more on William Seymour

After talking a little about the 'founder' of the Azusa Street revival this weekend, I thought many of you might want to read more of his story, for it's truly a fascinating account on how God can use common, ordinary people to accomplish incredible things for His Kingdom!

Besides the link above, you can check our other descriptions of William Seymour or even do your own web search (you may want to add the middle initial "J" for an accurate result). You may also want to read more about the whole Azusa Street revival.

My hope is that reading about our heritage will whet your appetite and that you'll join me in praying, "Do It Again, Lord"! See you this weekend-
pj

Serendipity and 'Aha' moments

Mr. Webster defines serendipity as "an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident". I don't know about the aptitude, but I do know that some (most?) of my best personal discoveries have definitely come by accident. (And besides, I've always liked that word serendipity.)

At any rate, I had several of those 'aha' moments this week - some when discussing some other issue with our pastoral staff, some when reading the newspaper, of all things. I was reminded of an interview with Al Pacino that I read years ago, in which he discussed his role in the movie, "Scent of a Woman". He said that he met with a retired Marine to get some background for his upcoming role, and while practicing taking his gun apart and reassembling it with his eyes closed (since his character was blind), the first time he did it within the time limit, the Marine exclaimed, "Hoo-Ahh"...and that 'discovery' led to his signature phrase throughout the movie.

My point (compliments to Mr. Pacino) is that we never know when we'll make some discovery that can lead to better things for us - "desirable discoveries". So let's live each day with an open heart and receptive mind/spirit for what God may want to show us in the most unexpected ways or unexpected times. It just may make all the difference in your own future.

How 'bout you? Do you remember some serendipitous times in your own life or walk with the Lord. I'd love to hear from you about it, and I hope to see you this weekend when we say, "Do it Again, Lord!"

oops, I do have more to say about DaVinci Code...

Guess I only thought I was done....
Today I read the results of a recent survey that indicated the more a person knew of Dan Brown's novel (and the movie is certain to make that number go up), the more likely he or she is to consider it true and suspect the Church of suppressing the "truth". However, the same survey asked Americans if they would be more or less likely to seek the "truth" through studying the Bible and almost half said they would be more likely to study the Bible after knowing the claims of the DaVinci Code.

So, it sounds to me like we're on the right track - far better than protesting the movie or burning the book, let's engage our friends, family and co-workers in conversation and invite them either to the Simulcast on May 21 at 6pm, OR to one of the small group discussions that we'll offer later.

If all of this has piqued your personal interest, you'll find plenty more answers here.

See you this weekend - bring Mama!

Jerry McQuay
Senior Pastor,
CHRISTIAN LIFE CENTER
www.clctoday.org

Do It Again, Lord!

I told you I'm ready to move onto another subject besides 'The Da Vinci Code', and this is why: this year marks the centennial of the "Azusa Street Revival" in Los Angeles that gave birth to the entire Pentecostal-Charismatic movement AND the first Sunday in June happens to be "Pentecost Sunday", which marks the 1,977th 'birthday' of The Church, when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples in the upper room in Jerusalem.

We're combining both of those significant dates with an extravaganza weekend on June 3-4 as the David Binion's will provide special music, and our friend and CLC favorite, Bishop Tudor Bismark of Harare, Zimbabwe, will minister. In addition to our usual schedule of three weekend services, we're adding a special closing celebration that Pentecost Sunday evening at 6:00pm to accomodate many area Christians from other churches who want to enjoy Tudor's ministry with us.

To prepare us for this special weekend, I'm going to do a new series of messages on May 20-21 ("Do What Again, Lord?") and May 27-28 ("Do It Again, Lord - in me!"). Perhaps more importantly, several CLCers are praying regularly from now until Pentecost Weekend, including a focused prayer gathering each Friday night until then, specifically for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon us afresh and anew. (You're welcome to join them or to contact Terrilyn Franklin for more details.)

I urge you to mark your calendar and don't let anything keep you away from these Pentecost Weekend celebrations as we say together, "Do It Again, Lord!"

Jerry McQuay
Senior Pastor,
CHRISTIAN LIFE CENTER
www.clctoday.org

Not quite finished with The Da Vinci Code...

I was gratified again this past weekend by the response to the last message in our series on 'Cracking the Da Vinci Code' (if you missed any of the three, you can download from our website at www.clctoday.org) as many of you have remarked how it's helping you prepare for conversations with friends and family members.

While I'm ready to move on to other topics (more about that in my next blog), don't forget that the real conversations are just about to begin: when the movie is released on May 19, it's sure to prompt many folks around Chicagoland to get curious as to the claims made by Dan Brown, and that's when I hope as believers we'll step up, not in stereotypical Christian-condemnation of the lies, or like smart-alecks who know something others don't know, but as winsome, respectful and loving friends who help people truly 'seek the truth' about these all-important issues.

The two best ways I know for us to do that are: (1) to bring our friends to the Da Vinci Code simulcast on Sunday, May 21 at 6:00pm (don't be late - it will start right on time), or (2) bring a friend to one of several seeker small groups we're offering beginning that week - each is a 4-session interactive group discussion with DVD clips from some of the leading experts in the issues raised by the novel.

Full details for both of these opportunities are available on our website, including an 'e-vite' for your use to spreading the word to anyone you know who is ready to 'seek the truth'. This can be one of our greatest opportunities ever, so let's take full advantage! Blessings,

Jerry McQuay
Senior Pastor,
CHRISTIAN LIFE CENTER
www.clctoday.org

Da Vinci Code and The Bible

It was probably the 'dryest' sermon I've ever preached, but I've been quite encouraged by the response to last weekend's look at "Can We Trust the Bible?" as several CLCers have mentioned that they had no idea of the process by which we got the Scriptures and how reliable it really is. Probably most encouraging of all was the number of teens that I heard from who had honest doubts whether all of the Bible is true, but who found our discussion helpful to their understanding as they 'seek the truth'.

That's why this coming weekend's finale is so important - in fact, there's no more important question in life than - because the answer to that question holds the key to our future, forever! I hope you'll invite a friend to join us Saturday or Sunday as we examine the evidence for Jesus' deity.

Tom Hanks was recently quoted in Entertainment Weekly as saying the Da Vinci Code movie "may end up helping churches do their job", because many more people will respond to discuss it than would come to discuss the Bible. Let's prove him right on that count by bringing many friends, family and co-workers for the special simulcast on May 21 at 6 p.m. Full details are available at www.clctoday.org and we'll have invite cards for your use this weekend - hope to see you here!

Jerry McQuay
Senior Pastor,
CHRISTIAN LIFE CENTER
www.clctoday.org