If we are not careful, additional standards of righteousness & holiness are gently & compassionately added on until the burden is unbearable. In fact, it was a burden we were never meant to bear. Religious zeal without calm, critical & logical thinking almost always ends up hurting the human spirit by setting the bar higher than God intended. The sad reality is that there are some Christians who are literally more holy than Jesus himself. But for some strange reason they are not as attractive & winsome to ordinary people like Jesus was. The problem is that this type of ‘holiness’ is not from the Holy Spirit but from the human spirit. The former is liberating, joyful & endlessly strengthening while the latter is legalistic, suspicious & weak.

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1)

When role models do not unashamedly & temperately enjoy liberties, it casts a sinister cloud over what ought to be enjoyed without one hint of condemnation. Why must we continually send a poisonous disapproving message over activities that should be enjoyed wisely? What humanity needs to taste is the spirit of God, the Holy Spirit-the spirit of love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness & self-control. In the area of legitimate liberties we Christians should not be known for our abstinence but for our temperance-not for our distant superficial superiority but for our wholehearted participation. Only then will outsiders see the attractiveness of true holiness & good Christian people will stop living under the weight of false & unnecessary burdens. Cheers!

• In February, during our Sextastic series Jill preached to one of our largest crowds on the subject of ‘Marital Sex’. If you missed it…well, what can I say but sorry! Every couple present received the best ‘sex’ counseling for free. Just think about that benefit. Every Sunday we at Community get superior life ‘counseling’ from scripture just by showing up regularly & paying attention…but I digress. For those that missed Jill’s ‘Marital Sex’ talk start thanking God for technology. You can listen to it here.

• In March, we launched Re-Lent with 40 days of unbroken prayer & fasting in our brand new Prayer Room that’s open 24/7.

• Mother’s Day turned out to be one of our biggest days. Again, Jill was speaking. God’s keeping me humble! That day we showered moms with all kinds of love—cocktails, chocolate covered strawberries, jewelry & Georgetown Cupcakes to boot! Not to be outdone, we ratcheted up Father’s Day to ‘ManFest’ complete with batting cage, all you can eat wings & kegs of beer…root beer, of course.

• In June, we launched our 21^st year of Triple-C-Ranch Day Camp. Over 900 kids came through this summer. Triple-C & Blitz Extreme camp are pretty much awesome…period.

• Over 800 came out in the pouring rain to Douglas Fest, our outreach to Leesburg residents. We brought life, hope & joy—in other words, we brought our church to them. & that means tons of activities for kids, lots of food, music & giveaways. That’s the way we roll!

• In September, VA Academy started its 15^th year as the premier school in the Northern VA area. With the addition of 3 new high-tech Junior high classrooms our school is continually making progress.

• 6,000 people came through our 3^rd ‘Fright Night’ outreach. This year we actually had families serving whose 1^st contact with our church was the previous year’s Fright Night. Wow, isn’t that great! People far from God are being exposed & connected to our life giving church through a totally non-threatening low-pressure event.

• This year we launched our ‘I Love My Church’ campaign, a 3 year spiritual journey to bring greater glory to God & to bless more people. The need is 4 million dollars to complete 5 critical projects in God’s house. So, far 3,950,000 dollars has been pledged. 265,000 dollars has already been collected in the form of first-fruits offerings. With that seed capital, the Fire Escape teen center is already under construction! To God be the glory in the church!!

I could literally go on & on—Messiah’s Market is continuing to feed record numbers, 100’s have been blessed with school supplies & helped with Christmas wishes, 100’s are progressing in their walk with God through discipleship classes, baptism, small group participation & serving. Bottom line—people at Community are meeting God, meeting friends & living life better. Thank you, Lord for coming—for forming, launching & commissioning the church, the hope of the world!

In all honesty, I have to confess 1 low light that comes to mind & will bother me until we fix it. When it was all said & done, in 2011 we were not able to send all of our financial support to our church & ministry partners—namely, Camino de Vida in Peru, Victory’s Crossing here in VA, Cross Central Church in TX & Pastor Bohuslav Wognar in the Czeck Republic. We are currently $19,500 behind in support of our co-laborers in the field. Always remember, our church’s impact & reach is far more extensive than just Loudoun. We are touching lives that we will never see until the Lord makes all things plain! So, remember whenever we succeed or hit a homerun here, a lot of other people are enabled to succeed, as well!

Lord, you’ve called our church to be a blessing—to be a financial resource to many other churches. Help us to grow in to & live up to that generous & high calling. Amen.

Look out! 2012, here we come!

Well, throughout scripture & particularly in the Christmas story itself there are 4 key action words or verbs that must be practiced if we are to ‘BeChristmas‘ this holiday season.

Here’s how we can ‘BeChristmas‘ together-1) Don’s miss one of the next 4 Sundays leading up to Christmas & 2) Pick up the ‘BeChristmas’ journal this Sunday & following along as we let our light shine this season.

Prayer Themes:

1) Re-surrender: Throughout our spiritual journeys the Lord continually checks our attitudes (our hearts) to see if they are still right. Truly, the only acceptable offering we can give is to be a ‘living sacrifice.’ (Romans 12:1) ‘Dead sacrifices’ are just that. They’re dead! It’s Christians who surrendered once but it’s been so long since they’ve really given up something that’s very important to them. So, the Lord comes along & challenges us with something to test our loyalty & confidence in Him. (Remember God’s testing of Abraham in Genesis 22) Nothing or no one can ever become more important than pleasing Him. Remember, we are ‘living sacrifices.’ In other words, we continually live our lives totally surrendered to him. & just like Abrahams’ test, whatever the Lord ask you to do will challenge you to the core. It will be a real sacrifice. If it’s not, than how will He (& you for that matter) know whether or not you are still truly surrendered? But here’s the twist. A person who surrenders to the Lord in reality isn’t loosing anything even though it may seem that way for a moment. In reality, a person who surrenders & continually re-surrenders to the Lord is only gaining everything! So, pray: Lord, I want to do what you want me to, just tell me & I will do it.

2) Pray over the 5 critical initiatives in our ‘I Love My Church’ campaign. If you’ve forgotten what they are you can read all about them here.

3) Read & meditate on Psalm 84 throughout the 21 days. Try to commit it to memory.

4)Pray: Lord, what can you give through me over the next 3 years towards the ‘I Love My Church’ campaign?

After some time thinking & talking to my wife here are the things that I am committing to fast from (the subtractions) & the things I’m committing to fast to (the additions).

*SUBTRACTIONS-No alcohol, TV or intentionally eating my favorite foods (When it is up to me I will order or choose foods that I normally would not eat…like salads & soups. I’m already depressed!)

ADDITIONS-I will commit to memory Psalm 84. I will journal daily what I’m hearing & praying. I will be in the prayer room for the 4 am slot Wed, Thurs & Fri. I will intentionally bless someone—by giving something, buying something or helping with something—everyday of the fast & journal my experience.

*Sundays I will not be fasting. Sundays are when Christians celebrate!!

Oh Lord, help me to surrender anew to what is best & that is always you & your will. Open the eyes of my heart. Help me to see reality—to see you & how I ought to be. Amen.

I honestly believe that if Jesus lived in Amanda Kay Court he would be out Halloween night mingling with everyone else bringing life, hope & light. I imagine all the kids in the neighborhood wanting to go to Jesus’ house because his family loved kids & they were known for giving out the biggest & best candy. Wow! What a difference. Religion tends to separate & isolate while Jesus crosses the lines & engages. He doesn’t just want us to hold church services but he wants us to be the church, as well. Being the church means going out of our church buildings & engaging the community-especially at prime opportunities. Again, if I were Satan, I would try to keep a high wall of separation between church people & the rest of the world. Salt kept in the shaker will have no impact on the food around it. So, here we go…

5 Things Not to Do this Halloween:

1.Do not participate at all in this ‘pagan’ day of satanic worship! You may not see it, but trust your conspiracy instincts…your neighbors & their little children are secretly drinking animal blood & casting spells on you & other ‘church people.’ Turn your house lights off & pretend you’re not home. When children come up & are obviously disappointed pray that they will be convicted for participating in such overt evil as ‘trick-or-treating.’

2.Do not hand out candy. However, if you must answer the door because some one sees you, then give the child a track to read…preferably one about witchcraft & the occult.

3.Do not let your children go out ‘Trick-or-Treating.’ Getting a bag full of candy is a slippery slope to Satanism.

4.Do not meet your neighbors & certainly do not walk around with them or sit with them or enjoy their friendship in any way.

5.Do not let your church do something innovative like ‘Fright Night.‘ Outsiders may come, have fun & be inadvertently drawn to the church. Stay away. Boycott anything like this. It’s too much work & it may influence someone to consider coming to church again!

Happy Halloween!

Ok…I was a bit sarcastic, I mean VERY sarcastic…sorry, if you were offended. I just think, we Christians can get caught up in ‘much to do about nothing’ when it comes to Halloween.

Savonarola: (1452-1498) His preaching career began when Luther was born. Even though he was steeped in Roman Catholicism he was far advanced than his contemporaries & was greatly admired by the reformers. His preaching had little affect but he continued in his devotions—in prayer waiting on God, mediating upon & studying the scriptures, yearning for God to speak to him & He did. Savonarola had a vision of the calamities waiting to fall upon the church & sensed God charging him to declare this to his people. So, he began to preach with unusual anointing & power. His preaching was like the claps of thunder & his denunciation of sin was with the Spirit’s conviction. His sermons however, aroused the anger of many—corrupt church & government officials. In 1498, the Pope had him burned at the stake in the public square of Florence where he ministered. He also had a prophetic gift & foretold many important events.

Madam Guyon: (1648-1717) Madam Guyon of Paris, France had everything in this world—beauty, riches & intellect. After she was saved at age 20 a man explained to her that God did not merely desire forgiven heart, but a holy heart. He insisted that it was not sufficient just to escape hell, but that God demanded the subjection of our evil natures, absolute purity & the highest of Christian perfection. That very day she resolved anew to be wholly the Lord’s. It is impossible to serve the God & the world. So, she forsook the world & the things that charmed her most—dress, fashion, riches, pride. The Lord began to remove her idles. Her beauty greatly suffered from a severe case of small-pox. But Guyon rejoiced that God had humbled her. Secondly, the Lord took her youngest son whom she was most attached to. But she saw the hand of the Lord in all of her afflictions humbling, purifying & growing her. She entered a 7 year season of no feelings or comfort in her devotions—no life or enjoyment. Yet, she persevered & God restored them. But she learned to live above feelings & to walk by faith. Through this she began to experience not just the gifts but the actual giver, God himself. She did not just know peace, but the God of peace. She was so filled with spiritual power that hungry Christians all over France began to follower her teachings & hunger for a deeper walk with God. So many were renouncing worldliness & sinfulness that resistance was stirred up against Guyon. She ended up in the dungeon of the Bastille & finally banished to Blois. Her main teaching: The real crucifixion of the self life & absolute resignation to the will of God.

Fenelon: (1651-1715) Fenelon was greatly influenced by Madam Guyon. After meeting her, she prayed for him continually for 8 days that God would do a deeper work in him.  He had an amazing intellect & thus as the Archbishop of Cambray, in France he gave credibility to the insights of Madam Guyon.

George Fox: (1624-) Fox is the founder of the small denomination of Christians called the Friends or Quakers. A poor uneducated shoemaker turned England, Ireland, Scotland & Wales ablaze for God. Fox rejected the nominal Christianity that surrounded him. The church was dead & formal. When the church drifts into formalism the world drifts into infidelity. A formal church gives birth to an unbelieving world. (pg. 121) Fox searched in vain for pastors who were holy & completely possessed with spiritual depth, insight & authority. The Lord revealed many things to Fox: 1) An Oxford or Cambridge education did not qualify or fit a man for the Christian ministry. 2) The Lord did not dwell in buildings but in people. 3) Complete spiritual victory or perfection was possible. Fox preached & prophesied as a man who had authority. In their gathering, they would silently pray & wait for the Holy Spirit to move them to speak, sing or pray. Fox’s preaching emphasized holiness of heart & life & tried to shift the focus away from outward forms & ceremonies.

1.“Entrepreneurs must love what they do to such a degree that doing it is worth sacrifice and, at times, pain. But doing anything else we think, would be unimaginable.” Pg. 9

2.The Starbucks Mission: To inspire & nurture the human spirit one person, one cup & one neighborhood at a time. “Starbucks mission & very real social contribution: human connection.” Pg. 159

3.On closing 600 stores…

“As I stared at the list of 600, a lesson resonated: Success is not sustainable if it’s defined by how big you become. Large numbers that once captivated me—40,000 stores!—are not what matter. The only number that matters is “one.” One cup. One customer. One partner. One experience at a time.” Pg. 156

4.From Daniel Henninberg’s Wall Street Journal article: What is going here? It can’t be about the coffee.

“Would people go this berserk if the local Dunkin’ Donuts closed?”

“A friend said that the Starbucks stores bitter-enders reminded her of the protests against the closing of the neighborhood Catholic churches. True. The stores are like secular chapels. No sign on the wall syas you must be quiet, polite or contemplative, but people are. Ritual abounds.” Pg. 163

5.On the Leadership Conference of 10,000 partners held in Now Orleans…

“If the week felt like a rah-rah, feel-good corporate party, it would fail. If it was a self-indulgent trade show, a tense lecture, or a boring training seminar led by talking heads, it would fail. It had to be visceral. Interactive. Genuine. Emotional. Intelligent. Pg. 195

6.“I always trust my antennae to recognize people whose skill, knowledge, passion, & loyalty will align to serve Starbucks well, even if the person’s resume might imply otherwise.” Pg. 226

7.“Representing the company was my job. It is also my life.” Pg. 229

8.Describing his talk at critical analyst conference to investors, top shareholders, & the press in New York…

“I was not performing. I was just speaking honestly, and with each word my conviction in Starbucks’ purpose and our potential came rushing back.” Pg. 230

9.“A new idea’s execution had to be as good as the idea itself.” Pg. 240

10.“Sacrificing people’s feelings, and more than once even a personal relationship, for the good of the thousands of partners is one of the most painful elements of my job as Starbucks’ chief executive.” Pg. 256

Bonus:Growth for growths sake is a losing proposition.

So, I’m creeping onto Charlie’s blog to post a little something in honor of Father’s Day this year. While I was enjoying some peaceful quiet last night after everyone was in bed (read: sweeping the kitchen floor), I started thinking about how often my husband likes to tell stories about the children in his sermons each Sunday. The more I thought about this the more concerned I became. I began to wonder what on earth people must think of him as a father if they were to base their opinion solely on what he tells through those sermon illustrations. This is what one might believe:

1)His main verbal interactions with the children consist of the phrases “What are you doing?” and “Stop It!”

2)He has no patience whatsoever.

3)He is frustrated. A lot.

4)He spends 50% of his time disciplining Charlie

5)He spends the other 50% of his time disciplining Oakley.

6)He lets our children watch Sponge Bob Square Pants all day long.

7)His wife is the perfect mother.

I guess my purpose here is to set the record straight (except for maybe # 7). While each of the observations above may or may not have occurred at times, that is not the man that I know and live with everyday. Like many of you, I can appreciate Charlie’s candidness and transparency in sharing his experiences as a father and we definitely can all relate to “blowing it” at times in our parenting. However, I have come up with a list of some of the qualities about Charlie that he doesn’t always share.

1)He is constantly encouraging, praising, praying with and reading to our 4 children.

2)He portrays the patience of a saint while playing endless games of Connect 4, Operation and Old Maid even though he would much rather be reading or watching the news.

3)He is happy. A lot. It’s contagious.

4)He spends 50% of his time having nerf dart gun battles with Charlie and Oakley.

5)He spends the other 50% of his time leading bicycle adventure rides to 3 imaginative kids.

6)He turns into the “Bible Answer Man” quizzing the children on their Bible knowledge rather than turning on the “boob tube.”

7)He balances out his wife perfectly and vice versa.

Happy Father’s Day to the best husband and one of the greatest fathers I know. I am so glad to be on this adventure of parenthood with you and I’m proud to be your wife and the mother of your children. Kate, Charlie, Oakley and Jude are blessed to have you as their Dad. We love you and are your # 1 fans!