Doug’s Foggiest Ideas

I am super excited about this weekend.

We are kicking off the 40 Days of Community and the message this weekend will really get us rolling.  The theme this weekend is about how God has wired us for relationship.  

I have asked a very good friend from college to come this weekend.  Keith Norman just got in town about 2 hours ago.  He is such a great friend.  

He lives in Atlanta and is on staff at BridgePointe Church there.  We are going to tag-team with me for the message on Sunday and he will be singing as well.

It is going to be an awesome weekend!

This week we officially launch our “Journey Groups” ministry.  We have been planning, training and praying for this week for a very long time.

I am super excited to report that there are 31 new groups starting this week.  WOW!!  This is incredible considering how young we are as a church.  Gary told me that out of the 31, 28 are groups for adults and the others are specifically geared for Junior and Senior High students.  

In the adult groups there are 281 confirmed participants and several more waiting on being placed in a group.  This is an exciting time for our church.

I am praying for all of our leaders as well as everyone involved.  

Remember what mom used to say, “you are going to get out of this what you put into it“.  Be sure to keep up with the reading in our book.  This is going to be an exciting time for us to grow in our sense of community with one another as well as having a passion for our community here in the Plum Creek Valley.

Let me know how your groups are going!

Where would I even begin to share my thoughts about yesterday’s services.  GOD IS SO GOOD!!  So here are some random “Foggiest Ideas” to share what is in my heart this morning.

-We serve an amazing God!  I wouldn’t want any part of this if He isn’t in it!!

-We have the best team I have ever seen.  Starting with the pastoral crew and every volunteer that helps us do what we do.

-Set-up went well!  Thanks for everyone for all they did getting to the theater so early.

-We pulled off a 7:45am service.  It was pretty full.  I kept thinking I hope people show up for the next two services.

-Stephen and the worship team were OFF THE HOOK!!  We started the services with U2, It’s a beautiful day.  It was awesome.  Props to Stephen and the crew for all they did to prepare for the Easter weekend and to lead us in worship!  The music was awesome.

-HUGE thank you to all of our ushers, greeter, coffee team and everyone involved in helping to get our kids in and out of their areas.  It was fun to see so many people at work taking care of all the details!!

-The crew that improvised (under Charles’ direction) and got the next service lined up outside theater 8 saved us.  I couldn’t believe the crowd when I hustled out to greet the people leaving the first service.

-Emilie did an incredible job with the children’s ministry.  She had huge numbers of kids and the Kidz Church team knocked it out of the park.  I heard so many awesome comments from parents as they were heading out of church.

-Our Preschool crew handled a bunch of kids without any glitches.  On a day like we had this takes amazing leadership and gifts to help these young ones learn about the Easter story.  Props to the Preschool Crew.  Thanks for loving our kids the way you do!

-Jill and the nursery crew did well facilitating all of our youngest kids.  I haven’t seen the final numbers on how many children they had in the nursery but if the rest of the crowd was any indication I am sure that it was CRAZY.  Thanks for all your hard work.

-By the time we were done with the 2nd service the line waiting to get into theater 8 was all the way out the front door of the theater.  What an amazing day.  What a crowd.  Many of us had tried to guess how many people we would have on Easter Sunday and lets just say that I thought my guess was crazy big and we exceeded that by over 100 people!  WHAT A DAY!!

-I am so excited and grateful for the momentum that we have as a church.  However, I know that the work has just begun.  There are so  many people in Castle Rock that don’t have a church they call home.  There are so many in our valley that need to know about the Lord.  We have a lot of work to do.  As long as we all remember that church is a tag-team-sport, we will continue to see God do some amazing things!!

-A special thanks to each of you that took that serious and invited your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers to come with you to Easter service.  It worked and we saw God do some amazing things.

-Special props as well to Mike and Louis who helped us with our Easter mailer.  I don’t know how many people came because of the 5000 piece mailer that we sent out but we had hundreds of hits on our website on Sat. and Sun.  Denver Advertising knocked it out of the part and I really appreciate their help!

-Thanks to everyone that celebrated with us yesterday.  We exceeded our highest attendance by over 200 people.  AMAZING!!

-So this week we start 31 new Journey Groups and the 40 Days of Community campaign.  The momentum is crazy and God is doing it!  Gary has the campaign ready to roll and we are super organized because of his efforts.  Stephen has our leaders trained and we are ready.  Our prayers for this Easter and now for the campaign are that we would see God doing immeasurably more that we could imagine or ask!  That is a big prayer & IT IS HAPPENING!! 

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK THIS WEEKEND!! 
I WOULDN’T WANT TO DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!!

PRAISE GOD FOR ALL HE IS DOING!!  

It is a joy to be part of of Plum Creek.  Hang on my friends, we are in for an amazing ride.  So as we have said hundreds of times…”Finding Faith Should Be Fun, So Join Us On The Journey!!

Love to hear your thoughts/memories from yesterday.  Post a comment & have a great week!  He is very much alive and at work!!  I am honored to be a pastor at Plum Creek!!

This is a question that we get a lot.  I will do my best to answer some of the questions that have been asked.

#1 – What will my kids do?

We have special classes for the younger kids…infant through preschool and a kid’s church for the elementary aged kids.  We also usually have a Junior High class but they are taking the week off so we can be together in service with our older children.

#2 – How long will the service last?

We are cramming 3 services into a pretty tight time slot.  As a result the services will only be 60 min. long.  We have to be out of the theater by 11:45.

#3 – What should I wear?

We are super casual.  However, there will be some that come a little more dressed up.  I love to see the little girls in their dresses on Easter Sunday but that will be a rarity.  I will be wearing jeans and a dress shirt (un-tucked) because I get so much crap from everyone if I tuck my shirt in.

#4 – Will I be singled out in any way.

NO!  We are expecting a pretty significant crowd, especially in the last two services, so you will be able to attend without the fear of being put on the spot.

#5 – How do you do church in a theater?

We love being in the theater.  You will be surprised how efficient the theater is for our church.  We have a large volunteer team that do a ton to turn the movie theater into a place of worship.  We use 4 theaters and the birthday party room.  It is quite a transformation.  I really think you will be impressed with how easy it is to adapt to meeting in a theater.  On top of that our chairs are really comfortable.

HOPE TO SEE YOU SUNDAY!!  

Remember our three service times are…

7:45am, 9:00am & 10:15am

This morning Emilie and I went to the city wide pastor’s prayer meeting.  It was good to have her there with us.  I love praying with these guys.

What a wonderful time of the year.  As we prepare for an exciting weekend remember to leverage this season by inviting your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors and anyone else you have relationship with to join you for Easter service.  

This is the time of year when you have an opportunity to invite people that are probably already looking for a place to go on Easter Sunday.  I just want to encourage everyone reading this, whether you attend Plum Creek or not, be sure to bring someone with you to church this weekend.

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!

There is nothing like watching the first couple of days of college basketball as we kick off the ‘08 NCAA Tourney!

What I love most about watching these teams compete is the passion to continue on in the tournament.  We always hear about the basketball powerhouse programs like, North Carolina, Duke and Kansas.  But the great part about this tournament is that we get to see some of the schools that we don’t hear a lot about competing against the “big boys”.  

Both teams passionately want to win and they typically leave it all on the floor.  There is usually a “Cinderella Story” every year.  It is awesome.

Who did you pick to win it all?  Post a comment and let me know.  I am in a different type of pool this year where we only pick one round at a time.  You get extra points if you pick an upset.  If a team I pick is a lower seed you get the difference between the two as well as a point for the win.

It is pretty fun!

Post comment on your Final 4 and your champion.

Here are the questions for the final message in the Psalm 23 series.

1. This week we began by talking about the first word of this verse, “Surely”.  David is communicating his sense of confidence in the Good Shepherd.  Why is it important for us to have this same confidence in our relationships with God?  Read James 1:17 and talk about how this relates to the confidence we can have in God.

2. We talked about several reasons that we can, “face our future with confidence”.  These three things were; because God’s GOODNESS & MERCY are working in me, because God PURSUES me with PERSISTENCE & because HEAVEN is WAITING for me.  Which one of these three stood out most in your mind?  Why do each of these give you confidence as you face your future?

3. Read Romans 8:28 and talk about this promise.  Who is the promise for? How does this relate to our lives and how God’s goodness is “following” us? 
   
4. Can you share an example of a time in your life when you were able to experience how God turns all things together for the good?

5. Out of the stories that you know from scripture which one is your favorite example of God’s pursuit?  How do you feel about God’s persistent pursuit of you? 

6. The last thing Doug talked about this week is our certainty that if we are a follower of Christ heaven is waiting for us.  Review:   Eccles. 3:11, 2 Cor. 5:1, 2 Cor. 5:6-8, 1 Peter 1:4-6 & Rev. 21:4.  After reading these verses what sticks out most in your mind about heaven? 

7. At the end of the message Doug said these things,

“Be careful not to act like you are home.  Don’t treat this world like it is home.  It isn’t!  The greatest danger is not to feel far from home when you are, but to feel right at home when you are not.  You’re not ready to live until you’re ready to die.  You don’t know how to live until you’re ready to die.  Only a fool would go all through life, totally unprepared for something that everybody knows is inevitable.”

    -What thoughts do you have about these statements?

8.  Re-read Psalm 23. 
    -What stands out most in your mind and heart from our time in this great psalm?

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need. 2 He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. 3 He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. 4 Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.5 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You welcome me as a guest, anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. 6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Love to hear your thoughts.

I shared a couple of days ago that I have started a new workout routine and it is literally kicking my butt.

It is always tough to get back in the swing of things when you have been off for awhile.  I have played a little hoops lately but haven’t been lifting.  I am pretty sore.

I just found out that there is a website for the Cross Fit crew that I have been working out with.  They took a picture of me getting my tail kicked yesterday.  Here is the link.  Check out some of the workouts.  They are pretty tough but you can usually do them in less than a half hour.  Pretty cool!  I am enjoying it and know that I need to stay after it.

For those of you that weren’t able to make the first round of Stephen’s training for our new Journey Group leaders, there will be another opportunity on Sunday.

Here are the details…

Well this week I decided to give the latest and greatest in the work out world a try.  I have 30 days to decide if this is what will help me stay in shape.

I have done “Cross Fit” a couple of times this week and intend to do it once more.  It is an amazing workout.  Here is what I love about it.  

First of all I have several friends that have been doing this for a long time.  They have been trying to drag me to their gym for awhile.  I also enjoy the diversity of the workouts and the time that it takes to do them.  I can have most of them done in a half hour or so.  

It has been some very sore days this week but it feels good to know that I am being proactive in the stewardship of my body.  I have a long way to go but it has been fun so far.