We are consumers - all of us. Our culture is built on consumption. The media barrage has one message - “You need this or that!” and “You need more and better!” Very little in our live revolves around real need. We focus on what we want or “should” have. Buy, buy, buy and get, get, get is the mantra of our culture.Wikipedia defines consumerism as “a term used to describe the effects of equating personal happiness with purchasing material possessions and consumption.” The Bible calls this idolatry and greed. Notice what Jesus and Paul say:

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15)

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5).

I’ve been thinking of the many implications of consumption. Here are two. First, we treat God like the big Wal-mart in the sky. We pray a long list of requests - “God, please fix this, do this, provide that, help so and so,” etc. There is nothing wrong with asking and God invites us to ask.

But, it is interesting that most of us spend most of our time in prayer asking, a little bit of time thanking and praising and almost no time just engaging in normal conversation with our deepest friend and lover - God. How often do we come to God just to talk and expect nothing from Him? That alone is a great test of how consumeristic we are. Let’s be honest, in practice, we see God primarily as our Great Provider. And we are tempted to get ticked at God when he doesn’t give what we want, when we want it. Try this for a week. Talk to God everyday and ask for nothing.

Second, we are doing a weekend message series on sex. We can even treat sex as consumers. We want great sex for ourselves. Some even “shop around” and “test” sex before the commitment of “buying”. But shouldn’t sex be as much about giving pleasure as receiving it? Isn’t sex about the mystery of intimacy with someone I have made a life long commitment to? Any less is accepting our culture’s view that even sex is just another “product”. That is consumer sex. The question is simple: What is your motivation toward sex?

May we grow in the awareness of our consumption mentality and learn God’s giving character.

Together with Jesus to make the world different,

Glen Elliott

Two of the most powerful influences in our culture are money and sex. They are powerful. They have the power to destroy or bring life to us and others. The big lie in our culture is that sex and money can bring you love and fulfillment. We have deep longings and we think that sex and money will fulfill our deepest longings. Alone, they can’t and won’t.This weekend I start a 3 week series called SOS - Solomon on Sex. We’ll explore love, romance, sex and marriage from the context of the Old Testament book Song of Songs (also SOS!).

The topic of sex being taught in church may feel a bit uncomfortable to some. The church, through the ages, rarely spoke about sexuality as something to be honored and celebrated. Rather the church has often focused on the dangers and “badness” of sex. In fact the church has a general reputation of being against sex and only making a list of rules to take the fun out of life.

It’s time to change that. We need to affirm that God created sex as good and celebrate love, sex and sensuality within the boundaries that God has set. Those boundaries allow love and sex to be a wonderfully mysterious experience. Can we say an “Amen!” to that?

So, we must talk about sex in church. Why would we ignore such a vital topic? You can hardly avoid the sexual images and content when you turn on the TV, go to a movie, open a magazine or listen to music. Sex is our culture’s most pervasive theme. And the church is about the only place we don’t hear about sex. Hence, we hear so little about God’s view of sex and sexuality. It is high time we talk about sex - because we are being bombarded with it everywhere we are. The world idolizes sex and the church has demonized sex. Neither is helpful or according to God’s design.

I will attempt to keep a balance between being direct and discreet. I don’t want to avoid speaking to the critical issues and I don’t want to be unnecessarily crude. If you or folks you know bring small children, you might want to consider having them participate in our children’s programs - they are terrific.

Together to redeem this world (including sex) for Jesus,

Glen Elliott

We have just concluded our fiscal and ministry year that ended June 30, 2006. This has been a very good year! We launched the Vail Christian Church that is averaging over 500 people and financially self-sufficient – wow! We engaged over 200 new folks in our Easter Challenge life groups. We’ve had terrific children’s and youth programs and activities (these leaders are incredible). We have stepped up our involvement and action in local and global outreach. We have developed incredible outreach and service to those who are shut-in, in the hospital and who have lost loved ones. Our Elders have clarified their role and are unified and focused. And so much more! People are experiencing life change and their stories get my heart a pumping.

Here’s a summary of our fiscal year end numbers:

Year to Date Budget:
Budget: $2,910,700
Offerings: $2,916,127
Overage: $5,427

Year to Date Attendance Average:
Total: 2336
Adult Worship: 1760
Approximately 200-250 folks moved to help start Vail Christian Church.

Millions of Reasons (Building)
Year to Date Received: $125,102
Total Received: $2,046,769
Total Debt: $5,069,558
Total Giving to Missions: $425,479

Thank you Pantano for your faithful and generous giving. We were able to end the year at budget. Your sacrificial gifts allow us to collectively love people to Jesus and launch passionate people in order to make the world different.

We are already through our first month (July) of our new fiscal year and we find that we are $32,000 behind a lean budget. While we have some cash reserves to operate we don’t want to fall too far behind and have to cut any ministry programming. I will continue to report quarterly on how we are doing financially.

Together to make the world different,

Glen Elliott