Fairview Heights CampusSunday - 8:30am, 10:30am, 6:00pmSaturday - 5:00pm

Collinsville / Maryville CampusSunday - 10:00am

Recently I found myself in enough pain to make an emergency room visit. Fortunately, my pain was not life threatening and I have recovered well. It was during this visit that my husband and I were privy

to a conversation in the next bed that has been on my mind since I left the hospital. A young couple came in as the girl was having pain and a strange rash. The nurse went through her routine of questions that had the couple worried. “Could you be pregnant” the nurse asked? “I hope not!” said the young girl. As the nurse drew blood for a pregnancy test, the reason for the worry soon came to light. Neither of the young people had a job, insurance, a place of their own and they were not married. They chatted about their poor choices, smoking habits, how having a baby would change their life, the responsibility of being parents, the jobs they would need, baby expenses, etc. The nurse finally arrived to bring the news that the girl was pregnant. The chatter increased as the young girl said to her boyfriend, “you better not break up with me!” The young man wondered how he would break the news to his Mother. The couple suddenly became quiet as Rev. Troy made a visit to my side of the room. Not a word poured from their mouths as Rev. Troy prayed a powerful prayer of healing in the mighty name of Jesus. I’d like to think that God had planned the encounter with that couple so they could hear about Jesus. I pray now that they will remember Rev. Troy’s words and know they have a God that loves and cares for them.

This issue is dedicated to family and relationships. While many relationships, like the one above, can be stressful and uncertain, we have a God that brings peace, joy and calm when we call on His name.

Happy Mother’s and Father’s Day!

Donna HarrisonEditor - donnaharrison@mychristchurch.com

Senior Pastor: Rev. Shane Bishop

Associate Pastor: Rev. Troy Benton

Editor: Donna Harrison

Proof Reader: Barbara Germany

Design: Justin Aymer

For a complete listing of the Christ Curch Staff and to learn more about Christ Church please visit: www.mychristchurch.com

The Flame Online:Get The Flame Magazine online. Free pdf downloads. Email reminders of new editions. Visit www.mychristchurch.com/theflame.

Mission Of The Flame:Be inspirational through biblical articles and devotions. Be informative in the announcement of future events that connect people in ministry.

Questions about the Flame? Contact Donna Harrison at: donnaharrison@mychristchurch.com

The Flame Magazine is a bi-monthly magazine published by Christ Church. ©2011, Christ Church. All rights reserved.

Contents3 - Little League4 - True Relationships...5 - A Legacy Of Faith6 - Imperfect Yet Useful7 - The Church...8 - Family, Faith & Health9 - Getting To Know You10 - The Beauty Of A Family...11 - Words Matter12 - Sync13 - A Family Affair14 - Seeing Hidden Blessings14 - Indy 50015 - God At Work

A Notefrom the editor

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“The pitcher had a full beard and drove a truck to the baseball game. No mean accomplishment for a

seven year old.”

I will never forget my first at bat in Little League. As I stood in the batter’s box, my mind was in a frenzy, “Keep your eye on the ball, back arm up, weight on the back foot, swing level and don’t back out.”

Donnie Miller had taught me these things and though he was but a year older than me, he was a least one hundred times the better ball player. Donnie was Johnny Bench and I was Bob Uecker, but he liked me and I was grateful for his friendship. Under his tutelage I had mentally prepared for every possible scenario, except for what happened.

The first pitch I faced in organized baseball was hurled by a monster from Tamaroa named Ronnie Valentine. He had a full beard and drove a truck to the game. No mean accomplishment for a seven year old. Warming up he threw heat-seeking missiles. Quite tragically, he had no real idea where the ball was going when it left his hand. Some of his pitches hit the catcher’s mitt; most hit the catcher and careened in various directions but a few were nowhere near the plate and bit into the screen backstop. It was precisely those erratic pitches that most concerned me.

“Batter up!” I dug into the batter’s box. Valentine went into his windup, reared back and threw an inside high heater honing in upon my head. There was no movement in my body whatsoever; like a deer in the headlights, I froze, closed my eyes, didn’t so much as turn my head as the ball hit me squarely in the mouth. In return for getting hit in the mouth, the umpire awarded me first base. As the blood trickled down my mouth, I swore I would never be hit by a baseball again. It was a survival instinct that punctured my psyche and in the precise moment in time when Sigmund Freud met Willie Mays, Freud clearly won. If I could not thrive…I would survive. To aid me in this endeavor, I developed a batting style that practically guaranteed success. When the pitcher was winding up, I would dig into the batter’s box and crowd the plate (thus feigning courage). When he was ready to throw, I would leap backwards about three feet, close my eyes and swing the bat in midair (thus establishing cowardice). It turns out that this method was most successful. I was not hit by a pitch for three years! Unfortunately for my teammates and

coaches, I did not so much as hit a foul tip in those years but all great plans have a downside. I could live with the humiliation because I could live!

My fourth year in little league, my coach told me I could really be a good player if I would hang in there. He explained if my eyes were kept on the ball I could hit a good pitch and most likely avoid a bad one. He taught me how to get a hit by turning my body away from the ball. The advice took me from the worst ballplayer on the planet to a halfway decent one overnight.

It is amazing what keeping your eye on the ball can do for you. I wonder how many people live in fear of the ball. They are afraid, so they shift the objective of the game from getting a hit to not getting hit, from loving to not getting hurt and from a life of passionate ministry to a life of punching a clock. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I have come that you might have life abundantly!” I encourage you in this spring season to push past your fears, keep your eye on the ball and pursue your dreams for an incredible marriage and a family life that honors God. Don’t settle for being anything less than you were created to be! And to watch out for bearded seven year olds….

Little LeagueBy Rev. Shane Bishop, Senior Pastor

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There is a picture in my mind that surfaces every now and then. The picture is of two teenage boys sitting at a table with their cell phones.

They were busy texting. I asked, “Are you guys texting each other?” They replied, “Well, ya!” I wondered at the time and still do—whatever happened to conversation?

I am a retired school teacher and was taken aback by a recent declaration that schools were going to cut handwriting from the curriculum. With the advent of

e-mail, Facebook and Twitter, handwriting is not necessary. I do not need to be able to write for you to read this printed page. But what happens to hand written thank you notes, poetry, diaries, and letters to pen-pals?

While in Honduras, I was fortunate to share a meal with Pastor Jonathan and his wife at his home and the site of Christ Church. Seven of us were sitting around a borrowed table eating, talking, and laughing despite the language barrier. I thought about the joy we shared around that table and the generations gone by of another family that also sat around that table eating, talking, and laughing. Are there still tables that families and friends sit around eating, talking, and laughing?

Relationships do not have much of a chance in this world if the social trends continue in the current direction. With the advent of ipods and

smart phones we are connected to the world of music and information but not connected to each other. We can send messages over the social media but do not have to deal with reactions. Much of

True Relationships - 1,000 Facebook FriendsBy Bernie Kneale

what we do seems to be removed from direct contact. I read an article just this morning about woman caves and we know about man caves. What are they? They are retreats from personal contact.

Think about it. Two boys not talking to each other. Families rarely sitting down to a meal together—eating, talking, and laughing. More and more people are oblivious to what is going on around them as they focus on their smart phones, listen to music on their ipods, or get lost in some idiotic reality show on TV. From my perspective I see folks that just want to be left alone, that just want to get away from it all.

Remember what Jesus said in response to the question, “Teacher, which is the most important commandment . . . ?” Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. The first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Mt. 22:37) Are not these commandments all about relationships? How can you love God if you do not know him? How can you love your neighbor if you do not know Him?

When I read the Bible, pray, see a beautiful sunset, look at a newborn baby, ponder the glory of a universe so vast and yet so intricately small, my heart wants to leap out of my chest as I fall deeper in love with my God. It is my most prized relationship.

When I have coffee with my wife in the morning, attend church and get my hugs, hear about the lives of my friends in my various groups, explore the Bible with my Bible study class, have friends over for dinner, write a postcard to someone, volunteer at the hospital, I recognize the great value in relationships with God’s people.

I cannot imagine anything more pleasing to God as we express our love for Him and His precious Son and dedicate ourselves to building our relationships with them. I also believe it pleases God when we go beyond ourselves in building relationships with others that show we understand loving our neighbor.

To build and maintain these two relationships requires getting our noses out of our smart phones and into the Bible, taking the earphones out of our ears and listening to the sounds around us, looking into people’s eyes and seeing their joys and hurts, and showing in whatever way possible this one thing:

I CARE!!!

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A Legacy of Faith

By Diane Kruger

As we walked into the study hand in hand, my six-year-old granddaughter Marley asked, “Gog, is this where you do your ‘Bible stuff’?” “Do you sit in that chair? What do you do at the

computer? Do you use all those books on the shelves?” Although she had been in that room many times, she wanted to know exactly what I did so that she could be like me.

Good or bad, like it or not, even when we aren’t aware, we are setting an example for those who will follow us. We are leaving a legacy for our children and grandchildren.

In his new book Nearing Home, Billy Graham says, “Your greatest hope for our children and grandchildren should be that they become men and women of faith, trusting Jesus Christ as their Savior and seeking to follow Him as

the Master of their lives every day.”

The Bible tells us that “none of us lives to himself …” (Romans 14:7). Oswald Chambers says in My Utmost for His Highest: “Why has God left us on the earth? Is it simply to be saved and sanctified? No, it is to be at work in service to

Him.” And no service to God is more important than leaving a legacy of love, acceptance, and

faith for those who follow us.

When my husband John and I returned from a mission trip to Honduras the first time, Marley said, “I know why I love you and Grandpa so much! You’re heroes! I want to help people, too. Gog, what can I do to help people?”

God puts so many “teaching moments” before us with our families, moments when we can witness to them simply by living our faith. In a restaurant, Marley said, “Gog, let’s pray fast, because no one else in the restaurant is praying besides us.” In the car, “You know, Gog, sometimes church is boring for kids. But I do want to learn about Jesus and His life, so that I can compare my life to His.” And when I had been diagnosed with breast cancer, my then six-year-old grandson Quinn was calling me before school each morning, crying and telling me he loved me, until one day I told him that he didn’t need to worry because Jesus was taking care of me, and Jesus was right there with him also. After that, he was okay.

Oswald Chambers asks, “Has it ever dawned on you that you are responsible spiritually to God for other people?” What responsibilities do we have to our children and grandchildren? What do we want to make sure that they know? They should know that it’s okay to love Jesus openly, and not to be embarrassed. They should know how to practice their faith, to talk about it, to demonstrate it. They should know that they are special to God and that He has a special plan for each of their lives. They should know that God is their friend, that He is always with them, and that He loves them no matter what they do. He forgives their sins. They should know that we are always there for them, that we are a safe place where they can talk about anything and feel unconditional love, where they are accepted just the way they are.

Billy Graham says that our faith is our greatest legacy. Why? “Because the memory of what we were like—not just our personalities but our character and our faith—has the potential to influence others for Christ.” That’s what I want my legacy to be! What about you?

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Imperfect Yet Useful

I love the Word of God. I am amazed that God used imperfect and regular human beings like us, inspiring them to write the

whole story. And even as shocking as it is, He also had them write it all down with every bit of the bark still on it. He had them include the joyful, the good, the bad, the ugly and the sad. God gave us His truth without manipulation or a glossy look. He just gave us the whole story. So, knowing this about God’s Word, why is it then that we sometimes tend to hold our own stories and history so tightly?

God desires to see us grow together through this life. What then keeps us from being transparent? Perhaps there has been hurt, which leaves us with a cautious fear of being misunderstood. Maybe we have felt the sting of rejection or ridicule.

By Michael Harrison

Even so, God still wants us to open up our hearts to one another.

We have each been given the profound capacity to carry our unique personal history within our heart for a purpose. But why would God do that? Why would He allow us to have this fantastic ability to remember? I believe He gives us this privilege so we can share in His work of building up the Body of Christ. He allows us the opportunity to be a source of strength and comfort to others. His Word tells us that He comforts us in our afflictions “so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (II Cor 1:4) NASB. In other words, God has brought us through our circumstances in His mercy so

we can relate them to others as a source of comfort.

This discipleship process allows those who “have been there and done that” to be a source of encouragement to others who may be “right there” in the midst of trials now. Although many of the details in each of our stories may be getting just a bit blurred around the edges, our significant “life-changers” may be exactly what a person in need longs to hear.

God knows where we are and where we’ve been. He has provided the means for us to be His hands of comfort to others. What a great privilege to be useful to His purpose even with our imperfections.

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The Church: God’s Spiritual Family

When we moved to this area after a military transfer in 2004, Christ Church was the first church we attended because some wonderful neighbors extended an invitation.

We never tried any other churches after that first Sunday. I often think back on what it was that attracted us to Christ Church. The best answer I can come up with is that it felt like home and it felt like family. As a military family, we used to move frequently and I remember the loneliness of those first months at a new assignment. But by stepping out of our comfort zone and establishing new relationships, we’ve been blessed with some amazing friends everywhere we have lived who have become like family to us. Just as we reached out to others in an unfamiliar place, there have been a handful of key people who went out of their way to make us feel at home and get to know us on a very personal level.

Psalms 68:6 tells us that God sets the lonely in families. Family is God’s idea and family is a wonderful thing, but we must remember that God’s family extends beyond just blood relations. In Acts 2, the believers in the early church joined together for regular communion, teachings and prayer meetings. They often met in small groups in each other’s homes, sharing meals, possessions and giving to those in need. These believers functioned as God’s spiritual family and helping one another was a way of life.

I think most of us would agree that the early church in Acts is exactly the kind of church where we would love to belong. Everyone wants a welcoming, supportive and accepting church family, but making that happen requires effort on our part. As a mom of a growing family, I’ve learned that as my family grows adjustments need to be made. It takes more time and effort to give each member of my family individual attention. I’ve also learned that strong families are not created overnight. My husband and I must be intentional in our leadership and resist the urge to go into the auto-pilot mode. My hope is that with a strong foundation, my children will have the tools to grow into the men and women God has created them to be and they will make a difference in the world. I believe these same principles apply to building our church families. It absolutely makes my week to see my Christ Church family on Sundays. There are so many people I’ve grown to know and love over the past 8 years. But there are also a lot of new faces in the pews every Sunday. And I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes I’m so busy catching up with my old friends that I neglect making new ones. The truth is sometimes we just get caught up in our own stuff. We have our own agendas and our own family’s needs in mind and we forget that God’s family is a whole lot bigger. We should always be looking for ways to minister to others. We live in a hurting and broken world where we never really know what someone else is going

By Lindsay Tallman

through so we should never miss an opportunity to reach out with a kind word, a listening ear or an offer of help. As we step out of our comfort zone and reach out to others in the church, I believe God will continue to build a family of believers who are equipped to reach outside the building and do his work. In order to be an Acts church, we as individuals are going to need to love each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. I know some might drive by Christ Church and simply see a large church. But when I drive up, it looks like home. It feels like family. Who do you know that could use the love of a family today?

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Mom, Dad, do I have to go to school, eat my peas, go to the doctor, brush my teeth, take a bath, do my homework, go to church…?

Of course, the answer is “YES” to all the above, but then there is always the follow-up question “Why?”… imagine a whining tone with that and maybe a roll of the eyes.

Research has been showing in recent years that our faith makes an impact on our health. Spiritual people take better care of ourselves, have less stress, handle problems more effectively, when we are sick we tend to heal faster, and have fewer self- destructive behaviors. Faith can make a difference in our health?

God created us with body, soul (mind, will, emotions), and spirit. When something occurs in one area, it affects all of them. If someone gets sick (body), they can start thinking that this is terrible, there isn’t a cure, I’ll be stuck like this (mind), they can start feeling depressed and oppressed (emotions), and they might be grieved that God would allow this in their life or do they believe God will get them through this (spirit). Scripture tells us we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:14. Being spiritually healthy allows us to cope well with the joys, stresses, changes, and traumas. Our faith provides us with purpose, meaning, and guidance for our lives. It gives us strength in the face of helpless or hopeless situations, restores order and meaning to life situations, can help us regain a sense of control, and can give us peace and comfort in the midst of a trial. Our kids need these spiritual skills. How do we develop them?

Healthy spiritual practices increase one’s ability to make healthy choices in every area of life. As with anything, the more we practice, the better we become. Here are some practical ideas to choose from:

Body: eat healthy, exercise, work, and rest. 1 Cor 6:19-20 tells us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit

and to honor God with our bodies. Doing things together can encourage everyone. Ride bikes, play active games, go for a walk, eat healthy snacks, drink plenty of water, sleep at regular times, do chores together.

Soul (mind, will, emotions): read and study the Bible as a family. Joshua 1:8 “Do not let the Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.” Spend family time in discussing, understanding, memorizing, and applying Scripture. Do activities and make decisions that demonstrate the truth of God’s Word. Try role playing life situations and talk about what decisions are needed, do a service activity and discuss why you are doing it, make up a song together for a scripture verse. Get creative! Need some great ideas? See online: Family Values: A Tapestry of Choices.

Spirit: pray, meditate, fast, retreat. Kids get a lot of their training in watching what adults do, rather than what they teach, spiritual practices included. Prayer is the ongoing conversation with the One who loves you the most. You can tell God ANYTHING and He will still love you. We all need that comfort and safe zone, and kids need to experience that with you. Take some adventures in prayer. Pray together for a specific need. Keep a family journal of prayers and their answers. Talk together about when God says “No” or “Not now.” Do a mini fast for a specific purpose: Isaiah 58:6-7. Set apart time as a family to be in silence while thinking about a passage of scripture, take a day or few hours away to focus on God, or make a date with a child to discuss what they believe about God, their challenges, joys, or prayers.

When we are obedient to His word, we win! Our families get the benefit when we live in balance and are spiritually healthy! We model our spiritual lives when we “talk about them, sit at home, walk along the road, lie down, and get up,” Deut 6:7. So take some time, evaluate your family’s spiritual health. Your family’s current and future health depends on it.

Family, Faith & HealthBy Debby Creagh

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Getting To Know

YouName: Don FrazureJob Title: Pastor Of Worship ArtsJob Description: Oversee the worship arts team at Christ Church.

If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be? Siena, Italy (Tuscany)

If you knew you could try anything and not fail, what dream would you attempt? Summit Mt. Everest

What are you best at? Honestly, and I’m not proud of it...procrastination.

Where are you from? Pascagoula, Mississippi

What is your favorite food? Anything at 1111 Mississippi in St. Louis

What is your motto? Sing loud and prosper!

What is your favorite dessert? The Gooey Butter Cake and cold glass of milk at 1111 Mississippi

Would you like to be famous?That depends on how much the gig pays...

What do you think you will be doing five years from now? Lord willing, what I’m doing right now!

What is your goal in life? Love God, Love Neighbor

Name one thing you miss about being a kid. Not having to worry about what I eat.

What makes you feel most alive? Rachel, Juliana and Shelby

Where do you like to vacation? Gulf Shores, Alabama

Would you bungee jump? The short answer is “No” the long answer is “NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!”

What were you like when you were a kid? Shorter

What would your dream house be like? A replica of the Tuscan farmhouse we stayed in when we studied in Italy.

Would you rather visit the zoo or tour a museum? Museum - but isn’t a zoo just a living museum?

What song tells your life story? “I Will Rise”

What is your favorite quote? “It is a fair, even-handed, noble adjustment of things, that, while there is infection in disease and sorrow, there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

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The Beauty of a Family in the Cause of Christ

By Demian Farnworth

The other day my wife said that the pursuit of the cause of Christ would be infinitely easier if I didn’t have a family. She said it casually, kindly, toward the end of a conversation we were having about

pursuing missionary work. She said if not for the obligation to care and support a family, one could easily pursue the work of God.

She has a biblical case.

She trotted out Jesus’ statement, “And there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He, who is able to accept this, let him accept it.” And she mentioned Paul who said the married man or woman has divided affections, serving the spouse, the children, and could not give the full weight of their attention to the cause of Christ:

“Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that.” 1 Corinthians 7:7

Sensing that I was not seeing her point she suggested we wouldn’t have the house to sell or the multiple cars needed in today’s mobile society to be agile. If I was a bachelor, my accommodations would be meager, a pillow and mat in some hostel that cost me $60 a month. All my belongings in a back pack.

While there is something noble about the devotion and simplicity of being single to serve the cause of Christ, I hardly think a man who is married with children should cherish such a thought. Paul said, “Each man must remain in the condition in which he was called.” It seems that Paul was perhaps combating the acts of some Christians who abandoned their family for Christ.

Of course my wife wasn’t suggesting I abandon the family, just merely suggesting I probably dream about the simplicity of being single to champion the cause of Christ.

Okay. Fair enough.

I confess: the longing to be single to pursue the cause of Christ, in the name of Christ, is a very real temptation. Yet to indulge that temptation would do nothing but sully my testimony of Christ. To justify with a cold calculation that I

could impact more people because I had more freedom by sacrificing my family would be one of the most damaging things I could do--both to my family and to Christ.

The other thing that occurred to me is that God would get more glory in a family championing the cause of Christ than a single person doing the same thing. In fact, we expect the single Christian to live unencumbered, to devote a large degree of their time and energy into the causes of Christ. We simply see it as being normal. A lone missionary travelling to Nigeria makes sense. A family with small children, on the other hand, is a different story.

To even engineer that move is woefully complex. Passports, shots and finances. And the dangers are very real. The cemeteries of mission fields hold the graves of missionaries, many of whom are small children. Yet it is done hundreds, if not thousands, of times a year.

And it is that type of sacrifice and obedience that gives greater glory to God. The larger the family, the greater the burden, but the more grace from God needed, and the more glory that God gets in the end.

For someone like me who is prone to think he must achieve something great, I need constant reminders that raising a family devoted to the work of Christ is perhaps the greatest achievement a married man could accomplish. About marriage, Paul said, “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” Could it get any better than that?

Sometimes that is hard for me to believe. It’s certainly not what the world believes. But to chase achievement that made much of me at the expense of my family—even if in the name of Christ—is an utter failure. As Jesus said, “For a man who wishes to save his life will lose it, but the man who loses it for my sake will find it.”

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Words MatterBy Carrie Gaxiola

My husband, Urban, and I have been married almost 26 years. We have 8 wonderful children, 4 boys and 4 girls. My family is my challenge and my joy. They are my life. I

am blessed beyond measure, and God has been very gracious to us. With that many in the house, you can imagine how my mind went 100 different directions with the theme of family relationships!

As I prayed about this article, the prevailing thought that traveled through my mind was this: words matter. Words that you speak have the power to crush or the power to build up and heal. They are a powerful tool in the life of a family.

Early in my mothering years, I had one particular child that received a lion’s share of strong will. I did not speak kind, encouraging words after an extremely challenging time with the child, and the Lord very gently corrected me by saying, “Carrie, you will get what you speak.” I understood Him to say if I spoke words over my children that said they were brats or a nuisance, they would rise to that judgment. If I was not careful with my words, I would set on course a fire I may not be able to contain. (James 3:5-13) I was so deeply sobered and convicted by the wisdom and power of God to reprove me. I had a choice to make. What fruit did I want to produce with my words?

Proverbs 18:21 says, “The power of life and death are in the tongue, and they that love it will eat the fruit thereof.” That day I determined to choose the sweet fruit of words

that would build up and not tear down. I have failed many times in my parenting and marriage when I do not couple my words with the spirit of self-control, but I am so thankful for God’s forgiveness and new mercy each day!

Let’s examine our family relationships in light of our words and God’s Word:

Is there sarcasm in the guise of “just kidding” toward our spouse or children? (Patsy Clairmont says sarcasm is just anger with a clown mask on…ouch!) (Eph. 5:4) Is there belittlement and comparing? (II Cor. 10:12)

Are we speaking mean-spirited words that cause a marriage, a teen, a child to wither inside and the relationship to be damaged? (Eph. 4:29)

None of this is easy, especially if we have been wounded by another person or the battles have been relentless. This is the time to dig in deep with Jesus and remind ourselves that He is everything. He is the only One that can fill your cup, meet all your needs and love you purely. No human is created to accomplish that much love. It is unfair for any of us to have that expectation of another. When Jesus Christ has filled your heart, He gives you the strength to say the words that will sustain life in a relationship. He will give you hope when a spouse is unloving or a child has rebelled. When you are filled up with Him, then you can speak the words that breathe life, love and encouragement even in the face of adverse conditions.

I am asking God today to renew the determination to guard my tongue and am reminded, as the old hymn says, to speak “Beautiful words, wonderful words, beautiful words of life; Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.” In the life of a family, words matter. May God grant us all the ability to breathe life into our relationships through our words!

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By Alan Prass

When I flew KC-135s in the U.S. Air Force, each aircrew would synchronize their watches to the Navy Atomic Clock before each flight. It was important we worked off

the same clock. Our mission was to rendezvous with another airplane that was departing from another location thousands of miles from our location and meet them at a certain point at a predetermined time. If our watches were off by a couple of minutes from the crew of the other airplane, we could miss each other by 5 to 10 miles.

Synchronizing our lives with Jesus Christ keeps us near Him and lessens the chance we may miss Him when we need Him most. For the next 24 months, Christ Church is going to synchronize our Christian lives with Jesus through Worship + 2 and a Tithe.

We will introduce the SYNC Initiative in May. Our goal is that everyone will commit to attending at least one worship service per week, participate in a ministry that “Loves God” (i.e., Bible study, Disciple Class, etc.), a ministry that “Loves Neighbor” (i.e., Winter Patrol, Summer Mission Trip, Birthday Wishes, etc.) and Tithes. The month of May will be filled with opportunities to learn about the ministries that Christ Church has to offer. The annual Ministry Fair will be held on 2 different Sundays this year, May 6th and May 20th. Take this opportunity to learn what Christ Church has to offer and pray about what ministry God is leading you to get involved in.

Every family will be given a SYNC catalog and commitment card in May. The SYNC commitment card will have four sections, Worship, Loving God, Loving

Neighbor and Tithe. On June 3rd, we will ask everyone to bring their completed cards to the altar during worship services. SYNC will replace what we know as CEPIM (Connecting Every Person In Ministry) in name only. The goal will remain to connect people to ministry opportunities here at Christ Church. Many of the processes will stay the same. One of the other goals of the SYNC Initiative is to make it easier for everyone to access information such as church news, upcoming events, registration and sign-ups via the digital highway. We are in the middle of developing a Christ Church app for mobile devices. You will be able to access the Bible, devotions, sermon videos and online giving, as well as registration for classes and special events. We will also have iPad kiosks available in Scripture Hall for people to access this information.

We live in a fast-paced world where advancements in technology happen on a daily basis. It is almost impossible to keep up with! We constantly have to take time to synchronize our computers, laptops, iPads, and mobile devices so they can communicate with each other and everyone else in the world. It is time to synchronize our lives with Jesus Christ!

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I am convinced more than anything that the enemy hates the family! Regardless of the size, the uniqueness, its culture,

and background, if people live according to God’s word, and work to hold each other accountable, that family is on Satan’s VIP hit list! Emma and I are both witnesses to this truth. As the leader of my home, there is not a single second where this duty from God, and the honor I have in holding it, doesn’t force me to consider how my living is an example for those who follow me as I follow Jesus Christ. It can be both daunting and delightful, but never dull.

I love Acts 10:1-8. I love preaching, teaching, and learning from this text. There is not a month in my devotional studies where I don’t turn to this text and work to glean another nugget from it. I lean on this text for the fruit of character and call for leadership it puts on me. I thank God for this text because it gives me another man to learn from. The death of my father at age five made a crater in my life that has been somewhat filled by men of great example who lived in word

A Family AffairBy Rev. Troy Benton, Associate Pastor

“At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.” When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. He told them

everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa. ”

(Acts 10:1-8, TNIV)

and deed the way I believe God would desire. Cornelius is one of those men...

Acts 10 verses 2 and 4 give families core values of being a great family and promises of the fruit of being such! Simply put, due to the work of pursuing God, and the will to please God in Cornelius, his family learns the following rules for being a strong family: both individual and family as a unit hold one another and the family accountable to...

• Live “devout” or “very sincere” in faith in God.

• Fear God in holy ways through love and trust in Jesus Christ.

• Give to those in need.

• Maintain a strong prayer life.

It is important to note we are not told how Cornelius is taught these core values for himself and his family. How a leader and his/her spouse learn these is not the big take away; what is important is that Cornelius learns these life lessons, and plants them in his family. Here’s my heart,

give your family the legacy of living a Godly life. It is the only gift you will never see diminish in value!

Imagine before Cornelius made his eternal transition, his Godly living produced such recognition by God the Father that his prayers and giving to the poor rose to God as a memorial offering to be used for kingdom business. Cornelius gave his family a pathway to eternal life, freed a disciple who would preach the gospel and win thousands for the Kingdom, and provide a perfume that God would note as the scent of a true believer.

People ask often what the bible says is a great life. Here’s the answer: follow the example of Cornelius, and get one! His love for his family and for Jesus Christ mentored his family in the faith, and made provision for the work of God in the life of others he would never know, and in his final days...his own.

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Seeing Hidden BlessingsBy Larry Weber

For Christmas our 7 children made a Shutterfly™ book of our summer vacation last July to Gatlinburg. The front cover is a picture of the entire family on the balcony of our cabin looking

down to the main floor of the cabin to the photographers, two of our son-in-laws, Phil and Darin. As I looked at that cover for the umpteenth time last night, for the first time I realized that Darin and Phil were missing from the photo; there were only 17 in the photo, not the 19 staying at the cabin.

Often our lives are like that–we look but don’t see all that God has in store for us. Sometimes it is because He has not revealed His plan for us. (Eph. 3:11) More often we just do not see all the blessings He has bestowed upon us. We are caught up in the moments of life. Like one of Shane’s sermon illustrations, we cannot see the big picture because something so close to our face is blocking our view.

The other issue we have is that we are impatient. We want to see and know NOW! And we want to see perfectly, everything. When I realized the picture from summer vacation was incomplete, I wanted to immediately go back to Gatlinburg and retake that picture but this time with Phil and Darin in it. In 1 Cor. 13:12 we read, “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

Indy 500By Fred Bishop, Director of No Greater Love Ministries

When I was a boy growing up on a farm in Southern Illinois, I would listen to the Indianapolis 500 car race on the radio. I never dreamed that I would not only get to

go there, but take hundreds of men through the years to share Jesus at the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

It’s time to “gear” up for the Indy 500. The roar of an Indy car engine, the howls of drunken partiers and bass licks pulsating from every stereo; yet there is another noise beneath the sin, chaos and confusion. It is the still, small voice of God. As we sing, clown and share Jesus, God’s voice becomes audible, then familiar. You still hear it when you go home.

Men of Christ Church, join us for a life-changing weekend you won’t forget. NGL Indianapolis 500 Outreach is May 25-27, 2012.

For your convenience you may register online at www.nogreaterlove.org

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Confirmation Class of 2012--------------------------------Ethan James Alexander, Mackenzie Renee Bradshaw, Logan Fredrick Burgess, Kylie Carter, Holden Joseph-William Evans, Megan Gibbs, Benjamin Ryan Gross, Sydney Marie Hand, Annabelle Lynn Heddell, Nicholas Jong In Kelly, Kelly Lyn Klein, Alexander James-Michael Krausz, Grace Leann Lirette, Justin Howard Province, Will Thomas Smith

New Members --------------------------------FebruaryDan Schubert , Dianne Griffith Schubert

MarchLevi Jones, Heidi Jones, David D. Sebranek, Mary E. Sebranek, Linette Warnecke, Jeffrey P. Rolph, Kara Jean Rolph

AprilEthan James Alexander, MacKenzie Renee Bradshaw, Kylie Carter, Megan Gibbs, Benjamin Gross, Sydney Marie Hand, Annabelle Heddell, Alexander James-Michael Krausz, Grace Leann Lirette, Justin Howard Province, Will Thomas Smith, Sherry Kim Hobbs, Jeffrey M. Bishop, Tina L. Bishop, Andy D. Croxford, Lyndsay Erin Croxford, James D. Harrelson, Sharon K. Ketcherside, Tamiko D. Smith, Melvin E. Harrington, Velvet S. Cardwell, Mark D. Cardwell, Lois Y. Jackson, Myoka C. Jackson, Chad Travis Lidisky, Kris Campbell, Jennifer Campbell, Mark Edward Dressel, Cindy Lynette Dressel, Kari Marie Sanden, Catherine Lee Sanden

God At WorkBaptisms--------------------------------MarchFrancesca Kathleen Gross AprilChristopher Cole Bishop, Asya Nichelle Clark, Stephen Kendall Clark, Harper Morgan Ferrell, Megan Gibbs, Sherry Kim Hobbs, Abigail Nicole Kuykendall, Lydia Alice Kohlenberger, Trixie Lu Kohlenberger, Joseph Carter Terrell, Ryan Michael Vogt, Alexandra Chastain, Chad Travis Lidisky, Caris Gabrielle Lidisky, Declan Nelson, Areiana M. Cardwell, Rebecca L. Wallace, Jaron Rudolph Knobeloch

Member Passing-------------------------------- JoAnn Groom – March 28

Attendance--------------------------------March Worship avg. = 1694March Connection Classes avg. = 527Year Avg. Worship = 1702

Finances (as of 04-20-12)

--------------------------------General BudgetYTD Giving = $971,072.99YTD Expenses = $850,826.71Annual Budget = $2,415,165.00