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.   

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. 

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

Sunday was off the chain!!!  That was one seriously kick’n Easter service. I know I’ve said it before, but this is the way I’ve always dreamed church could be.  With the upbeat music, meaningful media, and a message that made me “pause” and rethink priorities, it was a great way to celebrate the day our Lord rose from the dead.  What was cool too was my mom had come into town and it was her first time at C3 since we moved to the theaters. 

I think it’s kind of funny, but when I had first mentioned to my mom about moving into the theaters she was like; why in the world would you do that.  I think for a lot of folks who were raised up in traditional church or maybe from a little bit older generation, it can be very difficult to understand why a church would move into a theater.  But, never the less she came to try it out this weekend.  When she got there Sandi showed her around and then came and found me.  The first thing I asked was, “so, what ya think.”  Her response was classic; “it’s overwhelming; I can’t believe what you’ve done with a theater.”  I thought that was awesome. 

At lunch we talked some more about the services and she was just so impressed with the services and how everything flowed so smoothly.  The best part though, while she’s still a little hesitant on the whole portable church idea, she saw how the passion and vision that God gave Pastor Byron for C3 is working here in our community and it’s working at Regal Cinemas. 

I hope everyone had an awesome Easter and let me say a huge thank you to everyone who volunteered on Sunday.  You guys did a great job and made Easter at C3 extra special.  See ya at Moss Park next Sunday.

Dude, I was just thinking about my last blog and I have to tell you another awesome part of Sundays, and that’s The Crew.  My Sundays start of at around 5:20am when I show up to pick up the trailers from the storage units.  What’s so cool to me is that there is a rotation of guys who show up that early with me and these guys always show up full of energy and ready to go.  To me it’s an awesome picture of what Christ had in mind when He said to put the needs of other above your own.  These guys are up early without complaining and then use their own trucks to tow 10K pound trailers so that church can happen every Sunday.  You guys rock!!! 

Then, we usually get to the theaters around 6am where we meet up with the members our set-up team.  These folks work their tails off to get each theater ready for the day and with Sundays like this past one, they sweet a little too.   But, ya know these folks jack me up for the day.  Just to see their hearts to serve and their smiling faces so early in the morning, it energizes me.  And it never ceases to amaze me how much these guys can efficiently put together in a short amount of time.  You guys are an awesome team, thanks for getting C3 together every morning.

As things start to wrap up on Sundays, that’s when the tear down team jumps into action.  These guys are nothing but pure speed.  They get everything broken down, cleaned up and packed back into the trailers in record times.  This Sunday we almost shaved another 5 minutes off our tear down time.  Just too sweet for words.   To everyone one on The Crew, thanks for everything you do!!!