what happened

Does anybody know what happened to blogging on this site?? The last blog was written 3 weeks ago. Did everybody drop out?? No one interested???

Can you do That???

At clc we really try to keep a good balance of people sitting in the congregation. Our goal is that the attendees will be balanced as such:
1/3 mature believers
1/3 baby believers
1/3 non believers

With this balance it gives us lots of people attending that are just getting their lives right with God. In that process many of them still have junk and funk in their lives that they are trying to shake off. They have made a commitment to Christ but many of them still struggle with foul language, drinking, living with someone that they are not married and some other stuff. They are baby believers trying to get it together.

We allow these people to volunteer and serve in particular ministries at clc. CAN YOU DO THAT??? I would like to know your thoughts on this subject. I guess really I am asking the question but we already do that. I never want to dishonor the work on the ministry but serving is the most powerful message Jesus taught to the disciples before leaving. So we do engage baby believers in serving even when they have some junk still in their lives.

Give me your thoughts?????

Convincing the Unconvinced

The importance of creating a relational environment of acceptance is part of our mission statement at clc. This is a compenent that I feel is missing from many of our PCG churches. For instance, we have a young man, senior in high school, that has been attending clc for 4 months now that is a cross dresser. I honestly looks like a girl. The school system here allows him to do this and even use the girls restroom. He wears heels every week, make-up, jewelry and the entire get up. We have not told him that if he wants to attend youth or clc on Sundays that he will have to dress as a young man. We have loved him, treated him as a young man and refered to him as a young man. 2 months back in a message series we were in i spoke of the decline of morality in our society through homosexual marriage, sexual perversion and sexual identity misplacement. I spoke the truth that God made us to be male and female and that the only Godly attraction we have is male for female and female for male. God created us to be who we are and not to be something he did not create to be. That day as this young man dressed as a woman left clc, he hugged me and thanked me for the message. Our goal as a church is to always love the unloveable and present Christ. We also make very clear that there is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus Christ and that there will not be any sin enter into heaven. Today this young man still attends every Wednesday for Zero Five student ministries and every Sunday for clc worship experience and still dresses as a woman. God will change him.

Another thought for you. We consistently have couples that come to clc who are not married but living together. We always love them and create a relational environment of acceptance for them regardless of what is going on in their lives. This is what we have experienced. In loving them to date as a church plant just over 5 years old now, we have had over 10 couples become part of clc that were not married but living together. To date i have married 7 of these couples with 2 weddings scheduled in the Spring. When we love them, preach the word and then allow God to speak to them without trying to clean them up ourselves, God will take care of them.

In our PCG churches i want to see more people like these listed and many more far from God be attracted to our churches. I want to see us create a relational environment of acceptance.

Here is the question: WHY ARE THESE PEOPLE NOT BEING ATTRACTED TO OUR CHURCHES??????

Please give me your honest comments and don't be afraid to be brutily honest. You want to know more about us and clc, check out our website: www.clcrolla.com

something to think about

Acceptable or NOT??? iF this person shows up your church on Sunday, what would happen???
Bio: girl with 6-8 inch pink mohawk with blue tips. more than 10 face piercings, multiple tatoos that you can see and God only knows those you can't and to top it all off she is a stripper at the local strip club.
Honestly consider what would happen, what would people say, how would they respond, would anyone speak to them, does anyone at your church know how to talk to them without staring??? If not, then ask yourself this question, Am I training up leaders to reach those that look & act different???

Jesus searched out people that were different from Him. He took alot of crap over it when the Pharisees questioned Him speaking to them and spending time with them. Even the disciples at times questioned Jesus rubbing shoulders with the whores, dysfunctional & socially unacceptable of that day. what does your character say about you??? If you want to TOUCH the world then you must get some DIRT on you.

church planting evangelism

Never before has the climate for evangelism and church planting been riper for America! We are the world's third-largest unreached nation with over 195 million unreached people. There is a tremendous spiritual vacuum created by three generations influenced by secular humanism. But people are searching for meaning, security and significance. New churches are timely, relevant and connect easily with their communities. Now is the time to plant more and better churches! Now is the time for existing churches to multiply and reap the harvest fields around them. Historically, church planting is proven to be the most effective form of evangelism.

87% of all converts in the past 5 years have received Christ in new church plants.

What are you doing to plant churches?? Do you have plans to mother a church from your church?? Do you have plans to launch another Venue of your church in your area or neighboring city??? Our goal is in 2009 to launch a Christian Life Center Video Venue in the Fort Leonard Wood area. We as PCG creative innovators must lead the charge on infusing our communities with church plants.

Everyday in America:
approx. 600,000 people are homeless and 100,000 of those are children.
1 in 4 children go to be hungry every night
6 kids under age 20 commit suicide
218 kids under age 20 are arrested for violent crimes
1352 babies are born to teenage mothers
8493 kids are reported to be abused physically or sexually
Over 4000 babies are aborted
1 of every 2 marriages end in divorce
Every 2 minutes a woman is raped
Every minute 4000 people enter eternity without Christ

it takes all of us

"When i was a kid, my church friends were critical of other churches. The “other” churches were too weird, too charismatic, too legalistic, too boring, or too stuffy.
Sadly today, many Christians are convinced their style of church is the only and best way.
It takes all kinds of Christian churches to reach all kinds of people.
Surely God can work through Bible Churches, Charismatic Churches, Traditional Churches, and Seeker Churches. He can use Baptist Christians, Methodist Christians, Episcopal Christians, and Spirit-filled tongue talking Holy Ghost rollin’ Christians.
No matter how much you enjoy your expression of worship, your church won’t reach the world alone.
It is exciting that instead of criticizing the differences, many are embracing the similarities and truly making a difference for Christ."

This is a quote from Craig Groeshel, Pastor of one of the most innovative and fasting growing churches in America today with 14 campuses and ministering to over 20,000 people, LifeChurch.tv.

For too long in PCG we have not spoken this language. I was raised in PCG with thoughts and teachings that we had it all because we were spirit filled and that all other churches could not do it as good as we can. Even to the fact that some others were not even Christians. Who do we really think we are when we can determine that because others are not spirit filled that the people that they are reaching are not really experiencing God. How is it that some of these churches that are not spirit filled are leading THOUSANDS to Christ while some in PCG are not even experiencing hardly anyone saved each year.

I think we should begin to speak the language that God is using all styles of worship to reach all kinds of people. We should be "United for a Common Cause" building God's Kingdom which includes churches of all styles and doctrine and allow Unity to bring us together instead of building dividing walls between us.