Pantano Christian Church

As I read the gospels, the 4 records of Jesus in the New Testament, I notice that there are no neutral responses to Jesus.  People either hated him (to the point of wanting to kill him) or were transformed.  Jesus was the master of giving challenge that was life changing.  He challenged the status quo.  He challenged religion that sucked the life out of folks.  He challenged tradition that damaged healthy relationships with God and others.

I’ve been on a continual journey to develop my skills of teaching, especially on the weekend.  It is a craft that one never becomes an expert in because people and times change and every text and topic is unique.  Every message is a challenge.

I am focusing on providing more challenge in my teaching.  But there is a cost.  Good challenges seldom allow a neutral response.  Challenges can help us grow and mature in our faith.  Some folks might get upset and leave.  But as I’ve thought through it, I would rather see transformation or opposition, but the worse thing is for nothing to happen.

When Jesus wrote to the church in Laodicea he said the same thing.  In reference to their deeds he said that they were “neither cold nor hot” and he labeled them as “lukewarm.”  Ouch!  Further, Jesus said the lack of response made him sick (Revelation 3:15 & 16).  The Laodicean church was a happy, wealthy, self-sufficient group that really didn’t need or listen to Jesus anymore.  Ouch again.

In Luke 14:25-35 we find Jesus’ popularity high. Crowds were traveling with him.  Pretty cool.  But Jesus isn’t into being popular.  He stops, looks at the crowd and basically says (my paraphrase):  “Don’t follow me for what you can get from me, or because I can heal or because I’m an interesting guy.  I only want followers who will put me before any human relationship.  I only want people to follow me who count the cost.  I only want people joining me who are willing to give up everything.  I only want followers who put to death their own self-will and will submit to my will.” That’s a challenge!

I’m committed to continue to spiritually challenge us.  Like Jesus, I can’t make anyone do anything.  But I hope that the challenge to become more like Jesus will make you uncomfortable.  This weekend I’ll be offering one of the first big challenges of 2010.

That challenge is part of a new 5 week series that I’ll begin this weekend called “Following Jesus.”  The measure of our life is about how well we followed Jesus.  There is a cost, the consequences are enormous and the adventure is awesome.

Together on a journey of following Jesus well;

Glen

I want to wish you and your family a very blessed Christmas!  God gave us the very best gift possible.  He gave himself to us.  God knew we needed guidance – so he sent Jesus.  God knew we needed his enduring presence – so he sent Jesus.  God knew we needed a Savior to save us from ourselves and our sin – so he sent Jesus.  God knew that we needed a God with a name, a face and a voice – so he sent Jesus.

Thank you for allowing me to serve you here at Pantano Christian Church.  I really do love this church.  What I love is not an organization, but the people here – that’s what church is.  We have an amazing group of elders and staff.  I am so blessed to serve with people of such high godly character and wonderful skills.  I love how we as a church are making a difference around the world.

I have never been more excited about where our church is going.  In fact, next weekend at the East Tucson campus (Jan. 3^rd in Sierra Vista) I’ll be sharing about the clarity and focus of the direction our church.  God is clearly leading us to a place where our church can be a catalyst to bless Southern Arizona and the places where our international partners serve.  I really mean this; I’ve never been more excited and energized about what the church can do to make a difference in the world.  We are a force for good that is bringing God’s influence to our world.

And I want to say thanks.  Thank you for taking Jesus seriously.  Thank you for investing your time in service.  The majority of our folks are serving Jesus here on our campus or in our community.  Thank you for giving generously to the work God has called us to do.  In a bad economic year, the giving here at PCC has never been better.  For the first time in the 11 years I’ve been here we are above budget (yes, we did prepare a very austere budget, but the giving has been amazing).  That says to me you are committed to Jesus and what we are about.  Thank you for trusting your leadership – we take that trust VERY seriously.

I love this church, but not as much as Jesus does.  This is his church.  He died for us.  We belong to him.  And it is he who leads us to be God’s influence in our world.  May all glory and honor be given to Jesus as we celebrate his birth.

Serving together to bring the kingdom of God to earth;

Glen

CHRISTMAS EVE:  At the East Tucson Campus (ETC), we’ll have our candlelight services at 4, 6 and 11pm.  There will be deaf interpretation at the 4pm service.  Communion will be served at our 11pm service only.  Our Sierra Vista campus service is at 7pm.  We’ll finish our thoughts on Live2Give.  These are family services so remember there is no child care.

CHRISTMAS EVE OFFERING:  Our special Christmas Eve offering will be split between our local benevolence needs and providing clean water through our international mission partners.  This year we hope to build at least one rain water collection system ($3000) and as many Sawyer systems as possible.  The Sawyer systems cost about $110 each and can easily serve 3 families.  We are setting up “water zones” in the villages where the families of that “zone” share the filter.  These systems completely remove the impurities and all the germs and diseases.  Clean water is the one most significant thing we can do to provide health and well being in a village.  All offerings collected at our services will go to these two needs – local and international.

Last year we provided 9 of the large water purification systems internationally and were able to service 107 local families from our Christmas offering from last year.

SEASON OF GIVING:  Wow!  I can’t describe how proud I am of Pantano Christian Church.  Well done!  PCC sponsored 30 children through Angel Tree.  These are kids who have one or more parents incarcerated.  They had a party last Saturday (Dec. 12).  Then the E. Tucson campus folks adopted 60 families through Aviva and our Sierra Vista campus adopted 10 families there.  Plus the folks at the E. Tucson campus provided 250 Christmas stockings for the rest of the kids Aviva works with.  And in addition to that, several families that attend PCC were adopted.  And that is just the stats.  I’m already hearing some amazing stories of generosity, love, grace and hope.

LIVE2GIVE:  To follow Jesus is to live a life that is all about giving.  We live 2 give.  We give our service, our love, our time, our attention, our possessions and our lives to others.  In doing, so we give faith, hope and love.  And isn’t that what it’s all about!  I know that you’ll have a truly meaning Christmas as you live out our Christmas Challenge:  worship Jesus, give relational gifts and give to those in need.

On behalf of our staff and elders, I want to wish you all a very merry Christmas.  Christ is the center of our faith community.  God came to us as a human being.  God had a face and a voice so we could have a relationship with the Father.  He became flesh so he could become a sacrifice for us.  Immanuel – God with us, forever and ever.  Amen.

Together to make a difference;

Glen

It is powerful and healing thing to come to a place where we can admit we are a mess.  Jesus said it a little better – “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”  If we want to really live well we have to understand that our spiritual bank account is broke.  We are broken and spiritually bankrupt.  We are completely dependent on the grace of God.  We need God’s forgiveness.  We need God’s guidance.  We need God’s power to transform our hearts.

I actually hate to admit my life is a mess.  I want to be at peace all the time, but I’m not.  I want to be calm when I drive, but I seldom am.  I want to respond with sensitivity and kindness to folks, but I sometimes react in a way that requires an apology.  I want to be generous to a fault, but still find a selfish bent with my possessions.  I want to lead everyone I know to Jesus, but I remain silent too often.  My goodness is often mixed with self-serving motives.  Like Paul once said – I don’t do the good I want to do (Romans 7:19).

Paul also said all his human effort to be good and spiritual was messy.  In Philippians 3:4-6 he lists all the reasons why he could put confidence in his human effort to be spiritual.  He describes his religious pedigree and his religious accomplishments.  Then he says he counts that all as “loss” compared to knowing Jesus.  Okay, actually in the original language he said he counted it all as dung – which if you’ve had infants you know that can be quite messy (see Philippians 3:7-9).  Some of the most messed up people I know are ones who think that they are in with God because they do so much for him.  Pride really messes us up.  We can’t achieve true spirituality by being religious.

Life is messy.  People are messy.  The journey toward a spiritual life is messy.  Churches are messy because they are made up of messy people.  We need help!

We are not left to our messy lives without hope or help.  God sent a MESSiah.  God knew we needed One who was an expert in cleaning up messes and messy lives and even messy churches.  We need a Savior, we all do.

Even the first Christmas was messy.  There was no sanitary hospital for the Messiah’s birth.  The best they could do was put him in a manger, which suggests there might have been animals there.  Messy.

Have a very Messy Christmas so you can have a Merry Christmas filled with grace of God;

Glen

For the last few years there has been a continual news story about how Christ is being taken out of Christmas.  You know, schools now call Christmas vacation the winter holidays.  Or clerks in stores are told they cannot say “Merry Christmas.”  Or city, county and state governments are not permitted to display a nativity scene.

I hear about Christian people who get all riled up about this.  Some Christians are on a crusade to set the clerk who said “Happy Holidays” straight.  They reply with “And you have a merry Christmas!” in a tone that is not very merry or like Christ.   I heard about a church that had thousands of yard signs put up in their town that said Merry CHRISTmas!  I’m not sure that really puts Christ back in Christmas.

I can’t get to that place of feeling “persecuted” about the secularization of Christmas.  Nor is my faith threatened.  Here’s why.

First of all, our Christian faith and the early church grew because of persecution; the kind that is way more severe than this.  Christians hiding from the Roman or Jewish authorities were not concerned about somebody respecting a Christian holiday; they were praying that they would be faithful when their lives were demanded of them.  It seems our concerns are trivial in comparison.  They expected persecution as the norm, as did Jesus (check out John 15:20, 21).

But there’s a deeper issue for me.  It is not about what others say or don’t say or don’t do that keeps Christ in or out of Christmas.  I don’t really care if folks say “Merry Christmas” to me or if schools refuse to call it a Christmas break.  My celebration of the real meaning of Christmas is not dependent on what others do or don’t do.  It is my responsibility to capture the real spiritual meanings of this great holiday season.  I don’t want store clerks to tell our story.  It’s all about what’s in my heart, not in what the culture does or doesn’t do.  I am not dependent on my culture (the world) to determine or built up my spirituality or my celebration of the gift of God – Jesus, God in flesh.

Let’s not get distracted or worse, get ugly, about the world not acknowledging Jesus.  Let’s live a life that so reflects Jesus that others have to take notice.  Let’s love people with the love that Jesus commands and demands of us.  Let’s lead people to know and follow Jesus so they have a REAL reason to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  The only ones who really get the real meaning of Christmas are the ones who know the real Jesus.

Don’t forget to check out and take The Christmas Challenge.  It’s not too late to start Advent and keep Jesus the focus of our celebration.

Here’s our Christmas celebrations at Pantano this season.  First the East Tucson Campus:

This weekend (Sat. 6pm, Sun. 9 & 11am) – GLORee children’s presentation of Joyland!

You won’t want to miss the message the weekend of Dec. 12 & 13 on Live2Give.

Christmas Eve services are Dec. 24th at 4, 6 & 11pm

Sierra Vista Christmas Eve service is at 7pm

Together to lift up Jesus;

Glen