Hearts In Motion ~ Service Project ~ This Saturday!

This Saturday starting at 9:00 AM we will be serving alongside “Hearts In Motion” as we pack a semi-trailer with medical kits that will soon make their way to Guatemala. Location is AAA U Locks on Rte 41
AAA U-Locks on Google Maps (Indianapolis Blvd) in Schererville across from Lowe’s.

For more information please contact Youth Coach Tiffany Nottingham by e-mail <!–[endif]–>tnottingham@aboutccc.com if you need a ride or would like to simply meet at the church and follow her to the serving location please let her know by phone: 219-801-0358.  Those who wish to ride or follow from the church will need to meet in the CCC parking lot on Saturday morning by 8:45 AM.

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.” ~ John Wesley

“Never tell your neighbors to wait until tomorrow if you can help them now” (Proverbs 3:28 TEV).

If God loves me why won’t my van start?

So I have this 1995 Ford Club Van, and I believe God gave it to me. The van came from New Life Church in New Lynx, Illinois. The pastor and worship leader of the church learned of my situation (9 people in my family now and our largest van holds only 8 people) while we were spending time together at a conference in Atlanta a few months ago. They had a “side bar” and decided to give us the 15 passenger van. It was a very nice thing for them to do. We felt very loved and blessed. They told us that it was an old van and that it had over 300 thousand miles on it, but if we wanted it we could have it.

We drove the van home with the hope that we had found our answer, but quickly realized how much work we would have to put into it.  Our mechanic friends got right to work diagnosing problems.  One of them only asked in a somewhat serious / somewhat playful way “are you sure this was a gift from God?“ inferring that the Devil may have had more to do with us getting this vehicle than God.  I didn’t know what to say to that.  I laughed it off, but deep inside I began to wonder.  We threw a few hundred dollars at it in order to get it ready for our first real trip.

We made it home to Carmel, IN  for Thanks Giving.  We laughedbut the day after we got back it wouldn’t start.  So, we threw some more money into it and got it up an running again just in time for Christmas.  But again, a day or so after we got home  it wouldn’t start.  Every time I would go out to get in the van I would say a prayer, “God, I know you gave me this van… please let it start!”   Sometimes it would, most of the time it would not.  I admit, the thought crossed my mind… “God love me why won’t my van start!”  I know that I shouldn’t equate my van not starting with God’s love for me and more than my kids sould not equate my love for them with the fact that I don’t always let them stay up late to finish their favorite show or let them have candy for breakfast.  Love doesn’t equal me getting what I want, when I want it, and how I want it.

At Brickhouse we’ve been talking about adjusting our “Godview.”   I’m still learning to adjust my GodView to fit a God who works outside the box, outside of my desires, outside the realm of what I want or even expect.

So here’s what I got from the “gift” of this old van…

I have a van that workd (sometimes)
I have two new mechanic friends.

I feel closer to the pastor and worship leader in New Lynx who gave me the van.
My kids have seen how God meets our needs (even if it is in unexpected ways).
We’re still way under what monthly payments on a new van would demand.
We have made a few memories with the old van that we’ll keep with us for life.

Anyway, in just a few minutes I’ll be headed out to pick up the old red van from my newest mechanic friend’s shop. $40 is all he’s asking for the parts and labor. Only $40 dollars this time!!! We got lucky… or does God love us?

1 John 3:1 (The Message)

¹ What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to.

“Mourning” Pop Drinker

Ok, I admit it… I’m addicted.  It’s 9:00 in the morning and I’m having a second can of coke. I’m a morning pop drinker.   I hate confessing it!  I know it’s bad.  My mother told me it was bad a long time ago.  I have a conscience about it and I want to change my ways, but I lack will power and accountability.  You see, I look forward to my 8 minute commute to the church office because it is my time alone with my morning soda.  I love the savory cold, stinging sensation that that comes just after the crack and sprits of the tab. I have asked myself… why don’t you just have a cup of coffee? I guess it’s just not nearly as edgy, rebellious or exciting as opening that cold red and white can of coke.  Not only that, but hot coffee is a “sippy-drink” while coke promises to flow in with a “let’s party!” kind of rush.  There is nothing better than the feel of Coke on the back of your throat in the morning!   So there, I have admitted my dark secret and I ask for your help as I move toward a healthier life.  I’m not just a morning pop drinker.  I’m a “mourning” pop drinker who is grieving the fact that he will need to give up this ritual in order to live a healthier life.  Old habits die hard.

P.S. Perhaps I could kick the habit easier if I weren’t doing it alone … uuhhmm Joan Buss (the picture is for you, I like regular coke better).

Crossroads Q&A This Weekend.

This weekend our Sr. Pastor Kris Vos and Associate Pastor Drew Brown will be in the “hot seat” as they answer all kinds of questions posed by CCC members and attenders.  I (Todd E. Hair) will be the “Ryan Seacrest” of the event as I read the question cards and moderate with touches of wit and wisdom.  I am hoping that students will participate and ask questions as well.  Every person will be given a 3X5 card and will have an opportunity to write their question out near the beginning of the service.  Cards will then be collected and sorted by a couple of people in the back, a place I have termed “the Table of Discernment”.  It’s a fancy way of saying… they will pick out some questions and place them in an order that will be fun and interesting.  So, think about it and ask away!

Here are some of my questions.  You’ll quickly see how shallow I am…

• Why does Drew Brown look so angry when he’s teaching?
• How do pastor Kris’s kids feel about being material for his sermon illustrations?
• How does Jeff Otto stick his leg that far under his piano bench without pulling a hammy?
• Is Drew Brown really a Doctor?
• Are the parking lot greeters there to say “Hi” or to slow people down who are flying in because they’re  running late?
• Did our Janitor Don accidentally fall off the stage and get hurt, or was he pushed?
• Why are the bricks fake in Brickhouse?  Doesn’t that send the wrong message?
• If God loves me why can’t I get my van started!?

Those are just a few questions  I will be posing this weekend.  How about you?  Come on teenagers… get involved!  Ask your questions!  ~Todd

Breaking Through

“It just takes time.” was all my veteran youth worker friend had to say when I told him that I was still feeling like an “outsider” within the student ministry I am leading here at CCC.  I’ve been here for a little over a year and a half now, and I am just now starting to feel like I am beginning to see relational break through in a number of areas.  The first area of Break through has come with the pastoral and office staff.  Working in the office every day, our weekly staff meetings, and frequent lunch excursions have helped a ton.  Playing Basket Ball on Friday mornings with my Sr. Pastor Kris Vos has been good as well.  Our relationship is great because I let him score ; )

The second area of Break Through has been with the youth ministry volunteer team.  Over time they have moved from “fellow youth workers” to friends.  I believe all the transitions, changes, and addition of new youth workers caused everyone to be a bit guarded, but time together at bh and in our monthly meeting has brought us closer.

The third area of Break Through has been with the students themselves.  Students seem to be feeling more comfortable with me.  They seem more trusting and more willing to let me come a bit closer.  So, what is the real evidence of break through?  Well, my house gets TP’d more often, studnets stop buy the house and the office,  I had to buy a txt plan due to the amount txting charges I was recieving on my monthly bill, and studetns ask me to pray for them and even with them.  It’s small stuff, I know, but when you’re waiting and praying for a Break Through your senses are keen and you recognize it while it’s still small.

The High-Way Journey 2009 “ROAD TRIP” Missions Experience

June 26th – 29th.

Thanks to everyone who helped make the High-Way Journey
Road Trip Missions Experience such a great success this year!

The 09 “Big Picture Tour” was awesome!

Please feel free to add comments and links to your pics from the trip!