www.ChrisChappotin.com

Goodbye wordpress.

I have moved this blog as well as pictures, videos, podcasts, links, and other goodies to www.ChrisChappotin.com. Thanks for checking it out!

-Chris

Wells Family Update

Bret and Rachel Wells are in the midst of transitioning into ministry with Christ Journey Church. Please join us in prayer as we continue journeying in faith. Below is their latest ministry update.

“Dear Friends,

It’s been a month since our last update. It was helpful for me to reread last month’s – we’ve made so much more progress than it sometimes feels like in the midst of all this!

We’ve had a few snags and setbacks, but in reality they’ve been very minor. As of today we have raised over 25% of our total goal and there are several more commitments and donations that we are anticipating in the next few days. Sixteen different individuals and families have partnered with us financially so far! To all of you, your love and support continues to strengthen and encourage us during this exhausting period.

Our Dallas dinner did not happen as planned, but no worries. We were still able to have a great evening with the Prudes, Robarts, Swindolls and Williams – it was great to see old friends and laugh together for a while. Rachel and I appreciate our friends’ willingness to help us out and work on behalf of this call to ministry.

Over the last month, Chris Chappotin and I have been developing a great working relationship. We’ve had several opportunities to spend time with the Chappotin family and they are rapidly becoming dear friends and faithful spiritual companions. Chris and I set aside time each week for a staff meeting via video conferencing (free thanks to Skype!) for planning, strategizing and prayer. We’re currently in the process of building up the different leadership development groups at Christ Journey. We decided it would be good for me to begin working with the group responsible for house churches and perhaps expanding that to include other areas of spiritual formation. Obviously there are limits to what can be accomplished over the phone and internet, but our prayer is that the distance issue will be remedied very soon!

Rachel and Heidi have agreed to work together as co-children’s ministers as well. Heidi will focus primarily on the elementary age kids and Rachel in her area of expertise – preschoolers. We’ve adjusted our fundraising goal to include part-time compensation for Rachel – and our 25% raised reflects that total goal figure. I personally am very excited about this because I’ve seen Rachel minister in tremendous ways over the last several years in the lives of preschool kids and their families. Here in Mandeville I have been so proud of the way that Rachel has been a teacher, friend and role-model to several young women and young mothers. People see her with our boys and just know that God has gifted her in some very incredible ways.

On a sadder note, we’re headed back to north Texas tomorrow morning (Wednesday) to attend Rachel’s grandfather’s funeral. Peepaw was one of those rare men that are truly hard to describe. He was able pull of the crusty-old-rancher, always giving someone a hard time (especially the waitresses at Dairy Queen and Sonic) and yet simultaneously was a very godly compassionate man. When I met Peepaw nearly a decade ago he immediately welcomed me to the family by systematically calling me by the names of Rachel’s old boyfriends! Peepaw’s faith in God sustained him for many years and now we continue as part of his legacy.

I am grateful for all the men and women like Ira Conner who have passed on their faith to a new generation. In that same spirit we will, by God’s grace, pass our faith to a new generation of Christian disciples beginning in Burleson / south Fort Worth and spreading on as we are swept up in the advancing Kingdom of God! Thank you for being a part of this journey with us.

Please feel free to forward this update to anyone not on the list that you think would like to receive it. If there is someone we need to add to the list, please let me know. We are progressing toward our goal but we still need partners in this effort.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.
Grace and Peace,
Bret, Rachel and the Wells brothers”

Still Here

Howdy friends. I’m writing to let you know that I’m still here. In fact, right now, I’m sitting inside the Arlington Convention Center at the Global Missions Conference.

I have not had much to say, but have not had much time to say what little I have to say. Either way, check back next week as you should find some comments and pictures of mine. Thank you.

Splashtown Kids Camp

Friends -

Mark your calendars for Splashtown Kids Camp coming up Saturday, August 2 from 10am - 2pm. Click here for all the information, and click here to register.

Can you be a Christian and not like to eat?

“…your Kingdom come…”

Click here.

July Already?

Friends -

At Christ Journey Church, we are excited for the opportunities provided by the LORD to bless our local community. Please reserve time in your life to participate in the following upcoming events:

Preview Sunday of 2 Worship Gatherings
Sunday, June 29
Time: 9:30am and 11:00am
Location: JJ Mocha’s 108 South Main St Burleson (For directions, click here)

Join with us as we preview having two Sun AM worship gatherings, and launch a new series entitled: “Looking Up at the Cross.”

Sharing Lunch with Shenandoah Townhomes
Thursday, July 3
Thursday, July 10
Thursday, July 17
Thursday, July 24
Thursday, July 31
Time: Noon - 1:30pm
The Shenandoah Townhomes neighborhood (click here for directions) contains 155 children under the age of 18, and many of them are on free or reduced lunch through the BISD. Each Thursday in July, Christ Journey Church (with food provided by our friends at Harvest House) will be a blessing by sharing lunch with the families living in the Shenandoah Townhomes. Everyone is invited to participate each Thursday. The neighborhood has a swimming pool, playground, and other fun stuff for kids to do. Bring your family and join us on Thursdays in July @ Shenandoah.

Splashtown Kids Camp @ Shenandoah
Saturday, August 3
Location: Shenandoah Townhomes (for directions, click here)
Join us for a “water-themed” Kids Camp! We’ll journey through several stories from the Bible involving water, and perhaps, you’ll get a little wet, too!

a wedding celebration, johnson county baptism, and new friends for the journey

Howdy friends,

The first two weeks of June are behind us, and even after only 14 days, it seems that the temperature gauge has been registering at or near 100 for a couple of months. Over the first two weeks of June, we’ve already been to Splash Station twice, participated in a wedding of reconciliation, shared in a “Johnson County Truck Baptism,” and welcomed new coworkers to the journey.

First, on Sunday, June 1, Roger and Amber Wurzbach were reunited in marriage as part of Christ Journey’s Sun AM worship gathering. I had the priviledge of coordinating and performing the ceremony, and the Blackwells and McKethans added meaningful encouraging and challenging words. The morning began by singing praises to God for the restoration he has worked in Roger, Amber, and their children; one of which was Amber’s favorite song: Everlasting God. Then, as the ceremony portion of the morning began, everyone present gathered around the “stage area” of J.J. Mocha’s, and in many ways, the community shared in the joining of this couple as well as the commitment to journey with them through times of rejoicing and times of trouble. Below are a few pictures from our incredible morning.

Rachel Elder and Kellie Johnson were both teachers (and friends) in the Joshua ISD when Rachel invited Kellie to a “ladies spa night” at my house in July of 2005. From there, God continued developing their friendship, and Christ Journey began to share life with Kellie, her husband Jeff, and their two girls: Olivia and Mia. Here are some of the retro pics from those early days.

One of the characteristics I appreciate the most about the Johnson family is the way they intentionally include their girls in much of what they do. Jeff and Kellie continually model live in the Lord, and invite Olivia and Mia to participate in such life with them. Oftentimes, in new churches, we (and I am including myself as an example of these comments) express concern over the spiritual growth of children, because no formalized children’s ministry exists or it is developing. However, the Johnson family reminds us that, perhaps, inclusion in the community of faith and shared participation in the mission of God are roles to invite children into.

On Sunday, June 8, Christ Journey had already planned to meet under the Warren Park pavilion, and during our worship gathering that morning, Olivia Johnson would be baptized into Christ. We were excited to have the baptism at the park, because we wanted a public element to this worship gathering, and this was an amazing opportunity to proclaim the Kingdom of God in the midst of the broader community. However, this also led to a creative dilemma: With a bone-dry creek and no other water in sight, how are we going to have a baptism in the park?

At first, I called my friends at Vine Life in Aubrey, because I remembered them talking about a portable baptistry. However, after conversing with Les, I decided not to invest the effort of driving to Aubrey, loading up the baptisry, etc, etc. Next, what about a horse trough? I called three different families that I knew lived out in the country, but none of them had troughs and none of them had any leads on troughs. Okay, what about a kiddie swimming pool? Yes, of course, that’s it! I would find a 2-3 foot deep kiddie pool! Our gracious friends and neighbors across the street (who are not a part of any church and respectfully skeptical to such matters) were delighted to let us borrow their kiddie pool for the baptism. Hooray!

However, more questions remained: 1) How are we going to get this thing filled with water, and 2) How are we going to get it to the park? At first, I checked the pavilion at the park, but none of the water sources were usable. We needed equipment from the city (that we did not have) to tap into an outside water hose, and the thought of taking hand-fulls of water from the bathroom sink was exhausting to even think about.

The moment of truth arrived on the morning of Sun, June 8. I smashed the already aired-up kiddie pool in the back of my 1994 Plymouth Voyager Sport (Yeah, I know how to roll!), and headed up to the park. On the way, I got the following brilliant idea: What if we put the kiddie pool in the back of a pickup, filled it with water, and baptized Olivia in the kiddie pool in the truck bed? Fantastic! Landon kindly allowed me to borrow his Ford F-150, and I took the truck with the kiddie pool in back to Heidi’s grandparent’s house, because they lived about 200 yards from the park. I pulled up in their driveway, got their front yard water hose, and began filling up the pool. After 20 minutes or so, the pool was filled, and I was backing out of the driveway…problem solved! However, unfortunately, I did not realize that the extreme slope of Heidi’s grandparent’s driveway would cause 33% of the water to spill out of the kiddie pool and on to the street as I backed out. Therefore, I spent another 10 minutes with the truck parked in front of Heidi’s grandparent’s house filling the pool up again. As my beloved wife would emphatically verify, common sense is not a required attribute for a church planter.

Now, with 2-3 feet of water in a kiddie pool in the back of Landon’s truck, we were ready to have a baptism! Our gathering at the park was extremely meaningful. We shared in times of powerful worship. In addition, Bret Wells walked us through various images of water throughout the biblical story. Furthermore, after the baptism, meaningful words of commitment, encouragement, and celebration were shared by the Christ Journey community. Below are some pictures of the wonderful, God-filled morning. Remember my reflections about Jeff and Kellie letting their kids see and experience the way of the LORD with them? Pay special attention to the ages of the people on the front row of those surrounding the truck.

We were also extremely excited to announce on Sun, June 8 that Bret, Rachel, Conner, Micah, and Josiah Wells will be joining the journey of Christ Journey Church as pastoral staff. Bret will be working in Christ Journey’s areas of spiritual formation including: house churches, formation groups, Marvelous Light, City on a Hill, Orientation Dinners, leadership development, etc. Rachel grew up in Glen Rose (Go Tigers!), and may have spent her summers at church camp with some of you! Currently, the Wells are living and working in the northern New Orleans area; however, they have entered into a process of prayer and fund raising, and we are hopeful that their arrival in Burleson will take place soon. Please join us in prayer for Bret, Rachel, and the Wells Brothers, and if you know of anyone who might be willing to partner with them through prayer, financial support, or ministry resources, contact Bret by clicking here. To get to know Rachel and the Wells Brothers, click here. Again, we are thrilled that God is leading them to partner with us in church planting through south Fort Worth, and look forward to sharing life and working together on a daily basis as soon as the LORD allows.

Finally, please join us in prayer for our next Foundations group that will begin Tuesday night, June 17, and the possible launch of a house church in south Fort Worth within the next 6 weeks.

Pictures (and a real post…probably sometime this week.)

I apologize for the hiatus. The last two weeks have been filled with blessings, challenges, and little time for blogging. However, after a trip up north, I should have much to type later this week. For now, feast on the following pictures.

Attention: Spiritual Depth

I started reading this book on Thursday, and wanted to share the following with you:

“In spite of the fact that many of them are currently disconnected from a church, most Americans, including two-thirds of all adults Mosaics and Busters (65%), tell us that they have made a commitment to Jesus Christ at some point in their life. This is slightly lower than the percent of older adults who have made such a commitment (73%). This is an amazing fact about our culture. The vast majority of Americans, regardless of age, assert they have already made a significant decision to follow Christ!

Of course, this raises the question of the depth of their faith. If that many Americans have made decisions to follow Jesus, our culture and our world would be revolutionized fi they simply lived that faith. It is easy to embrace a costless form of Christianity in America today, and we have probably contributed to that by giving people a superficial understanding of the gospel and focusing only on their decision to convert.

At Barna we employ dozens of tools to assess the depth of a person’s faith. Let me suggestion one for our discussion: a biblical worldview. A person with a biblical worldview experiences, interprets, and responds to reality in light of the Bible’s principles. What Scripture teaches is the primary gride for making decisions and interacting with the world. For the purposes of our research, we investigate a biblical worldview based on eight elements. A person with a biblical worldview believes that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life, God is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe and he still rules it today, salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned, Satan is real, a Christian has a responsibility to share his or her faith in Christ with other people, the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches, unchanging moral truth exists, and such moral truth is defined by the Bible.

In our research, we have found that people who embrace these eight components live a substantially different faith from other Americans–indeed, from other believers. What we believe influences our choices.

Getting back to the issue of spiritual depth, if two-thirds of young adults have made a commitment to Jesus before, how many do you think possess a biblical worldview? Our research shows only 3% of Busters and Mosaics embrace these eight elements. That is just one out of every twenty-two young adults who have made a commitment to Christ. (Although older adults are more likely to have such a perspective, it is also a small slice–only 9%–who do.)

This means that out of ninety-five million Americans who are ages eighteen to forty-one, about sixty million say they have already made a commitment to Jesus that is still important; however, only about three million of them have a biblical worldview.” (p. 74-75)

Crunch, Crunch, Crunch

For a must-read and my favorite book of the moment, click here.