SNOWED OUT!

Even though it’s very rare, it’s always difficult to have to cancel Sunday services…but this one is totally out of our control.  And we know God is in control…so we need to just relax and enjoy the blizzard of ‘09!

I’m hunkered down with my family…

• watching Christmas movies
• vegetable soup in crock pot
• looking forward to Cowboys losing to Saints tonight
• more snacks!
• a gigantic shoveling workout coming!

So, our service we had planned for tomorrow will move to next Sunday, December 27th.   Hopefully you’ll be in town and be there next Sunday.  Reminder that there is no kids church (K-5th grade) next Sunday.  We’ll have preschool and nursery as normal.

I recommend finding a good service on TV or online.  I suggest checking out the internet campus of Life Church – click here:

http://live.lifechurch.tv/

As a reminder…year end giving needs to be in by next Sunday to count for 2009.  If you are going out of town, you can mail any contributions to the church office: Life Community Church, 1988 Opitz Blvd, Woodbridge, VA 22191 or try our easy “E-GIVE” system.

Well, stay safe and enjoy the snow!

A Beautiful Prayer

I actually most often delete email forwards of any kind…mostly to save time!  But I read this one today and I thought it was worthy of posting here and actually praying each morning…give it a read…

———————

Dear Lord, I thank you for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I’m blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness.

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.

Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me continue to see sin through God’s eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrongdoing, and receive the forgiveness of God.

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus’ example — to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It’s the best response when I’m pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can’t pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will.

Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those who are lost and can’t find their way. I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don’t know You intimately. I pray for those who will delete this without sharing it with others. I pray for those who don’t believe. But I thank you that I believe.

I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly.

This is my prayer.
In Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

We Are Here

Powerful video we used in the service yesterday…

OVERINDULGING message notes from 12.13.09

Exodus 20:4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth”

1. We’ve got to deal with what is real.

Galatians 6:7 “A man reaps what he sows”

2. We’ve got to roll with self-control.

I Peter 1:13 “So think clearly and exercise self-control.”

Proverbs 25:28 “A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.”

3. We’ve got to commit to be legit.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!  All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.  So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.  I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”

4. We’ve got to stop before we drop.

2 Peter 2:19-20 “They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.  And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before.”

OVERCOMMITTING message notes from 12.6.09

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I OVERCOMMIT…

1.  I FEEL MORE STRESS

Song of Solomon 1:6 “I had no time to care for myself…”

2.  I LOSE MY JOY

Job 9:25 “My days go by faster than a runner; they fly away without my seeing any joy.”

3.       I BECOME LESS PRODUCTIVE

Proverbs 21:5 “Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry puts you further behind.”

4.  I AM NOT ABLE TO HEAR GOD

Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God.”

HOW TO PREVENT OVERCOMMITMENT AT CHRISTMAS

1.       DISCOVER THE REMEDY TO “HURRY SICKNESS”

Psalm 118:24 “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”

2.       STOP THE CONSTANT PUSH FOR MORE.

Ecclesiastes 4:6 “It is better to have only a little, with peace of mind, than be busy all the time…”

3.       LEARN TO SAY “NO”.

Proverbs 20:25 “An impulsive vow is a trap; later you’ll wish you could get out of it.”

4.       OBEY THE 4^TH COMMANDMENT

Exodus 20:9-10 “You have six days in which to do your work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to Me.”

OVERCOMMITMENT @ Christmas

Join us this Sunday, December 6th at 10:30 am as we continue a brand new series entitled OVERBOARD. The Christmas season is upon us. It is a time for family, friends, church, decorating, traveling, gifts, parties, shopping, musicals, sweets and more. When is enough enough? When have we crossed the line and gone overboard? For these next 3 Sundays leading up to Christmas, we are going to look at what the Bible says about overdoing it. This Sunday’s topic: OVERCOMMITTING.

Thankful for baptisms!

I had the awesome priviledge to baptize 4 indivduals today at LCC.  It was great to see Lindsy, Dorana, Connor and Scott make their faith in Christ public this morning at church.

Recapping other thoughts of thankfulness…

• thankful for all the dedicated workers at church this morning…lots of moving parts today and everything went very smoothly
• thankful for a safe family trip this week to Ohio and back
• thankful for a relaxing time on Thanksgiving with Sherri’s brother Scott and his family.  We got to see our first snow of the season…and we sure did eat good.
• thankful for my family’s health…we all are feeling a little wiped out, but we’ve escaped all the bad stuff that’s been going around (so far )
• thankful for Sunday afternoon football on big screen tv’s!
• thankful for the privilege of serving God via the local church…it is where it’s at!
• thankful for an amazing wife and 4 great kids

OVERspending Message Notes

Here are my message notes from part 1 of the OVERBOARD SERIES…

OVERSPENDING  (11.29.09)

4 Dangers of Overspending

1. Buying now, paying later
2. Developing a materialist mindset
3. Focusing on the wrong gifts of Christmas
4. Trying to prove yourself through gifts

How to deal with the dangers of OVERSPENDING:

1. Determine to move from credit to contentment.

Romans 13:8 “Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.”

• Act your wage
• Do plastic surgery
• Don’t take it to the limit
• Realize if you’re not happy with what you have now, you won’t be happy with more

2. Resolve to give more presence and less presents this Christmas.

3. Do not neglect the birthday boy.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 “And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.  Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

4. Remember that the best Christmas gifts are still free.

FREE GIFT #1: FORGIVENESS

Luke 2:11 ” The Savior–yes, the Messiah, the Lord–has been born tonight in Bethlehem,”

FREE GIFT #2:  PEACE OF MIND

Psalm 119:165 “Those who love your law have great peace and do not stumble.”

FREE GIFT #3:  ETERNAL LIFE

Romans 1:17 “God makes us ready for heaven when we put our faith in Christ to save us.  The only one who finds life will find it through trusting Christ.” (LB)

Going Overboard

I’m looking forward to starting this brand new series this Sunday.  Because of some Thanksgiving vacation travel plans, I’m working diligently today on Sunday’s message on OVERSPENDING.  This coming Sunday will be a great kickoff to the new series…because it’s our 5th Sunday of the month, it will be a family service with no kid’s church for K-5th grade.  Also, we’ll be baptizing at the end of the service…don’t miss it!

Genuine Wisdom Message Notes

Here are my message notes from Sunday’s message (11.22.09)

GENUINE WISDOM

James 3:17 “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.”

James 1:5 “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”

IF I POSSESS GENUINE WISDOM FROM GOD…

…I will not sacrifice my integrity.

“The wisdom from above is first of all pure…”

…I will not provoke your anger.

“Wisdom is also peace loving.”

…I will not minimize your feelings.

“Wisdom is gentle at all times”

…I will not belittle your ideas.

“Wisdom is willing to yield to others”

…I will not highlight your blunders.

“Wisdom is full of mercy and good deeds.”

…I will not mask my own faults.

“Wisdom shows no favoritism and is always sincere”

Pray for your Pastor!

I came across these sermon notes from a message delivered by Dr. Elmer Towns – Dean of School of Religion at Liberty University.  Some great points…and I always appreciate knowing that God’s people are praying for me!

A. WHY PRAY FOR YOUR PASTOR?

1. Because his victories are (your) the church’s victories. “When Moses held up his hand (in prayer), Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed” (Ex. 17:11).

2. Because God’s people are captive to godless forces. Daniel (9:1-23) interceded. “We have sinned and done wrong, and acted wickedly, and rebelled, and turned aside from your commandments” (9:5).

3. Because God’s people don’t know what to do. “Unto us confusion of faces” (v. 7, KJV).

4. Because the enemy plots to discourage and destroy church leaders, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil” (I Peter. 3:12).

5. Because sheep are dumb, i.e., hurtful, ungrateful, critical, inordinate expectations, etc. “I pray the eyes of my pastor may be enlightened to know the hope of his calling, the glory of his inheritance among the saints, and the exceeding greatness of Christ’s power” (Eph. 1:18-19, ELT).

6. Because he needs to preach in the energy and anointing of the Holy Spirit to change lives” (Luke 4:1, 14, 18).

7. Because lost souls are saved through his ministry. “I (God) sought for a man among them that should . . . stand in the gap before Me” (Ez. 22:30).

8. Because he needs rich times of Bible study and prayer. “We (apostles) will give ourselves to prayer and the ministry of the world” (Acts 6:4).

9. Because of heavy burdens. “Beside . . . that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches” (Acts 11:28).

10. Because he needs to discipline his time and make good leadership decisions.

11. Because he needs to be a good husband and daddy.

12. Because he needs to be holy, healthy, and wise.

13. Because you help bear his burdens, “Bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2).

B. THREE IMPORTANT TIMES TO PRAY FOR YOUR PASTOR

1. Sunday night/Monday morning. After the adrenalin rushes are over, Satan’s key time to attack after a victory, i.e., Ai, Paul in prison, Peter in prison.

2. Saturday night. Pastor’s have a hard time shutting off their minds and sleep. Satan attacks to stop a spiritual victory.

3. Any time the Holy Spirit brings him to mind.

C. KEYS TO MORE EFFECTIVELY PRAYING FOR YOUR PASTOR

1. Cut the criticism; use your prayers to bless him.

2. Squelch gossip. “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself” (James 1:26).

3. Roll up your sleeves and get to work. Nothing helps to ensure prayer like involvement.

4. Be openly responsive. Show him you are listening.

5. Treat him with respect. “Esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake” (I Thess. 5:12-13).

6. Forget the good ole days elsewhere. Don’t expect him to do everything another pastor did.

7. Thank God for the calling, gifts, and abilities of your pastor.

8. Pray for opportunities.

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints — and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel” (Eph. 6:18-19).

9. Pray against those who try to hurt or criticize

Genuine Wisdom

This Sunday, November 22nd, I conclude a 4-part series entitled, GENUINE.  We’ve going through the book of James and talking about what it means to be a GENUINE believer…the real deal…not a fake or imitation.  We wrap it up by looking at James 3:13-18.  Very practical stuff here for us to test ourselves and see if we possess and are living by genuine wisdom from God or simply man’s wisdom.

Check out the passage…

James 3:13-18 (New Living Translation)

True Wisdom Comes from God

¹³ If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. ¹⁵ For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. ¹⁶ For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. ¹⁷ But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. ¹⁸ And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

Happy Veteran’s Day!

We are all so blessed today to have the freedoms that we have in America.  Be sure to thank all the veterans in your life.  Our church has many men and women that have served or are currently serving in our military.  I just want to send out a heart-felt THANK YOU for all you have done and continue to do for us!

Great to be back!

Great day at LCC!  After 16 months, it was amazing to be back in the auditorium today…

• Everyone enjoyed the comfortable seats and awesome atmosphere for worship
• Loved preaching from James 1:2-6…such an incredible practical book of the Bible to preach from!
• Really nice crowd!
• Sound was perfect…acoustics are incredible in there
• Band was awesome…our new drummer is doing great!
• No A/C or Heat fans going on and off!
• Real or Fake game was a lot of fun…it’s coming back next week!
• we extended our worship service from 65 minutes to 70 minutes in length…with no complaints
• preschool and nursery went smoothly back in the cafeteria…so much better!
• thankful for several first time guests

The morning set-up time did have its’ own set of challenges…our church administrator, Ed took a hard fall on some stairs thatare in the dark coming in the side door of the auditorium.  We had to call for an ambulance and he had to be carted off.  Last report is that he is still at Potomac Hospital with torn ligaments in the area that holds his knee cap in place and orthpedics surgeons will decide tomorrow on surgery.  Please keep Ed in your prayers.  He is a faithful servant at LCC who took one for the team big time today.

Don’t miss next Sunday at LCC…be sure to invite a friend.

2 weeks left to turn in your shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child!

This Sunday…Nov 1st…don’t miss it.

Yes!!! Finally…after 16 months!!!

We’ve gotten approval to move back into the school’s newly renovated auditorium.  This means our nursery and preschool will be out of the hallway and back into the cafeteria as well.  We are excited about the possibilities to have the space to reach more people.  Don’t miss Sunday as we move in and kick off our new series – GENUINE.

This Coming Sunday…

This Sunday, I‘m going to answer 6 miscellaneous questions in 6 mini-sermons…it‘s going to be a completely different worship format…so don‘t be late! We start at 10:30 am.

Here are the 6 questions (as submitted by the congregation)

• Can you extend your life by the way you live your life?
• Why are we considered Christians and not Jewish?
• What is the deal with the Year of Jubilee?
• How do I know when God is trying to say something to me?
• Is it wrong to fall asleep while praying or reading the Bible?
• How come termites did not eat the ark?

Monday Post

Great weekend!

Yesterday was a great Sunday at LCC.

• 2 new families attended…both of whom are looking for a church home
• incredible worship led by our band…they were rockin 2 new songs: “No Not One” and “How He Loves” Awesome!
• awesome interview with Nathan Havasy, new area Young Life director…great to hear his passion to reach students…glad LCC can support them monthly
• love to watch the interaction and fellowship of the people
• appreciate the servants on the ORANGE team…way to make the kid’s ministry GO!
• enjoyed hearing the various theological dialogues taking place after yesterday’s message…
• proud of our kid’s ministry and all the supplies they collected for the PWC head start program

Other weekend misc…

• The weather was nasty, but it gave our family a “day off” on Saturday.  All 6 ball games were rained out and we almost didn’t know what to do with ourselves.  Truth is…we thoroughly enjoyed having the day!
• How about those Redskins!
• Glad to turn in my 15 page theology term paper…one week off then I start my next class next Monday…

This and that

Ready or not…the Fall weather is here.  I love the changing seasons, but it seems like it came quickly.  I hope everyone had a good weekend.  We had a great service on Sunday at LCC in spite of all the families out traveling with the 3-day weekend.  Thanks to Mick for filling in for Josh and doing a great job of leading the Worship service.  Great to see some new faces as well.

I appreciate Diana Brayman sharing her story and plans for her Spring Break missions trip to Uganda.  Diana is a college student at Liberty University and she is going on a short-term trip with a missions team from LU.  I appreciated her passion as she shared the burden God has laid upon her heart.  Keep her in your prayers and consider supporting her as she has to raise $3,000 for the trip.  She’s about half-way there.  You can give through our church’s website egive link…just mark it for “Diana Brayman missions.”

I’m anticipating a great service this coming Sunday.  Josh and the full band will be rocking the house with a great worship set…including a brand new song for LCC.  I will be continuing my October Q & A series by answering  the question that is hotly debated in theological circles…”Predestination or Free Will?”  Also, on Sunday I will be introducing to the congregation the new area directory for Young Life, a ministry that we support each month.  Don’t miss this coming Sunday!

Some other miscelleanous thoughts on my mind…

• Jim Zorn needs to go…I personally like the guy, but he is stinking it up as the head coach.
• I think the Yankees are going to win the whole deal this year…and it’s painful to say that…and I will continue to route against them.
• Can’t believe how fast my 1 year old is growing up and changing daily.
• I’m blessed with a great church staff…Josh, Donald and Sherri are amazing!
• Feeling a lot of relief…just finished my 15 page term paper for a seminary class
• Still praying we get in the auditorium soon!  It’s so ridiculous and makes me crazy…the school completed the project 2 months ago and there is 1 little electrical/lighting issue that is holding up the occupancy permit…I can’t believe how long it had dragged out.  Meanwhile…we continue on in the cafeteria…

Weekend recap

What a gorgeous weekend!  I hope everyone got to spend some time outside in the sun.  This is simply the best time of the year.

Just a few notes of recap from this weekend…

• We kicked off our life group on Friday evening at our home.  We are doing the study by Dr. Gary Chapman, The Marriage You’ve Always Wanted.  We have a great group of 5 committed couples and room for 1 more.  It’s going to be a great study and lots of fun with this group.
• Saturday was filled with kids activities: gymnastics, 2 baseball games, 1 softball game, and 1 homecoming dance…long and full, but lots of fun.
• We had a good start to the new Q & A series.  It’s a little different for me…more serious teaching oriented than my normal style…a few less jokes   I could see people taking more notes than usual.  Some heavy, but important topics.  If you missed it, listen on our website or on iTunes.
• Our Sunday morning prayer team is now meeting each week from 10:05-10:30 in the school library.  If you are interested, just show up and join the team as they pray for me, the service, the church and other requests.
• I’m so thankful for all the great committed servants we have at LCC.  Did you know that every Sunday morning requires about 50 dedicated individuals just to make all the ministries go?  Some serve every week, some serve on a monthly rotation, but all are making a difference in so many lives.  I am blessed as a I walk around the building and see the dedication each week!  THANKS!
• Missions Emphasis…we are currently emphasizing several opportunities to get involved in missions…
  • Our youth group is currently setting up a weekly display in the lobby with the opportunity to “adopt” and support a child through World Vision.
  • On October 11&18, our Kids Life ministry is collecting donations for the Early Head Start Program of Prince William County.  We are gathering items like crib sheets and new baby toys for those less privileged in our county.
  • This coming Sunday, October 11th, I will be interviewing one of our own college students who is embarking on a short-term missions trip to Africa next Spring.  Our church has the opportunity to support her and reach people who need to hear the Gospel overseas.
  • On Sunday, October 18th, I will be interviewing the new area Young Life Director.  We support the local chapter of Young Life which does a great job of reaching teenagers in our local high schools.
  • Then in November, we’ll be doing the annual Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Drive.

Unforgivable Sin?

This Sunday kicks off a new series at LCC – Q & A.  The series is based off of the questions submitted by the congregation during the month of September.  I’m looking forward to the challenge!  Here’s the rundown…

October 4

• Is there a sin that cannot be forgiven?
• Am I a hypocrite for doubting my faith at times?

October 11

• Why do bad things happen to good people?
• Why does a good God allow children to get cancer and die?
• What happens to children who die at a young age?
• Why does God allow wars?

October 18

• Predestination or free will?
• Is it true that God doesn’t hear sinners’ prayers unless it is the prayer of repentance?

October 25

• Can you extend your life by the way you live your life?
• Why are we considered Christians and not Jewish?
• What is the deal with the Year of Jubilee?
• How do I know when God is trying to say something to me?
• Is it wrong to fall asleep while praying or reading the Bible?
• How come termites did not eat the ark?

Ethel Markle

My Monday morning post usually is recapping Sunday at LCC.  We did have a great day yesterday at church.  A great new family worshipped with us, great music, atmosphere, fellowship.  I was especially impressed with the dedication of our servants.  I noticed so many who were fighting sickness, but still showed up to fulfill their jobs…I really appreciate the effort.  I also notice the families that rush in at the last minute with kids in soccer uniforms and then have to rush out…but they make the effort to make it to worship!  I love to see the dedication!

Last night while celebrating my daughter Lexi’s 9th birthday, we got a phone call the my grandmother who was in the hospital with pneumonia had taken a turn for the worse.  My parents left immediately and made the 2 hour drive home straight to the hospital to have some moments with her.  She passed away this morning (Monday) at 10:35 am.

My dad’s mom was 98 years old!  She was born in 1911.  Kind of hard to imagine living that long.  She lived a good life.  She was a hard worker and faithful servant of the Lord in her church.  She and my grandfather were married more than 60 years before he died about 7 years ago.  She taught kindergarten Sunday school in her church for 65 years…can you imagine that?  She started when she was a teenager.  I remember how much she loved to play cards and dice games…I remember many night at their kitchen table playing games…lots of great memories.

I’m thankful that we were able to see her on Labor Day…just a few weeks ago. (picture below)  We had a nice conversation.  She would always ask me “are you still a preacher?”  I would say “yes, mommaw I’m still a preacher”  She will be missed, but we are all glad that she is no longer struggling, but in the presence of Jesus.  I look forwarded to participating in her funeral service later this week.  Thanks for your prayers for the family.  Everyone knows the Lord and has great peace at this time.

Follow up to Sunday’s message…

Back to church!

It was back to school on Tuesday and back to church on Sunday…  It was good to see a large majority of people back from all of the summer vacations and weekend getaways.  Great crowd yesterday at LCC!

We have some great things happening at our church as we are just beginning the fall…

• Our new kids church for K-5th grade kicked off a week ago and after 2 weeks I am hearing that kids are LOVING it!  They are loving the games, activities, videos, teaching, etc…they are having fun at church while being taught God’s Word.  Sherri and her teams are doing an excellent job.  It’s great to see so many new people and especially so many of our teenagers serving in the ministry each week.
• The word is that it that there is a good chance we could move into the auditorium this coming Sunday.  There is just one minor electrical issue they need to resolve and then the school should receive the occupancy permit.  Pray that this happens.  We need to give the cafeteria back to our nursery and preschool ASAP.  We had about 30 babies and preschoolers meeting in the hallways yesterday…pray!
• Our Meet & Eat September events are beginning to take place.  We ended up with 7 groups and 30 families participating in this connection event.  We are looking forward to getting to know better some of the new families in our church at our group meeting in a few weeks.
• Our Fall Life Group registration began yesterday.  We’ve got some great studies and groups planned for this Fall.  My wife and I are hosting one on marriage for marriage couples or those who are getting married.  Check out the full listing here.
• One of the items on our Fall Prayer Card is that we are praying for 100 first time guests between September and December.  We’ve had 7 so far, 93 to go…now let’s get busy inviting our friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc.  Let’s pack out that new auditorium!
• Another bit of exciting news for this September is the move of our youth group weekly meetings.  Our Student ministry had outgrown the church office meeting space and are now using another church’s building on Thursday nights.  Check out the information on the student page.  We now have 30-40 regular youth attending…praise God for the space.

The RU Kidding Me? series continues this Sunday…join us at 10:30 am.

Sunday recap

Great day yesterday!  Lots of fun!  Great weather for our event!

• Great worship service…good summer crowd, A/C working great, great music…
• Nice to have the Pyburn family back after about 5 years away from the area…nice surprise!
• Lots of fun after the service with the picnic and the softball games.  We played 2 7-inning games and had a blast.
• Thanks to all who worked extra hard yesterday to make it happen…especially the guys who came early with their grills on their trucks…appreciate the efforts of the grill masters.  Thanks to Ed for coordinating everything…well done!
• Check out a few pics below from yesterday

Good times…

God is good.  We’ve have had great services the past 2 weeks at LCC.  As the summer is close to winding down, I can feel the energy at church going up.  We are anticipating great things from God this Fall.

A few highlights…

• new guests visiting our church every Sunday
• good crowds even on days with so many regulars out on vacation
• great music led by Josh and our band
• lots of energy and new volunteers surrounding our new kids church program starting on September 6th
• excited about moving into the renovated auditorium in a few weeks…sometime in September
• looking forward to next week’s softball game and picnic after the service
• nice response by our people to the LCAC school supply drive…thanks to all who donated!
• got more than 12 family registrations already for the Meet & Eat event in September!

August 18th

Today marks the 19th anniversary of the day I made those sacred vows to my wife.  What an amazing 19 years we have had together.  Truly they have flown by.  I remember hearing of others hitting 19, 20 years of marriage and thinking how old they must be…but I must say that we feel like we are just beginning and while we have so many great memories…we have so much still ahead of us to look forward to together.  God has blessed us tremendously with a great relationship and it’s not something we take for granted.  We work hard to make it all it can and should be.  Thanks to mom and dad for setting the example for us!

Here’s a recent family pic from Nic’s 1st birthday…

This Sunday at Life

Don‘t Miss this Sunday at LCC… Faces series continues on Sunday as I will be talking about LOVE. We‘ll be taking a close look at the 5 love languages…don‘t miss Sunday morning! What would you do for a Klondike Bar? All you have to do is come to worship at LCC this Sunday! We‘ll have a time of fellowship after the service…great chance to make some new friends… LCAC School Supply Drive…the collection is on Sunday, August 23rd. Click here to read more and find out how to donate. Church Softball Game & Picnic…Sunday, August 30th after the morning service. Check the website for more details…and put it on your calendar! INVITE, INVITE, INVITE – bring your family and friends. Hope to see you Sunday, Steve

Great to be back!

I took a little blogging break while out of town for my son’s All-Star Tournament.  It is great to be back and we had a great day yesterday at Life Community Church!  After a Sunday away, I am always anxious to see my church family.

• Mick did a great job stepping up and  leading worship for the first time in Josh’s absence.  It’s great to have people that are willing to use their talents and gifts for God’s glory.
• In spite of the vacations, it was still a good healthy crowd of people yesterday.
• 2 people prayed to accept Christ and begin a personal relationship with him at the end of the service!
• We had a great smoothie fellowship after the service…still debating which was more popular – the Strawberry-Banana or Strawberry-Lemonade.  Thanks to the youth and adults who served as smoothie makers!
• Momentum is building for our new Kids Church program which begins in September.  Sherri held a meeting with workers yesterday…it’s exciting to see people not previously serving, who are stepping up to be involved in this new program for K-5th graders.  We have a great curriculum/program called 252 Basics which was created by Andy Stanley’s church in Atlanta.  Our kids are in for a great time!
• Our youth group had a great crowd last night for youth group…30…plus still several on vacation…so Donald is pressing me to find him a bigger space on Sunday nights than our church office meeting room…which really has a max of 20.  I need ideas…and I need them quick!
• I’m getting LOTS of positive feedback on this current message series on PRAYER.  It’s obviously an area that we all need to grow in in our lives.  Thanks to Donald for speaking last Sunday for me…I heard great feedback about his message!

Thanks for your prayers for those who were following our all-star team which won the district tournament and then went on to states.  We had a very exciting run at states.  Very dramatic games and we ended up 3rd in the state out of 11 teams…something to be very proud of.  Last Sunday, I had a great opportunity to call an optional chapel service for our team and their families.  Everyone showed up.  I was able to preach the story of David and Goliath in a perfect setting – the valley between 2 mountains…which was pretty cool if you know the story.  I received a great response and encouraging feedback.  I was very grateful for the opportunity.

I’m looking forward to this coming Sunday…hope to see you there!

Fruit Smoothies this Sunday

Don’t Miss this Sunday… Prayer for Dummies series continues on Sunday: “Understanding Why God Didn’t Answer” Fruit Smoothie Fellowship after the service. Do you have a blender? Would you like to help serve this Sunday? A few more volunteers are needed. Please send me a quick email. ‘Kids Church’ Workers meeting after the service – Location TBA – gather some information on how you can be involved in our new program which debuts in September Grab a new church magnet for your fridge…available at the info table. INVITE, INVITE, INVITE – bring your family and friends. Hope to See you Sunday! Steve

Lots going on…

We had an awesome Summer Sunday…

• what an incredible crowd for the middle of the summer!
• several first time guests
• Josh and band were great
• had to say goodbye to 2 families – the Cerdas and Burgess’ – we’ll miss you greatly!
• great time of fellowship after the service with the Milwaukee Frozen Custard
• only downside was the A/C being out in the cafeteria…sorry about that…we have no control when the school has this kind of malfunction…I know it was rough on everyone…thanks for enduring!

Our students are having a great week at Student Life Summer Camp in Lynchburg, Virginia.  Donald took a total of 31 this year and they are part of a camp with over 2,000 held on the campus of Liberty University.  Great music and great speakers…be praying that God does a great work in their lives.

We’re looking forward to a fun weekend with Zac playing and me managing the team at the Seniors State Tournament in Pound, VA.  We’re competing with 11 other teams from around the state.  Should be lots of fun!

Pray for Donald Buttram, our youth pastor, as he leads the students this week and then as he shares the message at LCC this coming Sunday – don’t miss it as he continues our “Prayer for Dummies” series.

District 9 Champions

It sure feels good to be champions.  After 5 years of all-star runs that ended in defeat, it is sure sweet to win a District 9 title and to be heading to a state tournament!  I am so happy for Zac and his teammates…they worked so hard and earned every bit of it.  We won the championship game last night 5-2.  It was a nail biter.  Our opponent loaded the based in the bottom of the last inning and had their top hitter at the plate…my heart was beating incredibly fast…could hardly watch…but finally a called 3rd strike and it was over.  Below are some pictures.  We go next week to Pound, VA to compete in a state tournament of 11 Senior Division teams.

Our team with our District Banner

Zac and me after the game

Zac was setting me up for my first gatorade bath

Zac draping himself in the banner

Monday Morning Post

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend!  This one was a little different for us personally…

Friday night…Zac’s all-star team that I manage had it’s first game of the championship round (best 2 out of 3 series).  We were ahead 5-1 going into last inning and ended up losing 7-6…a heart-breaking loss which put us in a position to have to win 2 in a row (Sunday & Monday)

Saturday…No big picnic plans or fireworks on Saturday…just a day to catch-up on some yard work, house work, grocery shopping, etc. and then have little family BBQ and card game.

Sunday morning…As I expected, the crowds were way down at church because of the holiday weekend and vacation travels…but still we did have a great service.  Scott LaRochelle shared in the message with me…I did an interview format with Scott who just retired after 26 years as an officer in the Coast Guard.  He shared some of the lessons he learned from his career of serving our country.  It was a great fit for 4th of July weekend.  Then we had a delicious watermelon fellowship outside after the service.  Sadly, we had to say goodbye yesterday to Russ, Deanna and Garrett Wells…moving on to Texas where Russ is entering seminary.  Keep them in your prayers!

Sunday afternoon…It was do or die for our baseball team.  We came out hitting great and we won 8-6 over Woodbridge.  The series is now tied at 1 and the final championship game is tonight at 7 pm at Mt. Vernon High School.  This is my 6th straight year of coaching on Zac’s all-star teams and we’ve never won a district championship.  We’ve come in 2nd once before and 3rd twice…we really want to get this one tonight and go to the state tournament next week.

Sunday evening…We chilled out last night with pizza, ice cream and the movie, Independance Day.  Zac and Tori enjoyed it for the first time.  I’ve seen it many times…but still a fun 4th of July weekend movie.

Now it’s time to start preparing for Sunday’s message…we begin a new series this week…PRAYER 4 DUMMIES.  Be there Sunday!

LCC E-News 7.1.09

This Sunday at LCC Don’t Miss this Sunday… 4th of July Weekend theme…Thanking God for our Freedom to worship Him Live Interview with Scott LaRochelle, one of our men retiring after 30 years in the Coast Guard…don’t miss this Watermelon Fellowship out front after the service! Grab a new church magnet for your fridge…now available at the info table. INVITE, INVITE, INVITE – bring your family and friends. Terrific Tuesday…July 7th from 10 am – Noon For Grades K-5 Theme: “Are You Listening?” At the home of Sherri Markle Movie snacks, clips from Horton Hears a Who, games and more Register here. Prayer 4 Dummies…new series begins July 12th. Read more here. Hope to See you Sunday! Steve

Taking One for the Team

This is what can happen when you park too close to a Seniors All-Stars Baseball Game…

Carole's windshield - A victim of a foul ball from our own team

Winning the game sure made it easier to take!

Weekend Recap, etc…

Great weekend!  Here’s my summary…

At Church…

• Great worship service this Sunday!
• Band sounded great…good to have David in town and on the drums again.
• Communion went well…it’s always good to remember what Jesus did for us and really take the time to collectively worship him in that way.
• Good crowd in spite of the summer vacation exodus!  Hope it keeps up through the summer!
• Great to see the Hickenbottam family back with us.  They moved away last summer, but are moving back from SC mid-August and will again be part of the LCC family.  Glad to see them this weekend!
• We gave out LCC beachballs on Sunday.  It’s a full size beachball with our church logo and website on it.  Some extras remain and will be available Sunday.  Take it to the beach.  Share it at your community pool.  Use it as a tool to invite someone to church this summer.
• The head custodian allowed us to store our equipment in a classroom this week since school is out.  This along with a few other miscelleneaous set-up items will save our crew some sweat and time this summer.  Hopefully we’ll be able to do this for several weeks and not have to bother with the trailer.
• The auditorium renovation looks about done.  It is only electrical/lighting holding us up from moving in.  Now that school is out, they don’t  seem as motivate to rush to completion.  Who knows???  We may be moving in at the beginning of September!

On the Ball Field…

• My team, the DTQ (Dumfries/Triangle/Quantico) Senior All-Stars, had a great opening weekend of the District 9 Tournament at Mt. Vernon High School.  We beat Woodlawn LL on Saturday 2-1.  Then on Sunday, we beat Dale City LL 9-3.  Some exciting games!
• We play Woodbridge LL on Wednesday night, but we already know that we qualify for the Championship Round this coming weekend.  We play Friday at 7 pm, then Sunday at 2 pm and then Monday at 7 pm (IF necessary).  (Admission at all games is free.)
• If we win 2 out of 3, we travel to the Virginia state tournament in Pound, VA on July 16 to compete against the other 15 districts in our state.

A good busy

Sometimes we complain about being busy…but there is a good busy when you are doing the things you love…

• Today – attending the retirement ceremony in DC of Scott Larochelle…one of our church members and a good friend.  He served his country for 26 years in the Coast Guard!
• Tonight – final all-star practice before games begin.  I’m managing the DTQ Senior All-Stars (15-16 year olds).
• Friday – All-star opening ceremonies
• Saturday – Morning yard sale, Afternoon first game vs. Woodlawn at 2 pm
• Sunday morn – Communion service at church – begins at 10:30 am
• Sunday afternoon – Game 2 of tournament vs. Dale City at 1 pm
• Wednesday night – Game 3 of tournament vs. Woodbridge at 7 pm

If our team advance from first round, we enter a 2 out of 3 championship round next weekend.  All games are at Mount Vernon High School.

I love the summer time…we always have some great fellowships planned at LCC this summer…check it out on our website – www.lifecc.us.

Outdoor Service Pics

It was a great day….great service outside – partly cloudy – about 76 degrees!  More than 200 gathered on the front lawn at Woodbridge Middle School…here are a few pics.

Father’s Day Outdoor Service!

Father’s Day at LCC Don’t Miss this Sunday… Outdoor Service in front of the school building at 10:30 am – B.Y.O.C. (Bring Your Own Chairs!) Father’s Day Message – “Becoming a Touchdown Dad” Full Live Band to lead us in Worship A Family event – no nursery, but there will be a fenced-in play area in the back for the little ones FREE cookout after the service – We are grilling burgers, hot dogs and brauts (for the dads) Also – we are giving every man a free copy of the hardback autobiography entitled “Touchdown Alexander” by Shaun Alexander INVITE, INVITE, INVITE – let’s pack out the school’s front yard! Youth Fundraiser Report (from Donald Buttram)… What a great night! Thank you, LCC for showing up in force and supporting your youth ministry like you did at Pizza Hut last Sunday evening. You purchased 913.58 worth of food and drink which means we will be getting a check for $182.72. It was a great fellowship and an easy way to help us raise funds for camp. It also turned out to be a perfect way to apply Steve’s message today. Most everyone there had to wait for a good amount of time before they even were able to place their orders. Most had to wait even longer on their food. Some got their orders piece by piece, and others had to follow up multiple times! But our people maintained great attitudes, controlled that anger … AND Because of that, there are two ladies who were actually touched by how we did not get mad and h ow we stepped up and helped them do their jobs. There is a GREAT chance we will see them at church soon. Pray for Heather and Rachel. Pray that God would encourage them to not wait, but to come this next Sunday. See you Sunday! Steve

Midweek Post

Sorry for the late post…week has gotten away!

Last weekend

• Great service on Sunday.  It was a healthy crowd, great music and atmosphere.
• I preached on Genesis 3 and the first sin.  People said I used the word NAKED too many times…but read Genesis 3…it’s a big part of the story!   Yea…and I guess I enjoy saying the word and watching people look a little uncomfortable
• Sad to say goodbye Sunday to Dan & Nicki Phillips (and Tyler).  They are dear friends and have served LCC in many ways…especially as our small group directors.  They will be missed!

This week

• Preparing for Sunday’s message on dealing with difficult co-workers.  Going to be preaching from Eph 4:26-5:2.
• Looking forward to Saturday night dinner at Calvary Road Baptist Church.  They are celebrating their 30th anniversary and have invited former staff and families to a celebration dinner.  We served on staff there from 96-02.  Looking forward to seeing old friends.
• This coming Sunday is our last day of core classes at 9:30.  We break for the summer…but this year we are coming back in September with a new kids church program for kids.  Check out the website for details.

Looking a few weeks ahead

• Our Father’s Day Outdoor Service on June 21st is going to be a blast.  INVITE, INVITE, INVITE!  Check the web for more details.
• We’ll celebrate Communion on June 28th
• We have a summer of special fellowships and outreach events planned.  Click here. Even though summer attendance may dip a little because of vacations, it is a great time to invite new families and friends to church.  Lots of new people will be moving into the area…seek them out and invite them to LCC!

Weekend Post

It was another busy, but awesome weekend.  Here’s a quick recap…

Friday Night:

• Zac and I went over to B’more to catch the Orioles game.  It had been over a year since I had been to Camden Yards.  It was a great game.  We were there for the debut of Matt Wieters…the top prospect in all of baseball.  He went 0 for 4 but the O’s had a sweet victory.  It was a lot of fun to be with 42,000 fans and see the excitement for the O’s coming back!  It’s been awhile!  And it was nice to have a Boog’s BBQ sandwich…nothing compares!

Saturday:

• The morning started with Lexi’s softball game.  Her team won 18-7.  She had 2 walks and an RBI and got the game ball!
• Then we had our Life Group at the Tingstrom’s home with an early afternoon cookout.  We had a great study on the Rich Fool from Luke 12.
• Then we hurried off to Zac’s Seniors game…and another victory 7-2.  Our team (which I manage) is now 11-1 and have outscored our opponents this season 131-36…that doesn’t seem right, does it?
• Then a little sermon review with some NBA and MLB on tv in the background.

Sunday:

• Great service this morning!  Great to have so many back who travelled last weekend.  Nice to have the cafeteria full again!
• It was also great to have Rob VanEngen and his wife and daughter visiting today.  Rob was a youth pastor friend who served at another church in Lynchburg when I was there in the early 90’s.  We did some great youth group retreats together with our churches.  Rob is now a professor at Liberty University.  Great to have him surprise us today.
• Josh & the worship band did a great job of leading us this morning.  Great worship set!
• Wayne Bale welcomed everyone today.  Wayne and his wife JoAnn are the new life group directors for LCC.  They are taking over for Dan & Nicki who are moving to Texas in a few weeks.  I love Wayne’s enthusiasm for our church and for reaching out and bringing in new people.   He and JoAnn have personally brought almost their entire neighborhood to LCC!
• Some new volunteers are stepping up to fill some ministry vacancies.  While more are needed, it is exciting to see many step up and serve.
• Looking forward to our outdoor service on Father’s Day.  Don’t miss it on June 21st.  Cookout, Full Live Band, Free Gift for dads, and don’t forget to B.Y.O.C.

Miscellaneous Recent Family Pictures

on Mother's Day & Nic's Dedication Service

Nic is growing up fast!

Lexi on 3rd base

Tori's Induction into National Jr Honor Society

Zac pitching in final JV Game of Season for Forest Park

Auditorium Renovation Picture

We got a sneak peak yesterday into the school’s renovation progress of the auditorium.  Check out the picture below.  I cannot wait to  get our services out of the cafeteria and back into the auditorium.  They are projecting July completion…and it actually looks possible now!

Yesterday’s service went well.  The crowd was down because of the holiday.  Literally counted about 20 families that we knew were traveling!  Still a great service.

LCC e-news 5.21.09

LCC E-NEWS May 21st, 2009 The Idiot Box Series continues this Sunday Join us at 10:30 this Sunday morning as we continue our new series. Click here for details. Father’s Day Outdoor Service on June 21st We have a big day planned for Father’s Day. More details will be coming soon, but plan now to be there and invite your friends and neighbors. We’ll be having a cookout, gifts for all the dads and more. Core Classes end on June 14th Our 9:30 classes come to an end on Sunday, June 14. Be watching for exciting news about our new children’s church program coming this September. Try E-Give this Summer Summer is quickly approaching. Don’t let your giving to the church go on vacation with you! Check out our convenient online giving system. Click here to discover how easy it is to be consistent in your giving. Hope to see you Sunday!Steve

Great Weekend

Recapping Sunday…

• Great start to the Idiot Box series…of course I’m looking forward to the season finale of 24!
• Josh & band…great job as usual.  Kicked in a new song yesterday from Chris Tomlin – God of this City.
• Some first time guests yesterday…always nice to see new faces.
• Some new volunteers stepping up to fill some open positions of service…gotta love that!
• Nicki did a great job on the “welcome.”  We are going to greatly miss her, Dan and Tyler as they leave for Texas next month.  We’ve got a big crop of incredible people leaving us this summer   This is church life in the DC metro area!

Saturday…

• Lexi’s team won their softball game 16-11.  I keep the scorebook…talk about filling in a lot of diamonds!
• Zac’s baseball team won 11-1.  I manage this team…and we had a great game to improve our record to 6-1.
• Zac and Tori participated in our Youth group yard sale fundraiser for camp in the morning.  The group raised over $530!
• We attended our life group on Saturday night.  Had a great salad and an incredible Strawberry Cake for dessert.  The lesson on the Unmerciful Servant parable was great discussion!  Thanks Mike for leading us!

Looking forward to a great week ahead!

The Idiot Box

Our new series begins this Sunday…click here.

Pictures from Mother’s Day @ LCC

the cafeteria was full

6 boys were dedicated: Garrett, Nathan, Patrick, Nic, Matthew and Tucker

Crowd standing for a great set of worship songs

I had to speak directly to Matthew at one point...

My son Nic taking hold of the mic

A Great Mother’s Day!

We experienced a great Mother’s Day service at LCC yesterday.

• The service was packed – our best non-Easter crowd to date.
• The baby dedication went great…6 boys were dedicated to the Lord yesterday.
• The music was excellent…great to have David in town as our guest drummer.  (Josh is currently looking for a regular weekly drummer for the band.)
• Great atmosphere of worship and fellowship…and I believe all the moms were honored yesterday.

It was a busy family weekend…seems like it started on Thursday…

• On Thursday, we enjoyed having my parents in town and attending Lexi’s Spring School Concert
• On Friday, I completed my 2 current seminary classes -  finals and papers and then we had baseball at night.
• On Saturday, we had 3 baseball games and a birthday party.
• On Sunday, we had Sherri’s mom in town for mom’s day…and then I finally got to mow the embarrassingly tall grass in my yard last night!

It was a fun weekend…but I’m glad Monday is here.  I’m looking foward to…

• Starting our new series next Sunday – The Idiot Box.  Check it out.
• Our church leadership team meeting on Tuesday night…love those people and love talking about the future.
• Our church’s Outdoor Service on Father’s Day…always a blast.
• Watching Zac’s last 3 school JV Baseball games this week.
• Watching Tori’s Middle School soccer tournament games this week.
• Watching Lexi play softball on Saturday.
• Seeing what new thing Nic will learn to do this week.
• Our beach vacation in the Outer banks…only about 81 days away

Monday Morning Post

Great weekend!  God is good!

• Great service yesterday at LCC.  Nice attendance comeback from the week before!
• Josh & band did a great job leading us…introducing a new song while bringing back an old classic…nice mix.
• Took a peek in the auditorium…renovations are moving along…it’s going to be sweet to move back in there (although even sweeter will be getting our own place!)
• First time guests yesterday from Stafford…good to draw more from the South!  They said they felt like they had finally found their home church.
• Looking forward to the Mother’s Day service next week and the 6 Baby Dedications!
• Speaking of mothers…we went up and back to Pennsylvania on Saturday to celebrate my mom’s 60th Birthday…it was great to visit with family.  I can’t believe she is 60…she’s a young 60!
• My wife had a long day…but I’m so proud of her and her commitment to the ministry.  Sherri directed the Children’s Ministry all morning, then went from church to the Mother’s Brunch where she shared a message she had prepared for the ladies.  I think she got in making dinner and some laundry last night as well   I am blessed!
• Surgeries, Illness, Etc.  It seems like we are in a phase right now of having lots of hurting people or those with close family members hurting.  Too many to list.  Please pray for those in a church body… Here’s a few to prayer for (without the names):
  • pregnant mom getting put on bedrest
  • a father just diagnosed with lymphoma and starting chemo this week
  • a mom suddenly ill and just passing away
  • a hernia surgery
  • a live-in elderly mom getting progressively worse
  • 2 knee surgeries
  • a back surgery with an infection
  • a family relationship in crisis
  • a major career decision involving a move required to be made this week
• This week will be a busy one for me…it’s the last week of my seminary semester.  I have 3 papers yet to write and 2 final exams…plus the normal church work of the week…plus a few kids ball games.  A few rainouts won’t be such a bad thing!

LCC E-News

LCC E-NEWS 4.30.09 Inconvenient Series Concludes Sunday…The call from Jesus to be His follower is not an easy call. I hope you are ready to hear what Jesus says we must do in order to be his follower…don’t miss Sunday! Want to read ahead…check out Luke 9:23-26. The Worship Service begins at 10:30. Come early for Core classes at 9:30. Mother’s Brunch this Sunday after the service…Our women’s ministry director, Sherry Feehs, is hosting a mom’s brunch after the service at her home from 12:30-2:30 pm. Sherri Markle will be sharing a devotional around the theme “Wisdom in your Apron Pocket.” Click here for more information and to register. Baby Dedication Registration…Interested in dedicating your baby to the Lord on Mother’s Day this year? Don’t miss out on this opportunity. For more information or to register, click here. Wild At Heart…Our men’s study continues this Tuesday night, May 5th at 7 pm at the church office. Click here for more info. Hope to see you Sunday…bring a friend with you! Steve

My Late Weekend Recap

Monday got away from me…it’s all good – just a busy phase of life right now!  Personally, we are in the midst of our over booked Spring sports seasons…multiple games almost everyday.  It’s a little insane, but will settle down some in a few weeks.  God is so good and continues to strengthen us each day.

This past Sunday at LCC we had a great service.   The music set was right on and the people were really into it and singing out.  The atmosphere was great and God worked in lives and challenged us with His word “to take up our crosses”.  I think the summer weather made a hit on our attendance…lots of people were out this week.  Sherri reminded me that every Spring this tends to happen on the first great weather weekend.  Oh well…you all better come back next Sunday!

It looks like we’ll be dedicating at least 6 babies on our annual Mother’s Day Baby Dedications at LCC.  Looking forward to it.

Keep praying for The Next Step – our relocation plans.  Our realtor has discovered a few new possibilities.  What may seem impossible to us, is entirely possible with God!  Stay tuned and keep praying.

Great Weekend

It was great weekend…very busy, but God blessed in many ways.

• Sunday at LCC was awesome…
  • Great crowd – highest non-Easter crowd to date
  • 6 were baptized!
  • Good kick off to Inconvenient series…I think we’ll all be convicted everytime we use a microwave now…you gotta be there to get it!
  • Great set of Worship songs put together by the band…love the new stuff!
  • Enjoyed my cup of the Seattle’s Best Dark Blend…
  • Appreciate the extra volunteers stepping to help with tear-down…baptism day always adds to the tear-down process.
  • Had a great Basics of Life class at our home last night…love to be with new people who are excited about the vision and future of our church…it energizes me.
• Saturday’s weather was gorgeous…we watched 3 ball games…Zac had a doubleheader for school – had his best hit of the season – a double that short-hopped the fence in left field and Lexi had her first softball game and got 2 hits.  (I should also mention that Tori scored a goal last Thursday for her school soccer team.)  It was a great day in the sun…
• On Friday I completed my 2nd of 2 midterm exams for my 2 master’s classes…all A’s and B’s so far…this is going well, but I didn’t really need to make my life any busier

LCC E-News 4.16.09

LCC E-NEWS 4.16.09 Inconvenient Series Begins Sunday…Our new series begins this week. The call from Jesus to be His follower is not an easy call. I hope you are ready to hear what Jesus says we must do in order to be his follower…don’t miss Sunday! Want to read ahead…check out Luke 9:23-26. The Worship Service begins at 10:30. Come early for Core classes at 9:30. We are Baptizing this Sunday…it’s not to late to register…Click here to find out more or register. The Basics of Life Class…Interested in knowing more about LCC? Our class for church membership will take place this Sunday, April 19th at 5 PM. We still have space for a few more. My wife and I host this at our home. Click here for more info or to register. Easter Signs…God gave us a great Easter Sunday. If you put up an EasterInWoodbridge.com sign, please take them down and save them for next year. Help us keep a good reputation in the community by not leave outdated signs up! Thanks for your excitement and desire to see people come to know Christ. Hope to see you Sunday, Steve

Easter Reflections

I love Easter Sunday.  It’s an incredible day for us as believers.  I love the priviledge of preaching on Easter.  There is such an incredible sense of victory that we who are Christ-followers can celebrate all year…but especially on Easter.  It was a great day yesterday at LCC and I’m so thankful for what God did for us.  Just a few highlights…

• Incredible music.  Josh and the band had the perfect set of music for the day.  The worship flow and the video clips were great.  I don’t think it could be have been any better.  Thanks to the band and the set-up/AV team for coming in on Saturday afternoon and working so hard.
• A big shout out to our welcoming and hospitality team.  The food and coffee service was great.  The greeters were so welcoming as always.  Thanks to all involved in making a good first impression to our guests.
• We had a great response to the food drive…I’ll be anxious to hear from the community center how many pounds the people of LCC gave to feed the hungry.
• Did I mention we broken our previous attendance record?  Not sure of the exact numbers but somewhere in the mid 200’s range.  We had 2 services and it was good that we did.   The flow of 2 services went well…everybody did a great job with that adjustment.   Next week we’ll be back to 1 service at 10:30 and holding on for the completion of the auditorium renovation…it’s coming by July!
• But even greater than the attendance was the changed lives.  8 people responded and prayed to received Jesus as Savior.  6 people have registered for Baptism for next Sunday.  4 families have registered for the Basics of Life class next week.  Several brand new families completed communication cards and are planning to return.

I am thrilled to see what God is doing LCC.  I am encouraged by the warm fellowship and love of our people for God and for each other.  This Spring of 09 is off to a great start…I give God all the glory for what He is doing at LCC.  Thanks to everyone who has been praying for me and the church.  I’m already looking forward to next Sunday!

2 Services this Sunday – 9:30 & 10:45

LCC E-NEWS 4.8.09 Join us for Easter Sunday – April 12th…Easter is only 4 days away. We have an incredible service planned with amazing music and video. To accomodate the expected crowd, we are having 2 services: 9:30 & 10:45. All the information about Sunday can be found at www.EasterInWoodbridge.com. This is a great opportunity for you to invite your friends, family and neighbors. Check out the easy-to-use E-VITE feature on our website. Food Drive this Sunday...As part of our Easter celebration, we are asking every family to help feed the hungry in our community by bringing a donation of some canned food items. Suggestions include: canned meats, sauces, stews, soups, vegetables, fruits, peanut butter, etc. Please no glass containers. All donations will be given to the food bank of the Lorton Community Action Center. Make yourself a reminder! Are you ready for Baptism?…Our next baptism service is scheduled for Sunday, April 19th. Click here to find out more or register. The Basics of Life Class…Interested in knowing more about LCC? Our class for church membership will take place on Sunday, April 19th at 5 PM. My wife and I host this at our home. Click here for more info or to register. Hope to see you Sunday, Steve

He’s Alive!

Anybody else remember this song from Don Francisco.  I’m revealing my age…but this was one of those early Christian music memorable songs…

Sunday Evening Post

Great day today at LCC…

• 2 more sign-ups for youth camp…Donald has about 35-37 going now to Student Life Camp in July!  2 new adults volunteered as well.  Awesome!
• More registrations for the next Basics of Life Class on April 19th…it’s filling up nicely!
• 4-5 already registered to be baptize in 2 weeks…can’t wait!
• Communion was great today.  I preached from Matthew 26 on The Last Supper.  The whole service centered around that last passover meal that Jesus had with his disciples.  Combined with the great music it was a great time of reflection and celebration of God’s incredible love for us.
• Funny how it was one of those days where we had a few hiccups in the service.  We had a mic malfunction, wrongs words sung on one song, 2 missed cues (1 by me) and a few other miscelleneous things…stuff that bothered me at first…but a few people told me afterwards that they didn’t really notice.  We work hard to avoid those things, but sometimes they just happen.  The cool thing is that is not what people remember…people remember the meaningful worship, the sweet fellowship and the message from the Word.  (That doesn’t mean we can get sloppy…just means when stuff happens, we just have to learn from it and let it go.)
• Attendance was off today…I knew it would be because so many family left town for Spring Break.  Several told me they were travelling on the front end of the break to make sure they are back for the big day on Easter.  Even though it was our lowest day in a couple of months…it made me thankful for a few things…3-4 months ago we would have considered this a high day and it was about 50 more than the week before Easter in 2008.  Pretty cool!
• Can’t wait to see what happens next week.  It’s really hard to predict.  We are having 2 services: 9:30 and 10:45.  I expect more at the latter and hope that many of our regulars will choose 9:30.  Our website hits have been up because of the EasterInWoodbridge.com advertising…anxious to see who visits us because of it.

Other Misc…

• Loving this awesome weather!
• Glad the kids get a week off of school…all 3 of my school age kids have gotten straight A’s for the 3rd quarter…lots of hard work…they deserve the break…as do the teachers!
• Anxious to begin writing my Easter message tomorrow morning…know the direction I’m going with it…
• In our family March Madness challenge, Lexi picked UNC to beat Michigan St in final…how did she do it?
• MLB kicks off tomorrow.  I remain an O’s fan…let’s start off right and beat the Yanks tomorrow!

LCC ENEWS

LCC E-NEWS 4.2.09 Join us Sunday…we’ll be celebrating Communion this Sunday at LCC as we prepare our hearts for Easter. Join us at 10:30 this Sunday morning. Easter Sunday – April 12th…Easter is only 1 week away. We are planning for a HUGE day on Easter. We are having 2 service times (9:30 & 10:45) to accommodate the crowd. All the information about the service can be found at www.EasterInWoodbridge.com. What can you do to invite others to join you on Easter? Grab some EasterInWoodbridge.com invite cards at church this Sunday Use our E-VITE feature on our EasterInWoodbridge.com website Join our EasterInWoodbridge.com Facebook page and invite your Facebook friends. Ready for Baptism?…Our next baptism service is scheduled for Sunday, April 19th. Click here to find out more or register. Basics of Life Class…Our class for church membership is coming on Sunday, April 19th at 5 PM. My wife and I host this at our home. Click here for more info or to register. Children’s Ministry Opportunities…We have immediate opportunities for volunteers in our Nursery and Preschool ministries. Email Sherri for more info. E-GIVE…It’s a great way to give to LCC. It’s very easy to set-up and helps you to be more regular and faithful in your giving. Check it out from the link on our website: www.lifecc.us Hope to see you Sunday, Steve

Sunday Evening Post

Great day today…

• More first time guests that will be back next week!
• Lots of excitement in the air about Easter – only 2 weeks away…we’re going to be over 300 for the first time!
• Big crowd again today.  Ushers did a great job seating people…they were all over it!
• Great month just completed…easily our best month ever.  God is truly blessing us with growth.
• Youth have over 30 going to Summer Camp in July…already!  Great to see growth in every area of the church.
• The Men kicked off a new study this past Tuesday night – Wild At Heart – and had their highest Bible study attendance.

Other Miscellaneous…

• Hoping for a good Final 4 – The Villanova over Pitt game was amazing…the rest were kind of blah blowouts.  Right now I’d have to pick UNC to win it all.
• Enjoyed the warm weather today…ready for baseball season!
• Had fun yesterday playing basketball for the church team…I actually scored 9 points and hit 2 3-pointers…and we did lose.  Our men’s team was missing our top 2 scorers.  Oh well…we play for 3rd place next Saturday morning.
• Nic is 8 months old this Wednesday…and his mobility is unbelievable.  None of our first 3 kids crawled like he is.  He is so hard to contain.  He moves across the floor with amazing speed – always right toward a lamp cord or something he shouldn’t touch.  And he thinks it’s funny when we sternly tell him ‘No’.   Ahhh…the fun of parenting.
• I’m praying for my 97-year-old grandmother.  She’s had a rough last week – Pneumonia, Infections, etc.  Had to go to the ER and now cannot go back to assisted living, but is entering a nursing home situation tomorrow most likely.  She was pretty out of it, but is doing a little better today.  My dad visited her at the hospital today and quizzed her on state capitals and math problems…she got an A+.  She’s struggling with pronouncing the new president’s name…still pretty impressive for someone born in 1911

An Excellent Prayer

my grandmother forwarded me this in an email this morning…

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the person who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can’t make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love . It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.

Sunday PM Post

What a great day!  Sundays are the highlight of the week…and today was no exception.

• Great crowd over 200 again…kids areas are busting out…we may have found a new space in the building for the preschoolers…follow signs next Sunday!
• People enthusiastically took the 100 EasterInWoodbridge.com yard signs. I passed 3 or 4 signs on my way home from church today!
• A first-time, brand new family today was excited about LCC and took signs for their yard!
• Mike Mullen, our men’s ministry director, did a great job with the welcome today…the men kick off the Wild At Heart men’s study this Tuesday night at 7 pm at the church office.
• The Milk drinking contest was a blast.  Congrats to William & Christian for your victory.  Thanks to Scott & Liz and Paul & Lynn for participating…and embarassing yourself publicly
• We had our weekly RELOCATION reminder. The schools computer system that times their class bells went haywire and thought today was a Monday…so the BELL went off several times during the service/sermon.  PRAY for THE NEXT STEP— we need our own place!
• The Band was great as always!
• Thanks to all the set-up and tear-down crew!  I remember  when I used to do much of the physical labor with the crew…but not anymore…I appreciate all the behind the scenes work that happens to make LCC go.
• One thing God is showing me…the more I let go of ministry miscellaneous…and let competent people run with it…the better it gets and the more focused I can be on my top priorities…we’ve got a great group of leaders at LCC!
• Sad note…had to say good-bye to the Hornsby Family today.  The military is moving them to California this week.  We will miss them dearly!  Thanks for your faithfulness to our church family!
• I cannot wait to see what is coming at LCC…Easter is only 3 weeks away!

This Week’s LCC E-NEWS

LCC E-NEWS 3.19.09 Thirsty? Our series continues this Sunday as we look at what the Bible has to say about Milk. Want to read ahead? …check out I Peter 2, I Corinthians 3 and Hebrews 5 . No, we will not be giving away cartons of Milk this week, but we are looking for 3 couples to participate in our Milk Challenge. Email me as soon as possible if you want to be contestants. Easter Sunday – April 12th…Easter is only 3 weeks away. We are planning for a HUGE day on Easter. We are having 2 service times (9:30 & 10:45) to accommodate the crowd. All the information about the service can be found at www.EasterInWoodbridge.com. What can you do to invite others to join you on Easter? Grab some EasterInWoodbridge.com invite cards at church this Sunday Use our E-VITE feature on our EasterInWoodbridge.com website Join our EasterInWoodbridge.com Facebook page and invite your Facebook friends Take a EasterInWoodbridge.com yard sign home this Sunday and place it in a strategic location Children’s Ministry Opportunities…We have immediate opportunities for volunteers in our Nursery and Preschool ministries. Sherri Markle is hosting meetings this Saturday afternoon at the church office for current workers and those interested in serving. The meetings will provide information about general policies, procedures, job descriptions as well as idea sharing. Email Sherri for more info. Meeting times: Nursery 1-2:30 PM, Preschool 3-4:30 PM. E-GIVE…It’s a great way to give to LCC. It’s very easy to set-up and helps you to be more regular and faithful in your giving. Check it out from the link on our website: www.lifecc.us Hope to see you Sunday, Steve

EasterInWoodbridge.com signs

Our yard signs are here…get yours on Sunday!  3 Signs already up…1 in my front yard, 2 along York Drive near our meeting location.

Josh in his Realtor pose…

Pastor Joke

One of our people just sent me this…not sure what to make of it

Three boys are in the school yard bragging about their fathers. The first boy says, ‘My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a poem, they give him $50…’

The second boy says, ‘That’s nothing. My Dad scribbles a few words on piece of paper, he calls it a song, they give him $100.’

The third boy says, ‘I got you both beat. My Dad scribbles a few words on a piece of paper, he calls it a sermon, and it takes eight people to collect all the money!’

Weekend Recap

Tiring but great busy weekend!

• Friday evening – Zac’s first JV baseball game…in 40 degrees with snow flurries…bone chilling fun…at least we won 8-2.
• Saturday morning – Lexi’s first ever softball tryout…the Pigtail division of the Lassie League…should be a fun season!
• Saturday afternoon – DTQ Seniors Tryouts and draft…I’m managing Zac’s rec league team…and I had a great draft.
• Saturday evening – Sunday prep and Basketball watching – looking forward to March Madness!

Sunday at LCC

• Great energy in the service – great crowd!
• Band performed a great new song by Charlie Hall – You Are God
• Josh performed a great song before the message – This is our God…with a great simultaneous video…nicely done!
• The message was about WATER – love preaching on the story of Jesus and the Women at the Well from John 4.
• Enjoyed my first ever bottle of Fiji Water…good stuff…but a little pricey!
• Found out they are picking up on the auditorium renovation project and expect to be done by July…let’s pray.
• We officially announced that we are doing 2 services on Easter Sunday – 9:30 & 10:45.  Check out www.EasterInWoodbridge.com

Looking forward to the week ahead.  My seminary classes officially begin tomorrow….should be fun

Friday

A few miscellaneous tidbits today:

• Fridays are now my seminary day.  It’s my official day off and now that I’m back in school, I will be devoting a lot of my Fridays to this…especially for the next 8 weeks…I just started 2 courses: Contemporary Evangelism & Old Testament Prophecy.  So, this blog post is my break from writing my first book critique.
• Snow this morning…supposed to be at Zac’s first official JV game this afternoon at 5.  Seriously…this is not baseball weather.  Planning to wear winter coat, hat, gloves and take a thermos of hot coffee.
• Speaking of sports…I love March Madness…can’t wait to fill out my bracket next week.  Turned off the Syracuse-Connecticut game when they began OT last night…can you believe that game…6 overtimes??? WOW!
• Family Favorites on American Idol so far this year: Danny, Kris, Adam
• Also…this season of 24 has been awesome so far!
• Looking forward to preaching on WATER this Sunday at LCC.

Animal Shelter Donations

One of the young ladies in our church – Rebecca Boice – is collecting donations with her girl scout troop for local animal shelters.  There is a great need these days for assistance.  Rebecca and her mom Michelle will bring a box to church on Sunday to collect any donations that you might be willing to donate.  Email Michelle for more info at: mboice@comcast.net.  Here is a list of suggested needed items:

• Kitten and puppy milk replacer (unopened)
• Baby food: meat-flavored (unopened)
• Pig ears (unopened)
• Kong toys
• Tennis and ping-pong balls
• Plush dog toys
• Premium timothy hay for rabbits to eat
• Peanut butter and hot dogs for dog training (unopened)
• Gently-used, washable cat beds (no foam or cedar)
• Washable blankets/comforters (no sheets, pillows or electric blankets)
• Washable bath mats, throw rugs and towels
• Plastic cat carriers
• Paper towels and toilet paper
• Newspaper
• Bleach
• DAWN dishwashing liquid

Personal Update

I’ve been mostly blogging about only church stuff lately…but I thought I’d do a little personal update of sorts today…

• Having a 7 month old baby boy sure does change your life. It’s exhausting at times.  It seems like he’s changing almost daily…we are loving all the stages and still amazed that Nic is here.  Having the older kids to help is great.  Tori is like an assistant momma!
• I tried something today…no coffee this morning.  I made it until 2 pm before I gave in.  Why?  After working out this morning at home, I was feeling too hot and didn’t have enough time to enjoy a cup,  so I figured I’d see how long I can go.  The headache became too much.
• My oldest – Zac – has his first JV baseball game today for Forest Park at 4 pm.  It’s officially a scrimmage vs. Osborne Park, but I am planning to go…what a glorious day to be outside!
• My 2nd child – Tori – is playing soccer for her school this Spring and my 3rd child Lexi is playing slow pitch softball. Did I mention that Zac is also playing rec league baseball – Seniors level and I am managing the team?  We will have over 50 games on our schedules between now and mid-June.  Fun stuff!
• I know this sounds braggy…but all 3 of my kids in school currently have straight A’s…I proud of them working so hard!
• Speaking of school, I finally am back in school to finish my Master’s Program.  I am doing it through Liberty University Online.  I am 33% complete but have taken about 10 years off!  I’m excited about it, but a little overwhelmed after looking at the reading assignments…I have 2 classes that officially start next Monday and last for 8 weeks.  Zac is enjoying seeing me under the pressure…finds a lot of humor in it
• My wife Sherri is doing great.  An awesome wife, mother and part-time children’s director for the church.  I’m so thankful that we get to share our lives together…they are full, busy, etc…but lots of fun!  As I think back through the 8 years since we started the church…the best times for us and for the church have been when she has been most focused on the church and our family…as opposed to having another outside fulltime job.  Maybe that is another reason God sent us Nicholas…
• One last cool dad moment for me to share…Sherri went up to Zac’s room to check on him last night while he was working on a difficult Computer Science project.  She heard someone talking in the background on his computer.  She recognized the voice as mine.  Totally on his own, he was listening to my sermon online from yesterday because he had missed it because he served in Toddlers during the service.   Pretty cool!

Sunday Afternoon Post

Another great weekend at LCC…

• Great crowd…slightly less than last week…I’m guessing Daylight Savings Time may have played a part in it…but still a very good crowd
• Pepsi-Coke Challenge was a hit…Congrats to Randy and Kevin for being sodaholics!
• Band was great today…great to have David as our guest drummer today.
• Highlight of the day was seeing 5 people accept Jesus as Savior at the end of the service!
• The women’s retreat was also a great success on Friday & Saturday.  I heard nothing but awesome reports from the ladies.  Great job Sherry and her team!
• I’m feeling like I missed an hour of sleep last night…tried to go to bed a little early to make up for time change, but the body clock is telling me otherwise.
• Had a new development in our “running out of space in the cafteria” issue.  A good development at the school that I will be discussing in our leadership meeting on Wednesday.  Stay tuned for details.

ENEWS 3.5.09

E-NEWS 3.5.09 SPRING FORWARD…This Saturday night you need to remember to move your clock forward 1 hour. Yes…this is the bad one where you lose an hour of sleep…but don’t forget or you’ll miss a great Sunday morning at LCC! THIRSTY?…Our series continues this Sunday with a Pepsi-Coke Challenge. Free sodas for everyone on Sunday! If you want to be a contestant in the taste test, send me an email. I will be talking about the differences between Christianity and other major World Religions…YES…there are some major differences…all religions are not the same!…just like Pepsi and Coke are not the same…join us on Sunday! IT’S A DAD & KIDS NIGHT!…While the ladies of LCC are attending the Women’s Retreat this Friday night, our men’s ministry director, Mike Mullen, is inviting all the husbands/dads and kids over to his home for a Game & Movie Night. The Mullens live at 13238 Otto Road, 22193. The time is 6 pm – 10ish. Activities for the kids include air hockey, Wii, Playstation, etc. Movies for the dads. All kids of all ages are welcome. Please RSVP to Mike to coordinate items to bring for the snack buffet. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED…Help is needed…opportunities for service at LCC are available…click here to find out more. MEN’S SOFTBALL…It’s right around the corner. Games will played on Wednesday nights. The cost is $50 per person. Email Donald Buttram if you are interested in being on the team. MY LCC…If you are regular at LCC, you need to click on the MY LCC link under the “Connect” menu on the website. Then you will have the opportunity to request a user name and password to join our online database which will give you the access so you can get to know other families in the church. You can upload your family photo and try to put names and faces together! You can also sign up for email distribution lists on the database. Check it out and be a part of the LCC community. E-GIVE…It’s a great way to give to LCC. It’s very easy to set-up and helps you to be more regular and faithful in your giving. Check it out from the link on our website: www.lifecc.us Who are you inviting to be your guest at LCC this Sunday?

Snow Day?

Waiting for the big snow of ‘09 to start.  The kids are psyched about the probability of at least 1 day off school.   I got to admit the kid in me is excited as well.  Bring it on!

So this morning I woke up wondering what kind of day we’d have at church because of the weather.  Even though the real storm isn’t here yet, I feared the light snow falling could discourage people from coming.  Well, I was blown away.  Obviously the people of LCC don’t want to miss church…

• Over 200 in attendance for a 2nd straight week…and yet I saw a bunch of regular families missing.  We are a few weeks away from a serious chair and space crisis.  Gotta love this!
• Donald, our student pastor, shared the results of the 30-hour famine.  About 25 of our teens went 30-hours without food…from 12:30 pm on Friday til 6:30 pm on Saturday.  They raised over $3,500 to feed starving children overseas.  That is enough to feed 9 kids for an entire year!  I’m so proud of them.  Awesome!  Thanks to Donald & Kristie for opening their home to the youth  for 24 straight hours…you are brave and self-sacrificing…thanks!
• Our women’s ministry retreat is this coming weekend.  The Bling Thing is going to be a great retreat…more than 30 women are registered and they are going to have an awesome time.  Great speakers, activities and music is lined up.  I’m excited about what God is going to do there.  Please pray for the ladies this week.
• Our men’s ministry is growing.  Our Tuesday night Bible study has been growing during the Deadly Viper study.  The men are about to start a new study – Wild At Heart.  Mike Mullen has just taken over as our men’s director and he’s going to do a tremendous job.  Our men’s basketball team won yesterday52-46 to improve to 3-2 on the season.  Men’s softball is right around the corner.  Great to see new guys connecting and building relationships.
• Our new website is amazing…Josh has really stepped it up and built us a great looking site.  Check it out: www.lifecc.us
• The new series – THIRSTY – got off to a great start today.  I had a blast making Markle Mochas during the message.   Great interaction and energy in our service.  Music was great as well…great job band!

Ok…the snow watching begins…how many inches will we get?

LCC E-News 2.26.09

E-NEWS 2.26.09 Here’s what happening at Life Community Church… THIRSTY?…Our new series kicks off this Sunday. I will be talking about Coffee…yes, Coffee is in the Bible…come Sunday and find out more. NEW WEBSITE HAS LAUNCHED…Check out our website: www.lifecc.us. Josh has done a great job to update our site to improve the look and ease of navigation. I think you’ll love the new look and feel. 30-HOUR FAMINE BEGINS TOMORROW…Our students are starting a 30-hour famine at 12:30 pm on Friday and will not eat until 6:30 pm on Saturday. They are doing this to raise money to feed starving kids in other parts of the world. Click here to find out more and be praying for them during this time. They have already raised over $2,000! IT’S A BLING THING!…The Women’s Retreat is just around the corner – March 6-7. More than 30 ladies have registered. There may still be space for you…click here for details. MEN’S SOFTBALL…It’s right around the corner. Games will played on Wednesday nights. The cost is $50 per person. Email Donald Buttram if you are interested in being on the team. MY LCC…If you are regular at LCC, you need to click on the MY LCC link under the “Connect” menu on the website. Then you will have the opportunity to request a user name and password to join our online database which will give you the access so you can get to know other families in the church. You can upload your family photo and try to put names and faces together! You can also sign up for email distribution lists on the database. Check it out and be a part of the LCC community. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED…Help is needed…opportunities for service at LCC are available…click here to find out more. Our church is growing. God is working in people’s lives. True life change is taking place. Keep inviting others to discover what God is doing at Life Community Church. See you Sunday, Steve

Momentum

I love the momentum we are experiencing right now at LCC.  Each week seems to get more exciting as our church continues to grow.

• Yesterday’s crowd was over 200…no holiday or any special reason…just good steady growth!
• February Attendance average was the highest month ever
• 3 people were baptized yesterday and we already have 5 ready for our next baptism in April.
• 3 families officially joined the church last night at the Basics of Life class at our home
• Offerings are up…in spite of the economy!
• New families coming and sticking almost every week.
• Our Kid’s Life ministry had their first QClub store yesterday and the kids were lovin’ it.
• Lots of enthusiasm and excitement about our future relocation…the vision is real and catching on!

I just want to say a word of sincere THANKS to all the servants at LCC that make it happen each week.  Especially in our portable state, there is so much physical work that must be done…especially when you thrown in baptism and the need for more chairs, etc.  I have been freed up to focus my attention on my most important pastoral duties of Sundays and not worry about all the details.   All of you who work to make it happen are the HEROES of LCC.  Thanks for all you do!

President’s Weekend Recap

Hope everyone had a nice 3-day weekend!

We left right after church yesterday to go to PA to visit my parents and grandparents.  My grandmother just had knee replacement surgery, so it was good to check in on her.  Thankfully she is doing well.  It was a nice quick trip up and back.

We’re enjoying a relaxing Monday evening…getting ready for another installment of 24 in about an hour.

Sunday was a great day at LCC.  It was great to meet some new guests and see some 2nd time guests returning.  The music was great and I was able to execute my 10 commandment message according to plan.  It was fun to use the 3 minute countdown clock for each point…although I don’t see me doing it again anytime soon.

I’m excited that we already have 4 registered for baptism this comign Sunday.  I’m expecting that we may have a few more.

I also have to give Sherry Feehs and our women’s ministry props for their work and promotion for their upcoming retreat.  Great job…it sound like it’s going to be a great getaway for our ladies.

Ed Rotchford is now helping me out big time as our Administrator.   He is helping to oversee a bunch of ministries that were reporting directly to me.  I can feel some of the load being lifted.  This is a necessary step in our growth.  It was great to see Ed in action yesterday.

Keep praying for RELOCATION.  We need for God to do 2 things for us: open up a suitable location & provide the needed resources.  We believe it’s going to happen.  PRAY HARD!

lcc enews 2.12.09

Life Church E-news ::: February 12, 2009

10 Commandments in 30 minutes…This Sunday’s message will be different from any I’ve ever preached before…We’ve come to the 10 Commandments in our series on Moses. I will be giving each commandment exactly 3 minutes…and there will be a countdown clock on the screen to keep me honest. We’re going to be challenged by God’s top 10…it’s amazing how relevant they still are for our lives today…join us this Sunday!

It’s a Bling Thing…Feel like you’ve lost a little of your God-given luster? Need a “time-out” to get your sparkle back? Join friends or make new ones at the LCC Women’s Retreat March 6 and 7^th. One night away in a comfy hotel to play, chat, relax and fill your God-tank might just make you feel shiny and new again! Click here for more information.

Ready for Baptism?… Your opportunity is coming on Sunday, February 22nd. Go and register on our website. Click here.

Basics of Life Class…Are you new to LCC? Do you want to find out more about the church? Do you want to f ind out how to become an official member? My wife and I will be hosting the next class on Sunday, February 22nd from 5-8 pm at our home. Click here to register.

Hope to see you Sunday!

Steve

Week in Review

Today was a great day at LCC.  The music was great today…Josh introduced the MIDI keyboard into the worship…some tight sounds during Marvelous Light…love it!  I made the first presentation to the church about THE NEXT STEP for LCC.  We are beginning to move forward with plans for relocation.  It’s in the early stages but we are looking for that next place that God has for us.  Pray that God will open the doors for us and provide the money we’ll need.

God is blessing at our church in so many ways that you may not see or even realize…

• A New nursery worker started today – thanks Carole for volunteering!
• Women’s Bible studies have doubled in attendance – great leadership Sherry!
• 2 Men stepped up to totally handle communion services – Thanks Mike & Scott
• New families attending almost every week
• 4 people already signed up for Baptism on February22
• This week 2 new people volunteered to serve in Children’s ministry – thanks Jackie & Liz
• We now have a Men’s Ministry Leader…who is excited to serve in this role – Thanks Mike
• One of our guys is coming alongside me to help carry the administrative burden…go Ed!
• The Youth Group is doing a 30-hour famine to raise money for world hunger…they are going to raise more than a thousand bucks to help starving children and go 30 hours without food! – great leadership Donald and team!
• The Elementary classes just shipped 3 valentine care packages overseas to our soldiers – Thanks for leading this Russ!
• Our life groups are adding new families and going strong – thanks Dan & Nicki for leading!
• In spite of a bad economy, our giving is consistent and the total for 2008 was $30 grand more than our previous best year

This isn’t everything…just the “off the top of my head” list.  I say all that to simply brag on God…He’s been so good to us and we’re believing him for even greater things in the days ahead.  It’s an awesome privilege to pastor a great, healthy church.

I’m excited about all we’ve got planned for 2009.  Josh and I have spent a lot of time working on all the message series for the year.  We’ve got some great stuff planned.  The March series will be “THIRSTY?”  It will be very interactive…lots of props involved…stayed tuned!

A 2-week recap

Yes…it’s been awhile since I blogged…I’m going with the oral surgery excuse.  About 2 weeks ago I had a 2+ hour oral surgery that ended up being an incredibly long and painful recovery.  I missed almost an entire week of work and could not preach last Sunday.  It was unexpected and unplanned and just about drove me crazy.  I think I did pretty much drive my wife crazy.  Anyway, I’m about 90% recovered now and glad to be back in the game!

Today was the last Sunday of January…and what a great day it was.  This has easily been our best January ever statistically.  The band was great today and I really enjoyed preaching on Moses & the Red Sea.  Glad to see some new families for the first and 2nd times.  We getting close to full in the cafeteria…and good problem…the school needs to hurry up and get the auditorium done!

Some miscellaneous tidbits of life…

• My 5 month old son said “dada” this week.  He doesn’t realize that me, but it’s cool anyway!
• I’m definitely pulling for the Cardinals to win the Super Bowl.  Go Kurt!
• My 15 yo son has his learner’s permit now…our 2nd driving session was much better than the first!
• I use too many exclamation points!!!  Sorry!
• I’m hoping for a little snow this week and then I’m ready for Spring.  This below 30 degrees stuff is no fun.
• I am excited about our leadership meeting this Wednesday night…got some great stuff to share and discuss.
• Josh and I had a great message series planning meeting for 2009 this week.  We just about have the year mapped out.  It’s going to be a lot of fun…some great creative ideas coming your way.
• I’m bummed about the 8 families in our church that have told me they are transferring away from DC this summer.  It stinks!  I can’t get used to it.  God always sends new reinforcements…but we are losing some great people this year.
• I’m trying to remember what to do on Sunday afternoons now that football is basically over…feeling a little lost today…

A Quick Update

It’s been a busy week…just realized I forgot to do my Monday morning blog…so I’ll try to catch up and recap a little about the church and personal life now.

• The Life & Times of Moses series kicked off this past Sunday.  I’m looking forward to part 2 – the Burning Bush from Exodus 3-4.  As I prepared for this Sunday, I was amazed at how many excuses Moses made to God to try to escape the calling God had put on his life.  I was convicted by how often I make the same excuses.  So come this Sunday for a convicting message
• My Monday afternoon was exciting.  My oldest – my 15 yo son Zac – got his learner’s permit. On the way home, after turning off of the main road, I pulled the car over about a mile and half from home.  He wondered why…at first…but then figured it out.  He drove the last 1.5 miles…first time ever behind the wheel.  It was should we say…intense, frightening, wild?  He did fine.  The next lesson will be in an empty parking lot.  I got home and went right into feeding my 5 month old his green beans   Life is good.
• Our Relocation team had a great meeting last night.  I’m looking forward to presenting The Next Step for LCC in a few weeks.  We believe God has a permanent facility out there for us and we are taking steps to get ready for that big step.  I’ll be saying more as we get closer.
• I’m looking forward to presenting our new PRAYER CARD this Sunday.  We’ve done an annual prayer card with 5 key prayer items for our church for the last 2 years and we’ve seen God answer in amazing ways.  This year we are going to do an initial prayer card for January-April and then put out an updated card at that time.  We’ll be distributing the cards on Sunday and I’ll post it here as well.
• I’m looking forward to Sunday night’s debut of 24.  It’s been awhile and can’t wait for a new season!
• My playoff pics for this week:  Ravens over Titans, Panthers over Cardinals, Eagles over Giants, Chargers over Steelers.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I am excited to see what God has in store for Life Community Church in 2009. I hope that you will commit yourself to be a part of what God is doing in our church. You may be receiving this email and feeling a little guilty about skipping services or lacking commitment in some area…why don’t you just let that go and start afresh and anew in ’09! Make a new commitment and start by being at church this Sunday with your family. This Sunday kicks off a brand-new series, The Life and Times of Moses. This is going to be a great study from the book of Exodus. The story of Moses is brimming over with real life application for us. I hope you’ll join us this Sunday. Our 2009 Boxed Offering Envelopes have arrived and will be on a table in the lobby beginning this Sunday. Please look for the box with your name on it and make a fresh commitment in 2009 to be faithful in your giving. The next BASICS of LIFE CLASS is coming so on. Are you new to LCC? Do you want to find out more about the church? Do you want to f ind out how to become an official member? My wife and I will be hosting the next class on Sunday, January 25th from 5-8 pm at our home. Send me an email to register. In closing, I want to say a big THANK YOU for the Christmas love offering that was given to the staff. We are all very thankful for the opportunity to serve God and to serve you at LCC. See you Sunday!

Christmas Recap

Nic helping Dad preach on Christmas Eve

Awesome week of Christmas!

• Christmas Eve service was great.  Atmosphere, crowd, music, video…right on target to set the mood for Christmas Eve.  I held my 4-month old – Nic – for the main portion of the message and talked about what that first Christmas might have been like for God, the father, to release His Son, Jesus as a baby into our world.  It was a powerful illustration of God’s gift.  I praise God for the 6 individuals who accepted this gift of Jesus into their lives on Christmas Eve.
• Amazing family time this week.  Our Christmas morning was tremendous…full of great surprises…we really shocked our kids this year…lots of fun!  Then my family (parents and sister’s family) came down and stayed for a few days.  It was so much fun…lots of relaxing family time with some delicious food!
• Yesterday’s service was fun for me.  I got to listen to our student pastor, Donald Buttram speak on missions.  He gave a powerful talk challenging each of us to fulfill our role as a missionary.  The crowd was a little down due to people traveling, but not too bad!  As a bonus we were allowed to keep our equipment set-up for another week since school is out til next week.
• Sherri’s brother, Scott and his family got into town last night and are staying with us for a few days.  Today, we are heading up to Maryland for the Stem Family Christmas.
• Our youth (2 of my kids) are getting pumped about their trip from Tuesday-Thursday to Winterfest.  We have 30 going on this new year’s retreat/festival.  It will be a blast – pray for their safety.
• Looking forward to 2009…lots of great things coming in ‘09!

Quick Weekend Recap

Yesterday turned out to be a great day at church.  The weather forecast was not so great, but the rain stopped before services and we had a pretty good crowd.  So many of our families took advantage of the 2 weeks off of school and already left town, so it was nice to see a good crowd in spite of that.  The kids choir did a great job singing a few songs with the band.  Thanks to Melody for organizing and leading our kids.

I’m looking forward to our Wednesday evening Christmas Eve service at 5 pm.  We have a great 45 minute family friendly service planned.  I will be involving a lot of kids in the message and we’ll be singing a bunch of traditional  Christmas carols.   If you don’t have plans, I hope you’ll join us.  Come a few minutes early for some cookies and hot cider!

It’s going to be a busy week…but a great one!  As a family we are staying home for Christmas for the first time ever!  My family is coming here this year.  We’re excited about this change and look forward to a relaxing, non-traveling Christmas day at home.  Got some last minute running-around to do to get ready…but it’s all good!

I wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas!

Weather-related Church Announcements

If there are any announcements concerning the weather and it’s relation to church services on Sunday morning…you’ll find them right here on my blog.  If things look bad Sunday morning, check here.

The current forecast looks like we are going to have a cold rain event and should be fine for this Sunday morning.

Drive carefully – we’ll see you at 10:30 am!

(Remember that there are NO CORE CLASSES at 9:30 am tomorrow and next Sunday, the 28th)

Weekend Recap…I feel full

Ever have that full feeling this time of year?  Of course you do…with all the gatherings and all the food…but beyond the great food, I feel full in other ways.

I feel full of love for God for His goodness to me personally.  What a great year of blessing in my life.  At Christmas, we get so reflective and I can’t help but feel full of love towards God for how He’s blessed me this year.  As I was speaking yesterday of how God messed up Joseph’s plans and thought about how God messed up my plans so many times…I am so thankful that God knows what is best for us.

I feel full of love for LCC.  God has blessed our church tremendously in ‘08.  It’s been our best year of growth.  We had another baptism yesterday.  We had a great attendance.  The excitement in the air is contagious.  Last night we had a large group of church leaders to our home for our annual leader’s Christmas dinner party.  It was a great time.  What an amazing group of people that God has surrounded me with.  I feel so blessed.

I feel full of love for my family.  I have an amazing wife and 4 awesome kids.  Our lives get a little crazy at times with managing 6 different schedules…but life is so good with them.  I’ve been challenged this week to live MORE in the MOMENT…and not be so focused on what’s next.  I want to enjoy each moment…each day…each day and each moment can be the GREATEST moment in our lives…I don’t want to waste a single one.

I’m looking forward to the rest of this month.  Lots of good stuff planned.  God has filled my life with good things.

Late on my blogging!

Must be the holiday season (desperate excuse)…but I forgot to do my weekend recap blog post. I’m sure you were worried

This past Sunday at LCC was one of those days that was hard to describe. We had a great attendance. It was a lively crowd. The atmosphere was very good. The fellowship was awesome. I honestly just felt a little off my game in the service. Josh and I analyze the Sunday service in great detail every Monday morning. Neither of us was pleased with our execution on Sunday. It was hard to put a finger on why…but we both just felt like it was not one of our best when it comes to the music and the message. There will be these days…and I know most pastors don’t want to admit them…but the reality is that it felt a little flat on my part Sunday. In spite of that, I know God still worked in lives. And we’re looking forward to this Sunday!

This past Sunday was also my wife’s birthday. We went out on Monday night to celebrate. We were given a gift card to Giorgio’s Restaurant in Montclair. Awesome food and great, relaxing atmosphere. If you check it out be sure to try the amazing flaming cheese appetizer. We were able to leave Nic for 2 hours with our friend Carole – thanks! It was the first time for both of us to be away from our baby. A great date night…and Nic did just fine!

I’m looking forward to this coming Sunday. We have several baptisms at the end of the service. In the evening we are hosting a Christmas party with our church leadership team…a highlight of every year. Hard to believe it’s only 15 days til Christmas!

LCC E-news for 12.4.08

This Week at LCC… GIFTABLES – The women’s ministry Christmas gathering takes place this Saturday, December 6th from 2-4 pm. It’s being hosted by my wife at our home in Dumfries. Come join the ladies of LCC for a great time this Saturday. Click here to RSVP. THROUGH THE EYES – Our Christmas message series continues this Sunday. Click here for more. KIDS CHOIR – Our Kids Choir will be performing 2 Christmas songs with the worsh ip band on Sunday, December 21st. Practices are taking place the next 2 Sundays for about 15-20 minutes after the service. This is for all preschoolers through 6th graders. Join the fun this Sunday! MEN’S BASKETBALL – The season begins mid-January. Games will be held on Saturday mornings this year. Click here for more info and to sign-up to be on the team. BAPTISM – Our last baptism opportunity of 2008 is Sunday, December 14th. Register here. CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE – Make your plans to join us on Wednesday, December 24th from 5-5:45 PM. Hope to see you all Sunday! Steve Links: LCC Website Life Groups LCC Database Steve’s Blog

Sunday Night Post

Church was great today.  Nasty on the outside…great on the inside.

• In spite of the big travel weekend, still a good crowd today.
• New drummer – David G – did a great job today
• Band gave us our first Christmas song of the season with Angels We Have Heard on High…the Christmas classics sound great with a full band!
• November turned out to be our highest ever average attendance month in our church’s short history…looking forward to a great December!
• Here’s a picture from church today.  My daughter Tori and her friend Brittney – enjoying their younger brothers – Nic and Matthew

This Past Week…

• Good to take an extra day off and get all the Christmas lights and decorations up.  I love to see the house all lit up.
• Great Thanksgiving time with our families…the food was delicious!
• Watched a lot of football…I’m losing faith in the Redskins…what else can i say…
• Only gained 1 pound…I’d call that a success!

LCC E-news 11.25.08

Our new series, Through The Eyes, begins this Sunday. We’re going to see Christmas this year through the eyes of various individuals. I’m hoping this series will cause you to look at Christmas a little differently this year. Here’s a quick overview of the series line-up: Nov 30 – Through the Eyes of the World Dec 7 – Through the Eyes of Mary Dec 14 – Through the Eyes of Joseph Dec 21 – Through the Eyes of the Shepherds Dec 24 – Through the Eyes of God Hope to see you at 10:30 this Sunday. (Reminder – no 9:30 Core Classes this week) Here are 6 more items I want to hit you with… Saturday, Dec 6 – Women’s Ministry Giftables event. Click here for more info or to register Sunday, Dec 14 – Last Baptism Opportunity of 08. Click here for more info or to register Sunday, Dec 21 – Kids Choir will perform in the service. Send Sherri an email to sign your elementary or preschool student up to participate. Wednesday, Dec 24 – Our Christmas Eve service from 5:00-5:45. It’s for the whole family. (no preschool or nursery) Sunday, Jan 4 – Vision 2009 – I will be sharing some exciting news for the upcoming year for LCC. Sunday, Jan 25 – Our next New Member’s Class from 5-8 pm. Online registration is coming, but you can send me an email to reserve your place now. Have a happy thanksgiving! If you are in town, I hope to see you at church on Sunday. Steve

i am thankful

i am truly thankful for all of God’s goodness in my life.

• i am thankful for an awesome Sunday worship service with a great crowd and great spirit.  I was truly uplifted and drawn closer to Christ through the music and the time of sharing in Communion.  I thoroughly enjoyed sharing the message on 5 kernels of corn…from Psalm 103.
• i am thankful for the wonderful encouraging people of Life Community Church.  I love gathering on Sundays…the true highlight of every week.
• i am thankful for my life group.   We had a great meeting on Saturday night.   Great fellowship, food, Bible study and group discussion.  I think we all felt loved and cared for by one another.
• i am thankful for my office.  As I think of how the church has grown in the last 6 months…I cannot imagine still trying to do it all from my home.
• i am thankful for my advisory team and those stepping up to serve in new positions.
• i am thankful for the vision God is giving us for 2009.
• i am thankful for God causing my gas furnace to come back on Saturday night when it had stopped working.  i am thankful for the warmth of our home.
• i am thankful that I get to see my family this Thursday and show off my healthy baby boy.
• i am thankful for a Redskins victory…even though it was close…a win is a win.
• i am thankful for the privilege of working for Jesus full-time with some like-minded people who are passionate about the vision God has given us.
• i am thankful that 24 & Jack Bauer are back.
• i am thankful for a short work week…but also in prayer that my message comes together quickly!

My list could go on and on…but I got to get crackin on the message for Sunday…lots to do in a few days!

Youth Life Group

Our church’s youth group has life group every Thursday night.  They rotate homes…one month at a time.  We hosted for November and since next week is Thanksgiving, last night was our final invasion of the month.  Here are a few pictures of about 20 teenagers.  Boy did the basement get hot…and let’s just say Sherri was using a lot of Febreeze last night

playing pool and rock band

Donald leading a group game

my reorganization of the pile of shoes in our foyer

LCC Enews 11.20.08

I can already smell the turkey and all the trimmings…Thanksgiving is just 1 week away….I am ready! Before you head off to grandma’s house, we hope to see you at LCC this Sunday. This Sunday will be part 2 of a series entitled, i am thankful. We will be serving Communion as part of the service. We’ll see you at 10:30 for worship. Please note that Core Classes will be in session this Sunday, but they will take a break for Thanksgiving weekend on November 30th as many of our staff will be out of town. Here are a few LCC tidbits for you to remember: Through the Eyes Christmas series begins November 30th Final Baptism Opportunity of 2008 will be Sunday, December 14th Our Elementary & Preschool kids are forming a Kids Christmas Choir and singing a few tunes with the band on Sunday, December 21st We will have a Christ mas Eve Service on the 24th from 5:00-5:45 pm Sunday, January 4th – LCC – Vision 2009 – I will be sharing some exciting changes and new plans for 2009…you don’t want to miss it! The auditorium renovation may be done sometime in January…be praying that we are able to move back in soon. Thanks for being a part of what God is doing at Life Community Church. Invite your friends and neighbors to come with you to church this Sunday. See ya then, Steve

It’s Sunday night…

I’m enjoying the Redskins-Cowboys game on SNF.  So far it’s going my way…but it’s only 10-7…pretty tense at this point.  The Skins gotta win this one…

We had a good morning at LCC.  We started a 2-part series entitled, i am thankful.  We usually devote a week to Thanksgiving…but this year I’m doing 2 weeks.  I have this sense that we need to work a little bit harder on being thankful people.  We spend way too much time complaining and not enough time thanking.  It’s amazing how being more thankful can really change our perspective on life.

I was having one of those morning where I felt out of sync…bad headache all morning…didn’t feel at my best or on top of my game, but nevertheless God was good and I got through the message fine.  I did trip getting off my stool as I was leaving the stage…not sure how many people witnessed that…I did avoid complete disaster and did not fall on my face.

We had some first time guests again today.  I love how God continues to bring new people to us.

Josh, Matt and Valerie did a great job with the music…an all acoustic set as we were drummer-less today.   I think the old Hank Williams song – I saw the light – was the favorite of the day.  Josh is currently looking for a new drummer.  We have some substitutes lined up and possible interims, but he is looking for a fulltime regular drummer.  Click here to read more about the opening in the band.

My wife and I hosted our new members class Saturday night at our house.  We had a great group of people who are excited about being part of LCC.  I always enjoy teaching this class and getting to know the new families at our church.

Looking forward to a good week ahead…meeting with my advisory board on Tuesday night…got some new initiatives for 2009 to work on…should be a good meeting.

Ugh…Skins just missed a field goal…still 10-7…going to be a tense 4th quarter.

Starbucks Marketing like the Church

Great campaign!

We concluded our 6-week campaign for CHANGE yesterday.  God has done an incredible work in our lives and in our church.  Yesterday was a great ending to our series.

• The highlight was seeing 5 people follow the Lord in believer’s baptism.  Several others were asking afterwards about getting baptized on the next opportunity.
• It was great to honor our veterans and their families in the service.  Thanks Lee for leading us in prayer for them.  It was amazing to see such a large majority of our church that were military or are currently serving.  THANKS for the sacrifice!
• Great crowd yesterday.  We are running shorter each week on chairs and space in the cafeteria.  The school is hoping the auditorium is completely renovated by sometime in January…it cannot come soon enough!
• We consumed between 30-40 large pizzas after the service.  Great party and celebration of what God has done.
• i am thankful…new series begins this coming Sunday.

1 hour, 40 minutes

That’s how long it took me to vote this morning…I got in line at 6:45 at Swans Creek Elementary and left at 8:25.  My coffee didn’t last long enough.  Fortunately the girl scouts were selling muffins to us in line.  I voted my values…hope you did the same!

I did just get a free chick-fil-a sandwich for voting.  Hope to get my free cup of Starbucks later.

Going to be a great November!

November is off to a great start.  What a great day yesterday…

• Great crowd…best of the Fall so far.  Lots of momentum and guests.  I noticed our guys scurrying for more chairs to set up extra rows in the back…love to see that!
• So far we have 6 people registered for Baptism next Sunday
• Exciting worship service…band was awesome, video and sound was right on as usual.  Great service!
• Kids classes are operating smoothly and workers are doing a fantastic job.
• The spread of refreshments from Panera Bagels and Dunkin Donuts were a hit as usual and I heard lots of compliments for our Barista service.  The assortment of blends and flavors from Green Mountain, Caribou and other great coffees are a weekly highlight!

What’s coming…

• Next week we have a great conclusion planned for the close of CHANGE campaign
• Our service will include 6 or more baptisms, the final message on Changing our Priorities, and we will close the day with a PIZZA PARTY!  Come ready for a great time – invite your friends!
• Our new members class scheduled for Saturday, November 15th at my home is filling up quickly…should be a great group.
• I’ll be doing a 2-part series on November 16 & 23 entitled “i am thankful”

Other misc…

• Great to have some extended family visit yesterday as we celebrated Victoria’s 12th birthday.  It’s hard to believe how old my kids are getting.  Tori is a wonderful, beautiful young women.  I’m so proud of her!
• I’m going to the polls to vote first thing tomorrow morning.  VOTE for your Christian values!  Don’t let anyone pressure you into voting for a certain candidate.  Make your voice heard!

This Week’s LCC Enews

LCC,

We’ve got 2 weeks remaining in our CHANGE series. We’re being challenged each week to move from “I wish I could” to “I know I can.” I hope that you’ve been reading the 30-day devotional and putting into practice the changes you have committed to make in your life. Don’t miss the last 2 weeks! We conclude November 9th with Baptisms and a Pizza Party after the service.

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox collection begins this Sunday. Click here for more info.

Don’t forget to vote next Tuesday. It is important as Christians that we take a stand and let our voices be heard. (Just in case there is any confusion…the Change Series on Spiritual Growth and blue t-shirts at LCC is in no way an endorsement of either candidate.) In this Sunday’s bulletin, we are including a Christ ian Coalition Voter’s Guide which shows each candidate’s stances on various critical issues. Make your voice heard!

This would be a good Sunday morning to try our Core Classes…you’ll be getting an extra hour of sleep because of Daylight Savings time…so why not join us at 9:30 this Sunday???

See you Sunday,

Steve

Weekend Wrap

Watching the World Series as I type…routing for the Rays, but it’s not looking good…

A good day at church this morning.  The Change series is going great.  I love to see God working in lives.  The messages have been convicting…from prep to delivery…but that is what God’s word does.  Today, I talked about spiritual disciplines that we need in our lives if we are going to change spiritually.  There is a recurring theme throughout the series…IN ORDER TO CHANGE, IT WILL TAKE DISCIPLINE!  Becoming all the God desires for us takes hard work…but with Christ – all things are possible.

Good crowd today.  Had a first today…a new family came that found us on Facebook.  They found our group that had been created for our church.  Pretty cool stuff.

Clarifying a story I told in today’s message.  In 2 games of Madden yesterday against my 15yo son, I won the first game 40-31 and he whipped me in the 2nd game 63-31.  He wanted me to get it straight.  I should have stopped while ahead…

I appreciate the group of 6 men and 2 teenage guys who met a real need today.  These guys gave up 2+ hours right after church today to help a single mom in our church move out of her home.  I love to see the church respond to needs and take care of one another.  Great to be a part of it!

Hard to believe it’s less than 2 months to Christmas!  My 8 year old Lexi and I had a breakfast date at 7 am this past Friday at Bob Evans.  Christmas (gifts) was a big part of the conversation….very important stuff when you are 8!  She has a wishlist

Productive Day Off

It’s been amazing…the difference of taking Fridays off with having a “real” church office to go to Monday through Thursday vs. having the church office in our home.  I’m actually getting much more done…and truly detaching from work.  (yeah…I know I’m blogging right now) I guess it’s more of a mental thing, but nevertheless – it’s working!

Today, I’ve already accomplished 3 honey-do projects: bathroom caulking, electrical wiring issue, and storage room clean-up.  Now Sherri and I are off to a little lunch date (with Nic).   Next up…personal finances sorting and filing.  I’m usually up on this, but since the baby was born, I’ve fallen about 3 months behind! It’s a daunting pile of papers I’m staring at right now…ugh!

Looking forward to Sunday…great service planned…some great new songs that Josh has just recently introduced in worship, cool, thought-provoking video clips and media and a challenging message about changing our spiritual lives.  Come to LCC on Sunday ready to receive!

Long Range Series Planning

One of the fun parts of my job is planning out the message series that I will preach.  I enjoy the process and the execution.  I love seeing the graphics that Josh creates for each series.  Well…this week we’ve been working on what is happening beyond the current CHANGE series.

Here’s a quick preview of what’s coming…

Nov 23 – Thanksgiving Message with Communion

Nov 30-Dec 21 – Through The Eyes… We’ll be taking at different characters in the Christmas story each week and discovering Christmas through their eyes.  It will provide us with a new perspective on the Christmas story.

Dec 28 – Message by our Student Pastor – Donald Buttram

Jan 4 – Feb 22 – The Life & Times of Moses…  We are going to take the first 2 months of ‘09 and look at the life of one of the most incredible figures in the Old Testament.  We’re going to find a ton of application to our everyday lives as we dig into the book of Exodus in January.

Kid Pics

Nic before Sunday church **** Zac before Homecoming Dance

Tori and her brother *** Lexi and her brother

30 Degree Run

Last week, when we talked about Changing Our Health, I mentioned that I was personally working improving my health and so far, so good.  I ran 3 mornings last week…and got off to a good start by running this morning…but wow…running in 30 degrees at 6:25 am in the dark is a shock to your system.  Tori and I did pretty well though.

How are you doing on changing your health?  Some of you were asking me how I was doing yesterday…I guess you are holding me accountable for my sermon!  In addition to a little more exercise, I’ve gone 9 days without eating unhealthy snacks after dinner…with the exception of a few cups of hot chocolate.  Carrots and celery weren’t so bad last night while watching the ball game.  Only frustration is that the scale keeps coming up with the same numbers!  Nevertheless…I’m feeling better.

Busy Weekend

I’m sitting here chilling with my laptop watching the Rays-Red Sox game 7…and the Rays just tied it up 1-1…go Rays!  (nothing against the Sox…but the Rays are a great story!)

It’s been quite a whirlwind weekend for us…I’m exhausted.  Zac had 5 baseball games in 2 days.  Between his games and TV, I’ve watched more than my share of baseball.  Besides 3 games yesterday, Tori had drama practice and we had life groups last night.  Lots of driving/taxi service…glad gas prices are coming down!

And in the middle of all of it…we had church this morning!

Today’s service was superb.  The band sounded great.  The atmosphere of worship today was incredible.  Glory to God is a great new song.  The CHANGE series is going superbly.  God is truly working in lives.  We’re halfway there…looking forward to a great final 3 weeks of our campaign.

We announced our Operation Christmas Child campaign shoebox collection dates today…the first 3 Sundays of November we will be collecting.  Last year we did 147…we need to beat that this year.  Let’s do it LCC!

Did I mention that the Skins won and the Boys lost today?  It makes the day even sweeter.

Looking forward to a great week ahead…Anticipating great things from God!

CHANGE – LCC E-NEWS

Relationships. We have good ones and we have bad ones.  Let me ask you a question…do you have a relationship that needs to change? Maybe you have a relationship that you’ve just about given up on.  Whatever the case may be, you need to be at LCC this Sunday.  As we continue our CHANGE series, this Sunday’s message is critical for all of us.  Don’t miss it.  Invite as many people as possible.

Change is happening. I’m beginning to hear stories of change.  Some of you have told me how you are being challenged by the messages and the devotional.  Many of you are making commitments to change.  Will you be willing to share your story with me?  Click to our website and submit your story.  Your submitted story comes directly to my inbox. Click here.

Waterbottles, T-shirts, Devotional Books. If you missed last Sunday, we have some CHANGE waterbottles leftover, so be sure to ask for yours this Sunday.  Change T-shirts are still on sale for $10…supplies are limited – get yours this Sunday.  We have plenty of Change devotional books…so if you haven’t yet picked up yours, get one this Sunday.  If you have a friend that you believe would benefit, please feel free to grab a copy for them.

Have a great rest of the week…see you Sunday!

Steve

Midweek Update

I’m a little behind on my posts…it’s been a busy week or so…

• Last week, Josh and I attended the Catalyst Conference for church leaders in Atlanta.  It was an amazing conference.  Incredible, inspiring speakers such as: Andy Stanley, Craig Groeschel, Steven Furtick, Franklin Graham, Dave Ramsey, Seth Godin and several others.  It was a great break from the weekly routine…but of course we are playing a little catch up this week.
• Our CHANGE campaign is off to a great start at LCC.  I’m hearing great reports of what God is doing in the lives of our people.  I’m hearing about families doing the devotional together.  I’m hearing about people making life changing commitments and decisions for Christ.  It’s exciting to see God working in the hearts and lives of our people.
• This Sunday we are talking about CHANGING OUR RELATIONSHIPS.  This is such an important message.  Life is really all about relationships.  I’m praying that everyone who is a part of LCC will make every effort to be there and to bring their friends.
• Our 10 week-old baby boy – Nic – slept from 9:30 pm – 4:30 am last night!!!  This was a breakthrough…the longest stint!  Maybe, just maybe we are crossing over to sleeping through the night and my wife will begin her recovery from sleep deprivation.
• 2 families in our church recently experience deaths in their extended families.  Please pray for the Tingstroms and Cerdas at this time.

LCC Church Sign

One of our members has too much time on their hands

CHANGE has begun…

Yesterday was a great kickoff to our Fall Campaign.  Here’s a few highlighs:

• Tasty pancake breakfast!  Our students were great servers, we had 12 different chefs, and a bunch of others pitching in to help make it a success.  Thanks to Sherry Feehs for coordinating and to all of our cooks who got up an hour earlier on Sunday morning!
• Great crowd of people for the campaign kickoff – great to have several first-time guests.
• New direction of the cafeteria set-up worked well for pancake breakfast…and we are going to keep this set-up direction for next week…only putting up chairs rather than the cafeteria tables.  We calculated that we can seat more with this set-up and it actually looks a lot better when you enter from the back.
• Of course, we are still hoping the school auditorium will be completed soon…which will make a lot of things better on Sunday mornings!
• Healthy response to our LIFE GROUP enrollment.  It’s great to see new families connecting into small groups.
• Change t-shirts were a hot seller yesterday.  Everybody wants to be cool and sport one of these.  Supply is truly limited…$10 each until they are gone.
• The people are excited about reading the CHANGE devotional…it starts today.
• Messages are online at our website or on iTunes…in case you missed the service.
• I’m already working hard on next week’s message.  I will be out of town Wed-Fri for a conference…so I’ve got much to do in 2 days this week.

Here’s a picture from the breakfast:

A Good Day!

It’s time for the Monday morning review…

• We had a great service yesterday at LCC as we wrapped up the Ecclesia series.
• It was great to have some first time guests.
• By the numbers…we completed September as our highest non-Easter average attendance month!  Thank God for our growth.
• Our people are excited about the upcoming CHANGE campaign.  We are praying for 20 new family units to become part of LCC during this campaign.
• We are praying and hoping to relocate as soon as we can.  The school auditorium renovation is stalled and we are outgrowing the cafeteria for worship.  Our relocation team has discovered some possible new locations, but the price tags are very steep.  Be praying for some sizable donations to our relocation fund to help us get going.
• How about those Redskins!!!!  My expectations were far exceeded!  This could be a really good season.
• Appreciate the response to the need for help for the pancake breakfast.  We have 12+ cooks that will be flipping pancakes early for next Sunday’s big Pancake Breakfast to kick off the campaign.  I cannot wait for next Sunday!

Weekend in Review…

Yesterday at LCC:

• Great service…very busy, but very worshipful.
• Communion went well except for me dropping a tray of bread from an usher…a nice big clank in a moment of worship!
• We had 3 baptisms…a mom and her 2 kids…very cool to see them make their public profession of faith.
• The big push began for our CHANGE series which kicks off in 2 weeks with a pancake breakfast.   People are committed and excited about what God is doing at LCC.
• Great help yesterday by set-up and tear-down people.  Being a portable church and setting up for Communion or Baptism is a lot of extra work…and to have them both on the same day…well, that means even more craziness.  But it all got done and cleaned up on time.  Thanks to all who pitched in!

Personal:

• My youngest daughter turned 8 on Saturday.  We celebrated with family yesterday.  Happy 8th birthday Lexi!  Congrats on your growing Webkinz collection.  (I wish I would have come up with that idea!)
• My wife is looking great…only 50 days out from giving birth and she looks awesome.  Proud of her!
• My oldest son is on 2 baseball teams which means 30 games this Fall, which is keeping us very busy.
• It’s amazing how much fuller my life feels now with 4 kids!  I’m lovin’ it.

What a day…

Yesterday was a HOT one…

• Another great Sunday morning crowd
• Awesome service – our band is really clicking.  Great job on the new song: When Our Hearts Sing
• The Student ministry is really growing…love what I see happening there!
• The Core classes are going great…thanks to all those serving.
• Offering was strong again
• Some small changes with set-up of preschool, nursery and refreshments areas really helped with the traffic flow…got to give my wife some cred for her recommendations
• God is definitely blessing LCC and we are primed for a great Fall of growth
• I took off quickly after the service to go to the Skins game with one of our men – Andy.  We had great seats on the club level.  AWESOME game!  Wow – what a great experience.  Only downside was the heat…my face is bright red and sunburned.  Heard today that it was the hottest game in FedEx field history…I believe it.  Go Skins!
• I got back to Dumfries in time to catch the 7th inning of my son’s Seniors baseball game.  When I got there it was tied 9-9 and they push across 4 runs in the top of the 7th and Zac pitched the bottom of the 7th and shut down the opponent.
• So it was a day full of victories except for my fantasy team…which dropped to 0-2

Looking Forward to…

• Planning this week’s service with Communion & Baptism in the mix
• Getting ready for our relocation team’s first meeting on Tuesday night
• Cooler weather!

Adoption is a beautiful thing…

I mentioned this video in my message yesterday.  The Downing family has just completed the adoption of their 3 foster children.  Now they have 5 children!  Congrats to Rita, Lazarus and Angelo!!!

Check out the feature story on NBC4 – click here.

Weekend Recap

Awesome day at LCC!  Our September kicked off with a bang!  What a great start to the Fall…

• Several new teachers/workers in place working with our kids…thanks for volunteering and doing a great job today!
• Band debuted a new song today…Sing, Sing, Sing…(from the new Chris Tomlin CD)…nice job!  It was a great worship set today…and the crowd is singing like crazy.
• Great crowd again today.  We’ve got space issues.  It’s a good problem.  Congestion in the hallway after the service.  Running low on chairs.  Not enough space in the preschool.
• Generous offering today!
• Excited about our future relocation…our team is forming and we are believing God for our own meeting space…we need to be free from the school!
• Really enjoyed preaching today’s message…love preaching on the church!
• It’s crunch time for my devotional book.  To have it printed in time for our October series, I need to send it off by the end of this week.  I’ve got some great editing help…but still, I’m feeling the stress!
• Core Classes began today at 9:30.  We had a great turnout.  Thanks to all for showing up and making it happen.
• We are starting a ministry to our college students.  We have several families with college kids who just left for school.  Thanks to Lillian for starting up this ministry.  Be sure to pick up your college kid prayer magnet next Sunday.

On a personal note…

• We are adjusting to this new life of 4 kids…sometimes I look at Baby Nic and think is this really my child?  how did this happen? (ok…i know how it happened…just still amazed)
• Last Monday on Labor Day, we went out as a family for some last minute school clothes shopping.  Walking through the mall with all 6 of us felt like a small mob.  It just seemed like a lot more to keep track of.  Kind of funny…never saw us having this big of a family.
• Funny how house issues happen.  Last week we had a fire in our living room…literally.  An extension cord under our sofa running to a lamp caught fire.  Fortunately, we got it out quickly enough to save the house…and even the sofa…but the carpet is messed up and needs to be replaced.  Then yesterday, the hot water heater quits on us.  The cold showers just aren’t working for the family   So it goes with home ownership!
• My oldest son Zac made the Fall JV Baseball team at Forest Park and games start this week.  I’m looking forward to watching from the stands.

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Weekly Recap

It’s Labor Day morning and my Fantasy Football League Draft begins in 30 minutes…I’ve got the #2 pick.  Assuming LT goes #1, I’m debating between Adrian Peterson, Brian Westbrook and Tom Brady…

It was a great week. Yesterday, I was blown away by a great Labor Day Weekend crowd at church.  We had our highest attendance of the summer…yet some regulars were out of town.  The crowd was alive yesterday.  The band was on fire…one of the best music sets and the crowd was really singing along especially on Salvation Is Here…seems to always be a favorite.  Josh – great job!

Scott Stem, my brother-in-law and former student pastor at LCC, was our guest speaker yesterday.  He is now student pastor at a larger church in Columbus, Ohio, but he and his family were in town for a few days of vacation.  Scott did a great job delivering a challenging message on becoming a big draw.  It leads perfectly into my next series, Ecclesia, where I will speak on the purposes of the church.  We are heading into the Fall with a ton of momentum.

Next week we kick off our core classes at 9:30.  We have some new volunteers stepping up to teach in various classes.  I love to see that happening!  I met with the custodian and we have most of our classrooms figured out.  Pray that we finalize a few more details and that they give us the gym back for our nursery and preschool which is outgrowing the current space.

We are planning a big Fall campaign which begins in October.  Lots of details and deadlines to meet this week…so I’ll be pretty busy…especially after taking today off to spend with the family.

Well…time to focus on my draft…

Week in review

A week between posts…kind of describes how busy the week was…

• Last Monday I spent all day hunkered down in my home office working on my 30-day devotional for our fall campaign.  I made great progress…wrote about 11 original writings…about 1/3 of the project…then my home computer I was using locked-up.  After resetting several times and having 3 or 4 computer gurus survey the damage…it ended up with the hard drive being destroyed.  Anyway…not a great start to the week!  Tomorrow I start again… (will back up my file every 5 minutes on a thumb drive!)
• On Tuesday evening we had a great leadership team meeting.  Great energy and discussion and vision.  We are forming a RELOCATION TEAM to focus on getting us to our next church location…something other than a school.  We’re looking for a place that we can use 24/7.  While a school is most affordable, the headaches that we deal with are mounting and most importantly we believe that it is stunting our growth.  It’s time for us to remove that obstacle to growth.  Actually, we need God to do that because finding a place in Woodbridge that is affordable and suitable will be a God-thing…but that is the cool thing – with God all things are possible!
• Wednesday was devoted to sermon prep
• Thursday our youth group took 40 to Lake Anna for the day.  We appreciate Harry & Linda Bradley opening their home and dock to us for the day.  The kids had a great time tubing all day.  Thanks to our 7 adult volunteers who gave their day to our kids.  Our students had a blast!
• On Thursday, I had a great lunch meeting with a Pastor/Mentor/Friend of mine – Dave Rhodenhizer.  I served in his ministry at Calvary Road for 6 years as the youth pastor.  It’s great to have some senior pastor talk and learn from his experience and success.
• On Thursday night and Friday night I was able to attend 2 different Back-2-School nights with my 2 daughters…I cannot believe they start on Monday…the summer is GONE!
• In between all of this I spent some time holding my newborn and watching the USA dominate in the olympics.
• This morning we had an awesome service at LCC.  Josh had been in bed sick with a virus the last 2 days, but he made it to church and did a nice job leading us in worship…way to pull it off and “play hurt” for the team…(reference to last week’s message).
• The crowd was healthy again considering all the families on vacation…cannot wait for the Fall!
• Great business meeting at the end of the service. The annual budget was approved unanimously and we discussed the plans for the relocation team.  There’s a great sense of excitement for what is coming in the next year for our church.  I cannot wait to see what God does
• Loved preaching the STRIVE series…very motivating…imagine what will happen at LCC and in NOVA if all of us get serious about STRIVING to be all that we can be for God.  STREAMLINE.  PERSEVERE.  FOCUS.

Weekend recap

Great weekend…

• Great service yesterday at LCC.  Good crowd, good energy…cannot wait to see what happens this Fall.  The auditorium renovation is way behind in its progress…not sure how long we will have to be holding the service in the cafeteria…but I do know that it’s going to get crowded this Fall…which will be exciting.  I’m still praying for a permanent meeting space!
• Our Students are going to Lake Anna this Thursday…Donald is already running into a good challenge…needing more vehicles…email him if you want to volunteer – donaldbuttram@yahoo.com
• I’m looking forward to our leadership team meeting tomorrow night…we’ve got some exciting things to discuss about our future.
• We are excited about a spiritual growth campaign that we are kicking off in October.  I’ll be revealing more of the details as it gets closer, but one of the facets is a 30 day devotional book that I am writing…  Never done something like this and it is a challenge!  I’m about 60% done…with lots of editing to do before it goes to print.  We praying that all we are planning for the Fall will bring more people into a relationship with Christ.

On a personal note:

• TODAY, August 18th is my 18th Wedding Anniversary.  Sherri is a wonderful wife and mother.  I am loving this journey of life with her.  Wow…18 years already…we’ve just begun!
• Our baby Nic is doing great…gained a pound already and looking forward to his first appearance at church next week.
• The summer is flying by…cannot believe I have 2 back-to-school nights to attend this week!
• Getting pumped for Fantasy Football and the beginning of the NFL season…GO SKINS!

Warren, Obama & McCain

All on the same stage.  Rick Warren will be hosting a forum this Saturday at Saddleback and will be interviewing both presidential candidates.  This live simulcast will be made available to media outlets…I’m not sure yet who is going to be carrying this event.  Here is the link to the story from the New York Times.

Weekend Recap

It was great to be back at church this weekend…

• The new series, STRIVE, kicked off this Sunday. It was a challenging message from Hebrews 12:1. I sensed a great response in the hearts of the people. After being away for a week, I was ready to get back to preaching again.
• The band was awesome yesterday…sounded great! Josh, Cara, Matt, Valerie, Mick & Alex – way to go! Also, Tom did a great job on sound…as always. I appreciate all the hard work!
• We had a little excitement during set-up when the bulb on our main projector burnt out on us…and then what we thought was the back-up was actually not…but we were able to scramble over to the office and grab our spare small projector…and I don’t think anyone knew the difference.
• Great crowd Sunday…new families again at church…I am looking forward to a great Fall.
• Great to have the students back from their Maine Missions Trip. God did a great work in and through them. Donald, our student pastor, will be posting a report from the trip soon.
• It’s amazing how quickly time goes by with an infant in our home…Nic is already 10 days old….

Student Missions Trip!

Our students and leaders arrived safely home this evening a little after 5 pm.  It was great to see my kids!  They all had a great experience and God used them to make a difference in the lives of many people in Calais, Maine.  You’ll be hearing more in the days ahead – check the LCC Students page.  In the meantime, Donald is uploading a ton of pictures from the trip here.

This Week @ LCC

Our new series STRIVE begins this Sunday…click here for info.

Our students missions trip is going very well.  They are having a great time and a great ministry along the coast of Maine.  I look forward to hearing all the details upon their return on Saturday afternoon.  Please pray for safe travel on Friday & Saturday.  (Their internet access has been sketchy so I don’t have more to report.)

Student Missions Trip

The trip is going well…a good first day of ministry on Monday.  They are dealing with rain off and on, but having a great time serving the community.

Donald Buttram posted some pictures on his Facebook.

God is Good!

I’m pretty beat, but wanted to give a quick update…

• Sherri, Nic and I are home from the hospital.  Nic is doing great.  Sherri is doing well though in pain from the c-section…just the normal to be expected stuff.  We are so blessed with a healthy baby boy.
• Our youth made it safely to Maine.  16 studens and 4 adults arrived at their place of service near the Canadian border around 4:30 today.  Lots of driving, but praise God for a safe journey.  Now pray for their first day of ministry on Monday.
• I missed being at church this morning, but heard a great report about the job done by Dan Phillips in my place.  I heard that he had a powerful message and that everything went well without me   Thanks to all who filled in all the gaps.  I look forward to being back next Sunday and starting our new series – STRIVE.

That’s all for now…

Nicholas Steven Markle is here!

God was so good to us today.  Nic came into this world with no complications.  He is a perfectly healthy BIG baby boy.  Here’s the data:

• Born at 10:30 am on August 1
• Weight: 8 pounds 12 ounces
• Length: 21 3/4 inches

Sherri is recovering well from the C-section.  Follow the link below to our photo album.

Thanks for praying for us.

http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=1138062954&k=YZB5PW54P2ZM5FEETA23VV

Weekend Wrap

My weekend recap…

Bookmarks series – We wrapped up the series yesterday with MapQuest. We looked at Proverbs 3:5-6 and how we can have a better understanding of God’s will for our lives. The entire series is available on the LCC audio page as well as on iTunes.

STRIVE – Our next series begins August 10th…and it coincides with the Olympics. Our focus will be on the first few verses of Hebrews 12. I’m looking forward to this series. Read more here.

Special speakers @ LCC – This Sunday August 3rd, Dan Phillips will be speaking at LCC. Dan and his wife Nicki have been a part of LCC for about a year now. They are in the process of taking over our life group ministry and they have a real passion for seeing people get connected. You’ll enjoy hearing from Dan this Sunday. Then on August 31st, we have a guest speaker that I will reveal later.

More from Sunday – Good summer crowd yesterday…I keep wondering if we are going to have a real low attendance week, but it hasn’t happened! It’s great to see guests each week. New families move into the area every summer and we look forward to the fresh faces and energy they bring. We’ve also had a handful of families just move away from the area…so it’s nice to see the new families coming in to take their place! The band did a great job yesterday…the new song Cannons was great. We moved our nursery to the hallway yesterday which seemed to work out better than the room we had been using. Of course this all should get better once school starts and they are finished with the summer cleaning/renovations.

Karate Kid - I showed a clip in yesterday’s service from Karate Kid. Then I had to expose my 3 kids to this 1984 classic in the afternoon. Great movie…and we had to admit to our kids that we actually had those hair styles and wore shorts that short when we were teenagers.

And yes, we did like that KK soundtrack

Baby Watch – Unless Sherri goes into labor sooner, we are heading to Fairfax Hospital first thing on Friday morning. The C-section is scheduled for 10 am. Thanks for praying.

The Monday Post

Sorry for the slow down on my blog posts…hey – it’s summer…what can I say?

Sunday (yesterday) at LCC was a great day:

• The band was actually all back together at one time and they sounded sweet. The stage area is kind of crowded in the cafeteria, but we can manage. Great job Josh, Mick, Cara, Matt, Alex, Valerie! The music set was great…people are digging the new Tomlin song - Jesus Messiah.
• One more week left in our Bookmarks series…yesterday was ebay…basically I talked about how we handle our money and treasures. Jesus had a lot to say about and we dove deep into Matthew 6. God wants us to not only Shop victoriously, but also budget, invest and give victoriously as well. It was a good challenging message. I expect next week’s offering to be through the roof .
• It was great to have 2 new families Sunday…well actually 1 new family and 1 family back after 18 months in Kuwait. One of the downsides to pastoring in this area is people are always moving away…one of the upsides is that they often come back around. Good to have the Cresons back!
• I spent about 30 minutes yesterday with the school’s head custodian. The auditorium renovations are going to take longer than expected…I know this is a shocker It’s looking more like November before we move back into the auditorium for worship. It’s going to be getting tight in the cafeteria this fall…but we’ll survive. The more difficult aspect is the current displacement of the nursery and preschool – I don’t like what we have to work with right now, but it will get better. (What we really need is a place of our own – in God’s time we’ll have it – just PRAY!)

Some other misc…

• Pumped about our Fall Campaign for October-November. I’m writing a 30-day devotional to coincide with our campaign/series. I’m looking forward to see God move in an amazing way this Fall.
• Ran into a college student LCC attendee who I haven’t seen much this summer. She apologized for missing because of her schedule/vacations/etc, but she wanted me to know she downloads the message each week on iTunes and listens while she works out. That’s always encouraging to hear.
• We had a great leadership team meeting last Tuesday night…I’m so thankful for the awesome people that God has brought to LCC to be on the team. I am blessed.
• Our youth leave in 12 days for their missions trip to Maine – keep all 16 students and 4 adults in prayer.
• Friday, August 1st…we’re going into the hospital to have a baby that day, unless he decides he wants out sooner. Keep Sherri in prayer…she’s getting more and more uncomfortable!
• I’ve got 2 guest speakers lined up for LCC in August – On August 3rd and on August 31st LCC will get a break from me

Weekend Whirlwind

It’s Wednesday afternoon and I get an email from my wife about my 3 kids being bummed about not getting a chance at the beach this summer because of the baby coming and other conflicts.  I’m already done my message for Sunday and I suddenly get real spontaneous and book us a hotel in Ocean City, MD for 2 nights and the kids and I are off on Thursday morning…just like that.  We had a great time, but I really missed my wife.  Vacation without Sherri is just not right, but the kids and I did have a good time…playing on the beach and in the ocean, hanging out by the pool, minigolfing, going to the boardwalk, eating at our favorite spots…it was a nice quick getaway.

Church was great today.  The band was awesome – Josh introduced a brand new worship song that Chris Tomlin just released to iTunes a few weeks ago – Jesus Messiah. I believe it will be a classic worship song before long.  He and the band did a superb job on it.  We had a great summer crowd and 3 people accepted Christ as their Savior today…what a great day!

I’m putting on my youth leader hat tomorrow and going to Kings Dominion with the youth group as an adult chaperone.  We have 30 youth and adults heading south for the day.  It should be fun…got to try out the newest coaster – The Dominator.

Baby watch…officially only 17 days to go.  Hard to believe that really any day now, we’ll have a little baby boy in our house…wow!

A Few Midweek Tidbits

• Looking forward to preaching this Sunday’s message. It’s definitely going to be different. Going to be taking a look at 3 songs which are in the top 10 downloads on iTunes in their respective genres. Don’t miss Sunday.
• Getting pumped about some stuff we are planning for LCC for this Fall. I’m looking forward to our big leadership team meeting next week.
• Having lunch with a few pastor friends in the area tomorrow…should be good fellowship…always like to learn from these guys.
• Our All-star baseball run ended last night…we got thumped…I can’t bear to publish the score…but I am done coaching for awhile…I’m officially now on Baby Watch.

Missions

In Our State…

• We are collecting “College Care Kits” for incoming freshman at various universities. For info on how to participate, click here.

In Our Country…

• Our youth are heading to Maine on August 2-9 for a missions trip. They will be serving people in a poor economic community and having opportunities to share the good news about Jesus. Be praying for our 16 youth and 4 adults who will going on this trip. You can still give to help out with the travel expenses involved.

In The World…

• We are supporting two of our members are currently in the Dominican Republic. Rich Feehs and his son Josh are sharing the gospel through baseball. Click here to read the blog and see pictures from their trip.

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Weekend Recap

Hope everyone had a good 4th of July weekend. Overall, we had a pretty good weekend. Here’s a little recap…

Friday – We had some friends over for the 4th. I got the grilling done just before the heavy rains. We had a great time hanging out and eating some great food. I ended up 2nd in our Ping Pong tournament. We ended the night with our own little fireworks show in the driveway.

Saturday & Sunday All-Stars – In spite of the rain, we were able to get our all-star tournament game in on Saturday at 5pm and we had an exciting 7-5 victory over Dale City. Sunday’s game didn’t go so well. An ugly 8-2 lost against Fort Hunt. This puts us in the loser’s bracket…one more loss and we are done. So we have to win Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights in a row to win the district title. It’s doable…but a big challenge.

Sunday at LCC – Obviously, we were expecting a slightly smaller crowd because of it being a holiday weekend as well as having a lot of church families on vacation. Our expectations were met but it even with a smaller crowd we had a great service. Josh and the band did an acoustic set with some old throwback worship songs as well as a new song called Satisfy from his CD. Alex did a great job on the bongos and Mick did a great job on guitar. I enjoyed preaching on the reliability of the Bible…unlike Wikipedia, the Bible is 100% reliable. Now the challenge for all of us is to read regularly and apply!

I’m having one of those tired Monday mornings, but looking forward to what God has in store this week. Hard to believe in less than 4 weeks, we’ll be having a baby!

What is Wikipedia?

Midweek Update

Hard to believe tomorrow is the 4th of July…feels like the summer is speeding by…

• Zac’s team won it’s all-star game last night 6-2 over Fort Hunt. We play Saturday at 1 pm and then Sunday afternoon as well. Having a blast!
• Looking forward to Sunday’s message. This Bookmarks series is a lot of fun. This Sunday is WIKIPEDIA…any idea where we can go for reliable trustworthy information?
• Our church is participating in an outreach to college freshman. We’re collecting college care kits. Click here for more info on how you can participate.
• Going to be doing some grilling tomorrow afternoon. Having a few friends over. Looking forward to a relaxing holiday and watching fireworks on tv
• Church office is closing at 3pm today for the holiday weekend!

Weekend Recap

SUNDAY WORSHIP – We had a great Sunday service yesterday.  It was great to have JOSH and the band back from vacation leading us in worship.  The YouTube message about “broadcasting yourself” seem to hit home with a lot of people.  What is your life broadcasting? If you missed it you can listen online from our website: www.lifecc.us.

LATENESS for CHURCH - I know people arrive to church services late everywhere.  I think it tends to get worse in the summer.  When our service began at 10:30 yesterday, we had about 30% of our crowd.  Then by 10:35 about 60%.  Then by 10:40 about 80%.  then by 10:45, 100%.  It’s just something to deal with…those coming late miss out on some great worship songs and some awesome video.  I really don’t get it…but I have a strong feeling everyone was on time for work today

ALL-STARS – It was a HOT one!  We spent a lot of time outside in the sun at the all-star tournaments…and I don’t remember sweating this much in awhile.  Zac’s first game of the tournament was a great success…a resounding 18-5 victory over South County LL.  We play Fort Hunt LL on Wednesday evening at 7 pm.

BABY MARKLE - Our baby is now just one month away…delivery is schedule for Aug 1…4 weeks from this Friday.  Sherri and Baby Nic are both healthy…although I will say life is getting more and more uncomfortable for my wife.

PRAY FOR RICH & JOSH – Rich Feehs and his son Josh are in the air right now on their way to the Dominican Republic for a Missions trip with their FCA baseball team.  It’s a 10 day trip…I will post links in the future to any updates on their trip.  Please keep them in prayer.

That time of the year…

I’m coaching again…my son’s 13-14 year old Junior all-star team kicks off their tournament games this Saturday at 1pm at West Potomac High School against South County Little League.  After finishing 2nd last year, we are really hoping to bring home a district banner this year.

jpod or ipod?

In my prep for this Sunday’s message, I came across this hilarious video on YouTube…

Sunday Recap

We had a good day yesterday at LCC.  It was definitely a different feel, but all went well.

• We kicked off the Bookmarks series.  We had a good start yesterday as we looked at Facebook and the qualities of a true friend.  If you missed it, you can listen online.  This coming week we take a look at YouTube.
• Our transition to the cafeteria was pretty smooth.  The A/C was working but was acting odd while I was speaking.  It kicked on every 5 minutes…sounding like an airplane taking off…then it would be on for about 30 seconds…then it would kick off.  Lots of fun…I had to fight the natural temptation to start trying to yell over it.  Overall, things went pretty well.  Peaking into the auditorium windows, you can see the old seats already being ripped out…can’t wait for September!
• Josh and his family were out this week…vacationing in the Outer Banks.  We definitely missed them, but we appreciate Jon Chevalley filling in as a guest worship leader.  Jon did a great job for us.
• The size of the crowd was a little low, but still decent.  The Einwechters weren’t the only ones who took off for vacation…but hey that’s the summer!
• Enjoyed the afternoon and evening with the family…watched a few episodes of LOST, played a game of Apples to Apples, had Subway, ice cream, coffee, just basically chilled out for the day.
• It was also nice to have a break from the rigors of the daily all-star practices with Zac.  The tournament starts this Saturday.

Changes for Sunday…

Because of the construction on the school auditorium, there are some immediate changes you need to be aware of:

• NO CORE CLASSES beginning this Sunday, June 22nd. We cannot access all the rooms we need so we are shutting down our 9:30 classes until September.
• 10:30 WORSHIP SERVICE in CAFETERIA beginning this Sunday. The auditorium is already torn apart. We’re definitely in the cafeteria this week.
• PRESCHOOL & NURSERY will definitely be available during the service as always. Follow the signs for locations which will be in close proximity to the cafeteria.

Thanks for your patience and service. If you are a regular at LCC, please help newcomers find their way.

This Sunday, we kick off a brand new series… Bookmarks. Click here to read about it.

Invite a friend…see you Sunday.

Last Saturday’s Baptism

Weekend Pics

Father’s Day Family Pic

Zac’s 15th Birthday

Tori’s Softball Party

A Great Weekend

My weekend recap…

Friday night - My daughter’s team ended their softball season with a great 6-4 victory and a great team party afterwards at Milwaukee Frozen Custard.

Saturday - The LCC Student Ministry had a kickin’ End of School Bash at the Downings home.  35 teens and 7 adults attended the pool party.  It rained for about 3 of the 4 hours…but it didn’t matter.  We had a blast anyway.  Some great group games and the wiffle ball games in the pouring rain were too much fun.  The best part for me (the true reason I was there) was being able to baptize one of our teens – Angelo Tibbs.  We’ll be posting a video of the baptism on YouTube later this week.

Sunday – An awesome Father’s Day.

• Great service at LCC.  The band was great…nice to have added another guitar to the mix.  The A/C was working   Good Father’s Day crowd!
• Great to have my parents and grandparents down from PA for the day.  God blessed me with a great dad who was an amazing example for me of godly, loving father.  We had a great afternoon together.
• Also…my son’s 15th birthday hit on Father’s Day this year as well…I can’t believe I have a kid that old!  Happy B-day Zac!  Congrats on making the DTQ Juniors All-stars!
• We got to watch Tiger Woods’ amazing finish.  I only watch golf when Tiger is in it…and what can I say…he is unbelievable!

Desktop Computer Needed

For our church office space, we are looking for a decent desktop computer.  We had a computer workstation in our open workspace area and we’d like to have a computer there for part-timers, lay leaders, or guests to be able to go online if needed and print to our network printer.  We need a computer that is at least running Windows XP.  We already have a flat panel monitor for it.  It’s not an urgent need nor something we want to spend money on, but I figure somebody probably has a computer sitting around that could fill this need. If so…let me know…thanks!

Join us on Father’s Day

Join us for Father’s Day!

Worship with us this Sunday, June 15th as we celebrate Father’s Day. My message is entitled “Dad in Real Life.” We have a great line-up of music and videos…don’t miss it!

This Sunday is also the day we move our worship services into the school cafeteria for the summer. WHY? The school is renovating the auditorium over the summer months. When we move back in September we’ll have carpeting and cushy seats…it will be sweet! In the meantime we can enjoy the close fellowship of the cafeteria and you can enjoy your coffee and snacks in the service with you!

Next Sunday, June 22nd we start a new 6-week series entitled, Bookmarks. Check it out here.

The New E-Give is now live. Our online giving company has done major upgrades to our elec tronic giving system. I encourage you to check it out. My wife and I have been e-givers since it became available. It helps you to be consistent and of course it helps the church…especially during the upcoming vacation season.

The youth have a big End of School Bash & Pool Party this Saturday. Check it out here. All upcoming 7th graders are invited to attend as their first official youth group activity. Register ASAP.

Invite a friend…see you Sunday.

Feeling the Love

Sherri and I are definitely feeling the love from our amazing church.  Yesterday afternoon, the ladies of LCC threw a baby shower for Sherri.  They did an incredible job.  They went with a “baseball” theme…I’m not sure where they got that idea…  They used the church office and it was decorated great and they had some great ballpark food.   Thanks especially to Sherry, Debbie, Kristie & Darcy for putting it together for us!

The generous gifts just blew us away.  THANK YOU TO EVERYONE for the awesome gifts.  Some great clothes for Nic.  He is defintely going to be dressed like a little all-star.  Last evening we sat in the baby’s room and looked through all the gifts.  Honestly…it’s really just starting to sink in…the reality that by August 1st…we’re going to be having a baby!  Our lives are so much busier now than when we had our first 3 kids.  Now that Sherri’s done working/teaching for the year, we can actually focus on what’s coming in about 7 weeks.  I’ve got to admit that I’m pretty excited about this and what this means to our family.  No doubt that Nicholas is a gift from God.

So, I just wanted to throw out a big THANKS to all!

Sweatin’ for Jesus

That was my theme for yesterday…it was a HOT one!  We had NO AIR CONDITIONING at church yesterday.  Unbelievably hot…especially on stage with the bright lights.  I never sweat so much during a message…dripping, soaked through.  Apparently, the school lost power during the thunderstorm on Saturday night and then the A/C didn’t automatically come back on.  Great timing!  It was one of those days you were hoping for not too many guests.  But in the end…it was a great service.  The bulletins turned into fans…and noone passed out.  I sincerely appreciate the hard work of those serving yesterday…the band did a great job under the pressure of the heat, the a/v & set-up team worked extremely hard, the children’s workers had to show great patience with hot grumpy babies   Thanks to all for serving Jesus yesterday with a great attitude!

It was fun to go straight from church to coach a makeup baseball game…another sweat fest.  Zac’s team won a tidy 2-1 game.  He had the rare stat of being the winning pitcher and also picking up the save.  Pitchers are allowed to reenter the game once.  I was forced to pull our pitcher because of pitch count rules with a 1-2 count on the batter with 2 outs in 7th.  Zac threw 1 pitch and it was lined out to the centerfield for a great catch to end the game.   Our team is 13-1 with one game to go.

My daughter’s softball team played a double-header on Saturday.  Tori played 2 great games.  She was crushing the ball and made some great plays at shortstop.  The team lost both games 16-15 and 6-2.  We’re 3-6 for the season.

Romans 14

This Sunday we conclude the WHY series. We’ve been asking WHY questions from the book of Romans. I am especially looking forward to this Sunday’s message about the dangers of criticizing other Christians. There is way too much of this that goes on…and Paul speaks pretty plainly about it in this passage. To get yourself prepared for Sunday…read ahead…

Romans 14

1 Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. 2 For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. 3 Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him judge whether they are right or wrong. And with the Lord’s help, they will do what is right and will receive his approval.

5 In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. 6 Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. 7 For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. 8 If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead.

10 So why do you condemn another believer^[a]? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For the Scriptures say,

“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bend to me,
and every tongue will confess and give praise to God.^[b]’”

12 Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. 13 So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.

WHY Survey Results – Week #3

Thanks for the great feedback. Here’s this week’s results:

1. Pick your favorite WHY question from this bunch…

• 25% If superman was so smart why were his underpants on the outside?

• 23 %Why is it that when someone tells you that there’s billions of stars in the universe, you believe them. But if they tell you there’s wet paint somewhere you have to touch it?

• 18% Why doesn’t Tarzan have a beard?

• 18% If practice makes perfect and nobody is perfect, then why practice?

• 16% Why does a dog go crazy when you blow in its’ face, but when you take him on a car ride he sticks his head straight out the window?

2. WHY do Christians criticize other Christians?

• Because they think it makes them better than others
• Because of man’s competitive sin nature
• Because it makes them feel better
• Because they are insecure in their own faith
• Because they may not like the way they interact with God
• Because they feel superior
• Because they want to hold others up to God’s standards
• Because of ’sibling’ rivalry
• Because of EGO
• Because of perceptions based on certain stereotypes
• Because we feel bad that they are better Christians than we are
• Because it’s our nature to do so
• Because of fear
• Because we see the speck in another’s eye, but not the plank in our own eye
• Because we want to hurt someone who hurt us

Weekend recap

Another great weekend…

Friday night baseball with my son’s team…another victory…we’re 12-1 with 2 games to go.

Saturday afternoon softball with my daughter’s team…the game ended early in the 4th inning as we were dodging some fierce lightning bolts and quite a downpour!

Saturday evening LIFE GROUP at our house. We ended our study on Worship/Surrendering Our Lives. It was a great study…but even better was the great fun we’ve had with our group. Sadly, the military is taking the Hickenbottoms away from our group…we will miss them! But we had a blast on Saturday night!

Sunday morning worship was awesome. The worship music set was great. Josh and the band introduced a new worship song to LCC: Hosanna. It was a hit. My wife read a classic story: Cookies from the Frog & Toad collection. Then in the message we had a good time tackling the WHY question from Romans 7:14-25 – Why Do I Do What I Don’t Want To Do?

Our next baptism is scheduled for Sunday, June 15th. Several people indicated yesterday that they are ready for it!

Our worship venue is changing on Sunday, June 15th. No we’re not moving to another address, but we are moving from the auditorium to the cafeteria for the summer months. WHY? The school is doing a complete renovation of the auditorium…carpet, padded chairs, etc. It will be like a new auditorium when we move back in this September. Pretty cool upgrade that won’t cost us a cent! And since we had services in the cafeteria before, this shouldn’t be too difficult for us.

Our due date for our son, Nicholas is only about 8 weeks away. Hard to believe. My wife finishes up her year of teaching 1st grade this Friday. Thanks for your prayers for her! She’s doing great!

WHY Survey Results – Week #2

Here are the survey results from this week’s questions…

Choose your favorite WHY question from this bunch:

• 28% Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?
• 22% Why do banks charge a fee on “insufficient funds” when they know there is not enough?
• 19% Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting weak?
• 19% Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
• 12 % Why do we drive on parkways, but park in driveways?

If you could ask God one “WHY” question, what would it be?

• Why do you love me so much and have so much patience?
• Why is it so easy for some to question your amazing glory & grace?
• Why do you allow killing, disease, suffering and death to innocent men, women & children?
• Why does gas cost so much?
• Why did you create mosquitoes?
• Why is our universe expansive?  Why did you make other galaxies?
• Why didn’t you help Eve when she faced the serpent?
• Why is there terrorism in the world?
• Why is it so hard to give something away for FREE?
• Why do children have to die?
• Why do I get sick so much?

WHY do I know what is right and yet I choose to do the opposite?

• doing right is sometimes hard
• our selfishness
• because it’s easier to do what is wrong
• the right thing isn’t usually fun
• instant gratification
• the opposite is easier
• sometimes the opposite is what we really want
• WANT is greater than WILL
• because I am human and noone is perfect
• laziness and weakness

Look for another why survey in this week’s bulletin. Thanks for your responses!

3-Day Weekend Recap

What an awesome 3-day weekend…

• Saturday’s Outreach Car Wash was a smashing success. We washed 42 cars for free in about 2.5 hours. We were able to share the love of God in a practical way with many in our community. Several expressed genuine interest in visiting LCC in the near future.
• Saturday afternoon…got to hang out with the neighbors with our annual block party on our street. About 60 people from our street hung out in the street eating and drinking from about 3 pm – 10 pm. It was great to get to talk to neighbors…something which is extremely lacking in our regular daily lives.
• Sunday morning at LCC was fantastic. Incredible service. Great crowd for a 3-day weekend…I think the gas prices kept more people in town. I really do love what I do. I’m thankful to be able to truly feel as though I’m fulfilling God’s purpose in my life in what I do. I’m thankful for the awesome congregation and leaders I get to work with each Sunday. LCC rocks!
• Sunday afternoon we went up to PA to visit my parents and grandparents. We had an awesome Roast Beef dinner, followed by me whipping up on my son in pingpong and then me sleeping through most portions of the King Kong movie (I’m so tired by Sunday night…not much can keep me awake )
• On Monday, we landed at my sisters for a combination Memorial Day Picnic/40th Anniversary Party for my parents. It was great to catch up with family and surprise my parents. I found out something new about them…on their very first date (1967), they went to the Miss World Pageant at the Baltimore Civic Center and sat in the very top row…not your average first date, but a nice bit of trivia.
• Thankfully we got home pretty smoothly last night facing minimal traffic.
• Only 9 weeks to go for BABY #4 arrives…Sherri is doing great…lots to be thankful for.

WHY survey results

As promised here are the survey results from last week’s survey questions…

Why did the chicken cross the road?

The favorite answer was from Jerry Seinfeld: “Why does anyone cross a road? I mean, why doesn’t anoyone ever think to ask, “What the heck was this chicken doing walking around all over the place, anyway? Where do they get these chickens?”

What is your favorite WHY question of all time?

• Why am I dealing with this?
• Why me?
• Why not?
• Why ask why?
• Why are the foods that taste the best bad for you?
• Why are we here?
• Why can’t we all just get along?
• Why did God allow for sin?
• Why can’t kids make babies? (from a 6 year old)

Why is it easy for us to preach and believe what “should be”, but difficult for us to live what “should be”?

• it goes against our nature
• it’s always easier said than done, to live it takes action
• because we are sinners
• living what “should be” requires accountability
• because we are weak and impatient
• because each time you feed your appetite it gets bigger
• like water, we often seek the path of least resistance
• the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak

Look for another why survey in this week’s bulletin. Thanks for your responses!

My Weekend Recap

It was a fun…and exhausting weekend.

Friday evening was actually great…very relaxing…an evening at home and a couple of episodes of LOST.

Saturday was a full day of ball games.  I managed my son’s baseball team and we had a 13-6 victory.  Then we had a short break before I coached my daugther’s softball team and we had a 10-0 victory.  Somewhere in there we also had a youth activity and some housework and the usual prep for Sunday.

Sunday was a great day at LCC.  We kicked off our WHY series with the question: Why does God allow trials in my life?  I brought in my Bowflex and used it on stage as a prop to demonstrate how suffering builds our spiritual muscles…producing endurance, character and hope.  Check out Romans 5.  As always, the music was great.   Then in the afternoon we had another softball game at 3 pm…this was a rainout makeup game out in Gainesville.  I was a little grumpy about it, but it ended up being a thriller that we pulled out 12-11.  A fun memory for Tori and me.

I’m looking forward a to a great week.  As a staff we are attending the Whiteboard Sessions all day on Thursday.  This should be a great one-day conference for us.

And one more tidbit…if you haven’t yet picked up your copy of the new CD, Expect the Unseen…do it today.  Follow this link below.

Our new series: WHY? begins this Sunday. Over the next 4 weeks we’re looking at WHY questions right out of the book of Romans. This Sunday’s question: Why Does God Allow Trials in My Life? I hope you’ll join us on Sunday and that you’ll invite your friends and family.

Students…check out info here on our Ice Skating Event this Saturday evening.

Car Wash Outreach Info…click here to read about an opportunity for you to be part of LCC’s outreach to the community on Saturday, May 24th.

Hands Needed…Lend a hand of service on Sunday mornings by joining our set-up or tear-down team. Interested in volunteering??? Just send me an email back and I’ll connect you with the right people.

Do you think outside the box? Maybe you would be a good candidate for our Creative Team…email josh@lifecc.us if you are interested in joining the team.

Weekend Recap

We had a great Mother’s day service at LCC.   Good crowd, great music, the baby dedication was fun…always is unpredictable…but great to see parents making that commitment to God.

Our new lights are working out well for us.  Having the light board under our control at our A/V table is a big improvement to flipping breakers back stage!

The band is sounding great.  The new in-ear monitors have really improved the sound quality.  Thanks to our sound team and band for working so hard each week.

Our set-up and tear-down is going smoothly…but we could use a few fresh bodies…adding a light system and a few others things has added time to the work load.

I’m definitely looking forward to our next series: WHY? I’m answering 4 WHY questions from the book of Romans over the next 4 Sundays.  Check out the questions on our website.  Also, notice the series graphic…this was actually drawn by hand by one of our teenagers…great job Emily!

What’s up with all the rain?  Talked to someone last night with 4 inches of rain in their basement…been there and done that…it’s a sick feeling.  Don’t know about you, but I’m ready for some sunshine here real soon!

Our baby countdown…11 weeks…

Catching up…

Last Sunday at Life…awesome day!  The service went great…the 3 interviews were right on!  Lives were touched and God was glorified.  We did podcast the interviews…so you can check Russ, Randy and Bryant on iTunes if you missed it.  The music perfect.  A great performance of By His Wounds by Mick, Bryant & Josh.  And the Milwaukee Frozen Custard afterwards was off the chain!!!  Thanks to the Hickenbottam family!

Office Space Update…thanks for the donations…we’ve received a TV, a vaccuum, a microwave…just about everything we need.  We appreciate all the financial gifts that helped to make it happen.  The space is already being used…we’ve had 3 meetings held already, of course the daily work space is great, a men’s Monday night Bible study will be starting here soon.

Babies-r-us…while my wife was filling out a baby gift registry after work yesterday…our friends, Mick & Julie Tingstrom were working hard (mostly Julie) to deliver their baby at Bethedsa.  Great news…about 1 month early, their baby boy has entered the world as of last night at 7:41 pm weighing in at 5 lbs, 6 oz.   Another way for the church to grow!   Sherri is now a little jealous

Mom’s Cafe…it was great to have my parents in for the weekend.  My mom spoke to our ladies at the Mom’s Cafe on Saturday at our home.  I think she refrained from telling too many of my personal stories!  I heard she did a great job.

Expect the Unseen…the hottest new CD to hit the streets…it’s arriving this week.  Click here to find out how to get your copy.

Monday Morning

It’s nice to be blogging from my office   It was great to get in here at 7:30 this morning and get started.  I LOVE this office space and appreciate all who gave to make it happen and am thankful that God opened this door for us.  In case you are wondering…there are a few items we still need that we are hoping to have donated rather than purchase:

• a vacuum - got an extra upright sitting in storage?
• a TV – we’ve got a meeting area and could use this for videos, etc.  larger than 20 inch needed

Had a great day on Sunday.  Great service. Got to meet some people who came for Easter and then came back for their 2nd visit yesterday.  Enjoyed the relationships series.

The Car wash outreach was a great success on Saturday.  We were able to touch people with God’s love in a practical way.  The look on their faces when we refused to accept their money was priceless.  We were able to take prayer requests from many and invite several to church.  We’re doing it again on Saturday, May 24th from 9:30 am – Noon.  Same location – the 7-11 Gas Station next to Smokey Bones.

This coming Sunday’s service will be exciting and very unique.  Instead of a regular message, I will interviewing 3 different individuals of LCC and they will be sharing their stories of God working in their lives.  We’ll have some great tunes mixed in between the interviews.  Don’t miss LIFE STORIES at LCC this Sunday at 10:30 am.

It’s almost 4 pm on Wednesday and…

I haven’t even begun to prepare my message for Sunday   I’m usually emailing my notes off to Josh by now for projection and for the back of the bulletin, but not this week!  OK, maybe I shouldn’t be confessing this, but no worries, I’ll be ready for Sunday.  At least I know my subject and passage…so that’s a definite plus!

Office coming along really well!

My wife’s doctor appointment revealed that she and the baby are healthy, but they are not going to let us schedule a c-section as early as we hoped.  The way it stands it’s looking like August 1st, a Friday…and both of our oldest kids leave for the youth missions trip on that Saturday, August 2nd.  So that will be quite the weekend!  I’m sure God has a plan for the timing for us and it will all work out for good.

OFFICE SPACE NEWS

Big news…tomorrow we sign a 2-year lease for our own professional OFFICE SPACE!  We are extremely excited about this.  After 6 years of working from our homes, we are going to take it up a notch.  We found a great space for a great price in a great location on Opitz Blvd.

Next week we start by doing some painting and general sprucing up.  We’re getting the rest of April for free.    The space has 2 offices, 1 large meeting room which will work great for meetings, small bible studies, etc. and it has a large reception/work space area. 1,250 square feet altogether with 2 bathrooms.

The timing is perfect with my wife and kids coming home from school in about a month…and the baby coming before we know it.

We now need to furnish the office.  We did some scouting at IKEA.  For about $2,000 we can be rolling.  Maybe God will lay it on your heart to help out with a donation.

Here’s a few used items we hope to get via donation.  Email me if you have one of these items to donate: a vaccuum, a fridge (mini or regular), a microwave…probably more items that I’m not thinking of…

Here we go…a catch-up post!

Funny how life gets a little hectic and blogging becomes less important. I thought I better post soon before someone thinks I’m dying or depressed. I actually became concerned over a friend who stopped blogging for a few weeks…so let me try to prevent that.

• God answers prayer. It’s amazing over the last 2 years how when we as a church have gotten focused and specific we’ve seen God answer prayer. It’s not always everything we ask for at the time we want it…but in His timing…and His timing is always perfect.
• So, it looks likes we are finally getting our own professional OFFICE SPACE! We are pumped about this. 6 years of working out of my home has been convenient, but it’s time to take it up a notch. We found a great office space at truly a perfect location on Opitz Blvd for a great price. If all goes well we will sign a lease on Friday and take possession next week. We’re going to do some cleaning and painting before we move in. But it’s going to work great for us. It has 2 offices, 1 large meeting room which will work great for meetings, small bible studies, etc. and it has a large reception/work space area. 1,250 square feet altogether with 2 bathrooms. The timing is perfect with my wife and kids coming home from school a month later…and the baby coming before we know it. I’ll be posting more about the office space and the WISH LIST to furnish it. I know somethings already we’d like to get donated: a vaccuum, a fridge, a microwave…We just need a $5,000 giftcard to IKEA
• My wife is now 24 weeks pregnant…can’t believe it. He (his name will be Nicholas) is very active. Zac and I got to watch him kicking a few days ago…amazing! Sherri is a trooper…still teaching 1st grade and doing all the other mom stuff…pray for her strength!
• Anxious to get to the ball field tonight as my son’s team has it’s first game of the Spring season…Go Dodgers. Zac is the starting pitcher tonight…I’ll be coaching 3rd base…I love it…
• Last week’s service was great…we had a new drummer and he did a great job…way to go ALEX!
• I talked about LUST (David & Bathsheba). Amazing how much is out there (web, tv, etc) to pull us off the right path. Many men thanked me for talking openly about this subject. HEY – we are ALL dealing with this…let’s ADMIT it!
• Oh yea…my Baltimore Orioles are still in first place.
• It’s TAX FILING DAY…I did my own taxes and filed online around February 1st. I heard a radio guy today saying that our goal should be to have someone else do our taxes…why? Because that proves where you are in life…you own so many properties, have to many streams of income, etc, etc…to possibly be able to do your own Yea…that sounds nice!
• Today at 3 pm is our last staff meeting at Panera. Yea, Panera is nice…but seriously? No privacy, hard to hear, squished around the table…and NO WHITEBOARD!
• Speaking of Whiteboard…looking forward to the Whiteboard Sessions on May 22nd.
• Back to my series on Relationships from David’s life…this week I’m talking about the Dysfunction in his family due to his horrible parenting. Read 2 Samuel 13 and following…OUCH! and you think your family is messed up?

Your Testimony Wanted…Sunday, May 4th

On Sunday, May 4th, we’re going to shake it up a little from the norm at LCC. We’ll be in between message series and we’re going to do a service of live testimonies mixed with awesome worship. We’ll end the day with an Ice Cream (Frozen Custard) Fellowship. It’s going to be a blast.

Here’s what I’m looking for…people to share their stories…how you came to know Christ, how God is presently working in your life and maybe even how LCC has helped you on your spiritual journey. These will be done in an interview format…sitting on a stool at a table with me. We’ll just be having a conversation with the congregation watching.

Interesting in volunteering? Even if it’s a bit out of your comfort zone, maybe God is telling you to step up and share. If so, send me an email: steve.markle@lifecc.us. I look forward to hearing from you!

Baptisms this Sunday

Baptizing new believers  has to rank in my top 5 favorite pastoral duties.  I just love to see individuals boldly proclaiming that they believe in Jesus and are not ashamed to make it public.  This Sunday after the service is one of our scheduled baptisms.  If you have not yet registered and would like to be OR you want more information about what it means, click below.

Sunday Night Post

It was a great Sunday…one I really enjoyed…

• Really enjoyed the heartfelt worship this morning
• Really enjoyed sharing the message – it was one that just came together easily this week and just felt comfortable being delivered. I thoroughly enjoyed and was personally blessed by talking about the giving nature of our God.
• Really enjoyed watching my daughter’s softball spring training/tryouts. She’s got an awesome swing…watch out Zac here’s comes your sister!
• Really enjoyed talking to a close friend on the phone and sharing our church’s need for light trees and a lightboard for about $800 and having him tell me it’s taken care of and the check is on the way…wow is God good!
• Really enjoyed talking with all the great people of LCC this morning. I love our church…even those who forgot to set your clocks forward and missed the service The message is awaiting you on iTunes!
• Really enjoyed the enthusiasm of our people about Easter in 2 weeks. It’s going to be a record breaking day in the life of our church. Be praying and inviting!

TIME CHANGE THIS SUNDAY!!!

This is the one where we lose an hour of sleep

So sometime on Saturday afternoon/evening…move you clocks forward 1 hour.

Hello…

Ok…a little sappy post for my wife here.  Hello by Lionel Richie was “our song.”  This song was playing at the local skating rink during the couples skate…which was our first time to actually hold hands.  Yes…there was magic in that first touch…way back in 1984.  Now some 24 years later, we’re still in love and David Cook did a real cool new version of the song last night on American Idol.  Of course, we loved it.  Enjoy…

Whiteboard Sessions

I registered our staff today for the Whiteboard Sessions.  This dynamic, brand-new conference is May 22nd in Reston, VA.  Click here to go to the WB website and read all about.  I’d register soon if I were you.

Sunday Night Post

It was great to be at church today.  Last week, I was there in body to preach…but I was too out of it (sick) to enjoy it.  I was reminded today how much I love our church body and love worshipping with our people each week.  I felt like I had actually missed a week.

Our life group which met last night at our home is studying “Worship – surrendering our lives for God’s pleasure.”  The singing/music is just one part of worship…but I sure do enjoy that part.  When we really allow ourselves to block out the surroundings and sing the words of the songs, focused on God alone…we can truly worship Him for who He is.  He is Our God!  Check out Psalm 95 – a great Psalm of worship which we studied last night.

Josh was coming off a bad cold this week (he blames me) but he did a great job of leading us in worship today.  I love some of the new songs we’ve been doing lately.  Check out his blog if you want the song titles and artists so you can know what to buy on iTunes.

I enjoyed teaching on Lot today.  It’s definitely a powerful example of the negative effects of poor choices.  It’s truly unbelievable how far Lot strayed from God’s desire for His life.  Just read Genesis 19 and following and see what happened with he and his daughters…it’s sick!

The crowd was a little less than norm…I know the flu bug has hit NoVa harder this year than normal.  I know I would have stayed in last Sunday (if it wasn’t my job )

We just added a Keurig Coffee Machine to our refreshment area…people were digging that today.

I can’t believe my wife is now 15 weeks pregnant…she’s starting to show a little now.  Clothes are getting uncomfortable…but she says it’s not time for maternity clothes yet…

Jim Zorn is the new Redskins head coach….I got nothing to say about that except…how long will he last?

Only 6 weeks til Easter…looking forward to our Spring surge!

My Weekly E-Newsletter

Everyday we are bombarded with choices. Regular or decaf? Buy lunch or pack? I-95 or Route 1? Some of these choices are truly insignificant, but some choices we are faced with are life-changing. This Sunday, as w e continue our In The Beginning series, we are taking a look at Abraham’s newphew – Lot. Lot was a guy who faced a big decision in his life…and he made the wrong choice and it led to a pattern of bad choices until his life was ruined. This Sunday, we are talking about the power of our choices. Join us for worship at 10:30 am.

Here’s some other important info for you:

NURSERY WORKERS ARE NEEDED – We have immediate openings for people to serve once/month in the nursery. Several of our dedicated crew have just moved away and many people are having to do double and triple duty. You can help! Email: kristie.buttram@lifecc.us (must be 16 or older)

WOMEN’S RETREAT – Registration has begun. The event takes place March 7-8 in Stafford. Click here to read more about it and to register.

NEW MEMBERS CLASS – Sherri and I are hosting a class for membership at LCC. This class will take place in our home on Sunday evening, February 17th from 5:00-7:30 pm. Refreshments will be served. Childcare will be available with advance notice. Space limited but still available. Send me an email to register: steve.markle@lifecc.us

E-GIVING – Have you checked out our e-giving option on our website? You can give your regular tithes and offerings online. You can do one-time gifts or you can set it up for month, semi-monthly, weekly, etc….whatever works for you. This helps you to be consistent and it helps the church financially. Why not start e-giving today? Click here to learn more.

Hope to see you Sunday…bring a friend!

Steve

McDonalds vs Starbucks

Any news related to coffee and Starbucks catches my attention.  It looks like McDonalds is really going to try and take on Starbucks with coffee bars inside their restaurants.  Will this work?  Will McD’s compete?  The articles says the drinks will be about 60 cents cheaper.   It should be interesting to watch…

Here’s the link to the article from Foxnews.

Subway Commercial

Zac & I saw this yesterday…

Stop & Think

Check out this incredible evangelistic video from Francis Chan. It’s about 15 minutes long…but well worth your time. Then pass it on to others you know that need to see it.

My Afternoon

No lie…I’m not ashamed to say that I tightly gripped the chair and recited the 23rd Psalm in my head during portions. Glad it’s over!

Sunday Night Post

A great day at Life…

• Great service today…Communion, music, fellowship…all great!
• Many people back from their travels…good crowd today.
• Wow…the Skins did it again…they are getting really good at losing close games…give them credit…it’s not easy to do this every single week.
• John Schmitz handed me a bulletin from the Sunday after Thanksgiving one year ago. It was his family’s first day at LCC. He saves the bulletin every week. I am so thankful for the Schmitz fam and all the other new families we’ve added since last year.
• It was also 1 year ago today that we walked in and found the school had no electricity…that was an adventure…and to think the Schmitz’ came back
• At least my fantasy team is going to win (sorry Mike)…and I get to watch the Patriots play tonight…that’s always fun.
• Feeling a little turkey deprived…my mom made a great meal…but we usually stay over for leftovers or bring some home…I think we are going to have to roast our own turkey this week…
• I went a little Chevy Chase Christmas Vacation yesterday…spent most of the day outside on ladders with strings of lights. We did more decorating outside than last year…but no way we can compete with our next door neighbors…they usually place 2nd in our community (out of 1500 homes). I will post some pics this week.  My wife did a great job on the inside…our tree looks great…she’s a gifted decorator.

Commuting

I’m thankful for my commute.  A friend from church sent me this about his commute from Dumfries to the Pentagon this morning.  It fits nicely into our current message series on STRESS.  For those who don’t live in Northern Virginia…it gives you something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

—————–

I left my house at 0645 this morning with a quarter tank of gas.  I would rather have slugged or taken a bus this morning, but I had to drive because I had a large dolly that I had to bring back to work.  So, I drove.

Normally, on a rainy day, I can take a few side roads and make it to work in 1 to 1.5 hours.  Not so today.

0645 – 0930 equals 2 hours and 45 minutes.  That’s how long it took me to get to work this morning.  And I almost ran out of gas.  Normally, when the gas light comes on, I put in 10 gallons.  By the time I got to the gas station this morning, I had to put in 11 gallons.

I actually screamed out loud 5 times on my way to work.

Just so you know … I hate working at the Pentagon solely because of the commute.

I hope this makes whatever you are considering to be a bad day or time a little better. 

Be 1 of 100

Yesterday at Life I introduced our 1 of 100 Campaign. We are asking 100 people to give a special gift of $300 to help us reach our goal of raising $30,000 by the end of the year. I will keep a running update on the left hand column of my blog.

 

Click here to go to our website to read more.

Click here to read my letter about 1 of 100.

Click here to give electronically.

An Extra Hour of Sleep tonight!

What would Dave Ramsey say to Brittney Spears?

Funny thought. Are you working on your monthly budget for 2008? Check out Ms. Spears monthly income and how she spends it. And I thought my mortgage was high! I could make many comments here…but the facts speak for themselves…I got this from myYahoo news page.

—————

LOS ANGELES – The pop princess is a big spender.

Court papers released Thursday in Britney Spears‘ custody dispute with Kevin Federline show she spends lavishly on clothes and entertainment, and doesn’t save or invest any of her roughly $737,000 monthly income.

Spears’ monthly expenses include $49,267 in mortgage for two houses, $16,000 for clothes and $102,000 on entertainment, gifts and vacation, according to her financial declaration.

Although she’s often photographed eating fast food, Spears declares she spends about $4,758 per month dining out. Meanwhile, she spends zero on education, savings and investments and gives $500 a month in charitable contributions, the documents said.

She has to pay her ex-husband $15,000 per month in child support and $20,000 in spousal support. Spousal support will end Nov. 15.

Hammer Juggling

This should be a required skill for all church planters and pastors.  Being able to juggle a bunch of dangerous hammers while hitting the nail on the head at the same time…pretty amazing!

Steven Curtis Chapman – The Moment

Just released today…just downloaded the new SCC Album on iTunes.

My first reaction…awesome, great, fresh new stuff from one of the greatest songwriters and musicians in the music world.

Where are all the attractive people?

I heard this story on Fox 5 News last night. Philadelphia is rated as the ugliest city in America…this is based on the attractiveness of the people. Guess who is 2nd ugliest? Yes…DC wins this honor. The most attractive??? Miami and San Diego.

So, how do they determine this exactly? Here’s the article.

How does this apply to my life and church planting? I guess we just need to reach more ugly people for Jesus…

Love this Fed Ex Commercial

Catalyst Picture

Here’s a picture from the conference I attended last week in Atlanta.  This is from the area near where we were sitting.

What Makes A Good Leader?

That question was asked by the Army War College in a study of highly regarded major generals in Iraq. Subordinates rated the officers anonymously. The responses, in order of importance:

  1.) Keeps cool under pressure
  2.) Clearly explains missions, standards, and priorities
  3.) Sees the big picture; provides context and perspective
  4.) Makes tough, sound decisions on time

As pastors and church leaders…there’s much to learn here.

My iPod Mix

Here’s what’s on my current playlist…

• Spring of Life by Kristian Stanfill
• First Time by Lifehouse
• After Your Heart by Phil Wickham
• Savior King by Hillsong
• We Shine by Steve Fee
• Remedy by David Crowder Band
• All I Can Do is Surrender by Mark Roach
• The Highest and The Greatest by Tim Hughes
• Miracle of the Moment by Steven Curtis Chapman
• What Time is It? by High School Musical 2 cast   (j/k)

Steve’s Core Values A-Z: J – Jesus

Jesus.   You may hear his name used more often today in a derogatory manner than in a way of honor.  Jesus is the greatest name ever spoken. He is not someone we preach about from time to time…He is our message.  Without Jesus, we have nothing to say.  He gives us our reason for living and hope for our eternity.

There are many topics on which to preach and teach in Bible.  As we strive to learn and apply the entire Word of God, we must continue to see that the common thread is Jesus.  It begins in Genesis.  He was part of Creation.  It continues throughout the Old and New Testaments…all the way to the prophecies in Revelation.  As a pastor, every message that I give must ultimately point people to Jesus.

• Jesus saves.
• Jesus died for us on the cross.
• Jesus was the sacrifice for our sins.
• Jesus sacrifice his body and blood for me.
• Jesus loves me unconditionally.
• Jesus is the Son of God.
• Jesus is God.
• Jesus conquered death and the grave.
• Jesus is alive.
• Jesus is the greatest teacher of all time. 
• What Jesus said can be completely trusted.

Don’t ever be ashamed to talk about Jesus.  Don’t be afraid to speak his powerful name.  Don’t be afraid of being labeled a Jesus Freak…in fact, consider that an honor.

 2 Corinthians 4:5 “You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.”

MLB Playoff Pics

Here’s my pics for the Major League Playoffs that start today.  Post your pics below as a comment.

AL

• Round 1: Red Sox over Angels, Yankees over Indians
• Round 2: Yankees over Red Sox

NL

• Round 1: Phillies over Rockies, Cubs over Diamondbacks
• Round 2: Phillies over Cubs

WORLD SERIES

• Phillies CRUSH the Yankees

Young Life

Our church supports Young Life.  This is an incredible ministry that reaches middle and high school students for Christ.  Kevin & Kelly Burgess, the Eastern Prince William County Young Life directors, are a part of our church.  I’m passing on an announcement from Kevin about how you can be involved in Young Life.  Kevin will be sharing a testimony about his ministry this coming Sunday morning in the service.

“Join the FUN!  The Young Life annual banquet will be on Saturday, October 27 from 12 – 2pm at the Outback Steakhouse (near Potomac Mills Mall).  Young Life in Eastern Prince William County is looking for folks that want to be involved in the lives of kids, folks who want to see teenagers be introduced to Jesus Christ and grow in their faith.  Whether you are a financial donor, committee member, prayer warrior or volunteer leader you can make a difference in the life of a teenager right here in our community.  Come hear how you can “Join the Fun”.  Tickets are $25.  Please contact Kevin & Kelley Burgess at (703)217-9827 or kandkburgess@comcast.net for more information.”

T.G.I.F.

Are you glad today’s Friday?  I know my wife and kids are.

Here’s my Friday morning thoughts…

• Mustard stains.  I had a great time yesterday speaking at the Church Planter’s Network on the subject of Team Building.  It went pretty well.  Then came lunch…which consisted of hamburgers and the typical sides.  The food was great…but the gentleman in front of me in the buffet line had some issues with the mustard bottle and on his 2nd or 3rd shake it came out…most splattering on me.  I had to handwash my jeans when I got home.  Josh experienced true real joy watching me try to handle the situation gracefully. 
• Carribean Jerk Marinade.  I’ve gotten pretty good at grilling chicken (as opposed to burgers).  We’ve found this marinade that is pretty awesome and I’ve gotten my technique down pretty good.  My family will testify.
• A recently formed pet peeve of mine…when you fill out a “new” address section on a bill or order form and the company just ignores it and keeps sending stuff to the old address.  Our church PO Box changed about a year ago…and some of these companies pay no attention to their own forms.  How about if we just ignore the bills?
• Friday is my day off…so I had this fantastic idea that I would volunteer with my daughters’ school to be on the “sub list” for Fridays.  Well, I got my first call last night.  I’m subbing in 5th grade for 3 hours today.  Mr. Markle, the sub…should be interesting.
• I could go to 0-4 this weekend in Fantasy Football.  Drew Brees has destroyed my season!
• I’m looking forward to the Catalyst Conference next week.
• I’m pumped up about the service this Sunday…can’t wait to see how it goes with moving back into the auditorium.  LCC is growing and God is blessing.
• This week we continue our JESUS ON series.  Want to read ahead and be ready for the message???  Check out Matthew 23.  Jesus said some pretty harsh words here.
• Last week I taught on what Jesus said about Money…so I’m expecting a huge increase in the giving this week

Steve’s Core Values A-Z: I – INFLUENCE

Influence.  It is the capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of others.

The ability to influence others is a key trait of any great leader.  I believe that influence is something that each of us desire to have.  It’s someting that frustrates us when we don’t have as much of it as we would like.  We want to influence the people in our lives…our family, our co-workers, our friends. 

We have a natural desire to influence people to agree with our opinions and desires.  Sometimes our desire to influence flows out of selfish amibitions such as where we are going to eat dinner or what we are going to watch on TV.  That kind of influence can turn into manipulation. 

The influence that I desire to exert in my life is that of influencing people towards a higher level of living. 

I want to influence my kids and my church family to:

• love God – by being in a personal relationship with Him
• love people – by serving and sharing God’s message with them
• live holy lives – by making right choices
• love the church – by giving, serving, and believing in the vision
• make the most of their lives - by taking advantage of every opportunity 

Here’s how I try to influence others…

• Demonstrating a love for God & others in my personal life and talking about it
• Teaching practical living principles from the Bible and showing how they work in real life…being a living example of my teaching (note: this means admitting failures along with the successes)
• Inviting others to give it a try and see it work for themselves.
• Avoiding manipulation and other high pressure tactics.
• Living with passion every day

I know that I am continually influenced by those who are living a life that I find very attractive.  When I see pastors who are loving God and leading their churches and families well…I want to hear what they have to say.  I want to have a positive impact and influence on the lives of others.  I want to influence people for the Kingdom who will then in turn influence others in their circles….and on and on….

2 Timothy 2:2 “You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.”

What about you?  Who is your life influencing?  How are you influencing others?

Happy Birthday Lexi!

My youngest daughter turns 7 today.  Yep…my baby is 7 years old!  It’s hard to believe.  She’s an awesome, sweet young girl with a tender heart toward God. 

Lexi was a special surprise gift from God.  We thought we were done after having 2 kids…but God thought otherwise.  She was what you might call a miracle baby.  All kinds of pregancy complications for Sherri…but Alexandra emerged healthy!  We can’t imagine our lives without her!

Saturday Randomness

• I’m taking the weekends off from the A-Z posts (just in case you were wondering)
• This weather is unbelievable…I’m looking forward to coaching Zac’s ballgame today…it just doesn’t get much better than this.
• I’m really looking forward to my message tomorrow: Jesus on Prayer. We are looking at Matthew 6. Our idea of prayer and what Jesus says about it…we may be way off! Don’t miss tomorrow!
• I had to replace a flat tire on my Durango this week. Now I have this one perfect tire with 3 old worn tires that look like they won’t pass inspection in March. It bugs me…but for the cost of these tires…I will wait.
• Did you know the Redskins are 1-0? Watch out Philly!
• I cannot believe my youngest child turns 7 this week.
• Had a family movie night last night…watched Men in Black on TNT…it was fun…been awhile since I’d seen that one.

Bad Day in the Office

Fire Pit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A relaxing Sunday evening roasting marshmellows on the patio

Chick-Fil-A Props

Zac and I had lunch at Chick-Fil-A today.  I gotta give them props:

• All the employees are always courteous
• They were packed today but incredibly fast
• The drive-thru is always fast even when the line is long
• The food is always hot and fresh
• The sweet tea is awesome
• The manager is on the ball
• They advertise Christian music festivals
• They are closed on Sunday so employees can worship (yet they survive financially…how does that work? )
• Their shakes taste real…not like some powdered mix
• I never leave there irritated, frustration or unhappy

Some people don’t like to compare business to the church, but in reality I hope that people feel the same way about LCC.  (except the being closed on Sundays part)

• All the members are always friendly
• There was a good crowd and the service was fast paced…not slow and boring
• The refreshments were great
• The leaders were on the ball
• They advertised upcoming events well and clear
• Their messages/teachings/people were real…not fake
• I leave feeling upbeat, happy, ready to tackle another week

Mark Roach

I just bought this new worship CD today on iTunes. 

If you like fresh, new worship music…you will like this CD.   I believe it’s the first release by Mark Roach…it’s entitled Every Reason Why.  If you like Chris Tomlin and the like…you’ll probably like this.

Here is a link to some 30 second clips.

A Quick Quote from Rick Warren

“Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is get some sleep.” - Rick Warren

Smoothie Recipes

The Smoothies were a great success today.  Here are the recipes that I blended up in the message today:

Smoothie #1 “Strawberry Lemonade”

• 2 Cups Lemonade
• 2 Cups Frozen Strawberries
• 1 Cup Strawberry Yogurt 

Smoothie #2 “Strawberry-Banana”

• 1 Cup Frozen Strawberries
• 1 Cup Apple Juice
• 1 Cup Orange Juice
• 1 Frozen Banana
• 1 Cup Strawberry Yogurt
• ¼ Cup Sugar 

Smoothie #3 “Tropical”

• ½ Cup Crushed Pineapple
• 1 Cup Apricot (or 6 apricot halves)
• 2 Cups Frozen Strawberries
• 1 Frozen Banana
• 2 Cups Milk

The Heat is On…I love the Fall

It should be fun this afternoon…our opening game of our fall baseball season…the heat index is about 105-110 degrees!  Hope none of my boys pass out today!  Looking forward to those October night games when it’s in the 40’s and we’re drinking hot chocolate in the dugout.

I’m ready for the Fall…it’s probably my favorite season of the year:

• Football Season begins – NFL on Sundays, College on Saturdays…it’s all good!
• Fantasy Football kicks off…what a nice distraction to the noise of life.
• Routines kicks back in.  I like the variety of summer, but it’s been so nuts…and I’m a person of order and ready for some routines to resume.
• The weather in the Fall is awesome – the changing colors, the cool evenings…it’s the best!
• Church attendance usually goes up…vacations are over…new families get plugged in…we start new series & programs…it’s an exciting time at LCC

I’m sure there’s a few more reasons…what about you?

Spiritual Gifts Test

Maybe “test” is a bad word….“analysis” is better…  We have a link on our “resources” page on our website to a free spiritual gifts analysis.  It takes about 15 minutes to complete online and then it gives you the results…it ranks your spiritual gifts.  Of course, you have to answer the questions honestly…which can be painful…but the point isn’t to make you feel guilty, but to discover where you are most gifted…and then to serve in the area of your greatest gifts.

So Josh and I took a 15 minute break yesterday and did the test. 

Here are my top 3:

1. Administration (organizing, administering, promoting, and leading the various affairs of the church)
2. Prophecy (not fortunetelling, but preaching, speaking forth the truth, etc)
3. Pastor/Shepherd (overseeing, training, caring for group of Christians)

It’s somewhat confirming for me…that I’m in the right position.  But beware…my lowest 2 gifts are: Serving and Showing Mercy  

If you haven’t done it recently…give it a shot…it’s a good little exercise!

MTV survey says spiritual teens are happier

I read this article on this blog.

MTV and the Associated Press recently surveyed the happiness of young people ages 13-24.   Guess what they found?   Young people who consider spirituality the most important thing in their lives are happier than those who don’t.  That’s the good news.

The not-so-good news is that only 44% consider themselves “spiritual,” and only 10% say that spirituality is the most important thing in their lives.  We’ve got our work cut out for us.  Here’s a summary of the survey results:

1. General happiness — 65% of young people say they’re happy.  But, when ethnicity is considered, 72% of whites are happy, but only 56% of blacks and 51% of Hispanics.  I am sure that poverty and opportunity are factors here, but these statistics warrant further review.
2. Parents, family, and relationships — Amazingly, parents are seen as an “overwhelmingly positive influence” in the lives of young people.  But, here’s an interesting reversal of #1 — 30% of blacks and Hispanics identify family as the thing that brings them the most happiness, contrasted to only 15% of whites!   
3. Religion and spirituality — 44% say that religion and spirituality are either “a very important or the single most important” thing in their lives.  80% of those who say that spirituality is the most important are happy with life in general; in contrast 60% who say spirituality is not important at all are happy with life in general. 
4. Fortune and fame — Almost no respondents said money was the source of their happiness, but many cited financial problems as a source of unhappiness.  70% want to be rich, but just 29% want to be famous. 
5. Technology – 50% say the internet alone makes them feel happier, and 50% say they never turn off their cell phones. 

Obviously, the implications for church and youth ministry are trememdous here.  You can read more about the survey at research.mtv.com or surveys.ap.org. 

Let the Jury Decide

Sno Cones this Sunday!

Our August after-service fellowships continue this week…with Sno Cones!

 Don’t miss out on the fun & fellowship!

Sunday’s Highlights:

• Message on Anger Management
• Testimony from one of our teenagers
• Introduction of new youth pastor and family
• Great line-up of music
• Sno Cones afterwards

There no better place to be on Sunday morning!

Our church grew by 1 today!

Click here.

Today’s E-news

About 2x per month I send out an e-newsletter to our church database. 

Here’s today’s edition:

The TOP 5 LCC HEADLINES REWIND - Our August series continues this Sunday at 10 am as we rewind to 2004 and a series called Mission Impossible: Controlling Our Emotions. This Sunday’s message is titled, Anger Management. FREE SNOWCONES – After this Sunday’s service, we are having a Snow Cone Fellowship. We’ve had a great time this month with fellowships after each service. Invite your friends and neighbors! SERVICE TIMES CHANGING – Beginning September 9th, our main worship service will be moving to 10:30 am. It will be preceeded by Core Classes for all ages at 9:30 am. Please make your plans for this new Sunday morning line-up. If you want to know how you can serve, please email me at pastor@lifecc.us. JAMIE & KELLY McBRIDE – Our new youth pastor and his wife and kids will be introduced at the end of this Sunday’s service. Be there to meet them and get to know them. Then on Sunday, September 16th, we are hosting a Parent & Teen Cookout at our home so that all our youth and parents can get to know the McBrides better. This event will be 4-7 PM – mark your calendars! LIFE GROUP REGISTRATION – Our life groups will be kicking into full gear in mid-September. Registration is coming online soon. Be watching and be ready! God bless you! Steve

Pain in the Toe

WOW…this is a first time experience I wish I never had!

Today was going well.  The youth Bible study I led here at our house went great.  Great group of kids – very responsive to the study.  We leave as planned at Noon for our service project.  Let’s just say the plan didn’t go as expected.  They gave us an alternative job of organizing school supplies which was pretty simple for the youth to accomplish quickly.

Then came the pain.  Moving the last box of supplies I caught my big toe nail (why was I wearing flipflops?) and I ripped it off.  If you’ve never done this before, I don’t recommend it.  The blood came quick and the throbbing pain  was or should I say IS unbelievable.  I laid the toenail back down on the toe and got some assistance to bandage it up and stop the bleeding.  This was around 1:30 pm.  9 hours later…it’s still throbbing.  The Vicaden is wearing off.

Funny how a day can turn.  Now combine this my needed root canal…and all I can say is I’m looking forward to when everything feels good again

Tuesday’s Tidbits

Rambilings from a busy Tuesday…

• Ephesians 4:26-5:2 is my passage for Sunday…what a great passage of practical advice on Anger Management
• I really like Swedish Fish – it’s a good candy for Bible study
• Murphy’s Law?  My wife scheduled a pool party today for my youngest daughter’s birthday.  She had about 4 friends coming with some siblings to our neighborhood pool.  It was for 1-3 pm.  She called me at 12:45 saying you will not believe it…someone did something nasty in the pool and it’s going to be closed until 4 pm.  You cannot deny that is funny   (they worked out something with the lap pool for them – not as much fun, but better than nothing)
• Cannot believe my wife and I are celebrating our 17th Anniversary already…this Saturday is the day.  I’m so blessed to have her!  We’re definitely more in love today than ever.
• Looking forward to my next teaching series in September…JESUS ON:  Stay tuned for more info…
• Pray for the Feehs family in our church – they leave for China tomorrow for their adoption of their baby girl…Maryn!  They should be back in 2 weeks.
• God is awesome…He keeps providing people to step up and serve in the ministry.

Camp Pictures

I’ve just uploaded about 140 pictures from camp to a Flickr Account.  Click here to go and check them out.  If I have time later, I will try to organize them into groups.  But you will find: miscellaneous pics, lots of recreation pictures from team building day to H2O day, some pictures from the services (they didn’t allow flash photographs).Enjoy!

Real Life Interview Blunders

I read this story on yahoo news.  Actual real life stories of happenings in interviews with the hiring manager:

* “After answering the first few questions, the candidate picked up his cell phone and called his parents to let them know the interview was going well.”

* “The job seeker halted the conversation about work hours and the office environment, saying she didn’t like being confined to a building, but would consider taking the job if she could move her desk to the courtyard outside.”

* “When asked by the hiring manager why she was leaving her current job, the applicant said, ‘My manager is a jerk. All managers are jerks.’”

* “After arriving for an early morning interview, the job seeker asked to use the hiring manager’s phone. She proceeded to fake a coughing fit as she called in sick to her boss.”

Tomorrow will be a winner!

I’m looking forward to church tomorrow!  It’s going to be a fun day!

- I’m bringing back a series I did ‘02 and doing a message tomorrow about Coffee – my favorite drug

- I’m going to be busting out the Xpresso Machine in the service…a free Mocha giveaway…

- We’re partying with Milwaukee Frozen Custard after the service…a church fellowship!

- The music set for tomorrow looks great – Josh is doing a “rewind” song each week as well….pulling out an “old” worship song that we used to do in the early days.

LCC…the place to be

Summer Homework

My kids have a load of reading and reports to do over the summer…both public and private schools load their kids up with reading and writing assignments to keep their minds fresh over the summer.

 I see the point…but what happened to the summer break?  I kind of feel bad for them…it’s kind of a drag!

Coffee Snobs

My wife and I are coffee snobs.  We admit it.  We grind our own beans.  Usually Starbucks.  We use real Half & Half.  It’s who we are…call us whatever you want!

But we ran out of beans a few days ago.  We keep a backup stash of Folgers in the cabinet.  Ugh!  We keep forgetting to pick up some beans.  So another morning of Folgers.  I didn’t even get my normal 2nd cup…it’s just a waste of time. 

Hot & Not

Here’s what I’m liking today:

• My ability to grill chicken…my wife complemented my increasing ability to grill the perfect chicken breast…but no cooking shows are in my near future
• Baseball – it’s my favorite sport…still
• My family – I’m so blessed
• Buying stuff online – Recent purchases include a new lawn mower blade, iTunes CD download, cargo mat for back of my truck, book on Amazon…so nice to see that package sitting on the porch rather than driving all over trying to find it.
• My church…LCC is the best!
• The fact our family vacation is only 3 days away
• The new Tim Hughes CD - “Holding Nothing Back”
• Vicadin prescribed by my dentist
• The book of Philippians

What I’m not liking:

• the price of a root canal
• losing an all-star district championship game to an extremely cocky team
• headache pain from an overly sensitive deep cavity which leads to difficulty in enjoying ice cream
• humidity
• bubble gum stuck in my tennis shoes
• summer TV – because of our all-star season I haven’t watch hardly anything in the last 30 days…wow – I haven’t missed much!  (America Doesn’t Have Talent!)
• restless nights of attempted sleep (brain won’t shut down!)
• summer is almost half-over
• the greenness of my grass compared to my neighbors

Sunday Snippets

Wow…what a day….I have a quick break between activities…so here we go:

• Great service this morning.  The music was great, the message spoke to me ,  we had some first-time guests as well as returning guest.  There was a great spirit today and another great July crowd.
• All that just said – I am looking forward to my vacation
• We have some incredible volunteers.  Some are so dedicated they drag their family from out of town with them at 7:30 am to help set-up!
• Don’t want to sound like a broken record…but I am praying for a miracle – that God gives us a building or a space that we can have 24/7.  Also – office space would be great.  Please pray with me on that.  I read of another church planter who meets in a school who just got office space for he and his staff.  FOR $200/month!  Well that’s life in North Carolina
• ALL-STAR update.  We did a reverse of what happened to us the other night.  We whooped Dale City today 17-7 in 5 innings.  Lots of controversial plays…but most went in our favor.  The umpires did a good job of going to the rule book for help to get it right.  It was a HOT one.  Glad we ended it in 5.  So tomorrow – it’s Dumfries (DTQ) vs. Dale City at 7 pm for the district championship.  If we win, we go to the state tournament this Friday in Bristol.  That would be awesome!
• Now, we’re off to a little family dinner gathering at my brother-in-law’s house…boy the pillow is going to feel good tonight!

Quick All-Star Update

A big victory today 12-4 over Woodbridge puts us up against Dale City tomorrow at 1pm.  If they win, they are Champions.  If we win, we play again Monday night for the championship.  We were definitely back on track today with our bats!  It will be a full day tomorrow – straight from church to the fields!

I Won A Free Burger from 5Guys!

The last time I won something was shooting a basketball to win a huge Tweety Bird at Kings Dominion about 8 years ago. 

Today I got a phone call from our local 5 Guys.  They pulled my card out of the jar and I won a free hamburger!  IMO they have the BEST BURGERS around.

It must be my lucky day…that’s like a $3.29 value!

In A Pit With A Lion on A Snowy Day

In A Pit With A Lion on A Snowy Day by Mark Batterson

I’m currently about halfway through this book.  It’s a great read.  Mark’s a pastor here in DC and doing a phenomenal job at National Community Church which meets in the movie theaters at Union Station.

I’ll give a little more review of the book when I finish.

07.07.07

I didn’t play the mega millions lottery or do anything else superstitious because of today’s date…but many people are getting married today because of the date…and doing lots of other types of gambling.  Click here.

Here you go…

My Sunday night collection of random thoughts:

• Great day today…a great worship service.  Josh did a new intro to Marvelous Light (a Charlie Hall song).  It went over great.  I think that song has to be in our top 5 worship songs right now.  Great to have Josh, his mom and Shibu back in the band today.  I could truly sense people worshipping freely this morning.
• We ended The Movement series today.  I absolutely loved preaching it…Paul has inspired to be more fired up than ever about staying committed to the work he has called me to do.
• Funny moment in the service…as I got into my first point…some people were waving their bulletins at me.  I finally caught on to why…we had last week’s sermon notes on the back of the bulletin…oops!  A rare mistake in that arena!  We make plenty of mistakes, but usually not of that variety!  I had to just acknowledge, make a joke and move on.  Oh well, if anybody wants this weeks notes (with the blanks filled in) just shoot me an email! (steve.markle@lifecc.us)
• Great to meet some new families today.  I always love meeting new families who are visiting LCC.  I enjoy getting to hear why they came and how they found us.  I especially enjoy watching the friendliness of our congregation.  We have GREAT people!
• Also it was a great attendance for a weekend near July 4th.  A great bounce back from last weekend!
• Using a school for church in the summer is a BIG PAIN.  They do so much cleaning and floor waxing, etc…every week is a different obstacle to deal with.  We always do…but you hate for guests to get a bad impression because of the mess in the hallways…oh well…what can you do?  God, we are ready for you to provide a permanent space…Amen
• Went straight from church to the ball field for Zac’s 2nd game of the all-star tournament.  Today we faced Fort Hunt…a team with a bunch of players who won the district last year.  We jumped ahead 5-0 in 1st, but fell behind 8-5 in the 3rd inning.  We got one in the bottom of the 6th to make it 8-6.  Then we had an awesome rally against their best pitcher in the bottom of the 7th and final inning.  We scored 3 runs to win 9-8.  Zac got a single with the bases loaded which tied the game up at 8.  It was INTENSE.  I am emotionally spent!  We don’t play our next game until Friday…so a nice little break…
• One last thing…3 days now without an iPhone…and I’m really ok…

iPhone Mania

Around 5 pm yesterday my son and i were strolling through the mall on our way to Sports Authority to get some new batting gloves before All-stars begins today….and there was this mob of people in the middle of the mall.  Then I realized who they were…the insane people who have to spend $500 on the first day it’s available to get this phone that has god-like powers.  The At&t store had closed at 4:30 and was reopening from 6-10 pm for this deal.  Actually there were about 40-50 people in line – all ages, shapes and sizes.  I asked the guy in front of the line (he looked about 25 yo) how long he had been there…he said since 6 AM.  And I asked him if it will be worth it?  DEFINITELY!  was his answer.  We’ll see.   I have to admit the commercials have sold me….but $500???…I can wait til they come down!

I don’t want to do it…

I’m trying to analyze myself on something.  I have this huge administrative task that needs to be done…and because of its’ nature…it really needs to be done by me.  And Administration is one of my gifts…yet I keep fighting it.  I am having trouble making myself work on it.  I find it odd, because I usually go after these types of tasks with vigor…but for some reason I just don’t want to do it.  I even ran an errand to Wal-mart yesterday just to avoid working on it.  I am normally not a procrastinator.  Am I crazy?  Is it summertime blues?  Burnout?  I cannot figure myself out on this one!  Any psychologists out there??? 

Happier than Happy

I heard a sport talk radio guy talking yesterday about coaches changing jobs…or NOT.  He went on a rant about how some guys stay at lower level colleges or sport programs because they are already HAPPY.  They make a good living, they have roots, their wife and kids like it…why leave for the bigger and better?  To try to become happier than happy?

I’m not saying we shouldn’t try to improve ourselves and pursue better jobs, etc…but if you are happy, making a good living, and your family is happy…maybe you found something that few find…and maybe you shouldn’t mess with it!

1 Timothy 6:8 “So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.”

McDonald’s Iced Coffee

Here’s my review…

Much better than expected!  This morning I bought the Medium Vanilla Iced Coffee for $1.59.  It was pretty good…not too sweet and quite refreshing.  Of course not as good as a Starbucks Frap, but it didn’t cost me 4 bucks either.  So give it a try and tell me what you think.

This is sick and cruel…

my friend Donald sent me this sick video…

20 Tips for Using Google Better

I came across this article on the Simplicity blog that I subscribe too.  I was surprised how much I didn’t know about using Google.  Click here for the article.   #8 is especially helpful…and will save me some time when looking for a calculator!  Check it out.

Looking forward to Sunday…

We had a blast at last year’s outdoor service in July.  This year we decided to move it back a month combine it with Father’s Day.  Check it out!

mySunday

• Nice service today…it was solid…good worship, great people, awesome God
• Have I mentioned that I am loving this teaching series on the Apostle Paul?  I’m learning alot as I prepare and teach.  I always enjoy this part of my job, but I’m especially enjoying this series.
• 3 registered for next week’s baptism…2 more possibilities so far…our goal for 2007 was 20 baptisms and we have already seen 15…so we may reach that goal before the year is halfway over…praise God for what He is doing.
• Next week’s service is outside…in front of the school building – we did it last summer and it was alot of fun.  We’re grilling hotdogs and have a surprise for the dads.  I’m taking a break from my current series for a father’s day message with a home depot flavor…
• I try not to spend too much time on my blog bragging about my kids…but I am so proud of them.  All 3 of my kids earned straight A’s on their report cards for all 4 quarters and they all had straight O’s for their conduct grade.  Yea, I’m blessed and my wife is doing an awesome job with them.
• Just got back from an All-star team picking meeting.  I was asked to help coach the DTQ Juniors All-stars.   I know who was chosen for this team, but I cannot reveal what I know to anyone (including my son) until June 15th when all-star season officially begins.

I Didn’t Kick Any Dirt

My son’s team that I manage lost last night 7-3.  We are 8-3-1…so we haven’t lost too many. 

But I had a first, I actually went out onto the field to argue with the base umpire over a call that I believe he botched.  Actually it was his 3rd blown call of the game and I had enough.  (and the fact we were losing in the 7th inning didn’t help.)  I listened to his explanation and presented my argument which I lost of course.  But I didn’t curse or kick any dirt on him…and didn’t get thrown out of the game or suspended   It was kind of fun actually…and I took my time walking back to the dugout.

All this reading and studying of the Apostle Paul for this week’s message must be getting to me.  We’re in Athens this week…where he was debating the philosophers over truth.  Maybe that is my excuse?

One of our teenagers is heading to Brazil in less than a month on a 10-day missions trip with FCA.   Josh Feehs, age 15, is heading to Brazil with his baseball team with the opportunity to share the good news of Jesus with those who have not heard.  There are 2 things you can do to support him.

1. Pray.  Pray for Josh and his team during the trip from June 19-29.  Pray for their safety and for the success of their mission.
2. Give.  Josh currently has raised $550 of the $2500 needed for the trip.  There are 2 ways to give:  Click here to give online.  Or write a check to “FCA Baseball Missions” and mail it to: FCA Baseball Missions, 4400 Williamsburg Court, Fairfax, VA 22032

Let’s get behind Josh and support him in his mission.  I will post some pictures here after his trip.

Memorial Evening Thots

• We just got back from PA.  I’m exhausted.  We helped my parents move and settle in to their new home.  It’s a 2 hour drive…so not so bad, but I’ve done the up and back twice now in the last few days so I could be back for Sunday worship…and so my wife (whose calling is interior decorating) could go up and help my parents set-up their home. 
• We did miss the church picnic today although my son stayed behind and represented the Markles.  I think this was the first churchwide event I have missed in 5 years.  It felt weird, but it was great to see things go on without our presence.  I received a great report and heard we had a great crowd of at least 70 people.  I especially missed the softball game!
• We had a great service yesterday although we had the typical low attendance due to the holiday.  Can we count the families who made it back for the picnic today in our count?
• Oh yea…it was extremely hot yesterday at church.  The school’s A/C is broken…I don’t think I’ve sweat that much in preaching before…I guess if it’s not fixed by next Sunday, I might be breaking out the shorts and t-shirts.  Serioulsly!  (The custodian told us they expect it to be fixed on Tuesday…I will keep you posted.)
• Be looking for a separate blog this week on how you can support one of our teenagers – Josh Feehs – on his short-term missions trip to Brazil at the end of June.

Ed Young’s Video Blog

Ed  Young is one of my “mentors from a distance.”  He’s the pastor of Fellowship Church in Dallas, TX.  His video blog entry from Monday morning was great for pastors.  I’d thought I’d share it here with you.

Roger Clemens

I’m just amazed at this guy and what the Yankees are giving him. 

• A $28 million pro-rated salary for the rest of this season.  Basically he’ll make close to $1 million each time he pitches a game.
• He gets to come and go as he pleases…meaning as a starter he only pitches once every 5 days or so…so he can leave the team to go be with his family in between starts if he wants.
• He also only has to pitch home games…no travelling with the team

I’m sure there’s more to this deal.  I’m not a big Roger-hater, nor am I a big Roger-fan.  I’m just blown away by this special favoritism.

• Imagine if we treated certain staff members like this.
• Imagine if we treated a certain one of our kids this way
• Imagine if our military gave certain soldiers these priviledges

Hopefully, it will all blow up in the Yankees face and be a disaster and destroy their clubhouse unity…and my point will be proven!

Perfectionism

You ever struggle with it?  I know I can at times.  I found this article on Yahoo to be a good read on the subject.  I don’t know if I totally agree, but the writer makes some very good points.

Read it here.

Favorite Restaurants

Last week I was on the phone with a friend on was on a business trip.  As we were talking, he pulled into Outback Steakhouse for dinner…by himself.  As we continued the conversation, he placed his order…it was all I could stand to listen to him order the filet mignon and lobster (it’s on the company’s tab ).   So here’s my top 5 favorite restaurants:

1. Outback
2. Red Lobster
3. Macaroni Grill
4. Famous Dave’s
5. On The Border (for my wife)

Idol Gives Back

Wow…what a show last night.  I was entertained, but more importantly I was moved and convicted by the video clips.  Yes, I say I care about missions and world hunger…but I can get so caught up and focused on our church and our mission in Northern Virginia, that I just don’t think about the rest of the world very often.  Last night’s show was very convicting and we feel compelled to give something to help…it’s amazing how much further a dollar goes in Africa. 

* On a side note, we were relieved at the end…we almost lost Jordin!

Vegetable Plate or 16 oz Ribeye?

Here’s a verse that I am using in my message on Sunday.  There’s a lot of truth in it… 

Proverbs 15:16-17 “Better to have little, with fear for the Lord, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil.  A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate.”

I’d like to have the steak with my someone I love

American Idol – Top 6

Now that Sanjaya is gone, I will write a little post…giving my order of favorites:

1. Jordan
2. Blake
3. Melinda
4. Chris
5. LaKisha
6. Phil

No…I haven’t voted…but I am a fan of the show.  I will say that Martina McBride is amazing!  Awesome voice…probably the best celebrity they’ve had on there yet.  About a month ago, I had downloaded to my iPod that song, Anyway,  which she sang last night.  It’s a great song…motivating…a good one for pastors/church planters/parents, etc…

I’m happy & fulfilled

At least according to a recent survey.   Click here for the full story.   Basically, they interviewed at least 27,000 Americans about job satisfaction and happiness. 

Here are the Top 10 most gratifying jobs and the percentage of subjects who said they were very satisfied with the job:

• Clergy—87 percent percent
• Firefighters—80 percent percent
• Physical therapists—78 percent percent
• Authors—74 percent
• Special education teachers—70 percent
• Teachers—69 percent
• Education administrators—68 percent
• Painters and sculptors—67 percent
• Psychologists—67 percent
• Security and financial services salespersons—65 percent
• Operating engineers—64 percent
• Office supervisors—61 percent

And here are the least satisfying jobs according to the survey:

Laborers, except construction—21 percent

Apparel clothing salespersons—24 percent  

Handpackers and packagers—24 percent

Food preparers—24 percent

Roofers—25 percent

Cashiers—25 percent

Furniture and home-furnishing salespersons—25 percent

Bartenders—26 percent

Freight, stock and material handlers—26 percent

Waiters and servers—27 percent

So if this is true…why do so many pastors quit the ministry every year???

Currently Reading?

I get a weekly “Pastor’s Toolbox” email from Rick Warren.  He wrote an article about the importance of pastors growing by reading books…and a wide variety of them.  Here’s a quote that struck me: 

“the average Presbyterian pastor reads only five books a year, and the average Baptist pastor reads only three books a year. It’s no wonder our churches aren’t growing in the United States.”

Sadly, I can say that early on in my ministry that was me.  But that has definitely changed…especially over the past few years.  I read a minimum of one book/month…which isn’t really enough.  My problem is having too many books started at one time and lying in different places all over the house. 

How To Have A Business Conversation

I read this article on Yahoo this morning…10 Tips from Ben Stein on how to have a business conversation.  I had to laugh because it almost sounded like evangelism training…except for point #7.  Below are the 10 tips…for the full article click here.

Ten Conversation Tips:

1. Begin by knowing that the people you’re talking to mostly want to talk about themselves.
2. Establish common ground.
3. Say kind, generous things to your conversation partner.
4. Keep your comments brief.
5. Get back on common ground again as soon as you can.
6. Don’t brag unless you do it in a funny way.
7. Unless you’re specifically asked about it, don’t talk about religion at all.
8. The same goes for politics.
9. If you talk about current issues, do so in a genial, friendly way.
10. Make whatever points you need to make in a hurry, and then leave.

Virginia Tech Crisis

It’s hard to make sense of it and know what to think in situations like this.   My heart and prayers go out to these students and families.  I am 4 years away from sending my oldest child off to college and it’s just plain scary to think about what it would be like in that situation.

George Barna did a national scientific study several years ago asking people…If you could ask God just one question, what would it be?  The #1 response was “Why do you allow so much tragedy and suffering in the world?”  I’m sure people are asking that question now. 

Here’s an excerpt of a message I preached a few years ago on this very topic.  You can email me if you want to have a copy of my complete message notes.

“In God’s love for us, He gave each of us a free will…to choose to do right or wrong.  Moral evil is a result of immorality.  The pain and suffering that result is because of the choices we make to be selfish, arrogant, uncaring and abusive.  Romans 3:23 states “For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”  Someone estimated that 95% of suffering in world is the result of sin.  I would agree with that estimate.  Consider your hand.  “I can either take this hand and pick up a gun and shoot & kill or I can take this same hand & feed someone who’s starving to death.”  It’s my choice…”

Significant Homes in the Bible?

I’m beginning my study and prep for next Sunday’s message in our myFamily series.  I’m going to talk about our home environment…what kind of environment honors God and helps our family become all that it can and should be.  I was going through the Bible and looking for examples of some homes in the Bible.  So far, some homes that have some unique qualities: Martha’s home (welcoming), Prodigal Son’s Father (forgiving), Achan’s home/tent (sinful).  What comes to your mind?  Here’s your chance to help me with the message

Drink Coffee for Ultimate Brain Power

These are the kinds of articles I love to see…especially starting a Monday morning.  Further justification for my Starbucks addiction.    (I am also going to make sure we have fish once/week now…read the article!)

Click here for the Yahoo news article.

Opening Day

A busy Saturday…but a good one!  I had a great opportunity at the opening day ceremonies of the DTQ Little League.  They asked me to say the opening prayer…which is pretty cool in front of 300-400 people.  It’s actually pretty amazing they even still have a prayer in this post-Christian world we live in.  It just doesn’t seem politically correct…but I appreciated the opportunity.

Then we had our opening game at 3pm.  I manage my sons team – the Cubs.  It was a tense game which we won 4-3!  Zac pitched 6 innings and did awesome!  So we’re on our way to an undefeated season   Only bad things was that I got absolutely hammered on the wrist bone by a line drive while pitching batting practice in the cage before the game…I’m hoping it’s not serious, but the pain is pretty rough…I’m motrined up…

It was also opening day for our life group tonight…a great first study of the Go Fish series.  A great challenge to be a “fisher of men.”  We all have got to do better!

Go Fish!

We begin our Spring LifeGroup at our home tonight at 6 pm.  We are studying the curriculum to go along with the book written by Andy Stanley, entitled Go Fish.  This study is about learning to talk about God’s working in your life in a natural way.  We’ll be watching clips of Andy each time as part of our study.  I’m looking forward to getting started tonight.

I Love Curtains but…

We need some new faces and energetic bodies to join our 7:30 set-up team at LCC.  We start unpacking the trailer…actually around 7:20.  The main body of work goes til about 8:30…which is so the band can sound check and rehearse until 9:30.  Since we’ve moved to the cafteria in January, I’ve been doing the curtain backdrop…which is just one of many jobs that needs to be done…and not that I mind, but there are other areas that I could focus on if we could have a few more join the set-up team…if you are alive and breathing…you qualify

On that same note, our head trailing packing/unpacking/video projection guy – Donald – is being sent away for training by the Air Force for 6 weeks…so we’ll be especially in need of some extra help beginning next Sunday.  Maybe God is calling you to join this ministry team!  You get the first pick of the doughnuts!

Currently Listening – 33Miles

New band…new CD that I just downloaded on iTunes…that I am currently listening to: 33Miles.  It’s got a country/pop/rock flavor to it.  Great lyrics.  I think my wife will enjoy this band.

Calorie I.Q. Test

I found this on myYahoo page.  Found it interesting and surprising…especially the calories in Movie NON-buttered popcorn!

Click here.

Quote from Zig Ziglar

“A child who has not been disciplined with love by his little world will be disciplined without love by the great big world.” 

I came across this quote as I was preparing for this week’s message in our myFamily series.  So often, we as parents are afraid to discipline our kids because we don’t want to come across as mean…but discipline with love from his parents is what a child needs most. 

212 on Easter!

A great Easter celebration!  We had a great day at LCC!  Here’s the quick stats:

• 212 in attendance  (we had a total of 250 in 2 services, but we subtracted out the duplicates – people who served or attended twice)
• 7 individuals gave their hearts to Christ!  This is what it’s all about!
• At least 50 were first time guests today…lots of cards to sort through!

Praise  God for an awesome day…back to our family get together…more later

Communion, Baptism, Prayer Card

We are having Communion and Baptism this Sunday at LCC.  It’s going to be a great service to prepare our hearts for Easter.  We already have 3 registered to be baptized. 

On our 2007 prayer card, we are praying for 20 individuals to be baptized.  This Sunday will bring us to at least 15.  We may have to change that goal!  Another item on the prayer card was for our worship band to be completed.  While Josh still has more to add, God has provided the two most urgent needs: a bassist and a drummer.  We are also praying for an increase in giving by $10K per month.  In March, we saw that increase.  I pray that God does it again in April.  We are praying to hit over 200 in attendance on Easter.  God is proving himself to us in big ways this year!

Richmond Ramblings

About once each month, I travel to Richmond to the SBCV offices to help conduct interviews and assessments of church planters.  It’s actually quite inspiring to hear testimonies of men and women who feel called to plant churches in Virginia.  I’m encouraged by the stories of those who are already doing it.  I tend to get so wrapped up in my NoVA/LCC bubble…this monthly trip is a good reminder that God’s work is much bigger.

The trip was not without adventure.  I was 10 minutes late for the 9:30 orientation because of a bad traffic delay on 95 between  Spotsylvania and King’s Dominion.  Kind of ironic to me that the back up was not actually in the DC area.  Then about 5 minutes from my destination while on I-295, I escaped a near major accident.  I was in the middle lane, going with the flow…about 65-70 mph, when the vehicle in front of me quickly changed lanes.  I suddenly realized why.  There was somebody sitting in a pickup truck basically stopped in front of me in middle lane of the interstate!  I hit my brakes and swerved and skidded into the left lane.  Thank God there was nobody else in that left lane.  It was either swerve or smash into the back of this truck at a very high speed.  I don’t recall the last time I’ve come that close to a serious accident…but I spent my last 5 minutes of the trip praying and picking up stuff that fell off my seat, etc.

The trip home was much smoother…caught up on the phone with an old friend and had a chik-fil-a combo meal…does it get any better than this?

She’s caught the vision!

My youngest daughter, Lexi, has definitely caught the vision for LCC.  In everyone of her prayers, she prays for the growth of the church, for more people to be baptized, for increase giving, etc.  But she also is putting her faith into action.  She took 20 Easter invite cards to school and gave one out to each kid in her class.  I guess my message on boldness this past Sunday made an impact on my first-grader.  She is one of my HEROES!

Sassy Markle

Ugh…I have to be the strong dad now and take our family pet of the last almost 10 years to the vet to be put to sleep.  She’s about 13 years old and going through kidney failure among other things.  The kids said goodbye before going to school this morning.  She’s been a great pet…very lovable to our family.   She’ll be missed.

(My girls, though very sad, are trying to talk me into a Golden Retreiver…I think I’m allergic )

42:44 and other Sunday evening thoughts

42 minutes and 44 seconds…that was the length of my message this morning according to the podcast on iTunes.  What’s going on with me?  I’m trying to figure it out.  I knew I had extra time when the music portion of the service was done a little earlier than normal…so I kind of just relaxed and went for it…and enjoyed all 42 minutes.  I asked my 13-year old son if he noticed I went longer than normal (30 mins)…and he said he did not notice…so that’s a good thing.  Regardless…this is quite odd behavior on my part.  Guess I have a lot to say these days

It was a great morning.  Great service.  Our new drummer did a great job and the band sounded great.  Thanks to our worship leader, Josh and the band the audio/visual team for a job well done.  They spent 4 hours yesterday at the building having a practice…and it paid off.

I guess I really want our own building.  Because of the band practice yesterday, the stage curtains (a job I’ve assumed) was already done…and we didn’t have to go in quite as early for set-up.  I was in a much better mood last night before going to bed and then getting up this morning.  It’s amazing what sleeping in on Sunday until 6:15 can do for you.  Wow…I can almost imagine what it will be like to have a permanent facility.

Another cool thing about today…lots of families were out today – either traveling or sick or playing hookey.  Why is that cool?  Because the attendance was still decent…a low day now is what a high day was a few months ago.  Another new family was there today.  God is doing something great at LCC. 

We had a great life group tonight here at our house.  We ended our “winter” semester with our last study and a cookout.  It was fun.  We got to catch the end of the game and see Georgetown beat UNC in overtime.  Go Hoyas!

Next week, we are celebrating Communion and Baptism in the service.  I’m looking forward to that as we are just 2 weeks from our big Easter.

God’s been faithful to us for another great Sunday. 

Easter Mailer – myFamily

We are sending out a 5,000 piece mailing next week for Easter Sunday.  Actually the card will advertise our next series, myFamily, which we are starting on Easter Sunday.  A new strategy we are trying this year is starting a new series on Easter…rather than the following week.  We’ve already interviewed several families in their homes…you’ll see their videos during this series.  I’m definitely looking forward to this series.  We are also trying a message board on our website during this series…a place where people can go and post stories about their family.

We’re praying for over 200 on Easter.  We have the momentum.  We’re doing 2 services on Easter.  We believe God wants us to grow…WHY NOT PRAY for 200?  Pray with us!

Sunday Evening Ramblings…

It’s 8 pm Sunday…and I’m exhausted.  It’s been a good day, but I’m feeling beat.

We had a great service this morning…great crowd and some new faces.  I love to see the consistent growth.  I think we’ve had someone new every week in 2007.  I know I’ve been praying for that.

We have amazing volunteers.  We were a man-down this morning as our head sound guy was out sick…but everyone pitched in got the job done.  One of our families who helps with set up every Sunday at 7:30 am with their 4 kids had to pick up mom at Dulles this morning at 5:40 am…and they were all still there on time to work for Jesus.  I’m just amazed at the dedication of our great people.

In continuing our HEROES series, I preached on Nehemiah today…about his vision and focus.  Someone asked me for a book recommendation after the service…I recommend a book by Andy Stanley called Visioneering.  I read it the summer before we planted LCC…very enjoyable and challenging read.

Then straight from packing up after the services to baseball tryouts, player drafts, dinner with my wife at Applebees…my head is crying out for a pillow.  But I’m thankful for today…God is good!

No Way…impossible!

Last night Josh and I did a video shoot for an upcoming series with a family in our church.  This couple grew up in Seattle.  I related to them the story of Pastor Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church…a church that started 10 years ago and is running about 6,000 now in attendance.  Their reaction was something like…”NO WAY…IMPOSSIBLE.”  Seattle is a city cold to the Gospel…but Mark, his family and his people are making a huge difference.  Here’s the link to their church: http://beta.marshillchurch.org/

As I was driving to a meeting in Richmond today, I was thinking about their reaction…how cool would it be someday, for someone to meet somebody on the other side of the country and be talking about being from the DC Metro area and for them to be telling the LCC story and it’s amazing growth…and then for those listeners to be stunned…saying….”No way…that’s impossible…not in DC”

Matthew 19:26 “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Idol Mania…here’s a challenge for you

Name 5 people you know personally who do not watch or follow American Idol.  (I can’t)

Go ahead and take the challenge.  A few years ago, I remember almost feeling a little embarassed to say I watched it faithfully.  Now, I struggle to find anyone who cannot complain with me that Sanjaya is still around.  What an American phenomenon…and I don’t think top 12 are quite as good this year.   Currents favorites for me are Blake and Jordin.  And I think Diana Ross was a little pitchy last night

Here We Go Again

Spring is about here…and as much as I try…I cannot get away from coaching my son’s baseball teams   I was trying to just be an assistant coach this Spring…but the league needed another manager/head coach at the Juniors level (13-14 year olds).  I’m beginning to think that coaching may just be one of my secondary callings in life…so here we go again.  Zac reminded me the other day that he’ll be gone (in college) in about 4 years…so I’m thinking maybe God just wants me to enjoy these time while I can. 

I Loved Her First

Shocking…but every so often I slip into a country music mood.  I recently heard and downloaded this fairly new song by Heartland called I Loved Her First.  It’s a real tear-jerker if you have a daughter…I have 2…so needless to say it got to me.  Just wanted to post a shout out of love for my great kids and wife.  I am so blessed.

I’m Wet, but I’m Glad to be Wet Today…

“I’m wet, but I’m glad to be wet today.  I don’t mind that a bit.” – That was my line of the day.  My staff enjoys mocking me when I say something kind of obvious and unprofound…  It sounded good at the time…oh well.  The point is I got kind of wet baptizing 12 people Sunday morning…here the link to the raw video footage: http://www.lifecc.us/video/baptismsMar2007.wmv

A Great Day!

What a great day!  Taking a quick break from family time to post about our 5th anniversary service today.  It was an incredible day.  We were praying big and God delivered!  Attendance was 160.  Offering was about $14K.  I baptized 12 individuals (1 being my youngest daughter).  2 people prayed to receive Christ as Savior.   What can I say…but God is so good!   I plan to post a video of the baptisms here soon. 

Sunday is coming…

After missing a Sunday because of snow…let me just say I am really anxious to have church.  This is going to be a great Sunday – it’s our 5th Anniversary!  It’s going to be a great day.  11 people are getting baptized.  I am praying for a big crowd, a huge offering and many decisions for Christ to be made in people’s lives!  

5 Ways to Grow Your Income

Five Ways to Grow Your Income by 20 Percent

Here’s the link: http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/millionaire/25132

I always enjoy these articles.  As usual, they oversimplify what you need to do to get out of debt and make more money.  But…it’s worth the read and it makes you think.  We recently started selling (a little) on eBay and Craigslist…it takes a little effort, but a little extra income sure can be nice.

Cheese Part 3: Monitor Change

Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old!

I love change.  I even love change for the sake of change.  I get bored with the same foods, fonts, clothes, furniture arrangements, music.  I like the new stuff.  I like change. 

It’s amazing how we can get so used to certain things that they start to stink like old cheese…and we don’t even realize it.  In some areas of our lives…it really doesn’t matter that much.  It’s more about preference…if you are a creature of habit and still wearing your clothes from the 80’s…that’s your deal.

But in the church…it definitely matters.  People outside of our church walls can sniff out stinky cheese pretty quickly.  We have to be evaluating regularly…what are we doing in our programming that is getting old and stale?  Let’s not change just for the sake of change, but let’s make sure we don’t let it get old, stale…or stinky!

Jesus’ Tomb

I’m not worried about James Cameron or his documentary.  It’s another ridiculous attempt to try and disprove the most important tenet of our faith…that Christ rose from the dead!  People have been trying to disprove this for years.  JESUS, OUR SAVIOR, IS ALIVE!!!  People need to deal with it.  My prayer is that this will cause more discussion and God will use it to draw more people to faith in Him.

Here’s a link to an article about the documentary showing soon on the Discovery Channel.

Cheese Part 2: Anticipate Change

Anticipating Change…Get ready for the cheese to move.

Things are constantly changing…the way we do life on a daily basis is changing.  I like the new, the latest, the coolest technology that makes life easier or more enjoyable.  These changes are great…I have a hard time remembering life before DVR. 

When it comes to the business of church, we must constantly be watching the trends to see what is changing in our world.  The church business is the people business.  If we aren’t reaching people for Christ, then what is the point?  So when I say watch the trends…I am saying we must be anticipating the change in the way people in our culture are responding to church and the message of Christianity.  If we aren’t anticipating change, our ministry will become pointless and irrlevant in this world. 

You Are An Idiot!

That was the title of a talk given by Pastor Craig Groeschel this week to a group of 3,000 pastors.  I was one of those pastors…and yes, I am an idiot…at least I want to be! 

You see, God uses idiots to turn WHAT IF into WHAT IS. Do you ever spend time dreaming about the WHAT IF’s in your life?

• WHAT IF I got that promotion?
• WHAT IF I could meet Mr. or Mrs. Right?
• WHAT IF our family could spend more time together?
• WHAT IF my kids could grow up into respectful adults?
• WHAT IF I could make enough money to get out of debt? 

How do we turn our WHAT IF into WHAT IS?  Who does God use most often to turn WHAT IF into WHAT IS?  God uses insecure, risk-taking, pain-enduring idiots! Look at Acts 4:13 “The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.” That word translated “ordinary” comes from the Greek work, idiōtēs.  Do I need to tell you what that word literally means?  God uses Peter & John…who people looked at as idiots…to do his work.  The important key here…don’t miss this…it’s the last part of the verse – “they also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus” Let’s talk about the 3 adjectives describing the kind of idiot that God uses: 

1. Insecure.  Can we all admit that most of the time we have no idea what we are doing?  Whether it’s parenting, relationships, job-related, financial…we all struggle with insecurity.  We want people to think we are smart and that we know what we are doing…even when we don’t.  I experienced that this morning in agonizing over whether or not to cancel services because of the weather.  God uses insecure people!
2. Risk-taking.  Peter & John were warned not to spread the Gospel.  They kept doing it anyway.  They had been with Jesus and they were on a mission from God.  Risk is involved.  If we want to see incredible stuff happen in our lives and in our church…we must be risk takers.
3. Pain-enduring.  This is the part I run from.  Who really likes pain?  Let’s try to avoid all conflict and hurt.  But when we do that, we become very dishonest people and we hurt both ourselves and others in our lives.  Idiots will endure the pain that comes with the territory.

Some of you may be reading this and saying, I might be on the right track because my wife and kids call me an idiot all the time.  Well, the question to ask yourself is: Am I the right kind of idiot?  The kind that God uses to affect change? How to become the right kind of idiot:

• Don’t believe for a moment that you have it all figured out in life.
• Become comfortable being uncomfortable in life.
• Make the right decisions even when they are painful.

“The difference between where you are and where God wants you to be is the painful decisions you are unwilling to make.” – Groeschel

• Spend LOTS of time with Jesus.

Thanks for reading today.  I hope you enjoy the day with your family.For some great online messages that you could watch and enjoy today:

1. www.lifechurch.tv
2. www.northpoint.org
3. www.fellowshipchurch.com

No Services Today…

This is a painful post for me!  Because of meeting in a school, we have to start setting up at about 7:15…so we have to make a decision early.  I went outside myself to check my driveway and street…it is slippery.  Based on the current snow and sleet falling and temperatures staying below freezing all morning, we have decided to cancel today’s service.  I believe this is the safest option for all of our church families.

I will post a devotional for today later this morning…please check back later.

Update on Services – early in morning

The nasty weather seems to be coming our way.  I will be checking the conditions early in the morning and will post an announcement by 7 am.

Tomorrow’s Service Change

With the uncertainty of the weather for tomorrow morning, we are moving our 5th Anniversary Celebration with Baptisms and the Basics of Life message to the following Sunday – March 4th.

At this point, services are STILL ON for tomorrow at 10 am.  We will evaluate the weather later tonight and first thing in the morning and post any announcements here.

Tomorrow I will continue with our HEROES series and be speaking on Moses…a murderer turned deliverer

We will NOT be having OverTime after the service tomorrow.

Winter Weather Service Announcement

The forecast doesn’t look good for tomorrow…more ice seems to be coming.  I am monitoring it closely and considering options for tomorrow’s church services.  Check back later for updates.

Driving in Dallas

I feel better about driving in Northern Virginia after the fiasco of getting around Dallas the last 24 hours…the traffic may not be as heavy but who designed this mess?  Funny thing…even Ed Young admitted today that he still gets lost around here.  Our mapquest directions from the hotel to Fellowship Church turned out to be a disaster…glad we allowed extra time.

C3 Day 1 Highlights

Great first day at the Creative Church Conference.  Today’s speakers were all money!  Let me rank them in order of who I enjoyed most.

1. Craig Groeschel – He talked about the fact that God uses idiots (Acts 4:13).  God uses insecure, risk-taking, pain-enduring idiots to accomplish His work.

2. Ed Young, Jr. – He talked about delegation.  “Delegation without investigation is relegation.”

3. Mark Driscoll – He talked about the Gospel…based on I Cor 15:1-4.  He focused on the 2 main enemies of the gospel: idolotry and religion. 

4. Ed Young, Sr. – Ed is 70 years old and still going strong.  His focus was on having strong theology and on focusing on reaching children and teens.

For more details…check out www.tonymorganlive.com.  He posted some good detailed notes…

The music has been awesome…no shock there!

Idol Predictions Week 1

Yea…our family loves the show…and we enjoy picking who we think will get kicked off each week.  So here’s my pics for who will get the boot Thursday night:

Boys: Sanjaya Malakar & Paul Kim

Girls: Antonella Barbela & Amy Krebs

My Cheese…Change Happens

At the suggestion of a friend, I reread “Who Moved My Cheese” on the plane ride to Dallas today.  It was a great read.  It really has me thinking about change.  I’m going to start posting some thoughts on the main points of the story.

Change Happens.  We celebrate our 5th anniversary as a church this Sunday.  I admit not realizing at the beginning how much change we would go through in just 5 years.  I’ve grown to actually enjoy change…but I’ve also learned that not all people love change quite as much.  But change happens…and if the church is going to remain relevant in this world…we must be constantly changing.  Of course…the doctrines and beliefs don’t change…but the methods gotta change.  So…the way we do church…if we are not evaluating and looking for new and better ways to do it…we will stop growing….and actually go the other direction.

Toby Mac – Portable Sounds

Toby Mac’s new CD is released today.  I bought it on iTunes this morning and burned a CD for my kids before they left for school.  Toby Mac has become a family favorite at the Markle house.  Been looking forward to this new release.  I’m listening right now…so far, so good!

Office Space Wanted

Here’s a little prayer request…pray for God to provide office space for our church staff by the end of May.  We’ve been using my home for almost a year now.  It’s not terrible, but when June arrives, my wife and kids will no longer be in school and I desire for them to be able to enjoy their home during the summer…without being invaded by our staff.  I’m praying for a minimum of 600 sft that can be divided into 3 small offices.  Also, it needs to cost close to nothing

Ice, Ice Baby

Am I dating myself with that song?  Anyone remember Vanilla Ice?  I heard he was making a comeback…not a good thing

Ice played havoc on life last week and we were almost shut out of the school building for Sunday services.  The head custodian came through for us getting the sidewalks  clear and permission for us to have church.  And it was a great service.  Even with many regulars out of town or sick, we had a great attendance.  Our church is growing.  God is good!

David & Goliath

It was a David vs. Goliath epic battle.  The winless LCC men’s basketball team vs. the “Red” Team…last year’s church league champion.  Well, just like David we kicked some Goliath tail….47-32.  So watch out league…LCC is here to play!!! (did I mention that they only had 4 players?)  A win is a win!

This Sunday, we continue our heroes series and I am teaching on David and Goliath.  This classic is one we heard as kid in Sunday School or maybe a coach used it on us in a pregame speech.  But the reality is that David became a HERO because he lived by his convictions.  He firmly held onto his beliefs and he STEPPED UP!  God is looking for some david’s…maybe undersized or undertalented…but people with the conviction to step up and follow Him.

HVAC Career

We woke up to a 55 degree house this morning.  The furnace stopped sometime in the middle of the night.  I called our HVAC guy and they scheduled us for between noon and 2 pm.  So we’ve been wearing gloves in the house. 

So he just called and said his van cannot make into the back streets of my neighborhood…and by looking out at the snow and ice on our street I see why.  So he talked me through taking apart my furnace (exagerating slightly) and reading codes, banging on a few parts…anyway, we have heat now and their company is hiring…so if this pastor thing doesn’t work out…

oh yeah…the best part of this…no service call charges!!!

Favorite Churches/Pastors

Here are my current favorite churches/pastors.  This is based on a combination of hearing them speak, visiting their campus, and/or reading their books.  I’ve even borrowed a few of their sermon ideas .  Of course, the fact that Life Community Church is my favorite church is a given.

1. Fellowship Church - Ed Young
2. Saddleback Church – Rick Warren
3. Northpoint Church - Andy Stanley 
4. Life Church – Craig Groeschel
5. Mars Hill Church – Mark Driscoll

C3 Conference

Next week Josh & I are going to the Creative Church Conference at Fellowship Church in Dallas Texas.   Fellowship Church is one of my favorite churches in America (after lcc of course). I’m looking forward to this conference, we went to C3 at Fellowship 5 years ago and haven’t been back since, I’m excited to see what God has in store for us!  Some of this year’s speakers are awesome pastors of some of the most dynamic churches in America. 

Purpose-Driven or Just Driven?

This is part of the Men of Integrity devotional from Wednesday, February 7.  I added the link for this devotional to my blog.  This one hit home for me.

Key Bible Verse: We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing (Psalm 39:6).

Driven people are fanatical time managers. Living on purpose requires skillful time management, true, but not the kind that turns brittle, that attempts to quarantine most of what makes life itself—the mess, the surprise, the breakdowns, the breakthroughs. Too much rigidity stifles purpose. I find that the more I try to manage time, the more anxious I get about it. And the more prone I am to lose my purpose.

The truly purposeful manage time less and pay attention more. The most purposeful people I know rarely over-manage time, and when they do it’s usually because they’re lapsing into a loss of purpose for which they over-compensate with mere busyness. No, the distinguishing mark of the purposeful is that they notice. They’re fully awake.

Jesus, for example. He veered and strayed from one interruption to the next, with no apparent plan other than His single, overarching one: get to Jerusalem and die. But He noticed. And those driven to get and spend, to judge and exclude, He called to attention. Look at the birds! Do you see this woman? Where are the other nine?

My Response: How is my desire for efficiency hurting my relationships?

Thought to Apply: My whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted, until I discovered the interruptions were my work.—HENRI NOUWEN (Dutch-born priest and professor)

Loyalty has a cost

Loyalty costs.  Talking about Joseph this Sunday.  He is a true hero who was loyal to his family, his boss and his God.  His loyalty had a cost.  His loyalty to his boss (Potiphar – Genesis 39) and his God put him in prison for awhile…but God had a plan…and God used that situation to raise Joseph to a greater position of influence.  Are you and I willing to pay the price of loyalty?

Feedblitz

See that feedblitz icon over there to the left?  You can subscribe to my blog there…which means you get an email to let you know when something new has been posted.  Just thought you might want to know about that new feature…

New Website is live

We’ve changed the look of our church’s website…check it out: www.lifecc.us.

24

Any 24 fans out there?  My wife and I never watched before…but we just recently purchased season 1.  We are addicted.  We’re up to 7 pm now (in the show).  We are hoping for snow…if it looks like snow tonight, we can stay up a little later tonight and get in a few extra hours…I call it quality time with my spouse.

Better than the Super Bowl!

Just a note to thank God for the great service this morning at LCC.  We had a great crowd and a great time of worship.  We had a 14 year old girl there today who never in her life had attended a church…kind of hard to fathom.  She said she really enjoyed it and plans to come back with her friend again.  It’s cool to think that her church experience at LCC will be what she thinks of now as “church.”   Even as a huge sportslover…the highlight of my day was from 10-11 am this morning!

Tribute to Tony Dungy

Just wanted to say how impressed I am with this guy.  Yea, some people claim to be a Christian and thank God casually…but this guy is the real deal.  So glad to see him win the Super Bowl and listen to what the commentators had to say about him and his faith in Christ.  What a great testimony and example he is…a true hero in my book.  Check out this site to read more: http://www.beyondtheultimate.org/

 Congratulations to the Colts!

my old blog

I am moving to this new blog…with much better features.  So here is the link to my old blog if you want to go there.

Church Basketball Begins

Tonight we begin our 2nd year of men’s basketball. Last year, I think our team was 1-5. So we defintely plan to improve. The games are held at Christ Chapel in Woodbridge. Click here for the schedule. We have 12 guys on our roster…looking forward to having a good time with the guys. Pray for no injuries!