CLC in the News!

If you read the Charlotte Observer hopefully you saw that we made the paper. Apparently we weren't the only church in the area who tried something different for father's day. Another church publicized a shorter service (45 mins), had some cool vehicles, served up some grilled grub and sold cigars! Now I try my best not to criticize other churches, and hopefully this doesn't come across as a criticism, but I wonder if guys might be insulted by such an approach? As guys, do we need the service to be shorter and our mouths and eyes filled with things that "guys" like to make church enticing for us?

One of the things I like most about Jesus is how he is constantly challenging people, something I wish I did better and had the guts to do more often. Jesus doesn't say, "hey, if your not too busy why don't you come and follow me." He never says, "If your cross isn't too heavy why don't you pick it up and follow me." Jesus says things like, "Go and sin no more," "Sell everything you have, give the money to the poor, then come and follow me."

I believe that people want to be challenged we are just too often too scared to challenge them. We are afraid of offending them or putting them off, but if Jesus did it aren't we called to do the same thing? So here is my question for you, how is God challenging you? Is it in your giving, your serving, your prayer life, how much time you spend with your family? If something is important to us we work hard at it and important things usually take hard work. Are you working on your faith? Are you letting God challenge you to be a better follower of Jesus?
Pastor Chris