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
Monday, February 4, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Life Group update
The Knit Together Life Group have a blog it is:
www.elementknitters.blogspot.com
Check it out!!!!
www.elementknitters.blogspot.com
Check it out!!!!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
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
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
Thursday, January 3, 2008
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
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
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
The Dash
So here I sit, one day after Christmas. The day we celebrate the birth of Jesus. And in my devotions I'm reading about Jesus' death. What struck me was this: The contrast between these two stories and how awesome and powerful and VERY well known they both are. BUT, what about all the stories in between. What about all the things that Jesus did between His birth and death. What about those stories? As I've talked about before, I love to read and meditate on the lesser known (or at least the lesser talked about) passages in the Bible about Jesus' ministry. As Jeff talks about, we can kind of just pass by these incredible stories and totally miss what they meant then and what they mean to us here in 2007.
Then this thought: What about you and me? What are we doing between our birth and death. Go to any cemetery and look at any gravestone and what do you see? You see the "pertinent" info--the name, date of arrival, date of death, etc. BUT what you don't see is what I think is most important information. And that is this-- What did that person do with their "dash"? That little dash-mark on the stone between their birth and death is what I want to know about. I want to what they did with their life-- their "dash". What is their story, ESPECIALLY their God story?
So, again, what about you and me? What are we doing with OUR dash. Five, ten, even fifty years from now, what are people going to say we did, or are doing, with our lives?
In the future, when people look back on the "history" of Cheyenne and Element Church, I don't want them to say or think " Wow, look what so-and-so did." Or even "Wow look what Element Church did" I want them to say this--"Wow, look what GOD did in Cheyenne!" "Look at what God can do with and through people that simply obey and then go do."
Grant
Then this thought: What about you and me? What are we doing between our birth and death. Go to any cemetery and look at any gravestone and what do you see? You see the "pertinent" info--the name, date of arrival, date of death, etc. BUT what you don't see is what I think is most important information. And that is this-- What did that person do with their "dash"? That little dash-mark on the stone between their birth and death is what I want to know about. I want to what they did with their life-- their "dash". What is their story, ESPECIALLY their God story?
So, again, what about you and me? What are we doing with OUR dash. Five, ten, even fifty years from now, what are people going to say we did, or are doing, with our lives?
In the future, when people look back on the "history" of Cheyenne and Element Church, I don't want them to say or think " Wow, look what so-and-so did." Or even "Wow look what Element Church did" I want them to say this--"Wow, look what GOD did in Cheyenne!" "Look at what God can do with and through people that simply obey and then go do."
Grant
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Fireworks
One of the pastor's blogs that I follow was talking about not getting complacent and comfortable in our life. He was telling how as a teenager he used to work at a fireworks stand and as a result is almost numb to the power and beauty of fireworks. He then paralleled that concept to the Christian life and how we can so easily become complacent. How we can take for granted ALL that God has done for us and is continuing to do.
So it got me thinking about my own life and what in my life would be my version of working in a fireworks stand. What is my version of "stopping to smell the roses"? And then it hit me--sunrises. I LOVE sunrises. The beauty, the splendor, the amazing colors just take my breath away. But... how easily I can take them for granted. In my sixteen years with Frito-Lay I have seen almost six thousand sunrises. Six thousand! Yet how easily I can just assume that tomorrow the sun will come up again and it will be beautiful and I can just go on living my life.
I never want to to that. I never want to be that man that takes all that God has done for me and treat it like yesterday's news. Where I've come from, where I'm at, and where God is taking me IS a miracle. May I never forget that. May you.
Grant
So it got me thinking about my own life and what in my life would be my version of working in a fireworks stand. What is my version of "stopping to smell the roses"? And then it hit me--sunrises. I LOVE sunrises. The beauty, the splendor, the amazing colors just take my breath away. But... how easily I can take them for granted. In my sixteen years with Frito-Lay I have seen almost six thousand sunrises. Six thousand! Yet how easily I can just assume that tomorrow the sun will come up again and it will be beautiful and I can just go on living my life.
I never want to to that. I never want to be that man that takes all that God has done for me and treat it like yesterday's news. Where I've come from, where I'm at, and where God is taking me IS a miracle. May I never forget that. May you.
Grant
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Random Thoughts
Just some thoughts that have been on my heart.......
--Our volunteers at Element Church ROCK! Seriously they are amazing. Sometimes on Sunday morning I take a moment and just stand back and watch and listen. I am blown away. I know Jeff and Adam feel the same way. I could, and probably should, go on. But I really just wanted to say to those of you that volunteer at Element--THANK YOU! I hope God blesses you as much as you are a blessing to me and others. I have received many compliments about our First Impressions team (ushers and greeters). We have actually had people tell us that the reason they came back to Element Church is because someone said "Hi" to them and made them feel welcome. WOW.
--A personal journal entry the other day went something like this---" I will continue to write down in this book my concerns, my victories, my frustrations, my praises, etc. BUT this morning I really feel God saying 'Grant, just PRAY' " Then I was reminded of a blog from another pastor I had recently read---"God again reminded me that He can do way more with my simple obedience than I can do in a lifetime of planning" So simple. Just pray and obey.
--I will try to blog more. Honestly, it kind of freaks me out that other people actually read them. I hope it helps. It does help me to collect my thoughts and type them out.
Grant
--Our volunteers at Element Church ROCK! Seriously they are amazing. Sometimes on Sunday morning I take a moment and just stand back and watch and listen. I am blown away. I know Jeff and Adam feel the same way. I could, and probably should, go on. But I really just wanted to say to those of you that volunteer at Element--THANK YOU! I hope God blesses you as much as you are a blessing to me and others. I have received many compliments about our First Impressions team (ushers and greeters). We have actually had people tell us that the reason they came back to Element Church is because someone said "Hi" to them and made them feel welcome. WOW.
--A personal journal entry the other day went something like this---" I will continue to write down in this book my concerns, my victories, my frustrations, my praises, etc. BUT this morning I really feel God saying 'Grant, just PRAY' " Then I was reminded of a blog from another pastor I had recently read---"God again reminded me that He can do way more with my simple obedience than I can do in a lifetime of planning" So simple. Just pray and obey.
--I will try to blog more. Honestly, it kind of freaks me out that other people actually read them. I hope it helps. It does help me to collect my thoughts and type them out.
Grant
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