The Blog of David Cay

Feeding the Fire by watching True Blood!!??

2010-08-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

It is sometimes hard to admit, but I have become a fan of the hit TV show "True Blood". It is a show that has a great story and the constant barrage of hanging endings have kept me intrigued, that I'm eagerly anticipating the next episode. The show is definitely not for kiddies and not for people that have a hard time with discernment. For this show and many like it, discernment is to be used. The show at times is too much on the sex and the violence. But to it's credit, they have created a captivating story line and meaningful characters that you care about.

One of the most intriguing parts of the show are the "Christians" especially the ones that go to Church called the "Fellowship of the Sun". They are the lamest and most judgmental-hate filled people of the show. You would have the Pastor mix Jesus with hate and violence. Sadly, these characterizations have become a growing trend in Television. I have yet to see a "Christian" character show love and compassion while at same time disagreeing with an issue. I mean disagreeing with someones life choice or behavior, does not mean you hate them. But for some reason, that seems to get lost in translation. It concerns me, that possibly millions of people will "think" or "believe" that all Christians act like the ones from the "Fellowship of the Sun". However, it is hard to admit that there are a few, yet loud "Christians" who act and behave exactly like the "Fellowship of the Sun". It bothered me quite a bit. But there was a line by Sookie (played by Anna Paquin) that made me roar and cheer as if someone had scored a Touchdown or scored a Goal. She screams at the Pastor- "Jesus would have been ashamed of you!!" At that moment, I wanted to hug Sookie and twirl her in the air. The Pastor promptly responds with a smile, "I guess we have to agree to disagree".

In bed, I had a good conversation with my wife about the importance of painting an accurate picture of Christ. So many people unfortunately, get a distorted and corrupt view of Jesus and what the Church should be. That night, I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about it, pondering about what I just saw. I even prayed about it- talked about it with God. Told Him, how it hurt me that many people are not seeing the real Jesus in Christians. As we talked that night, my heart started to stir and started to beat faster. I knew this was something that I was passionate about. For some reason whenever I get passionate, I start raising my arms crying out to God to do something. I started to hit my pillow, only to be interrupted by my wife asking me, "what the hell are you doing?" I guess it does look weird when your supposed to be asleep and your arms are flailing in the sky and your hitting your pillow.

As the night started to get quiet and I was about to sleep, a nudge to my heart and thought to my head simultaneously came. And it was the word "discipleship". And it hit me, people need discipleship. They need to be taught the truth, they need to be shown a true and accurate picture of Christ. It was Jesus' last command to "Go out and make disciples". The problem is we have either neglected this command or we have taught falsely. How often do Christians disciple other Christians? Do they leave that job to the Pastor? When Jesus said this last command before he left earth, it was for every Christian not just a select few! The lack of discipleship is not only just hurting the walk of Christians but also non- believers who are constantly being shown an inaccurate view of Jesus and what following Christ looks like.

Sometimes I wonder, if the Church had done its job in discipling believers with an accurate picture of Christ, maybe we would smile a lot more when we watch a "Christian" character on TV instead of always feeling nervous and nauseous like your about to vomit your supper on the TV.

Who knew that watching "True Blood" could feed the fire needed to help the Church become more passionate about discipleship.

Summer Movies!!

2010-08-12T00:21:00.000-07:00

Inception: 5 Stars out of 5

- seriously this movie was amazing!

- brilliant cast, awesome story

- brilliant movie about dreams

- it was actually something that I can relate too, especially the dreams part

The Other Guys: 2 and a half stars out of 5

- had it's funny moments

- Will Ferell and Mark Wahlberg had awesome chemistry

- stupid funny, the storyline was pretty weak

- was expecting more

Raptors Trade!

2010-08-12T00:19:00.000-07:00

The Raptors trade Marco Bellinelli to New Orleans for Julian Wright

We got more athletic with this trade, but other than that nothing to get excited about. This is going to be a long year...sigh..not one of those AGAIN! But it's sad to say that I'm used to it...

GGC Turns 1!!

2010-08-12T00:05:00.000-07:00

We just had our first anniversary service and it was amazing! I'm really thankful for what God has done this past year. When I watched our retrospect video, I was truly touched by it. I am so proud of my team. They are truly amazing people and they work so hard. I am so blessed to have them. GGC would not be anywhere it is now without these remarkable people. There have been good times and there have been bad times, but we sticked it out together and it has been quite the adventure. Year one truly have some great memories and great stories- that one day we will share to our kids. I can't believe we made it this far, it has absolutely been a crazy ride.

The greatest part is that it's just the beginning. There is more story to be told. The adventure has just begun. We continue our quest to make Jesus famous. We continue to establish the DNA of a 'Come as you are Missional Community' where we are the Church every single day.

So year 2 begins...what's going to happen next?

Jalen..aka Mr. Laughy

2010-08-02T23:44:00.000-07:00

My son is amazing, I love him to death! I am so proud to be a Dad and I'm so thankful for what God has blessed us with. I'm proud of Shaula too, she is an amazing mother and wife. She works extremely hard and she keeps me in line ;) Life is so beautiful right now, that I forget about all our financial problems....or maybe I just remembered..lol..hahahahaha... But God is good, I cannot tell you how He has provided for us during this time. It is absolutely amazing. I'm not sure why I'm so surprised, I mean He always comes through- I hope one day it will just become an expectation.

Jalen is getting so big right now and it's only been 10 weeks. I'm already sad that he is growing up. I want to cherish each moment even when changing his diaper, his poo seems to be getting worse and worse. I miss the old poo already. Time just keeps going faster and faster. Got to enjoy every moment of it. I'm looking forward to seeing my son grow up. I pray he grows up to be a good boy and has lots of girlfriends. But in all seriousness, I really hope he grows up to love Jesus just as much as I do. Following Jesus and having this awesome relationship/friendship with the Creator is LIFE! It is my joy and it gives me peace; a purpose and meaning to this life. The adventure that will never end, yet the story is just beginning.

Chuck's mom is Sarah Connor!?!?

2010-07-26T23:33:00.000-07:00

They just announced at Comic Con 2010 that Linda Hamilton aka Sarah Connor from Terminator 2 will be Mama Bartowski in Season 4 of NBC's Chuck! This is going to be awesome!! I cannot wait for Season 4! Chuck returns on Monday, September 20, 2010 on NBC!

I'm back!!

2010-07-26T23:30:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

After a 5 month hiatus I am back to blogging! So watch out for new blogs!

David

Death

2010-03-15T10:39:00.000-07:00

My wife's dog passed away yesterday morning, she was 10 years old; in dog years that would make her 70 years old. Her passing brought about a lot of sad emotions. She will be greatly missed.

Nobody likes death, in fact I'm pretty sure everyone hates it. Death is probably the worst thing to experience here on earth. To lose someone and to not have that person around anymore is the worst feeling.

However, death is the destiny of everyone. No one will escape death, no matter what we try to do. We can exercise, eat healthy, have surgeries or lock ourselves in a room- each one of us will taste death.

But besides the obvious, why does death hurt us so much? Is it because we yearn to live forever? I think everyone, no matter what they believe, yearns for a place where there is no disease, no sickness, no death, no wars, no sadness, no tears- a place that is completely perfect. A place where we can see our dead loved ones again.

The Bible calls this place heaven. For Christians, this is the hope that we have. Death is not the end but a beginning. I'm aware that some people would call this "wishful thinking"; that a place like this does not even exist.

But I would wager everything, that all people despite their convictions or beliefs, long for a place like this. Even if they don't believe in a God or in a heaven, I'm sure deep down they would hope its true. Who wouldn't want to be reunited with their dead mother, father, brothers, sisters, cousins, friends and pets??

This is one of the reasons why I believe Jesus and Christianity is worth considering.

Remember the Dream

2010-03-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

I was driving in my bus (yeah I drive school buses part time..lol..) and I was talking to God and I noticed something different in my prayers. Slowly but surely my prayers have become small, trivial and realistic. This bothered me for the whole bus ride. I used to love praying BIG prayers, asking God to do impossible things. But lately, it been prayers about merely surviving and getting by in life. I would pray for Church, but it would be small prayers like praying that we make rent and hopefully reach a few people.

This time in the bus reminded me that I had forgotten about the dream. It reminded me that my faith has become small. I can picture Jesus saying to me "Oh you of little faith", and he was right. The painful part about it was that I never even noticed how small my faith had become. I had let problems, struggles, and the stresses of life shrink my faith.

My time in the bus reminded me that I serve a BIG God! A God that does the impossible! It should always be an expectation not a hope, that God will do crazy-amazing things! When we started this Church, we had such big dreams and hopes. But lately it seems that many of us have forgotten the dream. We have settled for mediocrity.

Let us not forget the dream! Let us continue to dream BIG and have faith that God will do the impossible! Let us continue to pray and expect God to do things that only God can do. Never stop working, never stop praying and never forget who we follow!

Life without God

2010-03-01T09:17:00.001-08:00

These past few weeks have been pretty rough, maybe a better word for it is overwhelming. There were so many times where I felt so anxious and so worried that it was taking over my life. The only way I could respond to it was to turn to God. I needed help. I needed to talk to Him and seek his presence.

These past few days I have been better. I've been more at peace and I feel more secure as I trust Him. It gave me a new sense of how much I need God; that I can't go through life without Him especially when problems become so overwhelming.

As I was going through this, I was wondering to myself how it would be like to not have God in your life . It's hard for me to imagine life without God. It would just be so hard. It would even be more stressful and challenging. I would have a hard time surviving. Like what do you do when you know you can't do it? What do you do when you fail? Who do you turn to when you need help and your friends and family can't? If we rely solely on ourselves, failures become even bigger because we have no one to blame but ourselves.

I wonder that perhaps we were not meant to rely just on ourselves- it would just be too hard. That maybe we are limited. Maybe there is a reason for that, maybe God likes it when we rely on Him, when we depend on Him, when we trust Him. I know some people would call God a "crutch". But I don't see it that way. I see it more as a loving Father and friend who has tremendous compassion to our circumstances that He is eager to give a helping hand.

Christians and the Mind

2010-01-20T14:11:00.000-08:00

A lot of Christian experience is based all on emotions. Based on how we feel. It is not necessarily a bad thing, but I wonder if we have neglected the mind? If you ask many Christians today to tell people "what" they believe I'm sure many Christians are able to do so.

But if you ask them, "why" it's true, I'm willing to bet my house that many Christians have no clue. I really believe that is the problem with today's Christianity. Can we answer questions like "Is the Bible reliable?"; "Why is Sex before marriage wrong for you?"; "Why is drunkeness is bad?"

Can we answer these questions without using the cliche "Because the Bible says so...?"

If you use that, then I have a question for you-"why does the Bible say that?" Is it just for fun or because God had nothing better to do?

Here is a good article that I found at the Christian Post. I agree with the article whole heartedly.

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20100120/apologist-youths-need-truth-not-easy-believism/index.html

The role of Obedience

2010-01-13T09:06:00.000-08:00

A Christian's relationship with God should be the most important aspect of his life. It's a relationship that should be vibrant and alive. A relationship which values honesty and transparency- that challenges you, builds you up and refines your character. It is a friendship between you and God, not anyone else, just you and God. To fathom that reality is very hard to do-that the God of this universe calls you friend is mind boggling. It hurts my head just thinking about it. I can talk to God whenever I want. He is there always listening to my worries, struggles and even things that are probably meaningless like tv shows, sports and movies.

But the thing that we need to remember is that God speaks too. So often we love to take over the conversation and its just us talking- blah blah blah blah- and then bye God, see you later. We seldom take the time to just sit and stay silent- listening for God to speak.

But when He does speak, it becomes a moment of decision. We need to decide if we are going to obey or not. That's the thing I find puzzling with some Christians. They want God to speak; they want guidance; they want God to direct their paths- yet when an answer comes it's either not what they expected or it's too hard and painful to do- so they do their own thing. They take the path of least resistance. In other words, it's called disobedience. Then they wonder why life has gone so wrong. As much as it's hard to say, we reap what we sow.

A relationship with God also requires obedience. After all, we do call Jesus our "Lord" don't we? But I'm not sure why people don't take that seriously? Why don't we treat Him as such?
It's funny because we love to use phrases like Jesus is the center of our lives. But if we are honest is He? Can we tell Him honestly that we are having trouble revolving our lives around Him? Can we just admit that were just adding Jesus to our lives when its convenient? These are hard things to admit. But we need to admit it first before we can move forward.

If we truly believe that God knows best and in fact He holds the future, than no matter how hard or inconvenient it is we need to obey, not doing so will only hurt us in the long run.

New Years Resolutions

2010-01-06T23:25:00.000-08:00

Here are my 2010 New Year's Resolutions

1. Eat healthier and exercise- limit the junk food

2. Don't be lazy!

3. Don't waste time!

4. Read even more books (I read a lot in 2009- but I want more!!)

5. Pray everyday!

6. Have more self-control when watching Raptor games

7. Listen to more Sermon Podcasts (at least 3 sermons a week)

CHUCK "Olympics" Promo!! It's sweet!!!

2010-01-02T11:06:00.001-08:00

Another CHUCK Promo!

2009-12-15T09:41:00.000-08:00

The State of the Raptors

2009-12-12T15:45:00.000-08:00

A quarter into the season and it has been nothing but disappointing. The Raptors have a record of 10-15, one game out of the 8th spot. They have been under achieving greatly. The thing that bothers me the most is not the talent. We are definitely talented. We have good players. It is the energy and effort on the court that has been so frustrating.

They show no energy at all! They put no effort! They are so complacent and non-chalant. There is no sense of urgency. Chris Bosh has been playing amazing! But the lack of energy and horrible defense have allowed teams to score at will. We have 9 new players and yet the same problems. Our defense- if it continues will be the worst defense in NBA history!

Hedo Turkoglu has not lived up to expectations. I'm not sure what it is but I believe the Raptors are cursed. It's the Vince Carter curse! Ugh! When will this end??? We can't lose Bosh! If we lose Bosh this will be catastrophic! This will hurt the Raptors so much! Please God please save us from this curse. I cannot endure another losing season. Raps fans have been through so much. We deserve a break!

Heres hoping that the second quarter will be better than the first. We still in it! No time to panic...yet??!

The Christians in Glee

2009-12-01T13:33:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, I was watching one my new favorite shows of the year- Glee!! It was the episode where Quinn's parents found out that she was pregnant. Now if you don't know anything about the show, Quinn is supposed to be the President of the Celibacy Club and her parents are "Christians". It's always funny to see how media portrays Christians and usually it's always in a bad light. But I can't really blame them because there are a lot of Christians who are in fact jerks and really mean. But then again, there are a lot of Christians who are kind and loving.

What interested me the most about this episode was the reaction of Quinn's parents at the revelation that she was pregnant. As I was watching, I was really hoping that Quinn's parents were going to react in a graceful and forgiving manner. But instead her parents got mad and kicked her out of the house. It was so sad. Quinn was obviously remorseful and she even admitted that she made a mistake. With tears she apologized and cried for help.

Unfortunately, there would be no help, no grace and no forgiveness. All we got was Parents that were so embarrassed and so ashamed, that the only solution they can think of was to kick her out. Wow! And there supposed to be Christians too. How sad.

Contrast this with Fin's mother, a single mother, most likely not a Christian and she also finds out in this episode that Fin is going to be a father. And her reaction was more Christlike than the so called Christians. She was so supportive and she held her child as he cried in her arms. Assuring him that everything will be ok. She even took Quinn and gave her a home- gave her a place to stay.

It is so ironic that the ones that claim to follow Jesus are the least like Him, yet the one that does not claim to follow Jesus, looks more like Him. Ugh! How pitiful! If we are to call ourselves Christians then we better paint an accurate picture of Christ. The fruits of the Holy Spirit are: kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, love, peace, patience, goodness, and self-control. How many Christians look like the "fruits" above?

I am not saying to ignore the sin or to excuse it, but if someone is sorry for it and remorseful shouldn't we forgive?? No matter how horrible the sin? Wouldn't Jesus do that to us when we seek forgiveness? Never in the Gospels do we ever see Jesus struggling to forgive someone. It's funny how we talk about grace- yet we are so horribly slow to show it.

I'm getting sick of our reputation in the World- it does not paint an accurate picture of Christ. It actually paints a distorted one. I'm going to see the "Blind Side" with Sandra Bullock on Friday. Here's hoping the Christians in this one paint a better, a more accurate picture of Jesus.

Chuck Behind the Scenes= AWESOME!

2009-11-24T19:13:00.001-08:00

Yet Another CHUCK Promo

2009-11-23T09:12:00.001-08:00

Another CHUCK Promo!!

2009-11-23T08:38:00.001-08:00

CHUCK Promo!

2009-11-23T08:37:00.001-08:00

Missio Dei Mentality

2009-11-04T09:54:00.000-08:00

Hey friends!

So last night before I went to bed I was thinking about what it would look like to have a "Missio Dei Mentality"- in other words what does it mean to have a "Mission of God" mentality?

This what I came up with. A person with a "Missio Dei Mentality" looks like this:

1) First and foremost is always dependent on the Holy Spirit. Jesus left the Holy Spirit to us and sometimes I feel He is the forgotten God. Francis Chan's new book is actually about this. But we need to be confident in the Holy Spirit's power! To the point that we expect the Holy Spirit to work. It also means that we have complete trust in the Holy Spirit even when we cannot see tangibly what He is doing. I heard it once said: 100% man and 100% God. We do what we can and we let God do what He does best!

2) Relationships!! We are out there to form genuine relationships with people. So we don't see them evangelistic targets, but we actually want to be their friends and out of that we tell them about Jesus and we invite them to Church. So the ideal is to hang out with them during the week and get into their lives. Caring for them holistically meaning caring for their past, present and future needs. This becomes our mentality- that we think about others and find a way to bless them through relationships.

3) Bless the Community- seeks to help those in unfortunate circumstances. We seek to work outside of Church walls, blessing the community with good works and finances.

4) The Church is who we are and not so much the building- wherever you go Church is happening because you are there. The Church is not just a Sunday thing; it's a everyday thing! We don't have Sunday Friends, there is no such thing as that. Community and belonging happens throughout the week.

5) Missionaries to the Culture. We engage the culture not run away from it. We do not back down from a challenge or run away from questions. Instead we take advantage of opportunities to engage the culture with knowledge, wisdom and character. Sharing the truth and reasons why we believe in a clear and concise manner that is understandable. This is done with kindness and respect.

God always one step ahead

2009-11-03T16:16:00.001-08:00

It amazes me to know that God is always one step ahead of me. Whenever I think that we need something, God is already working on it. He knows what I need before I even ask. God is at work even before I ask Him too. I find this comforting.

David

Christians on Gossip Girl?

2009-09-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

Did anyone catch Gossip Girl on Monday? Like many Mondays, Gossip Girl is on at the Cay household and in this episode low and behold, the "Christians" make an appearance. But unfortunately, they made us look really lame and I mean so lame that you would laugh and shake your head in embarrassment and disgust . For me personally it was quite hilarious but it was also quite sad that many people view Christians in this manner.

The scene in Gossip Girl showed a group of Christians crashing a party..lol..and they were wearing Christian t-shirts and singing hymns in unity while mingling with people at the party. They were handing out literature and they were holding crosses as if to shun away Vampires.

It was amusing yet sad. As a Christian, I am nothing like these "Christians" on Gossip Girl. But I would say in shame that some are exactly like that. It sucks that TV or media in General would focus primarily on the minority of Christians that are loud, obnoxious, and plain weird. But I guess it would make a better show and a better story. But I wish they would also show that Christians are regular people who just love Jesus and do have certain values. But most often were portrayed as really weird or judgmental.

What if the only "Christians" people ever meet are those that are on TV? That would be tragic! Though this sucks, I also welcome the opportunity to break people's stereotypes of Christians. I welcome the challenge and so should you. So lets show people who Jesus really is by loving people and caring for them.

To the "Christians in Gossip Girl"- what would Jesus do? Definitely not that!

Another hilarious one!

2009-09-21T11:40:00.001-07:00

This is hilarious!

2009-09-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

Kelly Clarkson Cover of Miley's Song "The Climb"

2009-09-20T09:57:00.000-07:00

Kelly Clarkson with her back up singers! So good!!

We are moving!!!

2009-09-15T14:15:00.000-07:00

After weeks of searching and calling places we finally found a place for our Worship Service!!! God is just so good! It is simply amazing! Grace Generation Church will be moving to Calgary Chinese Baptist Church on October 18, 2009! Our service will start at 6pm and will end at 8pm.

So we have one more month before we move and we have decided to do a month-long fundraising/promotional campaign. We are in dire need of musical and technical equipment. So we are asking you for your support. God is doing a lot of exciting things and I am anxious to see what He does next!

If you wish to support us financially, please make out cheques payable to

"Grace Generation Church of Calgary" and send it to:

Grace Generation Church of Calgary
PO Box 29076
Hidden Valley RPO NW
Calgary, AB
T3A 6L2

Please provide us with your name and address so that we can give you tax deductible receipt. As of this moment our Church does not have a Charity Number, but we are working hard to get one and we should get one by the end of the year. Thank you for prayers and support!

David

Meeting Minutes

2009-09-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

Grace Generation Church Meeting Minutes

August 30,2009

Proposed Budget (60 out, 40 in)

$4200 monthly budget
$2500 Salary
$1000 rent
$200 Church Stuff
$300 CNBC Co-Operative Program (Disaster Relief and Missions)
$200 Neighborlink

Budget approved by team

*meet with Auntie Marte about how to break up David’s salary

*need to make a list for what is needed – Convention & possibly The Bridge (ask them) are willing to help purchase (i.e musical instruments/supplies, photocopier

Fundraising Events

Bottle Depot (quarterly)
Coco-Brooks
Bridge Brand
Garage Sale (yearly)- remaining items will be sent to a Charity
Fundraising Letter of Support

Board

Treasurer – Dianne

Secretary – Joy

Chairman – Gerard

Vice Chairman – Rhea

Trustees – Gladys, Dianne, Rhea

*note: must update and fix constitution to match our application for charity status.

Prayer

Next Meeting – September 27, 2009

The power of relationships

2009-08-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

It was a pretty sad week with Pastor Jesse passing. I had the privilege of speaking at the viewing and it was nice to know that I had nothing but awesome memories of Pastor Jesse. He is someone that I really want to be like. As a pastor, you want to be something like Pastor Jesse in his humbleness and his care and love for others. There is nothing quite like friendships and relationships. They are the backbone of what we do and love. To love someone and to care for them is one of the most powerful things we can give to someone.

The best times are usually spending time with friends over dinner or over coffee. Relationships are priceless! We can buy all these material things, but they will never come close to having the same power that a relationship or a friendship has. Spending time with people we love is where it is at. Memories are made when we are with friends.

People want relationships- they want to be loved and cared for. It's great to share Jesus with people, but it's more powerful when we do that and they know we actually care and love them too. I believe they would be more receptive to having a relationship with Christ when we show (not much say) that Jesus loves you.

It is amazing to me that the God of the Universe wants to have a relationship with you. Jesus wants to be a part of your life. He is interested in your fears and what you care about. He wants to walk with you through the good times and the bad times- promising to never leave you nor forsake you. He has dreams for us too! Dreams that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has even conceived or imagined what God has planned for those that love Him.

Relationships must be one of the most important aspects of Grace Generation. It has to be a church that genuinely cares and loves people. A Church that is willing to invest in the messiness of people's lives and guiding them to the best relationship that they can have- Jesus Christ! So I appeal to everyone to look at the interest of others and not just our own. For relationships have power to change lives and make life worth living.

Great Hoffa Clip!!!

2009-08-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

A place of Worship?

2009-08-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

Hey friends!

From my last update, I told you how a special person decided to financially support a building for our church! Which means, that the individual would pay our rent bills until we can afford it on our own. When I heard this news, I was so excited and so thankful! God can really do amazing things and I love how He just surprises us with these out of nowhere type announcements. I love it!

So last week, me and Hazel went looking for around for potential places of Worship. Now, let me tell you something about Hazel. She is the bravest person I have ever met. She is not scared of anything! She is such a good talker- very professional. To be honest I feel safe when she is around. I guess we don't call her "Agent Anderson" for nothing. She's that good!

But anyways, we looked around and we got one great offer. The price was good! The place fit our needs! BUT it wouldn't allow us to place music! Bummer! This would have been the ideal fit, but I guess it wasn't the place God had for us. The other places that we looked at were really expensive and not in the realms of our budget.

This week, we have resumed the "find a church" project and we do have a few leads! So keep praying for us that we can find a place! God is good! I know He has a place, but we just have to keep looking and soon enough he will reveal it! Pray pray pray!!!

Updates #2

2009-08-09T22:10:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone

I just want to start of and say that God is good! When God touches something He really does amazing things. After the service I received word that someone (the person wished to remain anonymous) is willing to pay rent for a building for our church!!

The "someone" told me to find a building whether it is a hotel ballroom or community center and he/she is willing to pay the rent for it until we can afford it!

This is awesome news! Please pray for me and Hazel as we look for a place of worship on Wednesday!

God is good man! Expect more of this stuff. Have faith no doubts!

Keep praying! Keep fundraising because we will really need stuff if we get a place of worship.

Today's service went pretty well today! We finally got the mics to work..lol..and we had 28 people come out. So thanks to all that came, I pray that you had an experience with God today.

Please continue to pray for us and I hope you guys have a great week. Also, Bible Study this Thursday is at Marc's house. Please contact us for details.

Dave

The New Toronto Raptors!!!

2009-08-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

What an offseason! The Toronto Raptors have gotten better and we have added depth. This is probably the best team that we've had in years! We've added 7 new faces to the roster!

DeMar DeRozan

Jarett Jack

Antoine Wright

Hedo Turkoglu

Rasho Nesterovic

Marco Bellinelli

Reggie Evans

We've added athleticism, toughness, grit and defense

So our Starting lineup should look like this:

PG: Jose Calderon

SG: Demar DeRozan

SF: Hedo Turkoglu

PF: Chris Bosh

C: Andrea Bargnani

Backups:

PG: Jarrett Jack

SG: Marco Bellinelli

SF: Antoine Wright

PF: Reggie Evans

C: Rasho Nesterovic

Bench Warmers:

Patrick Obryant

Quincy Douby

Roko Ukic

Marcus Banks

That is a pretty great lineup. I predict 4th in the East!!

We need to get rid of Ukic and Marcus Banks. Get some veterans on this team!! I'm excited for the season! I cannot wait!! GO RAPTORS!!!

What a week!

2009-08-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

Hey Friends

That was a pretty hectic week! We got a lot done! We had our first GGC event "BBQ in the Park" and we also had our very first service! Yay!

The week started with the monster job of cleaning my basement! The basement was a dusty mess! We had to sweep the whole basement; wipe the walls; mop the floor and then paint it. It took two days to complete! Thanks to everyone who helped out!

On Saturday, we had a BBQ in the Park. Check out the pictures on the website! A lot of people came out- 41 people to be exact. We BBQ'd burgers and Hot Dogs! The Burgers were a hit! Unfortunately, the beautiful Jumbo Hot Dogs were not =( Oh well I guess more for me! Yay!

On Saturday Night, Shaula and I moved couches and chairs (bought from Wal-Mart) to the basement for the service that would happen on Sunday. It was quite the workout! I broke a sweat and probably lost some weight, only to be gained back again after a nice mid-night

snack- a precious Hot Dog!

On Sunday, we had our very first GGC Worship Service in my basement. 26 people came out for our very first service! Thanks to all that came! I was pretty nervous for some reason, I wonder if it showed? But I really want to thank God for being my friend and blessing us with this great week. All the Glory should go to Him!

David

Best of Chuck Video Tribute!

2009-07-31T17:02:00.000-07:00

Just Plain Awesome!

Expecting BIG things

2009-07-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

Wow! How time flies..lol..our first official service is this Sunday (Aug. 2)! That was a quick 7 months! Now we are here and to be honest I don't really know what to expect. I have my ideas, I have my dreams but I'm not quite sure what will happen. In some cases I don't want to know, I want to be surprised- I want to be kept in suspense!

Whenever God did something in the Bible it was always something amazing- something impossible! It was never anything small, it was always something great! Something BIG! I have learned along the way to always expect something big and majestic from God. To not settle for anything less. To not doubt but have faith in the great things our God can do. My mentality has changed to the extent that God really does want to show his power. He really does what to do great things!

BUT our lack of faith, our doubts and the fact we like to put God in a box has made it harder for us to experience all that God has for us. We have chosen to settle for mediocrity- expecting less than what God wants to give!

What if we had faith like a mustard seed- faith that can move mountains? What if we expected only great and powerful things from God and not settle for less?

Ask God to show up! Ask Him to reveal His power! Ask till your blue in the face- ask to the point that you won't accept mediocre results! Believe that God is capable of doing the impossible! If the Bible is any indication to what God can do- then my friends we are in for a treat!

Are you excited? Are you nervous? Maybe it's both.

It has only begun- greater things are yet to come.

Grace Generation Meeting Minutues- July 2, 2009

2009-07-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

GRACE GENERATION CHURCH MEETING MINUTES

July 2,2009

Announcements

We are finally beginning! How do you feel?

Organization

Core will be meeting at 4pm for the month of July
Thursday night GGC bible study – officially starts in July

Format: eat, devotion, discussion, hang (start right on time 7pm)
For future reference – possibly 2 bible studies a week?
Not just a bible study; can be time where we go out and volunteer in the community; fundraising

Official service starting in August; time? TBA
Thursday bible study resumes as usual
Core to meet Sunday mornings before worship service for discipleship/training

Fundraising Letter

Now completed.
Waiting on letterhead and then it is ready to be distributed
Suggestion for an email template, so its easier to give the letter to family/friends abroad.

Evangelism Program

We have none; we are the program!
Desire is to engage in intelligent conversations with non-believers
Sharing through relationships
Invite them into a community – e.g movies, shopping, concerts, clubbing haha!
We ARE the CHURCH. Must not gravitate to one another. This is the church entrusted to us. We are the frontline. DO NOT BE AFRAID

Final Thought

THIS IS OUR TIME!
There’s a dream in your heart that God wants you to pursue

Challenge

Seek, pray, and discover that dream and desire that God has placed in your heart and let David know.

The Glory of God is man fully ALIVE

Closing Prayer.

Welcome Demar DeRozan!!!

2009-06-25T23:15:00.000-07:00

With the 9th pick the Toronto Raptors select Demar DeRozan!!! I am so excited! This was my pick. I'm just glad Toronto got it right this time! This guy is going to be very special- I just know it!

Now we need to resign Shawn Marion! Our lineup can possibly consist of:

Calderon

Derozan

Marion

Bosh

Bargnani

That is a solid lineup! We just need to get better defensively! I'm thinking through trades, free agency, and our mid-level exception- we need to bolster the bench and get deeper. So far our bench consists of:

PG: Ukic/Douby/Banks

SG: Delfino?

SF: ?

PF: Evans/Humphries

C: O'Bryant

I think we need to trade Humphries, Jawai and Banks and get rid of their contracts. Maybe even get rid of Ukic and get a veteran PG.

Use our free agent money and resign Marion and Delfino..and maybe even Parker. If not Parker, maybe sign someone like Grant Hill or Matt Barnes??

Use the mid-level on Chris Anderson and the LLE on Rasho.

Our lineup would be:

Calderon/Dooling?/Douby

Derozan/Parker?/Hill?

Marion/Delfino/ Barnes?

Bosh/Evans/

Bargnani/Anderson?/Rasho?/Obryant

I'm excited for next season! YAY Derozan!

Proposed Plan for July and August 2009

2009-06-08T12:27:00.000-07:00

Hey guys

Here is a proposed plan- please critique and ask any questions that you may have. Thanks!

The Plan:

July:

Start an official GGC Bible Study on Thursdays
- invite friends
- eat together
- talk about Jesus
- targetted for new people, but will also go deep for the ones that are already walking with Jesus; won't be entirely basic.

Be intentional- Be the Church
- hang out with friends
- invite people into a community (going to movies; playing video games; watching sports etc.)

Sundays- Meet with Core only
- pray together
- sing together
- equipping- just like how we are doing CNC bs right now

August:

Start an official GGC Sunday Worship Service
- invite friends

Sunday Mornings before the service- meet with Core
- equipping time (just like how we are doing CNC bs right now)

Official GGC Bible Study on Thursdays will continue

Be intentional- Be the Church
- hang out with friends
- invite people into a community (going to movies; playing poker; watching sports etc.)

Community Events- let's get out there!

GGC'S Meeting Minutes for May, 31, 2009

2009-05-31T23:01:00.000-07:00

Grace Generation Meeting Minutes

May 31,20009

Announcements
Bank Account
First worship service: August
Planning/Organizing/Bible Study in July

Opening Prayer – Ptr. David Cay

Fundraising letter
Must get it out by next week for sure
Dan make letterhead
Arvin edit
Core responsible for sending them out

Charity Status
Need to apply online

“Do you realize the magnitude of what is going to happen?” Starting in a month!3

Finance
Approx at least $3200 pledged from core and other donors

Budget?
Faith budget -- $4000
Rental
David’s Salary
$2500

Fundraising Letter (general idea with separate attachment with what we specifically need)
Sound board
Mics
Speakers
Utility Van
Projector

Closing Prayer

Mission Trip

2009-05-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I went on a Mission Trip to Vancouver and it was one of the greatest times of my life. We worked with a lot of the homeless and did a lot of community work. We got to meet a lot of great people and a lot of Christians who have dedicated their life in helping the poor and fighting for justice.

It was a different type of experience. It was nothing like camp or YC- it was joy and fulfillment in knowing that you were helping someone who desperately needed help. We spent most of the time outside of the Church than inside of it. We were getting our hands dirty and working hard so that someone in need will benefit from it.

It was sad that this was the first time that I did something like this. Why haven't I done this before? Perhaps there was no opportunity to do something like this? Or perhaps I was too busy feeling comfortable? I feel both are true. Helping the poor in my opinion is bottom of the list for most Churches. It looks like most churches are too consumed with ministering inside the church than it is outside of the Church. Just look at some Church's Budget and you will see what they prioritize and what they value.

From this experience, I cannot help but be frustrated at how many Churches ignore the poor. Jesus was all about healing people. Whenever someone was in need like the blind man or the man with leprosy, Jesus would immediately heal them. He didn't tell them that He would do it later. He never ever said no. He never said wait for heaven. And He never said that if you accept me first then I will help you. Jesus was not only concerned about people's spiritual and eternal destinies, He was also concerned about their present needs. He was also concerned about their life in the here and now.

Sometimes Churches focus way too much on the future. Yes, it is very important that we preach that Jesus is the Savior of the world. Yes, we should tell people about the Gospel. Yes, we should be concerned about people's eternal destinies. But it should not give us an excuse to ignore and and not care about what people are going through in their present lives. If we look at Jesus, He looked at the person holistically. This means that Jesus was interested in the whole person. He was concerned about forgiving their past, abundant life in the present, and heaven in the future.

I got to meet and talk with a lot of homeless people. It was interesting to know that many of them do work, but they just don't make enough. It was also interesting to meet a man named Chris, who had a college diploma from SAIT. He had diploma in networking- yet He couldn't find a job. It was also heartbreaking to meet people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. I met one person who spent $1000 of his welfare cheque on booze.

It's true that some of them have made pretty bad choices but not all of them have. We as a society love to put stereotypes on people- thinking that everyone fits into them. The funny thing is, many people who have stereotypes have never talked to or spent time with the people that they are judging. But it is humbling to have your stereotypes broken and destroyed when you meet someone that doesn't meet fit that criteria.

I truly believe in helping others for the sake of just helping them. There should not be a hidden agenda or a hidden criteria. So what if they are addicted to alcohol, does that mean we don't help them? I wonder, what if it was your friend or relative that was addicted to alcohol- do you just sit there and criticize them? Or do we do something about it?

When Jesus said love your neighbor- it didn't just mean your friends and relatives. It meant everyone! Your neighbor is the poor person in Downtown Calgary or the person you do not like. We sometimes forget that the homeless in Calgary are people too. They are loved by God and made in God's image. But for some reason some of us have these feelings of superiority about ourselves. And we may never say it, perhaps we even think it- that we are better than these people. But honestly we are not.

I would encourage you to read Matthew 25: 31-46 and answer this question:

What have you done for the least of these?

"For what you do for the least of these- you do it to me" Matthew 25: 40

CHUCK Renewed for Season 3!!!

2009-05-17T23:55:00.000-07:00

It's official! Chuck is back! Chuck has been renewed for 13 episodes for Season 3, with a possibility of NBC picking up 9 additional episodes if the ratings hold up nicely. Chuck is back!! Yay!!!! This is the best news ever!! Watch CHUCK! It's a fun show to watch!

LOST Season 5 Finale

2009-05-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

LOST has to be the greatest show ever! The Season 5 Finale was epic. It was amazing. I hope Season 6 is just as good and that they end the show in a satisfying manner.

If you have not ever watched LOST, I encourage you to do so. It is truly a work of art and the storytelling is absolutely amazing.

One hope I have for Season 6 is that I hope the Smoke Monster pays for killing my precious Mr. Eko. Your day will come Smoke Monster...

LOST comes back January 2010. 8 more months! I don't think I'll survive....please help me..please!

Church Theme Song? God of this City by Chris Tomlin

2009-05-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

[Verse 1]
You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

[Verse 2]
You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

[Chorus]
For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

[Verse 1]

[Verse 2]

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

[Chorus]
For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

There is no one like our god
There is no one like our God

[Chorus]
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

If We are the Body by Casting Crowns

2009-05-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

Great song! A possible Church theme song? Read and meditate on the words..

It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in
Trying to fade into the faces
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know

CHORUS
But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way

A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat
And quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances
Are better out on the road

CHORUS
But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the Body of Christ

Chorus (2x)
If we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus is the way

Awesome clip from the Finale!

2009-04-29T10:37:00.001-07:00

Jefster is awesome!!

What is "Missional"?

2009-04-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

I know I used this term on Thursday and it was hard to explain it, but I found a great definition of it in Dan Kimball's book "They like Jesus but NOT the Church"..so here it goes:

What is Missional?

Being Missional means that the church sees itself as being missionaries, rather than having a missions department, and that we see ourselves as missionaries right where we live.

Being Missional means that we see ourselves as representatives of Jesus "sent" into our communities and that the church aligns everything it does with the missio dei (mission of God).

Being Misisonal means we see the church not as a place we go only on Sunday, but as something we are throughout the week.

Being Missional means that we understand we don't "bring Jesus" to people but that we realize Jesus is active in culture and we join him in what He is doing.

Being Missional means we are very much in the world and engaged in culture but are not conforming to the world.

Being Missional means we serve our communities, and that we build relationships with the people in them, rather than seeing them as evangelistic targets.

Being Missional means being all dependent on Jesus and the Spirit through prayer, the Scriptures, and each other in community

CHUCK Tonight! Season Finale!!!

2009-04-27T14:42:00.000-07:00

Hey guys

Watch CHUCK at 9pm on Ch. 16! Second best show next to LOST! Save CHUCK!!!

GGC Update

2009-04-26T22:28:00.001-07:00

Hey guys

So we finally got a bank account! YAY! Our bank cards looks so professional. They look really cool! The next step is to proofread the Constitution- edit anything that needs to be changed. Then we can apply for Charity Status!

We are going to send out the letters of support by mid May to beginning of June. We hope to raise a decent amount of money to help with my salary; a potential place of worship; and other equipment that we need (PA System etc.). We are also going start doing numerous fundraisers.

Today at the meeting, we really emphasized the importance of preparing ourselves spiritually. We really want our ministry to come out of our being and not our doing. Our relationship with Christ is vital to ensure maximum effectiveness and power.

Please continue to pray for the Church Plant and for each other. This is coming really soon! It's becoming more real as each day goes by.

Funny CHUCK clip!

2009-04-24T22:29:00.001-07:00

NEW Chuck Promo- could be the last eppy =(

2009-04-22T08:18:00.001-07:00

Please watch Chuck on Ch. 16 at 9pm. It is the Season Finale, but it could be the Series Finale =( Please watch!

The Things to come...

2009-04-19T23:07:00.000-07:00

It's coming..and it's coming fast! I cannot express how I excited I am for this journey that is about to begin. It's awesome that many of my closest friends are coming along for the ride. I've said this before, but I will say it again. I believe God is raising up a new wave of Christians to change the world for Christ. Knowing this, I cannot sit back anymore- I must join it! I am excited to see what God will do! I know it will be something BIG!

I'm also curious to see how people react to adversity and disappointment. I want to remind everyone, that though JESUS promises LIFE and LIFE to the FULL- He also said that there will be a thief that will come to steal, seek and destroy. The Devil will do whatever it takes to stop and derail this movement. So I totally expect disappointment and adversity. BUT it is how we react to this; it will show how much we believe in a God who is bigger than the one of this world.

I often pray that the Church would be an upstoppable force that loves and serves people. A Church, where the Holy Spirit is free to work and the transforming power of Jesus becomes alive in each one's life. BUT most of all, I want it to be a place where people worship and have an encounter with Jesus.

BUT I wonder, how will we reach people? How will we disciple people? We don't want just converts, we want people to become fully alive in Christ. But how do we do that? How do we guide people to become what Jesus DREAMS them to be?

So many questions, yet there are also so many dreams! What will happen in a year is yet to be seen? But all I know is that I have been called to this new adventure and whatever it brings, I'm sure it will be exciting!

New CHUCK promo!! They kiss!!!

2009-04-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

Evangelism in the 21st Century

2009-04-01T12:23:00.000-07:00

This was an interesting quote by Brian McLaren and I agree wholeheartedly!

" Out: Evangelism as sales pitch, as conquest, as warfare, as ultimatum, a threat, as proof, as argument, as entertainment, as show, as monlogue, as something you have to do....

In: Disciple-making as conversation, as friendship, as influence, as invitation, as companionship, as challenge, as opportunity, as conversation, as dance, as something you get to do..."

- Brian McLaren, More Ready Than You Realize

What do you think? Agree or disagree? Comment below!

New CHUCK Promo!!!!

2009-03-30T21:04:00.000-07:00

GGC Update!

2009-03-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

Hey guys

So we got a mailing address and we finished the Constitution! So the next step is to apply for Charity Status and get a bank account. We are hoping to get this all done by the end of April. The Church is going to start real soon (3 months or so left!!) so we will need to prepare our hearts and prepare ourselves spiritually. We will need to better educate ourselves in preparation of reaching this generation for Christ. I'm excited and I hope you guys are too! The adventure is about to begin!

David

New CHUCK promo!!

2009-03-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

We have an address! Thank you Lanein!!!

2009-03-26T23:50:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!!!

We have an address for the Church!!! So everyone thank Lanein!! It was very hard to find a rental box because everywhere we looked they had none available. But Lanein finally found one! The address of the Church is:

PO Box 29076

Hidden Valley RPO NW

Calgary, AB

T3A 6L2

GGC Update!

2009-03-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

So this past Sunday, we finished half of the constitution! It should be all done by this Sunday! Once it is done, we will apply for Charity Status. We are hoping it will be done and approved in 2 months. Also, this Friday, we have an appointment with the Bank to open a Small Business account! So by this Friday, there is a great chance that we will have our very own bank account!

In other news, I am having trouble finding a postal rental box for the Church. Every place that I went to had no boxes available. Pray that we find one soon! I don't want to be using my own personal home address for the Church.

Thanks guys! Keep praying for the Church! It's coming soon!!!

New promo for CHUCK!!!

2009-03-16T13:17:00.001-07:00

Please God SAVE Chuck!

2009-03-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

My favorite show is Chuck! It's the greatest show next to LOST. It has a great mix of action, comedy, drama and romance. It's one of those shows that doesn't need to rely on sex or utter raunchiness, not like other tv shows that are full of it. I really believe that it is a family show...well at least the closest to a family show than any other tv show on Prime Time. But the problem is that not many people watch it!

We have such bad luck! In Season 1, the ratings were pretty good hovering around 7 million viewers only to get cut short because of the stupid Writers Strike! Argh! It was such a long break! And when it returned for the Second Season we had lost viewers! One thing that Chuck suffers from is inconsistency, not from the storylines but from the schedule! Stupid NBC!! Chuck was building momentum (especially after a slow start to begin Season 2) it had built up to 7.5 million viewers in December, but then had to go on a 6 week hiatus! Why? For a stupid dance show!!! Which did horribly! Stupid NBC!

They returned back for a 3D Episode (which was a day after the Superbowl) and they got 8.5 million viewers, only for the following week to be pre-empted by Barack Obama's speech! Argh! To make matters worse, Fox put it's hit show House in the same time slot as Chuck! So Chuck has to go against Dancing with the Stars (and when that isn't on its The Bachelor), House, Big Bang Theory, How I met your Mother and Gossip Girl! It's the most competitive timeslot on TV throughout the whole week!

This week Chuck got a 5.69. Its in danger of getting canceled =( The injustice of it all frustrates me! It's not fair! Chuck is a good show, actually its an amazing show. I will be so depressed IF it gets cancelled! Please give Chuck a chance! Watch Chuck!

p.s. I'm about to boycott NBC...except when they have football and the Superbowl ;(

p.p.s. Please sign the petition. We need a Season 3!

www.petitionspot.com/petitions/renewnbcchuck

GGC Update

2009-03-07T09:54:00.001-08:00

So after talking with the Convention, we thought it would be wise to just go and obtain Charity Status instead of using the Charity Number of The Bridge. This will benefit us long term. If we used the Charity Number of the Bridge and a Bridge bank account it would just be a short term solution because eventually we will have to get our own number and our own bank account. So this will save us time.

New CHUCK promo!!!

2009-03-03T09:26:00.000-08:00

She is totally telling Cole that she cares about CHUCK!!! They can't fool me!

GGC Update!

2009-02-26T10:21:00.000-08:00

I got the confirmation letter for our business number and payroll deduction number! So that means we have everything we need to open a bank account! Next week I'm going to get the PO Box number and open a bank account! YAY!

Saddest Chuck Clip ever

2009-02-25T16:06:00.001-08:00

New CHUCK promo!

2009-02-25T16:02:00.000-08:00

Consumer Church vs. Missional Church

2009-02-20T11:50:00.000-08:00

Consumer Church

Church is seen as a dispenser of religious goods and services. People come to church to be fed, to have their needs met through quality programs, and to have the professionals teach their children.

"I got to Church"

VS.

Missional Church

Church is seen as a body of people sent on a mission who gather in community, for worship, encouragement, and teaching from the Word that supplements what they are feeding themselves throughout the week.

"I am the Church"

- taken from the book "The Emerging Church" by Dan Kimball 2003

It is my desire that we become a Missional Church.

Ratings for this Week of my favorite shows!

2009-02-20T10:57:00.000-08:00

Chuck- 6.83 million viewers ;(
LOST- 11.27 million viewers
Gossip Girl (R)- 1.6 million viewers

Good Quote

2009-02-20T10:54:00.000-08:00

"There is no adventure without an element of fear"

"Fear is essential for adventure"

- GGC February 19, 2009

New Chuck Promo!

2009-02-20T10:50:00.000-08:00

GGC Update!

2009-02-17T11:54:00.000-08:00

So we finally registered for a business number and we got a payroll deduction number as well. So barring any unforseen circumstances we should be able to open a bank account real soon. Most likely in 2 weeks! Yay! So things are finally moving on the financial front. Let's just pray things go smoothly!

Transformers Trailer #2!!

2009-02-17T11:51:00.001-08:00

Meeting Minutes for February 8, 2009

2009-02-09T14:34:00.000-08:00

GGC Meeting Minutes
February 8,2009

COMMUNITY
To create a come as you are culture, develop deep friendships, and gain a sense of belonging. We want to be welcoming, loving, transparent, open, honest, diverse and UNITED. Oh and we don’t gossip.

Come as you are
o Be real
o Personal Mindset – don’t judge
o Leave our egos at the door
o Promotion

Develop Friendships
o Genuine effort
o Don’t treat them as targets
o No hidden agenda
o Follow through
o Real friendship – not just “church friends”
o Be yourself, don’t force a friendship – but be conscious of who is around (who’s new, who’s alone)

Belonging
o Avoid groups/cliques
o General activities (game nights, movies, sports, bbq’s, book club) – no gospel presentation; get to know people
o Volunteer Opportunities (feed the poor, etic)
o Ministry Involvement (use holy discernment – case to case basis)

Transparency
o There’s a time and place
o Promote
o Relational
o Confidentiality

Diversity
o Talk to everyone – multicultural
o Welcome others with diverse beliefs

This starts with YOU!

Team Building
Special Events (Guess who’s coming for dinner! Retreats, Dinner, Family Camp, Amazing Race,)
Potlucks after church (cook food, bring cookies, sandwiches)

EVANGELISM
o Relationships are the key!
o There is NO formula- just be yourself and share!
o Worship Service- gospel presentation
o Education is important (book exchange, create a library, classes)
o Missionary Concept – we become the missionary; we learn their culture, learn how to communicate with their culture

Chuck Episode 13 Promo

2009-02-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

This is awesome! I cannot wait!!

Transformers 2 Trailer!!!

2009-02-04T10:51:00.001-08:00

G.I. Joe Trailer!! This is awesome!!!

2009-02-04T10:47:00.001-08:00

Journey of Faith

2009-02-04T10:24:00.000-08:00

This is something interesting that I learned at the Youth Conference and it's about the stages of Faith. I thought this was a realistic view of people in their stages of faith.

Journey of Faith

- Simplicity

- Complexity

- Perplexity

- Humility

Simplicity

Stage 1: Recognition of God

Stage 2: Dicipled Life

Stage 3: Productive Life

So this is when everything is going good- you accepted Christ; you are learning and growing

Complexity

Stage 4: Inward Journey

Things start to get complex. Things aren't going as smoothly. Times of trials and tribulations.

Perplexity

The Wall- you have to make a choice to give up or keep going- Crisis of Faith!

- sadly, many people choose to give up and turn their backs on Christ

Humility

Stage 5: Outward Journey

Stage 6: Life of Love

When people get to this stage they never turn their back on God. They have passed the moment of testing and the crisis of faith. They are now humbled at God's grace and they walk with great confidence in the Lord.

I hope this helps you know where you are at in your faith journey. It will also help you know where other people are at in their faith journey as well.

Chuck Superbowl Commercials!!

2009-02-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

These are awesome! Check it out!!!

An Encouraging Quote

2009-01-29T21:55:00.000-08:00

"God must have had a lot of confidence in you to put you on the planet at this time"

- Reggie McNeal "The Present Future"

Mr. Eko in the new GI Joe movie!!!!

2009-01-23T15:12:00.000-08:00

WOW!!!!! Eko Lives!

Miracles

2009-01-19T22:08:00.000-08:00

Married life has been awesome! It's been great-everything that I hoped it would be. But it also has its challenges such as finances. I don't usually share something so personal, but I felt I needed to share this story. As of now, financially we are not doing so good. We have been struggling to tell you the truth. With events such as Christmas and January Birthdays galore- plus the mortgage and the bills- we took a hit financially. This week for the first time in my life, we went into the red! If you don't know what that means, it means you go into the negative- you don't have money. Your spending money that you don't have.

So obviously, we were panicing and we were very worried. As you can imagine,we started quarelling and bickering about money. To be honest, these fights takes a toll emotionally and spiritually. It really is tough. And mentally it takes a toll, when will the money come in? Our paycheques wouldn't be in for a whole week! Where would we get the money to pay for the other bills??!!

The next day, I went home to my parents house and I had some mail. So I check it and in one of the envelopes was a cheque! A $92 cheque! What the heck!! And it was just enough for one of our bills!

The next week we got our pay cheques and we had to pay our bills- but for some reason our pay cheques weren't enough! We had only $63 left in our bank account and we needed $200 to pay our tithe and one of our bills. Where would we get the money?

So we were again scared! What do we do? I can't believe this is happening! For two weeks in a row we would be in the red again! Now I had to go get gas that evening and I was thinking of using our credit card since we had no money. But before I went to get gas I checked the mail. And in the mail was a $69 cheque!! But it didn't stop there, Shaula found a $100 cheque that she got in October 2008 but had forgotten to deposit! It was more than enough to pay our bills!

God is good man! God is soo goood! I cannot even describe how good He is! He always comes through for us. He always provides! I cannot explain what just happened- the only way I can explain it is that God showed up. He has never let me down.

God loves you! He knows your needs! Trust in Him! I don't say this because I am a "Pastor" or that I'm trying to sell you something. But this story truly happened to me and Shaula. This happened in real life. Does God still do miracles? I think so! Actually, I know so because one just happened.

LOST is back on Wednesday!!!

2009-01-19T12:08:00.000-08:00

LOST is back this Wednesday! I cannot wait!! LOST is the best show ever! I'm going to be very sad when it ends in 2010. So watch LOST on Ch. 5 starting at 9pm with the recap show, then the first episode at 10pm and then the 2nd Episode at 11pm!! Can't wait!!!

New Chuck Promo!!!! Wow!!!!

2009-01-11T22:34:00.000-08:00

New Chuck Promo!!! Check it out here!!!

Transition feels so weird

2009-01-09T12:54:00.000-08:00

I'm definitly in a moment of transition in my life and it feels very very weird. I cannot describe the feeling- it's like things are changing so rapidly that I can't catch up. My dreams and desires are changing so fast- faster than I had imagined. It's really really weird! Though these feelings are arising, I am definitly very excited for the future, but I'm sad that I have to leave the Bridge. It's been an interesting few months, my passions and desires are definitly changing from Student Ministry to the local church. Now don't get me wrong, I still love working with students. They are awesome! It's just my heart and my dreams are just shifting more towards the Church as a whole.

I am very excited about the new adventure God has set before me. I would have never thought this would ever happen in my life. I am very excited but I am also nervous. Many thoughts come to mind like, what if we fail? What will I do with finances? Is creating a Church harder than I think? But truth be told I really do trust Christ to take care of me and my wife. I truly believe this is where God wants us to be. Is it scary? It is but it is also exciting!

I'm just at a point in my life where I need to see God move! I want to step out in faith and see God do the impossible. I'm sick of just reading about in the Bible, I want to see it with my own eyes. And I want to tell my children that I saw God move in tremendous ways! I want to be a part of the story that God has been writing. I want to join the Holy Spirit as He changes the world.

My wife has been so good to me. She is allowing me to pursue my dreams. We are both worried about many things like finances, but one thing we know is that this is where God wants us to be! I'm just glad that Shaula will be at my side as we go on this ride into the unknown. I am also thankful for the great team that I have. I'm thankful that they have decided to come along on this ride with me. They are certainly my "dream team", I really feel they are the best team that I can possibly have. I'm ready for this adventure- I hope they are too! Things are about to get exciting.

Kelly Clarkson's new single!

2009-01-09T12:49:00.001-08:00

Listen to Kelly's new single right here:

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Would-Suck-Without-You/dp/B001P9M8HS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1231470399&sr=8-2

New Transformers Poster!!!

2009-01-09T12:43:00.000-08:00

This looks so sweet!!!!!

Chuck in 3-D!!!

2009-01-07T22:40:00.000-08:00

Chuck comes back on February 2, 2009 and the episode will be in 3D! NBC is supposed to be giving out 150 million 3D glasses but I'm not sure if that includes Canada. I hope so! The episode will also be guest starring Dominic Monaghan aka Charlie from LOST and Jerome Bettis of the Pitsburgh Steelers! I can't wait! Chuck comes back in 25 days!

(Click on the Picture to see it bigger)

Movie Review: Marley and Me

2009-01-07T14:32:00.000-08:00

4 Stars out of 5

Marley and Me is a great movie for the whole family and for dog lovers. I really loved how realistic this movie felt. If you have a dog, you will know what I mean! But not only that, they truly portrayed married life in its true form- lots of love and hard work! They showed that married life takes a lot of sacrifice, work and lots of love. It actually kind of scared me from having kids..lol..they were so stressed out in the movie. Yikes!

It was also really cool to see Owen Wilson and Jenifer Aniston in these roles. They acted extremely well as husband and wife. They were able to capture the essence of marriage and how to truly love each other despite the many obstacles that they faced. This movie was so realistic I couldn't believe my eyes. They didn't sugar coat anything, they told the truth.

There was one scene in the movie where Owen Wilson'swho played John was telling his friend Sebastian about all the troubles and stress he was experiencing at home. Sebastian's intitial solution was to just get a divorce but thankfully John said no and that they needed to work things out. And it kind of tells something about the state of society where divorce is so rampant and to get a divorce seems like the preferred choice whenever problems arise. But marriage is hard work! It takes a lot of sacrifice. It's so easy to give up, but we must be willing to at least work at it.

Of course, the best part of the movie was the dog, Marley! Dogs are just simply amazing. It's so hard to describe what having a dog does to you. They are such a blessing and they are so enjoyable even when they are bad! I never understood why people loved dogs so much until I got one. Now I understand, they are truly a man's best friend.

If you have a dog, this movie will truly move your soul and your heart. If you don't have one, then this movie will probably make you want one. If your alergic to dogs, that sucks for you! Pray you get one in heaven. I truly believe that when my dog dies, she will be the first one waiting for me when I get to heaven. Dogs are truly a blessing.

Verse of the Day

2009-01-07T12:16:00.000-08:00

Colossians 4:5-6 (The Mesage)

Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don't miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out

Verse of the Day

2009-01-06T14:04:00.000-08:00

Acts 5:38-39

Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.

Kelly Clarkson is back!!!

2009-01-05T22:06:00.001-08:00

My favorite American Idol is coming with a new album in 2009! I'm so excited! I love her! I wish she didn't cancel her concert here in Calgary, but I hope she comes back.

Something to remember and grasp..

2009-01-05T12:32:00.000-08:00

Galatians 2:19-21 (The Message)

What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.

Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.

Grace Generation Church Meeting Minutes

2009-01-05T10:46:00.000-08:00

Here are the Minutes:

Education

- encourage leaders to read the Gospels and study Jesus' life

- the UnChristian books are coming in soon; the need to educate ourselves is very important

Bank Account

- the need to open a bank account real soon, especially for donations that are coming before june

- need to open a bank account by end of January

- David needs to find out more info about finances in two weeks; the bank will probably have some info

- first aid for all the leaders? perhaps an option

Letter

- need to work on the letter asap!! Arvin and company have a deadline of two weeks for the first draft.

- we want to send out the letters by end of January

- first draft due on Jan. 11

- final draft due on Jan. 18

Renting a Building

- we need to look into renting a building and inquire about costs and monthly payments.

- if we grow like we are anticipating, the house will be hard to meet in

- raise enough money for 6 months of rent? could be the fundraising goal?

- services will start at the house first to test how many people come regularly

Strategic Plan for a Come as you are Culture

- just come! Everyone is accepted and welcomed no matter what their lifestyle is!

- everyone deserves a chance to encounter Jesus Christ

- this will start with us (church); to be accepting, to be loving

- to be real and transparent

- no dressing up needed

- we need to be more accepting of others and educate ourselves

- stop with the stereotypes and labels

- changing our mindset

- promoting come as you are on a regular basis

A Strategic Plan for Worship Services

- the goal of the worship service is for people to encounter God every sunday

- not a full band in the house

- mix it up between hymns and contemporary songs

- the songs and the message should match up

- there must be communication between audio visual, music and the Pastor every week as we plan for sunday

- instill in the DNA of the Church that every sunday is a chance to encounter to God; make each sunday and BIG sunday

- we must realize the magnitude of every sunday, a chance for people to encounter and experience God.

- create an atmosphere of freedom; people are free to worship in any way they want- dance, clap, shout, jump, or sit

- interaction between the worship leaders and the congregation

- for a house service, there will probably be guitar, congas, keyboard, tamberine, triangle, harmonica etc.

- mix of fast and slow songs

- not just worship songs; play like Skillet, or songs like "Lean on me"

- dramas/videos will be a big part of the service

- Lord's Supper will be done every month and of course baptisms

- Sermons will be Bible, video, and story oriented

- The value of Silence- more silent moments where people can pray and soak up the Spirit of God

- More congregation participation in worship- reading the Bible with your neighbor and talking about it, asking questions after the sermon, sharing in front of the Church

- Offering will be a part of the worship. The offering plate will be at the front of the Church where people can go up and give. We want to encourage people to give to God and that it is biblical, but in the end it is up to them. They don't have to give if they don't want too- there will be no pressure. Creating an atmosphere of no pressure but cheerful giving.

A Strategic Plan to Promote the Church

- Facebook

- Word of mouth

- brochures and flyers

- Street Team- Hazel Anderson?

- Community Events, cooking food

- Blogs

- Church launch in July

- lounges, church fantasy sports leagues

- web team, domain name, website- Arvin and Dan

Prayer Meeting this month- to be announced

Next Meeting: Stategic Plan for Community, Discipleship and Evangelism

Things to do for 2009

2008-12-29T12:26:00.001-08:00

Things to do for 2009:

1) Write a Letter to Individual donors and do fundraising for GGC

2) Start a monthly prayer meeting for the Church

3) Give the Core roles and responsibilities

4) Educate the Core

5) Create a financial goal for 2009

6) Create and implement a strategic plan that will help us fulfill our purpose and mission

7) Advertise and promote the Church

8) Inspire and motivate the Church in joining Christ as He changes the World!

9) Get a bank account

10) Meet with Church Planters and get more info about starting a Church

New Transformers Pics!

2008-12-29T11:03:00.001-08:00

Wow! These look awesome! Check it out:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/l081229_transformers2/flash.htm?gid=831

The Raptors are cursed!!

2008-12-27T23:24:00.000-08:00

The Toronto Raptors suck! This was supposed to be a great year for the Raps but it has become a disaster. There is nothing wrong with O'neil and Bosh- they are great together! They are the ones keeping us in games. Actually, they are the only ones that score- and that's the problem. They can't be the only ones scoring. They need help! And they are not getting it!

Jose Calderon is a pretty good player, but he is a little too unselfish. He needs to shoot more and drive to the basket. He needs to take more initiative and take matters into his own hands because every time he passes off to one of our wing players they can't score. Our wing players are absolutely horrendous. They can't drive to the hoop or create their own shot. And when they are open they can't make shoot. If our wing players regularly and consistently contributed we would win more games! But they don't, leaving Bosh and O'neil to do all the work.

There has to be change! Bryan Colangelo needs to do something or this year will be a complete failure. Our team is simply not good enough! At this moment the playoffs are not realistic. There are just too many teams that are better than us and its really sad. This was suppose to be a year where the Raptors take a giant leap forward. But it feels like we have taken another step back.

The Raptors are cursed. It just feels that way. We have lost players like Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter and got nothing in return. We traded Vince Carter for Eric Williams- Eric who? Our drafting of players has just been horrible. In the last 4 years we have made the wrong draft choices.

We drafted Charlie V and Joey Graham instead of Danny Granger

We drafted Rafael Araujo instead of Andre Igudoala

We drafted Andrea Bargnani instead of Brandon Roy

These 3 players are exactly what Toronto needs. They all can create their own shot and drive to the hoop. They are all future superstars! Poor Toronto! They have so many regrets! One thing is for sure- the Toronto Raptors are cursed!

New Terminator Trailer!!!

2008-12-27T15:35:00.000-08:00

This looks awesome!! Check it out!

Being like Jesus

2008-12-23T10:54:00.000-08:00

You hear it all the time-we need to be like Jesus. But I often wonder if somewhere along the line we have lost that truth. How come more and more people do not see Christ in the lives of Christians. When they hear the word Christian they think- judgemental, anti-gay, hypocritical, not loving, and arrogant. These aren't qualties or characteristics of Jesus Christ. Yet, as a believer whether I like it or not I have been steroetyped to be judgemental or hypocritical because I am a Christian. I don't like these stereotypes at all because it does not represent who Jesus was and what He stood for. But then again these stereotypes have been proven true from a few Christians who misrepresent Christ every single day. Some people may not care but they should because it affects us all.

I am never afraid to tell people that I am a Christian. In fact I am proud tha I am! But what bothers me is all the negative stereotypes surrounding the word "Christian". I often wonder if I should stop saying I'm a Christian and instead say I am a follower of Christ. They should mean the same thing really, but research has pointed out that many people love Jesus but they hate the Church. How could that be??? Are we not supposed to be the representation of Jesus Christ himself?

It doesn't make sense! How come people don't see Christ in Christians?? There has to be something wrong! I mean we are known always for what we are against then what we are for. Sometimes it appears that some Christians think they are better than non-Christians. We sometimes have such pride and when we share truth we share it in an arrogant and superior manner. Whatever happened to humility?? Did we forget that because of grace we are saved! God has shown us grace, why can't we show grace to others?

I often wonder if every Christian compared themselves to a Holy God and His righteousness and His standards, they would see that they fall tremondously short of His Glory! It should humble us to the core. But what I find is that many Christians like to compare themselves to other people and when they somehow see that they are "better", it feeds their pride making them feel higher than the rest. And I think that's the root problem- pride!

The only people Jesus offended were not the sinners but the Pharisees- the prideful and proud religious people. I wonder what Christ would say about Christianity today? Jesus said the world will hate you because of Him. But it seems that the worlds hates us not because of Jesus but because of our pride. I truly believe that pride is the root problem that causes Christians to act UnChristian and not like Christ.

Striving to be like Jesus is not an easy thing. But it is worth spending our whole lives trying. Jesus Christ transformed lives! He wants us to become more like Him. The question is are we being like Jesus? Does our lives accurately represent Jesus Christ? Or have we become something that Christ never intended us to become?

GGC'S Core Values

2008-12-22T10:08:00.000-08:00

Hey guys

So I was thinking of what Grace Generation Church and this is what I came up with. Let me know if I missed anything or if you have something to add

Grace Generation Church Core Values

Love God- First and foremost we are to love God and have a relationship with Jesus Christ. We strive to live for Christ and become more like Him.

(Matthew 22:37-38)

Love People- We need to love each other. We need to respect and treat others with dignity regardless if they are Christian or not. We need to love those that disagree with us. We need to show them the love of Christ!

(Matthew 22: 39-40)

NO Judging- We are not to judge anyone and look down on anyone. We are not higher than anyone. We cannot act arrogant or feel superior towards others.

(Matthew 7: 1-5)

Humility- We must strive to become completely humble. We are not to compare ourselves with others but instead compare ourselves to a Holy God and His Glory and Standards. When we do that we will see that we fall tremondously short to an Almighty God. This should humble us.

(Ephesians 4:2; Romans 3:23; Luke 18: 9-14)

Grace- God's Grace is what sets us free and saves us from our sin. We are not saved by works and trying to earn our way into heaven. Since God has shown us grace, we must show grace to others. We strive to live lives based on grace.

(Ephesians 2:4-9; Galatians 5)

Unity- We must keep the Unity of the Church at all costs. We must learn to agree to disagree on issues of conviction. We must learn to work together and love each other amongst our differences and disgreements.-

(Ephesians 4:1-6; Romans 14- Romans 15: 1-7; John 17: 20-25)

Sharing the Truth- We value sharing the truth with love and respect. Sharing the truth in arrogance or in feelings of superiority is wrong. We must be gentle and respectful in sharing the Good News of God's love and the hope that He gives us. In discipline, we must rebuke the person in love and gentleness.

(Matthew 28: 18-20; 1 Peter 3: 15-16)

Acceptance- We believe in accepting anyone regardless of who they are, what they wear, or what they believe in. It does not mean we agree or approve of their lifestyle, but we want to love them and introduce them Jesus Christ.

(Matthew 9:9-13; Luke 7: 33-50; John 8:11)

Transformation Power of Jesus Chrst- We believe that it is only Jesus Christ that can transform someones life. We, the Church are only working alongside Christ- planting and watering seeds. But it is only Christ that can make something grow.

(John 16: 1-16; 1 Corinthians 3: 5-9; John 6:44)

Family- We value the community of believers and making it into a family. Everyone should feel like they belong and that they are a part of something special. We value hanging out with each other and having fun!

(Hebrews 10: 25; Acts 2: 42--47; Acts 4: 32-35)

Dreams- We value the dreams and desires that everyone has in their heart. We believe that God has a dream for all of us. We believe He has a specific plan for our lives- a purpose that gives life meaning. We believe in helping each individual reach the dream that God has for them.

(Jeremiah 29: 11-13; 1 Corinthians 2: 9)

Discipleship- We want to everyone to as they are but we don't want them to stay where they are. We want to create culture of growth because we value everyones spiritual growth. We want people to learn and grow in their relationship with Christ. We value education. We aspire that everyone becomes educated in their faith and what they believe in.

(Matthew 28: 19-20; 1 Peter 3: 15-16)