The church as a Business

We conducted our annual Business meeting for CLC last night, and I'm sincerely thankful to be a part of this congregation, for 2 big reasons:

1. I'm thankful that we don't have to battle with disunity and dissension and division like I've sometimes seen and heard with other ministries. I mean, in this time when our US Congress is investigating several major media ministries over allegations of financial mismanagement, and even closer to home, when churches right here in the south suburbs are dealing with similar serious matters, I'm thankful for the unity that God promised brings His blessing.

2. I'm also very thankful for the structure and organization at CLC that allows us the 'safety' of that unity. We've gone to great lengths to insure accountability and wisdom in our financial practices, namely through the constitutional authority granted to our Board of Trustees and our Board of Directors.

Let's face it: even an allegation can destroy a ministry. So we've taken extra-measures to avoid the very appearance of evil, and to remove temptation from the business operation of the church. For instance, as founding pastor here, I don't even know the combination to our safe. I don't set my own salary. I don't handle money for the church. Furthermore, the people who count offerings at CLC are never alone with the money. Those who count offerings are not the ones who write checks. Those who write checks are not the ones who sign them. Granted, it's probably overkill on our part, but we're trying to be as "wise as serpents and harmless as doves" when it comes to financial stewardship.

All of this goes toward making CLC the kind of church that I'm happy to be a part of. As we've said before, if Chris and I were not pastors and we lived in the south suburbs, this is where we'd go to church!

Let me hear how you feel - is the governmental structure of the church important to you personally? Are you concerned about how your financial donations are used?

Weekend reflections...

Another good weekend in terms of attendance (I sometimes wonder why January is always one of our strongest months - is it New Year's resolutions or that the weather is so bad there's nothing else to do? Regardless, I'm thankful!)

Also thankful for the response to the teaching about Workplace Heroes, and praying that God will use you on your job this week. I'd love to hear your stories from the workplace and how God may be using you to be a 'hero' there.

Really excited about this weekend's message on "The Song of Heroes" - my wife will bring it in Tinley and I'll teach in Shorewood on this final Sunday of our first year there - can you believe it?

And we're really gearing up for the launch in South Bend on March 2 - exciting times for CLC!

coming home

Maybe I should say coming home different! These past few days at the Reconciliation Ministries team meeting in Orlando have really just been a continuation or extension of what God was doing in us during our First Love Conf. last weekend.

In all honesty, there's been so much to process in both meetings, that I'm going to spend a lot of time in prayer & meditation over the next few weeks just to try to get a handle on it all.

But I already know this much: I'm a different man, and I promise to be a different pastor at CLC.

Stay tuned.

one tired puppy...

What a day.

Jon Jones and I arrived in Orlando after a routine 2-hour flight from Midway, rented a car, and then spent 2.5 hours in bumper-to-bumper traffice enroute to our hotel, which was 9 miles from the airport. (Evidently a tanker truck had exploded on the freeway, causing it to be completely closed, and all of Central Florida was trying to detour on the same streets we had to take to get to our hotel)

The Reconciliation Ministries team meeting tonight included some excellent stuff from friends like Pastor Joel Brooks, but honestly I was too whipped to take it all in. It's now about midnight and I'm putting this puppy to bed in hopes of a better day tomorrow!

Out of the deep freeze

I'll be catching a flight to Orlando in a couple hours, when Jon Jones and I go there to attend the Reconciliation Ministries annual Team Meeting. Besides the network business, we'll be in more sessions with Bishop Garlington and others like Gary Nellis and Eric Butler. And the meeting is hosted by Dr. Mark Chironna (I guess since he couldn't come to us, we'll go to him).

To be honest, I'm not sure how much more I can handle after this weekend, but it'll be fun to find out!

And hanging out with other men & women of vision always sharpens me. I'll report from the meeting later.

Speechless

It doesn't happen often to a preacher, but I really am speechless about this past weekend.

How do you put into words what we experienced?

I haven't even started to process what I personally heard & experienced - and by that I mean, just the stuff that was coming to me, not all the wonderful things that were spoken over our church as a body.

We often say, "you had to be there" - but when it comes to the 2008 "First Love Conference", even being here wasn't enough - I think you have to get the CD's or the podcasts and listen again and again in order to process it all.

At least that's what I'm planning to do.

Maybe some other CLCers can help us all with that 'processing' - would you share what you received personally?

C'mon, this is one time that we really need some dialogue - what impacted you the most? What are your biggest 'takeaways' from the Conference?

half-way through

WOW. Don't know what else to say about the first 'half' of our "First Love Conference" this weekend. If you weren't able to attend, you really must get the CD's or DVD's of the services, or check it out on our website once the conference is posted here.

My suggestion is that you not listen or watch the messages out of order, because there has been a definite progression - Friday night with Bishop Joseph Garlington laid the 'foundation' for what followed.

Saturday morning with Bishop was exactly where I've been living, so the Lord sent him here to talk to me even though you get to listen in, too. (I wasn't the only one who felt he was talking directly to them :-)

And Saturday night? Well, put it like this - I've never seen anything quite like Pastor Eric Butler - my suggestion is that you forego the CD's and get the DVD's of that service. Prophetic hip-hop!

Can't wait to see what's next today.

And as for

my apologies...

I apologize publicly for a previous post here (now deleted, so no need to look for it) in which I responded to the question about "why people leave churches". I should never have engaged in that discussion via the anonymous medium of the internet, since it allows anyone to say anything without any evidence or facts to back up their comments and leaves me in the position of needing to "defend" CLC against the charges, even when some of them are ludicrous.

No more - I refuse to engage in backbiting and criticism with fellow believers.

Simply put: CLC is not the church for everyone. If you don't value what happens here, there are lots of other churches in Chicagoland to choose from, and we bless you to do so.

For me, I'll return to the high road of positive, edifying remarks here.

2 questions for CLCers

Well, the 10-days of Prayer & Fasting will be over in just a few hours, and our 2008 "First Love Conference" begins in just a couple of days - so here's my questions:

1. What were you fasting for? (specific prayer requests or desires)

2. What are you expecting from this weekend?

C'mon, all of you who read this (from CLC), but perhaps never comment - I'd really like to hear from you this time.

Meanwhile, let's keep believing!

First Love Conf. CHANGES

The big surprise I mentioned in my last post is that Dr. Mark Chironna will not be coming for the Conf. on Sunday evening as planned. He has been experiencing health problems of late, and his doctor advised him not to travel, so we received the cancellation notice on Monday.

Instead, I'm pleased to report that Pastors Gary Nellis and Eric Butler will be able to stay with us for the Sunday evening celebration that closes the conference. This will be the first visit to CLC for both Gary and Eric, but let me tell you: they are gifted men of God. I still remember the first time I heard either of them speak, and I was blown away by the word of God in their mouths! Each of them have been used by the Lord across our country and internationally, and I'm actually excited about the opportunity to turn both of them loose, along with the Binion's for one great worship-and-prophetic-night to close First Love 2008.

Please note that we are making one big change as a result - in order to accomodate their travel schedules, the Sunday evening service will begin at 5:00pm rather than 6:00pm. We'll announce that throughout the conference, but if you're not a part of our church family and only plan to come for Sunday evening, please note that change.

I can't wait!

Surprise...but no surprise!

I was surprised today.

Almost as soon as the business day began, I learned that one of our guest speakers for the upcoming "First Love Conference" is not going to be able to come. (more about that later)

It was no surprise. After all, it was the 3rd or 4th year in a row that this has happened for the First Love Conference.

The real surprise was that I didn't react with surprise and panic, as I have in times past. (I would say that's a sign I'm growing, but when you pass a test on the 4th try after failing the first 3 times, I'm not so sure that's true progress - it may just be a merciful Judge!)

Actually, when I received the email, I thought, "This is no surprise to you, Lord - You knew this all along. And You've already got a plan to make this Conference the best one ever!"

And He does. And it unfolded the same day, which is a bit of a surprise.

How 'bout you? Have you ever been surprised that you weren't surprised by an unexpected happening? Did things work out even better than you could have anticipated? I'd love to hear from you about those surprises.

Sunday afternoon reflections

It's Sunday afternoon; kids are doing their thing; wife is taking a nap; and only Jasper is around to keep me company. I'm tired. And surprised. And a little dreadful. But definitely excited.

Tired because, well, that's always how I feel after preaching 3 times on the weekend. (But grateful for all the comments - seems like CLCers are gushing more about the preaching lately - and while I know it's the polite thing to do for the pastor, it feels sincere, and I'm grateful for each of you who are being encouraged by the Word - I know I am, and I hear it first :-)

Surprised that San Diego upset Indianapolis. No more comments, just surprised that Peyton didn't pull it off.

A little dreadful of the next 3 days of doing without food again. (The 'Daniel fast' really wasn't too bad the past 4 days). But as I said this weekend publicly, I know the fast is doing me good!

Excited for sure - about the Prayer Journey this Wednesday; the "First Love Conf." this Friday-
Saturday-Sunday with some of the most dynamic, prophetic and anointed ministers I know, plus the always-refreshing David & Nicole Binion to lead us in worship - I gotta tell you: I think this is going to be The Best conference at CLC ever!

I'm even excited about the next installment of "Heroes" (our sermon series; not the TV show) - but that's another post. For now, I'm going back to the couch to watch Dallas and NY fight it out for the privilege of losing to Brett Favre next week.

Thoughts on Fasting...

We're over half-way through our 10-day fast, preparing for the big "First Love Conference" with Bishop Joseph Garlington, Dr. Mark Chironna, the Binion's and more, and I thought I'd share my thoughts on the first 5 days:

1. Fasting is hard. Doing without food makes me weak, sluggish, and mentally dull. I understand why it's a Biblical way to die to self. Not fun!

2. Fasting is worthwhile. Since we're still in the fast, I'm saying that with complete confidence in the Scriptures. My own experience is that rarely do I experience breakthrough or significant spiritual insights, etc. during the fast. Instead, at least in my past experience, all of that comes after the fast is over, sometimes when I least expect it!

3. Eating something is easier than eating nothing. (Let me first say that I know what Jesus said about fasting being a 'private' exercise, and I'm only reporting this because we're doing a 'corporate' fast at CLC that has been publicly advertised. I do not think my fasting makes me a better Christian or more 'spiritual' than anyone else. I DO believe my fasting makes me a better Christian) Now, with that disclaimer out of the way: my own plan this time involved a 3-day fast on each end of the 10-day period, with a 4-day "Daniel Fast" in the middle. So the past couple of days I've been eating veggies in soup and salad - and a vegetable lunch at Cracker Barrel almost qualifies as a feast after doing without anything for a while! :-)

4. Fasting makes you feel your hunger! I think most days, we snack so much and eat so well that we seldom feel real hunger. More importantly, I believe this time of consecration is helping me to feel the hunger for more - more of God's favor, Presence, Word, grace in my life!

I'm ready to preach Heroes installment #2 this weekend, but even more so, I'm ready for more during our First Love Conference!

Monday afternoon reflections

It's really been tough to get back into a regular routine of posting here since our vacation in mid-December, so I hope you're still reading-

At any rate, this past weekend felt more like 'us' than it has in a while - attendance was back near normal, and a lot of yelling from the pulpit (at least in Tinley Park). I am seriously grateful for the number of sincere comments from folks who left encouraged, which is always good!

I hope you'll invite some friends to join you for this Heroes series - I'm already a few weeks ahead in my prep, and I can tell you I'm pretty pumped about what's coming! (This coming weekend we'll look at a longtime sidekick and a young boy - you'll have to be here to find out who - and the lessons we learn from them will help everyone!)

Of course, we also began our 10-days of Prayer & Fasting today - never fun, but always beneficial - leading up to our biggest meeting of the year this January 18-20 when our special guests for the 2008 "First Love Conference" will include Bishop Joseph Garlington, Pastors Gary Nellis & Eric Butler, Bishop Mark Chironna, and the Binion's! We're expecting all 3 of our campuses to join us, as well as area church friends, so it will be a wonderful time to renew your 'first love'!