Pantano Christian Church

There are still some deeply discounted tickets to our 2010 Global Leadership Summit available.  You don’t want to miss this.  Every year, it gets better and better.  Register online at http://pccwired.org/summit/ .  The password to get the $75 price is:  TGLSPCC.  I would love for all our leaders at every level to participate.  It is powerful when we all hear the same messages and together allow God to lead us to make a difference.  Call Marie Hale at 298-5395 if you have any questions about the Summit.

I’ve been intrigued at the many urban legends people believe.  It seems almost every week I get an email about something that is just hype!  Larry Osborne wrote a book titled Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe.  He addresses some Christian “urban legends” that many accept, but miss the mark.  For example…

Forgiving means forgetting. Pastor Mike did a great job this weekend teaching about forgiveness and reminded us that forgiveness is NOT about forgetting.  Forgiveness is a choice to simply forgive and then to choose to love (seeking the best for the other person).  There is no scripture commanding us to forget the bad things that others have done to us.  Sure, forgetting would help us to forgive, but God did not design us that way.  Choose forgiveness – it is life giving.

I’ll list the other 9.  Have fun thinking about them.  Use the blog comments to discuss, challenge, disagree or share an “ah ha” about any of these.

1. Faith Can Fix Anything
2. A Godly Home Guarantees Godly Kids
3. God Has A Blueprint For My Life
4. Christians Shouldn’t Judge
5. Everything Happens For A Reason
6. Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide
7. God Brings Good Luck
8. A Valley Means A Wrong Turn
9. Dead People Go To A Better Place

In case you want to know what I think, I agree with Larry Osborne that these are, as stated, not true.  They are too simplistic.  While we wish for simple answers, life and faith require us to look at the full teaching of the Bible for direction and answers.

For example, Jesus did say “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1).  The context is clear – do not be hyper-critical of others.  In the same text Jesus also says; “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs” (vs. 6).  In other words, we must also be discerning or have right judgment!

Have fun with these!

Glen

I know by the title you probably expect this to be another email about rejecting the new dollar coins that don’t have “In God We Trust.”  The fact is it’s an urban legend – check out www.snopes.com.  The coins have “In God We Trust” stamped on the edges!  Rather, this blog is about one of my soul searching journeys of late.  I’ve been questioning how much I really trust God.

I’m becoming acutely aware of how self-reliant I am.  While it has many great advantages in life, it also is fraught with spiritual danger.  I’m pretty good at a lot of things and I’m very disciplined.  So I can usually figure out most problems and get them fixed.  It is way too easy for me to live life trusting Glen and working so I don’t have to trust God.  I live my life much of the time functionally telling God; “I can take care of this for you.”  My prayers are usually about asking God to help ME succeed.

So lately my prayers have changed.  I’m asking God to show up more and show up in his power.  I’ve been asking him to humble me and force me to rely on him.  I know that is a really dangerous prayer.  Who in their right mind would ask God to humble them – right?

As I was preparing to teach last weekend on Focus, I spent considerable time asking that God show up and work in people’s lives in a huge way.  I asked that my teaching not be about me, but about Jesus and the challenge of his Word.

Then I got up to speak on Saturday night there were some technical challenges and I got flustered and the message did not go smoothly at all.  I was really upset at how poorly I performed.  I said to myself over and over; “You should have done better!”

Then it hit me.  Maybe God was answering my prayer.  Even though I had prayed that the service be about him, I was still acting like it depended on me.  God was showing me what it feels like when it isn’t about me because I didn’t come through.  Would I now trust him that he would take the best I could offer and do his work in his people?   Is God big enough to speak to people through his Word even though I messed up my part?  Could I believe that God could do what I could not do?  I was humbled and it was good.

I’m still praying that I’ll learn to really trust God more consistently.  I’m asking that God reveal all the ways that I trust myself more than I do him.  I’m praying that God do supernatural transforming work in all our lives – the stuff that only he can do.  Join me in that prayer and then let’s watch to see what God will do among us.  He is trustworthy!

Trusting him to make a difference;

Glen

We’ve taught for years here at PCC that the church is not a building or an institution. Most Americans and Europeans have given up on the church.  They know it as a powerful institution that attacked Muslims during the crusades or burned people at the stake who didn’t believe the right things or scared people with hell to get money to build enormous buildings while people died in poverty.  They see the church as an institution that protected sex offending priests while ignoring the sins done to children whom Jesus called “one of these little ones” (See the full warning in Matthew 18:1-9).  For many, many reasons the church as an institution has a bad name.  I’ve given up trying to defend the church, because what I described above is NOT the church!

What is the church?  Is it when we gather on Saturday night or on a Sunday?  Nope.  Our services are a worship-teaching event and gathering and an important one at that.  It is one that we should not miss.  But it is not THE church.

So what is church?  The church is a community.  Pastor Jeff described community really well in the first message of the new Tough Stuff series.  The church is a fellowship of followers of Jesus who live life together.  Acts 2:42-47 is a good description of the very first church.  They were devoted to the teaching of what is now our Bible.  They were a fellowship, which means they were really partners together in authentic mutual relationships.  They celebrated our Lord’s sacrifice and prayed for and with each other.  And God was doing miraculous things among them and through them. In fact they were so living the life of Jesus together that others noticed and they kept growing.  They took care of each other and experienced a deep joy as they met in each other’s homes.

Since we started life groups some 7 years ago, I dreamed of the day when more people would be in life groups than attend worship services on the weekend.  At our last count, we estimate that about 40% of those who are a part of Pantano Christian Church participate in a life group.  While our stats are not yet exact, one could say that 40% of our folks are in church each week!

Don’t miss the real church!  If you want to really experience life, be held accountable for your growth in Jesus, have a community that knows you and cares about you – then share life together at some level.

I’m a very busy guy.  My work never ends.  There have been several times over the last 7 years when I said, I don’t have time for my life group.  But when I pause, I realize, I need my church.  We all need to have a group of people who really know us, love us and are there with and for us.  We need real church.  Join a life group, form a group and quit making excuses.  Get into real community.  It is life changing and life saving.

Together to be the church;

Glen

One of the verses of scripture I memorized awhile ago was 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV) – No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

It was this verse that prompted me to develop our new teaching series which we’ve called “Tough Stuff.”  We’ll look at four things that are a challenge and temptation.  We’ve chosen these four because they are tough!  Something is a temptation because it is tough to overlook and run from.  Temptations go after our appetites and lusts and try to get us compromise our deeply held values.  The Devil’s temptations attempt to keep us from following Jesus well and becoming more like him.

When we give into a temptation, it is one more step that takes us away from a blessed life.  Satan’s whole purpose in life is to destroy us and the good life God wants us to have.  Every temptation is an invitation to rob us of a little or a lot of good in life.  We have got to look hard at this.  It really is a matter of life and death.  For some of us, the temptations create a slow death.  Some of the really big temptations can lead to a faster death.  But the end is the same – life is diminished and damaged.

We are all tempted.  The text says that all temptations are “common to man.”  The temptations I’ve been struggling with the most lately have been greed (money and time) and impatience.  Both are a part of my continual struggle with selfishness.  When I give into these temptations and they become sin, I hurt myself and those around me.  I’m getting impatient at being impatient … hmmm.

With every temptation, God provides us “a way out.”  Temptations are tough, but we are not bound to have to give in.  God has shown us some ways to avoid temptation and ways to move past them.  In this series we’ll look at both the challenges and the paths to a better way of life.  There are ways to live well and God in his Word has provided us with the tools for a blessed life.

Isolation is one of the biggest temptations that will keep us from being the person we want to be and that Jesus invites us to become.  That’s why we hit this first –   community.  Alone we are MOST vulnerable to temptations.  Alone we are least likely to overcome the spiritual challenges that Satan will throw at us.

Distraction is also a key temptation of our age.  Our lives are busy and full.  There’s so much that grabs for our attention.  It is hard to focus on what’s really important and we easily loose sight of Jesus.  We’ll look at the tough temptation of being offended and the powerful antidote of forgiveness.  And finally, we’ll look at the temptation of mediocrity and its power to spiritually neuter us.  The way out is a life of true passion.  We’ll explore what passion is and how we find and live in it.

Together, let us stand up against temptation so we are the difference our world needs.

Glen

It’s July already!  Summer seems like a time for things to slow down here in Southern Arizona.  But it is the opposite for me and many of our staff.  I have a deep sense that God is moving in some significant ways these days.  I’m praying more and I’m spending more time in planning and study.  I thought this would be a good time to help you see what’s coming throughout the rest of our Arizona summer.

Freedom!  July 3 & 4 – We are going to celebrate our personal and spiritual freedoms.  We’ll do family services in PCC live (Sat. 6pm, Sun 9 & 11).  “Family” means ages 4 through 5^th grade (Middle school and High school will have their regular services).  Elements will have some bands and all the services at the E. Tucson Campus will have lots of food!   Services at the Sierra Vista campus will have all the family together (9 and 11am).

Tough Stuff. Then we’ll do a 4 week series called “Tough Stuff” (Remember that Sierra Vista is a week delayed).  We’ll look at 4 really hard things we need to do in life – develop significant relationships, keep our focus amidst so many distractions, forgive, and grow a passionate crazy love for Jesus.

Lost. Then in August we’ll start a series called “Lost.”  We’ll look at how God views those who are lost and learn practical helpful ways that we all can reach the unreached.  This series is vital for those of us who made a commitment to follow Jesus.  We’ll learn how he leads us to lost people and what to do to reflect Jesus well.

Mythbusting. Sounds like we are doing a TV series!  No, there is way more depth here!  In this series we’ll bust some of the myths about life after death.  We’ll look in detail at what happens when we die and the heaven we look forward to.  We’ll “explode” some myths about what our bodies will be like and what we’ll do in heaven.  We’ll also address the hard subject of hell.  I’ve spent several months in careful study on these topics and I think you’ll gain a new appreciation for heaven and the resurrection.

Leadership Community. We’ve been working hard to make progress in helping all of us to follow Jesus well, reach those who are lost and more.  We’ll be sharing some exciting new things coming that will help move our church toward our vision.  I’ll have some pretty significant things to share so you won’t want to miss this.  Sierra Vista’s meeting will be Wed. Aug. 25 – 6:00pm, and at the E. Tucson Campus we’ll meet Sun. Aug. 29 at 3:30pm.  Put it on your calendar.  Anyone leading in any way is invited.

Leadership Summit – Aug. 5 & 6. Sign up now at http://pccwired.org/summit/ and use the password:  TGLSPCC, to get the deep discounted price of $75.

Stories.  I’d like to hear your story about how someone living like Jesus influenced you to become a follower yourself.  Maybe you noticed something different about them.  Maybe they acted in a way that was a powerful message.  If you would like to share your story, email it to:  email hidden; JavaScript is required.

Together to make a difference;

Glen

Half of our Christmas Eve offering and 1% of our weekly offering goes to help those in need locally.  Here’s how we’ve used that blessing over the last year through our benevolence ministry.  125 families received almost $59,000 to help them with their rent, mortgage, utilities or transportation.   We provide financial counseling and other help to get them out of the negative cycles that rob them of blessing.

Here’s an amazing story from one of our members.  Her husband was laid off.  They burned through their savings as he looked for work.  It was during this time that the wife became very good at juggling the money that they had to stretch as far as it could go.

There were a few occasions when no more stretching could be done.  During those times she turned to the church and the benevolence team provided help.  After her first interview with benevolence, she realized that this was her ministry passion and she has served on the benevolence team since 2008.

In July of 2009 the husband found full time employment and kept a part time job and the family began the process of rebuilding.  In December of 2009 they were almost over the peak, but needed to extend their Southwest Gas bill which was 5 days past the due date.  The wife called asking for an extension to avoid disconnection of the service.

The gentleman representing SW Gas informed her that he would not be able to grant her extension.  It was December 26^th and she just needed to get to the 31^st!  She asked when her “drop dead” date was and he told her if she didn’t have her payment in by the 29^th, they would be out to disconnect on the 30^th.  She explained that due to the Christmas holidays she had no one to ask for assistance, including her church.

The gentleman asked her where she went to church and she told him Pantano Christian Church.  Then she asked the man if he was looking for a church and he replied; “Oh no, I live in Des Moines.”  She said to him “May I ask why you wanted to know?”

The man said that there were more than 500 churches in Tucson and Pantano Christian Church is the only church we know of still helping the people in our community.  They keep a list!  He went on to say thank you for the way that our church is helping people. Then he said something surprising.  He said; “It means a lot to us too.  People don’t realize it, but it does.”  He granted her an extension until Jan. 10^th!

We are blessed to be a blessing.  Our benevolence team works hard and very rarely do we know how their work impacts those that we try to help.  We not only help families in need, but we impact the utility companies, apartment complexes, and other service providers.  I’m very grateful for a church that cares about others and is making a difference in many ways.  And thanks to our wonderful benevolence team for all they do on our behalf to serve so many.

Together to make a difference;

Glen

Sorry this is late in going out – I simply forgot to post it!

Paul in Galatians 6:9 encourages us “not to become weary in doing good.”  I asked us to memorize Eph. 2:8-10.  Remember vs. 10?  “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works…”  In Romans 12:21 we are encouraged to “overcome evil with good.”  Goodness is one of the results or fruit of God’s influence in our lives (Galatians 5:22).  Following Jesus means doing good – doing what is good for others.  It is not about self effort alone, nor is it to earn God’s favor.  Doing good flows out of a changed life.

Our Christmas Eve offering was devoted to providing clean water and benevolence.  Your goodness shown in giving is making a difference.  Take a quick look…

WATER

India. We just sent 4 water purification units to India for them to test out.  These systems remove all the impurities and germs.  If the tests go well (they like them and want to use them), we’ll send many more.
Ghana. We are purchasing 25 Sawyer units for a village called Klokope that our Sierra Vista campus has adopted.  We have another 10 villages where our partners have begun to work and once we do the initial community development training, we will surely be providing the water filter systems.

Unite 4 Africa. One rainwater collection tank is in progress in N. Ghana in the village of Nakpanzoo. They will build two more in N. Ghana. Then in Kenya, $5,900 will go towards drilling a well.  This is a big project that another church and another ministry are partnering with U4A to do.  This area needs a large (hence expensive) well that will serve a large population.

We have provided clean water to over 12,000 people through the water collection systems we’ve helped villages build.

BENEVOLENCE

In the last 12 months we served 125 families.  32 attend PCC, 93 are from our community.  That means we average helping about just over 10 families a month and the average amount of help is just over $471.  We’ve provided almost $56,000 of assistance.  The top 3 types of assistance have been for rent or mortgage (79 families), utilities (54 families) and transportation (18 families).  See my blog next week about a cool story regarding our benevolence ministry.

CAMP SCHOLARSHIPS

In May we took a special offering to help scholarship students who need help going to camp.  You gave over $10,000!  Wow!  We sent around 111 middle schoolers (plus youth leaders) to camp last week in 3 full size buses.  30 accepted Christ and 15 were baptized this week!  Praise God!  Thank you Pantano!

Together, making a difference;

Glen

A couple of months ago we finished looking at the “Prodigal Son” story in Luke 15.  I want to revisit it one more time.  In the story, it was clear that the father (representing our Father God) was pre-occupied with the “lost” son (representing those who are irreligious, immoral or irresponsible).  The older son (representing religious people) was pre-occupied with himself!  There’s a HUGE message and warning from Jesus here.  Church people must be more concerned about the lost (the ones who are not a part of the God’s church yet) than their own needs and wants.

Our elders have identified some key ends that we are to focus on.  One of them is this – Reaching people who are currently not connected to God or a church.  I often say it this way: we want to reach those no one is reaching.

I filter almost everything I do through this lens.  Every morning when I wake up and pray, I almost always pray about the 83% of the people in our community who don’t go to any church at anytime.  When I prepare a message for the weekend I think about both how to help those following Jesus to do so better, but I also think about how I can help those not following Jesus yet to find their way.

Our modest lobby renovation had one purpose in mind.  It was done to make a better experience for our visitors.  First impressions are significant and a warm helpful welcome is vital.

We received a grant to hire a phenomenal Christian design company called Visioneering to look at our East Tucson campus to help us figure out how we best accomplish our mission and vision.  I am committed to not re-locating, but we have to look at how to most effectively use our current and now aging facility.

Visioneering will be here later this month and give us a master plan, which we’ll approach in phased development.  Why do this?  Because we want to be effective in using all our resources to help people follow Jesus better and reach those we are not reaching (we are currently looking at our staff alignment and budget in the same light).  Most churches build and use buildings primarily for their own needs.  I am interested in having a facility that is the best place for those who are missing.  Like the father in the Prodigal Son story, we are looking for the lost sons and daughters to come home.

God has made it clear to me and our leadership that that we are to be a blessing to Southern Arizona.  To do that we will all need to grow in order to go.  We need to follow Jesus well and then go to those who are not connected to God or a church community.  My message this weekend is called “Unreached.”  We’ll look at how we can reach those no one has reached and help them find the Father who loves them and gives life at its best.

Together to reach the lost;

Glen

My preferred way to lead is by example.  I follow the financial principles I teach.  I’m glad to clean the restrooms and trim trees at the church building – no one is above such service.  I try really hard to model what I believe and what I value.  I want others to follow what I do and how I do it.  But I’ve had some doubts lately and questioned the “leading by example” model.  Maybe it is too “slow” of a way to lead.  Commanding and directing people is so much faster and efficient.  Jesus knew I was wrestling with this.  He speaks in so many ways.

My wife and I just saw the movie Invictus (PG-13, 2009).  It is based on the true story of Nelson Mandela (played by Morgan Freeman who looks amazingly like Mandela) who is trying to bring reconciliation to a racially divided South Africa.  I couldn’t help but see the key to his leadership.  He led by example.  He cut his own salary.  He refused to take revenge on those who had held him in prison for 27 years.  He insisted on having white staff remain or join him lead along with his black African National Congress.  He insisted in having white body guards join his faithful black guards.  He had deep values of forgiveness.  He modeled these things and expected others to follow him in overcoming evil with good.

Then I thought of childhood neighbor Bobby Brake.  He was one grade ahead of me.  He wasn’t a church guy at all.  But every time we played sports or a board game he was always honest.  Always!  I watched him all those years growing up and learned a great deal from him.

Then I thought about our faith – following Jesus.  Jesus led by teaching and example.  I become more like Jesus when I hang out with him.  The more I am with Jesus (in thought, reading, prayer, reflection); the more I act like him.   And it isn’t a once a week deal, it is years of hanging out together where I pick up on his heart, his thinking and his actions.   The more I daily focus on Jesus, the more I absorb who he is.

That’s what it means to be a disciple.  A disciple has a “Master” they follow, watch, listen to and just observe.   A disciple watches how the Master treats others.  He or she watches where Jesus puts his time and effort.  Disciples notice what the Master values.  Disciples learn huge lessons and pick up on subtle ways of living.  But in the end, it is a clear connection with Jesus, day after day, year after year.  That’s the core of the Christian life.  And what an amazing one it is.

I am reminded again of the power of being an example.  Jesus transforms me through his life and example.  May we all learn to love to hang out with Jesus.  May we hunger to know him, see him, feel him and obey him.  May we become more and more like him.  And may we lead by example.

Together to make a difference;

Glen

Everything rises and falls on leadership.  The whole Bible story is about mostly ordinary people God used to make a difference.  I am constantly trying to find ways to grow as a godly leader.  I’m consistently reading books, listening to podcasts and attending conferences.  Leadership is something I am continually learning to do better.

We all lead in different ways – at home, at work, at school, in our neighborhoods, in play and at church.  Leading is always about influence to make things better.  The Global Leadership Summit is for any leader, no matter where you serve.

We are hosting the Leadership Summit again this year on August 5 and 6.  I’ve already seen the speaker line up and heard parts of their messages and it will be outstanding like it was last year.  I can’t wait for you to be encouraged, inspired and challenged.  No matter where or how you lead, you’ll be glad you invested these two days to grow yourself as a follower of Jesus and a leader.

As a host church we will receive the Summit on a live feed from Chicago.  We show the Summit on a huge screen that covers our stage.  It is better than actually being there.  As a host church, we are able to provide the Summit at a huge discount.  Here’s the basic information you need.  You can find the Global Leadership Summit link on our web site at pccwired.org/summit

Here’s the password to receive the special pricing – TGLSPCC.  This super secret password is an acronym for The Global Leadership Summit PCC. The East Tucson or Sierra Vista buttons are for Pantano attendees ONLY.

Here’s the cool deal.  The cost is only $75 for the first 200 people that register.  So don’t wait.  We had close to that number last year.

For those who are not a Pantano attendee the cost is $255 until 6/22 then it goes to $265 (or $95 for Military and $75 for Students/Faculty).  Last year we had folks attending from 47 different churches and Christian organizations.  So we are anticipating a great group from a variety of churches and business backgrounds.

So visit the website page to find pricing, registration links, a video that talks about the summit and links to the complete list of speakers & their bios.

I promise you, you won’t want to miss the Global Leadership Summit.

Together to make a difference;

Glen