ever have trouble following us?

This past weekend was a terrific celebration of Pentecost, the anniversary of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the Church of Jesus Christ. However, our guest speaker (who shall remain nameless, since this post is in no way a criticism of his ministry) sensed that he 'lost' us Sunday night and 'never got us back'. I've already heard from at least 3 pastors who were present (not including me, and I'm guilty, too) who said they weren't quite sure where he was going.

At any rate, it got me thinking about this whole area of communicating God's truth to an audience, and I suspect our distinguished guest is not at all alone. Surely every preacher sometimes says some things that are hard to understand - if Peter and Paul are any indication here.

I know I'm sometimes guilty of trying to cover too much material in too little time. Probably there are times I've simply not communicated well, perhaps because I didn't have a firm enough grasp on the truth myself - by that, I mean it's one thing to 'comprehend' a principle in Scripture and pass it on verbally; it's another thing altogether to have lived it out - and the easiest truths to pass on effectively are always the ones that we have incarnated.

Can you help me with some other suggestions? Surely you've sometimes had trouble following a preacher's presentation - so can you put your finger on why? Your comments may keep it from happening so frequently at CLC, so help a brother out, please?

batteries recharged, 'raring' to go!

Chris and I took the last 3 days for a 'first': a working/planning/writing retreat, away from the office!

Just getting away, especially after our pace of late, was exactly what the doctor ordered. She managed to get her next book almost finished, and, more importantly, the creative juices are flowing again.

For me, it was an opportunity to prioritize some things for the future and think clearly without the distractions and interruptions of a normal day at the office.

And looking at Lake Michigan in the background wasn't bad, either....

Our summer series is gonna be terrific - invite a friend today to join you this weekend for "More Than a Road Map" as we begin our Road Trip 4 God, Part 1.

Saturday night reflections...

Returned home early this morning from Pittsburgh - the homegoing celebration for Bishop Garlington's mother was a terrific time, and for me, it was especially gratifying because of the genuine connections with the Reconciliation! Ministries folks. I don't mention it often, but when Chris and I walked away from our former faith family about 14 years ago, we literally left behind virtually every relationship we had ever built in over 20 years of ministry. It wasn't until this January that we joined another ministerial fellowship, and already I feel God has given us relationships that will bless our lives for years to come. Thanks Harold, John, Sanford, Vinnie, Donna, Yvonne, Joel, Mark, Martin, Lucell, and, of course, Bishop and Pastor Barbara, for making us feel like part of your family already!

That feeling was only further cemented tonight when Pastor Joel Brooks from Kalamazoo kicked-off our "Celebration of Pentecost" weekend. I can't recall ever laughing so hard and so long in church, as Joel had us rolling in the aisles with his unique humor - while delivering 'nuggets' of practical wisdom and insight at the same time!

Sharing a meal together afterwards was a real joy, getting to know him and his wife Yvonne even better. God is good, and this is a great season for us!

on the road again, being a 'good' son

I left home early this morning to fly to Pittsburgh, PA for a special celebration tonight to mark the home-going of Valdese 'Muttie' Garlington, the mother of my pastor and spiritual father, Bishop Joseph Garlington. (My wife helped me figure it out: if Bishop is my 'father', then his mother must be my 'grandmother', and it's only right for me to be here tonight.)

Making the trip from Midway with me was Pastor Mark Smith from Family and Faith Christian Church in Aurora. Mark & I just met this January at our First Love Conference, but he's quickly becoming a great friend, and I've really enjoyed hanging with him already today. Life is better together! Our flight from Midway was delayed for over an hour, but swapping stories with Mark made it a fun time instead of a frustrating time.

I'll be back early in the morning to prepare for this weekend and our Celebration of Pentecost with Joel Brooks & Tudor Bismark. I promise you, if you miss it, you're really gonna miss it! It's not too late to invite a friend - check this out and see you Saturday night at 6pm!

an interesting day; an interesting possibility

I spent the better part of my day today with a group of leaders from another congregation. Together we are exploring the possibility of 'uniting' our churches, so that they would become our third campus.



(We're in the early stages of negotiating and exploring this future possibility, but already I'm thinking of the prophetic word we received in January that CLC is entering a time of acceleration!) I'm not sure I could handle it if things were happening any faster here now!

We're definitely in an exciting season at CLC:

• last weekend we saw over 15 people baptized in the Holy Spirit, and we're hearing wonderful testimonies of newfound joy and freedom in prayer through the working of the Spirit!
• Just today I received a wonderful email testimony of how God is working through our Shorewood campus food pantry (thanks, Julie!) and specifically how that outreach is impacting Hispanics (another prophetic word coming to pass!)
• this weekend is Pentecost weekend with guests Joel Brooks & Tudor Bismark (watch this for a preview) and don't forget to invite a friend!
• The following week we'll launch both our Summer weekend series, "Road Trip 4 God" AND our "Summer Splash" events each Thursday - I'm telling you, CLC is the place to be this summer!

even better: pictures than words

My friend sent me this link to a report by CBN - please take a few minutes to watch this, and then join me in praying for the Gospel outreach in Turkey. May it again be true as was said in the past: "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church!"

Chris and I will be speaking at the annual conference for the pastor who appears in the report this September, and CLC is partnering with them in significant ways.

more prayers for Turkey

I just received news from a friend who served in Turkey with fresh reasons for us to pray: the pastor/Apostle that CLC is connected to in Ankara, a man who is perhaps the leading voice for Christians in that predominantly-Muslim nation, was recently criticized by the Prime Minister for his strong remarks regarding the recent murders of 3 Christian men in the city of Malatya.

Here's the news I received just tonight:

Today (Wednesday, May 23) an interview with our friend and pastor, Ihsan, was on the front page of a national paper in Turkey; it was well done, mostly just quoting what Ihsan said, without giving it any negative spin. Here are the points he made:

• In Malatya someone has made a list of the believers and workers, including pictures of many, and it is being circulated hand to hand, the purpose being to encourage action against the believers. 15 of the 30 members of the church have left.
• Believers in Malatya say that as a result when they are recognized on the street, people look at them and make a throat-cutting motion, meaning, "you're next!"
• One worker's name, picture and address were published in a national paper, again an encouragement to act against him.
• The "secret" depostion of the leading murderer was illegally leaked to the press by the police (the papers told enquirers that the police had supplied it). In the report he accused the murdered believers of outrageous things, like being linked to terrorists, of running a prostitution ring to attract people to Christianity, of insulting Turkey and Islam, etc. He also named believers from other cities whom he had met; their names and addresses and in some case pictures were in the paper; this is a common way of encouraging people to act against the believers.
• In Ankara two men took pictures of the entrance to the Christian radio station; this is the first step in planning an attack on a place. Fortunately they were clearly photographed by the survailence camera and the footage has been given to the police.
• On the same day two men took pictures of the entrance to our bookstore; when questioned by our employee they claimed to be taking pictures of the floor beneath us!
• Police protection was requested by the radio station and other places in Ankara 4 weeks ago, but no reply yet; when questioned by a news reporter, the govenor's office said they'd given an order long ago to the police to provide protection, but no action or word.
• A church in another city that had an arson attempt on it a couple of weeks ago had requested police protection and got it. But last Saturday night the guards were called away to other duties, and while they were gone windows were broken in the church and molotov cocktails were thrown at it, setting a car outside on fire.
• All this points to some authorities using the aftermath of the murders to harrass and incite attacks on believers. The goal, we believe is to destroy the church and drive workers away.

This morning my daily reading was in Matthew 5; verses 10-13 speak to the situation: "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." It is no coincidence that this was my reading for the day. We need to be rejoicing in the privilege of suffering for the name of Christ. Pray that all the believers and workers will have this attitude, forgiving and rejoicing in each new wave of negative happenings. God has a sequel to each difficulty. Let's also pray for protection for all and wisdom in how to proceed. Especially pray for protection for the bookstore.

Chris and I will be traveling to Ankara this September to speak at the annual conference for our friend and his network of churches, and we truly believe that Turkey is CLC's next 'assignment' from the Lord - so please join us in lifting our brothers and sisters there before the Lord, for His favor & blessing.

saying goodbye...

Don't you hate goodbyes? I know I do. But in just 15 days, all of us at CLC will have to say goodbye to some of my favorites, Sam & Heidi Stevens. Sam & Heidi served as our Community Outreach Pastors for the year of 2006, and, even before that, Sam had launched our Alpha Course outreach (that came pretty naturally, since he is the Chicago-area Director for Alpha USA!)

At any rate, early this year I approached Sam with a request that he leave his day job at Alpha to join our pastoral staff full-time, but instead he explained to me that the Lord had put a different call on his heart. He and Heidi and their family will be pioneering a brand-new church in the inner-city of Chicago, reaching out to some of the neediest people in all of Chicagoland. (In case you're wondering, I immediately tried to convince him that could be our 3rd CLC campus, but he quickly explained why that wouldn't work because of the other God-connections who actually approached him about starting this work). So I surrendered. Not happily, but I surrendered.

Probably no one expressed my feelings better than Pastor Mark Beeson in his blog about the departure of a trusted staff member from his church here. I really feel that way about Sam & Heidi - not only were they wonderful as co-workers here at CLC, but they have become true friends in the few years that we've been acquainted.

So it will be with many mixed emotions - sad to see them go, but excited for them in this new adventure with God - that we'll say goodbye on Thursday, June 7 during the first of our "Summer Splash" events (be watching your mailbox for full details soon). Sam will be sharing a message from his heart and we'll celebrate Communion together as a church family before sending them off with a special love-offering. Mark your calendar and help me say goodbye...as much as I don't like it!

there just aren't words to express...

There really aren't. We're finally back home with family, out of the tuxes & wedding dresses (and especially the unforgiving shoes!) and I'm just looking back on the past few hours and the first wedding of one of our children...and all I can think of is the rush of emotion I felt today.

I've said the words before on behalf of other wedding families - that the presence of the guests made a special day even more special - but I never understood it like I do now. When we called our elders & pastors on stage to pray over Brent & Sol, I was just overwhelmed as I saw my children surrounded by people we have the privilege of serving with, people we love, people who are our friends - folks, hear me when I say it: this is what life is all about!

It's not about the accumulation of stuff - the car or the house or any of the things that we so often work so hard for. Life is about relationships. It's about being connected with others who will walk with you through bad times and good times, through funerals and weddings.

Chris and I are proud parents today. We're thankful to see our children entering into their own destiny as adults. But most of all, we're thankful for the people we get to do life with at CLC. Little did we know, 18 years ago when we moved to Tinley Park with our 4-year-old son, 11-year-old daughter, & 12-year-old son, how rich our lives would become in this place. Thank YOU, Lord, for planting us here, and sending such great friends for us to serve You with. We can't wait to see what the next chapter holds for us all!

a new name for me

No, I'm not taking on a new name because of my son's wedding. But this morning one of our CLCers, Boris Satey, delivered some food from his restaurant to our house for the wedding party and family guests. He came back to me a few minutes later with his daughter Abigail in tow - she's only 3 years old - to say that she had something to tell me. Of course, like all kids, she instead got very quiet, so Boris prompted her, "Do you know who this is?". When she nodded yes, he said "What do you call him?" She smiled sweetly and said "God"!

After I got over the initial shock, Boris explained that when she was smaller and they were at church together, they would caution Abigail to be quiet, since they were at "God's house" and evidently she decided since I was the guy up front, I must be Him!

My biggest laugh came a little later when he told me that recently they were at the Shorewood campus for service (where they now attend) and she leaned over and said, "Dad, I want to go back to the other church." When he asked which church she meant, she said, "The one where God is".

Out of the mouth of babes! I totally agree with Abigal - don't you? I always want to go to the church where God is!

That's what I love about CLC - HE really is here, working among us! Bring a friend this weekend to see what He's gonna do next!

But don't ever confuse me for Him!

this weekend

This is ONE exciting weekend, not only for my family, but for CLC. Besides the rehearsal dinner where I've planned a special 'manhood ceremony' for Brent tonight (such as we've learned about in Men's Fraternity and 'Raising a Modern-Day Knight' on Thursdays at CLC), then of course, the wedding tomorrow at noon - a first in our family - as our youngest son marries his Latina sweetheart, Miss Susana Soledad ("Sol", prounounced with a long 'o' sound, like 'soul') Pacheco Ramos.

Just seeing all the work that my wife and an army of CLCers are putting in today, I know it's going to be a beautiful and emotional day for me.

But what I'm just as excited about is the message for this weekend at both campuses, as Pastors Doug Neal and Dan Johnson help me in delivering what I think may be the most important message yet, certainly the most important message of the "Pleroma" series. I hope everyone reading this will do your utmost to bring a friend to any one of our 5 weekend services so they, too can be Full and Overflowing!

My Mother's Day Celebration - unlike any other

I'm almost hesitant to post this one, because of the inevitable criticism it will evoke - but I did something yesterday that I've never done on Mother's Day before - in fact, never even thought about doing before.

Since my wife was totally wiped out after preaching 3 times this weekend, and since my daughter is a huge BULLS fan, Jen & I got tickets from a friend (thanks, Claudia!) and made a mad dash (well, a crazy crawl on the Dan Ryan at times) to the United Center for game 4 of the playoffs!

Our effort was rewarded, too - Bulls won by 15 points to stay alive another day! We were sitting above the nosebleed section in what they call a "Penthouse Suite" (how's that for creative marketing) - the players looked like little bugs on the faraway court, but the room had a TV screen, too - and we definitely got to enjoy the atmosphere of being there, which doesn't ever translate to your living room TV.

(Makes me wonder about folks who rely on Christian TV for their 'church' experience - I mean, it's just not the same! Besides, we all need the fellowship of God's people.)

And before you fire off that nasty comment, we did shower my wife with several gifts on Saturday before her first preaching assignment, and today I took my wife and the kids to a special family meal together - so the way I see it, we all got what we wanted this Mother's Day!

Monday reflections

Mother's Day 2007 at CLC was a blast! Besides the energy from that amazing choir/praise team that kicked off the service, and the even-more-incredible energy from the Wildfire dancers that closed the service, I thought my wife hit it completely out of the park! Chris really gave us all a needed-challenge to start a new habit of celebrating regularly, even the little 'wins' we experience every week.

So I'm starting today - by celebrating the wonderful woman He's given me to experience life with; the terrific family He's given us (including a new addition this weekend); the amazing people that I get to work with on our CLC staff; and, last but certainly not least, the wonderful folks who make up this church family - YOU are the reason that Chris and I have often said, this is where we'd go to church if we lived in the south suburbs!

All in all, it was a great day, with many new visitors, overall attendance of over 1,500 for the weekend, and how 'bout that video tribute to mothers?

You heard it hear first: you don't want to miss this coming weekend when we close the 'Pleroma' series with a pointed message about what it's all about. Invite a friend to join you!

Guest speakers a-coming!

I always get excited about guest speakers at CLC -- and, no, it's not just because I get a break from the pulpit duties. (I could read some of your thoughts, there). It's because I've seen how an impartation takes place when one of our special guests brings his anointing and gifting to CLC. In fact, we most often invite men & women into our pulpit whose gifts differ from my own, in order to give all of us the added benefit of the many-splendored gifts in the body of Christ.

And Pentecost Weekend (May 26-27) is certainly no exception to this rule. We're welcoming 2 outstanding guests, 1 a new friend and 1 who is certainly no stranger:

Joel Brooks is an outstanding communicator with terrific insights into Scripture, and pastors a thriving, 3,000-member multicultural church in Kalamazoo, MI. (With it's name being Christian Life Center, how could it not be thriving?). Joel will ONLY be speaking on Saturday, May 26 at 6:00pm, so make your plans accordingly. He has recently witnessed some incredible miracles of healing in his ministry, with people getting out of wheelchairs, etc., so we're expecting a real celebration of Pentecost that you won't want to miss!

And of course, Bishop Tudor Bismark hardly needs an introduction, as the newest member of our Pastoral Board of Directors and a real CLC favorite. He'll be ministering at both Sunday morning services as well as a special Sunday evening service at 6pm. You'll want to get here early on Sunday night, as several area churches will be joining us for a great celebration - and with Memorial Day the next day, we may party all night!

You can get an e-vite at www.clctoday.org - so start inviting your friends & family now!

Feel like a prune?

In several different ways this week the Lord has gotten my attention about the subject of pruning. Now, I am from Arkansas, but I don't know much about farming or even gardening, because, even for Arkansas, I was a city boy. (Jonesboro is home to the 2nd largest university in the state!)

At any rate, read this and you'll get the gist of it - pruning is a good thing in Scripture (and in farming), because it enables greater fruitfulness. And it's necessary for us to continue bearing fruit, because otherwise we get bloated and stagnant.

What is not obvious is that pruning involves cutting back something that is still bearing some fruit - it's not just 'dead wood' or 'dead weight'; it's cutting the good in order to make room for the best. And that's not easy to discern.

How about you and your walk - have you ever known a spiritual habit or activity that started out quite well, but eventually became a routine that would have kept you from receiving more? I'd like to hear from some of you, so we can learn from each other.

This much I know: I want to be fruitful! And I don't ever want to 'die on the vine' - I want my walk and my relationship to be ever-growing and ever-fresh.

Big Duck in a Little Pond...Part 2

I guess I could have tacked this on to the last post, but I try to keep 'em brief. At any rate, as I reflected on the Big Duck during my morning walk, I remembered a conversation from yesterday with one of the few people who was present on CLC's opening day at TPHS on March 25, 1990, Carolyn Wright.

Carolyn was telling me that her daughter Sara, who literally grew up at CLC before graduating with honors at Howard University and beginning her career in New York City, was now mentoring a little 10-year old girl. She reminded me that Sara had worked in our nursery when she wasn't much older than the kids she watched, worked in our daycare 'back in the day', served in KidsTown for several years and basically has always had a heart for children.

So here she is now, a bright and attractive young single woman with a promising career in the Big Apple, but in her 'spare time', she's investing in the life of a young girl who has been deprived in many ways. This weekend Sara took the girl (who has an interest in dance) to watch an award-winning dance troupe in NYC, and when Carolyn related the story, I said, "she's going to change that girl's whole life!"

That's how it happens, you know. One person at a time. One CLCer using her gifts and passion to invest in someone else...in the younger generation. Who knows the eventual outcome? There are stories just like that, all over this congregation, and that's what I love about serving here! It's not about titles or positions, or being Big Ducks; it's about making a difference in others, one person at a time.

Who are you investing in? (Or are you still paddling around by yourself?)

Big Duck in a Little Pond...

While I was doing my 3-mile walk around the subdivision this morning (my weight-loss secret), I noticed a solitary Canadian Goose sitting in a puddle that must have been 3"-4" deep at the most - it was just a low place where some rainwater had puddled in one of the vacant lots. If I'd had my cellphone with me, I'd have taken his picture for you here (that's my 'shoulda, coulda, woulda entry for the week).

What a ridiculous picture! I mean, our subdivision has a 7-acre lake across the street from our house, plus a couple of other huge detention ponds, all of which attract hundreds of geese every year - yet here was this guy (well, I didn't check, but I'm guessing it was a male) just sitting in a mud puddle all by himself. I'm not sure he was actually floating 'cause I don't think there was enough water there to keep his butt afloat!

Reminds me of a lot of preachers and Christians I've known thru the years, who couldn't or wouldn't be content to play their role and use their gifts in a cooperative effort of a Big Pond with others of us ducks, but had to be the Big Duck in a Small Pond because of their own insecurity or ego or maybe just anti-socialism.

One thing is for sure: it's not near as much fun, sitting around by yourself, when you could be paddling around with others or soaring thru the skies on your way to a better place. I'm not tempted at all to be the Big Duck, and that's not because I'm the senior pastor at CLC. I'm just not wired that way - I'd much rather be a small part of what God is doing to make a difference in the world, than to splash around all by myself with an over-inflated ego.

How 'bout you? Rather be a Big Duck or be a part of God's Big Pond?

Refresh, indeed!

Our 'first Thursday' REFRESH service tonight was unreal! The energy level in the room was high from the opening song, but by the time we baptized 20-30 students and then they joined us up front for more praise, it was absolutely unbelievable. (Not trying to make you feel bad, but if you weren't here, it's really not possible to describe - let's just say if you could bottle up the energy our teens generated and sell it, you'd be able to retire rich!)

And it was a special treat to have one of my newest brothers, Pastor Mark Smith from Family & Faith Christian Church in Aurora, join us along with some of his worship team. Mark and his wife Katrina are part of Reconciliation! Ministries under the leadership of Bishop Joseph Garlington, the network of ministers that I have recently joined. We both now call Bishop Garlington our "pastor", so that makes us brothers with a special bond - and I'm really enjoying our growing friendship.

Let me say it one more time: you don't want to miss this weekend! Both campuses will take a look at the Full Blessing of Abraham, and it's gonna be life-changing!

God's heart for TURKEY

I probably shouldn't have waited to discuss it here, but about 2 weeks ago (April 18) 3 Turkish believers were brutally tortured and murdered by radical Islamic extremists. You can read the basic report here or, if you're not faint of heart, a much more graphic and detailed report of their torture (trust me: you may not want these images in your head, but I think it shows the seriousness of the spiritual warfare over Turkey) here.

Our friends and CLC partners, Pastors Ihsan & Cigdem Ozbek, conducted the funerals for the martyrs, and more than one Turkish believer has expressed the idea that this could be the beginning of a great harvest in that country - as Islamics are embarrassed and offended by what has happened in the name of religion.

Someone else has observed about church history that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church", and my prayer is that it may be so in this beautiful country that God has placed in our hearts at CLC. Would you join me in praying for Turkey and for our friends there?

don't miss this weekend!

I've just spend some more time in the Word this morning, preparing for the weekend, and I gotta tell you: I think this may be the most important message I've ever delivered! One of the prophetic words I received in January indicated that the spirit of rejection had warred against me and at times stopped me from accessing things I needed to access - but that a new anointing was on me to see new things - 'eyes re-made for glory'!

That's what I truly want for this weekend: to help you see yourself differently than you ever have before and launch you into a whole new dimension of ministry! And I believe the Word can do exactly that - so, whatever you do, don't miss out this weekend - all 3 services in Tinley Park and both services in Shorewood will be focused on the same message. See you here!