December 1st has been designated World AIDS Day. Here are the cold hard facts about this pandemic:

• In the last 25 years 65 million people have been infected with HIV.
• Approximately 25 million have died from AIDS-related illnesses. About 3 million die each year-3 times the size of Pima County.
• Today at least 40 million live with HIV (over half in sub-Sahara Africa), and more than 11,000 more are infected each day. About 1.4 million are infected in North America.
• There are more than 16 million children who have been made orphans by AIDS.
• 354 people die of AIDS every hour. That’s the same as a Boeing 747 crashing every hour. If that were happening, a 747 crashing every hour 24-7, then you know something would be done to stop that. But AIDS is a “quiet” killer.

AIDS is destroying life, it is destroying families, it is destroying nations, and it is now destroying whole continents. But just as evil are the attitudes that so much of humanity, including Christians, have towards those with HIV-AIDS. I saw this acronym that forms the word AIDS.

A - Avoidance. I don’t want to think about AIDS or those with the virus.
I - Intolerance & Ignorance. I don’t like you. I don’t want to know about this.
D - Distance. I don’t want to be near you.
S - Superstition. I’m afraid of the pandemic and those who have the virus.

None of these attitudes reflect the heart of God. These attitudes are just as dark as the disease. Our Jesus came to a world full of sickness, pain and suffering to show us what the heart of God is like. God will not ignore or avoid those with AIDS-HIV. He cares deeply for those with AIDS. God has a special concern for those with disease, for those who are alone and especially for the orphans. God’s heart is never intolerant - he loves all people, all the time. God is with us. And because God is with us we are not afraid of this pandemic.

Churches like ours (Non-denominational, conservative and evangelical-labels that describe us and for which I am pleased!) have largely been silent, at times antagonistic and even mean and surely absent in responding to this tragic pandemic. This must and is changing. We will engage, love and serve those with AIDS.

We have an active group of people that are responding in love to those who suffer from AIDS here in Tucson and we are responding to the needs of those affected in Africa. The question is not who got HIV and how, the question is how would Jesus have us respond to those who suffer and face death.

Together to make the world different,

Glen

Happy Thanksgiving!
“Live your life as if there are no secrets.” Do you know who said that? Ted Haggard. The fall of Pastor Haggard, founding pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs and former president of the National Association of Evangelicals, not only shocked me, but I’ve been feeling a deep pain for him, his family (especially his wife) and the church. I’ve met Ted Haggard. We invited him to speak to our leadership many years ago. I’ve visited his church. We developed our life group model after his ideas. I still can’t get my head around what happened and why. Like many I’ve asked “How could this have happened?”

At first I was dwelling on the issue of accountability. But after reading the letter that Ted Haggard wrote his church, I realized it wasn’t about accountability. No accountability system can be a guarantee to stop deception. It comes back to the very thing I preached about recently - brokenness. If any of us, especially leaders, are not aware of our brokenness and don’t continue to embrace our brokenness, then we will not be transparent. And if we are not transparent, then the deceptions of evil can destroy us and those around us.

So the issue is not accountability, but transparency. Over 5 years ago we started accountability groups. We call them T-groups (”T” meant “transformation”). I’ve been in an accountability or T-group for over 5 years. I meet every week with two very godly men. I trust them. They are my friends. They speak truth into my life. I can tell them anything and they tell me everything.

When we started we called this an “accountability group.” But that’s not really what’s going on. What’s happening is that we have chosen to be transparent. I wish I could say that I was the one who modeled this first and best. I didn’t. Every week these guys have shown me what transparency looks like. I am often amazed by the deep and sometimes brutal honesty these men share about themselves. I am honored when they bring down the walls of pretension and share their honest struggles, doubts and pain. I have and am being changed by their transparency. It invites me to be transparent and that results in accountability.

As your lead pastor I cannot promise that I will never fail or fall - because I am human and broken. But I know and embrace the path to transparency and I can choose that path or I can choose deception. Please pray for me and all your leaders that we will continue to choose honest brokenness and transparency.

Together to make this world different,

Glen

Here we are… Thanksgiving is just around the corner and Christmas is coming up fast. Christmas is typically a time when we stress about who to buy gifts for and what gifts to give. Some of us enjoy that part of the holidays and some of us don’t. What most of us can agree on is that it’s a wonderful season to spend extra time with friends and family to honor our Savior’s birth. There is almost something magical about it. That’s why we take a break from scheduling large events at Pantano during the month of December. We want this month to be a time of resting for you and your family. It’s also a great opportunity to show the love of God in our community. Have you considered all the poor in Tucson that need so much? Is there something you, your family or your life group could possibly do to help someone in our community have a blessed Christmas this year?Our Christmas series this year is entitled, “God’s Presence”. Notice it is not “God’s Presents” but presence. God has given us so much. However, the most important gifts He has given us aren’t in the material form. His most precious gift was, of course, Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, His presence. His other priceless gifts are love, peace, joy and all the fruits of the Spirit none of which you can buy. They are free to all. Our series this year will focus not on the giving of presents but on the giving of our presence and what we can do for others just like God has given His presence and what He has done for us. Instead of allowing ourselves to get caught up in the busyness of the holidays and what pertains to us, it is our wish that we’ll be able to focus on God’s presence by embracing a generous spirit and reaching out to others in need as God’s hands and feet.

We are really excited about the upcoming Christmas series. Along with a plethora of Christmas carols, here’s what we have to look forward to at Pantano in December:

Dec. 9/10: Children’s Gloree Choir presents the musical- “A Christmas Carol”

Christmas Series “God’s Presence”:
Dec. 16/17: Presents vs. Presence comparing the two options at Christmas time.

Dec. 23/24: Hidden Presence - the PCC drama team will present the play “The Cobbler’s Dream” a story about God’s hidden presence in our lives.

Christmas Eve: 5pm & 11pm candlelight services - God’s Presence, Pastor Tim will lead us with an evening of Christmas carols and reflection.

We look forward to spending these holidays with you,

Your Creative Arts Team,
Carl Cherry
Richard Crull
Jesse Colburn
Lisa Hamilton

As you receive this I’m actually in Ukraine teaching a course on missions at one of our partner training institutions called Tavriski Christian Institute. I wanted to let you know what’s happening with our church finances.First, let me talk about our church budget. As of Oct. 30th we are $101,000 behind in meeting our budget. Here’s how we determine our budget: we set our budget based on the amount that was actually given in the previous year. Every year you have given more than the previous so we have found this to be a responsible way to set our budget limit. And it is normal every year at this time that we find that our giving is behind budget. However, this year the deficit is greater than in past years.

Part of the challenge is that we sent a large number of generous givers to help start the Vail Christian Church. I estimate we sent to Vail CC over $200,000 in gifts and tithes. I’m really proud of our generous church and I’m thrilled that we’ve been able to start a healthy growing church. May that continue!

Because we have a very responsible financial policy, we do not spend more than we receive (unlike many families and the federal government). That means that we can’t do everything we need to do. Every ministry would like to do or purchase some things that would make a real difference in how well we serve our children, youth, adults and community. In addition to our budget we have a significant list of items that never even made it into the budget. So our ability to grow, expand and increase our excellence is greatly hampered. We are not at a crisis level and I’m not crying “wolf,” but we are hindered in what we believe God wants us to accomplish.

I never want any of us to give to a budget. That is not what God calls us to do. But God knows that we need to be generous, far more than God or our church needs our money.

We are totally dependent on generous giving and that’s the way it should be. This would be a great time to be generous in your giving. Maybe you haven’t been giving at the level that you know would honor God. Maybe you can give above and beyond your normal generous giving. Please prayerfully ask God what he would have you do now. My wife and I have sought the Lord about this and I’ve asked our staff to do this also. Please join us.

Together, in generosity, to make the world different,

Glen Elliott

Thank you so much for affirming the Elder’s recommendation that I serve as your Lead Pastor and become a member of the eldership. It is an honor and incredible privilege to serve you and the wonderful staff and elders called Pantano Christian Church. The official results affirming my becoming Lead Pastor in Jan. ‘07 was that 704 members voted to affirm and 2 voted not to affirm (that’s a 99.82% vote in favor of affirmation).I am humbled by your trust and I am very aware of the significance of this trust. Every morning I wake and ask God to clearly lead me and guide me as I lead our staff and church. I ask him, according to his grace, to help me to hear him, follow him and obey him. I ask everyday that I fear (respect) him more than humans. I pray everyday for the balance of courage and grace. Please faithfully pray for me and all our staff and elders. The powers of darkness would like nothing better than to take us (and our families) out of the battle.

I love this church. I love the diversity of our folks. I love the grace that is given and received. I love our outward focus to serve others. I love our willingness to try and risk new things. I love the authenticity and “realness” of faith and life. I love the integrity, skill and passion of our whole leadership. I love that we are passionate about following Jesus. Wow, I love this church and I don’t plan on going anywhere else.

I so look forward to our future together. God is already opening doors to expand to other cities in southern Arizona. God is preparing leaders to lead these new sites, venues and projects. God is blessing our partnerships here in Tucson and around the world. We are making a real difference in this world.

Finally, I want to say thank you to Tim Coop. He’s been my greatest supporter, friend and mentor. I cannot say enough about the integrity of his heart and the commitment he has to seek first the kingdom of God. He has modeled Christ-like leadership like no human I have ever personally known. From a human point of view he will be a very hard act to follow. Please honor Tim for who he is and all that he’s done. Nothing would please me more!

Together to make the world different

Glen