• Our children’s and youth ministries have helped 5,868 students grow closer to God.
• Our compassion team responded to 1,348 requests for help from people in our church who needed food, clothes, financial relief, shelter, counseling, and prayer.
• We held mobile food pantries and collected more than 30,000 lbs of food through ShareFest providing 44,000 meals to over 8,000 families.
• We launched a work ministry to help people who are unemployed due to the economy.
• We helped three children be adopted into Chapel families through the Adoption Scholarship fund and placed 15 children in Chapel families through the Safe Families program.
• We have helped 2,737 people connect with God and each other through small groups.
• We baptized more than 100 people since January and loosely estimate that more than 400 people have come to Christ through the weekend messages.
• We provided back to school supplies for 850 local school children in need.
• We have 80 volunteers who regularly serve more than 130 inmates and their families at the Lake County Jail.
• Our Adopt-a-School program has been a huge success. All of our campuses have adopted and are working to improve schools in our area.
• The Barrington campus has launched a “sidewalk outreach ministry.” Volunteers take the train two times a month after church to downtown Chicago to feed, clothe, and pray for the homeless.
• The People to People ministry that launched out of our Mundelein campus fed nearly 1000 people (more than 4,000 meals) in September. They also provided clothing, housing, tutoring, furniture, and more to hundreds of others.
• We hosted a conference with Chuck Colson for 475 local pastors.
• Catalyst, our network of churches, has grown to more than 75 local congregations.
• We helped plant a church in Round Lake.
• We grew as a church on all of our campuses, and have helped thousands rediscover God.
• Last year The Chapel and Catalyst partnered with these ministries to advance the Kingdom: Groundwire, Free Wheelchair Ministry, Living Water International, Salvation Army, Wing Haven, International Teams, Prison Entrepreneurship Program, Girls Connected, Oasis for Orphans, Compassion International, Breakthrough Urban Ministries, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, The Dream Center, Northern Illinois Food Bank, The Youth Campus, Willow Creek Association, Sunshine Gospel, Fellowship Housing, TIM (India ministry)
• This year, we have given away $729,000 outside our doors; an amount equivalent to about 8% of our overall budget.

This has already been a wonderful year of ministry, and we still have a couple of months to go!

Lord Jesus, thank You for using us to love others and to genuinely help our neighbors. Thank You for guiding us and empowering us every step of the way. Thank You for our people who so tirelessly serve You because they love You. Lead us on – always forward to help You build Your Kingdom here on earth. Amen.

Yet, sadness is unavoidable in this life. We live in a place where heartbreak and pain are a reality. People disappoint us. Life doesn’t always turn out the way we want it to. There are even seasons of life when we wonder if we have what it takes to endure. Tragedy and loss are known to all and sometimes visit us disproportionately.

How can we be happy? We answer that question in so many ways. Sometimes we try to fill our lives with pleasure in many forms. Let’s be honest, that’s not all bad. Great food, movies, romantic getaways and playing superheroes with your kids can be a lot of fun. So can other things, darker things, forbidden things. The Bible says sin has its pleasure for a season (Hebrews 11.24-25). No one who has ever sinned would dispute that. The problem is the price that often accompanies it.

As a young man I tried to find pleasure in many things; some that were good and others that were well, not so good. I made it my quest in life to seek pleasure in all its forms. For a while I was convinced I was on to something big. Later, I found that the darker things I frequently partook of came with a cost that was more often higher than I wanted to pay. This isn’t especially surprising. What amazed me was how quickly the joy leaked out of my life, even when I filled it with pleasurable things that were good. It seemed that no matter how exquisite the experience was, it never lasted.

No rational person prefers sadness to joy or suffering to pleasure. The real question becomes how to live in such a way that our joy is maximized. I believe the answer lies in the presence of God. The Bible tells us that God is the source of joy. One of the qualities of experiencing God is joy. Not just because He is joyful but because He is joy.

When we give our life to God, when we commit 100% of ourselves to Him, the Bible tells us that He spiritually comes to live inside us. That means His joy is in us. When we prayerfully connect with Him, we experience that joy and it, in part, becomes our own. Over time, we experience it more frequently and in greater measure.

This joy from God has the power to transform our hearts. It’s still great to hang out with good friends and do fun things but these things can’t come close to replacing the joy that is found in God. Many things are pleasurable, fewer are profitable, but none can replace the joy we find in Christ.

The challenge for most Christians is getting to the place of full commitment to God. Partial-commitment affects our experience of God, which in turn affects our joy. In addition, few people intentionally spend much time with God, further reducing their experience of joy. I think these two things more than anything else has frustrated Christians in their efforts to seek God.

Let’s be clear – I too struggle with these things. It’s hard for me to focus my mind on God and truly give myself to Him fully. It’s a daily battle that’s always hard but incredibly crucial to my experience of God.

How do you find joy in God?

Issues like that get to the heart of one of the most profound of human needs – safety. One of the things every person wants to know from the earliest moments of life is, “Will I be safe?” This is one of the basic needs of infants. They want to know in the vastness of their new world that someone nearby loves them and will help them when they are hungry or sick. In some ways, not a lot changes throughout life. As kids, we learn that bad things can happen to us  when we’re not careful, and sometimes when we are. As adults, we learn to do everything possible to create a safe environment for our families.

We eat healthy and exercise regularly. We try to live in safe neighborhoods and build good schools. We buy car seats, alarm systems and insurance plans. We protect ourselves with fire departments, police and the military. We save money for a rainy day. We do everything we can to be as safe as possible. And we should, because we live in a fallen, dangerous world where evil and calamity exist. Yet none of these things can really ever guarantee our safety. Where is God in this?

In  moments like this, I think it is always helpful to remember that God didn’t create the world to be this way. He made it perfect and good, a place devoid of suffering, strife or death. We actually are to blame for the entrance of evil into our world. The Bible tells us that it was when humans rebelled against God and abandoned Him as their spiritual father that things went awry. Our revolt against God created a rift, a chasm, between us and Him. As a result of that separation, evil, suffering and death became a part of our lives.

God could have chosen to distance Himself from us and ignore our pain, but He didn’t. He still loved us – even when we didn’t love Him. This is why Jesus came. He entered our world as one of us – God in human form; to die in our place and build a way back to God. For those who accept Him and His way, God promises to give us what we were created for; a place of peace and safety, a place of comfort and joy – His eternal Kingdom.

Jesus told us that we can begin to experience aspects of that Kingdom while we are still living in a fallen world. Yet, we will never experience it fully until He returns to set the world right (Revelation 21.1-4). This is our dilemma – we are created for a perfect, sinless place but we live in the fallenness of of our own making. God will make all things perfect again, but not yet.

The Bible says that we should expect that God will both deliver us in times of trouble (Psalm 34.17) and use the pain and suffering in our lives to help us change and grow (Romans 8 ). I don’t know about you, but I like the first part of that plan a lot better than the second part. But I have to admit that I have grown as much from adversity as I have from abundance.

The truth is God sees things from an eternal perspective. He realizes we will live forever and that this world is but a brief moment in that eternity. His promise of safety to us is the safety that comes from an eternal life with Him in His Kingdom. This is a miraculous certainty in the midst of the uncertain chaos of life. Beyond that, God helps those whose hearts are completely His (2 Chronicles 16.9). He heals, He delivers, He guides, He loves, He supports and He blesses. Yet, He never completely removes the influences and consequences of sin from our lives. These we must continue to endure as a reminder of our waywardness and need. God’s promise to us in this life is not to drape us in spiritual bubble wrap so nothing bad can penetrate our life, but to be there with us no matter what (Matthew 28.20). Sometimes His presence brings deliverance from evil, sometimes it brings comfort in the midst of evil.

At the end of the day, all the insurance policies, alarm systems, armies and healthy living cannot compare to God’s offer of eternal life and companionship on earth. True safety can only be found in God.

What do you fear? What fears do you struggle to commit to God?

The first question was, “What kind of church is God asking us to build?” Was God asking us to build a church that helped the people already inside our walls to grow spiritually? Or did God want us to reach beyond our doors and invite new people in to rediscover Him in a meaningful way? For us (and for all churches), the answer was obvious – God was calling us to do both. To do one and not the other would be to embrace only half  the Great Commission (Matthew 28.18-20). Even though we all know the right answer, in the real world churches often find themselves out of position. In fact, there are four different spots that a church can find themselves in, depending on whether they are growing spiritually, growing in attendance, neither or both.

#1) Unsustainable – If a church is growing in attendance but not growing spiritually, they are in an unsustainable position. It’s unsustainable because the church will quickly burn out its core (the faithful few who are supporting increasingly large numbers of uncommitted people), use up all of its resources and go to greater and greater lengths to hold the interest of the crowd.

#2) Unmaintainable – If a church is not growing spiritually and declining in attendance, the conclusion is not in question; the church is dying. There needs to be a drastic change to put this church in a different position.

#3) Unmovable – If a church consistently helps people to grow stronger in their faith, but struggles to be outward or inclusive, they become increasingly difficult to move forward. The desire to maintain their church as it is with respect to how it feels, who they know and what they can expect eventually overwhelms their impulse to change for the sake of others.

#4) Unstoppable – Unlike the other three positions, if the people in a church are experiencing profound life-change and the church is rapidly growing in attendance at the same time, things are moving in the right direction. If this church stays close to God and remains true to their calling, they are quickly on their way to becoming unstoppable.

Again, in this sense, it goes without saying that God is calling all churches to become an ‘unstoppable’ church. But that begs the 2nd question, “What does an unstoppable church look like?”

As we prayed through this question as a church, we came to believe that there are four qualities of an unstoppable church are true regardless of a church’s geographic location, demographic make-up, attendance size or worship style. Those four characteristics are:

#1) Spiritually Transforming – Unstoppable churches pursue the call of Romans 12.1-2 to experience God’s love and mercy in a way that moves us to live full out for God and as a result, see Him spiritually transform them into the image of Christ.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12.1-2

#2) Culturally Inspiring – Unstoppable churches reflect Christ AND connect with the culture around them. This is a challenge for many churches; some reflect Christ very well but struggle to connect to the culture and end up culturally isolated. Other churches connect very well to the culture, but have a difficult time reflecting the person of Christ strongly, they face the very real prospect of becoming spiritually compromised. Only when churches can authentically represent and express the identity and ideas of Christ in terms the culture around them can understand does a church really gain traction in a significant way.

#3) Relationally Connecting – Unstoppable churches don’t just offer people their services, they offer them community. This is a reality that has been true since the early church. We’ve found that in order to be relationally-connected, Christians need to be in 3 types of relationships.

1. With a spiritual mentor – Someone that they personally know that helps them to grow in Christ, that can help them not to wander.

2. With a church family – A group of people that this person knows, enjoys, trusts and that are committed to one another, that can help them to not be isolated.

3. With people that live in their neighborhood – Others in close proximity to them that are still exploring God. These kinds of relationships are important in that they help us not to compartmentalize their faith, but to live as a Christian every day of the week, in every part of our lives.

#4) Missionally Impacting – Unstoppable churches realize that the reason for their existence is the mission of Jesus; they realize their purpose isn’t to create new value but to represent the value of Christ. Missional impact is centered around Jesus because He is the answer to life’s greatest questions (Where did I come from? What is life all about? What happens when I die?), He is the fulfillment of the greatest human needs (the need to make our life enjoyable, the need to make life our work, the need to make our life matter) and He is the solution to the world’s greatest problems (war, crime, disease, poverty, racism, family and societal breakdown is all rooted in sin and can only be addressed through a relationship with Him).

In short, Jesus is the answer the world is looking for. For that reason, missional impact is centered around showing people Jesus, telling people about Jesus (i.e., connecting the dots to what they have already seen) and then helping them to experience Jesus for themselves. This is what it means to love people – and love is the music that makes the words of the gospel move the heart of an unbelieving world.

I will wrap up the rest of this message in a 2nd blog post… What are your thoughts so far?

It is a surprise to most Americans to discover that world-wide, there are more people in slavery today than during all 400 years of the European-African slave trade combined. Each day, more than 20 million people work without pay, often in brutal and terrifying conditions, serving the will of the one who owns them. Officials in countries like India, Thailand and Guatemala turn a blind eye to this new and thriving slave trade. In this current era of slavery, young girls are abducted and sold into prostitution, families are forced to make bricks or package rice 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week and millions of others are abused and debased at the hands of a slave master.

Yet Christians are again at the forefront of the charge to abolish slavery. International Justice Mission (IJM) is one of the Christian ministries leading the way. Its founder, Gary Haugen, is a passionate advocate for the oppressed and victimized around the world.

While the Bible doesn’t directly address the abolition of slavery, it does speak to the heart behind slavery. God calls us to “love our neighbor as our self.” (Matthew 22.39) In fact, that commandment, along with the command to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, are considered the basis of all God’s moral commands in Scripture. They are Christianity’s prime directive.

Slavery is evil because it is intrinsically unloving. No one can claim an affiliation with Christ and simultaneously uphold the subjugation of another. Oppression is aligned to the values of Hell, not the virtues of Heaven. When I am asked if there is any hope for those in slavery around the world, I think of these words.

“If history has shown us that the master of slavery assumes new forms, it has also shown us that its oppressive systems crumble in the face of those who heartily oppose them. It is our collective responsibility to oppose slavery in the time given to us. History is on our side.” – At the End of Slavery: The Battle for Justice in Our Time

What are your thoughts?

“…we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Three aspects of this passage have always stood out for me.

1. We have worth. This verse begins by telling us that we are God’s workmanship. We are not an accident, a worthless throw-away, or a random product of chance. Rather, we are a priceless work of art, a treasured creation hand-crafted by the God of the universe. God has personal knowledge of us – He knows our name, what we are like, He knows our insecurities, our struggles and our fears. He knows us better than we know ourselves because He made us. Not only does He know us, but He cares enough about us to have sent His Son to die in our place.

2. We have purpose. The passage goes on to tell us that we are created to do good works. We were made for a reason. We have a purpose, an assignment from God, a heavenly responsibility to fulfill. Every single one of us has a calling on their life, placed their by God Himself that we need to discover and pursue. We were meant to make a lasting difference in this world. We were meant to matter.

3. We have potential. The text ends by telling us that God has a plan for our life, a plan that He prepared long before we were ever born. The times and circumstances in which we find ourselves are not an accident, God has formed a path for us to walk along with Him. When we partner with God, we unlock the hidden potential He has placed in all of our lives. We find a piece of our true self. We come alive as we give ourself to the quest He has placed before us. We realize our role in redemptive history, our purpose in the world and our ability to connect to God and others in a way no one else can.

God has given us the freedom to fill our lives with anything that we want. One of the most tragic moments in anyone’s life is to come near the end of their days and realize that they have devoted themselves to things that don’t have an eternal significance. It is the realization that our life will come and go without leaving a lasting legacy in it’s wake. Fortunately, no matter where we are in this, all of us have the capacity to change. We can live lives of incredible meaning and significance when we embrace God’s plan for our lives.

Has finding your calling been a challenge for you? How did you do it?

The vast majority of ancient cultures centered around a central city – Rome, Babylon, Athens, Jerusalem, etc… The vast majority of these cities were located at the intersection of trade routes or served as significant ports. It dawned on me that these crossroads between societies were the seats of influence, innovation and creativity. They were the places where new ideas and information were shared, where commerce was done and where cultures were exchanged. As new ways of travel became popular, cultural centers continued to emerge around rail networks, highways and airline hubs.

We currently stand at the dawn of a new era, where the crossroads of the world will once again be redefined. This time, however, the new crossroads lay on a digital horizon. The internet continues to emerge as the marketplace where the world gathers to share ideas, do business and exchange cultures.

It will be on the internet that Jesus’ ideas and perspectives will touch a new generation by helping to shape the emerging global conversation. That conversation in turn will reshape the way church is done. By that, I don’t mean to infer that new technology will change God or the core tenets of our faith. Rather, I believe these new technologies will change the way we relate to each other. In truth, they already are. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter expand our social networks and influence how we understand relationships.

Relationships are becoming less geographic and more centered around our passions and interests. Will we always have real world relationships with people who live near us that are the bedrock of our friendships? – I think we will, but increasingly these relationships will exist alongside a spectrum of other relationships we maintain with people around the world.

In this emerging world, how will this digital network of relationships reshape evangelism, Christian community, missions and even how we define church? These are changes that excite some of us, and frighten others. Whether we are hope-filled, concerned, or a bit of both, we need to realize this change is taking place and will re-organize the world.

As a committed Christian, I am choosing to embrace this change and to use it to help people get to know the most significant person in the world – Jesus. In the past, the Holy Spirit has used donkeys, boats, busses, planes, telephone lines and radio and TV waves to carry Jesus’ ideas and teachings around the world. I’m not worried about His ability to use the internet.

I hope that new technological mediums and applications will help me to be a better friend to the people of our church and to make new relationships with people who are open to God around the world. I am energized by the possibilities and I am confident in the inspiring nature of God.