theSHIFT

Study on Galatians

2012-01-18T14:40:00.003-07:00

Hi everyone! Apologies for an absence in updates; maybe that would be a good New Years resolution! As a brief update on the Shift; we've had amazing attendance and community surrounding the Shift for the past several months! So exciting to see young people coming together to learn about Christ and seek Christian fellowship with one another. New people are finding there way to the Shift weekly, and we are so stoked for what's ahead!

We are starting this new year with a study on Galatians! We are so excited to see God move through this series! Last week's discussion centered around chapter one, with the main theme being deception. The Galatians had fallen away from the truth, and were being deceived and distracted from the gospel that Paul had previously brought to them. Looking into the Galatians situation, we sought out the best ways to recognize and deal with deception in our lives. Great discussion followed!

Galatians 1:6-9

"6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed."

Join us, as we look into Paul's letter to Galatia over the next several weeks. I am so stoked for what God has in store for us through this series!

Also: MESS (Meet Eat Spirit Seek) will be next Friday, the 27Th, at Sean and Dani Brink's house. 7PM, dinner, worship and Jesus

And, FLE (Financial Learning Experience) featuring Joe Sangl, Monday Jan 23rd at Element Church. This event is free and awesome. We will be going because its awesome, and invite you to as well.

God Bless! ~Sam

Two-Gather; Building Relationships

2011-10-25T16:44:00.006-06:00

We need people in our lives...people who know us, love us, and remind us of who we really are. The last two weeks we have looked at what it takes to build stronger relationships with others, and what having the right people in our lives can mean for us. Great discussion was generated around this topic, centered around how we can all improve our relationships. We looked at the stories of Jonathan and his armor bearer in 1 Samuel 14, and several other verses (listed below).

We left with a huge challenge. I know for myself that I always picture my relationships being better than they are now at some point in the future. What can I, we, you do right now to strengthen your relationships with others? To gain someone who is with you heart and soul?

Some of you may have heard of the well known Christian author Erwin McManus. He wrote The Barbarian Way and some other great books. Here is a quote from him on relationships.

"If you neglect the importance of building healthy relationships, you will find yourself alone in the midst of crisis. When you invest in others, they will leverage even your failures to be the material for your future success."

Ask God to put the right people in your life. Ask Him for strength and guidance, and tell Him what's keeping you from having those stronger relationships in your life. Here are some verses to read.

1 Corinthians 2:11, 2 Corinthians 4:2, James 5:16, Proverbs 27:6, Ephesians 4:16, Proverbs 18:24, Matthew 18:20, Ecclesiastes 4:8-12, Romans 12:4-5

Prayer Walking

2011-09-12T14:44:00.002-06:00

There is such a need for Jesus on campus, and this week starting yesterday the 11th, we have started meeting at 6 to target prayer towards the campus. We're walking around and through the campus each evening praying for anything and everything related to the college and its students. This is God's campus and God' children, and we can't offer up enough prayers for that. There were five of us yesterday that circled campus praying, and the shift will be meeting every night at 6P in the parking lot until next Sunday the 18th. Would love to see yall out there! Peace in Christ

-Sam

Weird Wednesday

2011-08-11T10:22:00.002-06:00

We had 9 at Shift this past Wednesday as we began a new discussion topic WEIRD. That's being Weird in a God way!

In what ways would you call yourself weird? Talking about being weird for God, we discovered it's hard and that His way is not the common path taken by most people. Matthew 7:13-14 says, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

We discussed what is normal as defined by today's world, and how normal can't really work out for us. Exploring the causes of thinking normal, we uncovered that it is much to do with the environment we put ourselves in, and brought forth those areas where we need to stop thinking the normal way, and start thinking the weird way; for God! Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

What you think determines what you become. We have become so many things other than what we are called by Christ as a result of our thinking. 1 Peter 2:11-12 says, "Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."

We must commit to God that we will strive to pursue Christ in every area of life so that we focus solely on Him. Such a hard thing to do! How do we break this habit of thinking the normal way? If you think about this, it really shouldn't be that hard to be weird for God. Think of all the times in our days when we conform to the standards of the world! This is frequent and often for me. When I look back on even just the past couple days, I realize all the opportunities I passed up to be weird for Christ!

Pray for us to break the mold of normal thinking this week. Ask Him to reveal how you can be weird for Him, and to have the courage to be it! Great Shift as always! Hope to see you all out there next week as we continue to explore being WEIRD for God!

Sam

Wednesday Recap, Initiating Restoration

2011-07-14T15:55:00.002-06:00

Hey Everyone. We had a great group at theshift last night! Around 12 or so, and went to Sonic after. Sonic is our new summer spot for hanging out afterwards btw. We are in the third week of Getting Past Your Past, and this week was incredible! Discussion about apologizing to those who we've hurt, and how to initiate restoration in those relationships was the topic.

How do you respond to those who hurt you? Some shut people down, some turn away, others ignore, others confront. There are so many ways to react. I used to pride myself on being non-confrontational. Turns out that isn't the best way to go about dealing with hurt. We made the distinction between being a peacekeeper and a peacemaker.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." Matthew 5:9

Peacekeepers avoid what needs to be said or done. Many times this will lead to further hurt and distance.

"So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." Matthew 5:23-24

God here is calling us to be peacemakers. He tells us to go and be reconciled. Note the priorities here. When else has God ever said, stop worship and go do something? Reconciliation with your brothers and sisters takes priority even over worship!

What else did we figure out about apologizing to those who we've hurt? Its so easy to be the victim, but how hard is it to admit and own up to being the offender? Here is where pride comes into play.

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom." Proverbs 11:2

One of God's biggest desires is for us to be peacemakers. We need to be at peace with each other, and it's hard to do that when you let pride get in the way. We have to learn to love the relationship or person, more than we love being right.

This week, focus on confessing the things you've done to hurt others. Ask Him to help you apologize with integrity. We have to really mean it. I think another key thing will be actually asking for forgiveness. When you say "Will you forgive me?" that is humbleness at its best. Commit to God that you will be a peacemaker and not a peacekeeper.

Sam

Wed. Recap; Getting Past Your Past

2011-06-30T14:19:00.004-06:00

We continue to have a great turnout and great discussion at theshift! It is so amazing what God has planned, and what He is doing through this group of Christians! This week marked the start of a new series called "Getting Past Your Past."

Man, how hard is this!? And how desperately do we need to get over our past in order to move forward into God's plan for our lives! Living under labels of the past can be inhibiting, restrictive, and so many other things. Living under labels of the past many times keeps us from becoming the person God intended us to be. What are some of the negative labels that follow you?

There was some great discussion here. It's not just other people calling us what we aren't, but it's ourselves that hold us back. We tend to think that because of our past and past labels, that we cannot be worth much or at least we think 'how can I be what God calls me to be'? What we discovered here is that God's power is bigger than our past, that his truth is bigger than what is true about us today, and that God will break the labels that bind us.

2 Cor 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

God has given us a new label, and sin no longer has any power to hold us back! Our past which has held us hostage will hold us no more because God has given us a new name. One thing that really struck me was just how much impact this discussion topic had and is going to continue to have over the next 3 weeks. Personally, God has totally redefined me recently, and has called me something completely different than I would call myself.

It's time to break free from our past, and step into the new creation that we have become in Christ. Reflect this week on what God has called you. Is it courageous, or beloved, or protector or something else? What is it? What new God-centered label have you been given to grow into?

John 10:10 "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

Sam

The Fight

2011-06-10T11:59:00.002-06:00

Written by Sean Brink

Every day it’s a fight against myself
A constant battle between my born again self and my sinful nature
Light continues to show the path, but my feet constantly desire to step into darkness
The fight never ends
The battle continues day and night
Rest coming only in moments of complete surrender to Christ
I find only in the absolute presence of God, does the darkness flee.
The fight never ends
The darkness that had fled, yet now starts to creep back in
How I wonder; Why I wonder
It seems the very nature of my being desires wrong, desire evil
As though I am actually trying to stifle the very light that gives me life
A war raging inside me for me
The fight never ends
Though the darkness assaults ruthlessly upon me, the light is never extinguished
At time a mere spark seems all to remain, a mere ember glowing
The fight never ends
A sudden From nowhere a subtle wind blows,
The breath of God sweeps across my very soul yet again
The spark burns brighter, the ember hotter
Finding an uncanny rest, unrealistic peace, indescribable strength, a fire erupts
Light engulfs my very being
Tears fall from my face, my soul in complete submission, humbled in the presence of God
A battle I have always lost, is a war I’m starting to win

Wednesday Recap

2011-06-09T13:16:00.002-06:00

We finished the 'I quit' series this week, with our last discussion being about living in fear. There were about 12 people there, and everyone had great things to say. God is truly moving in this group of people! It's so evident every time we meet, and to hear how he is working in people's lives is awesome.

Discussion started off with the question of, 'What was your greatest fear as a kid?' 'How did you overcome those fears?' This brought out some pretty typical answers, such as the dark. But as we dove deeper into the subject, we started to uncover many fears of the 'what ifs'. What if God allows this to happen... What if God doesn't come through... What if I don't see the results of my sacrifices...

Coming to a place where fear of the 'what ifs' doesn't hold us back can be tough. We read from 2 Timothy 1:7

"for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control."

One of the best ways to overcome fear is to seek God until He takes those fears away. To know that He gives us a spirit of power and love and self-control, and not of fear, is to know that you have the ability to live a life that is free of what ifs. Here we discovered that this is going to require a lot of trust, and that we must draw our strength from the Lord, seeking Him even more. Psalm 56:2-4

"My adversaries pursue me all day long; in their pride many are attacking me. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? "

How powerful those words are! "What can mere mortals do to me?" Praise God for delivering us from our fears! Seek Him this week, as we keep this message in mind.

Wednesday Recap

2011-05-27T13:21:00.003-06:00

We had a fantastic group this past Wednesday! Discussion was great, and I can tell that God is moving through this group of people. 11 were there, and we continued the 'I Quit' series. This week centered around making excuses, and how much we put everyday life ahead of God and his kingdom.

What are some of the most common excuses you make? Where is God changing you, calling you to stop making excuses and come be a part of his magnificent plan for your life? We read from Luke 14, the story of a great banquet. Those who were invited, having already accepted the invitation, made excuses when the banquet arrived. This is a perfect analogy to our lives.

We have already accepted the invitation, God is in us and we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. He has planned for us a 'great banquet', an event, a challenge, a calling unique to each one of us. Then on the day we are to attend the banquet, or fulfill our calling, we reject the invite and make some excuse. We fail God, and fail to do his will because of whatever excuse.

One of the most important ways to get around this, and quit making excuses is to totally rely on God, to trust in God and in his ability to do all things.
Exodus 4:10-12

Moses said to the LORD, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The LORD said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”

God has the power to work in and through what he has created. Our weaknesses are made perfect by his power. So whatever the excuse may be, offer it up to God this week. Seek his strength and guidance to help you stop making excuses, and to start following his will for you in those areas of your life were you tend to make excuses.

Great Shift! Great Discussion! Great People! Come to Shift next week!!

Sam

MESS

2011-05-23T10:27:00.002-06:00

Friday we held MESS, or Meet Eat Spirit Seek. This was so unique and awesome to see and be a part of! Here was group of people giving up their Friday night to seek God through worship and prayer, devoting their time to commune with God and be moved and lead by the Holy Spirit.

We had 18 people, an excellent group. The sense of family and community was so real! Thanks to everyone who made it happen! Ashley, Christy for hosting, and cooking along with Jenna. Morgan for playing music and leading worship.

Yall're fantastic and can't wait to do it again! A wonderful picture of God's people getting together and praising him! I know He is doing great things through the community we are building here

Acts 2: 42-47

"And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ... "

Wednesday Recap

2011-05-20T08:25:00.004-06:00

Wednesday night led to some great discussion and community. We have started a new series called 'I Quit' which is definitely challenging the group in so many ways.

Discussion this week was centered around comparing ourselves to others. How hard is it to accept our unique position in God's plan and find contentment with where he has put us right now? This is a constant struggle for us, as we are constantly looking around at others and seeing their gifts as better than ours. 'If I could only reference scripture like he could,' or 'if I could just __'. You fill in the blank. We could go on and on about the things we wish we had instead of praising God for what we have and the position that we are in.

One way to stop comparing ourselves to others is to know who we are. 1 Corinthians 12 says it so well. We are one body in Christ with many members, with a variety of spiritual gifts. We all have something unique and different to offer and are all called to a unique purpose.

16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19 If all were a single member, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

Another way to stop comparing ourselves to others is to know what you have. This generated some great discussion when we began to relay all the blessings from God that we are most thankful for. How much has God blessed me, and how much praise do I owe him? Endless! I think we could've talked all night about just that one thing. It's so easy to ignore God's blessings in our own lives and resent God's goodness in the lives of others. Philippians 4 says

10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

We left with the challenge of confessing what our most common comparisons are, and to give those up. For God to help us to stop comparing, to thank him for all he has done in our lives, and to just help remove the pride. Praise him for making us unique! And praise him for the great group we had on Wednesday

In Christ

Sam

Picking Up the Sticks

2011-05-06T11:29:00.003-06:00

Hey Everyone! The Shift blog is back in action. I'm hoping to make posts fairly regularly featuring recaps from Wednesday nights, and things that are going on outside of Wednesday nights such as activities at element and around Cheyenne.

When Sean mentioned the blog and making posts, I took him up on it immediately. Blogging is something that I enjoy, and I keep a personal blog about my activities here in Cheyenne. I've kept other blogs in the past as well. My first experience with blogging was great, and I built 'Thru-hiking with Rocky' here on blogger. Looking back at that blog, I have realized that sharing my ideas, sharing others stories and sharing Gods words is a learning process. In the beginning, my posts were short and concise. Then I found the more I blogged the more detailed and well thought out they became.

I have to admit that posting on this blog is a little intimating, especially when reading the amazing words of Bruce, Sarah, Steven, Sean and whoever else contributed to this in the past. I'm working hard on trying to become the man God calls me to be, and part of that means stepping out of my comfort zone. I'm confident that the Lord will provide me with the words and thoughts to share with you here, and I look forward to sharing what's going on with the Shift to you through this blog.

Yall're an amazing group of people, and I feel lucky to have found and connected with this community that we're creating through Shift. Parting words from Hebrews 10: 24-25
"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Every Guys Orders (EGO)

2010-10-03T13:39:00.000-06:00

EGO, otherwise known as Every Guys Orders, is a monthly men's group. The purpose of the group is to challenge the men in theSHIFT, to spur change in our day to day lives, and ultimately grow us closer to Jesus.

Bruce Pagano (Blog HERE) came to me with the idea for this group a few months back. Since then God has been cultivating in me what this group’s purpose and function will be. God reaffirmed the need for this group, and VANITY, when I read Titus 2:1-8:

"You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us".

Men often struggle with being the man Christ has called them to be. Many men claim to be a man of Christ, but their life doesn't reflect it. Titus 1:16 has stuck with me. "They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good". Unfortunately, I feel this statement can be made today about many of the men who "know" Christ. I don't want this to be said about the men of theSHIFT.

Throughout EGO, we will unveil, what the Bible says, about real life issues and how they pertain directly to men. Issues facing men such as: controlling the tongue, not abusing grace, submission, lust, loving, leading, serving, etc. Together, through Christ's teaching, leading, and encouragement we can become true men of God.

Our first night meeting, I felt lead to teach on controlling the tongue. We addressed this issue as it pertained to men, such as cursing, coarse joking, swearing, sexual innuendoes, etc. We didn't leave it at just what not to say though, we looked at what ought to come from our mouth. And I basically summed that up in three points. We are to speak: 1) Words of encouragement, 2) Words of Truth and 3) Words of Praise. A challenge has been issued to the men of theShift.

No longer can we hide behind what we claim with our tongue. Real men of Christ don't need to claim a thing, because by their actions they ought to reflect Christ. Matthew 7:16 says, "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles"? My prayer is that EGO will mark a turning point for the men in theSHIFT, and that they will rise up to be the man Christ has called them to be.

Sean

Visualizing A New Identity Through Yahweh (VANITY)

2010-10-03T13:36:00.001-06:00

A woman's heart is far softer and more easily bruised than any man knows. During this season of EGO/VANITY I feel especially led to not list a set of rules and expose what our women are not fulfilling in their roles, but to encourage them and show them how beautifully (inside and out) they have been made!

We are precious to Him; He sees not our faults or our struggles but an image of how He has intended us to be- perfect, holy and clean before Him. Because He has put His law in our hearts we already know what we need to do and how we need to live a life that He considers Godly and worthy of our calling. VANITY will be about us gently drawing out those qualities that God has instilled in us; claiming His promises and watching good fruit come about as a result of our submitting ourselves to His direction, power and grace.

With that being said, Dani, Jamie and I still feel that there are certain areas in which we can encourage and strengthen our women in.

This first week I spoke about our Identity in Christ. It's a subject that the Holy Spirit is not only working in my own heart but, I believe, He also wants to solidify it in the hearts of our SHIFT women. We are His. He
defines us. The world has a ridiculous list of qualifications that are both sinful and completely absurd! Our Father has called us to so much more in His son, Jesus. By grounding our identity in Him, by making sure that He ALONE is our source and our core, we are able to ignore the opinions of this world and focus on becoming more molded into the image of Jesus. When we allow Him to define us, to call us by a name He has chosen, our freedom to be ourselves is a thousand times more than it would be if we were subject to the confines of sin and worldly prerequisites.

Along with Identity, we will also be speaking about Self-control, Pursuit of Christ, Purity, Submission/Servant-hood, being and Example to those who are watching our lives.

I'm so thrilled and excited that God has brought about this season for theSHIFT. I feel that it is so timely and anointed- completely drenched in His favor. Keep our women in your prayers as we begin to instruct them how to carry themselves, according to Word of God. I just know that there will be more to VANITY than what we expect- I am praying for healing in our hearts, a desire to live far above the standards of our generation, a deep brokenness and determination to stand in the gap for women that have yet to respond to the call of Godliness.

Sarah

SHIFT Series reCAP: Back to the Basics (Love One Another)

2010-09-15T18:08:00.000-06:00

For the past several months the LORD has placed on my heart "love." What is this word and what should it mean to me? I started digging into the Word looking and longing for love. I came across 1 John 4:20 and it says, "If someone says, "I love GOD," but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don't love people we can see, how can we love GOD, whom we cannot see?" When reading this I, myself, was convicted and challenged to love on those who I do not love. But another thought came to mind, what does it look like to love? I sat there and prayed and thought about the Bible and GOD and HIS love for us. Thinking, I realized love started at creation. Without the love of GOD and HIM wanting to pour HIS love into us there would have been no life. We see the love of GOD in the story of Abraham and the promise HE gave and fulfilled with HIS son JESUS. We see the ultimate love with the sacrifice of HIS only begotten son so that we sinners could once again have life. Love is all throughout the Bible from the beginning of time and through all eternity. I had one more question, what does love look like in my own life? I was lead to 1st Corinthians 13:4-7 and it says, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." I changed out the word love and substituted my name into it. WOW was I blown away to see I was far from loving. I came to one conclusion . . . love is not about me! DUH? But seriously love, real love, is truly sacrificing you own personal desires, wants, and needs to insure your brothers and sisters are growing and getting the love they need! We all need to HUMBLE ourselves to each other and ask for forgiveness if we have done wrong so we can have a fresh start at loving one another in Christ! Christ died in humiliation for us so we can humiliate ourselves to each other for love. All I have to say now is I have a lot of growing to do. Blessings!

IN HIM,
STEVEN

You Don't Get to Choose

2010-08-25T10:28:00.000-06:00

The last few weeks at theSHIFT we’ve been in a series called Back to the Basics. The series is focused on the most basic and important command that Jesus gives (that being Luke 10:27 - Love the Lord your God and Love your neighbor). Steven Frausto (Blog) is leading the series and will write a series reCAP blog, so I don't want to take away from that by going too deep into it, but I wanted to address one specific thing that we talked about this past Sunday.

The topic was “Loving Each Other Through the Holy Spirit.” We got into a lot of great discussion about what that means and what it looks like to worship in spirit and in truth, but one of the most poignant moments of the discussion (for me) revolved around 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 in the context of loving other. It says:

For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

While studying for this lesson the word that hit me was “compels.” I was pretty sure I knew what it meant, but looked it up anyway. It means “to force to a course of action.” Then I started thinking, “So Christ's love forces us to do stuff.” So I looked up “force,” which means, “power to influence, affect, or control.”

When we accept and have Christ's love it powerfully influences us to a course of action...that being to love and serve others. It doesn't just force you into an action, but actually changes who you are at your very core. It no longer becomes a matter of what you should do, but what you ought to do. It becomes who YOU are, or rather who CHRIST is in you. If Christ lives in you, you have no choice in the matter, you WILL be a new person. Romans 5:17 says,

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

That transformation can only come from Christ in you and only when you choose to submit to Him. So with all that said I can get to the real point...Christ replaces you. He destroys who YOU were and replaces it with who He is.

One of those ways of submitting to Christ is through prayer. There is a TON that can be said about prayer and I'm not gonna even scratch the surface of it. But since we're talking about loving others, prayer is a huge part of that. Prayer is one of the ways that we can lay aside our desires and seek those of God.

I’m going to confess something and it may make people gasp in disbelief, but understand this…I’m a flawed and fallen man (just like everyone else), constantly in need of God’s grace and mercy and through my daily seeking of Christ He makes me the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21) and causes me to look more like Him. So here it is…I don’t always like everyone. There are some people; they have even been in theSHIFT, that I’ve thought, “Man I do not like that person. I wish they would leave.” With that said I know that’s not ok and I seek God to change that in me daily.

BUT…EVERY time I’ve felt like that (and some took longer than others), because I love Christ and I desire to love His people, I didn’t just let those feelings settle. Instead, I would seek God on it, ask Him to reveal the deeper issue, pray that God would lead me through it, sought wise counsel from those in authority over me and those close to me, and then I would go to that person. But I would go to them in love, not to attack them. Here’s what I found…through all that God didn’t change the other person, He changed me. He changed my heart for the person, exposed my short comings as they related to that particular person and changed the way I saw that person. Every time I sought God (with the right motives and truly seeking His heart) I changed, not the other person

Here’s the bottom line: Some of those people are still doing the same junk that annoyed me before, but that’s not for me to be concerned with and really it doesn’t bother me anymore. My concern is that there are things that God still needs to change in my heart. Because I love God and I desire His heart, I submit myself to Him and allow Him to replace me. In submitting to Christ and seeking His character, the Holy Spirit changes you and you start seeing people as God sees them: as the object of His affection and love. If you submit to Christ and accept His love, you will be compelled to love others the same way He loves you…you WON’T have a choice.

Glad I don’t get to choose,
Bruce

LCCC Freshman Move-In Day

2010-08-23T16:01:00.000-06:00

I just wanted to take a moment to share what God has been doing at theSHIFT and some of our plans for this upcoming school year. By far one of the most exciting events so far in 2010 (for me anyway) happened this past Saturday, August 21. theSHIFT had the opportunity to serve the 210 incoming Laramie County Community College (LCCC) Freshmen as they moved into the dormitory.

In preparing for Move-In Day, fourteen SHIFTers got together on Thursday evening and put together “Freshman Survival Kits.” The kits, contained in a mesh laundry bag, had stuff like a copy of Mark Batterson’s book, In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day, a Christian CD, pencils, highlighters, candy, granola bars, stress relief tips and a couple other items. We were able to partner with the Director of Campus Crusade for Christ at Colorado State University, Christian Rainbolt, who provided the CDs, some of the books and the mesh bags. It was stinking awesome to have him come up and be part of it.

Then the big day arrived. On Saturday morning, at about 7:15am a few of us met at LCCC and prayed over the dormitory grounds. By 9am we had about seventeen SHIFTers there pumped to serve our college community. It started off a little slow, but within the hour there wasn’t a SHIFTer that wasn’t busy. We spent the day unloading cars, moving stuff into dorm rooms, handing out Survival Kits, connecting with the students and their parents and just being there for them. As I watched the SHIFTers work, I’m not ashamed to say; twice I was moved to tears. They WERE the hands and feet of Jesus (I’m certain of it because both of mine hurt by the end of the day). They were there serving and loving people without exception or expectation; and you could see it in every interaction that occurred.

Countless times I heard parents and students say how amazing it was that we cared enough to be there to help, what a blessing it was, or how much Element is impacting this community. I had one mother tell me it made her “weepy” that we would give our time to help. The Dean of Students walked up to a group of SHIFTers during lunch and thanked them over and over saying that us being there was so important to the incoming students. The kitchen staff made an awesome spaghetti lunch based on the number of students that were around last year at lunch time. We had moved so many students in the morning that by lunch time, there were very few around to eat the spaghetti. (I kind of feel bad about that one, although we ate well). As we wrapped up for the day, at about 3:30pm, we had welcomed and moved about 180 of the incoming students. The Hall Director, Jason, said that it went so much smoother than last year and was a lot more efficient.

All that to say this…we went there with one mission: to serve and love LCCC. Mission accomplished! I am so proud and thankful to have the honor of leading this group of college and 20somethings. They radiate the love of Christ and its contagious!

There is a bunch more to come this school year, stuff like movie nights, dinners, a concert (The Ineloquent on September 11th) and other opportunities to serve, so stay connected to FB, twitter and the website.

So Stoked, Bruce

SHIFT Series reCAP: theVISION (Part 2)

2010-08-11T14:08:00.000-06:00

Here's part 2.

Week Two - What We Do & Why We Do It

This is what God has called theSHIFT to do for the college/20 somethings in Cheyenne & Laramie County.

A. To connect with them where they’re at in life.
It doesn't matter what a person may be dealing with, whether it be home sickness, a broken relationship, questioning their faith, or if everything is going well, we are here to connect to them. Jesus met people where they were at. So many times in the NT Jesus went to where people we’re to meet their needs. Whether it be healing a blind man, calling a tax collector or fisherman, or forgiving an adulterer of their sin, He connected Himself to them and brought them up from where they were. The way that theSHIFT is set up promotes connection on both levels and is intended to lead to community. Our Sunday night experience is vital to this connection. We will always look for way to not only make our Sunday night relevant, but revolutionary to people’s life. Sunday is where we have an opportunity to introduce people to the idea of a community that loves them.

B. To provide a community of acceptance, where love is experienced.
It doesn’t matter what a person does, or what they believe. If they are in this city, in this demographic, we are called to be community for them. We aim to accept people where they are. Jesus spent His time with people that society had deemed unworthy and sinful. In Mark 2:15 it says this about Jesus, “Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.)” We are to love the hurting without expectation. That means we can’t expect someone that is hurt to love us back, but we still love them and provide a place that challenges them to grow in that love and give it to others.

C. To challenge them to grow.
We also desire to have a love that isn’t relevant, but revolutionary. Revolutionary means that we are “introducing radical change.” That means we want our love to challenge people to come to know personally a growth that changes them in a radical way. The idea being that no longer do people associate love as this feeling that can fade out, but as this power from Christ that lives inside us and changes everything about the way that we see His people.

So why do we do what we do? Here the three simple answers:

a. We love them. We are loved by Christ, so we are called to love others. (That’s it)

b. We’re called to it. Christ called us to serve others and take the Good News to them. This is the group we’re called to serve & reach.

c. We see a need. 76% of college / 20 somethings are searching for meaning and when they don’t find it, they turn to drinking, sex, and some of them give up and end it. They are hurting themselves, hurting each other and they are literally DYING for what we have! We CANNOT and will NOT keep Christ to ourselves!

Week 3 – When We’re Called & How To Respond

Christ calls all of us to these three things (there’s more, but we’ll focus on these):

1. Called to Righteousness.

2. Called to Love God and others.

3. Called to be His witnesses.

When you get to that place where you feel like God is leading you through these three things and you feel called to theSHIFT as a place that you receive community, but you feel like there’s more. More challenge, more to give, how can you answer that call?

Here’s some ways: Sunday Night (Set Up, people at the door, hospitality), Outreach/Events (Service, MESS), Life Groups (Expo-night).

Ask a family member for other ways.

Week four – Where We’re Called To

The simple answer is Cheyenne and Laramie County, WY. The last week we wrapped up with going into our community and serving together. We call it Planned Acts of Kindness or PAKs (previously known as Random Acts of Kindness). We are called not only to serve the college/20 somethings in our area, but to also serve with them.

I am so STOKED for what God is going to do through theSHIFT in our community this year! It’s gonna be SWEET!

Radical – Not Relevant,
Bruce

SHIFT Series reCAP: theVISION (Part 1)

2010-08-10T21:52:00.000-06:00

(We're going to do this in two parts because I couldn't decide on what I could cut out an get the same message across.)

We just wrapped up our series called theVISION. The focus of the series was to lay out the vision that God has given to theSHIFT for serving the college/20 something community in Cheyenne & Laramie County, Wyoming. We spent three weeks talking about who we are, what we do, why we do what we do, how to answer God when He calls you and where we’re called to serve. So here’s the summary:

Week One – Who We Are

1. We are an Element Church Ministry. This means that we are under the authority and protection of Element Church. We will never teach in contradiction to Element Church, nothing crazy like “the mother ship will soon be here to take us home.” What this doesn't mean is that we are restricted from discussing the things that we need to talk about to help in our “shift” during this time of our life. You can view Element’s Mission, Vision and Core Values on their website (HERE).

Here are theSHIFT’s Mission, Vision and Core Values:

Mission: To connect Cheyenne's college/20 somethings to each other and ultimately with Christ.

Vision: To IMPACT our city's college/20 somethings in such a way that the “shift” into adult life is facilitated by a community of acceptance in which Christ's love is freely and fully experienced.

Core Values:
Connection: We all desire to be known. To be part of something that has both meaning and importance. A place in which others recognize us as individuals, but accept us as part of a group. theSHIFT provides a place with an atmosphere that is both inviting and approachable. Our Core Value of Connection fits within the Element one of Significance.

Community: When we feel like we're part of a group & accepted for who we are, then we start to care about those we are connected to. We begin to desire the best for others and the group as a whole. Within community you are able to invest in people and give to something bigger than you. Within community we get to experience love, loss, success, & failure together. We get to live life together and experience Christ with one another. Our Core Value of Community fits within the Element ones of Life, Family, Worship & Allegiance because Community is where all this is experienced. Community provides a culture in which all of this, to include accountability, fellowship and servant-hood occur naturally.

Challenge: It is natural to desire growth. When we are accepted into a community that loves us, we accept that others in that community will push us to be better. Community encourages us to challenge each other to grow. Challenge encourages us to look at where we are in our connection to others, but more so in our connection to Christ. Challenge causes us to desire more. More connection, more community, more Christ. Our Core Value Challenge fits within the Element one Change.

2. We are a College Ministry. This means we are here to serve the college community in the city of Cheyenne and Laramie County, specifically at Laramie County Community College (LCCC).

3. We are a 20 somethings Ministry. We are also called to serve Cheyenne & Laramie County’s young (20 something) adult community. Through reaching the students at LCCC we will be connected to other 20 somethings throughout our area.

4. We are a Ministry. We will ALWAYS preach the Gospel and point to the redemptive work that Christ did on the cross and the life available to us through His resurrection, though we are undeserving. We will NEVER compromise on this or apologize for it.

That was just the first week. Tomorrow I'll post Part 2 which will cover the other three weeks.

Believing in theVISION,
Bruce

Life Group Expo Night - Summer Session 2010

2010-06-02T17:45:00.000-06:00

This past Sunday we held our first ever Life Group Expo. It was the kickoff event for our upcoming Summer Session that starts this Sunday, Jun 6th. Let me just say, and I'm a little bias, but it was off the stinking CHAIN!!! I'm not the only one that thought so either. I got to talk with a number of people that thought it was pretty sweet. And a number of SHIFT First Time Guests signed up for a few Life Groups, which all by itself is pretty awesome.

We started the night with me sharing about what Christ has called us to as a community of believers and what community within theSHIFT looks like (HINT: the goal is that it looks like it does in the Bible) and how Life Groups fit in to community. Here are some of the high points of what we talked about:

• Community is more than just showing up on Sundays and talking with each other.
• Community allows us to come together and live life together, By living life together we are able to experience love and loss, happiness and sadness, success and failure together, we are able to experience life in Christ together.
• Christ said, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35, NLT)
• If you don’t feel close to God hopefully the community can lift you up whether in prayer or even by just being there for you.
• Through community we are able to build each other up and serve one another. A Community mindset also keeps us from the pitfalls of cliques and selfishness.
• We are called to live in community. Paul wrote, “You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.” (Eph 4:4-6, The MSG)
• How do we live in community? For some people it may be as simple as becoming more involved with theSHIFT. By being available and serving the College/20 somethings community in Cheyenne.
• A great start for some people may be to simply engaging more in the discussions in breakout groups, maybe serving in the available outreach opportunities. If that isn’t a challenge for you then maybe it’s time to start attending a life group.
• Life groups are smaller community.
• They provide a place for a more intimate connection with others that are “SHIFTing”.
• Life groups are about living life together.

So here’s the list of available Life Groups. You can also find them on theSHIFT website (HERE).

Talmadim
Lead: Austin (307.421.6601)
Co-Lead: Steven
Info: Mondays, 7pm at Steven’s

Band of Brothers
Lead: Jared (307.640.6452)
Co-Lead: Kyle
Info: Mondays, 7pm at Bruce’s

Escaladies
Lead: Lacy (308.289.6493)
Co-Lead: Brook
Info: Mondays, 7pm at Lacy’s

S.O.S.
Lead: Sheri (307.760.3509)
Co-Lead: Christy
Info: Tuesdays, 6:30pm at Sheri’s

On The Brink
Lead: Dani (307.921.9462)
Co-Lead: Sean
Info: Wednesdays, 6:30pm at the Brink’s

Pursuit
Lead: Thomas (307.220.3340)
Co-Lead: Bruce
Info: Wednesdays, 7pm at Bruce’s

Release
Lead: Jeremiah (307.214.4395)
Co-Lead: Tori
Info: Every other Saturday (Starting Jun 5, 2010), 9am at Starbuck's on Central Ave.

theTEMPLE
Lead: Andel (562.704.9339)
Co-Lead: Brook
Info: Saturdays, 9am at Tony’s

For info on attending, meeting location or stuff you just wanna know about a specific Life Group feel free to contact the above leaders at the number next to their name or email us at theshift@elementweb.net. For general info about or interest in starting a Life Group, contact our Connection/Community Director Thomas at 307.220.3340.

I am excited to see God work through these groups for His glory.

In Him,

Bruce

SHIFT Series reCAP: You Don't Have What It Takes

2010-06-02T01:46:00.000-06:00

In this last series, “You Don’t Have What it Takes”, we discussed our inabilities to accomplish everything in our lives “on our own”. Stop and think for just a minute about the obligations and requirements that you have to accomplish this month. Not just the little tasks that you have today but ultimately the huge responsibility of building relationships and the Call of God to wherever He is leading you. The real point of coming to the realization of our inadequacy isn’t to bring doubt upon our ability but to bring reliance and trust on God as our highest support. He doesn’t want us worrying about pleasing everyone or what our future holds or even what our “calling” is. What he really wants is for us to take those things out of our immediate (and noticeably) fallible control and place them in His more than capable hands.

Think of it this way, would you like to pick the perfect spouse based on your ideas of perfection or allow Him to develop the person He wants for you, do you want to spend the next 8 years of your life striving and killing yourself to develop a career that’s worth bragging about to your friends but miss out on what God asked you to accomplish this week? This is the heart of not living life “our way”. The challenge to us is finding what areas in our lives are not partnerships with Christ and allowing Him to disrupt our authority. Finally, what freedom can come from giving up on the attempt to accomplish everything in life on our own steam?

Thomas

The Three C’s by: Tomas Hogan

2010-05-09T14:35:00.000-06:00

There are three things that we should be focusing on in this season at theSHIFT. These things speak di-rectly to the purpose and vision of what God wants to do through us in Cheyenne. Those three things won’t come as a surprise to many of you; they are interwoven throughout the blogs, social networks, conversations, and relationships that currently make up our ministry. But these three concepts need to be more than promoted they need to become ingrained in theSHIFT culture, so that when outsiders ap-proach us these are the evident actions of our group. Are you ready? Here goes:

Connection - Community - Challenge

These three things are integral to building the ministry that doesn’t just exist but thrives. I’m going to break these down briefly and show how they impact us in theSHIFT.

A Connection: It doesn’t matter if you’re a founding attendee of theSHIFT or this is your first visit, connection is what theSHIFT is about. From an initial connection by reaching out and finding what you’re into, to the lasting connection of engaging you as part of the group and hearing your story, we build this group solely on connection. The leaders within theSHIFT are approachable, but even more so the atmosphere we create should be inviting and approachable. There are superficial connections like what kind of music you like or our appearances and that’s not what we’re getting at. Instead we should be constantly look-ing for ways to relate and share with each other despite our appearances and differences, this mindset exalts Christ and helps resolve conflict before it arises. Our ability to recognize others and make them feel connected is one of the great successes of this ministry. TheSHIFT itself is promoted, sustained, and grow-ing because of connection, we haven’t gone out of our way to make posters and do fund raising be-cause “shifters” themselves do all that without anyone specifically asking them to. It is truly up to us as individuals to impact the growth and direction of the shift and that is acted out in connection. The many connections built in theSHIFT create our community.

A Community: TheSHIFT is building community. Community is our thing. We want to experience love, loss, life, and Christ together . Community for us is more than a large group that shows up and talks together; in-stead we truly have an investment in the people that are “Shifting” with us. Through connecting on a personal level (not with everyone but at least with someone) we experience faith in a way that isn’t dis-tant or abstract but immediate and meaningful for wherever you are in life right now. If you don’t feel close to God hopefully the community can lift you up whether in prayer or even by just being there for you. This kind of community can’t be taught it must be experienced. A Community mindset also keeps us from the pitfalls of cliques and selfishness. One of the ways we can practice community is by making our-selves available within theSHIFT. A great start for some people may be to simply engage more in the dis-cussions in breakout groups, if that isn’t a challenge for you then maybe it’s time to start attending a life group, there is one available for whatever your commitment level. Finally if you’re already engaging in the active role of Sunday night and you are currently attending a life group, maybe the next step for you in helping us build community is to “join the family” if you’re curious about what that means approach someone in theSHIFT and ask. Community is what Christ has “called” us to here in Cheyenne, and com-munity is what the church throughout the New Testament aspires to.

A Challenge: This is a tough one, the idea of challenge may not seem to be appealing to some people but if you spend any time at all listening to the heart of others you will quickly find that challenge is the one thing we all have in common, whether it’s school, work, family, church, the past, the present, or the fu-ture, we are all overcoming challenge, being challenged, or preparing for challenge. In this context we need to be conscious through the eyes of community and connection of the people around us and to an even greater extent to help one another navigate challenges by simply being “there”. It’s the main reason we rarely cancel a Sunday night and why we try to create opportunities outside of Sunday to come to-gether. Furthermore, Challenge isn’t just for us it’s also part of outflow. God wants us to grow, to mature, and to give ourselves to others so that they, in turn, can grow, mature, and give themselves away. The Great Commission is built on this principle. Go and make disciples. Challenge should be the one thing we reference only second to the bible itself in order to understand our development. The Holy Spirit Chal-lenges us and we challenge each other, theSHIFT was made for this very idea.

Whew, that was a lot I know. There is a final “C” that is invisible but must be pointed out. Christ Himself. Connection without Christ is temporary not eternal. Community without Christ is a social gathering not spirit and truth. And Challenge without Christ is drudgery and not meaningful. Let’s start making theSHIFT a place that is growing in these things.

Lead by Listening

2010-03-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

I spent some time at Starbucks with my friend Sean this morning and he said something that had BLOG written all over it.

We were talking about leadership and I was telling him how I feel that everyone is called to lead. They may not be called to be the speaker. They may not be called to be the one “in charge.” But all of us are called to lead. Lead by our prayers. Lead by our faithfulness. Lead through our love. Lead through our passion. Lead by example.

Then he said that we are also called to LEAD BY LISTENING… what a concept! Everyone sees leadership as talking and sharing and being in front. What about demonstrating Christ’s love and leading others toward relationship with Him by truly listening to what people have to say? When we listen, we GIVE something that we CANNOT give by talking – EMPATHY (sharing another being’s emotions and feelings). We can give advice. We can give knowledge. We can even give encouragement. But we cannon give empathy unless we are willing to listen.

And that is what most people want. They want to be known... They want to be understood... They want to be cared about...

Lead by listening... to this YOU are called.

Sunday Recap

2010-03-12T01:10:00.000-07:00

- theSHIFT continues to amaze me! Every week I get to meet new people that are excited about getting to know Christ better!
- TRUE[ish] has been a great series thus far. We had our most challenging week yet this past Sunday when we talked about Jesus as the only way to heaven. We emphasized that your spiritual sincerity will do NOTHING for you come judgment day.

- Lifegroups have surged! There are now almost 30 Shifters that are connected to lifegroups each week… and many of them attend more than one! As far as connection and community are concerned, lifegroups are where it’s at!

- I am SO excited about theFAMILY reunion… can’t stop talking/thinking about it. Heather must think I’m crazy!

NEXT WEEK:
Last week of TRUE[ish]… talking about the myth that something is true as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone. Sean Brink is going to be leading at LCCC while theFAMILY is in Canon City. So excited about what God is doing with that guy!

COMING UP:
theSHIFT is going to The Thorn in Colorado Springs on Apr 3rd! For more info, follow the link. This production is mind-blowing. Seriously. Mind…. Blown!

Live the Truth

2010-03-06T14:16:00.000-07:00

theSHIFT is in the middle of a series about man's search for TRUTH. We've spent the last few weeks dispelling myths about truth and discovering how we can search for it more effectively.

Today I read a quote from Mark Batterson's book Primal, that made made me think about how we actually define "truth." He says, "the truth must be reincarnated in every culture in every generation." Now, we just talked about how the truth cannot be relative this past week. So how can we find truth in this statement if truth is indeed absolute?

Here's an analogy. Think about the "truth" about dating. Throughout most of human history, arranged marriages were the norm, and it wasn't until the 1800's that the concept of two people going on dates with each other became popular. Today, if you asked 10 people what dating means, you would get 10 different answers. Why? It would depend on what country they are from, what part of the country, what ethnicity they are, what their socioeconomic background is, etc, etc. The truth about dating requires CONTEXT.

In the same way, our search for spiritual, moral, and intellectual truth requires CONTEXT. Does the truth change? NO! Is it based on my happiness, my sincerity, my feelings? NO! Does it look different in different cultures, different generations, different CONTEXT? Definitely!

When we read the Bible, I think it's important to recognize the CONTEXT in which it was written. Who wrote it? What audience was it written to? What time period was it written in? Why was it written? All of these are very important questions as we seek for truth in God's Word.

In the same way, let us search for truth within the context of our lives so that we may LIVE THE TRUTH and not just know about it.

Sunday Recap

2010-03-02T07:48:00.001-07:00

Alright, this is gonna cover more than just theSHIFT because Sunday was just amazing all around.

Started it off hanging out with Morgan at Starbucks... love that guy!

Got to church and spent time with my favorite people... theSHIFTers of course!

In third service, I had the opportunity to baptize Brook Yearsley. First time I had ever done that. Brought tears to my eyes knowing that her obedience will affect hundreds, maybe thousands! I also reveled in watching Morgan get baptized by his dad. Obedience is SO POWERFUL!

Lunch at Taco Bell... no comment, it was Taco Bell.

On to theSHIFT!

- We had 50 on Sunday! Biggest group we've ever had!
- Topic was about our pursuit of happiness vs our pursuit of truth
- Love hearing what other Shifters bring to the table... there's so much wisdom in that crowd

- I've felt like the last few months has been about establishing structure and deeper roots
- time to start moving forward before complacency sets in
- momentum for theSHIFT is building again... I'm excited for what God's going to do next!

NEXT WEEK: Talking about truth vs sincerity. This series has generated such good discussion!

COMING SOON: ENTER is this Friday at 7pm! Family Reunion is less than 2 weeks away! End-of-year party in the works... it's gonna be sweet!

Love being a part of this... absolutely love it!

Sunday Recap

2010-02-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

-- Loved the feel of theSHIFT this week!
-- Instead of breaking into groups, we all stayed together and talked about our search for TRUTH
-- Fantastic insights! It's fun to teach.. but I absolutely love to learn!
-- I didn't really realize that I was the only one that gets to see and hear from all the different groups on a regular basis. I received several comments afterwards that referenced how great it was to hear from people that they weren't used to hearing
-- Might have to have discussions altogether a little more often
-- Felt great to have most of our regulars there on such a bad weather night

-- Can't wait to get back into break-out groups next week and see where God takes this new series - TRUE[ISH]
-- The big group brought a welcome change, but the small groups get the quieter folks to talk - love that!

NEXT WEEK: Is it THE TRUTH as long as it makes you happy?

COMING SOON: Volunteer Appreciation -- FAMILY REUNION, March 12-14! Can't wait!

Love you guys... and I'm gonna miss you when I'm gone!

Curtis

Sunday Recap

2010-02-18T22:42:00.000-07:00

-- Finished up our KALEO series last night by talking about our calling to MAKE DISCIPLES.
-- Discussion ranged from suicide prevention to street evangelism! I was excited to see the idea of fulfilling the Great Commission come alive in theSHIFTERS.

-- We had quite a few newcomers come and check us out on Sunday. Hope to see a good number return.
-- Seemed like a lot of regulars were missing this week. I'm looking forward to a normal week when everyone is there. I'm curious what that will look/feel like, since we haven't had that in awhile.

NEXT WEEK: Starting a series called TRUE[ISH] that deals with the different shades of gray that we deal with in our lives in regards to pursuing truth.

Monday Musings

2010-02-08T09:45:00.000-07:00

-- Non-standard night last night... watched the superbowl and just hung out for awhile. Nice to mix it up a bit...
-- Fun game to watch, and the commercials were humorous as always

-- Got some games of Bananagrams and Apples to Apples going that kept most of us occupied throughout the night
-- With the intention of improving our connections with each other, last night was a great step toward relationship building!

NEXT WEEK: Finishing up the KALEO Series, talking about our calling to MAKE DISCIPLES

COMING SOON: Next series is called TRUE[ISH] and starts Feb 21st.

Vision PLUS

2009-12-26T13:13:00.000-07:00

So I've been seeking God and asking for direction and vision for the future of theSHIFT. I now have all kinds of ideas and concepts swirling around in my brain. Some are of my own creation and some are of the Holy Spirit... but which ones are which?

I've found two particularly good ways of identifying what the Holy Spirit is saying. I know there are more, but these two are specifically at work in determining theSHIFT's future.

1. VERIFY WITH SCRIPTURE

If what you are feeling led to do is in line with what God says in His Word, you're probably on the right track.

FOR EXAMPLE:
We were praying about what moral standards we should hold our leaders to. We felt led to limit them to 3 basic things: avoid sexual immorality, drunkenness, and gossip. I wasn't sure if this was specifically Holy Spirit led until I read 1 Corinthians 5:9-11 in my devotions a few days ago.

9I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

So, unless you're a swindler or especially greedy, the 3 things we felt led to enforce with those that are "brothers" or "leaders" in theSHIFT were confirmed by the Scripture.

2. ASK THE OTHER PEOPLE INVOLVED

If several people are seeking God and getting the same ideas at the same time in different places, chances are, you aren't all making it up (the Holy Spirit is at work).

This one blew my mind! As the leader, so many leadership books emphasize telling your people what the vision is. So I passed on some of the vision that I felt like God was calling theSHIFT to, and I slowly got "buy in" from the people that are committed to the group.

Then one day, I felt like I should ask what THEIR vision was for theSHIFT. What I received was VISION PLUS! Not only did I hear confirmed what God was conceiving in my heart, I heard vision that was even bigger than I had imagined. And instead of looking for "buy in", it was already there!! Because it wasn't my just my vision, it was THEIRS!

So excited about what God is doing... and so excited that I'm not making this up! :)

Curtis

Tidal Wave

2009-12-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

Since we started theSHIFT in October of 08, I have felt like we have been “building” a ministry from the ground up. As the leader of the group, I’ve been acting as the foreman with God as the owner. We’ve built the foundation through trial and error; and then, once we settled on a foundation, started to build the ministry.

We’ve tried hard to keep it simple. We’ve kept everyone working at tasks that they are capable of and that are not too overwhelming. We’ve had endless discussions about what the finished a product looks like, what the design should be, and what each of our roles should be in the building process.

About two months ago, a tidal wave hit our house! The waters of the Holy Spirit came slowly at first. They reached our ankles and our knees and we obliviously kept on building. Then, all of a sudden, we found ourselves crashing down a mighty, roaring river!

The wave was not created, nor is it sustained by our abilities or talents. The Holy Spirit has taken charge of what we’re doing AND where we’re headed!

I have had at least 5 conversations in the last week with people that feel like God is on the brink of doing something crazy with theSHIFT. I kind of disagree. I think the craziness is already here!

Riding the Holy Spirit wave,
Curtis

Monday Musings

2009-12-07T21:47:00.000-07:00

After a long blogging hiatus, a 6-week business trip, and a whirlwind of God-inspired activity at theSHIFT, I'm back...

Last night was nothing short of incredible! It was so great to meet new Shifters that had been attending for a month and no idea who I was. As far as they were concerned, their leaders were Sean, Dani, Jonathan, Thomas, Jared, and Morgan. Who's this new guy?! Love that!

God is so much bigger than me. He's bigger than theSHIFT. He's bigger than Element. He's bigger than the American church. And He's bigger than the Body of Christ as a whole. To be exact... He's what this is all about!

If each of us will take up our own crosses and follow Jesus, what would this world be like?

I think it might be alot like theSHIFT that I saw last night... people loving each other, laughing, hugging, playing, caring, praying together. It was beautiful... It really was. Like a glimpse of what God wanted "the Church" to be all along.

I'm humbled to be a part of what God's doing with theSHIFT. I'm privileged to walk beside such talented and called folks. And I'm excited that the core of theSHIFT now realizes that it will survive and thrive with or without me.

Can't wait to find out where God leads next!

One of MANY,
Curtis

Monday Musings

2009-10-05T17:32:00.000-06:00

The past few months have been a whirlwind for theSHIFT. Since I stopped blogging, everything has gone really well… not sure why I’m starting again. :)

Last night was tons of fun. We packed the house with 28… +10 panelists that gave us insight into how to create great relationships and keep them. Questions ranged from how to keep Christ first to awkward moments and personal anecdotes… laughter flowed freely

Quote of the night: “When you get older, a rub on the neck is just as great as wild sex (pause)… Almost”

One more week where we’ll be talking about RELATIONSHIPS and we’ll be moving on to a series on KINDNESS EVANGELISM… so excited for that series!

We wrapped up the night at my house… watching Princess Bride and talking about God into the wee hours of the morning. Lovin it!

I love being your pastor,

Curtis

The Warm Up

2009-08-14T20:14:00.000-06:00

Two weeks ago, I woke up at 4:45a on a Sunday morning so that I could meet the other pastors of Element Church for an early breakfast at 5:30a. Once we were done, it was too late to go home, so I got to the church quite a bit earlier than usual, around 6:40. That's when I started to pray. I had the opportunity to pray, praise, worship, and "warm up" until about 8 when people started showing up for first service.

My expectations were high.

I usually wait until 3rd service to 'attend' church, but my anticipation was off the charts. Jeff and Adam did not disappoint! The worship and message was SPOT ON! Great start to the day!

Second service was my chance to pray some more, and that's when I started getting rocked. I walked into the prayer room and suddenly I felt like I couldn't speak. The presence of God was thick. If you've felt THAT presence, you know what I mean. I ended up on my knees... still no words. About 5 minutes later I felt released to start praying. I prayed for Jeff and for those that would hear his words that morning... and then it was time for the 2nd altar call.

I found my place at the altar to pray for anyone that needed to respond. Praise God I had my chance! I prayed for a young man with tears in his eyes as he asked God to cleanse him from his sin. When he was done praying and walked away, I lost it. Tears pooled in my eyes as I realized the freedom that had just taken place at that altar. It was overwhelming!

Once I got myself composed, I exchanged pleasantries in the Lobby as I waited expectantly for the last service to begin.

Almost from the first note, I was on cloud nine. I felt like God's presence from the 2nd service was still lingering and I just couldn't wait to get some more. The tears flowed freely this time, unhindered by any embarrassment or pretense. It was as if God had come down specifically to meet me in the Northwest corner of the worship center! I was so absorbed, I almost forgot I needed to put Jeff's pulpit on the platform!

The altar call after 3rd service was similarly spectacular... and again, His presence was unmistakable.

Throughout the next week, I had some time to think about my experience. I went over the whole thing repeatedly in my mind... looking for something to attribute it to so that I could duplicate it again in the future. I discovered 2 things.

1. Experiences with God CANNOT be duplicated! Each one is special in its own way and the idea of reducing experiences with God to a 3-step formula is almost laughable.

2. A spiritual "warm up" is like BEGGING the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself to you! Although not a formula, "warming up" is like preparing to hunt a lion... except you're hoping to encounter the Lion of the Tribe of Judah! The preparation is crucial! We prayed for the XXXPOSED series weeks before it started, we sought God corporately the Friday before the first sermon, we got up early to break bread and meet God on Sunday morning, we prayed for/with others in pursuit of God's freedom and power. And then... it happened!

I pray that I will take the time to warm up regularly so that when God decides to reveal Himself, I won't be on my way to buy more oil! (Matthew 25:1-13)

Warming up,
Curtis

theSHIFT tonight

2009-08-09T22:04:00.000-06:00

-- Tonight was incredible!
-- Had a new record 28 Shifters tonight!
-- Heather and I gave testimonies about amazing experiences that we've had with God this past week. For me, it was at church last Sunday... praying for men to experience sexual freedom and realizing the impact that God was making in those moments (generations were changed by decisions prompted by the Holy Spirit that day - WOW!). For Heather, it was an experience with God on her way back from Colorado Springs on Thursday night. Read about that HERE. What an incredible story of surrender to whatever God is asking you to do on the spot!

-- We watched the NOOMA video called "Breathe"... what an awesome way to view God--professing His name with EVERY SINGLE BREATH!
-- We laughed. We cried. We prayed. Amazing!

-- Everyone had a great time at Heavenfest yesterday from what I've been told. I stayed home with the kids while Heather led the Shifters their and it sounds like it was awesome.

NEXT WEEK: Rockin another NOOMA with Jeremiah Karr at the helm. I have absolute confidence that he will rock it!

COMING SOON: Waterworld on Aug 22nd... clear your schedules! We're gonna have a blast!

Sunday Reflections

2009-07-14T11:02:00.000-06:00

Ok, so Sunday did not go exactly as we originally planned, but turned out to be a great night with theSHIFT.

Saturday night Curtis was called last minute to do some flying in Guernsey for the week, so theSHIFT was left leaderless. After some quick reconfiguring we decided to move our meeting to our house and just spend the evening hanging out.

20 people showed up and we spent most of the night playing Mafia. Now mafia is one of those games that takes total participation from the group...it's either a huge hit or a terrible flop. Sunday night it was definitely a hit. On a fun night you can play several times without getting bored...I think we played 8 times!!!

What did I learn in our fun-filled night?

Becca's only job is to die.
The "pinky swear" is no longer trustworthy.
Saying "potato" does more than just get the smoke from the campfire to redirect.
There can only be ONE sheriff.
Dani would do almost anything (10 extra pushups in boot camp) to make us believe she's not mafia.
It is not a good idea to chew gum while trying to silently kill people.
Jared and Lindsey should not sit near each other.
Kristin does not get along with gray socks.
John's full name rhymes with John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt...i think.

It was great hanging out with everyone. I feel so blessed to be a part of such an amazing group of people!!
Heather

Light in the Dark

2009-07-08T22:28:00.000-06:00

I was recently talking to a SHIFTer at Ruby Juice and he said something that rang so true to me that I had to blog it.

In the middle of telling me his testimony, he said “it’s easier to see the light in the darkness.”

Such a simple statement with such a profound truth!

Why is it that God seems to do His best transforming when we are completely broken? When we are devastated, frustrated, stressed-out?

When He is our only source of direction, there's no where else to go!

May I have no where else to go, that I run straight to the feet of Jesus.

Sunday Night Reflections

2009-07-07T18:58:00.000-06:00

-- Good times again Sunday night!
-- Seemed like a lot of regulars were gone for the holiday weekend, but we still had 19.

-- Talked about SERVING and kept it pretty short because I’m a firm believer that Serving is much better as an action than a discussion topic.
-- Heard some cool stories about people serving others and being served themselves.
-- Awesome comparison of Jesus as the greatest servant, whose example we should follow!
-- Serving isn’t only about money and material things… often the immaterial is even more valuable – a smile, a wave, time, a prayer, etc

NEXT WEEK: Starting a series on PASSION: WHAT DRIVES THE SOUL?
I can’t wait to get started!

COMING SOON: Camping trip this Friday/Saturday! Departing from LCCC @ 6pm. Email me for more info.

Sunday Night Reflections

2009-06-29T06:41:00.000-06:00

-- What a fun night!
-- We were a little down last night with 18, but we had the most fun and laughs we’ve had since we started!
-- We stayed in one group last night and talked about the importance of CONNECTION

-- We played a game called “Have you ever…” which got everybody a little winded and put smiles on our faces.
-- It was great to emphasize our similarities rather than or differences. Fun to see people make new friends and develop community within the group.
-- Talked about times in our lives where we have felt the most connected and one guy said that theSHIFT was the most connected he’s ever felt. Loved hearing that!
-- The same guy brought his parents and future sister-in-law to church on Sunday and she got saved! So cool to see God working.

NEXT WEEK:
Talking about SERVING… what’s the difference between doing good things and serving like Jesus did?

COMING SOON:
Camping Trip July 10-11! Want details? Email me or get them at theSHIFT next week. It’s gonna be an awesome time… hope to see you there!

H – The New Scarlet Letter

2009-06-23T23:08:00.000-06:00

The book “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is the story of a woman who is caught in adultery and forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest to signify her sin and to reveal to all her shame.

What I always found ironic about that story was the emphasis on her sin over all others. Now I understand that adultery is a terrible sin and the Scripture talks about how it affects more than just the individual, but why the “A”. Maybe we should be handing out L’s for lying, G’s for gossip, and S’s for Sabbath violators.

Well, today we have a new scarlet letter among conservatives and mainstream Christianity; and that is an H for homosexuality. There is so much fear, confusion and condemnation associated with this sin that all other sins appear to be insignificant. Make no mistake, homosexual ACTS are sinful, as CLEARLY outlined in Scripture; but what if someone admits that they are tempted by homosexuality but chooses NOT to act?

Now I’m not claiming to have all the right answers (and I know this opens up a debate about the "nature vs nurture" aspect of homosexuality), but what if someone who rejects their homosexual temptations and someone who rejects their deceitfulness temptations are the same in God’s eyes? VICTORIOUS!

What if the propensity to sin that has run through all of our veins, since Adam, includes homosexual acts in the same way that it includes the sins that YOU struggle with (pornography, greed, hate, materialism, idolatry, bigotry, racism, lust, gossip, etc)?

Christ's blood covers their sins in the SAME WAY that it covers yours!

Maybe we should stop handing out sin letters and start loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. I don’t see anybody signing up for the EXCOMMUNICATE-ME-FROM-THE-CHURCH club... so please don’t sign up your homosexual neighbor.

Sunday Night Reflections

2009-06-22T18:33:00.000-06:00

-- God continues to amaze me with what He's doing with theSHIFT.
-- We had 25 last night and we were talking about our Personal Time with God!
-- Something seems to have struck a chord because the group seems to desperately want more of God.
-- they seem tired of living dull lives and want to know God in an intimate way.
-- I thank God endlessly for the opportunity to have ringside seats for lives being changed!

-- Our discussion about Personal Time with God centered around Quietness, Prayer, Bible Reading, and Journaling.
-- I'm supposed to be the teacher, but I'm amazed by how much I learn.
-- I was challenged by one young man with how much of God's Word that I've hidden in my heart, but now it's just hiding in there! Ready to be unleashed and applied!
-- I was challenged by another young lady with making my interactions with God "never ceasing" as it says in 1 Thessalonians.
-- Love talking about these "basic" topics that are so HUGE in our walks with Christ!

NEXT WEEK: Talking about CONNECTION and our need receive and share with others in order to grow.

COMING SOON: Park Clean-Up - Wednesday, 6pm, MLK park on Lincolnway and Missile Drive. Great opportunity to serve and hang out together!

Should We Offend?

2009-06-16T22:58:00.000-06:00

I’ve spent about half of my time as a Christian with no qualms about offending anyone. I wore the term “Jesus freak” with pride and my zeal knew no bounds. I justified my offending of others by claiming that as long as I was speaking truth, I was in the right. I felt like if I suffered for the sake of Christ, I was doing my duty and I was storing up treasures in heaven.

The other half of my Christian-life has been spent loving my neighbor as the 2nd greatest commandment tells us to do. I’ve made non-Christian friends, dined with “tax collectors and sinners”, and taken up the cause of the poor and downtrodden. I felt like I had seen and heard enough hell, fire, and brimstone to last a lifetime; and I didn’t want to be grouped with the intolerant, closed-minded crowd.

Offending people is a delicate issue, and both of the stances I’ve taken in my life have BIBLICAL merit. But as we look at the life and teachings of Jesus, I made an interesting discovery: He did BOTH! He unashamedly offended people with the gospel, while offering life instead of condemnation to those that needed it.

We have got to be more deliberate in how we handle this topic! It is one of the primary ways that non-Christians judge us. “But the Bible talks about judging”… non-Christians don’t know that!

There is a MAJOR difference between offending someone unnecessarily out of ignorance and offending them intentionally out of love! We need to do BOTH… the health of our ministries depends on it!

Sunday Night Reflections

2009-06-15T15:04:00.000-06:00

-- theSHIFT was great again last night
-- we had 23 that came, and a lot of the newcomers from last week returned. PTL!
-- talked about ACCOUNTABILITY and how it affects our lives as college/20 somethings
-- I love the opportunity to discuss... I mention a few things that God has taught me, and the rest of the time I get to learn. Sweetness!

NEXT WEEK:
Talking about Devotions/Personal time with God. This is a huge area of struggle for us, myself included!

COMING SOON:
Redo -- Saturday the 20th, we’re going hiking at Vedawoo. Meet at LCCC @ 9a if you want to go!

Undignified

2009-06-11T19:36:00.000-06:00

So I found this clip on Seth Godin's blog. And, while I was watching it and laughing to myself, I suddenly found myself getting emotional. Here's what my heart saw:

It saw a man in love with Jesus - raw, zealous, unashamed.

It saw another man, in love with the Savior, that needed a friend that had passion and conviction.

It saw a third man who was afraid of what people might think, but couldn't hide his faith any longer.

And then it saw the crowd - searching for truth, looking for meaning, needing something to make them come alive.

And suddenly they found it, a few first at first... and then the floodgates were opened! -- hundreds and thousands realizing that Jesus is the only way for them to be fully alive!

In 2 Samuel, King David said, "I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes."

How undignified are you willing to be for God?

How undignified was He willing to be for you?

The Devil Doesn't Need an Advocate

2009-06-10T22:43:00.000-06:00

The Scripture says that Satan walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. I don’t think he needs our help! He would love nothing more than to have people here on earth who will do his bidding.

-- Satan appreciates people who are complacent about their faith.
-- He benefits from our extremes of self-conceit and self-destruction.
-- He enjoys those that like to argue about theology just to argue... while people are dying and going to hell.
-- He takes pleasure in Christians that tear other Christians down.
-- He loves people who are nay-sayers for God-sized dreams.

The devil already has plenty of advocates. Let’s not be one of them.

Sunday Night Reflections

2009-06-08T18:28:00.000-06:00

-- Wow… what a night!
-- We had 24 last night and still had some regulars missing!
-- Not sure where all the girls came from, but we’ve averaged about 4 per week so far and then suddenly we had 12! It was sweet to have the group so balanced.

-- Ironically, with so many new people, our topic was the most depressing we’ve done: Death. We watched a 10-minute video and then broke into 2 groups for discussion.
-- My group was relatively somber as we talked about how to deal with death; and we spent some time talking and about living life to its fullest with an emphasis on relationships. We also spent some time in prayer about dealing with someone that is dying and doesn’t know Jesus (makes my heart break).
-- The other group, led by Bruce, ended up talking about suicide and all the eternal issues associated with it. They had some great conversation about how Satan influences our view of death and uses our fear and doubt to manipulate the way in which we live our lives. (When our group joined them, they said they could have talked for 2 more hours if not interrupted… sorry guys!)
-- Amazing how different the conversations were, but how they each were effective in their own way.
-- Wrapped up our formal time together pretty quick, and then the conversations continued for another hour or so.
-- Went to Shari’s for the after-party… great to see community being built!

NEXT WEEK:
We are mixing it up a little bit and getting away from NOOMA. We’ll be talking about some more practical and less intellectual topics in the next few weeks.

COMING SOON:
Saturday the 13th, we’re going hiking at Vedawoo. Meet at LCCC @ 9a if you want to go!

Sunday Night Reflections

2009-05-31T22:53:00.001-06:00

-- Tonight was the first Sunday night we've met. It had a little different feel to it, but for the most part it seemed about the same.
-- We had our biggest turnout tonight with 17. I think the switch to Sundays will work out well for most people's schedules.

-- The topic for this week was "Rhythm"
-- The video made a comparison between God and music. Interestingly, most people didn't really like the analogy that much.
-- We spent a good amount of time just talking about the greatness of our God and how He can't be limited by our feeble analogies. There were some really great points made!
-- We did some critical analysis of the theology from the video too... talked about Eph 2:8-9 which focuses on grace and faith, instead of works, as the only way we can make it to Heaven

NEXT WEEK: Talking about death and how it affects us all - some pretty deep stuff.

COMING SOON: theSHIFT outreach event - Park Clean-Up, June 20th

Friday Night Reflections

2009-05-24T10:58:00.000-06:00

-- this was the last Friday night for awhile.
-- During the summer I'll be writing Sunday Night Reflections because theSHIFT is moving from Fridays to Sundays for the summer
-- Two major reasons for the change: 1. lots of people work and make plans for Friday nights in the summer 2. when we have invited people on Sunday morning, its much easier to forget by the time Friday rolls around

-- This week we talked about the secret junk that we have in our lives.
-- I shared a personal story about a secret that I've kept from everyone but my wife for the past 8 years! extremely tough, but healthy.

NEXT WEEK: Talking about Rhythm. I'm really excited about this Sunday. Lots of people have said that Sundays will be a lot better for them, so I hope we'll get a good turnout.

Wherever you are, BE ALL THERE

2009-05-06T02:05:00.000-06:00

About a month ago, I was talking to Morgan Clark about his experience in Colorado Springs, and I asked him about what God had been teaching him. Without pause, he said... "wherever you are, BE ALL THERE." He went on to tell me all sorts of other things that He'd been learning and realizing, but that one sentence in particular struck me.

Being in the military, my wife and I spend a good amount of time planning and plotting where the Air Force will move us next. Where will we go? What kind of job will I have? Will I have to deploy? How should we prepare for the future?

I feel like I've been asking a lot of the wrong questions... maybe these questions would be more appropriate... How can I be a better husband, NOW? a better father, NOW? a better pastor, NOW? a better pilot, NOW?

If we deal with today, with what God has called us to now... we allow our future to be in His hands instead of our own. Does that mean I shouldn't plan ahead? NO! But it does mean that my plans are not necessarily His plans and the more room I leave for Him to do His thing, the better off I'll be.

While I'm in Cheyenne... while I have small children...while I'm in the Air Force... while I'm at Element... while I'm leading theSHIFT... God has called me to BE ALL HERE!

This is the only place that I KNOW that God has specifically called me to! Why do I spend so much time worrying about what's next?

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” - Epicurus

Trust Me

2009-05-04T08:17:00.000-06:00

About a week ago, I was listening to some guys at work rant about people that sign up for the National Guard and then are upset when they get called up to serve overseas. They want the government to give them benefits and money for college, but they don't want to follow through with their commitment. They went on and on about their frustrations, and I just kinda laughed, agreed, and walked away.

Moments later, God and I had a talk... silent but specific. Went something like this:

God: They're talking about you.

Me: How so?

God: You made a commitment to the Air Force when you decided to go to pilot training and now you're trying to get out of it.

Me: But that's because that's what I felt like You wanted me to do then. Now I feel like You're calling me to do something else.

God: That is what I wanted you to do. I also want you to follow through with your commitments. Don't confuse calling

(this is where I went downhill)

Me: Then why am I feeling called to ministry while I still owe the Air Force 7 more years? I mean... God, I don't know if you knew it or not, but these are the best years of my life! You could use me so effectively right now!

This deal at Element is as good as it gets. Why would you waste my potential on the Air Force?

God: Seriously?

Me: Seriously

God: I knew about the Air Force... and about pilot training... and about Element long before you did.

I lined things up just right so that you would be right here, right now

Me: interrupting (never good with God)... I know, and thanks, but I'll take it from here.

God: You underestimate what I'm capable of. I've done a pretty decent job up until now, haven't I?

Me: yes

God: then fulfill the commitment that
you've made... and TRUST ME

Trusting,
Curtis

Friday Night Reflections

2009-05-03T17:09:00.000-06:00

-- After a couple weeks off, it was nice to be back to normal this past Friday
-- We talked about being a disciple of Jesus and about different interpretations of Scripture
-- For those that wanted to go a little deeper... this was deeper and more mentally challenging than usual. Great to hear some new voices in theSHIFT crowd!

RELAY RECAP:
-- Last week we participated in the Relay For Life. For those that are unfamiliar, it is a walking relay to raise money and awareness in the fight against cancer.
-- We raised over $200 and collectively walked over 20 hours! not bad for our first time.
-- It was a great chance to get to know each other better and support a great cause
-- More about that night on our facebook page HERE

NEXT WEEK: Talking about Evangelism... the good, the bad, the ugly.

5 Lessons from Preaching

2009-04-27T23:04:00.000-06:00

1. It is tiring!... My respect for Jeff's ability went up a few points on Sunday when I realized just how mentally and physically tiring it is to preach 3 times in a row. I've heard of pastors preaching as many as 5 in row, every Sunday. THAT'S INSANE!

2. Without God, it's worthless.... I've seen a lot of preachers in my day... some good, some bad. But what I realized in preparing to speak yesterday is that no matter how good you are at preaching... if you aren't saying something that God has laid on your heart, YOUR WORDS ARE USELESS! Anyone that benefited from what I said on Sunday, blame God... If you hated it, blame me.

3. If you can't learn from your mistakes, preaching is not for you... since we all make mistakes no matter how hard we try, we HAVE GOT TO LEARN FROM THEM! I have only spoken on a Sunday morning a few times, but my prayer is that every time I preach is more powerful and effective than the time before... because of the mistakes I've learned from.

4. It works best as a dialogue, not a monologue... A speaker thrives on the energy of the audience... just like a band thrives on the energy of the crowd. If you are not verbally and visually affirming what the speaker is saying, how is he supposed to know when he has struck a chord?

5. It is fun!... When you hear a pastor at Element say that he loves his job, he truly does. Are there tough times? Yes. But there is nothing more exciting and more rewarding than being used by God to escort people across the bridge from death to life. NOTHING!

Blog Vacation

2009-04-27T23:00:00.000-06:00

So, I've been on an unannounced blogging hiatus over the past couple weeks as I prepared to preach yesterday. Compliment that with having a newborn in the house, and it just wasn't happening. I posted a few times, but nothing that was well thought out or original.

But now my sermon is complete, my son slept through the night for the first time last night, and I'm back... so stay tuned and check back often. the blogs are coming.

sorry to be so inconsistent.

I'll let you know before I take a blog vacation next time...

-Curtis

My wife is brilliant

2009-04-24T12:59:00.000-06:00

Heather and I are reading through the Chronological One-Year Bible together and right now we're in the middle of David's life. I've found the Old Testament to be pretty tedious reading for the most part. I struggle to make good real-life connections with what I'm reading.

My wife, however, keeps finding these gems of wisdom that apply so well to our lives today. Her insight into the applicability of the scripture is incredible! Check out her blog HERE... you won't regret it.

theSHIFT is canceled tonight!

2009-04-17T13:38:00.000-06:00

LCCC has canceled all classes and activities for the day due to the weather. Therefore, we will not be meeting for theSHIFT tonight at LCCC. If you are bored and want to hang out, you are welcome at our house. We will probably start a movie around 8. Txt or call if you plan to come.

Have a great weekend!

Curtis (719-210-1388)

Resurrection Injection

2009-04-17T12:06:00.000-06:00

if it's not all about Jesus, WHO IS IT ABOUT?

Elevation Church Easter Opener from Elevation Church on Vimeo.

Friday Night Reflections

2009-04-12T21:02:00.000-06:00

-- This past Friday was the most intense discussion we've had yet... best turnout we've had so far too.
-- We talked about forgiveness... the wounds that we have in our lives, the revenge we've sought, the forgiveness we still need to give.
-- It was an awesome time of vulnerability and openness.
-- Maybe forgiveness isn't only for the offender but (and maybe more importantly) for the freedom of the victim... pretty deep stuff

-- Last week we talked about cutting noise out of our lives. So, I decided to take a break from blog reading/learning for a week. It takes up quite a bit of my time, and I wanted to give myself more opportunity to hear God's voice.
-- I thought it would be easy, but it's kind of addictive.. so it was harder than I expected.
-- God was faithful (isn't he always?). I'd been trying to figure out what I was supposed to preach about on April 26th for the "Generations" series and it was made clear to me. Guess I needed to STOP LEARNING for a few minutes and start LISTENING.

-- Anybody else have stories from cutting out the noise last week?

NEXT WEEK: Meeting in a different room at LCCC. Same entrance. First room on the right. We're gonna be talking about MONEY...

Friday Night Reflections

2009-04-07T01:53:00.000-06:00

sorry this is a few days overdue...

-- We had lots of fun Friday Night! Most laughs we've had since we started.
-- Our core people have been really consistent and we've started to see some community forming. One of our main goals for this ministry was to see young Christian adults create lifelong friendships and relationships... great to see that dream being realized!

-- Talked about NOISE tonight and how we try to fill our lives with it. Why does it bother us when it is silent? What makes music and other media so compelling?
-- Loved listening to everybody share on Friday... the group is starting to open up a little bit
-- Finished the night by talking about ways to cut out some of the noise in our lives... came up with some great ideas. I can't wait to hear testimonies next week!

-- We have 20 folks going to The Thorn next week! Excited for the event. Excited to hang out 2 days in a row this week!

-- NEXT WEEK: Discussing a topic that REALLY hits home for most of us. Don't you just wish I'd tell you? Guess you'll just have to come on Friday and find out! You don't want to miss this one.

Someone Who Understands

2009-04-01T16:48:00.000-06:00

We all want someone who understands, don’t we? Not just someone who wants to help or someone who is willing to listen, but someone who can sympathize with us. Isn’t that what we’re all looking for?

Maybe we’re the answer to our own longings.

Each of us has a particular set of memories and experiences that make us peculiarly qualified to meet this need in someone else (both in joy and in sadness)… but it takes some soul searching.

What unique history do YOU have that could alter the course of someone else’s life? Who can YOU truly sympathize with?

Lord, grant me the wisdom to be someone who not only knows, but understands.

“My own experience and development deepen everyday my conviction that our moral progress may be measured by the degree in which we sympathize with individual suffering and individual joy.” – T.S. Eliot

Guest Friday Night Reflections: Jonathan Schwietert

2009-03-29T17:50:00.000-06:00

A little more serene this week as we discussed having faith in God's plan.

As we grow up we all want things in life whether its a new toy, our friend to be saved, or that dream job across the country - and as we make more of these choices we learn that God's plan is bigger than a single decision. That's why we cant always see His plan for what we're asking for, and why we must have faith in Him and the path He has for us.

Lots of great stories this week regarding everything from bad days at work to co-workers & friends being saved - and how its not always a week of prayer to see God work, sometimes it takes one, two, or even five years of praying to see God's plan revealed!

NEXT WEEK: theSHIFT will be back at LCCC - and we'll be welcoming Curtis back after his successful surgery!

Becoming a Student

2009-03-24T16:24:00.000-06:00

After almost 5 yrs away from school, I've decided to become a student again.

As leaders, we spend so much time trying to learn from our mentors and from other leaders, we often forget to learn from our greatest teachers... our followers.

When trying to lead well, the most important thing we can do is to understand those that are following us. No matter how great of a leader you are, if you don't understand your followers, your leadership will be ineffective.

Instead of spending so much time learning HOW to be better leader, take the time to get to KNOW the people that you're leading... BECOME THEIR STUDENT.

Friday Night Reflections

2009-03-20T22:59:00.000-06:00

--talked about BECOMING the church tonight
--if church doesn't just happen on Sundays, when/how does it happen? It happens in our daily lives... the people we talk to, the places we go, the things we do... all of them are representations of Christ for those on the outside looking in
--healthy amount of disagreements tonight helped us wrestle with some of these issues from more than one perspective... loved it

--announced our trip to "The Thorn" in Colorado Springs: Apr 11th, 4pm. Check out the link if you're interested. It's a passion play of epic proportions. I've seen it a few times and it's always incredible. Just a few tickets left, so contact me ASAP if you want one!

--NEXT WEEK: nonstandard week for me again... I'm having surgery on Friday, so I probably won't be able to make it. Jonathan Schwietert is taking the baton for me. I hate to miss, but I have no doubt that Jonathan will do great!

New Arrival!

2009-03-17T21:21:00.000-06:00

Curtis David Marshall Jr. was born this morning at 515a. I couldn't be more proud! Of my son, yes... but so much more so of my wife, she was amazing! So strong, so loving, so tough, so gentle... the quintessential mother.

The birthing process is so unbelievably incredible. Walking in with 2 people and walking out with 3 is the most tangible sign of God's greatness that I've personally experienced.

May my son grow to love God with all his heart, soul, and mind... and may he love his neighbor as himself.

pic taken with my phone, just hours after his birth

Friday Night Reflections

2009-03-15T20:45:00.000-06:00

--great follow on from last week... still felt "right" so we're going to press with this feel and format
--had a few people on vacation and out of town

--great discussion about LOVE and RELATIONSHIPS! Combining "riya" (friendship), "ahava" (commitment), and "dod" (physical) love makes for the perfect love flame.

--glad to see a few people that used to come to Varsity Fusion when it was at our house back in the day.
--announced our next outreach opportunity... "Relay for Life" at LCCC on Apr 24-25. Can't wait to be involved in that event.

--Most of us went to IHOP afterwards to continue our discussions and get to know each other a little better. The Crispy Banana Caramel Cheesecake is off the hook!

--Next Week: This Friday will probably have a life of its own due to the fact that Heather is scheduled to have our baby that day. We're not canceling, but the style will probably be nonstandard. Come expecting something a little different.

Lead, Follow, or get out of the way

2009-03-13T07:13:00.000-06:00

(authors note: this has nothing to do with a particular person, just something God laid on my heart)

I grew up as a PK (pastor's kid); and while my dad was pastoring, I heard him preach hundreds of times. I don't remember many of them, but there was one that stood out to me that I still think about on occasion. It was entitled, "Lead, Follow, or get out of the way."

God has called each of us to be leaders. YOU are a leader... some leaders lead large churches and even large countries while other leaders simply lead their peers by exemplifying honesty, integrity, and excellence. ALL of us are leaders!

We are also followers. Each and every one us is called, by God, to submit to someone. If no one else, we are ALL called to follow Jesus!

In a given situation, some emerge as leaders and some as followers. Since God has called us to do both, we should intentionally practice both whenever possible.

Here's where the rubber meets the road. If you are not actively leading OR actively following, you are GETTING IN THE WAY! Complainers, whiners, gossipers, backstabbers, pessimists, lazy people... GET OUT OF THE WAY! God's on the move and you're holding up the train. If you don't want to drive the train and you don't like where it's going, GET OFF!

At your job... in your school... in your family... at your church... you have a choice -- lead, follow, or PLEASE get out of the way.

guest blog

2009-03-12T17:04:00.000-06:00

Had an opportunity to guest blog on Pastor Jeff's blog today... quite a privilege. Here's the post.

Mommy's Night Out

2009-03-08T22:32:00.000-06:00

Last night theSHIFT had our first outreach opportunity. We were able to offer three hours of free babysitting to a group of local moms. Thank you so much to everyone who helped make the evening possible. We had a great turnout and were able to show the kids a fun time while their parents were out. One particular couple was in special need of a night away...the husband had recently returned from deployment and it happened to be his birthday. Unfortunately, their kids were sick and they didn't want to expose all the other children, so they canceled. We were able to bless them by sending two volunteers to their house to be with their kids, so that they could still go out. Overall, this outreach turned out to be a great opportunity to share the love of Christ in our community. Thanks again to all who made it possible.

Here's a short video of the event.

Friday Night Reflections

2009-03-08T20:18:00.000-06:00

--Best night of theSHIFT we've ever had! IMHO
--Felt like everyone was connecting; and the flow, style, and feel of it was just... RIGHT.
--I'm so excited for what God's going to do with this group. The room was brimming with potential and I can't wait to see the overflow of that potential sweep through LCCC and the city!

--We talked about the "storms" and the "rain" that happens in our lives. We all go through tough times at some point... who is there for you (besides God) when you struggle? who are you there for?

--NEXT WEEK: continuing DVD series... this next one is kind of edgy, but definitely challenging!

Young Adults & The Church

2009-03-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

Threads Research from threadsmedia on Vimeo.

this is an interesting discussion about how young adults relate to 'the church' from a website that I follow threadsmedia.com. What do you think?

Friday Night Reflections - it has begun...

2009-03-01T06:13:00.000-07:00

--We had some GREAT discussion Friday night!
--The question was asked... what do you like most about Jesus?
--Everyone's answers were different, and we were challenged with the unique roles God has called each of us to do in order to truly become the BODY of Christ

--Our first OUTREACH OPPORTUNITY was announced!

Parent's Night Out / Saturday, March 7th / 4-6pm / watching kids for parents that need a break (email me if you have questions)

--We finished up Barbarian Way on Friday too (amazing book!)... closed the night with this quote:

"If you choose to live your life this way, if you make the insane decision to live your life for the sake of others, if you choose to follow the One whose barbarian path led Him to the brutality of the Cross, and if you embrace His invitation to take up your own cross and follow Him, then IT HAS BEGUN."

--We were challenged to deny ourselves safety and security, to take up our cross of servanthood and love, and to follow Jesus.

--NEXT WEEK: We're launching a thought-provoking new DVD series! You guys will love it!

Wrecked Afresh!

2009-02-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

I went to a Leadership simulcast with the Lead team of Element Church this past Tuesday. It's great to be able to take a day off of work and hang out with those guys. We learned a ton from a relatively short session, but one quote repeatedly echoes in my head. Jeff talks about more of what we learned here. Bill Hybels (main simulcast speaker and Willow Creek pastor) refers to a book that he had just read and said, "GOD WRECKED ME AFRESH!" He went on to talk about how it's so important to be re-awakened to the fact that we serve an AMAZING, INCREDIBLE, FAITHFUL, WISE, LOVING, AWESOME (enough adjectives yet?) GOD!

We HAVE TO desire our lives to regularly be "RUINED" from comfort and complacency!

Lately, through books, blogs, sermons, and friends, God has WRECKED ME AFRESH! I have a new and exciting passion flowing through my veins. I am ruined for the life I once lived.

...wasn't all that great anyway.

Enough Retreat, Time to Advance

2009-02-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

Matthew 11:12
12From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.

Element is promoting a "Men's Advance" for March 13-15. So exciting!

-beautiful use of contrasting the colloquialism of a "retreat"
-retreat means to fall back. the origin of of the Christian "retreat" comes from the idea of getting away from the craziness of life so that your mind can be clear and you can see clearly
-we usually have to retreat from the things in our lives that aren't working before we can advance in the direction that God is calling us to
-when we go to an "ADVANCE" ... we are fleeing the ORDINARY in pursuit of the EXTRAORDINARY. we don't want to pursue less... we want to pursue more!
-that doesn't mean we want to be more busy, more stressed, or more over committed! but it does mean that we won't stop until the 'kingdom of heaven' is established here on earth!
-when we leave the advance, our goal is NOT to feel refreshed and relaxed, but to feel challenged and prepared for battle!

Blogging: A Spiritual Discipline?

2009-02-25T16:04:00.000-07:00

About 6 months ago, I entered the blogging world with mixed expectations and more than just a little reluctance. It seemed like a waste of time to read the tales of less-than-amateur writers as they talked proudly about themselves, their likes, their dislikes, etc… and the thought of throwing my own lack-of-talent iron in the fire seemed to be excessively haughty if not downright wasteful of the time and energy God has made me a steward of.

My eyes were opened. After just a few days of reading blogs that were recommended by people I respect, I quickly came to realize the abundance of wisdom that is instantly accessible without a trip to the library or a stop at the bookstore. Who cares if there are occasional fragments and misspellings… some of these guys are BRILLIANT!

So, now I’m an avid blog READER… but why do I write?

Recently I felt a challenge from God… "if you believe that I am ACTIVE in your life, why don’t you tell people what I’m doing and teaching you so that they can believe too?" The logical answer, for where I'm at in life, was to start this blog.

Since I started, I've found that I now force myself to recognize God's action because I know that people will read about it. God has been doing SIGNIFICANT things in my life on a daily basis for a long time, but most of the time I haven't noticed. Now, when I notice God's ACTION, I write it down... not only to encourage others from my experiences, but to give God the opportunity to show me His greatness because He knows I won't just keep it to myself!

Do you notice God at work in your life? Could someone else benefit from the lessons your learning?

Friday Night Reflections

2009-02-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

--First "official" meeting at LCCC as far as the college is concerned... can't explain how grateful I am for how God has orchestrated our use of that location.
--We talked about our personal experiences with God and with "Christianity" and the contrasts between those experiences (I'm constantly challenged by the fact that our generation's "church" and "Christianity" experiences don't align with their God experiences-and often, they are in direct contradiction!)
--We discussed our unique talents and abilities and how God could use each of us personally to share His love with others.
--We were challenged by Jesus' telling the Rich Man to "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven. Then come, follow me." We shouldn't take that literally should we?... why not? How do we apply it to our lives?

--Coming next week: We're going to announce our first outreach opportunity and finish discussing Barbarian Way. Can't wait to see what God has in store for us!

Faith without Works is...

2009-02-15T23:16:00.000-07:00

I just picked up a book this morning entitled "Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne and already made it through about half of it. He talks about literally being the hands and feet of Jesus here on earth. I'm going to post a rather lengthy quote that jumped out at me from my reading today. In the book, Claiborne quotes Soren Kierkegaard, the 19th century Danish philosopher, saying this:

The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church's prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament.

Church and small groups and other fellowship with believers is great, but only insomuch as it strengthens our resolve to not only preach the gospel but to LIVE IT!

Friday Night Reflections

2009-02-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

--Just had a handful of us tonight, but it was great to get to know each other a little more personally
--We told people last week to bring pictures of their lives... so we spent the night telling stories about our friends, families, and trips that we had pictures of. I love getting to know people in a deeper way. Since I'm in the military, it's often difficult to go beyond the superficial with local friends, but theSHIFT is providing a unique opportunity to really get to know people.
--I look forward to ministry opportunities, trips, and events in the coming months and years that will continue to bring us closer as a group.
--Next week will be our first official meeting as a campus organization. What that means for us is that now we can now advertise freely at LCCC (posters, banners, etc). We can also use their big flat screen tv and possibly some of their AV equipment-for free! What a blessing to make this move with literally zero additional expenses.
--Can't wait til next week!

National Condom Day

2009-02-12T17:54:00.000-07:00

Today I was looking at the Student Services brochure at LCCC and was unnerved to find out that today was 'National Condom Day.' There's a day for that! And how did it make the calendar over Lincoln's 200th birthday today? Washington's Birthday didn't even make it, and it's a national holiday!

It says a lot about the place that God has called us to. I feel frustrated, annoyed... challenged. God has called us to this campus for a specific purpose. That purpose, to borrow a phrase from a former pastor of mine, is to make it hard to go to hell from LCCC.

We have a unique opportunity to shine the light of Christ in a place that is dark. My goal for the rest of the semester is to find lights at LCCC that are dim, hidden, or dying and allow Jesus to bring them back to LIFE!

Looking for lights,
Curtis

Friday Night Reflections

2009-02-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

--This past friday was our first meeting at LCCC.
--Praise God we finally made it to the campus! I am unbelievably excited about what God is going to do there! We met in the commons area of the community center, and we plan on meeting there weekly on Fridays at 7pm for the rest of the semester.
--We spent our time dreaming about what God wants to do in this new community.... how we could bless it, how we could learn from it, etc.
--We started with the question: what is the best personal story you can tell? We swapped some of our favorite stories and shared some hilarious personal memories. The underlying theme proved to be 'danger.' The best stories of our lives usually have to do with times that we did things that were dangerous... times that we made ourselves vulnerable.
--We were challenged, as a group, to be 'STORY MAKERS' at LCCC... and to create those stories, we are going to have to do things that may be uncomfortable.
--In my closing prayer, I usually pray for blessing and safety as we depart; but in the middle of the prayer, God challenged me to pray for danger. Pray for discomfort, that others may be more comfortable. Pray for vulnerability, that others can relate to our transparency. Pray for danger, that the greatest STORIES of our lives are still to come, in the context of blessing others.

Looking for danger,
Curtis

MOVING!

2009-02-05T10:05:00.000-07:00

theSHIFT is changing locations! This Friday we will be meeting at LCCC in the commons area. If you are unfamiliar with LCCC, drive around the North side of the complex and park near the blue arch. If you walk through the arch and enter through the double doors, you will see us in the main area with the couches. Can’t wait to start meeting on campus!

A Different Drummer

2009-01-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

When I was in high school, I competed in a national preaching competition in Florida. I had done well enough in my 5-minute sermon at the regional competition in WI to qualify for nationals. I was excited for the opportunity to compete; but, as importantly, I was excited to be going to the sunshine state with my best friend and my youth pastor.

As the competition unfolded, my turn finally came to speak and… I TOTALLY ROCKED IT! I felt great about the whole thing and was excited to hear what the judges had to say. They went through their checklist and told me I had done really well except for 1 area – dress and appearance. I was baffled. I didn’t even know that category existed. And even if I did, I had a new haircut, clean clothes, no holes… so what was the problem?

I didn’t wear a suit.

I hadn’t noticed up until then, but all the other kids were wearing suits. I hadn’t even considered it. I didn’t even own a suit!

I was disappointed to say the least, but I learned something about myself that day -- I was marching to the beat of a different drummer. I couldn’t understand the need for a suit to preach the gospel!

Ten years later, I find myself in a church where the lead pastor doesn’t like to wear suits and the worship pastor has holes in his jeans. God’s been preparing me for Element Church for a long time. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do next, but I know that I’m exactly where God wants me to be right now. What a terrific feeling!

What has God been preparing you for?

WANT TO PRAY!

2009-01-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

So I'm downstairs in the basement with Heather, both of us on the internet on our respective computers, when suddenly we hear Anjali (our 2 yr old) screaming something at the top of her lungs. It sounded unintelligible to us, so we both rolled our eyes and I went upstairs to see what all the fuss was about. When I went into her room, she was laying on her bed and between sobs she said, "Want to pray, dad."

We've made it a habit to pray for our girls before they go to bed, and tonight we apparently forgot, prompting the "want to pray!" anthem from our daughter. So I knelt down next to her bed and said a 30-second "daddy" prayer for her and her sister, and then she said "I want to pray too." I told her to go ahead and with all seriousness and perfect clarity, she said "Thank you Jesus for this food AMEN!"

I then kissed her on the forehead, said goodnight, and laughed to myself all the way down the stairs.

I pray that I will have that much of a burden on my heart to talk to God every single day.

Self-Discipline Anyone?

2009-01-25T19:49:00.000-07:00

This morning Pastor Jeff talked about discipline - physical, mental, spiritual. I was CHALLENGED... not by discipline itself which I see as the outer shell of the issue, but by my lack of self-discipline. You see, I do pretty well with the things other PEOPLE expect me to do - pay bills, get to work on time, take care of my kids, etc; but I struggle with the things GOD expects me to do - pray, fast, read the Bible, etc.

I think the problem is that I fear man more than I fear God. I'm worried that my boss will be upset. I'm worried that my wife will be disappointed. Why don't I have any concern about the hurt feelings of my Savior? Solomon explains in Proverbs that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." If I am truly seeking after wisdom, I MUST put God's opinion of me higher than ANYONE else's!

I love Richard Foster's quote in Celebration of Discipline which states, "Everybody thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself."

I have to admit, I WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD, but I have to start with little old me.

Curtis

What a Day!

2009-01-20T09:34:00.001-07:00

What a day in American history... regardless of our political opinions, it is great to see the culmination of the Civil Rights Movement.

I'm not a big fan of celebrating people's birthdays nationally, but I watched MLK's "I Have A Dream" speech yesterday and I was struck by the phrase: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Realizing that he gave his life so that my girls could live that dream couldn't help but remind me of the sacrifice of my Savior--and I appreciate anything that points me back to Jesus.

I'm so proud of the way our nation has overcome injustice peaceably... but we're not done yet.

Audiobook

2009-01-15T22:31:00.001-07:00

I just finished listening to “Through Painted Deserts” by Donald Miller in audiobook format on my ipod. It was the first audiobook I’ve ever listened to, besides portions of the Bible, and I was kind of surprised how much I enjoyed it. It was read by the author himself and the story is autobiographical so it was fun to hear it in the way it was intended to be read... new favorite thing to do on road trips!

There was nothing too deep or exciting about the book, but it was a nice, relaxing look at a simpler way to live and enjoy life. It gave a more creative and artistic view of God than I’m used to, but the perspective was refreshing. In a life full of to-do-lists, deadlines, and obligations… sometimes I need to just sit back and enjoy the beauty and majesty of God as revealed through His creation—people, relationships, nature.

Learn to SHUT UP!

2009-01-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

This morning I was doing my devotions and God slapped me in the face with something he’s been trying to teach me for a few weeks now. Job 13:5 says “If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.” OUCH! Here’s what I wrote in my notes this morning: “God has been telling me… ‘I desire to use you, but you have got to learn to SHUT UP!’”

1. When you can’t wait for everybody to stop talking so you can talk… shut up
2. When you think that praying means talking… shut up
3. When you have really good advice for your wife’s self-improvement… shut up
4. When you’re leading a group DISCUSSION… shut up
5. When you start to like the sound of your own voice… shut up
6. When you can’t stand the silence any longer… shut up
7. When you (fill in the things that apply to you)… shut up

The Scripture says, “Be still and know that I am God”… guess I should start heeding His advice.

Listening,
Curtis

New Month Resolutions

2009-01-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

We're only a few days in, but 2009 seems to be shaping up nicely.

I find unbelievable value in setting goals for the future, so New Year's Resolutions are very appealing to me. Many of us enjoy the fresh start that we get at the beginning of each year to re-evaluate our lives and make some decisions about what we want our lives to look like in the coming year.

Unfortunately, when it gets to be the holiday season it seems like the last year has flown by so quickly, while the resolutions of last year seem to be a distant speck in the rearview mirror. So this year I'm going to take a little different approach.

I'm going to make NEW MONTH RESOLUTIONS. What a great opportunity to have a fresh start in 30 days instead of 365! Plus I can focus my efforts on the here and now, change resolutions when I need to, and see consistent progress rather than seemingly inevitable defeat.

So, here's what I have for January:

- Read through the Bible chronologically from creation through Jacob
- Read 3 other books
- Call each of my 6 out-of-state siblings at least once
- Write 5 blogs

My list started getting long, so I had to cut it back. I may not post this every month, but I wanted to at least show you what I'm talking about. Hopefully I'll learn to make better goals as the months go by.

Curtis

"Peace Out Playas!"

2009-01-05T23:23:00.000-07:00

Those were the words that were written on the cake at Morgan and Tori's "Bon Voyage" party lat night... I guess that's what I should have expected when I asked those 2 to pick up the cake for their own party... Jokers til the end.

We had 40 people over at our house last night for their going-away party. It was such a great testament to the impact they've made on all of us. A couple of Tori's friends drove all the way from Sydney to come!

What a blessing it has been to see the 2 of them mature and grow in their relationships with Christ over the past year and a half. When Element first launched in October '07, Morgan was 1 of only 2 attendees at our high school/college-age group! A few weeks later, our group had grown to 3 guys and in walks Tori flanked by 4 other girls! There was quite an interesting change in group dynamics that night... Since then they have been incredibly faithful - dedicated to the church and Fusion every step of the way. Tori worked in e:kidz on Sunday mornings and became our weekly babysitter so that Heather and I could have a date night. Morgan played in the band, led worship for the jr high, and became a personal friend, confidant, and ally.

To watch them leave Cheyenne in pursuit of God is extremely exciting for me. I'm so proud of them both. May God bless them as they are obedient to His calling on their lives. They will definitely be missed.

Praying for those two,
Curtis

when it RAINS, it POURS

2008-12-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

The past week or so has been a whirlwind... what started with simple car problems and an inspection at work, ended with a trip to the ER and surgeries.

A couple weeks ago, my little Ford Focus wouldn't start (key wouldn't turn in the ignition); but since I didn't have the time or money to fix it, I just left it in the parking lot at the church. Thankfully, we have been blessed with 2 vehicles, so Heather and I rearranged our schedules so that we could make it work with one until we could get the Ford fixed --- just drizzling.

Last Monday our 15-day Nuclear Surety inspection at FE Warren was in full swing and my particular section wasn't doing so well --- starting to rain.

On Wednesday I went to see a hand specialist because a jammed finger from playing football didn't seem to be healing properly. The doctor told me it wasn't jammed, the tendon had torn away from the bone and I needed surgery pronto. So i scheduled surgery for the following day --- thunder and lightning.

After the doctor, I dropped my family off at home and went back to work to enjoy the inspection (dripping with sarcasm). About 2 hours later, Heather called and told me our 2-yr-old (Anjali) swallowed a coin and the doctor said she needed to go to the ER. Since I had the only car, I came home, picked up the fam, and headed to the hospital. After x-rays, they deemed the coin a quarter and said it would need to be surgically removed from her chest. Five hours and 3 "IV" pokes later, she had surgery with negative results. The doctors assume that the quarter moved from her chest to her stomach due to relaxation during anesthesia, and they tell us that all we can do now is watch and wait. They release us to go home sometime around 1am --- gratuitous precipitation.

Bright and early the next morning, we head down to Ft Collins for me to have surgery. I don't remember much, but now my hand looks like this:
and I have trouble sleeping because my hand hurts (I now have a special empathy for people going through multiple surgeries, ouch!)
--- cant-see-my-hand-in-front-of-my-face-downpour!

Romans 5:3-5 says
3Not only so, but we also REJOICE in our SUFFERINGS, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, HOPE. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

I HOPE that this SUFFERING will end soon, so I REJOICE in it :) These things have given me an opportunity to count my blessings: 2 cars, a great job, ability to play sports, health for my wife and children, friends that will take kids overnight in an emergency, insurance to pay for 2 surprise surgeries in 1 week, etc, etc. WHAT A BLESSED MAN I AM!

Maybe sometimes it takes suffering to realize the hope that has already been given to us...

Rejoicing,
Curtis

theSHIFT is my Jericho

2008-11-25T20:34:00.001-07:00

A couple weeks ago, Pastor Jeff used the battle of Jericho as an example when preaching about significance and I scribbled a note to myself that "theSHIFT is my Jericho." He talked about how the Israelites marched around the walls of Jericho fruitlessly for seven days and seven times on the seventh day before God tore down the walls. God promised VICTORY, but He demanded OBEDIENCE for it to come to pass!

Interestingly enough, the Friday before that sermon was preached, we had SEVEN people at theSHIFT besides my wife and I. I have to admit that I was discouraged. I felt like maybe we were doing something wrong, maybe God didn't really call us to do it in the first place, maybe someone else could do it better, maybe, maybe, maybe... But when I heard this sermon I knew that God was telling me that my SIGNIFICANCE is not in my SUCCESS, but in my OBEDIENCE... Only God can ultimately provide victory! We just have to keep walking around the walls until we get the signal to "Shout! For the Lord has given [us] the city!"

Marching around the walls,
Curtis

I just need one more MONKEY

2008-11-17T21:04:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was in Reno, NV at an Air Force flight equipment safety conference. Having never been to Reno, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect besides a bunch of casinos and bright lights. Well, as I got off the plane I realized that my assumption was pretty accurate but I underestimated the personal aspect of gambling’s destructive nature. Watching on TV and movies, casinos seem like exciting places full of thrilling wins and occasional losses. In real life, losses come much more easily than wins… and instead of exhilarating gambling fun, I saw drunken, frustrated depression. Of the 8 or so people that came to the conference with me, none of them walked away with more than they came with, as far as I know... not very good odds.

One friend in particular found a slot machine that was based on monkeys, bananas, and gold treasure (or something like that)... and every time you get a monkey in the right spot, your monkey-meter goes up one level -- seemed like a game my 2-yr-old daughter would like! But this friend seemed obsessed with the monkeys. He was convinced that if he played long enough, he could get the monkeys he needed to win the jackpot. He kept saying that he just needed one more monkey and all these great things would happen in the game, but it never worked out.

Our culture is obsessed with quick gain (myself included). Surveys say that our expectations are higher than they've ever been (just ask high school kids how many of them expect to make more than $100,000 when they are adults... then ask them how they plan to achieve those expectations). We think we can get something for nothing. A get-rich-quick scheme here, a self-made millionaire plan there... We have amazing ambitions, but no goals!

One more monkey is never gonna cut it... there has to be a better way

psst, the name of the "way" is... Jesus

Sales and FREE stuff

2008-11-06T17:49:00.001-07:00

OBSERVATION

Everybody loves to get something cheap, especially Americans. Yesterday, while on a business trip to Albuquerque, I overheard a conversation that went something like this:

mechanic #1: you're voting for Obama?

mechanic #2: no

#1: then why do you have this bumper sticker (Machinists for Obama) on your desk?

#2: cuz it was free! i don't pass up free stuff.

While this seems like an absurd example, I can think of numerous times where I've been in a store buying things that I didn't really need just because of how good of a deal it was! I felt like I was ripping myself off if I didn't buy it!

CHALLENGE

1. Don't buy stuff that you don't have a purpose for. If you have to think of a purpose, you probably don't need it.

2. Consider your principles before making a purchase, and don't succumb to the desires of the flesh -- greed, materialism, lust, covetousness, envy, selfishness, etc.

3. Challenge yourself to say "no" even when you don't have to. Discipline begets discipline. The more we use restraint, the easier it becomes (not only in financial issues, but in all aspects of life)

SHIFT launch

2008-10-24T00:40:00.000-06:00

Last week we had our first official SHIFT service. Before launch, we met for about a month in a small group setting and discussed the design, feel, and principles of theSHIFT. Now, we have transitioned to a musical worship service led by Nathan Brennan, audio/visual by Morgan Clark, and I get to do some preaching.

The launch wasn't perfect, but I was excited to see our best turnout so far (19), and a relatively smooth service for our first go at it. I started a series called FEAR and I talked specifically about irrational fears (spiders, heights, etc) that first night. Since then, we did a sermon about rational fears (ie. failure, rejection, finances, etc) and we'll be talking about the fear of the Lord next week.

For design, we decided to use round tables and black table cloths with candles.... still needed light, so we left a bank of fluorescent lights on (got that fixed this week with a set of 4 flood lights). I hope to continually make "worship experience" improvements as we strive toward an experience that is relevant and effective in creating a community for college and twentysomethings in Cheyenne - with the ultimate goal of improving our relationships with Jesus Christ... feedback for theSHIFT, about our relevancy or effectiveness, is welcomed and desired.

Glad to have the first couple under our belts,
Curtis

4 Principles

2008-10-03T22:30:00.000-06:00

As we establish the foundation of this new ministry, we have decided on 4 underlying principles that will drive our goals and strategies for the next year - accountabilithy, personal time with God, connection, and outreach.

ACCOUNTABILITY

This is the cornerstone principle. If you take a look at our society, you don't have to look very far to find moral failure after moral failure from men (and women) who tried to their lives in service to God all by themselves. With no one to question them, no one to challenge them, no one to look out for them... they fell on their faces. In His infinite wisdom, God designed us to THRIVE in community with others! We were not created to go through life alone. Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Stop trying to fight Satan with dull swords!

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD

Without accountability, I find this next step to be nearly impossible... doable for some, but I'm definitely not one of them (believe me, I've tried). Once we have someone to keep us accountable, we have to spend some time getting to know this man named Jesus. How? We talk to Him, we read what He wrote, and we listen to what He has to say. Time with God does not have to be complicated! Since my wife and I were engaged to be married, I can count on one hand the number of days that we have gone without talking to eachother (well, if you exclude that time I was in an igloo in Alaska for 3 days). We care about each other so much that we make our conversations a priority; even if it's just a short "I love you" on the phone before we go to sleep when we are apart. God wants that intimacy with you... even if it's just a simple "I love you," He wants to hear it! That's how relationships grow.

CONNECTION

While the first two were mostly about me, this is the first one that really requires me to GIVE. If I knew someone that gave out cash to anyone that asked, and he had an endless supply... How selfish would I be if I never told you about it? Connecting is our opportunity to give people hints and find new clues for living a righteous life. As I teach my 2-yr-old to share, she hates it until she realizes that by giving something away, her arms are now open to get something else. That is how healthy relationships work! By giving of yourself to a community, you reap the synergistic effect of all the skills, talents, fun, and laughter that the community has to offer. Our goal is to provide an environment that allows for a growing, thriving community.

OUTREACH

Herein lies the beauty of the whole thing! When our personal relationships with God are flourishing and our love for one another is unmatched, it's time to start giving it away! While we were connecting, it was easy and comfortable to share what was on your mind and in your heart because the people you were talking to were in your circle of trust. Now we step into the unknown. Now is when we use the confidence and relationships we've gained through the other principles to take the gospel to the world! But first, we have to start loving others in our own backyard... our neighbors, our co-workers, our classmates

Man, this stuff gets me excited!

-Curtis

Why theSHIFT?

2008-10-02T06:49:00.000-06:00

Developing a name for any group can be a very difficult process. You want it to be relevant, yet simple... catchy, but not cheesy. So, to steer me down the right path, Pastor Jeff asked me what I was passionate about and the vision that I saw for the group. In my heart, I love the stage of life in which you TRANSITION from adolescence to adulthood. For myself, I found the time I spent in college to be the most TRANSFORMATIONAL time in my entire life. Everything I held as "normal" was challenged. I was suddenly surrounded by people from different states, different countries, different cultures, and different religions. I realized quickly that this was an opportunity to "re-make" myself. I could be anything I wanted to be! No one knew what I was like in high school so I could have a clean slate...

So I started over... I made decisions on my own, searched for my identity, and craved community where I could feel like I really belonged. Thankfully, I found direction from a college ministry that was emphasizing those exact things. From personal experience, I learned that there is a SHIFT IN PARADIGMS that happens in this stage of life. There is a change in perspective and oftentimes a change in values and priorities that takes place as you start to live on your own.

We named this ministry theSHIFT because we want to acknowledge this stage of life; and to provide a community where you can learn and grow in your search for truth and meaning.

Marathon Running

2008-09-23T13:34:00.000-06:00

It was about last May when I decided that I was going to run the Boulder Backroads Marathon. I've had a life goal for quite awhile to complete a marathon, so when I found out that there was a pretty big one within driving distance, I went ahead and signed up. As with many things in my life, I started my training with high hopes of long Saturday runs and a minimum of 3 runs during the week. In actuality, I only ran about twice a week (sometimes less!); and the longest run I had in preparation for my 26.2 mile race was about 11.5 miles a week before.

Now, it goes without saying that I did not train well. I had the best of intentions, but for some reason I just couldn't find the time to get my butt in gear. So, instead of finishing the race with blazing speed and unrestrained confidence... I got beat by moms with 4 children, men in their 60's, and even grandmothers with grandchildren my age. I almost lost to this guy (Phil Weiland):

and I'm really glad I didn't because later I found out that he had already run a marathon the week before and was running another one next week! Seriously, these people were incredible! Their faithfulness and dedication was amazing... which gave me food for thought.

First, why do I have trouble finding time with God while others spend 10hrs+ each week training for a race? The answer: PRIORITIES! These folks didn't just have some extra time in their week and needed something to fill it. They MADE time! If it was important enough, we would MAKE TIME - enough said.

Second, why am I not willing to put the work in? As a Church and as Christians it seems like we are so proud of ourselves when we "pull something off." What happened to careful planning, preparation, and execution? When we fail to plan, we should plan to fail. I believe that God has called to live our lives with excellence, not just half-effort attempts.

Third, don't quit. If you start something, finish it. If you say you will be somewhere, be there...ON TIME! (ouch! that one hurt). If you promise something, follow through. Let's not be seen as a generation of unreliable quitters. Take pride in what you do... not just in your job, but in the way you live your life.

For those that know me, you know I'm talking to myself here as much as to anybody... but now that it's posted, I have you all to be accountable to.

Running,
Curtis

Why Do We Let Our Dreams Die? 2

2008-09-20T08:32:00.000-06:00

Continued… Psalm 37: 4 says “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” So, how do we delight ourselves in the Lord? By doing what He says… and liking it!

Now this may sound absurd to some because no one really enjoys following the rules and regulations set up by someone else… or do they? I remember when I learned to fly helicopters. I delighted myself in my instructors. I understood that they were teaching me the rules, regulations, and techniques of how to do something that I enjoyed. I absolutely love flying!

I absolutely love Jesus! I have a desire to make my relationship with him better… so I am willing to talk to Him, listen to Him, and obey what He says. So, what does that involve? Praying, fasting, reading, memorizing scripture, etc. When I got to know my wife, I put a lot of time and effort into learning about her likes and dislikes. I memorized her birthday, learned her favorite restaurants, and spent an inordinate amount of time writing her letters, chatting on IM, and talking on the phone. My life was consumed with knowing her… nothing seemed as important. I DELIGHTED myself in my wife!

THAT is how I need to treat Christ! He needs to be my everything! I need to DELIGHT myself in HIM so that I can’t possibly go one day without talking to Him…. not because I have to, but because I WANT to. Then and only then will He give me the DESIRES OF MY HEART.

Why Do We Let Our Dreams Die?

2008-09-19T17:41:00.000-06:00

There’s nothing like a great dream! When I was a kid, I remember waking up with a big smile on my face as my mind recalled the adventures and beauty of a world that was far more fantastic than our own… a world in which I could fly without wings, paint the sky with my fingertips, and even see into the future. I can’t remember having a dream that vivid or that blissful in a very long time. I remember day-dreaming of life as an adult and all the wonderful freedom it would provide (if I only knew). I imagined what I would be “when I grew up.”

As a child, you want to be a fireman, astronaut, mechanic, race car driver, and the president of the United States… ALL at the same time. AND you change your 5-occupation list at least a couple times a year! As you grow up, you start realizing that you have some limits and that you may not be smart enough to be an astronaut or a physicist, so you start telling everyone that you’re going to be a veterinarian or a teacher instead, since at least they wouldn’t laugh at you and tell you that you’re crazy. We let our magical dreams of utopia slip into the grave of impossibilities along with the flying and the painting that we simply dismiss as childhood fantasies.

Why do we let our dreams die? Why can’t we continue to pursue goals that may seem impossible? We are so easily influenced by the opinions and ridicule of others that NOTHING in life seems to be as important as the acceptance of our peers. For many, that process starts as soon as junior high, for others, it’s high school; and if you are somehow able to hold out, almost everybody concedes their dreams once they join the workforce.

But there are some whose dreams are a part of their DNA… some who would be more likely to give up on eating than walk away from their dreams. Those people are known as champions, heroes… and helicopter pilots (j/k). The only requirement to achieve the greatness that your heart longs for is to delight yourself in the Lord… more on that in the next post.

Starting New

2008-09-06T10:37:00.001-06:00

There's nothing like being at the beginning of something... especially something BIG! The buzz is in the air. My brain is going a thousand miles an hour (maybe in circles, but I feel like it's going fast). The excitement is contagious!

I absolutely love getting things started. Nothing is old or boring. Nobody is set in their ways. All ideas are considered good ideas until determined otherwise. Being able to watch the birth of Element, watching her learn how to crawl and then take her first steps has been a phenomenal experience. Providing stability and direction to a budding youth ministry with Fusion has changed my life forever. And now I stand again on the precipice of the unknown... ready to jump into the icy waters of young adult ministry without a life jacket... sink or swim, I know that I'm called.

Back-to-School Camping

2008-09-05T01:04:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, Varsity Fusion had it's last hoorah before school started. Here are a few pics of the event.

Who Compares

2008-08-27T00:41:00.000-06:00

With the Olympics in Beijing now in the rearview mirror, I recently made an interesting discovery... the world doesn't revolve around me. seriously, it doesn't. I know you might not believe it, but I'm NOT the center of your universe.

I've spent the majority of my life trying to be the best. The tricky thing about being the best is that it means that you are "better" than everyone else. To be "better" than others, one must compare himself to those he interacts with. I'm smarter than her... BETTER looking than him... BETTER job than him... BETTER athlete than her... COOLER than him... MORE friends than her... etc. I even nailed down the details if I couldn't find something or I didn't know someone well enough-- I dress BETTER than him, have a BETTER wife than him... MORE cultured than her... BETTER diet than him... and on and on it goes. In my quest for being the best, I became a slave to comparison! It's pretty sad that I didn't realize this until today, but this is the first time that it really hit me -- if I spend my life comparing myself to other people, two things will happen: I will never be enough, and I will never become what I am supposed to be. This idea still needs some work in my brain, but I feel like it's kind of revolutionary for me.

A few years ago I would have considered myself as a contender for a slot on the Olympic fencing Team for the olympic games that just ended. Much of my motivation at the time revolved around being the best. In sports, we are often driven to be "better" as a result of competition (which I love); but I don't think that the same competitive spirit can be applied to the game of life. In life, there doesn't have to be one that wins and one that loses. Everyone can win! Maybe life isn't a game after all. In the board game called "LIFE," the person with the most 'stuff' at the end of the game wins... I think that we often apply that board game to our lives, thinking that it works the same way. It is true that if you get a good job, invest money wisely, and get lucky a few times, you will be financially successful, but does that mean you win at life?

Maybe you think that HAPPINESS is the ultimate goal... so you start a career, get married, start a family, pop out a couple kids, get a dog, and then you sit back and wait for ultimate bliss and utopia to descend from heaven and consume your life; but you're disappointed. SOME fulfillment, but not enough... SOME joy, but not enough... SOME peace, but not enough. when you compare yourself like I often do, it's NEVER ENOUGH!

The only way to truly WIN at life is to be what God called YOU to be! And thankfully we are not called to do the same thing, so there's no need to try to beat your buddy to the treasure that is God's calling. He's calling YOU to do his will for YOUR life... now we just have to learn to listen.