History is a story God has written and is in the process of telling.  In Ecclesiastes 3:10-11 Solomon states, “I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”  Man’s frustration comes from the attempt to live out a smaller story (my life) ignorant of God’s larger story (His plan).  But God has set His story in our hearts.  A lack of understanding of what God has done, beginning to end, leads to a life of futility and insignificance.  G.K. Chesterton  said, “I had always felt life first as a story-and if there is a story there is a story teller.” 

EPIC, a series that will begin March 14 and continue for six weeks, is designed to give people the opportunity to encounter God through His story, helping people find their role in it.  The six week series moves through the pivitol plot points in HIStory; the beginning, including Lucifer’s fall, our deception and betrayal, God’s promise to restore, the cross, church and final restoration in heaven.

The goal of this series is to reach out to people in our sphere of influence, leveraging our relationship with them to join you for the six week journey. Over the next several weeks we are going to talk about EPIC as a church, pray for God to use everyone to reach someone who needs Christ, and provide the Body with resources and insights to help you help someone discover their role in God’s Story! Start praying now about who you want to bring along on the journey!

Yesterday I received an email that took me by surprise. It was from someone who attended Zion for years but left soon after I became the Lead Pastor. To be honest, I never really understood why they left, but the email made it quite clear. The person was writing to ask me to forgive them. They didn’t go into details, other than to say that their email was “long overdue.”

I quickly responded with the following words, “I absolutely forgive you. That goes without question or hesitation. However, if you’d still like to talk, I would be more than willing. Here would be the reason why…if I did something to offend or upset you, that I am unaware of, I would want to know so I could take responsibility and apologize as well.” I truly wanted to know if I had failed them as a pastor, or more importantly, as a brother in Christ.

They responded and shared that their feelings toward me really didn’t have anything to do with me, but I became the recipient of their anger and bitterness. This broke my heart. In that moment I was reminded of how powerful and damaging unforgiveness can be in our lives. This person had spent years holding on to something that I was completely unaware of, and it affected them spiritually.

Here was my response after the person shared more of the “back story” with me. “Again…thanks for sharing. I appreciate your honesty. And if I understand anything about the nature of confession and forgiveness, you probably feel really good right now! Enjoy the peace that comes from doing what you know is right and continue to chase after Christ and His kingdom! If there is anything I can do for you, let me know!”

Forgiveness, and the lack thereof, has a profound effect in our lives. Of all the spiritual “traits” that should be true in the life of a believer, forgiveness should always be at the top of the list. When we forgive, we are being like Christ, who forgave us through the power of the cross. When we don’t forgive, we reveal our lack of understanding of what Jesus has done for us. (Colossians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 4:32) Who do you need to seek forgiveness from? Who do you need to extend forgiveness toward?

If you are struggling with forgiveness issues in your life, let me recommend a book, Total Forgiveness, by R.T. Kendall. You can purchase the book HERE.

Do you ever feel broken? Broken by the world? Broken by your personal sin? Do you want to learn how to move from feeling broken and learn how to become a blessing to others in your life? The letter by Paul to Titus is a short book that is packed full of useful information on how a church and it’s individual members can move from brokenness to blessing.

I want to invite all of the men of Zion to our first ever Men’s Training Day on Saturday, February 27^th from 8am to 11am at our Clarion Campus. During our training time together we are going to dig deep into the book of Titus and learn from and begin to lead out of the chaos we experience in the world. We will discover how we can protect ourselves from some of the spiritual “diseases” that leave our walk with Christ impotent and ineffective. By understanding that our foundation is rooted in Jesus Christ we will leave more prepared to do good in the world we live in. Paul’s words to this young pastor, Titus, will serve as the backdrop for the day.

I want to challenge every man at Zion who desires to keep growing as a man of God to mark this date on your calendar and join us as we “train ourselves for godliness.” Invite another man to join you and plan for a great day together!

This morning I came to the office and found the following note waiting for me: “Pastor Trent. My spiritual condition is in big trouble. Maybe I’m “bad soil” or just not one of the “elect” or perhaps I am demon possessed. I am cold, hard and unfeeling. I don’t really know the point of this note as I am too ashamed to sign my name.—Miserable. Maybe you can pray for me.”

I want to talk to “Miserable” for a minute: PLEASE CALL ME! My cell # is 814.221.8985. I would love to talk to you about your spiritual condition. The fact that you are aware of your condition and took time to share with me how you are feeling is an indication that God is at work in your life. That is encouraging to me! If you didn’t care about where you are spiritually, THEN you would have reason for concern. God loves you and He is able to help you get to the root of what you are feeling right now. You took an honest step to write down what you are feeling, I am going to pray that you take the next step to talk with someone who can help you.

Want to stretch your faith? Get out of your comfort and go on a short term missions trip! It is the best way I know of to expand your view of God, the world, and His Kingdom. In 2010 we have several short term missions trips on our calendar. Here is the list of the trips we have planned this year at Zion: 

The Pittsburgh Project- designed for families to minister over a weekend in downtown Pittsburgh. Dates: April 23-25th

Costa Rica- designed for students in 9th through 12th grade to work in a village in Costa Rica. In addition, we are opening the trip to others who are interested in going, on a limited basis. Dates: June 6-12

Czech Republic- for adults who want to plant gospel seeds through servant evangelism in the city of Prague. Dates: June 11th-19th

Nigeria- this trip to the city of Jos calls for a specific skill set, contracting and/or agriculture. Dates: July 15-25 (or close to that time)

Toronto, Canada- this trip is open to everyone. We will help plant a new church in the suburbs of Toronto, Burlington Community Church. Dates: August 16-22nd

The costs for all of these trips have yet to be finalized. If you are interested in any of these trips, please contact Barb Phillips, my assistant at barb@zionlife.com.

I know Christmas is over, but I just couldn’t leave this alone. When I got to the office after some time away for Christmas, I found an anonymous note (never a good sign;)) in my mailbox in the church office.  It simply said, “Pastor Trent: Merry X Mas? Really!?” I assume they meant it to voice their concern that somehow, somewhere, someway I had communicated in print form the abbreviated Merry Christmas by writing Merry X Mas. For the record, I don’t recall doing it, nor does anyone on our staff, and I can’t seek clarification because it was sent anonymously. However, let me say empatically… WE NEED TO KEEP CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS! (that would make a good bumper sticker I am sure!) But the question I must consider, does replacing “Christ” with the abbreviation “X” somehow communicate a desire to remove Jesus from Christmas. Maybe this artice by R.C. Sproul will help:

The simple answer to your question is that the X in Christmas is used like the R in R.C. My given name at birth was Robert Charles, although before I was even taken home from the hospital my parents called me by my initials, R.C., and nobody seems to be too scandalized by that.

X can mean so many things. For example, when we want to denote an unknown quantity, we use the symbol X. It can refer to an obscene level of films, something that is X-rated. People seem to express chagrin about seeing Christ’s name dropped and replaced by this symbol for an unknown quantity X. Every year you see the signs and the bumper stickers saying, “Put Christ back into Christmas” as a response to this substitution of the letter X for the name of Christ.

First of all, you have to understand that it is not the letter X that is put into Christmas. We see the English letter X there, but actually what it involves is the first letter of the Greek name for Christ. Christos is the New Testament Greek for Christ. The first letter of the Greek word Christos is transliterated into our alphabet as an X. That X has come through church history to be a shorthand symbol for the name of Christ.

We don’t see people protesting the use of the Greek letter theta, which is an O with a line across the middle. We use that as a shorthand abbreviation for God because it is the first letter of the word Theos, the Greek word for God.

The idea of X as an abbreviation for the name of Christ came into use in our culture with no intent to show any disrespect for Jesus. The church has used the symbol of the fish historically because it is an acronym. Fish in Greek (ichthus) involved the use of the first letters for the Greek phrase “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” So the early Christians would take the first letter of those words and put those letters together to spell the Greek word for fish. That’s how the symbol of the fish became the universal symbol of Christendom. There’s a long and sacred history of the use of X to symbolize the name of Christ, and from its origin, it has meant no disrespect.

Taken from Now, That’s a Good Question!
©1996 by R.C. Sproul. Used by permission of Tyndale on the blog of Ligonier Ministries.

I trust that gives everyone a little more perspective on the topic!

God is a grand story teller. In fact, all of history, it’s been said, is His Story. Your life is really not about you, it’s about Him, and the story He is telling in you and through you. At Zion, 2010 is going to be a year of “Sharing God’s Story in You.” We are going to take time each weekend to share God’s story in the lives of people who call Zion home. Some stories will be shared by email, others on video, and some live. Some stories will provoke us to greater faith…some will move us toward more mercy. We will hear stories that will inspire us, challenge us, encourage us and convict us. But one thing will be true in each story we hear in 2010…they are all part of God’s story in us! He is the author and He is the hero…not us! As God writes His story in and through you in 2010, take time to share it with me at trent@zionlife.com. His Story in YOU can be used to bring Him glory in powerful ways…Don’t be shy! “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!” (Psalm 107:2).

Just a few more days until we celebrate the birth of our Savior! I am so looking forward to spending a few days visiting with my family in Michigan and Canada, but I am most excited to share time with Pam, BreAnna, Camron, and Chara. We have a tradition of visiting the Clarion Hospital after our Christmas Eve services, opening one present when we get home and then sleeping around the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning we enjoy cinnamon rolls for breakfast, read the Christmas story and pray, then open the first gift under the tree. What is the gift? It is the figure of “baby Jesus” that goes in the manger of the Nativity set we have in our home. It is always the first gift we open Christmas morning because He truly is the best gift we will ever receive! I trust that every family takes time to slow down in some way at Christmas to focus on Jesus. Dad and Mom…it starts with you! How will you keep Christ in Christmas this week? What family traditions does your family have?

The “mark” of a good book to me, is how “marked” up it is when I finish reading it. Using that as the standard, Primal by Mark Batterson, is a “must read” for 2010. This is Mark’s third book and after being stretched and challenged in the first two, In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase, Primal lived up to and exceeded my expectations.

In Primal, Mark takes us on “a quest for the lost soul of Christianity.” He lands on what many Christ followers understand to be the core of our faith, but often overlook it’s depth and fail to practice it’s meaning: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” This simple command taught by Jesus is what Mark describes as being “primal” to our entire experience as followers of Christ.

For the rest of the book, rather than a systematic theology lesson on the Great Commandment, Mark guides readers on a journey to discover, or re-discover, what living out Jesus’ command looks like in our everyday life. With a mixture of unique illustrations that are “classic” Batterson, and personal stories, all rooted in the truth of the text, we see how looking at this often quoted, and often over complicated verse with fresh eyes will produce lasting change in our lives. Change that will lead to more “primal” compassion, “primal” wonder, “primal” curiosity, and “primal” energy.

I am going to challenge and lead our entire church family to read Primal in 2010 and encourage other pastors and leaders to do the same.

For more information visit www.theprimalmovement.com .

To purchase Primal visit www.RandomHouse.com.

Wild…Wacky…Weird…That is the only way to describe the weather Sunday morning. First, as far as I have heard, nobody was injured on the roads yesterday…Praise God for that! I do know that many spent significant time stuck/stranded on the side of the road waiting for the weather to warm up enough to melt the ice. A few (actually more that I expected-about 175) made it all the way to one of our campsuses for a scaled down family friendly worship gathering. I just want to say thank you to everyone who attempted and/or made it to church in very difficult conditions. I was humbled and blessed!

During the morning I wondered what would have happened if we were to “get the word out” through Facebook, email, Phone Tree, and radio that we were going to have a service at, say, 4pm. The forecast was calling for warmer temps as the day unfolded and by 4pm the roads were totally fine. Just out of curiosity, would you and your family have come? Let me know at trent@zionlife.com. We will be discussing this option as a staff in the coming days because I am sure that it won’t be the last Sunday morning with difficult weather conditions this Winter. I would love to hear your thoughts!

For those who made it to church, we heard a powerful message from 2 Corinthians 8 on the topic of Generosity. Using the Dickens’ classic, “A Christmas Carol”, as a springboard into the text we learned that God’s Grace produces Joy and Joy produces Generosity. It was one of those messages I found myself thinking…”wow, I wish everyone were here to listen to this!”  The good news is that because of technology everyone CAN hear the message! I want to ask you, Zion family, to take some time this week to visit http://gallery.altarcast.com/zionmedia/ and click on the message entitled “A Chistmas Carol.” Grab a cup of coffee, your Bible, and a notebook and listen to Pastor Paul teaching through 2 Corinthians 8 and the topic of Generosity. During this Christmas season and as we move toward 2010 we should all take time to visit our own level of Generosity.