I had an awesome time this past weekend.  We got 20 guys together to go to the mountains near Winter Park, CO.  We had a great time laughing, watching a little Winter X-Games to get us ready for the slopes and did some skiing/boarding.

I really enjoyed getting to know some of the men better.  I also enjoyed watching them interact and get to know each other. 

However, we will lose these connections if we don’t keep getting together, talking, and challenging each other to lead and serve together as followers of Christ.

Thus, I would like to challenge us to get involved in a Men’s Fraternity group that is starting up this week.  You can attend on Wednesday evenings at 6:30pm or on Saturday at 8:00am.  For you men who want to attend Saturday mornings, remember to come prepared to play a little basketball after the lesson time (if you enjoy basketball).

Even if you did not make the trip to the mountains with us and want to get involved with one of these groups, I would love to see you there!

I’m already looking forward to Ski Weekend ’09!

Brian

We have had much discussion and many questions regarding the future of CEFC.  How are we going to handle the growth?  Where are we headed as a church? 

We have taken these questions very seriously and over the past six months, a Vision Team has been meeting to discuss them.  This has been a very important time for us to evaluate what God is/has been doing at our church, and to attempt to articulate where God is leading as a church.

It is now time for us to share our findings with everyone.  We will be having a special informational meeting during our Sunday school hour in the sanctuary on January 20.  This will be a time to present our findings.

Please take the time to attend this meeting at 9:45am on Jan 20, in the sanctuary.  We will be having this meeting instead of our regular adult classes.

I trust that, as we bring some clarity to the future of CEFC, you will get excited about what God is doing in our church and what God desires us to accomplish in the future.

Blessings,

Brian

This Sunday (the 16th) we will be having our children's Christmas musical during our regular services.  You do not want to miss this time together.  The children have been working hard and things are coming together.  It will be a good time together as we look forward to celebrating the birth of Christ.

One other Christmas happening here is our annual Christmas Eve service.  This service will be on December 24 (you may have guessed this) at 6:30pm.  We are planning our usual lighting of the candles as we sing.  This is one of my favorite things to do on Christmas Eve period.  I love singing "Silent Night" (the usual candle lighting song) in the dark by candlelight as we reflect on the miraculous birth of our Savior.

Christmas is right around the corner.  I trust that this year will bring you peace and joy as you reflect on the birth of Jesus. 

Then, may we all adjourn to the slopes to enjoy some of this wonderful new snow that we are getting.  Winter Park has received over 30" of new snow in the past few days.  So if you call the office and I'm not here, I, um, may be perfectly healthy, but otherwise detained.

Blessings,

Brian

Yesterday, I was able to do something that comes about only four times per year.  I was able to visit another church.  I took yesterday off, but was back in town from our vacation in the mountains.  So my wife and I decided to attend another church here in Cheyenne.  It was the first time that we have actually been able to attend a different church in Cheyenne (except when I occasionally speak at other area churches). 

Jenny and I attended a new church plant in Cheyenne called the Element Church.  It meets on Sunday mornings in the movie theater at the mall. 

It is good to be the visitor sometimes.  You realize that visitors do not know exactly where to go or what to expect.  You realize that they need some sort of direction.  I’m happy to say that the Element Church’s greeters where really friendly and steered us in the right direction and one lady even showed us exactly where we needed to drop off the kids and where things were.  It really helped to put us at ease.

As for the service, the Element Church is only a couple of months old, so we did not know quite what to expect with them being in their infancy.  After the first worship song and video introducing their next series, it was obvious that their infancy was nothing to worry about.  For a brand new church, they had it together and did things very well.  I was impressed.  They are putting much energy and thought behind this church plant mixed with some creative thinking and problem solving.

However, the thing that I liked most about this church was their emphasis of putting an extremely high value on serving the community of Cheyenne.  They are not about being content within four walls of a church (yes, a church could get internally focused even if they are meeting in a movie theater), they want to impact and serve the city.  They want this city to be a better place and bring hope to those who are hurting.  This is something that we are focusing on more and more as a congregation and it’s exciting to see another church that has a heart for the community rather than just existing for itself.

I’m glad for this.  I support this.  I am thankful that the Element Church is a new addition to our community.  You could call me a fan of this new church plant.  This may sound weird coming from a pastor at a different church but it shouldn’t.  It should not be weird because we are all a part of the same Kingdom.  We are all a part of the Church.  We are on the same team.  Thus, we need to celebrate when another church is doing something well and bringing glory to God.

Thanks, Element.  I trust God will continue to bless your efforts!

Brian