Wow my feet still hurt.  Yesterday Crave went to the Ice Den at the RDV for a little ice skating.  It was my first time ever to ice skate and it was definitely a unique experience.  Several of our students had the whole ice skating thing down.  The Lofye’s, Shay and of course our girls from Minnesota (not fair) were whizzing all over the rink.  For the majority of students though, it didn’t take very long for them to get the hang of it and they skated along with ease.  However there were a few of us who have been in Florida all our lives (and still can’t figure out why people actually want to get anywhere near a big block of ice) that pretty much hugged the wall and just prayed we’d survive (Christina I still think you cheatedJ).  All in all it was an awesome day and of course it’s always cool just to hang out with the Cravers.  Don’t forget our next event is Islands of Adventure on July 9^th.   Keep checking the Crave Spam page for all the latest summer activities.  See ya on Sunday.

I am so love’n this One Prayer series that we are in on Sundays.  It has been awesome to hear from pastors around the country and their prayers for the church.  This past Sunday was phenomenal and it is so cool to think about the things that we as Christ Followers can accomplish if we would unite together under our common purpose.  One thing that really stuck out to me is when Craig said there is strength in our differences.  It’s so true.  I think about how God has brought together so many folks from different church backgrounds, denominations, nationalities, and so on here at C3 and how we have accomplished so much by coming together under one purpose.  Things like feeding 400 families for a week, building wells in Africa and seeing friends and neighbors come to Christ.  God has really been doing some amazing things.  Also you don’t want to miss this coming Sunday as we finish up the one prayer serious with a “dangerous” message.   

Yesterday officially started our summer Crave events by taking the students out to Aquatica.  We had a blast and the Lord blessed tremendously.  No one got hurt, except for me, but that’s to be expected.   The lines were not as bad as everyone told me they would be and we didn’t get a single drop of rain even though it was suppose to storm during the times we were there.  Of course we all came back a couple shades “red’r” then when we started, but overall it was a really awesome day.

A few folks asked me to report back on how the park is.  So, here is my humble, but I think accurate opinion.  Aquatica is a pretty cool water park and has some unique features, like; two wave pools (one calmer than the other), a rapids ride (looks a lot like a lazy river but the water moves really fast) and then of course the ride through the dolphin pool (which 9 out of 10 people don’t see a dolphin when they ride it anyway).  All in all I think Aquatica is definitely worth checking out at least once, especially if you have kids.  However, the park is way over priced for what you get.  If you’re looking for the most bang for your buck then Wet’n Wild is probably a better bet or one of the Disney parks when they run their specials. 

Cravers don’t forget; ice skating in 2 weeks!!!

What a great day we had yesterday at C3!!!  As always the service was awesome.  One of the things I was thinking about on Sunday was how it seems to be human nature to complicate things.  Whether its life, work, church or God, we just seem to have a way to complicate it.  But, God never meant for a relationship with Him or the Christian life to be that way.  This Sunday really showed the simple and easy steps to begin a relationship with God, be baptized and then begin to grow in that relationship with Christ.  Part of that growth is intentionally investing our lives in the lives of others and we all have a really cool opportunity to do exactly that this week.  Remember to take your One Prayer bands with you this week and let’s make sure we are intentionally looking for people to pray for and invite to C3.   

Part of my job here at C3 is to protect the environments of our church.  Whether it’s children’s ministry, youth, Sunday mornings, baptisms or anything else we do.  It is my job to make sure folks have the freedom to worship, celebrate and seek God without the distraction of people who only care about themselves and want to ruin what God is doing in the lives of others. 

I take my job very seriously.  Because of that, as you can imagine, I’ve had to have several difficult conversations with people who are bent on disruption.  A few of those conversations have actually turned out really well and I’ve seen God work in their lives in amazing ways.  However, as you can also probably imagine, most of the conversations don’t go so well.  They usually feel hurt, which I can honestly say has never been what I wanted to do, and then they usually they end up calling me names and other things. 

A year ago the name calling and threats would have really twerked me off.  But the other day I read Psalm 37 and it really made me realize that no matter what you do, there are going to be people who twist the truth and fight against you.  That’s ok, because even when folks act like butts - God is still in control. 

So now, “whatever” comes to mind.  While I’m surprised that there are still folks out there who would like to stir up crap from the past and make sure they are the center of the spot light, that’s fine.  For me, I’m just glad I can be a part of creating and protecting environments where people are coming to Christ, children are protected, and people can worship without distraction. 

Yesterday was an extra special day as I got to baptize my son Luke.  It was just one of those awesome tender moments.  Luke was very excited, he asked me all day; “are you going to baptize me tonight” and when it was all over he could just not stop talking about his baptism and following God.  What made it extra special was he was able to be baptized with a couple of his close friends, Emily and Wes.  It was really cool for me as well since Sandi and I really view Emily like part of the family.  Luke was also really excited to be baptized at Pastor Byron’s home.  It was just a really great setting for baptism and Luke said he’ll now be calling the Pastor’s pool the baptistery from here on out. 

Another really cool part of the night was that we were able to baptize all but one child who had just finished our Great Adventures class that same Sunday morning.  I love teaching the Great Adventures class.  It’s a really sweet experience where I really get to spend time with kids who have usually just accepted Christ and I get to dig into God’s word with them.  This class is offered for any child who is finishing up 1st grade through 5th grade.  If your wondering why we make sure the child has finished 1st grade - well, as you probably have figured out, we here at C3 are not into legalism at all or just making folks attend a class just to attend a class.  But with Great Adventures it really allows us to make sure each child fully understands and comprehends what it means to be a Christ Follower and what baptism is all about.  To do that effectively we have them do some reading and writing that’s at a 1st grade level.  - I don’t know if you really wanted to read all that about Great Adventures, but now ya know.

There are just so many awesome things happening at C3 right now.  Last Friday night we had a kick’n dinner to honor our volunteers here at C3.  It was a great time and it was just so cool to have a time to honor these folks who give so selflessly to C3 and the cause of Christ.  Thanks guys for all you do!!! 

Then Sunday was one of those “off the chain” kind of Sundays.  Pastor Byron did his message for the one prayer series on “make us love.”  It was phenomenal!!!  I pray that God burns that message in the hearts of all of us at C3 so we can go “eat with” and not “point at.”  Also, this Sunday we had Discovering C3.  I love DC3, it is such a cool time to hang out with folks who just have a heart for being a part of what God is doing at C3.  Then to top the day off, despite the pressure of early movie times, our Crew broke down the theaters in record time!  You guys rock!!!   

This Friday is the C3 food drop.  This is going to be an awesome event where C3 is partnering with Feed The Children to provide food and basic necessities for 400 families here in Central Florida for an entire week.  If you would like to come out and help or if you know of a family that would benefit from this event, we’ll be at the OURM Food Warehouse from 8am until around 1pm.  The food distribution starts at 10am.  OURM’s address is: 3250 Old Winter Garden Rd. (exit 408 at John Young - take immediate left at Old Winter Garden Rd. The building is green and white and NOT MARKED - you’ll see the address on the fence surrounding the property).

Ya know, just thinking about the food drop, I want to thank everyone who is participating in 90 for 90 here at C3.  One of the reasons Sandi and I are participating in 90 for 90 and enjoy giving is that we love to see how those gifts can turn into changed lives.  We love that our gifts can be a part of things like; feeding families, supplying a children’s ministry where kids actually like coming to Church, helping our youth stand for Christ - really the list is endless.  Thank you for being a part of what God is doing through C3.  

We had an awesome Sunday at C3 this weekend.  We had several first time visitors this weekend and I just finished talking with a bunch of them.  I love being able to talk to first time guests.  It’s so cool to hear their story of where their from, what they thought about the service and how they heard about C3.  What I think is more than awesome is that the majority of those that I spoke with were invited to C3 by our members.  They had neighbors, friends and coworkers invite them to come check out C3.  That’s so cool that you guys are helping those that you know to connect with Christ by inviting them to C3.  That’s actually one of the reasons Sandi and I enjoy that our boys are so into sports.  Because their sporting events allow us to really build some awesome friendships with other parents from their teams.  Of course these friendships mean so much to us and we love when we get the opportunity to tell them about and invite them to C3.  Keep on investing and inviting and I’ll see you and your friends on Sunday.

OK, so how many times have I started a blog with I’m Jacked or pumped or something like that.  Well, I’m do’n it again.  I’m so jacked about C3.  We have so much going on right now that is just off the chain.  This past weekend we kicked off 90 for 90.  This is  where we as a church well be joining together to bring the faith gift (tithe) to the church.  I can’t wait to here the stories on how God moves during this time.   

Also on Sunday we had a great meeting with our Crave students about summer camp.  This year our students are heading to Big Stuf camps in Daytona and from what I’ve seen and heard this will be one totally awesome camp experience.  If you’re thinking about going, there is a $50 deposit due this Sunday.  You can turn in your deposit on Sunday morning or during Crave-N that night.  

Then on April 23^rd, we’ve been asked by PCI – the company that made all the cool stuff that our Crew loves to unpack and pack back up every Sunday – to help them showcase their stuff during Exponential 08.  This is a huge conference for church planters and I can’t wait to meet pastors and their staff who are starting churches with the same desire and passion as C3 to reach the unchurched. 

We also have another Discovering C3 experience coming on Sunday May 4^th.  Discovering C3 is a great way to take a behind the seines look at what makes C3, C3 and why we do what we do. We dive into the vision and direction of the church and it also gives everyone the opportunity to join the C3 family.

Then if that’s not enough, on Sunday May 11^th, we have our Great Adventures class. Great Adventures is a class for all children who have prayed to receive Christ and have finished 1^st grade and would like to be baptized.  During this class we will discus what it means to be a Christian and the importance of baptism.  After Children have completed this class they eligible to be baptized here at C3.  If you would like to reserve a place for your child please give myself or Verna a call at 407-380-0707.

Told ya there was a ton of cool stuff going on

This has been one of those up and down kind of weeks.  The week started off with some good friends losing their father over the weekend and he was only in his 40’s.  They held services on Monday and Tuesday and it was just a sad start to the week.  However, the awesome part is that just days before he passed away, Elvis prayed to receive Christ as his personal savior.  I love the Rosario and Torres families, you guys are awesome.  Please know Sandi and I and the staff are praying for you every day. 

Then also this week, it seems that I’ve pulled something in my shoulder.  It’s driving me crazy because I’m trying to take it easy so it can heal, but as you know I don’t do easy very well. 

I’m extremely pumped about this weekend; there are just a ton of awesome things going on.  The service is going to be off the chain as Pastor Byron continues to dig into the Big and Rich series.  This is just one of those series where you get so much practical and life changing info on how to experience God and the abundant life that He desires for us.

Also this weekend we have a summer camp meeting for our Crave students and their parents.  I’m so jacked about summer camp this year.  We are heading over to Big Stuf camps in Daytona Beach and it will be a camp like our students have never experienced before.  So Crave students and parents don’t forget, even if you’re just a little interested in camp this year make sure you’re at the meeting this Sunday from 5 to 6pm. 

Hey Power House Leaders don’t forget we have a mini team meeting this Sunday between services in theater 6.  We have some awesome things planned to really take Power House to the next level, but to get there we need you.  You guys do an awesome job, see ya on Sunday.