Greater Things Are Yet to Come

Well it's been a couple days now since we held our first service in our new location. I agree with Jeff--I don't know when to stop calling it our "new location" and start calling it our building, the building, the church, our church,etc. Something will stick. It is nice to have our offices in the same spot. One thing I know for sure, it's not OUR building, it's God's. We just get to use it for His Kingdom.

Being portable was Awesome! It really was. But, now we are in a different season. Our message or our methods won't change. Just our location.

We continue to get several awesome emails from people about Sunday's service. Love reading each and every one of them. Love when people are excited about church. That same "buzz" in the air that was in the theater between services was there Sunday.

After second service was a little surreal. Everyone that had been helping me tear down the theater lobby every Sunday for a year didn't know what to do after second service this time. "You mean I can just leave this stuff here and will still be here next week"? "Yup"! "Cool"!
One guy came up to me in the middle of second service and said "Man I need a job. I need something to do on Sundays. " We'll definitely find something for him to do.

THE most important thing that happened Sunday was that people found LIFE. Several people prayed for salvation in both services. It STILL gets me. It still ROCKS my world that I get to be a part of this. That God would choose someone such as me to do His work. WOW! May it always be so. May I ALWAYS rejoice when someone gets saved at Element Church!
I really do believe that our best days are ahead of us.

Greater things are yet to come! Are you ready?
Grant

T C O

Yesterday we got our TCO. We are in. We will worship at our new location this Sunday. YES!! More work yet to be done. Nothing we can't handle.
So much I could talk about. So many thoughts.
But I really only have one thing to say at this time, and that is "Thank You."
Thanks to ALL of the people that have given of their time and resources for this project.
Couldn't have done it without you. May you be blessed for your efforts.
GREATER things are yet to come!
Grant

Devotional

I've been reading a devotional by A. W. Tozer. I thought today's was awesome and very timely.

Worthy Or Unworthy?
The love of Jesus is so inclusive that it knows no boundaries. At the point where we stop loving and caring, Jesus is still there--loving and caring.
The question may be asked: "How does the living Christ feel today about sinful men and women who walk our streets?"
There is only one answer: HE LOVES THEM!
We may be righteously indignant about the things they do.We may be disgusted with their actions and their ways. We are often ready to condemn and turn away from them.
But Jesus keeps on loving them!
It is His unchanging nature to love and seek the lost. He said many times when He was on Earth-"I have come to help the needy. The well do not need a doctor--but the sick need attention and love."
We are prone to look at the needy and measure them: "Let us determine if they are worthy of our help" During all of His ministry I don't think Jesus ever helped a "worthy" person. He only asked-"What is your need? Do you need My help?"

Good stuff!
Grant

Fruit

I grew up on a dairy farm a few miles outside Lovell, Wyoming. Obviously, I have many memories from life on the farm. Many adventures. Many challenges. Let's just say life was not boring.

One memory I am going to share today may seem a little strange at first. Hopefully it will make sense when I am done.

Growing up we had five apple trees behind our house, and they were great. They ran parallel to the dirt road that went by my house. Anyone driving down that road, especially those that lived on the road, could enjoy those five trees in every season in all of their glory. They really were beautiful. Even greater then their beauty was the fact that most years they produced an abundant harvest. Most years the branches were so full of apples that they drooped from all the weight. One of those "childhood anticipations" for me was waiting for all those apples to ripen. I used to love to go out a pick and eat one "fresh of the vine".

Anyone that has ever grown any kind of fruit tree already knows that they take work on the front end of the growing season before you ever get the harvest on the back end. It takes cultivation of the soil. It takes pruning of the branches. It takes water. And yes, it even takes some fertilizer. It takes work to produce fruit.

Oh ,how this life-truth applies to OUR lives. To produce "fruit" it takes work. Just like that tree, for us it takes cultivation, pruning, water, and yes even fertilizer.

Here is my point and/or challenge. Allow it to happen. Allow yourself to be "pruned" on the front-end of a "growing season" in your life to then allow yourself to produce fruit when it's harvest time. I don't know what needs to be pruned or cultivated in your life, in your heart. I only know what needs "pruned" in my life.

Like Jeff shared in one of his sermons (I think it went something like this): "One of the saddest things in life is to see a plant that is alive but is producing no fruit". We were created to produce not just exist.

My childhood farm is still there. That same dirt road is still there. But something HAS changed. Where once five glorious trees stood, only weeds grow now. Same location, same weather, same old soil. Someone driving down that road now would have no clue that in that spot once stood five of the greatest apple trees you would ever want to see. Now---WEEDS.

An Army

You've heard it said-"It takes a whole neighborhood to raise a child." That is true. What is even MORE true-"It takes a whole army of volunteers to have church every Sunday morning--especially if your portable!"

Every Sunday morning I marvel at the team God has brought us. The first volunteers start showing up around 5:45 AM, and the last ones don't leave until around 12:30 PM. And there are MANY that come and go in between. I am not going to name names or even try to give a count. I am going to say this, I want EVERY ONE of you to know how much you are valued. Whether you are behind the scenes or out in the open, if you are serving at Element Church, you are JUST as important to bringing people to know Jesus as anybody else. THANK YOU!!!!

In moments we will begin the process of "build-up" in our new location. Another army of volunteers. Again, Thank You.

Can't wait to see was God has planned for us there.
Grant

Five Guys Go Camping

Ok, not really.
Yes we were in the mountains for our first ever Staff Advance. Yes there were log cabins, fire pits, wildlife, dirt in your shoes, fresh air, etc. All the stuff you would associate with camping. But when you stay in a motel room , even if it is in the mountains, I wouldn't call it "camping".
But that is not why we were there. We were there for a definite purpose.
Us five guys locked ourselves in a room for two days and let God blow our minds. The one word that keeps coming to mind --"Amazing".
Trust me when I say "Greater things are yet to come!"
Also, trust me when I say that the four other guys that God has me on this journey with are awesome. I love hanging out with them, dreaming with them, laughing with them, being challenged by them, and leading with them.
Elementers, you are in good hands.
Grant

P J

My second "blog-love" goes to Pastor Jeff.

I could write pages of what it's been like as God has forged our friendship over the years, and maybe someday I will. But today is not that day.

I am simply going to quote Johnathan's armor bearer in 1 Samuel 14:7 "Do ALL that you have in mind, I am with you heart and soul!"

Love ya man. Let's GO!!!

Grant

My Family

So here I am, the morning of my third day as a full-time pastor at Element Church. My mind is racing, my heart is overflowing with gratitude. SO much to be thankful for. So much to do. So much to write about. So many people to thank. So many people to edify "publicly" on this blog, and I will as time goes on. But today there are three people that get ALL my love ---my AMAZING wife Terri Lynn and my two awesome sons Morgan and Nathan.

Nathan---I know this move and transition has not always been easy for you. I'm trying to understand. I want you to know how much I love you and how proud of you I am. Thank you for following us as we followed God's call to Cheyenne. You will be blessed because of it. You have some amazing men in your life as leaders and friends. Listen to them, learn from them.

Morgan---this move might have been easier for you than your brother, but you still sacrificed. Thank you. It has been (and is) an honor to watch you grow in the LORD. God has great plans for your future. Listen and follow. Know that your parents love you, believe in you, and will support you wherever God calls you.

To my wife-----WOW, where to start? Twenty years of marriage. Again, wow. Babe, I cherish you. Thank you for loving and believing in me. You are an amazing pastor's wife. Again,thank you. I love you SO much. Thank you for giving your heart to Jesus and following Him LONG before I ever even considered it. And for being patient with me (Ok not all the time.LOL) all those years while God chipped away at a very hard heart. And then for being willing to let me lead once I was willing, after all those years that I wouldn't. Many people have got to hear the story about the day that Jeff asked me to move to Cheyenne to help him plant Element Church. The part of the story that doesn't always get told that is JUST as important is later that same day when I told you about our "call" and you said "Let's go." Just like that---"Let's GO!". No hesitation, no "what-ifs", none of that. Simply , "If God is calling, let's follow". I cannot tell you awesome it was to hear those words that night in our car as I was telling you about my conversation with Jeff. I am forever grateful.

Element Church, I want you to know that I am not near the pastor I am without my amazing wife beside me every step of the way. I am so blessed to have her as my wife. Babe, I LOVE YOU!

Grant

Erwin

One of my favorite author's is Erwin McManus. I love his books. For whatever reason his books just speak God's truths to me in a very powerful way. In fact his book "The Barbarian Way" is part of our "story"--part of what God used to call us to Cheyenne to plant Element Church. But that's another blog for another day.

Twice I have been blessed to see him speak in person over the last couple of years. Once was two years ago at Willow Creek Church at a small group conference. The second time was just last Tuesday night in Fort Collins. Both times were awesome.

God used both occasions to teach me some things---mostly about myself, but also about people and human nature. What I am going to share, or at least felt led to share, will make one blog too long. So I'll spread it out over a few blogs. At least that way I can have more than one blog a month. LOL

I vividly remember the very first thing I wrote in my journal at Willow shortly after Erwin began to speak. It was this. "Hey, he speaks with a lisp" (Erwin does tend to lisp some of his words when he is speaking but he DOES NOT let that stop him.) I went on in my journal "Here is a guy that has very legitimate reasons, "excuses" if you will, not to do this--not to write books, lead a church, go on speaking engagements, etc. Yet he doesn't let anything stop him. Because the one thing that trumps ALL of his reasons not to do any of this is the one reason to do it---he was called. "Qualified"--maybe, maybe not. "Called"--YES! Since that day I learned even more reasons or excuses or stumbling blocks that could have stopped him. Yet he refuses to let "them" win.

Does Erwin have his critics? Oh, you better believe it. So what? Who doesn't. Once again, he does not let that stop him. In fact(in my opinion) all the more reason he keeps pressing on. My wife reminded me of a quote from one of the Wesley brothers. Can't remember if it was John or Charles but the quote went something like this--"If was able to get out of a town after preaching without at least one person throwing a rotten tomato at me, that told me I was not being bold enough about the Gospel".

So, in summary. PLEASE don't wait until you feel "qualified". If you are called--GO! And really, who cares what the critics say. Don't listen to them.
Grant

How Do I Love Her?

Those of you that know me know that music is very important to me. Though I can't carry a tune in a bucket and have little or no musical ability. I LOVE music. It moves me. God used a song to save me and God is always using songs to teach me.

Some of you also know that my wife Terri and I are leading a marriage Life Group (Love and Respect) Which most of the time I/we don't feel qualified to lead even though we have been married almost twenty years.

Just recently God used both, a song and our Life Group, to teach me a great truth.

Though I have heard the song by Steven Curtis Chapman "How Do I Love Her" many times before, just recently I have learned to appreciate it even more.
The song is basically a prayer to God, a plea if you will, how do I love this wife of mine. How do I love and cherish the most important gift (next to salvation) that I have ever received.

I remember thinking the first couple of times I heard this song : "This is Steven Curtis Chapman! Surely he has this thing ALL figured out" Uhhhh....not so much. Kind of like thinking, that is "so and so" or" such and such"(pick a position or title) surely THEY have this thing called life all figured out. Again, uh...... not so much. At least if they are honest.

Then the other night in our Life Group another profound statement from one of the guys. (I share this with his permission, as long as I do it somewhat anonymously.) "I've been a mechanic for thirty years. I get paid to fix things. Yet I feel like I can't fix the one thing that is most important to me! My marriage." Wow. I did NOT have an answer for that one.

Then the next week at Life Group, I get another personal challenge from the DVD: " Would you die for your wife?" Inside I scream out , "YES!" The next question: " Would you LIVE for your wife?" Again, inside I scream out, "YES!" Then I admit " I just don't know how. How do I live for her? "How do I love her?"

Then, later, I get my "answer" from the Chapman song. At least it worked for me. To me the most powerful line in the whole song is this: "I know it's going to take a lifetime to answer this prayer of mine. But that's OK. Because I've given You (God) and her my lifetime anyway."

And I thought " THAT"S IT!" If have TRULY devoted my WHOLE life to God and to my wife, then so what if it takes a lifetime to figure this thing out. So what if I never figure it all out. Who cares. As long as I keep trying. As long as I keep pressing on and don't quit, I'll win. THAT is how I "live" for my wife. A life-time of devotion and a "moment by moment" devotion for a life-time.

Grant

Random Thoughts

Just some thoughts I wanted to share.

---502 at Element yesterday. I tell people all the time -"I'm blown away, yet I'm not, yet I am, yet I'm not." For me, anyway, that describes best how I feel most days. I am totally PUMPED and truly HUMBLED all at the same time. It's an awesome place to be.

---For those of you that have been waiting for me to blog more often, good news. I actually intended to blog every day last week. Every day? Yes, it's true. Could you handle it? I had the titles and themes written down and everything. Well, then life happened and I ended up leaving town last week. It was a much needed break, though. Except for about a fifteen minute time-frame of some wacked-out theology, the rest of the four days was amazing. It truly was a blessed trip.

---Our volunteers are the best. They really are. We had a couple bumps in the road yesterday and they just took it in stride. No big deal. Whatever it takes to get the job done. Wow. Thanks. A million times, Thank You.

---I/We are reading a great book. "In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day" by Mark Batterson. I've been thinking as I'm reading it--" I should be underlining this, well I'm just going to read it again, I'll underline it the next time through" Just so happens Mark is a church-planter, so there is that connection. But anyone can benefit from it. Prepare to be challenged.

---Life Groups are going great. Once again, God has blessed us with some amazing people. Honestly, that is one area that does need and deserve more of my time and attention. So.. to ALL of you that have been hosting, leading, and attending, thanks for your patience, for your perseverance, and for your leadership.

Loving life,
Grant

San Diego

Where to start?

Terri Lynn and I are sitting in the San Diego airport waiting for our flight to get home. And really, I don't know what to say.

Let me start by saying God is awesome!!! Words fall short when trying to express what I'm feeling and all that I experienced on this trip. I felt God's presence so strong all week. It was incredible.

For those of you that don't know....my sister Mary died suddenly last week. The funeral was yesterday in San Diego. I just "happened" to be on vacation from Frito this week so we were able to go and we decided to take a couple extra days for pleasure and relaxation. Honestly, it has been a GREAT trip. We love San Diego but we love Cheyenne more. Wyoming is home.
For those of you that offered me your condolences, I thank you. I do appreciate it, I really do. I really don't know how to feel when it comes to one of my family members passing on. I know what my head wants to believe but I also know what my heart feels. The last time I saw Mary was twenty years ago at my wedding. It's weird to lose a sibling you hardly even know. I do take some comfort in knowing that I was able to boldly witness to her on one occasion. So...who knows?

I DO know this. One thing this trip has allowed me is this: being able to "get-away" from it all (everything that is in my life in Cheyenne) for a couple days has totally shown me how truly blessed I am. Being able to ponder, kind of looking back at all that has happened the last year in Cheyenne and being able to share parts of our story with people has reminded me of how far I've come and how far God has taken Element Church. May I never EVER take any of it for granted. EVER!

Those of you that serve with me (both staff and volunteers), THANK YOU!!!! I truly am humbled to be on your team. I tell people all the time how awesome ALL of you are. I don't care if they believe me or not. At least they know that I believe it.

Terri Lynn and I were blessed to be able to have dinner with a gal from Outreach that helps us with our mailers. All I wanted to tell her about is all of you guys, your God stories, and what you mean to me/us.

So again, thanks for your prayers. Thanks for your friendship. Thanks for all that ALL of you do for me and for Element and for (most importantly) God.

Grant

Bring The Rain

So I heard this song the other day and I can't get it out of my head until I blog about it.

The song is "Bring The Rain" by Mercy Me, which just happens to be one of my favorite bands. They write some amazing songs.

The gist of the song (at least in my brain): Well.... it's kind of a prayer to God. Basically says---"LORD, if I need some "rain" in my life to get my eyes focused on You and not me, then bring the rain"

Which then got me thinking--Have I EVER done that? Have I ever woke up in the morning praying that prayer. Have I ever purposely asked God for some "rain" in my life for that day? What about a "storm". Have you? Probably not.

Why? Well, if you're like me, when I'm in some rain or in a storm my focus tends to be on the storm and not God. So is it as simple as a decision? My attitude IS my decision.

When Peter was walking on water, when did he start sinking? When his focus changed! When he took his eyes of Jesus and started looking at the waves--the storm- he sunk.

So that is a challenge, isn't it. What to do when you're in a storm?
We all know that storms happen--life happens. My prayer for you and me---Focus on our SAVIOR and not our storm.

Grant

Our Volunteers!!!

I'm sitting here trying to "digest" what just happened at Element Church today, and all I can think about is how incredible our volunteers are. I mean that. Each and every one of them serve so willingly. THEY are what make Sunday mornings happen. Each one of them are AS important to Element as any of the staff. Whether they serve five minutes of five hours on Sunday, each and every one of them are helping us help people find LIFE. And that is why we are here, to help people find THE LIFE in CHRIST.

So.....to all of you that volunteer at Element Church, THANK YOU!!!!!! I count it an honor and a privilege to serve beside you, to call you friends, and to watch you pour yourselves into other people's lives.

Thank you all for your patience and encouragement to me as I grow and learn and stumble and get up and learn and grow and keep pressing forward.

Grant

Pastor Jeff

I just wanted to share some thoughts going through my head.

Jeff you are the MAN! Your sermon yesterday was incredible! Your honesty, transparency and passion only caused me to love and respect you more. It is awesome for me to sit there and watch a friend let himself be used as an instrument for God's truths. I pray you are blessed for your obedience. I know some/most of what you shared yesterday was not easy for you. Thank you for leading. Love ya bro'.

MANY times I am blown away that I get to be a part of this. That I get to be on this team. What God is doing at Element Church, well......I really don't know what to say. Mere words just seem to fall short. Indescribable!

This morning I was reflecting back on the "time-line" of the past six years of my life. And how God was putting this all together. The fact that God was working on my heart to plant a church the same time as He was Jeff's and we never talked about it to each other, well that's just a God thing. Over the years, Jeff and I have had MANY conversations in his office and home. Many! And planting a church together? Well, it just wasn't on our radar. Or was it?

Jeff and I will talk about "that day", Feb.28, 2006, until we die. Hope you guys never get tired of hearing about it.

I've been blessed to get to hear Jeff preach for five years now. May I NEVER take for granted his passion for the truth, his boldness from the pulpit, and his leadership behind the scenes.

Jeff, I got your back man. Let's Go!!

Grant

Life Group update

The Knit Together Life Group have a blog it is:

www.elementknitters.blogspot.com

Check it out!!!!

Life Groups

I've decided to expand my horizons a little when it comes to my blog and use it as a informational tool in addition to sharing my thoughts. I will give occasional updates on this blog about the ministries that I oversee at Element Church. So this blog is going to be about Life Groups. Mostly an update, but I'll share a little (or a lot) at the end.

We have several brand new groups launching, plus some that are relaunching.

The new ones first:

Knit Together--- a ladies knitting group that meets on Monday nights

Foundations---Pastor Jeff will be leading this group on Monday nights. It will be about foundational and "core" beliefs of the Christian faith. This course will be geared towards new or fairly new Christians.

The Barbarian Way, a book by Erwin McManus--this group will be for men on Wednesday nights.

Galatians--this group will be going through the Book of Galatians, meeting on Thursday nights.

Celebrate Recovery--this group is for anyone who has or is struggling with any addiction. This group will be meeting on Saturday afternoons.

These groups are relaunching:

Ephesians--this group meets on Wednesday nights at my house at 7.

40 weeks of Purpose--this group is going to go through a curriculum based on the book "Purpose Driven Life". This group is currently looking for anyone interested. It will be meeting on Sunday nights.

More groups that are in the pre-launch stage, that people have expressed an interest in, that we a currently looking for leaders and/or hosts include:

--a Mother/daughter group--have a host home, looking for a leader and other people interested

--Praying Parents of teenagers; we have a couple interested in leading and hosting, just looking for more people wanting to attend.

--Marriage 101---we have some couples interested in some type of marriage Life Group.

---twenty-somethings group--looking for host and leaders

We also have a couple of groups that are currently a couple of weeks from being done with there current study and will be "re-tooling" and getting started again (one is a couples groups that meets on Wednesday nights and the other a ladies group that meets on Thursday nights.

Honestly, a church our size, there is WAY more room for more Life Groups in ALL areas.

I realized most of this information is VERY basic. At this point, I didn't have permission from any of the leaders and/or hosts to give out names and numbers and locations, so I didn't feel comfortable posting that info on this blog. I just really wanted to get the basic info out there. If you want more specific info, or have any questions, e-mail me at-- grant@elementweb.net, and I'll get back to you.

Let me stress a couple things, if you can't find one of the groups that you think fits you, then let me help you find one or create one that does fit. And, feel free to try a group out for a couple weeks, if it's not working for you, your free to try another.

Hope this helps.
Grant

First and Last

So here we are in 2008 and WOW what a memorable 2007 it was. It has caused me to reflect on some of the "milestones" in my life and the life of Element Church. Some of them are obvious, some... not so much.

In no particular order:

Element Church had it's first wedding. I was blessed to be able to participate in the ceremony. My first time helping officiate a wedding. It was powerful. It is so awesome to be involved in an event like that and just KNOW that the ceremony was God ordained and blessed. I could just feel God smiling down on the bride and groom.

Element Church had it's first child dedication. Won't be our last. Also, my first time helping officiate an event like that. Another powerful and blessed moment in my/our life. Looking forward to the next one.

Later that same day, Element Church had it's first baptism. Also, won't be our last. Jeff asked me to help in this ceremony too. Jeff and I baptised two young ladies who are both from totally different backgrounds, both at totally different "stages" in life, yet both are incredible in their own ways and both totally sold out to God. I'm blessed to know them both. This was my first time helping with a baptism ceremony. The last time if found myself in a baptismal font was quite a while ago and in a totally different setting. I was about 15 or 16 and I found myself waist-deep in water in a font inside the Mormon temple in Idaho Falls, ID getting baptised for about twenty dead people. At this point, all I can really say is.... the first "event" some 28 years ago just felt weird, the latter was amazing.

There are more moments that I could share, and maybe I will later. Just wanted to share a few. Grant