Who is investing in your life? Who are the counselors who bring you wisdom? Who are the people that enable you to live at a higher level a love at a deeper level? Get them in your life because wisdom is worth pursuing.

CMA stats - Good News/Bad News

Christ Community Church is a part of a broader family called the Christian and Missionary Alliance (a.k.a. The Alliance or CMA). This week, I have been spending time at a conference for Alliance pastors with churches over 900 attenders. Also at the conference is Gary Benedict, the president of the Alliance, his VP - John Soper, and various board members.

Here are some great stats I heard this week that I thought I would pass on:

The Alliance is the largest denomination that has positive growth. Some smaller denominantions are growing faster, but no larger denominations are growing at all.

The Alliance has 26 districts and 2050 churches. If you remove the fastest 2 growing churches in each district (totaling 52), we are shrinking.

A traditional church plant takes 6 years and $800,000 of outside support until it is healthy and self-sustaining. A multisite takes $250,000 and under 2 years.

The Great Commission Fund, (which funds our 800+ missionaries) is in the black by 2% for the first time in many years.

in 2009, the Alliance grew by 11,000 people. We started 44 churches averaging 100 people each and shut down 38 churches that average 20 people each.

In Haiti, there are 150 indigenously led Alliance churches. Our CMA efforts will do our giving through these churches as well as World Releif.

Ralph Winter, one of the leading missiologists of the last 50 years said this "The Alliance is the ONLY denomination tha has successfully planted missionary-sending churches in foreign nations."

Oprah’s Optimism

Pick up a newspaper and pessimism dominates the headlines. Fears of gangs, flu's, global warming, earthquakes, violence and cyber-bullies grab our attention. As a result, dark news is front and center.

Every so often I grab a magazine that there is 'no way I'll read.' In airports, doctor's waiting rooms, or at Barnes and Noble I'll gravitate toward stuff that is clearly out of my normal sphere of understanding. It keeps me in touch with all parts of the world and occasionally provides good sermon humor.

So, today I pulled out a copy of "O", the Oprah magazine. In it Oprah lists 100 things that are getting better. Reallly? Better? From Dry Cleaning to Designer Jeans to Dads, Oprah sees a lot that is improving in our culture. I don't agree with every comment in the article, but Kudos to Oprah and her team for their optimism. Here are a few of my favs:

#4 Apps to help you lose weight: Is that a gym in your iPhone? iFitness lets you build a custom workout. iTreadmill turns your phone into a pedometer, Lose It! Tracks how many calories you've burnied in every workout and WeightBot charts your daily progress.

#5 Polyester: Who doesn't love the softness of a microfiber throw, the convenience of wrinkly-free sheets? Both can be attributed to the once-hidden charms of those much maligned twins, Polly and Esther.

#8 Our Lungs: This just in from the CDC: The number of American adults who smoke has dropped from 24.7 percent in 1997 to 20.6 percent in 2008; at last count, 38 states, the District of Columbia, and 360 cities have banned cigarettes in workplaces, bars, or restaurants –which means no more unintentionally smoked salmon.

#33 Surgery: Removing an organ through a ninny nick in the skin; using radio waves or ultrasound to destroy a tumor without a single cut – in the past decade, the kinds of medical procedures once seen in sci-fi novels have arrive in the OR, often performed in an outpatient basis with minimal pain and recovery time.

#53 Chips: Spicy Thai, Cheddar, sweet chili sour cream, crab boil, honey Dijon, chocolate, jalapeno… No one can just eat one bag.

#92 Tatoo Removal: Love may come and love may go. Tattoos? Not so fast, kiddo. But advances in lasers – better pigment recognition and deeper skin penetration – are making it easier to hike the evidence of a failed romance or an Aerosmith obsession.

Joiner on Churches

I’ve been reading a book by Reggie Joiner this week; “Think Orange.” It is actually about impacting the next generation by combining the forces of church and home. But the quote I like best so far is about critiquing other churches.

“Some leaders suggest that institutional churches can never be relational
That traditional churches can never be relevant,
That megachurches can never be intimate,
that attractional churches are not missional,
that missional churches don draw people,
that emergent churches never teach anything substantial,
that seeker churches don’t have depth,
and that organic churches don’t have any direction.

We love to neatly package another leader’s style of church into a box and label it irregular or defective. We accuse the church we abandoned and defend the version we have customized. No one is more opinionated about church models than I am.
Throughout my life, I have realized God is doing something in a lot of different styles of church. We need to be careful about demonizing those who don’t practice church the way we do and learn from every version of church whose mission is to lead people into a better and more authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. God is a lot bigger than our definitions or labels, and I am sure He is not worried about how your church compares to the one down the road.”

Labels: Leadership

Need God

"My secret is that I need God--that I am sick and can no longer make it alone. I need God to help me give, because I no longer seem to be capable of giving; to help me be kind, as I no longer seem capable of kindness; to help me love, as I seem beyond being able to love." -Douglas Coupland

Haiti Relief

The Christian and Missionary Alliance has people on the ground in Haiti. if you are interested in finding out more or giving, try this... http://www.cmalliance.org/give/relief/

Here is the bottom line from the website:
The Alliance Responds to Haitian Disaster
CAMA is gearing up to assist survivors of the 7.0 earthquake that destroyed Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, on January 12. According to a CNN report, the death toll may top 100,000. The hospitals are gone, and medical supplies are desperately needed. About 3 million people—one-third of Haiti’s population—were impacted by the quake.

In partnership with sister organizations already on the ground, CAMA will provide immediate assistance—including clean water, emergency shelter, medical aid, and other necessities—as well as long-term help in rebuilding efforts, integrating Jesus’ message of redemption with practical acts of compassion.

From Tame your Fears

From the book "Tame your Fears" by Carol Kent. This page-full of material is very helpful to determine if fear plagues your life...but nobody knows it!

SIX DISGUISES OF FEAR

Many of us have lived behind our disguises for so long we hardly recognize that fear motivates many of our destructive behaviors. I have, at times, starred in all the roles in the play “The Six Disguises of Fear”. Sometimes my performances have been worthy of standing ovations. One role could have brought me an Oscar. The beginning of positive change comes when we leave our costumes in the dressing room after admitting to one of the following roles:

1. A perfectionist lifestyle: “If I can please all of the people in my life with flawless behavior and control everything and everyone around me, I won’t have to admit my deep insecurities and fears.”

2. A possessive nature: “If I can protect the people I love the most by establishing the borders of their activities and guarding the dimensions of their interactions with other people, I will safeguard them from fearful experiences.”

3. A picky attitude: “If I can criticize someone else, I will look better. I won’t have to admit that it makes me feel like a bigger and less fearful person when I put somebody else’s personality or methods down in order to secure my own position.”

4. A pretentious faith: “If I make a list of what real Christians do and don’t do and show people my saintliness in action, perhaps I can cover up my fears, which are usually expressed through pride, inflexibility, legalism, and condemnation of ‘less godly’ people.”

5. A passionate workaholism: “If I invest my total energy in worthy causes and/or work hard enough to earn the approval of my superiors, I’ll be too tired to worry about my fears. If I just keep busy enough with my family responsibilities and personal activities, I won’t have to acknowledge the ache inside of me and admit that I don’t know how to give or receive love.”

6. A plastic smile: “If I look like a trusting person, soon I’ll feel like a trusting person. When I’m confused and afraid, I just keep smiling, especially at church, because most of those people expect me to be spiritually mature – and they are the last people I would admit my fears to!”

Husker/Creighton Athletes at CCC

On January 24, we'll be joined by some great athletes at our CCC services. Not only are they great athletes, but they will be a great inspiration to live out your faith as well!

Josh Dotzler is a former Creighton All-Star. Wearing the #12 on his jersey, he regularly led the team in assists and steals. His maturity and stability carried the team in tough situations and in finishing games with a win. Josh was raised in North Omaha in a godly family with 13 siblings. After finishing his time at Creighton, he put away his jersey and began investing in his old neighborhood as a pastor. Despite the challenges of violence and poverty, Pastor Josh consistently invests in a youth-driven church called "The Bridge" at the corner of 30th and Lake.

Roy Helu Jr. is a Junior at the University of Nebraska, where he is earning fame as an outstanding halfback. With over 1100 yards on 220 carries, his season has been nothing short of outstanding. Roy would tell you that his life has turned around in major ways in the past three years since leaving his past in a violent city in California. He has come into a relationship with Christ and is as passionate about growing in his faith as he is about football.

Each of these young athletes/men-of-God will be sharing with us on January 24 in our Old Mill services. Sarpy will show the DVD on January 31. They will be a part of our "Fear" series - with a message on "Fear of Violence."

Labels: CCC, Leadership, Racism, Sermon

Trust in the Lord

Yesterday, in my personal Bible reading, I read a verse that I memorized in eigth grade. Proverbs 3:5-6. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your path." Interestingly, my one-year Bible also had the story of Abraham's servant trusting God to find a wife for Isaac. The New Testament reading had the Roman centurion who believed in spiritual authority so much that he said to Jesus "You don't need to visit my house, just say the word and my daughter will be healed."

We trust God for healing, for finances, for a marriage partner, for our work, for our kids. The world is way to big for us to be in control. So really we have two choices. 1) Try to control everything anyway - this leads to O.C.D., paranoia, power-struggles, and the perpetual frustration of a job that we were not meant to do. 2) Trust God. Trust him to run the world, watch over your kids, provide for you and show up when you need him.

Now, this does not mean that we squash all personal initiative. When we are out of work, we still need to network, get our resume out, and go on interviews. As parents, we still monitor internet activity, ask about friends, and enforce curfews. But there is so much outside of our control. So many factors that we cannot predict. But God can. Trust him explicitly and he will direct your paths. He has shown himself trustworthy in good times and bad to millions of people worldwide. He will be faithful to you!

That video on fear...

http://www.vimeo.com/8462900

Fearless

"They're talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming, breakouts of al Qaeda cells. Some demented dictator is collecting nuclear warheads the way others collect fine wines. A strain of swine flu is crossing the border. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word terror. News programs disgorge enough hand wringing information to warrant an advisory: "Caution: this news report is best viewed in the confines of an underground vault in Iceland."

We fear being sued, finishing last, going broke; we fear the mole on the back, the new kid on the block, the sound of the clock as it ticks us closer to the grave. We sophisticate investment plans, create elaborate security systems, and legislate stronger military, yet we depend on mood altering drugs more than any generation in history."

From Fearless by Max Lucado

Is fear a real part of life in 2010? You better believe it is! That's why you've gotta come to the message series and bring your whole neighborhood on Sunday. What are the keys to defeating the fear that threatens to defeat you? Beginning on January 10 (Jan 17 in Sarpy), we will learn the keys to encountering our fears with faith. Don't miss!

Explore CCC

Kids Connect

Students

Adults

Media

Spiritual Discovery

Missions

Double your impact

Give

Information

Calendars

Podcasts

Blogs

Apps

Social

News feed

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Jake's Funeral

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Book Review - Think Orange

Gaining Wisdom

Friday, January 22, 2010

CMA stats - Good News/Bad News

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Oprah’s Optimism

Joiner on Churches

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Need God

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Haiti Relief

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

From Tame your Fears

Husker/Creighton Athletes at CCC

Monday, January 11, 2010

Trust in the Lord

Monday, January 4, 2010

That video on fear...

Fearless