Trust Me!

Opps! Several thousand $1 gold coins have been printed without the saying, "In God We Trust."

How many times have you heard the term: Do you trust me? Trust is a powerful thing. My wife and I are huge fans of the TV show 24. The other night we were watching the show and I quit counting at 10 how many times Jack Baurer said, "you gotta trust me," or "trust me I know what I'm doing."

At C1 I am trusting God for something HUGE! Something that will rock our community. Something that have thousands of people buzzing about C1. Last Sunday I talked about how we are going to have a 21-day fast the three weeks prior to Easter. For me, this is going to be a time of really trusting God to take me to the next level. I really believe that as I grow so does the church.

The coins that were printed without 'in God we trust' were called an oversight. I wonder how many of us in our lives just live each day with the "oversight" of not trusting God.

Trust defined - to rely on, to believe in, to have confidence in

So who are you trusting in today?

It's grow time!

For those of you who don't know, I love to lift weights. It's challenging, stress relieving and it's competition (which I love) with myself. I like to see growth. Whether it's physcially or spiritually, I love to grow.

I read a few years ago that in order to grow physcially you have to eat 1 gram of protein for every pound you weigh. So in order for me to grow more muscle I have to eat approximately 185 (or more) grams of protein per day. That's how I'll grow.

What about spiritual growth? How do you grow spiritually?


I believe that if you will spend the time everyday with God you will grow. But when you proclaim God's truth in (your) everyday speech you're letting others in on the truth so they can grow and be strong and experience His presence with you. I Cor. 14

As you spend time with God, everyday, you will begin to see your actions, your attitudes, and your ambitions will be to please God.

Now growth doesn't happen overnight but over a period of time you'll be able to tell you've grown.

Here are some things I've done in my life to grow everyday:

Prayer Time - mix it up...go for a walk or spend time in a church
Book Reading - reading is tough for a lot of people so find a good (short) book and begin the discipline of reading
Journaling - writing down your thoughts and dreams are a great way to express, to God and yourself, how you feel
Music - listening to music and singing (even if it's bad) is a great way to spend time with God

How do you grow?

Royal Ranger Day @ C1

C1 launched Royal Rangers (kind of a like a Boy Scouts) program last fall. This past Sunday was our 1st Ranger Day at C1. It was a pretty cool presentation. The boys received merit badges and were honored in front of the church. A huge 'thank you' to our Ranger Leaders.

We also continued our 'ask me about c1' series by looking at the ONE thing Jesus wanted us to become. At first glance we would think that he would want us to be more holy, or pray more but as a follower of Christ God wants to become 'fishers of men.' That's it! To follow Jesus is to fish. That is the ONE thing Jesus wants u to be...fisherman. If you've ever been fishing you know it can take a while for that catch. But like all great fisherman patience pays off!

Where are you fishing? Are you fishing?

Sunday's Boxscore:

Attendance: 162

The Lid

I had a conversation with someone this week and they said, "It just doesn't seem like anything is happening right now in my life." My response: What are you praying might happen in your life?

I remember hearing that advice from a pastor. That's such good council. Let me ask you, what are you believing God is going to do through you?


Is there a person God wants you to bless?
Is there a friend God wants you to invite to church?
Is there a co-worker God wants you to pray for?
Is there an area God wants you to give to Him?

I've found that a lot of times if we will just obey God and trust Him there is nothing to prevent His favor from exploding in our lives.

It's a lot like the lid on a bottle of pepsi. Have you ever shaken the bottle and then opened it? That's fun!

The lid is holding back the potential explosion. The bottle has been shaken and it's ready to explode but the lid is preventing what could happen. I've found a lot of times that I'm the lid when comes to God doing what He wants to do in my life.

I've been shaken (God speaks to me) and my spirit is ready to explode (do what God wants me to do) but I (aka: The Lid of self) prevent what could happen.

Let me encourage you, to trust God and remove doubt and enjoy the cup God has for you.

Anyone thirsty?

What a great service...

Sunday was great! We talked about how to overcome fear as we continued our 'ask me about c1' series. We ended the service having people write names on posters of people who are: unsaved and need a savior or unchurched and need a church. The response was overwhelming.

In all over 600 names were recorded!

That's a lot of potential world changers.

Let me encourage you to begin now taking action steps make this prayer a reality. Make room for God to use you. I believe that if you'll pray and seek God's best He'll provide an opportunity for you to invest in that person.

Work Out!

For about the last five years I've been pretty committed to working out. I try to lift 3-4 times a week. It's really a discipline. I value growth. Whether the growth is physcial, mental, spiritual, or relational it's important. One of the main reasons I value growth so much is it's measureable. While watching the half-time show of the Pro Bowl a few weeks ago they had a bench press competition. These guys were amazing! An offensive lineman won the competition by bench pressing 225 lbs. 40 times.

In case you're wondering, the average man can bench press 135 lbs. ONE time.

That got me thinking...how many times could I bench 225 lbs. I set a goal to bench 225 lbs. 25 times this year.

You see I have found that how I'm doing physically and how I'm doing spiritually are connected. If I feel good about myself physcially I feel good spiritually. If I feel good spiritually I feel good about myself physcially.

Jesus valued growth. He said in the gospel of Luke that if a tree doesn't bear fruit he's going to cut it down.

What steps are you taking to grow in your life?

By the way...I benched 225 lbs. 14 times this week. I'll update you as I get closer to my goal!

Married Life Live

We kicked off a new ministry at C1 last week. Married Life Live (a Northpoint Church resource) started off with 12 couples on a snowy Saturday night. Beth and I are very pumped about the opportunity to invest in the married (or soon to be) couples in our community.

There are six key essentials of this ministry:

• Trust God
• Hurry Home
• Cultivate Communication
• Nurture Romance
• Celebrate Differences
• Finish Together

We are also connecting our quarterly events with a weekly Life Group that meets on Sunday's at 9:30 AM.

Coming soon to www.c1church.com will be a Married Life resource page listing upcoming events, reading resources, and other great materials to enhance your marriage.

One of the main points of Married Life is take your wife on a date once a week. I believe a Healthy Marriage leads to a Healthy Home.

Gotta go...need to plan a date night with my wife now...