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Easter Sunday Service Favorites

There are several things that I truly love about Easter Sunday. I thought I would list a few of my favorite things. 

Breakfast 

The breakfast that Shane and his crew prepare for us is amazing. The biscuits and gravy are a favorite of many. They serve breakfast from 8:30 til 10:00 in the KidZone building.

Music 

The music is full and energized. There is just something about Easter where people sing from a place of victory vs defeat. I am looking forward to listening to Allison, Jen and Amy at the beginning of both services.

Preaching 

I really enjoy speaking to people. Sharing the Gospel in a clear and simple way reminds me of my times at the Huron County Jail. We will be looking at Romans 8:1-16. It is a passage that clearly states that we are no longer condemned.

Clothes 

Everyone puts on their Sunday best at Easter. I like to dress up and Easter is no exception!

Baptism 

I have the privilege of baptizing two people Sunday morning who have come to Christ as a result of the ministry of Columbus Road. 

Friends 

I enjoy seeing friends who have come back into town for the day to visit family.

Focused 

We are all attending the services to celebrate the forgiveness of our sins and the salvation Jesus provides through His resurrection. 

I look forward to tomorrow and I hope you are also. What are some of your favorite parts of Easter? 

If you do not have a church home, you are more than welcome to come to Columbus Road. Our services are at 9:00 and 10:30.

2013 CR Archery League - Off to a Super Start !

I had the opportunity to stop in and visit the opening night of the Columbus Road Archery League. I walked in to a room filled with enthusiastic archers. We have over 70 people participating in the 2013 league. People of all ages and skill levels have joined in on the fun. The league spans over a ten week period. Teams are formed and  scores kept to determine champions at the end. Here are a few pictures to help capture the night.

At Full Draw

A Full House 

Check Out The Equipment

A special thanks goes out to Wes Siepel, Brian Hodges and Doug Althide for their leadership and management of the league this year!

Bill Hybels - On the Beauty and Power of the Local Church

"I have a little mantra: There's nothing like the local church when the local church is working right.
When the Spirit is in charge, and when God's anointing power is on a church, lost people are getting found, and found people are growing up, and lonely people are getting enfolded, and bored people are finding purpose and a cause, and the poor are being cared for. To me, when that's all happening, prompted, and empowered by the Spirit as opposed to fueled by human power, that is the most beautiful activity I've ever witnessed."

Graham Chapel at Washington University

This weekend I had the opportunity to perform a wedding in St. Louis, Missouri. Jay Yousef and Alex Brand were united in marriage on Saturday afternoon. The ceremony was beautiful and went off with- out a hitch. Graham Chapel was simply amazing. I have never performed a wedding in a venue like Graham. As I was looking around the chapel I discovered am inscription at the base of the stained glass window. It comes from I Kings 8:58 and reads: The Lord God be with us, as He was with our fathers, that He may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways and to keep His commandments. It is undeniable that many of our institutions of higher learning were centered in Biblical Christianity.

Front View

Rear View

A Simple Invite Card

Last week was filled with things to be thankful for. I never cease to be amazed with how God uses people and what would appear to be insignificant things in the lives of others. Sometimes it happens in the strangest and most unlikely ways. In every phase of our lives we are impacting and influencing people. The last week was no exception in being reminded of this.

Monday evening was spent at Ed and Adjet Amante's home. They are members at Columbus Road and are transplants from the Philippines  A group of friends gathered to say goodbye to Carlos Paredos Olivo who is from Mexico and came to the states to work. He attends our church and is going back home to be with his family. The evening was filled great food, fellowship and  well wishes for Carlos.

The Invitation

Carlos, who does not speak a bit of English, closed our time together by telling us his story. I was brought to tears as he spoke about how God had brought Jason Wollbrink into his life. Ed and Jason had developed a simple invitation to a Spanish speaking Bible Study.  Carlos responded to the invite card seen above. Carlos shared about his alcoholic, abusive past. He shared how he had tried everything to stop but nothing or no one could help. One day, he pulled out the invitation and decided to walk to the church, looking once again for help.

After a couple of attempts, he finally found our church. God used Jason over a period of several months to lead Carlos to the Lord. He faithfully has attended our church since that time period. He was discipled by Jason which resulted in his baptism and weekly tithing. Carlos would sit in the back of the church as Jason would translate the message to him. Our people were gracious, hearing a dull roar in the back of the auditorium each week. It was a bit different in a primarily caucasian, mid-west church.

Jason, Carlos and Ed

We learned many things about ourselves over the time Carlos was with us. He shared with us how much we meant to him even though none of us could speak Spanish  We are blessed to have known him and look forward to hearing how God uses him in his home land.

The next time you are encouraged to invite someone to something, think twice before you say "No." You never know how God is working and what He will use.

Blessings

Trunk 'r Treat 2012 - Life is good at Columbus Road!

 

 

Cool Post Card

Why Do So Many Young Adults Leave the Church?

I just finished reading Essential Church by Thom Rainer and his son Sam Rainer III. This book was written to leaders in the church. The authors answer the questions: why do so many young people leave the church? and what will it take to bring them back?

The book reveals many insights that the authors have gained from interviews they have conducted with young adults.

The chapter entitled "A New Spin on Hypocrisy" is powerful. Their findings show that young adults are much more likely to drop out of church if their parents are not involved. Dropping your teen off at church is a sure fire way to insure that you will be taking your grandchildren to church also. People who serve, faithfully attend, and speak positively about the church and its leadership have a much greater opportunity to succeed in raising adults who will be involved in a faith community.

Most young adults did not have significant reasons for dropping out of church. It could be summed up in one statement. It was not imporatant to my parents and it is not important to me. The authors have discovered that secular universities, public education, and the church are NOT the greatest contributors to young people leaving the church. The root (of hypocrisy) is found in the family unit. 

You may be heading down a road that will take you to a destination you won't like. The popular church culture has created the largest back door in over 75 years. Parent, what do you want your child to be doing in ten years? Does it look like what you are doing now?

Kidzone Soccer Academy - Day # 1

20 years

Twenty years is a long time. Lots of things have happened in twenty years. 1992 was the year, Andre Agassi won Wimbledon, the Washington Redskins won the super bowl, Bill Clinton became the president, A Few Good Men came out in the theaters, Windows 3.1 was developed and  Pearl Jam and Nirvana were on the top of the pop charts.

Other events happened that year, like Bob Cowman beginning to serve as a pastor in Norwalk, Ohio. Yip, Calvary Baptist Church called me to be the pastor of Care and Outreach on September 9th,1992.   God has blessed in so many ways through the years. Two highlights have been serving Calvary Baptist Church in Norwalk, Ohio and Columbus Road Baptist Church in Quincy, Illinois.

I bought this Penn St. circle design GAME hat twenty years ago also. It is hard to fine articles of clothing that you have owned for 5 years let alone 20 years. It has seen a lot of hot days and many adventures. This hat, an article of clothing, is representative of life and relationships in many ways. For many of us, it is difficult to name a friend that you have had for twenty years let alone five. Friendships take time and attention, without those two ingredients, a friendship fades and sometimes even dies.

I have met so many people along the way. Many of those people are still intimately involved in my life and at least most remain connected at some level. There have been many mountain tops and valleys along the way with each group of people. Loss and gain, victory and defeat, laughter and sorrow, have characterized the journey. Looking back has proven that God has been at work in the lives of people and that is the highlight of this journey. I am so blessed to have been a small part in that.

Those that I have served along side have been gracious to me and my family. I will always cherish the time we have spent together. It is crazy to think that I have only worked with 6 other men in the entire twenty years; four in Ohio (Jim, Joe, Dan, and Romyne) and two in Illinois (Jeff and Mike).

I look forward to the next 20 years. It will be exciting to see what God does in the lives of all the people we have been able to touch. Ah, and one last thing, manage your hats well.

Christmas at Columbus Road