Weekend

Well where do I start?  This weekend had everything from joy to work to pain to the point of asking God if there is more to come!  Let me try and recap the best I can:

FRIDAY:  Got together with some friends to see Fireproof.  Great movie especially for anyone either currently in a marriage or thinking of getting married!  We gathered downtown and had dinner at Grand Lux then it was off to the movies.  A good time was had by all and then Camille and I used this occasion to create a miniature get-away and spent the night at the Holiday Inn Downtown.  It was nice just getting away and spending time together even though we had a busy day ahead.

SATURDAY:  Got up early and headed back to church where I met with South Holland’s Youth Initiative Task Force so we could discuss a bold strategy of really making an intentional effort to reach the kids of South Holland.  Once this meeting ended it was off to a family gathering as one of Camille’s uncles was saying goodbye to family and friends before his deployment to Afghanistan.  It was a great time to gather with family that we had not seen in a while.  Finally we returned back at the church just in time for Camille to lead a Praise and Worship Team practice and I had a meeting with our official church board.  As soon as this was over it was time to rush back downtown to celebrate a birthday at the Cheese Cake Factory.  Most everyone parked at the Metra and met us down there while Camille and I drove to get our name on the list and try and have things ready.  At the conclusion of the evening Dexter and the other returned to the Metra parking lot only to find that his van was stolen.  We then spent hours talking with the thief on a cell phone that was in the van when he stole it and he eventually told us the location of the van.  The police confirmed that it was indeed Dexter’s van and we arrived to pick it up only to fund that the steering column was destroyed and we could not get the engine to turn over.  At least we had the van and we had a chance to pray with at least one of the people responsible for this.

SUNDAY:  Great service Sunday as we worship with our Hispanic neighbors.  New Member class was greatly attended and we just had plenty of people here for a Sunday evening whether they were part of our men’s ministry or just attending the New Member class.

So as you can see this was a CRAZY weekend!

The Sun is back!

What a difference a week makes!  Last weekend I was ready to build an ark for safety and then this weekend we baked in the sun.  The Car Wash was great especially after all the rain of last week.  People were ready to get their cars cleaned up.  The participation was incredible as our young people came out ready to work.  The car wash was a success on two levels, not only did we raise a lot of money for the Youth Convention, but we also had the chance to tell people about our church.  Today we had at least one visitor that indicated they came because of the contact at the car wash!  So we are able to witness and raise money all at the same time!

Great big thanks goes out to our men today.  After the service our outdoor sign was raised and anchored in its new spot on South Park Avenue!  It is official now…we are here to stay!

District Fellowship

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend our Chicago Region Council for the Assemblies of God.  It is always refreshing and encouraging to meet up with friends and partners in the ministry.  I am certainly encouraged about the new leadership that we have for this region.  Ron Heitman is taking the lead as the executive presbyter and Joel and Doug will be working with him to help our are plant more churches and assist churches in leadership struggles.  This team comes with plenty of church experience and knowledge and I believe they will truly help inspire a new level of excellence within our area.  Just to get us all thinking and reaming in the right direction they have already called a meeting for Monday and asked us to all commute downtown to meet where our members work.  Please pray with me for this team as they endeavor to pursue God more closely!

Through the Flood

I have to admit that I was somewhat surprised by our attendance yesterday.  Knowing that the whole region was having difficulty with the flooding I expected a really slim attendance and you all surprised me by coming out in great numbers anyway!  I even had phone calls or e-mails from some saying that they could not get to us with all the road closures and everything, yet many still made it.  Overall we had a great day with many responding to the offer of salvation and allowing Christ to be the source of their freedom and independence.  Praise God that His word is so powerful that it can literally change us from the inside out!

Also, huge thanks to Dexter, Shon, Valentino and Pedro for going with me to assist the Village of South Holland in filling sand bags.  I am honored that the Village would ask the church for help and then it was good to know we had some guys still around the church that were able to answer the call! 

Lastly, new member class last night was incredible!  Great group of new comers to the church and they made it out in-spite of the weather.  I am always amazed at what draws people to the churches that they join and here it was overwhelmingly done through relationships!  What a great testimony!

Where is the Rainbow?

I cannot believe the day we have had.  I went to bed last night praying that my family would be safe from the monstrous Hurricane Ike, while not even imagining that we would need protection from the floods.  We did not suffer from the torrential rain bands coming from the gulf, yet the rain here was merciless.  I experienced the heartache today that comes from an old building as we frantically fought the leaks around the basement.  Thank God we have great volunteers like Dexter, Paige, Leeval, Tom, Jerome and of course my wonderful wife!  They worked tirelessly throughout the day helping us to restore our basement to its previously dry state.

Now, I don’t know about you…but I am ready for the rainbow.  I know God said He would never destroy the earth again by a flood and so he placed a rainbow in the sky to serve as His covenant.  Lord knows I could sure go for a rainbow right about now.

What about you?  Anyone else ready to see God’s rainbow?

Fear Looms Over Scientist’s Experiment to Uncover Secrets of ‘Big Bang’

Evans’ ambitions, however, have brought widespread concern among scientists who say the experiment could create a shower of unstable black holes inside the Earth, and subsequently bring destruction to the planet.

“Nothing will happen for at least four years,” retired German Otto Rossler told the Mail. “Then someone will spot a light ray coming out of the Indian Ocean during the night and no one will be able to explain it.”

Click here to read the full report in the Daily Mail.

 

 

Great Start

We began our new service schedule today and it really was great!  Sunday School seems to have been well attended in all the age levels.  I am simply amazed to see the level of great leaders we have that can step up and teach and lead.  I was able to observe several of the classes and it seems that everyone really enjoyed all that was going on.  I will say that the adults group kind of cheated by bringing in the Krispy Kreme.  That will generate excitement!

Our fall campaign got off to a nice start with many great comments on our “Keys of Life” series.  We also had many first time visitors and a few did say we would see them this Wednesday!  Our new 10-minute party that is being hosted by Laurie seems to be a great way to really connect with our visitors.  We are able to get some good feedback on how the visitors are feeling when they come to check us out.

The baptism water was definitely cold today but I have to say I really like doing the baptism outside…it seems to feel more natural.

Govenor Palin has Assembly of God roots!

 

Well as we start getting closer to the elections we find the media really reaching!  It appears now that it is bad when a candidate prays for God’s will to be done in the current wars that we are involved in and for direction in large decisions.  Governor Palin is being blasted by some for having a very conservative church background by growing up in Wasilla Assembly of God.  The copy below is from a letter posted on their website stating the churches position with Governor Palin.  Now, regardless of who you think is the best candidate for President I think it is wrong to attack someone for seeking God in major decisions.  I will be glad when we get past all of this.  For now I am just happy to see an African-American on top of a major party ticket and a woman in the VP slot of another major party.  Either way we are bound to have an interesting November!  Who would have thought that even the Assemblies of God would have come up in all of this.  United Church of Christ and the Assemblies of God are probably the furthest apart in terms of doctrine but God is certainly getting a lot of attention in this run for the White House!

 

August 30th, 2008

Governor Sarah Palin did attend Wasilla Assembly of God since the time she was a teen ager. She and her family were a part of the church up until 2002. Since that time she has maintained a friendship with Wasilla Assembly of God and has attended various conferences and special meetings here. This June, the Governor spoke at the graduation service of our School of Ministry, Master’s Commission Wasilla Alaska.  We have had some inquires into Governor Palin’s beliefs. We do know that Gov Palin is a woman of integrity. She is a servant of the people, she is a strong leader. As for her personal beliefs, Governor Palin is well able to speak for herself on those issues.

As Alaskans we are excited about our Governor being selected as the nominee for Vice President. As residents of Wasilla, we are ecstatic about one of our own being thrust to the national forefront. However, as a church, it is not appropriate for us to endorse any one candidate over another. As believers, we are reminded in 2 Peter 2.13 that we are to submit to those in authority. 1 Timothy 2.1-2 tells us pray for those in authority. This we will do no matter

who is elected. We wish the best to Governor Palin, and Senator McCain, as well as to Senator Obama and Senator Biden.

May God continue to bless America.

 

 

Incredible Weekend

All I can say is…WOW!  This was the first cook-out where we actually ran out of food!  I guess we really have grown and now we need to begin preparing for over 200.  Sunday was our largest one service gathering!  We had over 200 all in one place worshiping God together.  I have to say it is nice getting everyone together but at this rate…hold on because we are going to have to begin a second service soon!  Keep up the good work of telling others about Jesus and inviting them to come and worship the Lord with us.

 

By the way if anyone got any pictures…please let me know.  I forgot to have a camera going during the cook out.