We will offer our first of several new services beginning Saturday, Sept. 8th. Elements will run at the same time as our current Saturday night service and will meet in the soon to be renovated and expanded Towne Hall. One change that affects both services is that we’ll change the starting time to 6pm for both services (currently we meet at 5:30pm). Our children’s ministry will also operate simultaneously and we’ll offer our incredible dinners after service.

Elements is a gathering for folks who want to connect with God and each other in a more flexible style service. The order and content will change from week to week. Connections will happen through a variety of elements (hence the name) including, but not limited to, teaching from the Word, music, conversations and the arts. Elements will provide an experience with God and others. Variety will be a consistent element.

The majority of the participants will probably be folks in their twenties and thirties, but this service is not limited only to that age group. The style will also resonate with some teens and fifty year olds. It is a style more than just a focus on one generation.

The teaching will use the same teachers and messages at our current services (which we’ll call PCC Live), but will be adapted for a maximum experience to promote conversation about the teaching.

Bryan Lee is the Element’s pastor. Phil Cain and Jesse Colburn are also leading this service. They’ve been a part of Pantano Christian Church already for a while and we’ve come to love and trust these guys. They are the real deal in terms of following Jesus.

Elements is about reaching folks we are currently not reaching. You might not prefer this style of service, but you probably know people who don’t connect with church and they might find this kind of service inviting and refreshing. We want, more than anything, for more and more folks to meet and fall in love with Jesus. Elements is a way to partner with you to reach folks who want something more experiential, interactive and personal in their spiritual journey.

I can’t tell you how excited I am to launch this new adventure. Please pray that we’ll connect with folks who had given up on church or Christianity and in doing so had given up on Jesus too.

Together to make a difference;

Glen

Last Thursday, Jolene and I were officially empty-nesters. We have been anticipating it with great joy. Okay, we’ve been celebrating! I realize that wonderful state can be short lived. We are painting and cleaning the rooms. I have a den for the first time ever! Wendy moved out about a month ago.

But last Thursday was a very hard day. I was totally caught off guard. In the morning I was moving stuff off my son’s shelves and out of the closet getting ready for his arrival so we could move the furniture. I took a break at lunch time, still waiting, and began to sob uncontrollably. I felt something very deep. Where did this come from? It takes a lot for me to cry and there have only been a few times I’ve cried like that.

Then when Brad, my son, got home, I began to cry again. I realized as I stood there crying that he probably thought someone had died. I couldn’t even talk at first. Then I explained.

Moving his stuff brought back so many memories. The Suns-Lakers game we missed because they moved the start time earlier to accommodate a national TV audience. Brad is a Lakers fan and I’m a diehard Suns fan.

The memories came flooding back. His poetry and writings. He’s a great writer. Old school projects and love notes. Past Christmas presents (one was never opened - hmm). His souvenirs and things he saved from our 5 years in Ukraine. It was overwhelming.

So where did these deep feelings come from? I will miss him. Okay, he’s just 10 miles away near the U of A. I believe he needs to be out on his own at this time - it is a good thing. But I’ll miss the everyday connection. I’ll miss all the little details of life. As strong and as tough as I can be on the outside, there is this tender place that a dad has for his son.

Moving day was a sad but great day. I got to show my son how much I value him - in ways he will not soon forget. As we hugged and tears were running down my face, I knew he knew how much I love him. My only regret is that I didn’t have more of those very moments during his teen years.

By the way, I have a new appreciation for parents who lose a child. I thought, if my son had died, going through his belongings would be the hardest thing ever. For those of you have lost children, I can only begin to grasp the pain you went through. Let us love our kids well and express it to them now, while we can.

Glen

Anyone who’s been involved in churches for any length of time knows how infamous church meetings can be. Most churches have done away with large church board meetings and yearly congregational meetings as they are, in the end, fairly unproductive.

In the New Testament book of Acts (ch. 15) we find one church council meeting that shaped the future of our Christian faith. The controversy was over whether the Jews of the new church of Jesus would accept Gentile believers who were non-Jewish. It was a huge controversy. How do you mix two cultures that didn’t like each other into one church?

Here was James’ (the brother of Jesus) conclusion (Acts 15:19); “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.” They did ask that the Gentiles respect the Jews and avoid certain things that Jews just couldn’t handle - more than fair.

The principle is still valid. Let’s not make it unnecessarily difficult for those of a different “culture” to turn to God. In other words, let’s allow people to come to Jesus, worship God and grow to follow Jesus well in ways that match their culture and mindset.

Right now we have one type of weekend worship-teaching service. But that style doesn’t connect with two key populations on the Eastside - those who want a more traditional type environment and those who want a more experiential gathering. So we are planning to start at least two new services on our campus. These gatherings will be designed to reach people that we are not currently reaching well and provide smaller venues where folks can connect and not get lost.

Starting Saturday, September 8th, we’ll launch a service called ELEMENTS. It will run simultaneous to our current Sat. pm service. The teaching team will deliver the same message via video, but it will be more condensed to allow conversation about the message. The gathering will help folks connect with God and each other through a varied experiential approach that will include music, the arts, conversations and much more. Those most likely to resonate will probably be late teens to thirty-somethings. But this gathering is not about an age group, but a “culture.” I’ve already heard some fifty year olds getting excited about it!

In January, we’ll launch TRADITIONS. It will be an environment that those who want a more traditional church experience will enjoy. They too will follow the same message themes, but use more hymns and choruses with appropriate musical accompaniment. More on this worship service later.

Together to reach the lost,

Glen

This has been a challenging time for Tucson churches. In the past week, two large and strong churches made local front page headlines. Depending on where you are coming from, the press was either great or horrible. First, I want to say that I respect these two churches and their leaders. I pray I will never publicly criticize any church. Concerns about another church should be made directly to the pastors of the church in question in a private manner. There is no room in the Kingdom of God for attacking other churches. I quit reading web sites that specialize in attacking or villianizing churches and their leaders.

These two churches have taken ministry approaches to the issues of our time and city that our church would probably not engage in. But that does not mean that God will not and has not worked through these methods to bring people to Jesus. That’s what I love about the Kingdom of God - it has such rich diversity. I love that there are so many different kinds of churches in Tucson. Each has its own unique DNA. I really believe that God calls different churches, groups and individuals to do ministry in unique ways.

What is our unique DNA as a church? I could write a book on this. In short…

• Jesus is the center of everything. We follow him. We point others to him.

• We follow Jesus well by engaging in STEP (Pantano’s definition of discipleship). STEP = S - Sharing life together, T - Transformed into Christlikeness, E - Entrusted with time, talents and treasure and P - Participating in the Great Commission and Great Commandment.

• We want to be a community that is a safe place to grow and heal. We value honesty, authenticity and transparency; admitting our brokenness so God can heal our souls.

• We want to change our world. This change must be practical. We want to see whole neighborhoods and communities transformed by helping people help themselves. People are blessed when they experience justice, have jobs, start micro-businesses, get clean water, learn community health care, have basic education and so much more.

• We want to bring the Kingdom of God (the presence of Jesus) into communities by establishing healthy churches.

• We want to help and empower each other to fulfill the unique God-given ministry he has given each of us - wherever it is and with whomever.

I love this church. We have warts but we are willing to admit them and seek to be used by God through our brokenness. May others see Jesus in us and may we be conduits of God’s blessing to those we touch.

Together to make the world different,
Glen