Expedience

Someone once said, "The winds of conviction pass through the pulpit first." In my studies this week, one particular issue seemed to come up; the issue of expediency. In John 11, the High Priest Caiaphas suggested that it would be more expedient for one man to die, namely Jesus, then for the whole nation to perish. It is easy for us to think that we would never make such a decision. But if we are really honest with our hearts, how often do we make decisions based on pure expediency? Good old Webster defines "expedience" as: "regard for what is advantageous rather than right or just." Again, if we are brutally honest with our own hearts we often make our decisions based on personal expedience rather than on what is right. This, in principle, is no different than what Caiaphas did. While God in His sovereignty used the wicked decision of Caiaphas to accomplish His holy purpose, Caiaphas was still culpable. The foundation for all our decisions in life must always be the truth of God as found in His inerrant Word. May we rejoice in doing the will of God from the heart and not expedience.

Dan

Singing and soccer...soccer and singing!

Let me start with the e-mail we sent out today:

This Sunday, March 25, is your last chance to buy tickets to the Columbus Crew soccer game on Saturday night, August 18. CBC gets a special group rate of $10 each for this Major League Soccer game; make sure you sign up to sit with us and enjoy a great night of fellowship. This would be a wonderful event to invite some friends to...spend a summer Saturday watching soccer and hearing the Worship Choir sing the national anthem! Check with your friends and family so you know how many people want to come, then make sure you stop by the table in the foyer on Sunday to reserve your seats! If you won't be around on Sunday and still want to purchase tickets, contact Pastor Tim as soon as possible. Thank you.

I don't have a lot more to write about besides that; I just really hope you'll consider coming with us to Columbus. We had a great time when we went over last August, and I'm really looking forward to this opportunity for our choir and church to be a testimony to thousands of people!

In other news...I've been busy this week! On top of the normal duties of planning for Easter, our Spring Celebration, and Sunday's service...I'm working on my program for a solo piano concert. You're welcome to come, but it's a good distance from Ohio. I will be playing on Good Friday at my grandma's church in Sebring, Florida. I'm looking forward to this chance to visit Grandma...minister through music...and, of course, enjoy warm weather on spring break!

One of the songs I'll be singing is "His Strength is Perfect" by Steven Curtis Chapman. In a lot of ways, these past few days have been stressful and difficult for me, and I'm thankful for the words of this song that have constantly reverberated in my head. I hope they encourage you today.

Tim

"His strength is perfect when our strength is gone. He'll carry us when we can't carry on. Raised in His power, the weak become strong. His strength is perfect. His strength is perfect."
CCLI 184080

The Madness of March

A few of you may have figured this out by now...but I'm a pretty big sports fan. Okay, so most of you have figured that out :) And of all the sports events of the year...my favorite by far is March Madness (or for the un-initiated, the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament). Starting tomorrow, there will be a total of 64 games in three weeks, concluding with the Final Four in Atlanta on March 31 and April 1. Words like bracket, pool, bubble, mid-major, seed, and RPI are tossed around freely...teams like George Mason last year become the Cinderella darlings of America...and there's the potential for three or four buzzer-beaters and fantastic finishes almost instaneously!

My dad got me started filling out a bracket each year as a little boy, and I remember having contests with my brother and sister to see who could get the most games right. (The first few years, they thought it would be cool to pick the lowest-ranked teams to go all the way, since they were underdogs...I might have encouraged this slightly...and unfortunately for Tommy, Florida International never did win that elusive national title).

No matter whether my favorite teams are in the tournament or not, it's always exciting...and this year will be extra-exciting because Purdue made the field of 65! The Boilermakers haven't been in the tournament for several years, and they've been planted squarely "on the bubble" most of this season...even as late as Saturday, Sports Illustrated was convinced they wouldn't make the tournament while ESPN said they were going to be in. It made for a pretty nervous weekend for the players and fans (including one worship pastor in Ohio), but thankfully, Purdue was included in this year's tournament field. Now I have my own underdog to pull for while watching the games...March is a great month!

Tim

A Day in the Life

I have been a bad blog-boy. It has been some time since my last entry, so I hope I won't be banished to blogger purgatory. I thought I would give you a rundown of the average day for me (is there such a thing as an average day for a pastor?) Let me use this past Wednesday as an example.

The first thing I do is wake up. I try to say a little prayer of thanksgiving for the new day and ask God ( "beg" might be a better word) to enable me to live and do for his honor and glory; all this before my little piggies hit the carpet. I get myself ready and then help our boys get ready for school. We then usually rush out the door and I drive the boys to school. After I drop the boys off, sometimes I will go to Speedway (for my California friends, that's a gas station) to grab a cup of coffee. This gets me to my office at church at around 8:00 a.m.

The very first thing I do is spend that first hour in personal devotions. I typically begin with Bible reading. On Wednesdays I usually read the passage we will be considering at prayer meeting that night. I then spend 30-45 minutes in prayer. I usually pray inside out: that is, I start with myself and then move outward, praying first for my most intimate family and friends and then for those not as intimate. I like to use the church pictorial, praying over a page each day. Next, I work on my Sunday morning message. This takes me to lunch time at noon. I usually go home and have lunch with my dear wifey. After lunch (If this is too stimulating for you, you can take a break and come back) I come back to church. On Wednesdays, we have a pastoral staff meeting at 1:00. This will go for about two hours. In the afternoon I will deal with miscellaneous administrivia; answer e-mails, make phone calls, go through mail etc. I then spend some time working on my Sunday School lesson.

I try to head home for a little dinner, and then come right back to church for prayer meeting and choir practice. Once we arrive back at the homestead we get the boys ready for bed. I read the Bible and we pray, and then I spend the rest of the evening with Michelle. This usually gets me to bed around 11:00. So, if you ever wondered what a pastor does with himself on days other than Sunday, I hope this has solved the mystery for you (at least in regards to this pastor). And don't ever forget, we are immortal until God is through with us!

Dan

News from the Worship Pastor's Office

Here's some random things I've been working on that you should know about:

A. SPRING CELEBRATION
We're looking forward to an incredible night of music on Sunday night, May 6. This concert series has brought Jonathan Martin and Cherie Adams to CBC the last couple years; now we have the privilege of hosting The Ball Brothers for our 2007 concert.

The Ball Brothers are a trio of three brothers (how ever did you guess that already? :) that sing many different styles of Christian music. If you enjoy Southern gospel, this is the concert for you. If you enjoy big-band swing, this is the concert for you. If you enjoy a cappella hymns, this is the concert for you. If you enjoy inspirational Christian music, this is the concert for you. Check out the link to their website above and listen to samples of their music -- hopefully you'll be as excited as I am.

The Ball Brothers are gaining recognition on a national scale; they recently appeared on TBN's Praise the Lord and are featured in Get Away Jordan, the brand new video from Ernie Haase and Signature Sound. We are also extremely excited that our Worship Choir will be able to participate in this year's Spring Celebration concert; we look forward to performing several songs on our own and with the Ball Brothers.

Mark your calendars...start inviting your friends...May 6 at a special time of 6:00 pm.

B. SOCCER
Speaking of the Worship Choir, we were pleased to be invited back to Columbus to sing the national anthem again this year for a Crew professional soccer game. Saturday night, August 18, 2007 is the date, and we have reserved a limited number of tickets in the CBC section. You can purchase these tickets for $10 each starting this Sunday...see me for any questions. (Children 2 and under do not need a ticket if they sit on a parent's lap). We'd love to have each of you join us for a great night of fellowship in Columbus!

C. EVERYTHING ELSE!
Even with all these projects, the rest of the music "stuff" at church doesn't stop. Our choir and instrumentalists have faithfully worked week in and week out to prepare music for each Sunday's worship service. Make sure to take time to thank these worship leaders for their sacrifice of time and effort...I appreciate it so much!

We sang a great new song this Sunday morning; I first heard it when the HeartSong team came from Cedarville a couple weeks ago. What a wonderful picture of our everlasting praise to God! May these words ring in your heart and mind this week.

Tim

REVELATION SONG (CCLI 184080)
Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain;
Holy, holy is He.
Sing a new song to Him
Who sits on Heaven’s mercy seat.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty Who was and is and is to come.
With all creation I sing
praise to the King of kings;
You are my everything,
and I will adore You.

Clothed in rainbows of living color,
flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder,
Blessing and honor,
strength and glory and power be
To You the only wise King.

Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder
at the mention of Your Name.
Jesus, Your Name is power, breath and
living water, such a marvelous mystery.