Facebook:  What’s your status?  Often times we’d say our “status” is negative.  We wish our circumstances were different, or the weekend was already here.  We long to be someone else, we face financial limitations or dream of how life USED to be.  The end result?  We remain the same.  At Element Church this January is an opportunity to change your status.  Come check out “Facebook:  What’s Your Status?”  Sundays January 3rd – 30th.

Nearly ALL of our connection cards from first time guests state that they come to Element Church because someone from our church invited them.  The best way to get new people to Element Church, is simply to ask them to come with you.  Use the video below to invite your friends, family or co-workers to come to church.  Hope to see you at the first series of 2010.

A few months ago I had lunch with one of the Chaplains on base here in Cheyenne (F. E. Warren Air Force Base).  He was sharing with me about the Airmen’s Ministry Center (AMC).  The AMC is an outreach to the young airmen (18-25 yr. olds) on base, in which there are a couple thousand currently serving here.  It is geared to help give them some connection to each other, but most importantly some connection to the Lord.  One of the things the AMC wanted to do was a monthly “progressive” worship service.  That is where we came in.  At the time of this conversation, our leadership team was feeling led to somehow minister to those who were on base but did not attend church anywhere.  This was a great opportunity for us to serve the AMC and the airmen on base.

Sunday night, we held the first worship service called Ignite.  Before the event, I quoted Zechariah 4:10 to our team “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…”  The Lord gave me that verse when we started Element and felt He was leading me to it again.  We didn’t expect a HUGE turnout but simply, the start of something that God could use.  I couldn’t be more proud of the team of staff and volunteers that literally nailed the event on Sunday.  It was our pleasure to serve the Chaplaincy in this ministry.

I received this email from one of the chaplains today:  Pastor Jeff,

I’m struggling to find the words to rightly thank you for the true excellence in which your staff and team served our base community. It may have been a small start, but as you know – most great things start that way.  I am truly looking forward to working together with you for the glory of God in the next couple months.

I believe we are currently looking at January 30th, as the next possible date for Ignite.  We’ll nail that down here shortly.  Please pray for the AMC as they try to effectively reach the airmen at F. E. Warren for the glory of God.

Till the end,

Jeff

Christmas Sunday of 2009 was AWESOME!  Here are my ruminations on the day.

—  Umm, seeing people meet Jesus and receive forgiveness of their sins NEVER gets old.  Over 30 people in our 3 services stood to acknowledge they accepted Christ today.  THEN Pastor Derek informed me that like 20 kids got saved today.  THAT is awesome.

— Pastor Derek and the e:kidz people are doing such a GREAT job.  The curriculum we use for kids runs on an 8 week series.  One lesson every 8 weeks is a very clear evangelistic/salvation message.  That day was today in Elevate.

—  Derek also does a fabulous job following up with each student AND their parents to make sure the child and parent understand the decision was made.

— One couple that received Christ in 2nd service, had their kids receive Christ in Elevate.  Love it!

— THEN I met one of the moms from Adopt-A-Family after 3rd service.  SHE received Christ today.  AMAZING!

—  Another outstanding day on attendance.  People have listened and switched to 1st or 3rd service, which now makes 3rd service our most attended one. 1st service has been higher than ever too.

—  I got a MAJOR surprise in 3rd service when following the sermon bumper video, ANOTHER video fires.  At first I thought the tech team blew it until I realized it was ME on the video from this video HERE.  They played a portion of the video.  It was awesome.  I was totally caught off guard.  Thanks boys!  We all had a good laugh.

—  Gotta give Adam and the band MAJOR props for today.  The band stinkin’ NAILED it.  Did such a great job setting up the word.

—  They did a song by Skillet today called “Hero”.  It is a VERY difficult song and they did a great job.  Set up my message great!

—  Adam’s voice was nearly gone after first service.  He could hardly talk.  I was worried he wouldn’t make it.  God strengthened him through he day.

— Preached on Simeon today and how he waited for the Messiah.  Here are some excerpts:

• What are the keys to waiting on Christ?
• We need to make the right preparations.
• When I look at my life, I can get really focused on what I want to accomplish instead of who I need to be.  If I work hard at becoming the man God wants me to be I will do and accomplish the things he wants me to do.
• We often work hard at making GREAT preparations for all the wrong things.
• Too many of us treat the Holy Spirit like we do the treadmill in our house.  We never access Him and then wonder why nothing changes in us.
• We need to “shake the presence”.  (LOVE seeing people post this phrase on Facebook already.  Gotta listen to the message)
• Often times we are so consumed with our circumstances that we fail to see Christ in them.
• Some of us came today hoping Christ would change our circumstances or fix our problem.  We fail to realize that He is FAR more concerned with changing our character than our circumstances.
• Many of us care too much about our comfort than our character, and so instead of looking for the presence of Christ in our circumstances we look for the pathway to comfort.
• God could care less about fixing my problems, when COMPARED to just how much He wants to fix me.
• Don’t miss the gift
• We talk a lot about Jesus giving His life and not enough about Him giving IT ALL!
• I can give all I have but I can’t give it ALL.  Jesus literally gave it ALL for He had it ALL to give.
• “Mary, then pain you feel when your son dies will pale in comparison to the pain you feel when you realize it was your sin that nailed Him there”  A sword will pierce your very soul.  Don’t miss the gift.

—  Tonight is our first service with the chapel out on base.  We have some STELLAR volunteers out there setting up right now.  Chaplain Marley will be bringing the word and we are providing the band, volunteers, sound system, etc.  SO EXCITED to see what God does through this.  Pray for airmen to receive Jesus!

— Just got a text from Pastor Kody that things are looking GREAT out at the base.  The service is at 7 PM so pray for us that things go according to God’s plan!

—  My college roommate was in church today.  His name is Dusty and he is planting a church in Boise, ID called Connections.  I told him today, there are a few people that I’m intimidated to speak in front of, he is one of them.  He is a fantastic communicator.  LOVED having him and his family here in church today. Glad I didn’t blow it.  lol

—  I know there is more but I’m done.  LOVE leading you guys and being a part of your lives.

Till the end,

Jeff

In reality, most Americans probably know of Oral Roberts through a combination of his intended and unintended media exposure. Roberts frequently attracted controversy. Most famously, he became known for claiming to receive a vision of a 900 foot Jesus instructing them to build the City of Faith and, when hard times hit his empire, telling his followers that if a sufficient amount of gifts was not received within a specified amount of time, God would end his life. In 1987, Roberts became the focus of intense scrutiny in light of claims made by his ministry that a dead person had been brought to life.

In the end, however, Oral Roberts should be measured by his message. Though his claims of visions and healings drew deserved attention, along with both scrutiny and embarrassment, it was the core of his message that is most problematic. In his prime years, Roberts was the most significant agent for prosperity theology.

Prosperity theology teaches that God promises his people financial gain and bodily health. It is a false Gospel that turns the Gospel of Christ upside-down. The true Gospel offers forgiveness of sins and leads to a life of discipleship. Following Christ demands poverty more often than wealth, and we are not promised relief from physical ills, injury, sickness, or death. Christians die along with all other mortals, but we are promised the gift of eternal life in Christ…

…But the greatest tragedy in all this is the perpetuation of prosperity theology, passed on by Oral Roberts to a new generation. I am thankful for every sinner who came to know the Gospel of Christ through the preaching of Oral Roberts, and I heard him preach about salvation in ways that were true and powerful. But I can only lament the prosperity theology that he leaves in his long shadow.

The only thing I would question is that Oral Roberts ever preached a true and powerful Gospel. How could it be if the faith that he preached was more akin to magic?

We must also be honest. The typical SBC’er, Mohler’s denomination, believes in the properity Gospel, too. It is far more sublte, but just as deadly. The SBC’s core theology is one of a modernistic pragmatic paradigm that offers personal prosperity and things like national security if rules are followed, tithes are paid, power prayers made, righteous methods are applied, and if one engages in social reform activism. In short, both the bizarre health and wealth Gospel and other “conservative” mainline prosperity Gospels are all based upon the “if only” of idealism. Far from being an aberration of Pop American Theologies, Roberts brand of PHWG(prosperity, health/wealth Gospel) is quite like that held by the mainstream SBC’er. The SBC’s icons, such as Elmer Townes and Henry Blackaby, testify amply to the manipulative, experiential, orientation of Southern Baptist’s Methodistic beliefs. Oral Roberts’ prosperity Gospel was just another bird in the same flock of performance/reward pop-christian theology, an early forerunner of the current Emergent diminution of biblical truth. For the typical SBC’er, and those who follow the likes of Roberts, theirs is a magic talisman religion, not far removed from the occult.

Taking the Measure of Oral Roberts

As you listen to this, make note of OR’s progression from Holiness Pentacostalism to United Methodism. For those of you who have read here about Element Church, you will understand the connection.

The people who follow signs and wonders are, well, as Jesus said, a perverse and wicked generation. They’re in it for the same thing… that they may consume whatever they are hoping for upon their own lusts. They really care little about the signs, as Jesus said. They don’t even follow for that reason, rather, they follow to fill their bellies, John 6.26. When approached about how they might do the miraculous works of God, he simply said to them to believe in him who God has sent. Obviously not the answer someone seeking for a new Hummer wants to hear. Unfortunately, for so many who have been offered the riches and health they are seeking, believing on the Lord isn’t a better offer. Jesus is the full reward and gift that God gives as an inheritance to the saints, and who wants to be seen coming to church riding on the Lord’s back?

Hip and Thigh: More Oral

I shared this last year and plan to for years to come. Ben and I made this video a few years ago for a youth event. At minute marker 1:28 the real fun begins with a music video. Merry Christmas every one. Enjoy.

Ingrid Schlueter writes:

Rock star pastor Perry Noble of NewSpring Church in Anderson, South Carolina, says you are a jackass if you’re sick of shallow seeker sermons and want to go deeper into God’s Word. Yes, you read that sentence correctly. Noble has led the nation’s lemming pastors into new frontiers of circus church. Who would have ever thought to use AC/DC’s Highway to Hell as a church prelude before Noble hit the scene? You can see a clip of Noble here decrying those who want spiritual meat from the pulpit. It’s really that bad out there.

This is too easy. Mr. Perry (Iggy) Noble wants his flock to be as stupid as he is. He says he could take them deeper. We know that deeper is as deeper does and Iggy Noble makes it clear that he ain’t gonna go there.

You can see more of Iggy’s idiocy here. He can’t even begin to put down terminology without terminology:

Terminology will change…the Gospel will not…and “church” has worked pretty darn good for around 2,000 years. STOP trying to “improve” what God established as essential!

Did you notice the terms, church, God, established, essential, Gospel? Just who is trying to improve the church? Without terminology Iggy wouldn’t have been able to say what he said and without definition, what would it matter what he said? Who listens to him, then? Lots of lost people do, unfortunately.

Iggy Noble was the inspiration for Element Church’s blasphemous worship I reported on before. Element Church even bragged about their association with Iggy. They have in fact based a large part of their, ahem, ministry on Iggyisms.

Iggy’s brand of ignorance is rife throughout the Emergent Movement. Don’t be decieved. The intoxicating incitements of the Emergent are a trap. Element Church, it appears, is shipping in a “hook” for the bait they have chummed. As I have said before, Element isn’t a benign growth of the Body, it is a malignant tumor consumming it. A good look inside the heart of Iggy Noble will find a similar cancer there.

The garbage theology of emergent types like Maness, Noble, Bell, Warren, et cetera, spreads like gangrene and over throws the faith.

Have a friend you had thought at one time was sound in the faith, but is now being infected with the mindless drival of Iggyism? Have you noticed an abrupt change in responsiveness, a resistance to sound counsel? The subtle fever of affect should have given it away, but all too often we are afraid to lose a relationship rather than speak the truth.

Easily recognized to be disease through testing today, in previous generations, gangrene only became evident when it visibly was recognized. We expect that after decades of studying the Word of God, believers would be able to discern good from evil, that they should be able to diagnose necrosis in the faith. We shouldn’t have to wait until the disease erupts to know what it is and how to treat it. That is why we equip ourselves, why we are to tell others. We hope to not be caught unaware and that others will not, either. There is safety in the multitude of counselors, so all believers need to be open to counsel, for the process of self-diagnosis can be self-deceiving. So we continue to warn others about the threat to the Gospel that Iggy and his kind at Element Church present. The spread of pathogenic ministers today goes unabated and will not end until the eschaton. Until then, we must answer swiftly, definitively, using mighty weapons that sometimes rip into the flesh to undo the advancement of the kingdom of darkness:

“Seek that gospel which rips up and tears and cuts and wounds and hacks and even kills, for that is the gospel that makes alive again. And when you have found it, give good heed to it. Let it enter into your inmost being. As the rains soak into the ground, so pray the Lord to let His gospel soak into your soul.” -Charles Spurgeon

We should not be surprised that the Devil presents himself as an angel of light. So also, we should not be surprised that the Iggy’s of the world look and sound like the popular bag boy at the grocery store or a character on SNL. We should not be surprised that their speech is like pop rhetorical honey. The flesh loves its gluttony, and the perversion by people like Noble of what is good to eat is exactly what the flesh desires most- entertainment. Take the advice of the Proverb:

My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge… And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from Iggy, and do not go near the door of Iggy’s house, lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.”

Ken Silva on ISI Radio discussing Perry Noble.

Just wanted to show my Christmas gift from Sabrina in action.  I’ve been wanting my own mini fridge in my office for quite some time.  She bought it for me the other day.  Then today, she brought by the office two twelve packs of soda.  So now I got it full the only 2 drinks I need.  Diet Pepsi and Diet CHERRY Pepsi.  Got a $5 footlong today for lunch from Subway, ate one half and put the other half in there for dinner tonight before life group.  Life is good.  Thanks Sab for the gift.

I just got home so not sure how long this will be.  We had our Leadership Council meeting today so it made the day longer.  Interesting day to say the least at Element Church.  For those of you in 2nd and 3rd service, you have NO idea.

—  Great turnout again today.  I don’t usually post attendance statistics on here, but wanted to share that 4 out of the past 6 weeks we’ve seen over 800 people attend Element.  Outside of an Easter month, November was the highest attended month in the history of Element Church.  So amazed at the people that God is bringing to us.

—  Had a bunch more new people again today.  I love meeting first time guests and hearing that they are going to be back, that they were blessed by the service or that they felt at home.

—  We were SUPER excited about something fun we were doing in our service today.  We had a special song that was a remake of “Carol of the Bells” we were going to kick off service with.  Adam, the band and Curtis put in a TON of time getting this song ready.  Everything worked great in rehearsal, we were all set, it sounded amazing.  Then we kicked off first service and…well…we had the perfect storm of technological disaster in epic proportions go down.  If anything could go wrong technologically, it did on that song.

—  Curtis’ mic didn’t work to start so they switched mics on the fly, which messed up all the effects for that song.  The track that was playing for the song froze on one computer, lyrics froze on the other, the band kept playing but when the track started up again they were completely off.  I was so embarrassed for Curtis that I left the room.  It was an UTTER disaster.  LOL  They eventually just stopped mid song and went on with the service.  OH MAN it was bad.  I felt so bad for Curtis, the band and the tech team.  Needless to say we nixed the song for 2nd and 3rd.

—  Curtis then had to get up to do announcements.  Had to be horribly awkward for him.  He did a great job recovering.  Glad you’re on the team Curt.

— I did meet one first time guest after 1st service who said they loved the experience and would be back.  So, I guess our screw up didn’t effect us too bad.  Glad church doesn’t depend on being perfect! lol

— Continued our Vantage Point series today by looking through the lens of King Herod.  Here are some excerpts from today.

• Jesus is still a threat to thrones today, it’s just the throne of our heart.
• Lots of us live off of rumors about Christ.  Believing what someone else has told us about Him but never investigating ourselves.
• We need to stop reading so many books ABOUT the Bible & Jesus, and start reading more of the Book written BY Jesus called the Bible.
• The church can easily begin to DO things based on what we’ve ALWAYS done, instead of BEING who we’re called to be based on WHO we follow (Jesus).
• The church is not here to coddle the already convinced or to cater to the consistently comfortable.  We’re called to help convert those who are yet to believe and challenge the stinkin’ heck out of those of us who already do!
• Jesus wasn’t out to kill Herod, but to be killed for him.  He wasn’t after Herod’s throne, He was after Herod’s heart…and He’s after yours as well.
• The reason lots of people give up on their devotions is because they are reading just to read instead of reading to seek Jesus.
• The wise men experienced Jesus while Herod waited for a report.  The sad thing is that we often live our lives waiting for a report from someone else’s experience with Jesus, because we never really experience Him ourselves.
• Herod didn’t realize this, but we NEED to.  Jesus is not out to GET us but to HAVE us!  He’s not out to KEEP us from things but to FREE us from them.

—  I had mentioned the kids Bible we are taking our family through right now for family devotions.  Had one young couple ask me after 2nd service if it would be ok for them to start with a kids Bible to learn the basic Bible stories.  They REALLY want to start investigating the Scripture, but they are so brand new they just wanted to learn the basic Bible stories that we take for granted from growing up in church.  I challenged them to read a children’s Bible AND then read the same passage from an adult translation.  They were relieved that it was ok to not know much right now, and they could start at the beginning.  It was cool!

—  Met with our Leadership Council and shared with them our vision for 2010.  I’m SO EXCITED for what God has laid before us.  I love our council that God’s given to us.  It is so great to have their input, advice and accountability.  Not sure the realize how much they are appreciated.  You guys are awesome!

—  Thanks Element for being who you are.  LOVE every minute of serving you!

Till the end,

Jeff

What is LG45?  Glad you asked.  Pastor Derek is starting a Life Group for our 4th and 5th graders starting in January.  LOVE seeing us build in the small group mentality among our young kids.  You can check out the information on LG45 via Pastor Derek’s blog HERE.  If you have kids in this age range I HIGHLY encourage you to get them plugged in!  GREAT job PD.

Following Christ,

Jeff

Hey Element Church.  For those of you who follow the blog, Facebook or Twitter, you are getting the “inside scoop” on the newest staff member @ Element Church.  Over the past several weeks, the Element Church Lead Team has been searching for God’s man to fill the role of Community Pastor here at Element.  Through much prayer, counsel and God’s timing, we are VERY pleased to announce that on January 1st, Pastor Jason Duda and his family will be joining us on staff here at Element .  Jason is moving to Cheyenne from Oklahoma City, OK (And YES he is a Sooner fan).  Jason graduated from Oklahoma Wesleyan University (Bachelors and Masters), and is currently serving at Mid-America Christian University.  Pastor Jason will be overseeing and leading the Life Group ministry of Element Church, as well as volunteers and outreach.  Jason’s wife’s name is Jamie and they have 4 children (Adrienne, Nathan, Sidney, Nicholas)  If you are a Facebooker, you can connect with Jason via that social network HERE.  Please pray for the Duda family as they make the transition to Cheyenne.  They currently do not own a home in OKC, but will be seeking to purchase a home here in Cheyenne.  They have some short-term housing made available to them to start off, although it will not be ideal long term.  It has been cool to see God’s call upon their lives, and their willingness to uproot and move to our great city.  We are confident that the Lord will continue to work at Element Church through Pastor Jason and his ministry.  If you’d like to email Jason to welcome him to our church,  you can do that via email (jason@elementweb.net).  We will be making a formal public announcement from the platform on December 27th and introducing Pastor Jason to the congregation on January 3rd.  Can’t wait to see what God does this next year at Element.

Till the end,

Jeff

Talk about LIVING what you’re PREACHING.  You need to watch THIS video.  Pastor Matt Chandler (Lead Pastor) of The Village Church in Dallas, TX suffered from a seizure on Thanksgiving morning.  He was rendered unconscious, rushed to the hospital where they found a tumor on his right frontal lobe.  He had surgery last week to remove the tumor and this is the video they played for the congregation pre-surgery.  His testimony and faith is inspiring.  Watch the video HERE!  You’ll be blessed, challenged and inspired.

Is He enough?

Jeff

I usually get this up on Sunday afternoon but didn’t get to it yesterday.  I am usually pretty exhausted after church on Sunday, but yesterday I was unusually wiped out.  Took a great nap and didn’t open my computer the rest of the day.  Had another great day at Element yesterday.  The snow storm (if you want to call it that) kept many people at home yesterday.  Those who came I trust were blessed with the presence of God and His Word.  Here are my ruminations on the day.

—  Had some GREAT conversations with people regarding the impact the message had on them.  It’s always great to hear specific things that touched people, not just “Great job today!”.

—  One young man, during worship, felt the Lord just prompting him to “Let go of your plan for your life.”  My message then, was on “What needs let go of for Christ to advance in your life?”  Love it when that happens.  He shared with me the impact the service had on him.  Thanks for sharing that with me.

— After first service I had a heartfelt conversation with on of our “seasoned saints” we’ll call them.  lol  They said, with tears in there eyes, “There are a lot of things in my past that I did wrong.  Do you think God really will forgive me?”  I looked them straight in the eye and said “I KNOW He has.”  They were broken and repentant and God will not reject that.  Loved seeing God speak specifically to peoples hearts.

—  We were definitely affected by the weather in attendance, HOWEVER, I was VERY pleased to see that a number of Elementers took the challenge of moving from 2nd service, to 1st or 3rd.  THANK YOU to those who have made the switch, and I encourage you to stay there.  It opens up seats for us in our most attended service.

— We continued our series Vantage Point today, and looked at the Christmas story through the viewpoint of Joseph.  Here are some excerpts.

—  We take the power of God for granted.  We believe God can make a virgin pregnant, but my sin?  My finances?  My problems?  My mess?  Well, that’s just impossible.

—  Some of us will not release what God wants to do IN us or THROUGH us until we let go of what someone else has done TO us.

—  Forgiveness is not the absolving of guilt, it is the letting go of our right to punish them.  We need to let go of our retribution.

—  If we aren’t careful we will let what someone else has done to us, trap us in the same place forever.

—  “What will people think?”  Is a question that keeps many of us ALWAYS living on the edge of what Christ wants do, where He wants us to go and WHO He wants us to be.  I need to let go of my reputation.

—  When I focus on my rights, it can easily keep me from doing what is right.  When I am always looking for MY chance, most likely I’ll miss an opportunity where Christ wants to advance.  I need to let go of my rights.

—  Lots of people miss out on how God wants to use them, because they are too busy being guided by their reason.  We are great at doing what MAKES sense, instead of doing WHAT we sense from the Holy Spirit.  Following Christ, often won’t make sense, unless you put it in the light of eternity.  We need to let go of our reason.

—  The church does a great job at trying to talk sense into people who have been called by God to do something that doesn’t make sense.

— I enjoyed looking at the story through the lens of Joseph.  He is not talked about much in the Scripture, but by the account in Matthew 1 & 2 which we looked at, I believe you could say he a righteous and devout follower of God.

—  We changed the order of service EVERY service today.  Just didn’t flow right today.  So we mixed it up each service and got it right the 3rd time.

—  Our Lead Team went on a staff advance this past weekend to Estes Park.  We spent 3 days praying, planning and preparing for 2010.  We’ll be unveiling some things over the next month or so, let me just say this…BUCKLE UP ELEMENT CHURCH!  I cannot WAIT until January 30th.  On that Sunday we will be talking about some AWESOME things God is calling our church to do.  It scares me to God, but that’s a great place to be.

—  Thanks Element for the pleasure of leading you.  You guys ROCK.

Following Christ,

Jeff

We’ve announced that Element Church is adopting 20 families this Christmas season to help give them a Christmas they otherwise couldn’t have had.  We kicked off this outreach yesterday at church offering 300 ornaments representing gifts for these families.  Well…I am VERY pleased to announce that after ONE DAY of offering these giving opportunities, they are ALL GONE!  Praise the Lord!  If you’ve taken an ornament, make sure you purchase the gift and bring it back to the Element Gives Back table on or before December 13th.

ALSO, if you weren’t able to get a gift (or if you did) and want to still give, we are accepting gift cards for the families.  Wal-Mart, Target, grocery stores, restaurants, department stores etc.  You can also bring those to the Element Gives Back table on or before December 13th.

I announced that Element, out of our outreach account, we are giving $8000 toward helping with this project as well.  That money ONLY comes through your generous giving.  10% of every dollar given to Element is given toward outreach like this.  A tithe of the tithe given back to people.

I’m so proud of you as a church.  We are going to significantly impact these families this season.  Don’t miss your opportunity to be a part of this.

Following Christ,

Jeff

It was during the last song of the worship set, standing backstage getting ready to head up to preach my sermon Kody looks at me and says “Can you believe we get to do this?”  That’s how I felt today.  Such a great honor to be a part of the people at Element Church.  I can’t believe I get to do this for a job.

—  We had an open altar call at the end of service today for people just needing to experience the love of Christ.  I preached from Ephesians 3:14-21 in which at one point Paul says “I pray you would experience the love of Christ though it is too great to understand fully.”  And “May you understand, as all God’s people should, how high, long, wide and deep His love really us.”  Each service we had #’s of people at the altar seeking to experience His love.  It was AWESOME!

—  It is always particularly moving when you see people seeking Christ when you know their personal situation.  Today I was moved to tears each service by seeing people come forward who I KNOW are going through very intense situations in their lives.  Going through things in which they REALLY need to experience the love of Christ.

—  I was also moved by seeing a great friend be moved during worship today.  This friend is typically very reserved but seeing him moved by God’s presence was SO moving for me.  You know who you are.  Thanks for listening to the Holy Spirit!

—  The presence of God was so thick today.  Man, could go on about that forever.

—  Set another non-Easter season attendance high today.  Second service we had even the front rows filled up.  It was PACKED!

—  We actually, specifically asked the regular attenders in 2nd service to PLEASE consider moving to 1st or 3rd service.  2nd service is BY FAR the most commonly chosen service for people who are coming for the first time or checking out Element.  We want to make the most seats available during the most opportune time, AND we want people to feel comfortable when visiting.  For that to happen, we HAVE to free up some seats.

—  If we hold to form for the first two years of Element, I am planning on seeing a large increase in attendance from December – February.  That means we’re going to come to another crossroads on what to do to accommodate growth.  Just saying!

—  Got some ideas on how to maximize our space.

—  Started our new Christmas series called Vantage Point today.  We’re taking a look at the Christmas story through the lens of four different characters who experienced Christ’s birth.  Here are some excerpts.

—  Today we looked at the inn keeper.  (Assuming there was one.  All we know is it says “there was no room for them in the inn”)  I posed the question “If they would have known who was knocking on the door, would the story have been any different?”

—  You are the inn keeper to your heart.  The sad truth is, if the Christmas story were to be written from our perspective this season, lots of us would still find Christ in the manger because there is no room for Him in our hearts.

—  Jesus didn’t earn a room in my house, He earned the WHOLE STINKIN’ HOUSE!  He bought it with His blood.  Paid for it with His life.  (We had a REALLY cool illustration today on the platform.  It was a big house that had little windows representing rooms.  Don’t have time to explain it, you’ll have to watch if you want to see it.)

—  The question isn’t whether Christ gets a room in my heart, it’s has He made His home there…or better yet, does He FEEL at home there?

—  Talked about how BIG the love of Christ is!  Spent a lot of time on that.  “I pray you would understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, long, high and deep His love really is.”

—  Ephesians 3:20-21 may be 2 of the most mis-quoted, leading to the most misguided prayers in Christianity.  We MUST stop seeking a God who will do a work FOR us and start opening up our hearts to a God who wants to do infinitely more IN US than we might ask or imagine.

— I talked about what God taught me about my prayers in these final two verses.  You can read my blog about it HERE.

—  The band kicked off service with Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.  Only at Element.  lol

—  Alright, I need to get off the computer.  Last night with the in-laws here.  My mom is coming to town and we’re getting Silver Mine Subs for supper.  I’m not checking any of this blog for typos and what not so it may be bad.

— Thanks Element for allowing me the pleasure to lead you.  You guys ROCK!

Till the end,

Jeff

Pastor Adam has a GREAT blog up today.  Check it out HERE if you haven’t yet.

VERY excited for our Christmas series at Element Church.  Below is our promo video for it.  We’ll be taking a look at the Christmas story through the viewpoint of four strangers in the Christmas story.  One made no room for Him…one gave up his rights for Him…one was threatened by Him…one was waiting for Him.  Four strangers, four points of view but only one Truth!  Use the video to invite someone to attend with you this season.

Hope to see you there.  Nov. 29th – Dec. 20th

“A lot of us want all the benefits of God without making the proper sacrifices to receive them”

This idea of performing works to gain God’s favor is foreign to Scripture and a rejection of a passage that Maness preached on this Sunday. It amounts to invoking the blessing of the last idol in the temple. Maness misses the text completely. It is not about what yet we have to do, it is about how it is impossible for anyone to do so.

First we must note that to isolate this portion of Scripture out of the mix of parables that precede and follow it, or out the the context of the rest of the Scripture, is not the right way to expound upon it. To do so is to keep people hearing of the freedom to which we have been called in Christ. In the liberal social Gospel, the salt is all about what deeds good doers do to preserve the world around them. That is actually quite contrary even to the portion of Scripture to which Maness appeals. The salt, as Jesus parallels elsewhere, is fire:

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.

Careful attention should be paid to the fact that Christ is speaking of false teaching. See Matthew concerning the false handling of the Law or just a couple of chapters back in Luke. And mind that these verses that Maness is ripping out of context, have a context. What is being spoken of is ridding oneself of all falsehoods. And that includes the false teaching that it is by doing good that favor with God is earned. For even the Pharisees had good works and those who come to Christ on that last day will also have their records to prove their deserts, and Christ will say to them to depart into hell. There is something more deeply to be considered, for our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees.

It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Salt is equated with fire.

Fire does not preserve, it purifies by destroying impurity. It is proper to read the above quote: “Have fire in yourself, but if the fire has lost its ability to purify, what good is it?” And as Jesus makes clear in Matthew, it is the Word of God that is the flame that we are to have within which the world is to see as our good works. And else where that it is the Word that sanctifies and still elsewhere, it is by the Word of his mouth that he destroys his enemies and purifies the world. Our testimony to the Word sets the world on fire, not our good deeds. The world has good deeds. The Word of God must not be hidden under any false humility of good works, then. It must cause division, as Jesus said earlier in Luke, it is a sword that divides and does not bring peace to the world around it but it does bring peace to the brethren. No preserving of the world there. The salt is the Word of Judgement that our God is a consuming fire. For those who have ears to hear, it is the words of life, John 6, to those who do not, it is the stench of death. Those who do not have Christ, hate it. But those who have been quickened by the Holy Spirit love Christ exclusively and so are hated by the world as he is. We are not embraced by the world, John 17, but the world hates the body of Christ because his Word tells all what they are, sinners under the wrath of God. Funny then, that Christ tells his followers to hate the world, yet some believers claim that we are to love them as one of our own. Jesus in John 17 refuses to even pray for them.

Maness said that classes are not what the church is about. But, that is what the fellowship of believers is all about, that is what discipleship is all about. His is a typical, post-modern, redefiner of terms, just like others in the emergent movement who draw the veil and kill by keeping the people from knowledge. Discipleship is a classroom and doctrine always precedes the works that flow from it. Without knowledge the people perish.

Maness would have his practicioners not learn doctrine and would rather keep them busy, practicing “godliness” and never coming to a true knowledge of the Son. Ephesians, though, puts the unity of the knowledge of the Son first in order, that the mature believer might stand not driven like a infant by every wind of doctrine and the cunning craftiness of men. But to Maness it doesn’t matter what the truth is, the church is a social work organization, established to bring blessings to the world and to perserve it. This, however, is the opposite of even the text he sites. When Jesus said that the world will know of the love of God among believers it was because of how they treated other believers, not the way that they dole out welfare to the world. Jesus said that, even though it does not appeart to be him, when his own gave him a drink or clothed him, they were doing so because it was to his brethren. He was specifically speaking of doing charitable deeds within the body of Christ.

Indeed, Jesus told those who came to get their needs filled, that they follow just to have their bellies filled. He said, unless one eats of his flesh and drink of his blood, he has have no part in him. And we know that not just any can eat of it. Case in point, Judas, or those of Corinthians who did not rightly discern the body of Christ who were sick or had died. Those who are not his are condemned when they eat of the substance of his body if they are not one with it. To feed the world without requiring adherence to the Gospel is to be a partaker with them. Adherence to the Gospel is not merely doing good deeds. First must come the commandment to repent, take up the cross, or as Jesus says, you will also perish like all other sinners.

Far from being outreach, general good deeds ministries are in contempt of the word of God for they do no command discipleship, or as Maness said, classes. For liberals, doing deeds is what it is all about. So it was for those under the law, too. Forget that the Word has a specific meaning and that it must mean the same to all or it is not the revelation of Christ. There is one body, one baptism, one faith, one God and Jesus Christ, the Word, with whom we all must stand, or stand against. But, without that knowledge there is only death, for there is no foundation upon which to stand.

The point that Christ is making all along is that the sacrifices that men make are nothing more than their own riches, dedicated to themselves out of the pride of their hearts believing that what they do or who they are is what is pleasing to God. And just who is it that seeks to purchase the gift of God with what they do or who they are except those who are bitter in spirit?

Sacrifices?

The man who does the law shall live by it, and anyone who violates it in any one point is guilty of the whole. Just what sacrifice is acceptable then? Surely nothing that man can do is acceptable, is it? No, we work out our salvation because it is God who is working in us both the willing and the doing of his good pleasure.

Jesus corrected the disciples thinking with this:

Jesus loved him. We might draw from this that the man later is born again. Jesus knew what was in man. So, just as with Nicodemus, Jesus makes clear, that man can do nothing of himself to enter into the kingdom. He must be born again and thusly dying to all, he is made joint heir with Christ able to do the works of God. In sum, Jesus is saying to the rich man that there is nothing he can do to receive the free gifts of God. That should make sense, but so many do not get it.

And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?”

It becomes apparent that all the sacrifices are not enough, for this one had done all that was required in the Law. One thing is lacking, that a man be sold out, completely. Nothing short of that will do. The question of the disciples is a correct response (rare for them). They got it, for they understood that even if a man sold all he had, he would still have himself, and they were exceedingly astonished. To that Jesus adds comfort:

“With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

WARNING: If you are seeking God’s benefits beware of the balance sheet. The cost of a hundred fold benefit package is a hundred fold persecutions. If your life is getting easier, you’re on the wrong track, going in the wrong direction.

This companion to Maness’ verses tell us that it is impossible to sell out. Then what can be the answer?

In all the parables touching upon this idea of being sold out, the one aspect that glares at us is that it is man himself, no matter how poor, that is the riches too great to enter into the kingdom of God. Think of what Christ said about becoming a child, about being born again, about being poor in spirit. They all have something in common and that is the expression that man is totally depraved and unable to bring anything to God that He might look upon and be pleased. Man must realize his destitution as a child cast out into the mud and still covered in the unclean blood of his birth.

The word for poor, ptōchos, and the word humble, tapeinos, also have something in common. They connote an attitude of abject, servile poverty. But who is it that does not say to himself that he can do something for God or that he can give something to God, or that he is free to do as he wills to do so that he can give of his own work? Of riches, James says:

Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Riches are a gift, just as our spiritual condition is. And James has been making a parallel of religious nature, and is not speaking of monetary wealth necessarily. Rather, he is judging those who say they have “spiritual wealth,”” i.e, that they are the rich in good works. But they do not have faith if they believe themselves more spiritual than those who are poor in such good works because pride is not a good work. “Going to law,” simply proves that they have pride and bitterness. If that is the case, who will enter? James says humility and faith go together, not one without the other. And Jesus said that when all that is required is done not to think that we have done anything. Abraham is the example James gives of a man who demonstrates faith that accepts the provision of God not the produce of his own body. It is not one that honors the works of mens hands, but the works of God.

The sum is that the benefits and blessing are one no matter the outward appearance of them. Faith as a grain of mustard seed has great works, so too, little works have great faith. Or so the widows minas would tell us. And as we understand, faith is not merely believing, but it is the whole body of the knowledg of God. Faith, Christian faith, is the faith once and for all delivered to the saints. The knowledge of it is paramount. For without the knowledge of the holy how shall one be holy as God is holy?

Jesus adds these words:

unless he hate…yes,…even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

What Jesus requires is a heart, crushed to powder under the weight of its own sin, which recognizes that no man can offer anything in exchange for the benefits of God. What Jesus requires is a new one put in its place. See Isaiah 6, cf. Ezekial 36. He also says that is impossible for man. Christ went to great effort to dissuade his Jewish counter parts from believing that sacrifices can ever achieve the righteousness that God requires of man before he blesses him. It requires a pure heart to behold God, Matthew 5:8 Indeed, the only way is Christ and what he has done in securing all heavenly blessing in heaven for his children. That is where our treasure is, that is where our heart is, that is where Christ is enthroned above. And unless he gives his righteousness according to his sacrifices, there is no one who will enter or be blessed. Man, in fact, cannot make the good confession, as Isaiah did, nor repent of the works of their own hands, except that God sends forth fire from his thrown and purifies them.

Ephesians explains that those in Christ are now in possession of all spiritual blessings. Now! In short, there is no sacrifice that man can add to the finished works of Christ to procure favor from God and Jeff Maness’ minions cannot change that fact. The only thing they can do is to bind the children with burdens they cannot carry and prevent them from entering into the rest of God. Maness’ teaching is just like that which Paul condemns in Galatians, that which Jesus condemned as the leaven of the Pharisees, and that which caused him to weep over Jerusalem.

Jesus’ call is to lay down your life, but no one wills to do that of their own freewill. There is nothing you can do, for as Jesus and the prophets and apostles confirm, there is no one who does Good, except God, alone. HE HAS DONE IT ALL, and it is wonderful in our sight. Then upon what good work, what sacrifice will you come before God to petition him for his benefits? The only plea is for mercy. Except that it is the blood of Christ which he offered, which has purchased everything you need, you have nothing but filth in your hands.

There is a good sermon to listen to at Voice of the Sheep that touches upon the self-deception of the religious man. Listen as John MacArthur explains total depravity. Pay special attention to what he says about the 29min. mark.

LOVED this post from Joe Sangl on purchase decisions this week.  I know many of you will be going out to hunt for “Christmas bargains”.  Keep this in mind when you go.

You can read his blog HERE.

AMAZING day at Element Church today.  I can’t believe I get to be a part of this.  It is SO AWESOME seeing God transform peoples lives, receive Him as Savior AND learn to follow Him.  Today was a day I’ll remember for a long time.

—  We had well over a dozen people acknowledge Christ as Savior today.  Seeing people receive Christ NEVER gets old.

— Had the highest attendance today since Easter.  It was packed!

— We baptized 33 people today in our three services.  We only had 21 signed up, so YES that means that 12 people decided ON THE SPOT to make their declaration for Jesus public.

—  Here’s how it went down:  We gave an opportunity for people to acknowledge Christ as Savior.  The band rocked out a song called Declaration.  After that song we opened up Baptism to ANYONE who just received Christ or who had never been baptized but wanted to make their public declaration.  We also took away all excuses NOT to get baptized.  We pre-bought underwear, bras, shorts and shirts of ALL sizes.  We opened it up and they took the plunge.  It was AWESOME.  Men, women and children acknowledging Jesus as Savior.

—  Since we don’t have a baptistry, we again baptized the Wyoming way…in a horse trough.  We set up the trough in the lobby and actually bought horse tank heaters that warmed the water right up (we could have used those in July).  We then video casted the baptism into the worship center live.  It worked out GREAT!

— Pastor Derek got to be a part of his first baptism.  It was SO COOL to see him get to baptize all of the kids.  He got to baptize his own son today too.  That was way cool.

—  It was VERY cool to see people get baptized who have family and friends at Element who have got baptized with us.  LOVE seeing how people connect together via church.  We’re made to belong.

—  We had a TON of moving parts today with the lobby video feed, stage props for sermon illustrations, special song at the end, multiple video aspects in the service.  Our tech team NAILED it today.  To all those who volunteered in ANY of those areas, you guys ROCK!  Thanks for serving.

—  Adam had a TON of things to get done for the service this week.  He worked extra long and knocked everything out.  Still pulled off a GREAT worship set too.  Way to go Adam and the band!

—  I completed our mini-series called Bailout today.  Andy kicked it off last week.  Here are some portions from today:

—  A lot of times, the people who get the  most worked up over discipleship programs, if you dig deep enough, really want to find out “How can I make everyone look, act, talk, think and believe like me.”

— One of the biggest issues the church faces today is thinking that everyone outside our walls needs to become more like us.  They need to become more like JESUS!

—  We spend WAY too much time theorizing and analyzing how Scripture relates to everyone else, when we should be re-organizing our lives and actualizing principles FROM Scripture as it relates to US.

—  When Jesus called those who believe, He never said “Come join a class!”.  He said “Come follow me!”  There has to be an element of DOING when it comes to discipleship.

—  That was before we even got to the text.  I preached from Luke 14:25-35 today.  I’m not sure we completely understand that passage.  In fact, I KNOW we don’t.  I told the staff this week “I don’t think I want to preach this passage.”  I then said “I don’t think you WANT me to preach this passage.”  This was a tough one to swallow.

—  Jesus said you must hate EVERYONE else in comparison to Him.  The toughest part of that verse is when He says “Yes, even your own self.”  We MUST die to ourselves before we can die to anyone else.  Following Jesus costs me every person.  Including myself.

—  The cross is not a part of our life, it IS our life.  It’s not an addendum as if I can choose to carry it on Sunday’s, at least the Sundays I feel like attending church.  I don’t get to check my cross at the door.  However I think it’s funny that is where you would find many the Christian cross…left at the door of their church on the way out.

—  Every position I hold, I now hold in relation to the cross.  Following Jesus costs me every position.

—  Following Jesus costs me every possession.  “You cannot be my disciple unless you give up everything you own.”

—  Following Jesus costs me every pleasure.  If salt loses it’s flavor it is not good even for the manure pile.  If we are the salt of the earth then we are to bring flavor to the world around us.  How?  By being DIFFERENT!  We are to preserve the world by upholding truth, values and standards that are decaying all around us.  It is the pleasures of this world that cause us to be flavorless and lose our preservation value.

— That’s the sermon in a nutshell.  I wrestled with that passage for a long time.  Again, not sure we understand the cost of being a disciple.

—  Announced today that we are adopting TWENTY families for adopt a family this year.  4 families are homeless.  One of them has 5 kids with 1 on the way.  A couple of single moms.  One woman recently out of prison trying to get back on her feet.  You can get more info at Element Church on Sunday, just  visit our Element Gives Back table for all your information.

—  Announced last week that we will be partnering with the F.E. Warren Chaplaincy by serving at their new progressive worship service on base.  It’s called Ignite and is geared toward the some 2,000 airmen on base that are 18-25 years old.  The Element band will be leading worship and we’ll be serving Chaplain Marley as he leads this outreach on base.  Can’t wait to see what God does through this.  Our first service is Sunday night December 20th.  It will be offered once a month.

— That’s all for now.  Tons more on my heart and mind.  Got Partnership Class in 1 hour that I need to get ready for.

— Thanks Element for letting me lead you.  It’s an honor!

Till the end,

Jeff

SO excited for this Sunday.  If you want to read ahead you can read Luke 14:25-35.  Just to warn you, this is a HARD passage to swallow. Sunday’s message is one I don’t want to preach cause it hurts me so bad.  What Jesus said it takes to be a disciple, I’m not sure we fully comprehend.

We have 21 people signed up to be Baptized in one of our three services.  TWENTY ONE people going public with their declaration of following Jesus! How cool is that?

For the first time we are baptizing DURING a Sunday morning worship experience.  AND, as if that isn’t enough, we are doing something ELSE that we have never done before!  I’ve never experienced what we are doing Sunday in my whole life or ministry for that matter.  Gonna be AWESOME!  Don’t miss it.

Anticipating,

Jeff

according to Ephesians 3:20-21:

#1  Too external — Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work WITHIN US,… I need to pray more for what God NEEDS to do IN me not what I WANT Him to do FOR me!  We pray to selfishly!

#2  Too small — …to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. … I need to pray more in GOD’S ability and less in MINE!  There is no sin so great He can’t forgive.  No habit so strong He can’t break.  No wound so deep He can’t heal.  No task so grand He can’t accomplish it.  No hurdle so great he can’t overcome it.  We pray too limited!

#3  Too temporal — …Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever!  Amen. I need to pray more Kingdom focused prayers!  So many of my prayers don’t affect eternity.  “all generations forever and ever!”  We pray to short!

Praying,

Jeff

Hey Elementers!  I got this email from Pastor Derek today.  It’s an update of some stuff the kids did on Be The Church Day!  Way to go e:kidz and thanks to Pastor Derek for leading the way.

Hey Team,

We got a really nice thank you from the Shull family yesterday.  One of the activities that we did in Ekidz on Be the Church day was to make greeting cards for 8yr old James Shull. James’ parents are Salvation Army captains here in Cheyenne. Pastor Grant visited James in the hospital while he was recovering from surgery to remove a brain tumor.   We had all the kids who attended the “shoe packing party” customize greeting cards and we sent them individually to James over the course of a week.  About 10 per day for 5 days.  As you can see from the picture he is surrounded by greeting cards.  We prayed for James as a group in three different sessions that day. Just wanted to share the Thank you we got from he and his family.  I will be sharing in our classrooms this Sunday so kids can see that the fruit of their efforts and prayer.

Thought this was pretty cool!

Notice on the card it says God has “fully healed James”.  How cool is that?

Praising God,

Jeff

I’ve been mulling over this idea of significance for the last couple of weeks.  You can read my post on significance vs. excellence HERE.  Significance is one of our core values at Element Church and I truly believe it is a biblical concept, that we are created to be significant.  I believe Ephesians 2:10 which says For we are God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. We often quote the two verses previous on being “saved by his grace”, but we leave out this great verse following, which gives us one reason WHY he saved us.  “Creating us anew…SO we can do the good things HE planned…”.  I believe we are each uniquely designed for a GOD SIZED purpose.

HOWEVER, I believe we have falsely taught AND falsely believed that in order to be significant…if it is GOD SIZED, we have to be or do something extraordinary.  That is not the case.  I can do something extraordinary while having little significance.  Extraordinary means “Very unusual or remarkable”.  Significance means “The quality of being worthy of attention; important”

I’ve done some very unusual things in my life.  People are constantly doing unusual or remarkable things in the hopes that they will receive attention, but it doesn’t make them or their deed WORTHY of attention OR important.  I can do a seemingly ordinary thing, that, if God has designed me for it or asked me to do it, all the sudden it’s SIGNIFICANT.  Significance does not find it’s merit in WHO gives it attention, but IF it’s worthy of attention.  If it is important.  If it is “planned” from God.  Many people and things are worthy of attention, but never receive it.

Oswald Chambers said “It is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not.  We have to be exceptional at ordinary things.”

What is significant?  Doing the good things that GOD prepared for us to do long ago!  Whether ANYONE gives it attention, it is significant.

Seeking significance,

Jeff

…my Grandpa, Ola D Campbell, flew his last WWII mission as a bomber pilot.  The reason it was his last?   While flying on this particular mission their plane was shot and my Grandpa was wounded in the process.  Because he continued to fly the plane, even after being shot, he was awarded the flying silver cross and the purple heart.

Last week, as our country celebrated veterans day, it was because of men like my Grandpa that we even have the freedom to celebrate.  It’s hard to believe that the course of MY history could have been eliminated but for the matter of a few inches.  If a bullet or shrapnel hits differently, my life and family may not exist.

As proud as I am of my Grandpa for serving our country like that, there is something else that I look up to even more.  Ola D Campbell wasn’t allegiant only to his country.  He has followed the call of God in ministry since LONG before I ever called him “Grandpa”.  I know that there were sacrifices, decisions and stands my Grandpa had to make in the spiritual world, that affected my life and family just as much as the war did.  The spiritual implications of my Grandpas life are FAR MORE valuable than any military heroics.

There are VERY few men in my life that I can truly say “If I end up like them, I’ll be a success.”  Ola D Campbell…Grandpa Campbell is one of them.

Thanks mom for the reminder of Grandpas story.  Thank you Grandpa, for not only serving our great country…but for diligently serving our GREAT GOD!

Till the end,

Jeff

Got a fair amount of snow over the night but it didn’t seem to affect attendance too bad.  First service was definitely down, but as the snow melted, people came out.  Had a full but great day at Element today.  Here are my ruminations on it.

—  3rd service was packed today.  Combination of the snow clearing out and The Tour after 3rd service.  Was our largest 3rd service ever I believe.

—  Took a Sunday off today and gave the pulpit to Pastor Andy.  WOW, did he stinkin’ nail it.  If you missed it, you MISSED it!  He brought the heat.  You guys think I yell a lot.  lol

—  Why did I give Andy the pulpit?  Glad you asked:

#1  He is an EXCELLENT communicator and God can speak through more people than just ME!

#2  As a pastor, sometimes I just need a break!  Pastors who won’t give up their pulpit on their own are more prone to giving it up through burn out & exhaustion.

#3  The church needs to hear from different voices every once in a while.  YES, I am the main speaker, but it is good for the church to hear from someone else besides me.

#4  Any pastor who refuses to let other staff members speak has a pride issue.  Both Andy and Curtis are my pulpit supply when I’m gone and I FULLY trust in them to deliver the Word of God.  Pastors who won’t give up their pulpit are typically afraid that the people will like the supply better than THEM.  So thankful for my former pastor investing in me and allowing me opportunities to preach.  Want to pass that on to those on our team who are gifted speakers.

—  You probably didn’t want to know any of that.  Too bad. 

—  I get nervous EVERY week.  I’ve shared that before.  I LOVE preaching but I get nervous every Sunday.  I take carrying God’s Word very seriously and knowing that people will be listening to me preach on it is nerve racking.  HOWEVER, I get MUCH more nervous when I don’t preach but still attend church.  I think it basically boils down to this…I’M A CONTROL FREAK!

—  Pastor Adam also had the week off this week while he took his final Sunday of vacation for the year and headed to Sheridan.  Danielle Nyght from Colorado Springs filled in as worship leader and did a fantastic job!  Her and her husband Brad (played drums today) drove up from Colorado Springs last night through the snow.  So thankful for their service to us.

—  Started a mini-series today called Bailout: Shortcuts to God.  I’ll conclude the series next week.  Like I said, Andy nailed it today.  Here are a few of his thoughts.

— He preached on the story of King David moving the Ark of God and the things that followed their mistakes in moving it.

— David didn’t move the Ark according to the Lord’s instructions.  They basically to the “shortcut” easy way and moved it as the Philistines had done before.  1.  Shortcuts are a sign of laziness.

— Andy REALLY challenged the church on spiritual laziness.  Taking the EASY way (shortcut) instead of God’s way!

—  When the cost of moving the Ark was too high (Uzzah losing his life) David stopped the process.  2.  Shortcuts breed mediocrity.  David was willing to live without the presence of God because the cost was too high.

—  “A lot of us want all the benefits of God without making the proper sacrifices to receive them”

—  While God does not need us He desperately wants us.  We DESPERATELY need God yet most times don’t act like we want him.  — Francis Chan (indirect quote from Crazy Love)

—  3.  Shortcuts do not create intimacy.  It was not until David followed the LORDS instructions for moving the Ark and made the proper sacrifices did he enjoy the intimate presence of God in Jerusalem.

—  Thanks Andy for putting in the time to seek God’s word for us today.  Proud to call you our youth pastor.

—  Had a TON of newcomers at The Tour today.  Believe 36 adults had signed up, not counting kids.  Had to have that many or more show up.  It was awesome!  Love sharing the mission, vision and strategy of Element to people.

—  Got a GREAT list of people that are going to make their public declaration to Christ through Baptism next Sunday.  Wednesday is the deadline to get your application in.  Can’t wait to celebrate people’s salvation together.

—  Excited to get back in the pulpit on Sunday.  Love how Andy’s and my messages are going to link together.

— Vantage Point (Christmas series) begins on Nov. 29.  You can get some invite cards at the Element office or on Sunday morning.

—  That’s it for today.  Gonna chill with some football.

Following Christ,

Jeff