Epic in the News

Epic Church was featured in the local CG Paper yesterday…

“Local Church Air Secrets”

http://www.candgnews.com/Homepage-Articles/2008/02-27-08/PF-EPICCHURCH.asp

Catalyst: Personal Laptop

IMAGE: Personal Laptop. Our minds work like a computer. They only spit out the data they have been fed. Garbage in, garbage out. Leaders are disciplined about what they invest in their mind and heart. They deposit a steady and balanced diet of people and information for them to lead effectively, and not get distracted from the work God has called them to do.

VERSE: Proverbs 4:20-25

LEARNING: A number of years ago, one of the TV shows Kathy and I watched was ER. Great drama. Great show. (What? It’s still on…talk about beating a dead horse…people move on. It’s 2008. ER is so like last century). We watched it for a few years until one episode. In the opening scene 4 or 5 couples woke up in bed together. No biggy, the only problem was not one of the

Team Velocity: March Edition

DATE: Wednesday, March 5
TIME: 6:15-6:45 Family Dinner
6:45-7:30 Teaching
7:30-8:30 Teams
PLACE: Hart Middle School
KIDS: Childcare Provided

After getting snowed out in February, March TeamVelocity in on. It’s an opportunity to develop friendships, grow spiritually, connect on a serving team and discover your vital role in God’s story. If you are new to Epic or you’ve been coming for a while, this is a perfect next step on your journey.

30/30: Depression. Ruts. Santa Fe Trail.

A number of years ago Kathy and I were traveling across Kansas and saw what was one of the most amazing historical sites we’ve been to…the ruts of the Santa Fe Trail. People used the trail from 1822-1872 to travel west and do the “little house on the prairie” thing, but after more than a hundred years, the ruts from their wagons STILL EXIST today. It’s great picture of Depression. We all have these ruts from our past, from natural tendencies and feelings and the ways we respond to life. Depression is something I have personally struggled with for as long as I can remember and these are some of the ruts I get stuck in…

It’s Mullet Time!

Okay, some of you didn’t believe that picture was actually me with mullet last Sunday. Well it’s true…Kathy and I, circa 1993. Am I wearing a fanny pack? Oh the shame!

Grandma…1918-2008

Walking out of church Sunday, I got the news that my Grandma Kade had passed away in the middle of the night. She will be missed. Our family visited her on her last day of life on this earth and heard some great stories again of “her grandfather who was a concert violinist from Poland, her dad who was a fiddler, seeing her son come off the aircraft carrier Shangri-La, traveling around the US in retirement, meeting Lucille Ball in a Hotel in Hawaii…” Grandpa Kade went on to heaven 10 years ago, and now she’s reunited in joy with the love of her life. She was one funny lady. She always had some crazy story to tell or some witty saying that made you laugh. Here was one from her last day…

“Tulips in the garden. Tulips in the park, But the best tulips at all, are tulips in the dark.”

See you in heaven!

15 minutes: Life is Short

The following is snapshot of 15 minutes with Christ – Saturday, February 23, 2008

It’s 8pm, and I’m sitting here in Caribou looking over my message notes for tomorrows message on Depression. I usually look them over Saturday morning, but today was log jammed with events that spanned the spectrum of life. This morning I baptized a good friends two month old baby girl…a wonderful moment of life. After the festivities at their home, we visited my 90 year old grandma who was diagnosed with Leukemia a month ago…a wonderful moment of life. The doctors have told her she has two weeks to two months to live. Two lives: One beginning her new life. One at the end of a her seasoned life. One just starting out on a life journey with Jesus. One about to finish this life and enter into eternity with Him.

This Sunday…Help Save a Life

When: Sunday, Feb 24 (1 hour after worship), 11:45-12:45

There are people in our community who desperately need the help that only Christ can give. They are struggling with secrets and we want to let them know we’re here at Epic as a safe place to find hope and healing. By distributing flyers to 1000 homes surrounding Hart, we’ll keep the outreach buzz going. Enjoy pizza for lunch and we’ll be heading out in our cars to put “My Secret” Cards in mailboxes. It’s about as non-threatening as it gets. You don’t even have to leave your car. You can help impact your world for Christ!

30/30: Rear View Mirror. Scarlet Letters. Never Lies.

“I don’t think this is safe!” A good friend from Indiana freaked out as he got into my car on trip to Chicago. Driving with me, his fear was justified…

1. Hoosiers don’t drive over the speed limit. I’m well over the speed limit when I’m still on the On Ramp to the freeway.
2. My rear view mirror fell off the windshield and was lying my back seat of my Buick Century.

I reassured him, “Who needs a rear view mirror? I don’t need to know where I’ve been. I only need to know where I am going. Get in!”

In life, the evil one desires to get us to live our lives looking into the rear view mirror of Shame. We obsess over painful things that have happened in the past. And if Satan has his way, we

Catalyst: The Oversized Gift

Image: The Oversized Gift Leaders are often gifted. They can begin to depend on their giftedness for success, to the neglect of their character. Leaders sabotage themselves when their gift is bigger than they are. Their talent enables them to wing it through life. Good leaders build their character so that they will trusted by others to use the gift God has given them.

Verse: Psalm 15:1-2

Learning: Leaders, two things really hit home for me in this lesson: Gifts and Fruit. Spiritual gifts are given by God. The fruit of the Spirit is something you work on with God’s help and grace. The gifts God gives are a means to an end. And the end isn’t to be successful, to get ahead or to get applause. Our end and our goal is to give glory to God and to build His kingdom. Once we get that out of the way, we can focus on Fruit.