Film and Theology: Coco

Coco: Family and Remembering

In the past at our church we have watched a movie and offered a theological review of the story and themes as they contrast or illustrate the gospel. This can be a tricky thing to do well and we haven’t done it for every movie.  On the one hand, movies are fun entertainment. But is it just a movie? Some may be resistant to thinking too deeply about something that really is just an escape, a piece of entertainment to enjoy.  But is it just a movie?  On the other hand, movies tell stories that resonate with people.  Stories can capture how people see the world and the potential to shape how we see things and identify how we make meaning out of our lives.  Every culture uses stories to pass on important life lessons.  The two should be held in tension: movies are not neutral in what they want to communicate but they are also for our enjoyment and not necessarily intended to be taken too seriously.  Christians should approach movies with a recognition of what the movie is trying to do.  Some movies are intentionally more “preachy” than others.  No one takes Michael Bay’s Transformer movies seriously (on any level).  But other movies that are often nominated for an Oscar are drama’s they are very intentional about what they want to say.  In my opinion, Coco is in the middle.  Don’t take it too seriously, but don’t be naive about it either.

Coco praised for its good story telling, accuracy in depicting traditional Mexican culture, the beautiful scenery and music.  The movie’s setting is a rural Mexican town and the land of dead and the mythology of Dia de Muertos or Day of the Dead.  It has deeply resonated with Mexican people and those of Mexican heritage.  But it has resonated with lots of people beyond that for its touching tale about family.  It is important to recognize the setting of the movie contains a mix of traditional Mexican ofrendas, the spirit animal guides of Mayan mythology, and mythological beliefs about Day of the Dead, these elements are not the primary point of the movie.  They are not trying to persuade you this elaborate mythology is true.  The primary plot tension of the movie is similar to just about every Disney movie ever made - the tension between honoring family or tradition and the individual pursuing their true self and passions.

The movie is about a family whose trade is making shoes.  They pursued this because the main character’s great great grandmother learned to make shoes after her husband left her to play music.  Since then, no one in the family was permitted to play or enjoy music. But Miguel, the main character, is a little boy who loves to play music. Thus the conflict of the movie revolves around Miguel wanting to pursue his passion of music against his family’s wishes.  This results in him ending up in the land of the dead where he seeks a blessing from his family to return to the land of the living.  But his great great grandmother will only give him the blessing if he does not play music. He then runs away from his family to pursue his deceased great great grandfather who he believes became the most famous musician in Mexico, Ernesto de la Cruz.  Along they way he gains a friend, Hector, who has no family to remember him and cannot go and visit them on the annual Day of the Dead.

Many people in other online reviews have focused on the tension of honoring family and Miguel pursuing his passion for music.  This is certainly an important point.  Family almost serves as a path to immortality in Coco where if one is forgotten in the living world, they fade away presumably forever, what the characters refer to as “the final death.”  But from a Christian point of view, it is our spiritual family in Christ that is more important than our blood.  Indeed Jesus challenged the notion that we should place anyone before him, even our own family.  At the same time, Jesus said that life is not finding ourselves and gaining the world, but gaining life but losing it for Christ’s sake.

This leads to what I think is the most significant theological point to make about Coco.  It has do with being remembered. Being remembered is a path to salvation in a sense, to immorality in the land of the dead (there is no resurrection). Salvation is found in being remembered by others, especially your family.  One needs their family to place their picture on their family’s ofrenda (a kind of altar to remember deceased ancestors) in order to return visit on the Day of the Dead and not vanish into oblivion. We learn one character gained the whole world, but lost his soul (I will not give you spoilers about how this works out).  But it also depicts a family holding grudges and withholding forgiveness until the truth is learned.  In reality, families are by no means perfect and may be as much of a curse as they are a blessing.  The movie ends with a very moving and touching ending as the family and Miguel experience a kind of redemption and reconciliation.  Given the mixed message on the blessing and curse of family in the movie, it reveals how family cannot ultimately be our source of redemption.

The reason I wanted to focus on being remembered is that this is a very significant theme in scripture. The word remember is a rich word in the Bible, especially Deuteronomy.  Genesis 8:1 says, “God remembered Noah… and the waters subsided.”  He says to Noah in Gen. 9:16, “When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”  God remembers Abraham (Gen. 19:29). He remembers Rachel and opens her womb (Gen. 30:22).  Samson prays the Lord would remember him in his death (Judg. 16:28). Hannahs prays the Lord would remember her.  He does opens her womb (1 Sam. 1:11-19).  the Lord calls his people to remember what he did for them in Egypt (Dt. 5:15; 7:18; 8:2, 18; et. al).  The thief on the cross asks Jesus to remember him when he comes into his kingdom, to which Jesus replies, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” (Lk. 23:43).  Indeed it is not family who is our source of redemption, by it is Christ through whom we are adopted by the Father and sealed by the Spirit through faith in Christ.  It is him who calls us by name and gives us salvation.  It is He who remembers us.

Whether you think it is wise for you and your children to see this movie may ultimately come down to a decision of wisdom. The instructions Paul gives to Greek and Jewish Christians in 1 Cor. 8-10 and Romans 14 is very instructive on these matters.  Just like food sacrificed to idols, some may feel themes of the Day of the Dead and ancestral worship is a sin for them.  Paul says not to look down on them or insist that they should. But he also says for those whose conscience is weak, they should not judge the one whose conscience does not bother them (Rom. 14:3). These are matters of Christian conscience. It is up to each family to determine if their child will be too scared by the skeletons and themes of death, or will take the depictions of the after life too seriously.  Others may not have an issue and their children will simply see it as a fun movie.

All Christians should be prepared to give an answer for the hope that they have (1 Pet. 3:15).  We need to think theologically about the stories we tell and disciple our children to think like missionaries, and not be passive consumers of culture, or naively sheltered and unable to adequately engage the concerns of our friends and neighbors who don’t know Jesus.

As an anecdote, I offer the brief conversation we had with our six year old.

“Calvin, did you think anything in Coco was real or scary?”

“No, it was funny and silly.”

“But what do you think about the Day of Dead stuff in it?  Is that true?” 

“No, but it is a real holiday in other cultures.”

“Yes, but is that what we believe happens when you die?”

“No, you go to heaven or hell.”

I then really pressed by asking him how it may relate to Ezekiel 37 and the valley of dry bones which he just happen to have read about last week.  But he got that too, for he said it is God who raised them up and it is God who made them alive.  I reminded him that we are resurrected and not raised up as skeletons.  Not every child will have the same reaction; you know your child and your conscience best.  Sometimes we just watch a movie for fun and don’t analyze it.  Sometimes we talk about it.  It just depends on what is the wise thing to do and what demonstrates grace.

Personally, I recommend Coco and yes, I totally ugly cried at the end.

Here are a couple other resources:
You can also always check commonsensemedia.org and pluggedin.com.

This is a pretty good review that actually explains in more detail how Day of the Dead works in Mexican culture and the ofrendas.

https://beautyinthemess.com/pixar-coco-christian-movie-review/

There is also a podcast I listened to that focused on the artistic elements and the themes of family in the movie.  It was accesible but long (1.5 hrs with about 20min dedicated to the short film shown before Coco).

http://www.reelworldtheology.com/154-coco-and-god-defined-family/

Center For Pastor Theologians Conference

Last week I went to a conference in Chicago for the Center for Pastor Theologians. The basic vision of this group is to bring about theological renewal for the church and by the church through the "pastor theologian." Some of the greatest thinkers in the history of the church have been pastors: Augustine, Gregory the Great, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Edwards, Bonhoeffer, etc. A pastor theologian is uniquely positioned to fill the gap that exists in the modern world between the academic sphere and the life of the church.

The problem is many today look to scholars or professional theologians for leadership and not to their local pastor. There is a vast amount of research that is done by these professionals, much of it good, but it is inaccessible or of little benefit to the church. On the other hand, Christian bookstores are filled with much devotional literature that is superficial and theologically suspect. There are few works that serve the church with deep reflection on scripture and the gospel that gives rise to greater worship. Historically examples include works like Augustine's Confessions or Bonhoeffer's Life Together.

There were numerous highlights from the conference. Gerald Heistand articulated different kinds of pastoral theologians. Peter Leithart taught how a pastoral theologian can fill the gap while illustrating it with Revelation 14 (an amazing feet). Jamie Smith spoke on the pastor theologian as "political theologian" (political in the sense of the life of the people). Kevin Vanhoozer spoke on how the pastor theologian ministers the reality of being in Christ to the people and what that means. Lastly, Todd Wilson spoke on the role of suffering as being one of the primary places God shapes the theology of the pastor for the good of the church. What was clear throughout is the importance of the sermon and the life of the church to form and shape one's theology. There was a push against the idea that the best place to do theology is in the library divorced from real life. Yet, at the same time serious academic study does equip a pastor for greater clarity of thought and rigorous research skills. There was a lot of encouragement that more of the church's best minds should seek pastoral ministry rather than the academy.

The benefit for me was the encouragement to continue to be serious about theology and at the same time to keep it grounded and accessible to people. Each speaker stressed to not underestimate people's appetite for challenging works of Christian theology or the ability for people to think theologically. It was also helpful to see how some maintain the worshipful nature of deep Christian reflection without getting bogged down in endless technical debates and speculation. It is possible to be both deep and appeal broadly.

I was very encouraged by the conference and was thankful for the opportunity to go. It gave me further clarity for my own passions and calling and what it may look like for me to strive to be a pastor who is a local theologian for the glory of God and in service to the church.

You can learn more about the conference at their website: http://www.pastortheologians.com/

Things you need to listen to, to understand race, white privilege, Ferguson, and the Gospel

I am not going way into the specific issues of the death of Michael Brown, but rather the cultural problems in this country that make it difficult for us to speak the same language on the same terms.
Ferguson seems a long way away from San Jose, CA... but then again it is very close to home and the privilege that comes with living in Silicon Valley.

I will give you one example. Nearly every tech company in Silicon Valley has finally had to own up to the fact that they are run and filled by mostly White and Asian men. I don't think it is conscious or intentional racism but a subconscious lack of awareness to the privileges afforded these groups in this valley. This illustrates the key disconnect for many Whites on the issue of racism and racial injustice in this country. The problem is not primarily "bad life choices" and a "ghetto culture" but blindness to privilege and opportunities available to Whites and many Asians. This is stuff that no app will fix. Its insane to me that many think these issues can be addressed with better hiring policies or that some even entertain the fact software and education will resolve it. Its chiefly a spiritual problem of pride, arrogance, and blindness to cultural privilege. The appropriate fruit of the gospel is humility regarding your advantages and embracing others different from you in Christ, not self-righteous pride in that you worked harder, made better choices, or are more talented.

For me personally, I woke up to these realities slowly but one story from a prominent ministry leader in inner-city Denver, Jeff Johnson, crystallized it for me. He recounted working with some African-American teenage boys through his ministry. These were good Christians doing good work in inner-city Denver. They were meeting at Starbucks when out of nowhere a couple of police cars pulled up, grabbed one of the kids he was working with, and aggressively arrested him. Jeff pleaded with the cops saying, "He is a good kid. You got the wrong one." This kid was calm throughout and essentially said, "This is our life." That is when Jeff realized, when the cops show up white people are relieved, but African Americans are often scared something bad is about to happen. I was never scared when the cops came to bust us while I was partying in college. My response was more of a "Dang, we got busted," and frequently felt free to joke with the cops about it in the moment! I had no fear someone was going to jail, be beaten, or get shot. (Here is a great vid basically showing the same thing: http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/how-should-you-respond-to-ferguson)

For me, the most beautiful experiences in church is when I have experienced unity in Christ with diversity - culturally, racially, and economically. But these are experiences have been sadly rare, for unity in diversity is intrinsic to the gospel and it is my conviction this is our only hope.

Ephesians 2:13-16
¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 

A sermon you should listen to:
Matt Chandler is a pastor in Dallas, TX and head of the Acts 29 network and I am super encouraged by the direction he is taking the previously way too "hipster white guy" Acts 29 church planting network. LISTEN to this sermon.
http://www.vergenetwork.org/2014/11/24/lets-talk-bluntly-about-race-matt-chandler/?mc_cid=ab224dee3f&mc_eid=5b33394c6f

A brief word calling us to brotherly love in the church by Russell Moore, head of the Southern Baptist Ethics Commission:
http://www.russellmoore.com/2014/11/24/ferguson-and-the-path-to-peace?utm_content=bufferaaa73&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

An article showing the social divide that makes us blind to the issues, look at the charts if nothing else:
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/08/self-segregation-why-its-hard-for-whites-to-understand-ferguson/378928/

Also, a bunch here by Leonce Crump (a black A29 guy) and others:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2014/august/its-time-to-listen-saved-and-silent-will-white-evangelicals.html?paging=off

Online dating preferences:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/facebook-data-reveals-how-weirdly-racist-we-are-when-it-come

Join me in weeping over our sins and the tragedy in Ferguson, and longing for the kingdom where all are one in Christ on earth as they are in heaven.

Lonely in Silicon Valley: Proverbs 5 and Relationships

I have always found relationship advice very frustrating. Mostly because of people speaking in really vague terms that mean nothing, like "You know when you know." Or they treat it like a formula that if you do x, y, and z you find someone or your marriage will be automatically better. The real problem is not that there is nothing good about people's advice, the problem is that our own hearts hear what we want to hear. We want a quick fix. We want someone to give us the secret the unlocks the mystery of the opposite sex. But it just doesn't work that way.

I distinctly remember hearing a Pastor of mine once giving a message about not worrying. One of his application points was for singles to not worry too much about finding someone but to "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness." I spent years thinking about what he meant by that. It doesn't sound much different than advice like "You know when you know," or the proverbial "at some point it just clicks and you find someone." What my Pastor was alluding to is that point when you are no longer trying too hard and believing that being with someone will finally fill that gaping hole in your life. It is when you finally surrender and realize the perfect person doesn't exist and your expectations are way too high. That is the moment you begin to live by faith and realize finding someone is an act of God's grace. It is the moment you are free to live and enjoy the journey for what it is - when you are content if you are single or married.

However, that only covers idols we have concerning relationships. The biggest frustration I hear is that in a city where everyone works a ton and community is sparse - how in the world will you ever meet someone? There are also cultural idols in the modern world that make finding someone extremely difficult. Our society is very individualistic and people don't value community. They find meaning in their work and delay looking for someone. They overvalue their own opinions and do not associate with people of different values. So they find it difficult to be in community with people different from themselves who have different views. *News flash*, I don't care who you end up with, they will be different from you. If you cannot learn to get along with people different from you in casual friendships and acquaintances you will have an extremely difficult time managing an actual relationship no matter how similar you are. All that to say what do you do if your "social network" (including church) has slim pickings?

1) Understand that singleness is a gift - 1 Corinthians 7:7

I know you want practical advice. Sorry, you have to deal with the spiritual as well or you are missing the whole point. Get it in your head that the love of Christ is more important and single people have a huge amount of flexibility to invest in the church and in their faith.

2) There are seasons to not seek marriage. If you need to be with someone, you probably have an relationship idol. Times when you have a new job, death in the family, grad school, are really difficult, time consuming and emotionally charged times. Your head isn't in the game.

3) Get serious about finding someone as you get older. You can date for fun in high school. Maybe even college. Get real after that. If they are not looking for a serious relationship. Move on!

4) Be attracted to the whole person, not just looks - but heart and character.

5) Don't get too emotionally involved with a non-believer. Getting married requires your deepest desires and passions to be shared. If you love Jesus, you are not able to share your whole self.

6) Expand your community - get a hobby, sign up for eHarmony. If a hobby, do it for fun and to make new friends, not because you are desperate. Don't get all self-righteous about using dating websites. I know lots of career people who they have worked really well for. Would it be great, even better to meet someone without them? Yes, but remember #3.

7) Recognize you need to learn from people in good relationships. Find Godly examples and just be around them. If you are going to be able to "know when you know," you need to see good examples. Get involved in a church small group. It might actually be best for you if it's not a "singles group." The church is a family and family has brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews. Too often people look around and think no single people are there, but a lot of people meet through mutual friends. Don't give up on a community just because you don't see anyone at first glance.

Hope that helps and I hope and pray our church is able to truly be a loving family - for singles, families, and married people investing in each other.

From Pastor Chris - Everyday Missiology

Yesterday I attempted to lay some groundwork for what "missional church" means for us. This has been a popular and trendy subject among leaders and scholars within Christianity for more than a decade. Only recently has it become a more popular conversation among evangelicals.

I offered my reflections out of Ephesians 3:1-13, paying particular attention to verses 6 and 10. The mystery of God, his promises to redeem his people, has been made available to all people through faith in Christ (v.6). It is the work of the church to make this mystery known, especially through the uniting of Jew and Gentile to the one body of Christ (v.13). There is a lot more that could be said but simply speaking, the gospel is what God has done in Christ and the result is peace with God and peace with one another. It is the mission of the church to declare the peace made possible with Christ and to demonstrate in our lives.

In the past, churches in the west existed in a culture where Christianity was the default religion of most people. Ministry then was designed to wake up nominal believers and this is expressed in ministry styles that assume people will show up. Today the default worldview is secularism and being a part of a church is no longer considered a necessary part of life. Therefore, the church must take on a missionary posture to the culture and adopt forms of ministry that go to people instead of assuming they will come to the church.

But the primary concern is how do we do this? This is where the "missional church" discussion gets very confusing very fast and means drastically different things to different churches. Some of it at least means speaking to idols of the culture, yet also affirming good things about the culture.

In Everyday Church, Tim Chester and Steve Timmis offer some good basic questions to begin to think about what mission looks like in everyday life (pp. 42-43). These are worth reflecting on in your own life and in your small group. These are basic questions a missionary would ask in a new culture.

Where?
Where are the places and activities we can meet people?
Where do people experience community?
Are there existing social networks with which we can engage, or do we need to find ways of creating community within a neighborhood?
Where should we be to have missional opportunities?

When?
What are the patterns and timescales of our neighborhood?
When are the times we can connect with people?
How do people organize their time?
What cultural experiences and celebrations do people value? How might these be used as bridges to the gospel?
When should we be available to have missional opportunities?

What?
What are people's fears, hopes, and hurts?
What gospel stories are told in the neighborhood? What gives people identity? How do they account for wrong in the world? What is their solution? What are their hopes?
What are the barrier beliefs or assumptions that cause people to dismiss the gospel?
What sins will the gospel first confront and heal?
In what ways are people self-righteous?
What is the good news for people in this neighborhood?
What will church look like for people in this neighborhood?

This week I am meeting with fellow pastors to discuss some of these ideas in their own neighborhoods following a similar list of questions. I encourage you to begin asking some of these questions about your own neighbors and neighborhoods!

From Pastor Chris: Go and Learn Mercy

Matthew 9:13 - Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

This last Sunday I challenged our church to put to practice that Jesus saves sinners with scandalous mercy. Jesus went to the least, the lost, the outcast, the sick, the broken, and showed them compassion and called them to follow him. God desires that we extend the mercy we have received through Christ more than he cares about external things in worship services or being a good person.

We need to go to people and allow ourselves to be scandalized by who responds to God's mercy in Jesus. But I especially called us to begin to do it through the ministry of Moriah's Mission. This is the ministry that Justin and Victoria Nelson have been working to establish since God brought their daughter Moriah into their lives. Our church has a great opportunity to serve medically fragile children and their families and to demonstrate God's call to be merciful.

Our goal is to serve the children, families, and even staff of Children's Recovery Center and the Saratoga Subacute with the compassion of Jesus. Serving children with special needs can be a little intimidating. Our aim is not to make them a project, but simply to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We desire to come alongside with events that serve the children and by providing emotional and spiritual support.

There are three ways we want to show the mercy of Jesus through Moriah's Mission:

1) Provide a holiday meals or activities and sponsor field trips (e.g. Monterey Bay Aquarium)

They loved it last year when we provided a Thanksgiving meal and Christmas party. They love it when we raise money for kids to go the Monterey Bay Aquarium. These are easy to get involved with: you can cook, deliver food, or help raise funds for these events. We are exploring the opportunity of doing a Blood Drive with them this fall.

2) Provide a group of volunteers to just be there for the kids and families on a consistent basis

We hope this fall to coordinate a group of volunteers to be there regularly to read to kids, play a game or assist the Nelson's with their kids so they can visit the CRC or Saratoga. The key is consistency (twice a month or weekly).

3) Provide services for Bible studies or memorial service

We used to provide a worship service that became a Bible study on a monthly basis there. We want to do that again. We also have essentially done a memorial service on two occasions for a child and a staff member. They deeply cherished us assisting in the bereavement process. This is basically the role of a chaplain that Justin, myself and a few others can provide.

If this interests you in any way, please come to a meeting for Moriah's Mission on July 10th at 7:00pm in the small social hall. We will go over vision and next steps and begin to move toward greater involvement with the CRC and Saratoga Subacute.

Ministry Updates and Waiting on the Lord

It was good to be back with our Dwell Church family this past Sunday. Thank you again for receiving Bernard Emerson and Alvin Lin. In your prayers, please remember them as Bernard continues to lead his church plant towards regular worship services with The Way Church in Oakland. Pray for Alvin and our sister church East Valley as they will also be undergoing a leadership transition. Pastor John Helveston has served East Valley for 25 years and will be retiring to care for his ailing mother in Mississippi.

I want to follow up on a couple of ministry updates we have given in the past week. Many of you have been awaiting an update on a new projector. We received a quote that we gave to you that was much more than any of us expected. We are working hard to bring that number down as much as possible and even do what we can ourselves. We are working to balance what will enhance our worship experience, set us up for the future, and be as economical as possible. If you have further questions or concerns, please ask myself or any of our Elders.

The second thing I want to announce is that Beth Thompson will be our Children's Director! Dwell has hired Beth on a part-time basis to oversee the equipping and coordination of volunteers for the Children's Ministry and ensuring we have quality curriculum at every level. It is very important that we do children's ministry well and we now have the resources to pursue this.

One last thought I wanted to leave with you. Psalm 31:24 says, "Be strong, let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord." This is the last verse of a Psalm that cries out to the Lord to deliver the psalmist from various struggles in life. The theme of waiting on the Lord is frequent in the Psalms and we often move past it without reflecting on it much. Waiting in scripture is often an active waiting. It is not a call to be passive but to be diligent in reminding ourselves of God's grace, of pressing forward in faith He will act, and a charge for us not give up hope. Waiting on the Lord does not mean doing nothing. It means we speak to our hearts by reminding ourselves of the redemption he has secured for us in Christ. It means we continue to be faithful with all He has called us to do. So we press forward, not because there is nothing else to do, but because we might miss Him at work if we take our eyes off the prize.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Chris

From Pastor Chris: Moving Forward

Ecclesiastes 3:22 (ESV)

So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?

Thank you to all of you for receiving Bernard and Alvin the last few weeks while I took some time to reflect on our ministry and my place within it. My family and I got get away for a few days in Mendocino and had the privilege of worshipping with a few other co-laborers of the gospel in San Jose. I want to say thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement over the last few weeks. It has been a gift of grace to hear of your care and concern for me, Cassie, and Calvin.

Due to Jason's departure, it was necessary for me to get out of some of my routines and have time to meet with pastors and speak with mentors and our Elders to assess where we are so that we can continue to move forward with our ministry into the future. We have reviewed in part what we are good at and what we are not.  I have sought feedback on what my strengths and weaknesses are and as a Board we have talked openly and honestly about our individual strengths and weaknesses. I got a rare chance to visit some other churches, meet their pastors, and have read what I can about churches that successfully manage significant leadership changes.

I have been immensely encouraged about the current state of our church and our future. I am confident about being able to continue to serve here at Dwell and the overall health of our church. But we are under no illusion about things we have to do better: for our church, myself, and each individual elder. We will continue this assessment. The work is not done but we feel confident about moving forward. Therefore, I want to give you a preview of things you can pray with us about as we continue to develop our ministry and grow as leaders.

We hope to create a clearer strategy for our ministry over the coming months. We are thankful for so much of the leadership Jason gave us over the years and we desire to make that more clear, more accessible, and more fruitful.

-John Lunsford and I will be attending a "Next Steps" training later this week for church plants that have crossed the 3-5 year benchmark and for established churches looking to grow after years of pruning.
-We will be hiring a Children's Director in the next few weeks so expect to hear more soon.
-We will be presenting the costs for a new projector system, along with a few other improvements to the facilities.
-We want to create a long term strategy for investing in our people and equipping them to use the gifts God has given them in Christ to see a slice of his kingdom break into each other's lives and our greater community.

I want you to know: Cassie and I love this church and all of you. We are immensely blessed to have the privilege to serve with you. It is a joy to do ministry with you. I am grateful to be a part of Dwell Christian Church and hope to see the Lord continue to use us for his kingdom.

- Pastor Chris