Thanksgiving Outreach '08

This past Saturday was another great Englewood night. Pastor Brad Oyler and Pastor Amy Bales headed up two different teams that went out and placed door hangers on local homes inviting them to our 12th annual Thanksgiving outreach. They passed out approximately 2,500 door hangers, and we prayed and waited for the community to come.

The service and give-a-ways were scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m., but people began to arrive a little before 4:oo p.m. At one point, the line went up and around the corner. We had 643 people register with many others coming to the service unregistered. All in all, we had over 700 people show up. But that's not the best part.

The service started with the band and media departments doing an awesome job, and then I followed with a simple illustrated message. After the message was over, nearly 70 people came forward to accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. And that's why we do it!

Afterwards, we gave away approximately 150 turkeys and 200 boxes of food. This allowed us to minister not just in word, but also in deed. This year was the smoothest in moving the people from registration to service to food lines. A BIG THANK YOU to all who gave, assisted and ministered to our community. I am very proud of you and of what God is doing through our church.

Happy Thanksgiving

It is believed that the first Thanksgiving took place in Plymouth Colony, in present-day Massachusetts, in 1621. More than 200 years later, President Abraham Lincoln declared the final Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving. Congress finally made Thanksgiving Day an official national holiday in 1941. You see, families have been gathering to give thanks for hundreds of years!

But whether you celebrate Thanksgiving Day with a few close friends or family members, watching football or the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, eating a little or a lot; we have many things to be thankful for. Even in the middle of an "economic downturn," we are blessed.

For instance, we have our families that are with us through good times and bad. They encourage us when we are down, and pull us back to reality when we get a little full of ourselves. Family is the foundation of our lives.

We should also be thankful for our church family. The church isn't simply a place to meet with God, worship Him and hear His Word. It is also where we find our place in a much larger family, the Family of God. It's a place to share our gifts and strengths, and a place to find acceptance and grace. I am glad Englewood is a place like that.

There are many other things to be thankful for, such as: our wonderful country, freedom, friends, and our health; however, the most important reason we should be thankful is that we know a God who loves us. That one simple truth still stirs my heart and causes me to grow, be more adventurous, but mostly trust Him.

My Thanksgiving prayer for you is that you will continue to trust God with all your heart, grow closer to Him and allow Him to take you to new heights. From our family to yours, have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

The Life of a Pastor

From Monday afternoon to Tuesday morning, I have had the time of my life! Pastors deal with a lot of things that we don't enjoy or are difficult. But everyone once in a while, we get to participate in things that are really fun and rewarding.

In my son's kindergarten class the letters of the alphabet are reinforced with cute rhymes and songs. When two words start with the same letter such as "Taco Tuesday," it's called a double whammy, emphasizing the letter and its sound quality. So Monday I dressed up in the church's Toby the Tiger outfit and made an appearance to four different classes. It was great, but the kids did not have as much fun as I did. It is really liberating have a mask on and no one know who you are! I think there's a sermon in there??? I would like to thank Mrs. Bailey and the school for allowing me to participate.

Then on Tuesday we went to a rodeo for a video shoot for the "Live Like You Were Dying" series. You know the song, "...I went 2.7 seconds, on a bull named Fu Man Chu." Well, I rode a 600+ lb. Brahma bull. You'll have to wait for the video to find out how long I actually went, but it was awesome. The ride is great; the hard part is getting off!

A special thanks goes out to Benjamin Ranch for allowing us to come and use their facilities; to Roger and Sha'rrell Haws for setting it up--are you trying to kill me?; and to Pastor Ryan for running the camera. It should be a pretty funny video.

These are the times that make being a pastor fun, causing me to reflect on why I enjoy it so much. I love being involved with kids and the community, as well as using creative ways to promote the Lord. The tougher times are what cause me to reflect on the fact that I know God has called me to do what I do. It's both the joy and the pain that brings growth, maturity, fulfillment, and blessing.

Week 3 "Love Deeper"

As of Sunday, we were almost to the halfway mark in our 30 day spiritual journey called, "Live Like You Were Dying." It has been amazing to dive into Scripture and learn about some very important issues in our lives. Sunday was no different. The topic was "love deeper." Two important and powerful words, especially when used together.

What could be more important than this topic? God revealed His great love to us through His Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16). And Christ demonstrated that love by dying in our place (Romans 5:8). We must take God's love and reflect it to those who are hurting and dying without hope. That's our mandate!

There are three action steps we are trying to keep before us this entire week...

1. Do the unexpected- When you do, you will never be forgotten.
2. Do the unaffordable- Christ paid a very high price for you and me.
3. Do it now- You aren't promised tomorrow, so don't wait.

LLYWD Wk 2 "Speak Sweeter"

We started week two in our Live Like You Were Dying Campaign yesterday with the emphasis from the song being, "Speak Sweeter." The key verse for you to meditate on or memorize is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 which says, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." And the greatest way to encourage someone is through your words.

Words are incredibly powerful and creative. Proverbs 18:21 says the "tongue has the power of life and death." Words can inspire and motivate or wound and destroy. How you use your words and the attitude behind them can alter someone's destiny forever.

Yesterday we looked at three ways to speak sweeter:
1. Appreciate People- Col. 2:7
We do that by...
* saying Thanks to the people who serve us.
* saying Thanks to the people who shape us.

2. Encourage People- 1 Thes. 5:11; Prov. 16:24

3. Pray for People- Eph. 6:18; Mt. 7:7-11

In the message, I challenged everyone to let their words be life giving this week. Because I believe if you had less than 30 days to live, you would speak sweeter. Don't forget to pick up your LLYWD wrist band at the information table to remind you all week long to live according to these principles we are learning.

Now, "May the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace" (Num. 6:24-26).

Live Like You Were Dying Intro Video

Live Like You Were Dying Series

This week, we began a new message series "Live Like You Were Dying". For the next 30 days, we will focus on spiritual transformation as we are challenged to:

1. Live with a sense of urgency (1 Peter 4:7-8)
2. Live with a sense of eternity (Psalm 90:12)
3. Live with a sense of priority (Ephesians 5:15-17)
4. Give up the frantic pursuit of the “good life” (Matthew 16:25-26)
5. Make more time for relationships (Hebrews 10:24-25)
6. Offer forgiveness (Ephesians 4:32)
7. Celebrate being released from God’s judgment (Romans 8:33-34)
8. Liberate others from your judgment (Romans 14:13)
9. Do the unexpected in love (Matthew 5:39-42)

Daily devotional readings will be posted in the side bar each week. I truly believe you will grow spiritually during this series if you are faithful reading and meditating on God's Word. By the way, our band sounded awesome on the title song this morning !

For a greater glimpse into the series, here's the promo video: