Back At It

My friend Jerry (to the right) says he needs me to write to keep him encouraged. Jerry - you need to get some more friends!

Well, it is encouraging to know that at least one person is still checking in, so, if for no one else, here are blog entries for you, Jer. (check out Jerry's website: www.jerryminer.com. Very gifted comedian!)


For quite a while I have been thinking about Romans 8. As I have read it, begun to memorize it, spent time meditating on it, I'm increasingly impressed with the depth of Paul's words and the potential for significant freedom for those who understand them and live according to them.

I'm going to spend a while slowly walking through the chapter and sharing some of my thoughts. It would be great to hear your thoughts too. Conversations are always more fun than monologues.

To talk about Romans 8, because Paul starts with a "therefore," we have to deal with what the "therefore" is there for. My thoughts:

"So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." (Romans 7:21-25, NIV)


There is a battle that is going on constantly and it is the battle between the spiritual man, the one who is a slave to the law of God, and the carnal man, who is a slave to the law of sin. Temptation and the challenge of evil are not things that are simply “out there” in the world, they are “right here” in me. That is what makes the struggle of sin so frustrating. I can’t blame others for my disobedience as if I am forced to comply with the temptations of the world. I can only blame the evil that is within me.

When struggling with sin and it overcomes me, I feel the weight of Paul’s words, “What a wretched man I am!” Who has not wallowed in this sentiment who has eaten from the trough of the slop of sin? It seemed like a good thing at the time, didn’t it? That anger outburst – surely they deserved it. That second look – fearfully and wonderfully made, why shouldn’t I? Sharing the juicy tidbit – I just wanted them to be prayed for. The extra piece of dessert – sure hate to see things go to waste. Just one more drink - because it is there.

There is no doubt that there is a battle, is there? The mistake is where we think the battle begins. The battle doesn’t begin from the outside, it begins on the inside. “…waging war against the law of my mind…” The mind is the battlefield for the soul. As a man thinks, so he goes. And the battle lines were drawn up by the presence of sin. It is not unique to one, it is common to all.
The good news is this, God has not left us alone to fight the battle. Jesus is on our side. More than that, he has secured victory. “I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. And the life I live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loves me and gave his life up for me.” The slavery in my mind to the law of God is more powerful than the slavery in my body to the law of sin. I may want to sin, I may choose to sin, I may set myself up in such a way that I believe I have no other choice than to sin but the Gospel of Jesus Christ tells me I do not have to sin.

The key? Renewing my mind. The truth of Romans 8.

Ten Years

Ten years. 120 months. 520 weeks. 3,653 days (3 leap years). 87,672 hours. 5,260,320 minutes. Ten years.

This year is not a year where I look back over just the last year of ministry but over the last 10 years of ministry. It was 10 years ago in June that I began my ministry here as Lead Pastor. Let’s see…what was going on 10 years ago…

• January 1 - Smoking is banned in all California bars and restaurants.
• January 25 - Super Bowl XXXII: The Denver Broncos become the first AFC team in 14 years to win the Super Bowl, as they defeat the Green Bay Packers, 31-24.
• June 14 - The Chicago Bulls win their 6th NBA title in 8 years when they beat the Utah Jazz, 87-86 in Game Six. This is also Michael Jordan's last game as a Bull, clinching the game in the final seconds on a fadeaway jumper.
• June 25 - Microsoft releases Windows 98 (First Edition).
• November 3 - Jesse Ventura, former professional wrestler, is elected Governor of Minnesota.

There were a few other notable events like the President of the United States being under investigation for moral misconduct, Apples iMac was introduced, John Glenn got another chance at being in space.

When I came to Cold Springs Church it was called First Baptist Church and there was a small and faithful group of people who were pretty tired after a lot of years of conflict and building. As a 36 year-old I didn’t know a lot but I was determined to bring a lot of energy to the party! And God was faithful and wise, even when I lacked one or the other.

One of the encouraging things over the last 10 years was the privilege of baptizing 216 people during that time. There is nothing that more clearly illustrates the purpose and vision of the church than baptism – the transformation of lives so that they publicly declare their faith and allegiance to Jesus Christ!

Some of the other encouraging things: Finalizing the second longest open building permit in Placerville by finishing our facilities. Growing from 100 people to 500 and seeing over 850 people impacted this last Easter. Seeing an increase in faith as we have given away more money and resources to local, national and international efforts of sharing Jesus Christ.

The last ten years have been a journey to embrace our mission of living for the people who are not here yet and reaching people for Jesus while working hard at discipling those at Cold Springs Church to be passionate followers of Jesus.

God has blessed us with an enduring sense of unity over the last ten years as we have gone through tremendous change. We have had 9 worship leaders and four youth pastors over that time. We have gone from traditional worship to blended to multiple services with contemporary and traditional worship styles. We have tried new types of services and stopped ministries that were no longer effective. We have moved the adult Sunday School class at least five times in order to make more room for ministering to our children. Some of the changes have gone smoothly, some have been painful. But the vision of Growing Transformed Lives has stayed at the center and we have held unbendingly to that mandate.

The greatest danger as you read through the reports in our Annual Ministry Report is to get a feeling that “this is good enough.” Although I am grateful for all that God has done in the past, I know he isn’t a God of the past, he is a God of the future. My reflections of the past make me long for so much more because I don’t think we have come close to reaching our full potential in Christ as a church.

One of the things I realized was a significant focus of our church over the last 25 years has been securing, developing and improving our ministry campus. We have spent a tremendous amount of time, energy, money and focus on our facilities. It has given us an awesome tool with which to reach our community. But it is just that – a tool.

Now we need to unleash our resources, energy and passion upon our community and world. What would it take to make a lasting impact on 3% of the people around us - that is 2700 people? What would that do for our community? How can we make Jesus so evident and so important in our community that they don’t just put up with us, they invite us to sit at the table of decisions because we are such a critical part of the community? What will it take to unleash God’s Spirit in our community of faith that the people who come on our campus are overwhelmed with a sense of the love and power of God? What will it take to awaken each and every person at CSCC to embrace their divine calling and live not just for the rewards of a successful life but rather for the eternal rewards of a significant life? What would it look like to live a life of faith as a church, not trying to protect the progress of the past but embracing the hope of the future? What difference would it make to partner with other churches to plant churches that plant churches? How significant of an impact would it be to see the Ethiopian Graduate School of Evangelism resourced to train multiple more leaders to reach Africa for Christ and push back the rising tide of Islam?

These are some of the questions that my soul wrestles with as I reflect on the future. Our best days are not in the past, they are in the future. Just as the past has been a story of change so that we could find and embrace the opportunities, the story of the future will require the same. When I get to heaven, I don’t want Jesus to say, “Hey David, pretty good first ten years but what was the deal with coasting the rest of the way?” I want to hear “Well done good and faithful servant!” I am committed to living my life and leading in ministry such that we hear those words from Jesus! My invitation to you is to join me. My prayer is we will all look back and say “This was the year God began to move at CSCC in ways I never could have imagined!”

Wouldn’t that be awesome.

For the glory of God,

David Cooke
Lead Pastor

Grow – Invite – Connect – Give

A couple of years ago, as I was reading my Bible (I can’t remember exactly what) I was struck with a thought that I wrote down on a post-it note.

We exist to give our lives away that others might know the depth of God’s love.

I still have the post-it note and it is still stuck in my Bible. When I see it, it gives me pause and makes me consider how my life lines up with that insight.

I am regularly amazed at the patience, grace and forbearance of God. It is clear that he loves us tremendously. The greatest act of love was the death of his son on the cross. That act of love opened a whole new life of forgiveness and freedom that was unknown since the Garden of Eden. But God doesn’t force himself upon us. He doesn’t demand that we receive his love. He doesn’t require that we live in his grace or that we recognize him for who he is.

Likewise, when we become followers of Jesus, God’s patience, grace and forbearance continue even when we don’t trust him fully with our lives and our possessions. God does not force us to give, but he calls us to a life of giving.

In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church he concludes with the challenge to “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” What was the work of the Lord? Spreading the good news of Jesus, caring for each other, loving the poor and helpless, feeding the hungry, sharing their resources, teaching truth, exercising their spiritual gifts in community with others - to name a few.

Really, I think it is safe to say that whatever we do, done for the glory of God, is the work of the Lord.

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:17, NIV)

Our greatest acts of faith come in the form of giving. Giving always requires something from us or of us. Inherent in the act of giving is a level of self-sacrifice that looks to the needs of others above ourself. Unfortunately, we often see this as painful but God wants us to see it as joyful!

"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7, NIV)

As Jesus grabs hold of our heart we come to see that we don’t live for ourselves, we live to give. In giving, we find blessing. In giving, others see the reality of Jesus. In us giving our lives away, others see the depth of God’s love.

Grow – Invite – Connect – Give

What Does It Matter?

Grow – Invite – Connect – Give

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25, NIV)

There are three ways you can view the church. You can view it as a gas station, a hotel or a home.

A lot of people view church as a gas station. You see, a gas station is a place you go to get something you need. You may not like that you need it and you may not like the price that you have to pay but, through what people have taught you and perhaps from personal experience, you are convinced that a car without fuel is pretty worthless. When you go to the gas station, you use your credit card at the pump, you may nod to the person next to you getting gas but you really aren’t interested in relationship. Relationship only happens when you can’t get the pump to work and you have to talk to the attendant or you buy a little caffeine and sugar hit. It is all about getting what you need as fast as you can and you don’t return unless you have to.

Other people view church as a hotel. The hotel is a place to stay for a bit to get the needed rest to get to someplace else. Hotels are mostly about value and comfort – finding the right mix of the two. The relationship is a little higher because you are talking to the desk clerk to get checked in, you might make some small talk to the other people at the continental breakfast bar but once you are rested and fed, off you go to your next place.

God views the church as a home. A home is a place where you belong. You don’t visit, you don’t pass through, it isn’t just about getting what you want or need. A home is where you give and where you get, it is where you are funny and grumpy, orderly and messy, happy and sad and your family loves you just the same because they are committed to you. A home is where you grow up in size and grow up in character. A home is a place where people love you too much to let you stay the same so they encourage, challenge, rebuke, teach and discipline you so that you can reach that wonderful potential that you may not see but they do. A home is a place you sometimes feel like running away from because it is filled with messy, smelly, occasionally obnoxious imperfect people that hurt you. But they are family so you stay and work it out.

God never intended His church to be seen as a commodity – something to be selfishly used. He intended His church to be a Spirit empowered, relationship driven, passion filled group of imperfect people striving to encourage each other to be more like Jesus.

Here is something that is absolutely true – the longer we stay away from the church, the easier it is to stay away from the church. We eventually convince ourselves that they don’t need us and we don’t need them.

But the Bible is clear – we need each other. We need to be connected in regular, committed relationship with others that goes beyond the surface. It is one of the most difficult things we do in our journey of faith in Jesus Christ – finding authentic relationship with others. It starts with engaging in regular corporate worship, teaching and celebration of the sacraments of communion and baptism. It moves to engagement in growth, learning and relationship through small group connection and matures when we serve in community with each other.

What does it matter? It is the difference between a living, growing, deep abiding faith in God versus a self-serving religious experience that puts myself as the object of worship instead of God.

It matters a lot. Keep connected.

Peace,

David

"See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness." (Hebrews 3:12-13, NIV)


" The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ."



"Now the body is not made up of one part but of many."



"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed ..." (1 Corinthians 12:12, 14, 27-28, NIV)

Grow – Invite – Connect – Give

Growing Up

Grow – Invite – Connect – Give

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:4-5, NIV)

You probably already know that I like my electronic toys but one of the best inventions to come around is the digital camera. Talk about instant gratification! On my computer I have over 7,000 pictures that go back to 2003. Sometimes, when I am looking for a certain picture I will scroll through the thumbnail size pics and it is like watching my kids evolve right before my eyes. Being with them each day, I tend not to notice the subtle changes but when I look at them over time, I am amazed at how they are changing.

When we look at all the things that God has created and designed to grow, unless you are a fly, growth takes time. If you are a fly, your whole life is going to be experienced in 15 to 30 days, as long as you don’t meet a fly-swatter! For the rest of us, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual growth takes place over years and we often have a hard time seeing the changes.

When it comes to our spiritual lives, God expects us to grow up. Accepting Jesus in our life to save us and lead us is just the beginning of being the person God created us to be. To be that person, we must intentionally engage in the activities that contribute to growth.

Through the centuries of people following God, there have been developed a number of practices to facilitate spiritual growth. They are commonly referred to as Spiritual Disciplines but I like to think of them as Spiritual Habits. At the core of these habits are a few essentials that foster having a growing spiritual life. All followers of Christ are called to consistently and regularly practice, at a bare minimum, a life of worship, Bible reading, prayer, and reflection in community with others. Of course, the spiritual life is like all else, doing the minimum may maintain where you’re at but it rarely moves you beyond that!

Growth as a Christian is ultimately about one thing - we would more and more abide in Jesus so that we are transformed. When we grow we are becoming more like Jesus in the way we think, the way we talk and the way we act. So the goal of growth is not that we would just know more but that we would be more.

Author and Professor Dr. Dallas Willard says it this way:

“The aim of disciplines in the spiritual life--and, specifically, in the following of Christ--is the transformation of the total state of the soul. It is the renewal of the whole person from the inside, involving differences in thought, feeling and character that may never be manifest in outward behavior at all. This is what Paul has in mind when he speaks of putting off the "old man" and putting on the new, "renewed to resemble in knowledge the one who created us..." (Col. 3:10)” (Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation and the Restoration of the Soul)

Spiritual growth should be seen in the same light of why we bother to eat food each day. Most meals are not gourmet affairs – peanut butter and honey sandwiches aren’t very sophisticated! But as we eat healthily each day it provides fuel for our bodies so we can meet the challenges of the day. The daily feeding of our souls through practicing spiritual habits brings the growth that will make us disciples of Jesus. Jesus described that as living life to the full. As a Christian, that is what we should long for most.

"In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so." (Hebrews 5:12-6:3, NIV)



NEXT: The Importance of Connection

Grow – Invite – Connect – Give

An Invitation To See God

Grow – Invite – Connect – Give

A couple of years ago my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. The three kids worked together to pull the event off. My part was the invitations. OK, OK – it wasn’t my part, it was my wife Pam’s part. (I can’t even draw a straight line!) Well, my wonderful wife had a ball putting her creative powers to work designing and hand-making the invitations to the party. They were really great and when people got them, she received lots of compliments.

When I receive an invitation, I have rarely found it to be a negative thing. We receive invitations to weddings, to birthday parties, to baby showers and a host of other activities. An invitation is an opportunity to celebrate something good. Because of this, most people are open to receiving an invitation.

Last week I wrote about CSCC’s commitment to live out BBC – Balanced Biblical Christianity. As we live out BBC through the vision of CSCC of “Growing transformed lives through experiencing the truth, presence and people of Jesus” the idea of invitation is a critical element.

Each and every day most of us have interaction with other people. Whether we interact with many or few, our mission from Jesus is the same: make disciples. (see Matthew 28:18-20) Paul puts it this way in his letter to the Corinthians –

"We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:20-21, NIV)

Let me put it this way, the purpose of each of our lives is to invite others to see the glory of God. The way we do that is manifold. It depends on the person God puts in our path and the situation we find ourselves in.

Today I stopped to help a couple of ladies get their overheated car going. My parting comment was “I’ll pray for you that it all works out.” In the brief interaction I had with one of the women, it was apparent the broken down car was the least of her problems. I prayed that God would reveal His glory to this woman and her daughter. There was no time to present the Four Spiritual Laws, to invite them to CSCC, to even pray over their car. It was just one sentence that I pray sticks in her harried heart to nudge her closer to Jesus.

God puts people in our path every day that are so consumed with their problems that they can’t see God. You are there for a reason and that is to invite them to see life differently. A part of inviting others to see the glory of God is inviting them to be around people who are seeking God. Inviting people to your small group, a church activity, a worship service is all part of being an inviting person.

An invitation to see the glory of God is about as good as it gets. Don’t be ashamed or afraid. Go as far as the Holy Spirit leads you – no more, no less – as you invite others to see God’s glory. You might even see more of his glory too when you do!

With you in the journey,

David

PS – Do you have any “invitation stories?” Please tell me your story!

NEXT WEEK: How We Grow

Grow – Invite – Connect – Give

Some More Thoughts on Forgiveness

Last Sunday Pam and I spoke on forgiveness. It is always a challenging one for me because it is a great opportunity for the Holy Spirit to tap me up side the head with the holy 2X4 about how far I have to go in this area.

One of the things I had insight into was actually a synthesis of the speakers from the marriage conference we hosted Saturday and the things Pam and I talked about. Dr. Henry Cloud, in a bit of a throw-away statement, mentioned that research has been done on people’s “self-talk.” Self-talk is the internal conversation we have going on in our heads. Everyone has their conversations – it only gets scary when you actually see someone who isn’t there and begin talking to them! Back on point – Cloud said that research has shown that 70% of people have negative self-talk. Seven out of ten people you meet during the day are complaining to themselves most of the day! And they probably are complaining to themselves about YOU!

When it comes to forgiveness, how we talk to ourselves makes all the difference. It is really difficult (read: IMPOSSIBLE) to forgive someone you are constantly complaining about in your mind. If we have trained our mind to constantly be negative we also will find ourselves much more easily offended. And face it – negative people are more offensive to others.

Alright – here is another synthesis. Gary Smalley was talking on Saturday about his book “Change Your Mind, Change Your Life.” I’ve read most of it and I was really challenged. The bottom line of Smalley’s book is we need to soak our minds in God’s truth by engaging in M&M – memorization and meditation.

Go back to the self-talk and forgiveness stuff. When we put God’s truth in our brain and constantly slosh it around between our ears, we change the way we think. When we change the way we think, we change the way we feel because emotions ALWAYS follow our thoughts. I have to be honest with you – I believe what I just said in the former sentence but I don’t like it. It puts too much responsibility on me. I want to be able to blame pretty much anything/anyone other than me for how I feel. I want my kids and my wife to be responsible for my happiness. Then I have someone to blame…other than myself.

So here is some counsel for you. If you struggle with being able to forgive, start memorizing some verses. Here are a couple of good ones to start:

"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." (Colossians 3:13, NIV)


"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." (Philippians 4:8-9, NIV)

I’m working on these myself. My goal isn’t to just memorize them but for them to transform my thinking (see Romans 12:1-2). To that end I have been working on memorizing the 8th chapter of Romans. Anyone want to join me?

With you in the journey.
dc