Monday Reflections

Wow - 14 baptisms yesterday!  It was so great to watch person after person being baptized at the end of both services, and even after the services!  That was our first attempt at a big baptism day and God moved in a great way.  We're going to try to do these maybe twice a year from here on out.  Stay tuned.

I went up to Munds Park with Chuck and Kenyon for a couple of days last week so we could do some planning work, and it was so refreshing to get out of town for a couple of days and to some cooler weather.  I could have stayed up there a little longer, and maybe I will next time.

Small group sign-ups are happening right now at www.fccphx.com.  Click on the Grow button, then the open the Small Group Catalog to find a group, then click on the sign-up button to get in a group.  Groups start the week of September 12, so now's the time to find your small group home.

Financial Peace University will begin on September 8, and my wife, June, and I will be leading the course.  We'll meet from 6:30 to about 8:30 each Wednesday night for 13 weeks to help you move towards financial peace.  We have been doing this plan for about 9 1/2 years, and we've had a great deal of financial peace.  We strongly recommend this course for anyone - it can truly be life-changing.  We're looking into providing childcare if that's a concern for you, so call Sandra in the church office to sign-up or to get more information.

Summer Reading

I'm in a couple of really good books right now.  (Yes, I usually have 2 or 3 going at once)  One is Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson.  He is also the author of In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day and Primal.  Wild Goose Chase is about reclaiming the adventure of pursuing God by listening, and responding, to the Holy Spirit as He is works, moves, and leads in our lives.  I like anything from Batterson, and I recommend any of his books.

Another book I'm currently reading is Truth and Transformation by Vishal Mangalwadi.  This was recommended to me by our friends at Disciple Nations Alliance.  This is a great book on biblical worldview, but from the perspective of someone who is a native of India.  He gives great insight on the gospel's power to heal Western society. Here's a portion from my recent reading:
     "Jesus and his new community were naturally and intentionally a threat to the kingdom of darkness.  Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem and precipitate a confrontation.  He forced Israel to choose between status quo and transformation.
     Generally speaking, the 'Sunday school Jesus' [of the Western church] confines himself only to the changing of people's hearts, but the Jesus of the Gospels aimed to change both human hearts and human society."

I'm intrigued by this thought because we haven't seen the church at large affecting much change in our society in the last 50 years or so.  I'm going to keep reading to find out what Mr. Mangalwadi says we can do about that, but I think we're moving that direction here at FCC.  As we seek to serve our community and bring real life change, we'll begin to see some of that change in our society.  Let's keep working to that end.

Summer - Hot Topics

It was so good to have Wallace and Fred of Missions of Hope in Nairobi with us last week.  They are such amazing men who are part of an incredible work in the slums of Nairobi.  They shared some great stories with FCC in the services on 8/1.

I love hearing what God is doing and how He is working through the great people serving with Missions of Hope.

We're about half way through our Hot Topics series for the summer, and we appreciate all of feedback we've been getting.  We still have 4 more weeks in this series and I hope you can attend when you're in town.

Leadership Summit simulcast is 8/5 and 8/6.  This is one of my favorite events of the year with so many great and inspiring speakers.  I'm really excited for this year because I couldn't attend last year.

Hang in there.  Summer will be over in another 2 or 2 1/2 months!