The CCJ Blog

Good Stuff

2008-11-19T11:06:00.004-05:00

"Our churches are getting way to much preaching from our culture instead of preaching to our culture"
Craig Groeschel

I am very excited to me going to hear Craig and Andy Stanley teach at the one day Catalyst conference in Granger IN tomorrow. These guys not only have great ministry but they are Christ and Bible focused preachers rather than culture driven.

The Good... The Bad.... The Ugly

2008-11-16T07:59:00.002-05:00

Its back

The Good:
· Jesus paying for our sins
· The CCJ family….. I could not ask for a better place to minister
· The CCJ Staff …. I could not dream of a better team to work with
· A fun and growing time at an elder and staff retreat
· A life worth celebrating

The Bad:
· Saying goodbye to friends
· The Economy
· Sicknesses

The Ugly:
· Did I mention the economy?
· Politics …. Glad that is over (Of course I think the 2012 election has begun already)

Far As The Curse Is Found: You've Got Questions ...

2008-11-14T16:27:00.003-05:00

Well, the album has been out a week and I get two consistent questions.

1.) What does the title mean?

Here's your answer.

2.) Is my CD messed up? I get weird static like a radio at the end. What's that about?

The final track is an effect. The main participants in the album have been influenced by acts like David Crowder Band and Pink Floyd (who often have weird stuff in their albums as little bits of ear candy). We decided at the end of the album we'd have "Silent Night" (as sung by CCJ'ers) mixed in with radio static/noise. You can view this as symbolic. In the midst of our celebration of Christmas, we are bombarded with noise (static) and often our 'silent night' gets drowned out by this, that and the other.

Plus, the track makes the CD 30 minutes long and I liked that idea. :-)

In Memory of Dr. Phil Dawkins

2008-11-08T21:05:00.008-05:00

CCJ and our community lost a great leader and wonderful man of God Saturday morning. Dr. Philip Dawkins passed away and it is certainly hard to imagine not having him. Phil dedicated his life to helping people and was beloved by so many. A friend of mine commented that Phil was the most amazing man he had ever met. He said, "He loved Jesus so much and was an incredible mentor, witness and friend."

Certainly we know Phil is in a wonderful place because he trusted Jesus as his Lord and personal Savior. We are not sad for him because we know he has reached the prize but we are sad for all of us who will miss him. All are welcome to join us for a celebration of life at the Christian Church of Jasper, Tuesday, November 11 at 2:00 p.m.

W.I.N.G.S. November Meeting

2008-11-08T18:37:00.003-05:00

We had a fun time at church this week at the Wings meeting Thursday night. Robin Norris brought all of us ladies a gift. The "gift" was encouragement & exerise bands. She encouraged us to take care of ourselves, sharing the benefits of exercise .

Here are some health benefits of resistance exercise bands:
Strengthens the muscular and skeletal system
Improves bone density (decreases the chance of osteoporosis)
Increases metabolism
Improves posture
Limits atrophy of the muscles
Aids in hypertension control
Aids in cholesterol control
Aids in body fat control Increases circulation
Aids in prevention of adult-onset diabetes
Improves mood and self-esteem
Improves quality of life
Aids in the prevention of heart disease and certain cancers

In light of all the benefits, why do people still not want to take time to do it?

I really struggle in this area. I'd like to see us have an exercise class at CCJ. Wonder if that's something that's possible.

Narrow Path CD Release Day

2008-11-06T15:27:00.005-05:00

If you're at CCJ this Sunday, be sure to pick up a copy (or 10 or 20) of Narrow Path's Christmas CD, "Far As The Curse Is Found." Give them to your friends, relative and enemies. The CD is a 'pay-what-you-want-even-if-it's-nothing' model. That is, you can take as many copies of the CD as you want for free or for whatever you want to pay.

As always, you can find more about Narrow Path, including gigs we have tomorrow (Friday) and Sunday at:
Narrow Path's official site
AND/OR ...
Become a fan of NP on Facebook & MySpace:
Facebook
MySpace

If you'd like to buy the album NOW ...

The album will also be available on iTunes VERY soon.

*** If you are an owner or connected with a store in some way that would like to sell the album in your store, please contact daniel@ccjasper.com

Track Listing:
1.) Silent Night (Begin)
2.) O Come, O Come Emmanuel
3.) Birth of Hope
4.) O Holy Night
5.) Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing
6.) Joy to the World
7.) O Come All Ye Faithful
8.) Silent Night (End)

1st. Annual Ladies' Retreat

2008-11-02T17:03:00.004-05:00

I can't express what a blessed time we had at Camp Illiana this weekend. It would be difficult to name a favorite moment. Those of you who know me and my camera....can imagine how hard it was picking my photos for this post. Above are a few of my favorite (I say a "few" because I took 171). We enjoyed great food, scrap booking ideas, fellowship on the porch, games, campfire devotions (only thing missing were the marshmallows & Candy) and thought provoking lectures about the life of Eve.

God was so gracious to give us perfect weather and an indescribable location. The tree leaves were just too awesome! If you missed this one, start making plans to go next year.

Oh, did I mention valet parking and men carrying our suitcases in for us?

We all had a wonderful time. Thanks, WINGS.

Jesus said in Matt 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. NIV

House of Hope

2008-10-30T08:30:00.003-04:00

It has been a while since we have given an update on the House of Hope Orphanage so I thought it was about time. Construction on the first orphanage house is getting closer to completion. I just spoke with Leon on Sunday and they are really working away. We have had many delays due to hurricanes and other factors but I expect to have some great quality pictures of the House of Hope very soon. When major construction is done the House of Hope board will be meeting and finalizing a plan for lunching the orphanage. That will involve many things but not the least of which is hiring great Christian house parents. The CCJ mission's team has set aside funding for what we hope will fund the complete first year of operation. That being said, this world economy has really effected third world countries with huge inflation so costs have really risen. So we hope to raise a lot of additional funds for the orphanage. We will soon be completing a promotional DVD to send to many different churches mission's teams to raise additional awareness and support for this great ministry. We also plan on holding a meeting in the near future for those interested in going on a short term mission trip to the orphanage. (There is no trip scheduled at this time). Please keep all of these things in your prayers and thank you so much for all of the effort and resources you all have committed to the House of Hope.

Organized or Disorganized

2008-10-23T23:13:00.002-04:00

Sitting at work reading a Ladies Home Journal, I find myself enjoying the article titled: "Nobody Perfect and Thank Heaven for That". In the article, the writer is talking about how the latest books, magazines and businesses tote the perfectionist order (home orgazining is now a $6 billion industry).

I agree with her when she states "As much as I desire it, the idea of attaining this level of neatnik-y perfection stresses me right out". Please understand I love for things to be organized and put away but in the real world my kids don't always put away their toys, pick up their rooms, or pick up their shoes. A few people in my house feel better when their areas aren't sooo perfect. One of my daughters has a saying when I ask her to clean her room "Is Jesus going to care if my room is clean when I see him?"

A quote from Carl Honore "Organzation is a good thing-you don't want to be living in constant anarchy-but if everything's too orgaznized, then you're squeezing out something that's essentially human."

Something else that is pointed out in the article "Balance is key" "Figure out where it matters most to you to be organized, and let the rest go. You'll be happier and so will the people around you."

So are you a "perfectionist" or a "non-perfectionist"?

S.O.S. Field Trip

2008-10-22T17:13:00.002-04:00

Last weekend we went to the Covered Bridge Festival. We enjoyed beautiful sites, great food and crafts and lovely weather. Our November meeting is the on 20th. I'm excited about this fellowship. It gives us a chance to get to know our peers. As the church continues to grow, so will our group. It's another way for us to "plug-in" with others who care about the same issues we do. (Thanks Lois M. for being our fearless leader, and Jeff S. for driving the bus)

Instead Of A Show ...

2008-10-20T09:07:00.004-04:00

... or The Myth of Contemporary (Music) Worship as Evangelism. From Rev.org

SALLY MORGENTHALER RETHINKS HER OWN PARADIGM
Two years ago I taught my last seminar focused solely on worship. A year ago I disbanded my worship resource site, Sacramentis. My colleagues were concerned. How could I leave the work I'd begun? Did it mean I no longer believed worship was important? Who was going to take up the torch of worship evangelism? Was I just going to waste my legacy? Was I crazy?

Maybe I was, but a storm had been brewing in my soul for five long years. I remember meeting with the worship leader of a well-known church in the fall of 2000. He had followed my work and respected many of my viewpoints. When we met over coffee, he shared a concern he'd had for a while over my book Worship Evangelism. In his view, Worship Evangelism had helped to create a "worship-driven subculture." As he explained it, this subculture was a sizeable part of the contemporary church that had just been waiting for an excuse not to do the hard work of real outreach. An excuse not to get their hands dirty. According to him, that excuse came in the form of a book—my book. He elaborated. "If a contemporary worship service is the best witnessing tool in the box, then why give a rip about what goes on outside the worship center? If unbelievers are coming through the doors to check us Christians out, and if they'll fall at Jesus' feet after they listen to us croon worship songs and watch us sway back and forth, well then, a whole lot of churches are just going to say, 'Sign us up!' "

To be honest, I wasn't surprised. The attitude he described certainly didn't fit every congregation out there in contemporary-worship-land, but it matched too much of what I'd seen. The realization hit me in the gut. Between 1995 and 2000 I'd traveled to a host of worship-driven churches, some that openly advertised that they were "a church for the unchurched." On the good occasions, the worship experience was transporting. (I dug a little deeper when that happened. Invariably, I found another value at work behind the worship production: a strong, consistent presence in the community EMPHASIS MINE -DR.) Too many times, I came away with an unnamed, uneasy feeling. Something was not quite right. The worship felt disconnected from real life. Then there were the services when the pathology my friend talked about came right over the platform and hit me in the face. It was unabashed self-absorption, a worship culture that screamed, "It's all about us" so loudly that I wondered how any visitor could stand to endure the rest of the hour.

Were these worship-driven churches really attracting the unchurched? Most of their pastors truly believed they were. And in a few cases, they were right. The worship in their congregations was inclusive, and their people were working hard to meet the needs of the neighborhood. Yet those churches whose emphasis was dual—celebrated worship inside, lived worship outside—were the minority. In 2001 a worship-driven congregation in my area finally did a survey as to who they were really reaching, and they were shocked. They'd thought their congregation was at least 50 percent unchurched. The real number was 3 percent.

Read the rest ...

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (It's Been Awhile Edition)

2008-10-17T09:48:00.002-04:00

TG:
-- No matter who wins on Nov. 4, Jesus' kingdom is not of this world.
-- Last week's sermon on the Supremacy of Christ.
-- The Revelation class on Sunday nights.
-- The ability of music to lift my spirits.
-- Having a good theological discussion about actions vs. heart with my wife the other night.
-- My wife.
-- My girls getting excited about Halloween.
-- Got to see my old friend David P. yesterday for a minute.
-- Baseball playoffs (rooting for the Sox but won't mind too terribly bad if the upstart Rays win it all).
-- A properly executed A chord through a loud amplifier (see opening riff in video above from Canadian band Wide Mouth Mason).
-- Narrow Path: "Far As The Curse Is Found" Christmas album comes out in 23 days.

TB:
-- The dream I had last night that we go the Christmas CD back all screwed up with the wrong songs on them. Just a dream though.
-- My state of mind the past few days. (The Pit).
-- Not being surprised in the least anymore at anything anyone does.
-- People being led astray by false teaching.
-- Being kinda Pharisaical at times.
-- Discouragement.
-- Sin.
-- The stupid cat who gets in our trash each week.

TU:
-- The unbelievable amount of attention (& pressure) a plumber from Ohio gets from "The Media."
-- Politics in general (they are fun sometimes but it's down to getting ugly now)
-- Kurt's arm situation

Actions & Heart

2008-10-14T15:11:00.003-04:00

"Right action without the right heart is in NO WAY pleasing to God."

- Matt Chandler, Pastor of The Village Church in Texas (from the sermon Luke Part 30: After the Heart)

Related: Isaiah 58.

Jace Is One

2008-10-10T16:08:00.008-04:00

So my son Jace Eli Land is officially one year old today. That is totally hard to believe. This may have been the fastest year of my life. He is quite the kid. He is a blessing despite the fact that he is much harder than his big sister Livia in about every way. We often half jokingly say that if he was our first, he would have been our last. Still I cannot imagine life without him. I am so blessed to have a wife like Holli and two wonderfully healthy kids. (Despite the fact that I let him fall out of his bed today.) Thank you Lord for blessing me so much!

Far As The Curse Is Found

2008-10-09T14:34:00.003-04:00

The long-worked-on, sometimes-requested Christmas album from elements of Narrow Path releases in one month (Sunday, Nov. 9) at CCJ (and online soon after).

More info here.

Evolution Shorts

2008-10-05T21:58:00.003-04:00

This post is where you will find all of the shorts from the "Evolution" series.

From the sermon, "Beginning With The End In Mind" (Evolution: A Walk Through Colossians) on 10.05.2008.

From the sermon, "Image Is Everything" (Evolution: A Walk Through Colossians) on 10.12.2008.

From the sermon, "The Road Not Taken" (Evolution: A Walk Through Colossians) on 10.19.2008.

Prayers of Comfort

2008-10-02T12:28:00.002-04:00

Thinking of You, Daniel on the Loss of Your Grandfather
May the wonderful memories of your grandfather’s love be with you and comfort you.
You are in our prayers.

Running Like Pagans

2008-09-26T09:30:00.005-04:00

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
- Jesus (Matthew 6:25-34)

I woke up this morning with a worried mind. I'm generally not a person that views humanity in a positive light. I'm a believer in the first tenant of Calvinism (I don't agree with all points of Calvinism but this post is not about Calvinism, so let's move ahead).

Anyway, this financial meltdown had me worried this morning. My mind takes off in a million different directions ('what if the economy collapses and there is another depression?' 'What if I lose my job, how will my family eat?' 'What would the impact be on our church?' and on and on ...)

I believe God the Holy Spirit brings to mind scripture in these situations in my life. Often it's in the form of a song (for instance, Jon Foreman's 'House of God Forever' popped into my head as I was fretting) I've learned or my Bible Drill days coming back to serve me well (I'm so thankful my parents made me do Bible Drill and didn't give in to my childish protests. They were very wise.)

God the Holy Spirit brought the above scripture to my mind as I was in the shower worrying. I really like the line "pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them."

The "kingdom" of Washington doesn't have the answer no matter who is in power. The answer is to seek God's kingdom first.

Dan says...

2008-09-21T10:24:00.002-04:00

In honor of this week's ccjasper.com front page image...you fill in the blank :). Dan Kieffner (who is a CCJ elder by the way) says:

SOS Pizza Night

2008-09-20T12:46:00.002-04:00

Seniors Offering Services, a new ministry at CCJ, met Friday night. We enjoyed pizza...finalized plans for our trip next month to the Covered Bridge Festival....and got acquainted with one another. We also discussed ways to get involved in the church and community. Check the church bulletin for contact information.

WINGS. Auction

2008-09-19T14:24:00.003-04:00

We all had a great time last night (Thursday) at the Wings Auction. Great food, fellowship and laughter. If you didn't make it...you really missed out. It's an annual event so you'll have to wait a year for the next one. Candy and Cheryl, again, entertained the crowd with antics. Seeing Candy's auctioneer hats are worth coming out for! And who says Christian can't have fun!

Baby Shower

2008-09-13T22:45:00.004-04:00

Today I attended the nicest baby shower that I've been to. Kara's 24/7 girls did a wonderful job.

This picture is one of the gifts that Kara received. I've not heard this 'saying' before and it got me to thinking about those moments in my life when my breath was taken away in awe of God's goodness. There have been many but the most awesome moment in my life has to be..............

Check out mine, then add yours to the comments.

So ...

2008-09-13T21:13:00.000-04:00

what's happening?

Two Things

2008-09-06T23:34:00.001-04:00

“My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior.”

-- John Newton, quoted in Jonathan Aitken, ("John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace," Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007)

Mission's Flame

2008-09-02T22:58:00.001-04:00

Via The Thinklings.