a GO faith-challenge

I've heard from several CLCers since this weekend who all have a similar 'theme' - namely, "we'll make this safe commitment that we know we can do, but we really hope to be able to 'do more' later".

If you're thinking that way about this coming Sunday, could I challenge you for a moment?

The truth is, GO is not about us figuring out how much we can afford. It's about hearing from God what HE wants us to do, by faith. So if we have an idea of what we want to do, but we settle for a lower figure, thinking we don't want to commit to something we might not be able to do later, where is the faith in that?

What I've learned in life is that when I sign my name to a commitment, I usually find a way to keep it. But if I never stretch myself to make the commitment in the first place, I probably won't keep it. If you've had that same experience, I'd love to hear your story - it would encourage others as well. Or if this doesn't make sense to you, I'd like to hear that, too.

Remember: we're not looking for fantasy commitments. But I do want to challenge every CLCer to step up and make a commitment that you know will require your faith and your sacrifice, along with God's provision, to make it happen. Then and only then will we GO!

Back to the Basics

No, this isn't a post about da Bears again (although the shoe does fit, you gotta admit).

It's about this "Focus on 5" Conference at Seacoast Church that Chris Payne and I are attending. Monday night's sessions included "First Impressions" and "Telling Your Story", and each speaker took us back to the basics that every church knows, but certainly not every church practices, including CLC. (Just like da Bears, it's easy to get away from the basics)

I know we picked up some tips that will make us better already, and I'm really expecting even better things this morning before we jump back on a plane for Chicago. Good time to spend with Chris, too - I'm excited about the future of our newest campus!

GOing to the Ends...in SB and SW!

I've heard GREAT reports today from both our other campuses as to the response on Sunday to our missions message about GOing to the Ends:

• in Shorewood, we had our best attendance since Opening Day, with 227 people present and Pastor Pat reports some who said the message yesterday was the best of GO - reminding them of what this campaign is all about (it's NOT money; it's about reaching people - in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and 'to the ends'!)

• in South Bend, we had another solid attendance with more new guests, one of whom called back today to say "we've been looking for a new church for some time, and after hearing that message yesterday, we know this is it - we want to join!"

I couldn't be more excited about what God is doing to do among us at TPCC this Sunday - don't be late - come early for a good seat, because we may have 2,000 people in attendance, and I promise that we're doing stuff you've never seen before. It's gonna be a historic day for CLC!

off to South Carolina

I'm leaving this morning for a quick 32-hour trip to Charleston, SC and a 'coaching' opportunity with our newest Campus Pastor, Chris Payne. We'll be attending a conference at Seacoast Church, one of the early 'pioneers' in the multi-site movement. They're leading the way, too, with 11 campuses and 15 venues doing who-knows-how-many services each weekend in 3 different states! Best of all, they are the kind of real people that I enjoy hanging with.

We'll have a chance to glean from some of their 'best practices' in several areas of ministries, and I'll have opportunity to spend some quality time with Chris as well, since we're trying to give him and Amber a 'transfusion' of CLC "DNA" to spread to the entire South Bend campus. Got to say I'm looking forward to this time with him.

Then it's back to Chicago tomorrow afternoon for a full week of preparing for GO! OneFamily Celebration at Tinley Park Convention Center!

Family ministry

If you weren't present at our 11:15am service on Sunday in Tinley Park, you didn't have a chance to witness the sweet new approach we're taking to "Baby Dedications", thanks for our new Directors of Family Ministry, Joe & Sarah Dascenzo.



With their help, we're moving into a more family-focused approach to Children's Ministry, with the understanding that the role of the Church has always been to supplement the home, since parents are given the primary responsibility for the spiritual development of their children.



So today, when we dedicated Kristianna Faustin (Mark & Cheryl's daughter) and Jacob Leary (Chris & Jacki's son), we presented them with a "Faith Box" that will contain various items to contribute to their spiritual development as the years go by. My contribution was a letter to each child, to be opened on their 12th birthday, explaining what we did today when we prayed for them to follow in their parent's footsteps. I was teary-eyed when I wrote the letters last week, and I got all misty again this morning when explaining it to the church family.



I'm really excited about Joe & Sarah's plans as we GO forward, with several supplemental workshops and practical helps to assist the parents of CLC in passing their faith to their most valuable possession - the children God has placed in their trust. Kudos!



If you have a baby on the way, or a young child you haven't yet dedicated to the Lord, I encourage you to get in touch with Sarah

Sunday afternoon reflections

Ever heard of mixed-emotions?



That's what I've got today (feeling a little like a roller-coaster):

• weekend started with an incredible response from our leaders, who stepped-up BIG to commit $1.87M to the GO! campaign


• got some bad news from some close friends, with loved ones near death, etc.


• GREAT services in Tinley as we focused on GOing "to the ends" and the response to our missions emphasis was VERY encouraging to me!


• my wife left me this afternoon


• NO, not like that (what are you thinking?) She drove to MI to spend a few days with her mom, who's gone through two surgeries recently and still has some health challenges


• Pastor & Mrs. Kim launched the Korean CLC this afternoon!


• The Bears lost another game they should have won.

As pumped as I am about GO!, I think I'm just as bummed about da Bears. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, it's time to bring in Kyle Orton and Garrett Wolfe and see what the future holds - this season is over, folks. Watching Tom Brady shred defenses on my HDTV this afternoon is enough to make me want to go buy a Patriots cap. (I say that with tears...pray for me)

are you ready for this?

Just in case you haven't heard, some of our leaders gathered Friday night to 'set the pace' for the GO! campaign by making our commitments first. Now you also should know that in our entire history, the largest commitment we've ever made for a project was $500,000 pledged to help us construct the present building, and that was the entire congregation back in 2000.

This weekend, with just over 100 commitments, we are at (are you sitting down?) $1.87 MILLION DOLLARS!!!!!!!!!

Of course, that's not even half-way to where we need to be, but it's an incredible statement by the leaders of CLC that we are GOing! I'm counting on every single CLCer to be present at the Tinley Park Convention Center next Sunday, November 4, at 10a.m. for what will undoubtedly be a historic day for our church family, when each of us from all 3 campuses will come together to make our personal commitment to help CLC Move, do Missions, and Multiply!

Pray and obey. That's all I'm asking....just pray and obey. Then we'll rejoice together!

I'm really, really pumped about this

Take a trip this weekend…..into the world of MISSIONS!

I’m so pumped about this coming weekend when we’ll conclude our GO! series of messages with a “1-day Missions Conference”! If you’ve been around, you know that every Fall we do a whole week of missions, spanning two full weekends, with special music, videos, flags, dance and more as we focus on how CLC is fulfilling our role in the Great Commission. Well, the GO! campaign has meant that we can’t do that this year, so we’re cramming all of that into one exciting, multi-sensory experience this weekend, in each of our 3 services!

Ever wondered WHY we place such emphasis on missions at CLC?

Ever wondered WHERE your missions dollar goes?

Wanna know MORE about the GO! missions projects in Passy, Senegal…Ankara, Turkey.. or Valencia, Venezuela?

Enjoy great MUSIC?

Need to know HOW all of this relates to you personally?

Then don’t miss this weekend! In fact, invite a friend to join you for an incredible 90-minute journey into the world of MISSIONS – this Saturday at 6pm, or Sunday at either 9 or 11:15am!

40-Day Devotional Guide

One of the neatest things we've done during our GO! campaign is the 40-Day devotional guide we gave out at the beginning of our 40-Day GO Fast. Those daily readings and prayer suggestions have been getting me through these last 4 weeks with no desserts, Diet Coke or popcorn!

Today's reading was especially good, as we were told to read Joshua 1 to find all the commands God gave Joshua when he was to GO across the 'boundary' into 'new' territory. Here's my list:

1. Be strong and courageous
2. Be strong and very courageous
3. Be careful to obey all the Word
4. Do not deviate from any of the Word
5. Study this Book
6. Meditate on it day and night
7. Be sure to obey everything in it
8. Be strong and courageous
9. Do not be afraid or discouraged, FOR the Lord is with you wherever you GO!

Does that get you like it got me?

Out of 9 different commands God gave Joshua, 4 of them had to do with courage and resisting fear (I said it yesterday; I'm saying it again: FEAR is the enemey of FAITH!) and the other 5 had to do with getting God's Word and holding on with radical obedience!

I don'tknow about you, but I've got my 'marching orders', not just for today, but for the rest of my life!

What are you getting our of your time with the Lord during GO? I'd love for you to share it with my readers here.

I have a confession to make

As I was driving to church tonight for our Newcomer's Reception, I was listening to the Bears game on the radio (after having watched the first 3 quarters at home), and when I pulled into the parking lot, there were only two-and-a-half minutes left to play, with the Eagles leading by a score of 16-12 AND they had the ball.

So I was fully prepared to write this post to say honestly: I have given up on this season. Bring on Kyle Orton and Garret Wolfe and let's see what they can do, since this season is over already. But before I wrote, I thought, 'well, let's check to see what the final score was' and was I surprised! 97 yards in just over a minute?????

How could I be such a doubter? After preaching faith all weekend? Forgive me, Lovie (and Brian) - GO Bears!

Sunday night reflections

This weekend may have been smaller in attendance than usual, but the feeling at the close of each service when we gathered around our kids to pray and bless them was indescribable! I'll admit, when we repeat each service (and sermon) three times each weekend, I'm sometimes on 'auto-pilot' by the final service - but not this time. My heart was touched all three services as I looked at the future of CLC - our kids!

I was especially inspired today with the realization that from that group gathered around our altar will come pastors, evangelists, missionaries, leaders, and even 'kings' who go into the corporate arena to gather resources for the vision. Mark it down: these kids are special, and God has His hand on many of them already!

I'm so glad to be a part of this Church, and I'm especially excited about where we're GOing!

24 hours of PRAYER!

The GO! Prayer Vigil this weekend was incredible. I took one of the early morning shifts, from 2-4am and was so thrilled to see about 25 other CLCers there at that time of the day. And the Presence of the Lord!!! Wow, it was the quickest 2+ hours of prayer I've ever prayed - it was hard to believe the time was up.

Kudos to Terrilyn Franklin, our GO Prayer coordinator, all her shift leaders, and special thanks to the musicians who were truly "ministrels" before the Lord! I know I ASKED largely, and I'm sure others did, too - so I can't wait to see the fruit of our prayers.

Now if only the Bears had a prayer of getting back into the division race....

Perry's done it again

One of my favorite bloggers is Perry Noble of Newspring Church in Anderson, SC (we shared an elevator once, but I don't know that qualifies me to say he's my friend; I just know he's doing some incredible things in Anderson, and I love his blog!).

At any rate, today he hit one out of the park, and it really fits where we are at CLC - so read this and enjoy!

ASK during this season of FAVOR!

One of our faithful volunteers in the media ministry, Dr. Tunde Abiona, excitedly told me this weekend about his interview for a teaching position at an area university. Since arriving in Chicago from Nigeria, Tunde has been unable to find employment in his field, but has been faithfully serving and praying for the right door to open.

Last week his interview was finally granted, and among several wonderful responses from different faculty members who interviewed him, he was most excited by the response from the highest-ranking official who frankly told him that (get this) it was his volunteer experience at CLC that was most impressive!

Just today I received this email from Tunde that I felt I had to share with you:

Dear Pastor Jerry,
I got this mail last night when I got home from the GO party! and I im so excited. The mail is from the most senior officer in the University (Vice Chancellor),he was the person who rated my services at CLC higher than my expectation. He did not only reply to my thank you mail but he also copied the next higher officer who was unable to attend the interview due to an urgent official assignment.
Pastor Jerry, I can see the HAND of GOD again beginning to move after the interview. Pastor Jerry, there is no better time than now for CLC members to ASK GOD for whatever there needs are because this is the season of FAVOR.

There you have it - not just from me - ASK during this season of FAVOR! If you've got a story of favor, pass it on. What are you ASKing for?

one response to "Going Beyond Ourselves: In Sacrifice"

I just had to share this email I received this morning from Dawn Walden, one of our newer members at CLC Tinley Park:

I have been meaning to email you for a while now but hearing the message yesterday really put it in my face to let you know some things!

I took the tithe challenge; I think it was back in March. I told myself that I could not consider becoming a member at CLC if I wasn’t tithing regularly first. So I took the challenge and committed to “trying” it for the 3 months. Well, it didn’t really occur to me until yesterday that I have been tithing for 8 months now. At first it seemed like no big deal but then I started to run out of money from my surplus and started to get scared. My family’s advice was to stop giving to the church, and ask about getting my money back. (!!) But what you said this Sunday makes all the difference! I couldn’t just keep buying what ever I want and trust that God will make sure I have money to tithe with.

I actually had to start spending less! I think some people think that God will allow us to spend “our” money on anything we want, and then the tithe money will just supernaturally appear, and that we play no part in all of it. I really have been looking at what I buy and asking if this is what God wants me to do with the money he has entrusted me with.

I really hope that Sunday’s message will help people to understand why giving is so important. Well I could keep going on about how much I enjoyed the message but most importantly I want to thank you so much for your (and Chris’) honesty and for being so genuine. I can’t tell you how much I appreciated your words yesterday. I thank God for you, Chris and CLC all the time.

Dawn Walden

Dawn, you made my day! Anybody else have a 'giving story' that you would share with us? We'd love to hear from you.

Monday morning reflections

I was too wiped out last night to do a "Sunday night reflections" post - I left my house at 6am yesterday and didn't return until about 9:30pm, with 2 services, lunch with Pastor Ihsan, the final GO! party ("Cruising with the Captain" - don't ask who the captain was), and then another snack with Pastor Ihsan, where we nailed down more details of our partnership with his work in Turkey. In fact, I stayed in bed today until 8am, which is unheard of in the McQuay household.

At any rate, it was a good weekend as we dealt with the delicate subject of finances more strongly than I ever recall, and I'm still hearing from CLCers about how they were helped by it.

In fact, because the message was so direct, our plan was to use the videotape of Saturday's message at both the Shorewood and South Bend campuses, since our pastors there don't have the long track record that I have, and we felt it would be too difficult for them to say some of the things that needed to be said. But, as happens often here, we had technical difficultities that caused the DVD not to have any audio whatsoever on the recording, so both Dan Johnson and Chris Payne had to preach at the last-minute, using my notes. Yet GOD showed up for them big-time, and we're already receiving reports of people who said they had never tithed before, but as a result of yesterday's message, they were encouraged to begin!

GO! really is a test, and it's challenging each of us in different ways and different levels - but I'm excited about how God is using this process to stretch us in good ways!

Oh - the best report of all: after a message about money, we had at least 3 people (I saw lots more hands than that, but we have returned cards from those 3) who gave their lives to Christ yesterday! Heaven is rejoicing with them, and so am I!

Now if only we could do something about the Bears.....

GO Par-tay!

Wow....Shorewood, Tinley Singles and Seasoned Saints, the pressure is on! Those folks at our newest campus in South Bend know how to Par-tay! Last night's GO! party in South Bend was over the top, and very well-attended, as Chris and I met folks we had never met during our previous visits there.

Best of all, there was a real buzz about the GO! campaign and the possibilities for South Bend as we prepare for a Grand "re-launch" in early 2008. Our plan is to do an 'extreme makeover' of the facility there to make it more contemporary and user-friendly and most importantly, a massive marketing blitz with direct mail and TV spots that we believe will bring hundreds of new, hungry people into our service on February 10, 2008.

We're getting ready to GO!

Don't miss this weekend's service at the campus of your choice - we've got some creative elements AND a word from The Word that will knock your socks off!

Divine Appointments

Ever had a "divine appointment"? That's what I call it when you have one of those meetings or encounters that wasn't necessarily on your agenda for the day, but it was on God's.

Thursday morning when we arrived at the Presence conference in Pittsburgh, out of probably close to 2,000 people who were present, I bumped into a precious couple from South Africa that I had met there earlier this year, Pastors Eddie and Stella from Witbank. They pastor a wonderful congregation there, and are just about to move into their new building, an incredible facility that is one of the "favor" testimonies that Bishop Garlington related to us on his September visit to CLC.

I was excited to see them because when I was there we had discussed the possibility of doing a Heart to Heart conference with them in South Africa in 2008, but I hadn't been able to communicate with them since. Chris was especially praying for this, since several women from CLC had already expressed a desire to be a part of a South Africa missions trip.

Later that day, as we were driving to lunch, I saw them walking across the parking lot of our hotel, so we stopped to offer them a ride and learned they had no transportation - so for the next several meetings, they rode in our rental car and we had opportunity to get even more closely connected. I'm confident that Chris will lead a Heart to Heart conference there next year - all because we 'bumped' into them at a conference full of people!

Ever had any divine connections that you'd be willing to share? I'd love to hear your stories.

Pittsburgh Conference

Well, it was a whirlwind trip, but I'm so glad that Chris & I were able to take in part of the "Presence" Confererence at Covenant Church of Pittsburgh. Not only were we able to re-connect with our new friends in Reconciliation! Ministries, but it was especially good for us during this stretching season of GO to sit and be ministered to!

Bishop Garlington's Thursday morning session on "Brokenness" was worth the entire trip - it was just an incredible time of ministry in the Spirit to confirm a long-neglected truth. I'm sure you'll be hearing more about that again - either from him or me!

Glad we went, but glad to be back home!

off to Pittsburgh

Chris and I are off this afternoon to Pittsburgh for Reconciliation Ministries' annual "Harvest Fest" at Covenant Church of Pittsburgh, hosted by our pastor, Bishop Joseph Garlington. In some ways, it couldn't come a worse time for us, with all the demands of the GO! campaign, but we're determined to use this day-and-a-half as an opportunity to hear from the Lord and receive from others.

We'll be back Friday morning to gear up for a full weekend of 4 GO! parties, 3 services, and entertaining our friend from Ankara, Turkey, Pastor Ihsan Ozbek, who'll be visiting CLC. Whew!

What do they say about life in the fast lane?

Don't forget: invite a friend to join you here this weekend - it's gonna be really, really good!

Video teaching

I'm still hearing from folks today about the message yesterday, and how 'real' it was in the auditorium - which is very cool to me as we're talking about future campus sites for CLC. In fact, one of the folks we heard the most about the video teaching tool prior to our decision several months ago is Craig Groeschel, senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv which now has 12 sites in 6 different states!

I heard Craig several months ago say that each of their campuses is growing, except one, which slightly declined in attendance last year. Which one? The one where he teaches live! That campus where he is based was also the one that had the least number of decisions for Christ! So people are coming to faith in Christ and growing in the faith via video teaching - and that's just one example. We really believe it will work as the primary 'delivery system' for our next 10 campuses.

However, Chris and I are very much planted here in Tinley Park and plan to be here in service for at least 40 weekends per year. (I'm really thinking more like 45 or so, but with a vacation and some missions trips added in, I thought I'd play it safe).

In fact, we're here for the next 6 weeks in a row, and this weekend is perhaps the most important message I've ever done. It's also probably the most challenging message of my life, but I'm already pumped about it, because of what the Lord has put in my heart for you. Would you take a moment this week to call or email some other CLC friends (or anyone else that comes to your heart) and ask them to join you for any of our 3 weekend services at CLC this October 13/14!

GO PARTY!

We're only 3 down and 5 to go, but the GO! parties have been a blast! Kudos to everyone serving on the party planning teams, as each one has been unique and fun.

Yesterday's petting zoo & pony rides for the kiddos was a great hit, and tonight's party for parents with teens was incredible - with 'spa' treatment for the ladies, a CLC-inspired version of American Idol for the teens, and the Bears-Packers game on the big screen for all.

I even had the chance to put on the giant boxing gloves in the inflatable ring against my son Brent, who promptly knocked his dad down and out on a TKO! It got the blood circulating, and despite the fact that I hardly landed a punch, it was a lot of fun.

Best of all, we've been able to answer questions that CLCers are asking about GO! and how each of us can be a part of the biggest project we've ever tackled. How 'bout you: do you have any GO questions? Feel free to post them here and I'll answer online for the benefit of all CLCers - remember, there's no such thing as a dumb question, and the very thing you're wondering is probably on the minds of several others, so you can help them just by asking. What do you want to know about GO?

Sunday night reflections

What a weekend!

Starting with a GO! party on Friday night, another one on Saturday afternoon, then team-preaching the Saturday service with Chris, then making the trip to South Bend to preach there this morning while Chris preached the Shorewood service, and then finishing up with another great GO! party tonight - now that's a loooong weekend!

It was good all the way around, though - with another total attendance around the 1600 mark and great responses in each service to our "Go: before the Lord" message. I was particularly gratified by the reports from our experiment using the video teaching from Saturday night at both services in Tinley Park today. While we don't plan to utilize video teaching in TP, we do want to use that means of expanding our ministry reach as we open other campuses in the future, and hearing how well it was received today just proves to me that it will work elsewhere.

I laughed at several reports of how people were responding to the video as though we were there in person, including some who told me they kept looking to see where I was standing! My favorite report came from Kevin Carter, who had invited a guest to attend CLC today. When he apologized to his guest for not being able to introduce him to the senior pastor because he wasn't present, his friend said, "yes, he is - I saw him". When Kevin said where, the friend pointed to the screen and then looked for me on stage! After today, no one can tell me that video teaching won't work!

Then, to my great surprise, I returned home in time to watch the second half of the Bears-Packers game and witness one of the biggest turnarounds I've ever seen, as Griese pulled it off in the closing minutes. Life doesn't get much better than this!

praying our prophecies

Heard a great quote from my pastor, Bishop Joseph Garlington, today at the True Life Ministries Conference in Racine, WI:

"Prophecy is a spiritual insight that strategically positions you for a future moment of success, if you obey it"

Not only did that reasonate with me when I heard him say it, but I'm convinced that one of the keys to our GO! campaign at CLC is for us to take hold of the prophetic words we've received and 'remind' the Lord of His promises to us. I'll have more to say about that this weekend.

Read this and tell me: are you paying attention to unfulfilled prophecies in your life? Leave a comment for us as to what and how you are using those prophetic words in your personal prayer times - it will encourage and help all of us who are reading.

quick trip

Shortly after service on Sunday afternoon, Kevin Carter and I jumped in my truck for a short road trip up to Racine, WI to visit our friends, Jeff & Tami Butler at True Life Ministries for their annual Fall conference with CLC favorites, Bishop Tudor Bismark and Bishop Joseph Garlington.

Bishop Tudor was his inimitable self last night, and we had a chance afterwards to chat a bit about his next visit to CLC - can't wait already! He definitely gave Kevin and me some things to chew on and discuss on the trip home today.

Speaking of 'trips', I hope every CLCer will GO with us these next 4 weekends as we move into the challenge phase of our GO campaign. At each campus, we'll focus on WHERE we're GOing: "before the Lord, beyond ourselves, and to the ends!" I promise it's going to be good, and God is setting us up for the BIGGEST day in our history on November 4 at 10:00 a.m. at the Tinley Convention Center when we bring together 3 campuses, 7 services, and 2 languages for ONE FAMILY celebration!

weekend reflections

Another great weekend for us at CLC, but a little like "fruit basket turn over" the kids used to play, as I preached in Shorewood, my wife preached in South Bend, and Dan Johnson preached all 3 services in Tinley Park. From everything I saw and heard, it was consecutive 'home runs', with almost 1,600 in attendance and great responses to the Word.

I think it was the largest group I've ever seen in Shorewood, and so many new folks that have become a part of the family there this summer that I was just blown away. Dan did a great job of motivating everyone to GO! and one of our members said to me later, "after today, I don't know why we need to wait for the November 4 service - we're all ready to GO!"

It was also the day we said 'farewell' to Michele Triplett, who has served us well as our Children's Pastor for the past six years. All of us at CLC are grateful for where she's brought our ministry to children, and we pray God's best on her ventures with children around the world.

We also welcomed our new "Directors of Family Ministry", Joe and Sarah Dascenzo. They come with a wealth of experience that has prepared them for this new role, and I'm confident that they will "stand on Michele's shoulders" to take us even higher and further than ever! You'll notice some subtle shifts in the future as well, as they intentionally help us to truly put family first, as God always intended.

Good weekend!