Life in OZ

Mission Trip Day Three!

pastorc — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:48:36 +0000

Hey! We’re finally able to update you all with what has been going on with our mission trip to South Chicagoland. For the first few days we have had internet issues, but starting now you should be able to be updated each morning of the trip. Here’s a rundown of what has happened so far…

Sunday

After traveling we started our trip with authentic Chicago style pizza just to get in the “head” of a typical chicagoan. Not only did it help us, but it tasted great too. Then we arrived at First Baptist Church Tinley Park and met our host for the week Pastor Dale Thompson, his wife Rebecca, and their 11 month old son, Toby. We got unpacked and began to prepare for Monday’s VBS kickoff.

Monday

We spent monday morning working out the details for VBS and at 11:30 our first child arrived! We had taken flyers to some of the surrounding neighborhoods and a grandmother who had received one on her doorstep decided to bring her granddaughter to VBS. The numbers were not as high as we had hoped, but the kids were enthusiastic and excited about the day. After eating a wonderful meal prepared by our crack team of cooks, we headed off for our first shower of the trip. (and boy did we need it!) We are showering at LA Fitness. We had to joke and say that many of us do not look like the well sculpted clientele they are used to, but it is a great facility that works really well for getting us all in out out very quickly. After late night popcorn we headed off to catch a few hours of sleep before it all began again.

Tuesday

Our VBS numbers increased by 80% today! One class grew by 50% another by 100%! God is so Good! Once again we spent the morning taking flyers to new neighborhoods and then had VBS in the afternoon. We were supposed to serve at an outdoor soup kitchen but because of weather we were forced to change plans. Instead, we ate in downtown chicago and then spent a little time sightseeing along the miracle mile. We ended the night with Culver’s Frozen Custard. (don’t come on mission expecting to lose weight)

Here are a few pictures from the week so far…

Tomorrow we begin our construction projects so please pray for safety.

Have a Great Day!

That was a close one!

pastorc — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:16:07 +0000

After Vacation Bible School last night I was driving home with my children. As we were approaching an intersection, I began a conversation that went something like this…

Me: Hey guys look at that beautiful Yellow Lab! (pointing to the right of the car where a woman was walking her dog)

Caitlyn: Oh Daddy! She’s so pretty!

Me: Caitlyn that’s a boy doggy.

Caitlyn: How do you know?

Me: (with sudden panic in my voice) Oh, I just know.

Caitlyn: But HOW do you know?

Me: (attempting to think on my feet) I just know what to look for.

Caitlyn: What are you looking for?

Me: (with sweat breaking out on my forehead) Ohh…

Caleb: (My dear sweet boy interrupts the conversation to say) Caitlyn, he’s looking for the bow! If she were a girl she’d have a bow on her head.

That was it. End of conversation. Thank You, Lord for simple answers!

Good, not Great

pastorc — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:24:12 +0000

Recently I was taking my son, Caleb, to preschool and we had a great conversation.

ME: Hey Caleb are you ready for school?

Caleb: Yep, we get to ride our bikes at school today.

ME: How are you doing this morning?

Caleb: Good.

ME: Just good, not great?

Caleb: I’m not old enough to be great.

(Now let me pause here long enough to say that sometimes asking a 5 year old to explain himself can get you in lots of trouble, but it was just the two of us in the car so I thought I’d risk it.)

ME: What do you mean you’re not old enough to be great?

Caleb: You know, like Great-Grandma, you’ve gotta be older before you can be great.

It made absolute sense to him that he was not allowed to be great simply because of chronological age. He had reasoned out in his head that since he calls both of my grandmothers Great-Grandma, that to be great meant you had to have a few years under your belt. While that logic seems flawed to us, in his mind it made perfect sense. I often wonder what God thinks about our reasoning for not being “Great”. I can just hear the rationalizations that we give:

“Our town isn’t big enough for a really great church”

“We don’t have enough money for that”

“I don’t have enough education to make something out of myself”

“We’ve never done it that way before”

We often use our own reasoning to explain away what God can and cannot do in our lives, in our families, and in our church. The picture that the bible paints is quite different than that.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Phillippians 4:13

“…I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance” John 10:10

God desires great things for our lives, I think that when we give our reasons for why things can’t be, God chuckles to Himself the same way I did when Caleb said he wasn’t old enough to be great. He sees so much more clearly that we ever could, and He reminds us that He doesn’t want us to be good, He wants us to be Great!

I can finally cheer publicly!!!

pastorc — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:53:02 +0000

My good friend Tony Foeller and I have a great love for the Kansas City Chiefs, but when it comes to baseball we stay in the same state, just different sides of it. Tony is a huge Cardinals fan, (you can read his latest words about them at his blog www.pastortony.wordpress.com

I on the other hand am a Kansas City Royals fan. We have for the last 15 years or so been the laughing stock of the MLB, but not now!!! We sit atop the AL central standings and have even taken down the NY Yankees two games in a row. Even if it doesn’t last, I’m loving the 2008 Baseball Season!

Great Days Ahead!

pastorc — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 16:44:15 +0000

The last few weeks have been a blur! Maundy Thursday, Easter, Children’s parties, Associational Senior Adult Activities, Leadership Retreat: they have all been a part of my last few weeks. I have had times of encouragement, moments of reflection, joyful activities, and difficult decisions. You know, it sounds a lot like life in general doesn’t it? We all have ebb and flow, joy and sorrow, excitement and boredom. The key is to not allow the events of our life to govern the attitudes of our life. God is great even in the midst of my difficulties! God is gracious on good days as well as bad. Knowing that, I am excited about some of the new challenges that He has laid out in front of us.

April 27^th will be a banner day in the history of the church I pastor. We will be moving our morning services to our new church property. It is currently a wide open corn field, but we hope to very soon see facilities where we can reach out to our community. We are being faithful to the decision made by the church quite some time ago to follow God’s leading to a new location. We will have a great time of worship, prayer, vision casting, and commitment. There will be an excitement in the air as we step out in faith to see how God is going to do this amazing work!

It is my hope that as we seek God’s vision, we will fulfill His call on our lives to “Help people connect with Christ, and grow deeper in their Faith”!

Have any of you been through a process like this before? Have you had a “special sunday” at a bare property? Was there something about that service that was especially meaningful? I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions as we plan for this awesome day!

Resurrection Sunday

pastorc — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:11:01 +0000

Easter sunday is such a time of hope and life! We have the celebration of the Resurrection, the fellowship of the church, and the prospect of “new life” in those who have not yet heard the incredible news of Christ’s sacrifice for us. This morning our Worship Pastor, Dale Jones, really knocked it out of the ball park. From the moment the service began until the moment he passed the baton to me for the message, he had us totally focused on Christ. (of course, he’s not responsible for my many mistakes after he passed me the baton…lol) It’s such a joy and honor to serve alongside a brother in Christ who truly desires to lead us in Worship.

SIU WINS!!!

pastorc — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 13:29:20 +0000

Hey a big shout out to all my friends in southern Illinois! I was watching the opening round of the NIT last night and saw several people that I knew in the crowd. The SIU arena was Rockin’! It’s always great to be connected to a group of people through a shared love of a sports team. I know others out there that feel the same way, (I’m talking about you Leland), it’s just a great feeling to root for the old home team.

Three Funerals and a Birthday

pastorc — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:03:02 +0000

Yesterday was Caleb’s 5th birthday. To celebrate we went to Springfield and ate burgers and ice cream at Culvers and then we went to get his birthday present…FISH! He got a beautiful fishtank with 8 fish. As of this morning we had performed 3 fishy funerals. What a way to teach you child about the cycle of life…have him watch his birthday present die. (I’m pretty sure I lose dad points for this) He was enthused when he found out he could go pick out new ones though…all’s well that ends well!

Wonderful Wednesday

pastorc — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:26:54 +0000

I used to think that the busiest day to be a pastor was sunday. In fact my typical sunday schedule is pretty crazy:

5am – arrive at church
7am – Trustees Meeting
8am – Early Worship
9:30am – Sunday School
10:45 – Late Worship
3:30pm – Church Council
5pm – Discipleship Period 1
6pm – Discipleship Period 2
7:15pm – Choir Rehearsal
8:45pm – GO HOME!!!!!!!

But I have decided that Wednesdays are worse. I think it’s just the mentality of working all day and then participating in all the church activities that evening. I have to wonder…for those of you in ministry as well as those who are not, what do you do to get yourself prepared and “fresh” for Wednesday nights?

Is Easter too scary for kids?

pastorc — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:02:35 +0000

I took part in a very interesting discussion yesterday that I would love to get everyone’s opinion on. Our church is going to see a dramatic presentation of “The Promise” this evening. It is a portrayal of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Some wondered if we should not take children to see it because of the graphic nature of Christ’s death on the cross. What do you think? Is it ever too young for a child to understand the sacrifice that Christ made? Is there a difference between seeing pictures in a children’s bible and seeing it portrayed by people? I’d love to hear your thoughts!