We are back on the west coast.  I haven't lived here since the summer after my second year of college in 2001. Since then I only made it out for a few brief vists. Many things have changed a considerable amount in the last 9 years -  different roads, built-up communities, run-down areas. As I contemplate change, one thing that has become especially evident to me is things are always changing. And as many have observed before me, dealing with change is tough.

 

A few days ago I was headed back to my parents' house with Chrissy (We are currently living there while we wait for our condo in Massachusetts to sell).  I came to an intersection, waited for the cars to turn left in front of me and then began to accelerate.  The only problem was that the light was still red. My whole car was almost into the intersection when my wife yelled to get my attention and I slammed on the brakes.  You see, not long ago, that light was a stop sign.  I was so used to waiting my turn, then proceeding through the intersection that I didn't even realize the light was red or that this intersection no longer had a stop sign.

 

A similar pattern happens to Christians spiritually during their lives. Sometimes we don't realize it, other times we don't want to acknowledge it. Life keeps changing, marriages keep changing, we keep changing, yet too often we go on living our lives the same way, proceeding the same way day after day and before we know it some stop signs in our lives have become stop lights. A problem that once was a tiny little stop sign has become a giant stop light, which holds us in the past longer than when it was just a little issue. Constant spiritual growth is very crucial in helping us move forward in our lives the right way. Sometimes we want to zoom pass and ignore the stop signs and red lights. When we do, we not only hurt ourselves, but we hurt others too.

Romans 12:11 says, "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."  How does this happen? How can we constantly keep our passion for God and the things of Him? It happens by daily looking around us, seeing what has changed in our lives, seeing where we need to grow, recognizing the stop signs or personal hang-ups and which issues have become even larger.

Mix it up, try new things, pray different ways, read new scriptures, attend a small group, study with a friend. We've got to make sure we don't go running red lights... that usually doesn't end well.

This past weekend we held the first ever contemporary service at Trinity Life Center.  We launched at 11:15 am on Sunday, January 9 and had 376 people in attendance. I must say that it was more then we expected. We saw the overall attendance at our church up more than 300 from the week before. God was so good, as we saw 5 people come forward to either rededicate their lives or accept Christ for the first time in our second service.

I post the numbers here not to brag, or gloat, but to let you know that numbers matter. Here at TLC we are all about numbers because every number represents a soul. Our prayer is that every week we see more people coming to church, more people being saved, and more lives being changed.

We continue this Sunday at 9:30 a.m. (traditional) & 11:15 a.m. (contemporary) in "The Power" sermon series as Pastor Glen Cole speaks on the "Power of praise & worship." Come join us!

2 styles, One church!
Love, Live, Give

This sunday we launch our new schedule at Trinity Life Center, 9:30 am (traditional) 11:15 am (contemporary). We are beginning an all new sermon series entitled "Power". This first week Pastor Glen Cole will be preaching on "The Power of Faith". We are expecting huge God things at TLC as we launch this new schedule so bring your kids, bring your wives and bring your husbands because we wantin everybody up in here!  In fact, why dont you just bring everyone you know.

The Best is yet to come!

In John 10:10 Jesus says, "I came that they may have life and life to the fullest." Jesus came to this earth to give us a full life, not a perfect life, not a problem free life, but a full life. Jesus knew that a life with Him, led by Him, full of Him would be the best life anyone could ever have. Our heart is to see that full life revealed in peoples lives through Jesus Christ.  The best way for that to take place is for the local church to come along side people and empower them to live a life completely led by Christ.

As a church our goal is to bring Christians to the place of full discipleship.  Our aim is to see them go from life-receiving to life-giving.  We want our church to be comprised of individuals who have received the love and life of Christ to then in turn spread the love and life of Christ to all they come in contact with.

Our process for doing this is simple...Love, Live, Give.

Step 1: LOVE - We Love God through weekly corporate worship of God, celebrating our Creator.

Step 2: LIVE - We Live life together through small groups and discipleship classes, growing in the Word and in relationship with one another.

Step 3: GIVE - We Give of ourselves through serving others in various ministries within the church as well as outreach opportunities outside the church both locally and globally.

 

After considering a multi-generational church, today we'll focus on our goal to create a multi-cultural church body - a church consisting of all races of people. 

You see, I am a boring white boy. When there is a lack of diversity, our churches become just that, boring. We get comfortable when people who are exactly like us in every way surround us.  If we choose to only spend time with people who mirror ourselves, it can sometimes turn into a form of self-worship. However, when we get out of our comfort zones and live in diversity, that's when things get interesting.We are challenged, perspectives are widened and we avail ourselves to new experiences.  God created this world with diversity of people that are wonderful, beautiful, and worth celebrating. My wife (who is Filipino) and I want to see people of all races coming together in one church to worship our creator. 

 

Sacramento is one of the most culturally diverse cities in America. We want to reach this city, this community, by building a church that doesn’t reflect our limited, earthly people preference, but that reflects a vast, eternal, heavenly body.

 

1 Corinthians 12:13 says, "For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." We are one, one in spirit, one in body,united by one common savior Jesus Christ. We can't wait to celebrate our creator together with people of all styles, races, and backgrounds.

 

 

As I said in my previous blog, for Trinity Life Center's contemporary second service, We have envisioned a multi-generational, multi-cultural, life-giving church.

"Two Styles, One Church"
One of our first goals is to be a multi-generational church - a body consisting of all ages and generations. Today's churches fall under one of two categories - traditional or contemporary. Rarely do you see both in operation.  It is very important to us that even with different worship styles, we are still ONE CHURCH.

I love progressive churches striving to bring in un-churched, disenfranchised, and hurting people. However, sometimes these churches consist of people 30 years old and under. Is something missing? Perhaps a lack of maturity? Younger Christians and younger people in general need the wisdom, guidance and love of an older generation. On the other side of the spectrum, older congregations may believe anything contemporary in a church service is somehow of the devil. According to them, Beelzebub himself created electric guitars and choruses, which is what they call anything other than a hymn. So that might be an exaggerated statement, but sometimes an older congregation's disapproval of style and their openness to share their disdain could cause a person to believe the statement is true! The truth is, older Christians need the vibrancy, creativity, excitement and passion of younger people and younger Christians. The energy they bring could potentially facilitate a fresh, new move of God in the church.

Psalm 148:12 -13 tells us, "Young men and maidens together,old men and children! Let them praise the name of the Lord." 

We are instructed to worship God together,not separated by churches, styles or denominations.  So, at Trinity Life Center, we will include a second service that we hope will bring in younger families and young adults. We are striving to build a multi-generational church where young and old come alongside each other to encourage, disciple, build up and worship God as one. We do not intend to give the older generation the boot because our worship style is more "relevant"; rather, our heart as a church is to provide styles that appeal to all ages and all generations. So at TLC, we are "Two Styles, One Church"

"Be Here Now!" With zeal, my grandfather charged our congregation with this on Sunday morning in regards to our Missions Convention. With the same zeal, we want to let you know about the here and now of our church. Currently we are here planning for the launch of the TLC (Trinity Life Center) contemporary service on January 9,2011.

 

Considering that we are only two and a half months away, it's time for us to lay out the plan and get people on board. Obviously, we have a church building already in place, but the demographic of our congregation is much older in age. Since the church body is experiencing a shortage in young families and young adults, and the fact that we were brought on staff to start a contemporary service, the hope is that the service would attract young families and young adults. In Pastor Cole's words, we are "planting a church within a church." Our approach and plan has in many ways been that of a church plant.

 

We have envisioned a multi-generational, multi-cultural, life-giving church. I believe the church is the most essential, important, relevant institution on this planet. The church creates opportunities to make disciples who in turn make more disciples. Isn't that the command of Jesus?

 

God has called us to this region, this city and this church for such a time as this. While we already have a church body here, there is a great need for individuals who would be inclined toward a contemporary style of worship to come and serve here at TLC.

 

We need people to launch with, people for sound, lights, worship, greeters, ushers, set-up/tear down, video and the list goes on. If you are from the Sacramento area looking for a church or interested in being a part of something new, then we are the place for you. We will be having our first "Vision meeting" at TLC on Sunday, November 14 after the 10 a.m. service in the Atrium. We'll start around noon and lunch will be provided. 

 

If you would like to attend the vision meeting RSVP at calebc@tlcsac.org or call me at 916.348.4681. Help us spread the word and the love of Jesus Christ in Sacramento and this world.

 

Be sure to follow this blog over the next few days as we further explain multi-generational, multi-cultural, and life-giving in regards to our church.

 

Trinity Life Center

Two Styles, One Church.

Starting something new is one of the hardest things to do. This is true with anything in life, whether it's a new church, a new band, a new business, or a new habit in your life.  First, you experience the initial challenge of breaking ground, of forging something from nothing, of essentially creating newness from the resources at hand.  Often times the resources are abundant, other times they are few or non-existent. 

 

We are starting a new service here at TLC (Trinity Life Center).  The advantages we have are resources: a building, instruments, a sound system, screens, people... amazing people, etc. We are doing all this because we know God has called us to aid in the building of His kingdom.  That's what it's all about for us, building the kingdom of God. 

 

Today ask yourself, what's something new that I need to start today that will aid me and others in building God's Kingdom.  Maybe it's the habit of telling your spouse you love them everyday; maybe it's a new workout regimen (you've been watching the biggest loser and know it's time to get your butt in gear); maybe it's a daily devotional or morning prayer walk; maybe it's taking a younger person or new Christian under your wing to mentor.  Whatever it is, make sure you ask yourself the right questions and take the necessary steps to implement it into your life.

 

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

 

What is something that's missing in my life?

 

What resources are in place already in my life that I can use to make an impact in the world?

 

What could enhance my life in order to better influence the people's lives I impact?

 

Am I being the best ME possible?

 

What's God asking of me?

 

What more could I do to enhance the kingdom of God?

 

 

Well, much has changed in our lives since the last time I blogged.  Let me catch you up to speed real quick.

 

About a year ago Chrissy and I felt God was speaking to us to leave Massachusetts and move back to the west coast.  We were unsure of what that was going to entail, but we felt God leading us toward senior pastoring at a church.  I shared our feelings with the senior pastor of our church at Bethany Assembly.  He was very positive and encouraging about our plans. Interestingly enough, the first thing he said to me was “you should call your grandpa. I know he wants to retire in a few years and that would be a great place for you to learn and step into that role." I laughed it off and told him that was probably not the direction we were headed.

 

In the months to follow we sent our resume a few places looking for senior pastor positions, but nothing seemed to pan out.  Eventually we started thinking that perhaps God was wanting us to plant a church in Northern California. So, we resigned our position at Bethany with the plans of driving across the country, moving in with my parents and beginning the planning stages for a new church plant. 

 

Two weeks before we hit the road my grandfather called and asked me,"What do you think about planting a church within a church?"  He told me how his church desperately needed to start a contemporary service. He wanted someone to come alongside him for the next three years serving as senior associate pastor, overseeing the contemporary service, as well as launching several new ministries within the church that would appeal to young families.  He also said he and the board thought I was the man for the job.  I was caught a bit off guard because this was not what we had been thinking at all, yet something resounded within us when we heard, "plant a church within a church."  I told him we would pray and we began our 4000-mile trek from Agawam, Massachusetts to Sacramento, California.  Over the next two weeks that it took us to reach our destination, we prayed and discussed our feelings about the offer from my grandpa. The closer we came to Sacramento, the more we felt the peace of God towards this new position.  We arrived, met with my grandparents, met with the board, and two days later accepted the position as Senior Associate Pastor at Trinity Life Center. 

 

My grandfather plans on being here for the next three years.  We will learn, grow, and work alongside him here until his retirement.  The current plan is that we would then be the candidates for senior pastors.  We don't know what the future holds, but we know that God is in control and we are walking in His will.

 

We are so thrilled for this new opportunity and new adventure.  We know God has been in this thing from the very beginning and we are just enjoying the ride. We want to thank our many friends and ministry partners back in Massachusetts for all their prayers, encouragement and support throughout this process.  We anticipate getting to know the many people here at Trinity and we look forward to seeing God change many lives.  The best is yet to come...

 

You can check out trinity's website at www.tlcsac.org