Sports teams seek “it”. Artists seek “it”. Performers seek “it”. Even churches seek “it”, but what is “it”? Does anyone really know what “it” is and why we are constantly in pursuit of “it”?
“It” is the overwhelming, undeniable, everlasting presence of God. God is everywhere, but, it seems, He is some places a little bit more than others. The Spirit of God is fluid and ever changing and it flows through each of us and into everything that we do and touch. When the Spirit of God is with us it flows through us an into everything we do and everyone we touch. When “it” is with us we know it…and so does everyone we come in contact with. “It” is not a coincidence and “it” is not something that comes to just anyone. “It”, Christ Follower, is the complete indwelling of Christ, Himself, within you in a way that is demonstratively lived out before others every day.
How do we know we have “it”? We know that “it” is present in us, and in our church, when we feel that amazing sense of complete peace combined with the power that allows us to accomplish anything in His name. We know when we are in a church that has “it” when we can feel it’s presence and we can see it in the expressions of all the people and hear it in the voice of the pastor. We know that “it” is in the house when the very walls vibrate with very pulse of life.
“It” however, is not permanent. “It” is fluid and as easily as “it” is found; “it” can be lost. “It” leaves a person…or a church…when faith weakens and we begin to rely too much on our own knowledge or abilities. “It” depends on our faith. “It” demonstrates itself through our faith and worship.
Pastor Craig Groeschel has written a book called “IT”. You can find it in the CCM/CCMV bookstore. Get it…read it. You’ll never forget it. Listen to Pastor Greg as he talks about “IT”….just follow the link below and fast forward about 7:30 into the video.
Pastor Greg Groeschel at Elevation Church…
We are “It”.
Some people say that “leaders are born, not made” and some people feel exactly the opposite. What to you think? If leaders are made…who makes them? Do you need special tools to make a leader? What about special leadership classes? Why do some people become leaders and others remain “just followers”?
David, Solomon, Joseph, Noah, even the disciple Peter were “reluctant leaders” chosen by God to make a difference and lead His people. “True leaders” are often different than we would expect…at least at first. True leaders are humble servants that are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, often at great personal cost. Leaders have something that other people don’t…that something sets them apart from the rest and inspires them to strive to do great things and inspires us to follow them at the same time. How do we recognize a leader? How are we sure that the leaders we choose to follow are “true leaders”…?
Leaders tend to rise to the top in a natural way. People gravitate toward others who appear to be both self-assured and humble at the same time. Being a leader is means more than just being the one at the front of the line. Sometimes a “true leader” may not appear to be the one in charge at all. Patience, kindness, empathy…these are all important characteristics of anyone that is going to be a “true leader”.
Leaders have “it”. We know they have “it”…even when we don’t really know what “it” is. A calm, assured way of helping others meet the challenges before them and achieve their individual best at the same time. These are the marks of a true leader. Keep your eyes and ears open…and you’ll see the leaders among us…sometimes in the most unlikely of places.
Growth is good. Growth is amazing. God wants His church to grow, but growth can also be challenging, stressful, and even painful. Managing growth in any organization pushes the leaders to the very edge of their ability and sometimes their patience. Certainly, if you have been part of a growing company or part of a growing team in a sports league you are familiar with these challenges. These challenges are no different for the growing church.
(Act 6:1-2 NLT) But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, "We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program.
As the church grows there are needs in many areas that require attention and each of us has God-given gifts and talents that can be used to fulfill these needs. As the church grows it becomes more and more important that every Christ-Follower steps up and finds that special place in the Body of Christ where they can contribute with their individual gifts.
Everyone wants to be a part of a growing church where there is excitement and lots of things going on. It’s easy to get swept up in the wave of music, teachings, bible studies, and programs for the kids. It’s also easy to forget how all those things happen. Christ-Followers – Servants – joyfully giving of their time and talents to provide the arms and legs to get the job done and help the church grow. Are you part of the growth of the church? Are you joyfully serving the Lord?…or are you simply “happy” to be part of a dynamic and growing church? As the number of believers rapidly multiplies are you part of the “rumblings of discontent”…or are you sharing your time and God-given talents to help the church grow and bring even more new believers to Jesus Christ?
Experience the “joy” of serving the Lord…and see your “happiness” reach new heights as you find your place in the amazing growth of His church!
When you consider your life as a Christ Follower and evaluate your commitment and participation in your church and community what is the primary motivator that drives you? Commitment itself can be driven by many things and two of the primary motivations behind commitment are obligation and passion. For many, obligation and commitment fit together well and associating commitment and obligation makes good sense; however, if we consider associating commitment and passion in the same way many of the same people become confused. Commitment and obligation seem like a logical pairing but commitment and passion do not. Why? If we look at a modern thesaurus we find that commitment and obligation are given as synonyms for each other. Passion and commitment don’t appear to be related at all. Is it because we often consider our commitments as obligations? For example, we are committed to our jobs. We are also obligated to go to work so that we can support our families and pay our bills. We are committed to doing our school work as students. If we want to stay in school and graduate we have to fulfill all the requirements. These examples seem to make good sense right? Let’s take a look at a couple more that will start to take us to a new level of understanding.
We are committed to our spouses because we are obligated by our marriage vows to be so, right? I hope not! I pray that we are committed to our spouses because of the amazing passion that fills our hearts and minds when we think of them and the joy that they bring into our lives. We are committed to our children because we are obligated to care for them and teach them because that is our responsibility as parents. Again, I hope not! I pray that we are committed to our children, once again, because of the passion that fills our hearts as we watch them grow and become young adults in God’s image. Passion vs Obligation…in these two examples the difference is quite clear. We understand the difference. Can we apply the same concept to our life as a Christ Follower? Of course we can, but when we do where do we fall on the continuum between the two?
Is your commitment as a Christ Follower based upon the “obligation” to attend church during a Weekend Service and make sure your kids are in Children’s Ministry? Do you feel your commitment as a Christ Follower or do you “ just do it”? Passion is an interesting word in that it can function as a noun, a verb, and an adjective. You can have a passion for something, you can be passionate about something or someone, and you can also participate in something passionately. Now, that’s power! Passion is Power…an interesting thought. As a Christ Follower if you approach your relationship with Jesus Christ with a sense of passion instead of obligation you will embark on a whole new experience. Passion is motivating, passion is moving, passion is consuming, and passion is contagious. Matthew 28:19-20, known as “The Great Commission” tells us that we are to go and make disciples of all the nations and that we are to teach them the commands that Jesus has given us. What is the most effective way to do that? Demonstratively, of course! Live life and be a passionate Christ Follower! Show the world that living life in Christ is exciting and full of blessings that man cannot achieve alone. Teaching commitment though obligation is rarely effective. Sharing commitment through passion brings joy and purpose to everyone. Jesus taught the disciples through His passion and love for the Father, not by giving them a list of obligations.
So, if you want to experience ALL the excitement and grace that being a Christ Follower can bring to your life, bring on the passion…get out of the “obligation box”. Come to church, worship out loud with your arms raised in adoration to Him, join a small group and share your faith, serve Him by serving in a ministry and soon you’ll feel it too…the passion that comes from living a life filled with Jesus Christ. Once you begin to feel it yourself it will be contagious and you will not only be a Christ Follower, but you will be living out His will for us in that your passion will bring others to Christ as well and the Kingdom will rejoice in the saving of yet another soul.
We often pray to God and ask Him for help when we are facing challenges in our lives. We often pray to God and ask Him to look over our friends and family if we feel they need His intervention in their lives. Sometimes we even pray to God when there is something that we want or need. After we say our prayers, we “hope” that God hears us and we “hope” that God will act on our prayers and bring us what we need or what we’ve asked for. The key word here is “hope”…we hope that God has heard us and we hope that he will act. We don’t “expect” that God hears us and we don’t “expect” that He will act on our prayers. Why is that?
What do you think would happen if we dared to expect God to hear us and we expected that He would act on our prayers? Do you think that would change the result? Do you think that God would do less for us if we were expectant instead of merely hopeful? The difference between hoping that God will hear us and act on our prayers and expecting that He hears and acts is caused by the “gap”…the spiritual gap created by a lack of faith. We don’t want to stop hoping. Hope is good and hope is one of the most important gifts that Jesus brought to us and it is the hope for His return that often keeps us going each day…BUT…we do want to GROW our hope so that it becomes “God-Sized” and becomes expectation.
What is the difference between hope and expectation? Hope is expectation without faith. Hope is what we often do when we want something to happen in our lives, but we’re not sure if it will and we feel like we don’t have any control over whether it will or not…so, we hope. Expectation is hope “super-sized”…or “God-sized”.
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when we close the gap created by a lack of faith. When we show God that we have faith and that we don’t just hope that He will hear us but we expect that He will hear us and answer our prayers in a way that only He can. We have to remember that God is super-natural and His power is only limited by the level of our expectation and the level of our expectation is limited by our faith. Our faith grows and goes through stages as we mature in our faith and it is when we cross the bridge from “hoping” to “expecting” that we enter into a new level of relationship with God.
Now is the time for you to “super-size” your hope and convert it to expectation. God will reward your faith with the gifts that only He can give. Close the gap created by a lack of faith and experience the difference of living a life of expectation.
A topic that is of frequent discussion in many, many churches is the style and presentation of the worship music. Music has been an important part of worship since the beginning. (Psa 81:1-4 GNB) Shout for joy to God our defender; sing praise to the God of Jacob! Start the music and beat the tambourines; play pleasant music on the harps and the lyres. Blow the trumpet for the festival, when the moon is new and when the moon is full. This is the law in Israel, an order from the God of Jacob. Music is an integral part of our worship experience and it is deeply personal. The style of worship music has changed dramatically throughout time in the same way that our language has changed. There are many different ways to communicate the same message and God, as the Master Communicator, seeks to reach as many of us as possible with the message of His grace and salvation. Throughout time the Word of God has evolved along with society so that its message is able to reach as many of us as possible. How has the Word changed you ask? After all, the Word of God is eternal. Let me show you an example of what I mean. Let’s take a closer look at the verse above, Psalms 81:1-4.
First, let’s look at the verse in the very traditional King James version:
(Psa 81:1-4 KJV) To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day. For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.
And now, let’s look at the SAME VERSE again in the Good News Bible:
(Psa 81:1-4 GNB) Shout for joy to God our defender; sing praise to the God of Jacob! Start the music and beat the tambourines; play pleasant music on the harps and the lyres. Blow the trumpet for the festival, when the moon is new and when the moon is full. This is the law in Israel, an order from the God of Jacob.
Both of these are translations of the same verses from Psalms. Do you find one of them easier to understand? Is one of them easier for you to relate to? Let’s try one more example of the same verse, this time we’ll take it from the American Standard Version:
(Psa 81:1-4 ASV) For the Chief Musician; set to the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud unto God our strength: Make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Raise a song, and bring hither the timbrel, The pleasant harp with the psaltery. Blow the trumpet at the new moon, At the full moon, on our feast-day. For it is a statute for Israel, An ordinance of the God of Jacob.
Each version this verse carries the same message, but in a slightly different way. Each version carries the same message in a way that touches people in a way specific to their individual background and perception. You may have noticed in our teachings at CCM that sometimes our Pastors reference the NIV(New International Version) and sometimes they refer to the NLT (New Living Translation). It’s all God’s Word, it’s just that sometimes one version of the Bible is more effective than another depending upon the situation. Worship music works in the same way. We want to reach, move, motivate, inspire, and transform as many people as possible. Look around the sanctuary the next time you attend services at CCMV. You’ll see people ranging in age from Junior High to Octogenarians; all standing together and worshipping the same God, all reaching out to Him through the music. It is the ability to reach ALL of these people simultaneously and communicate the same message and inspire them as a Body in Christ that is our goal and all of the music we select is chosen with the intent of reaching the largest audience possible.
We sing the songs we sing because they are messages from and too our God. We sing to glorify and worship Him and the songs we choose to sing are chosen because they are great expressions of our love and adoration for Him. The songs we choose, whether they be traditional hymns or contemporary rhythms, are all selected for the same reason; they allow us to express our love and reverence for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We do not sing any song because it is “traditional” or “expected”; we sing every song because it draws us closer to Him.
A question asked often at CCM is: “So, if the Pastor is on the screen, then who takes care of us?” If you have never been to a church with a video campus before it’s an interesting experience. If you’ve never been to a church with a video campus before it’s easy to think that there’s a disconnect between the Pastor on the screen and the congregation. If you’ve never been to a church with a video campus before you may wonder; “If the Pastor is on the screen, who takes care of us?” If you’ve never been to a church with a video campus before you need to come to Calvary Chapel of Melbourne and experience the power, the love, the conviction, and the grace of God. Did I mention that three of our four campuses are video campuses?
Sometimes people become confused about who the leader of the church really is and who it is that they should be following in their Walk. Convicted Christians refer to themselves as “Christ Followers”; we are not “Pastor Followers”. We are not “Pastor Mark”, or “Pastor Dean”, or “Pastor Dave” Followers. Our commitment is to become more like Jesus and to carry his message to the rest of the world. Our Pastors share that same conviction. They are no different than we are. They are Christ Followers who have been given the gift of teaching and their mission is to help us learn the ways of Jesus so that we can be better able to share them with the people in our lives.
That being said, let’s answer the question at hand; “Who takes care of us?” Our primary source of comfort and caring is in Jesus Christ and it is He whom we should seek guidance from first through prayer and the reading of the Word. When we need more “earthly input” we can seek the counsel of any of our campus Pastors. We have Pastor Dean in Viera, Pastor Mark in Melbourne, Pastor Norm in Sebastian, and now Pastor Chris in East Orlando. In addition to our campus Pastors we are blessed with Pastor Dave and Pastor Beau as well. But, before we look to our Pastors let’s take a look at our most immediate source of help and caring within the church…each other.
A key to the growth and success of Calvary Chapel of Melbourne has been our network of Home Groups and other group study ministries. Every one of our campuses has many home and small groups that you can become a part of that will help you stay focused on your Faith Walk and provide an unequaled source of caring and support whenever you might need it. When you are part of a small group or home group you have an extended “family” that will be there whenever you need them to listen, to support, to counsel…to care for you.
So, when you wonder about who will “take care of you” if the Pastor is on the screen, remember that you are part of one of the most vibrant and dynamic churches in the United States and that on any given weekend there are nearly 8,000 people that attend services at our four campuses and you can actually become connected to these people and they will be there for you. They will take care of you…and you will take care of them. We, the people, are the church and with God’s help, and our Pastors’ guidance, we will grow together, walk together, and take care of each other as Christ Followers.
It does not matter what service you attend at CCMV, or any of the other campuses for that matter, not does it differ from Pastor to Pastor; you will always hear it said loud and clear, “Get out your Bible and turn to today’s reading”. At Calvary Chapel bringing your own Bible to church is one of those things that is just expected. I know that if you don’t bring a Bible we’ll give you one to use. In fact, at all the campuses of CCM, if you don’t bring your own Bible and you borrow one of ours you’re welcome to keep it. There aren’t too many churches that give out their Bibles every week. Why do we do that? Why do other churches have Bibles at each seat but they are supposed to stay in the church? Well, it turns out there are several good reasons for doing it the way we do at all the campuses of Calvary Chapel of Melbourne and we’ll take a look each of them.
One of the cornerstones of Calvary Chapel is that we teach the Word of God. Every message given from the pulpit at CCM is based directly on God’s Word. There are no exceptions. That being said, it would seem only appropriate that everyone have a Bible with them to follow along with the message being taught. So, why doesn’t the church just provide a Bible for every seat and that would take care of it? Good question.
Fully understanding the Word of God takes more than just reading the verses that are included in each week’s teaching at CCM. You need to be in the Word regularly, hopefully you’ll find the time to spend with God every day. Reading the Bible can be a challenge for many of us and that’s why having a good “Study Bible” really makes a difference. What’s a “Study Bible” you ask? A Study Bible is far more than “just a Bible”. Certainly, the Word of God alone is awe inspiring and amazing, but when you add all the “extras” included in a good Study Bible it becomes even more amazing. Study Bibles include many additional notes on each verse to help explain the meaning of the verses in more modern language and in addition to the notes there are references to other verses in other parts of the Bible that relate to the verses you are reading and help tie things together. Study Bibles also often include maps and charts to help you better understand the relationships between people and countries in Biblical times.
If you make the investment in a good study Bible that you spend time in each day AND bring with you to service you will find that the Word becomes more personal and meaningful to you…especially if you make notes in your Bible to help you along the way. So…make your own Bible part of your “Sunday’s Best” outfit…you’ll find that God’s Word comes alive even more when you make it your own!
Sometimes we hear that Calvary Chapel is “too big”. Sometimes people feel like they get lost in the shuffle when there are more than 2000 people attending services on a typical weekend at the Viera campus. Actually, CCMV is only as “big” as you let it be. What? That doesn’t make any sense you say…well, I can understand why you’d feel that way. Human nature tends to make us want to sit back and wait for things to come to us. Actually, the Lord wants us to seek Him. (Deu 4:29 But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul) “Seeking” is a verb…it is an action. We have to take action to get to know the Lord and we have to take action to get to know each other. Fortunately, the environment at CCMV makes it very easy to take action. All you have to do is walk in the door and someone will greet you and once that happens you’re on your way!
It all comes back to that concept of “getting plugged-in” to life at CCMV. If you take one small step at a time you’ll soon find that you know MANY new people and they will introduce you to new people and those people will introduce you to new people and before you know it you will have more new, true friends than you ever thought possible. Let me share with you the experience of one of the newer members of our church family. We’ll call him…Fred.
Fred came to CCMV for the first time and was not sure what time the service was and he arrived about 20 minutes early. He approached the information desk and learned that he had some time before service started and decided to take the suggestion of the person at the desk and have a cup of coffee in the café. Fred was beginning is journey into the CCMV family. In the café’ he met Kevin and Erin, two of the many folks that are on the café staff and are on duty nearly every day, but before Fred left the counter with his cup of fresh coffee he also met Kate, one of the many volunteers that works in the café. It turns out that Kate is very excited about the fact that she just bought her first motorcycle and is a new participant in the CCM Riders, the Calvary Chapel Motorcycle Ministry and she invites Fred, who she noticed had ridden into the parking lot on his motorcycle, to the next meeting. Well, Fred decides to head into service with the exciting news that he may have a new group of friends to ride with soon.
The next weekend Fred heads to the Motorcycle Ministry meeting where he meets Wayne, Carolyn, Bill, Theo, Gayle, Gloria, Jeff, Vivian, Ed, Jose, Tom, Mary Beth, Eric, Brad, Coral, Daryl, Davia, and many, many more new friends. By the end of the meeting Fred learns that Jeff is also leading the Parking Ministry at CCMV and he needs more help. So, Fred thinks…”Why not?” and offers to help Jeff with the Parking Ministry the following weekend. When Fred arrives at church the following Sunday to help out with the Parking Ministry he meets Mike, Sharon, Oscar, Mark, Tim, Josh, and Ralph. More new friends! Of course, Tim invites Fred to visit the couples Bible Study group that he and his wife Lynn are in on Tuesday evenings. Fred thinks “Great”…something I can do with my wife too! So the next Tuesday evening Fred and his wife Wilma head to Bible Study. They arrive at CCMV and find the room where the class will be and there they find Jeff again…one of the guys from the Motorcycle Ministry and the Parking Ministry…along with his wife, Gloria…and also Brad and Sheri, Mark and Dayna (Mark is also in the Parking Ministry), Neal and Leesa, Brad and Lori, Bruce and Cindy, Jerry and Julie, along with several other couples.
Remember, Fred has only been at CCMV for two weekends now and he has met 20 or more NEW people. He’s just getting started…and aside from the first time he walked through the door all he’s done is ACCEPT invitations! He hasn’t had to do anything else! How easy is that? Getting to know people at CCMV is just like getting to know Jesus. All you need to do is ACCEPT the invitation. So, back to our question….
In a church this large, how many people do we know and why is that? Well, I think it’s up to you…
Calvary Chapel of Melbourne in Viera has more than 2000 people attending services each week. Our new auditorium seats almost 1100 people and finding where you fit in can be a challenge, but fortunately we make it easier than you might think. All you have to do is walk the halls, read the weekly bulletin, or grab a cup of coffee in the Common Grounds Café and you will find many different ways to get “plugged in” to our church family. There are opportunities for you to become involved in Bible Study classes, Men’s Groups, Women’s Groups, programs for your teens and tweens, small groups/home groups, Couples Groups, and all kinds of service opportunities within our church community as well as outside the church. You can find all kinds of ways to further your Christian Walk, meet new friends, encourage each other, and serve each other and become a “plugged in” part of our church family. CCMV is, in some ways, several small churches rolled into one big church…that is in turn part of an even bigger church…and in the end, we are all part of the Body of Christ. No matter what your interests or talents are we have a place where you can grow and meet with others who share your interests and your passion for Christ. We are a family, and if you let us get to know you we’ll help you grow, we’ll back you up, we’ll take care of you and your family, and we’ll stand by you always.
All you have to do to get “plugged in” and make CCMV your “church home” is hold out your hand…we’ll reach back and welcome you into our family. One of the best places to start your journey is at the information desk in the front lobby. If you know nothing about CCMV when you walk up to the counter, rest assured that won’t be the case when you leave! You can find out about virtually all of the church programs at the Information desk. Check out the CCM website at www.calvaryccm.com . The website has information and resources related to all of the CCM campuses and beyond. Finally, make sure you sign up for our new email newsletter. We’ll bring CCM right to you and keep you up-to-date with all of the activities, classes, and service opportunities on all of our campuses.
Welcome to the family!
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