REFRESHed!

Philemon 1:20 (NKJV) Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; RPhilemon 1:20 (NKJV) Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord; REFRESH my heart in the Lord.

REFRESHed is how I’m feeling after the first few days of this week. This past Monday through Wednesday, we enjoyed lots of fun, a few laughs, many tears, and tons of encouragement with over 300 servants from around the region at our first annual Calvary Aurora REFRESH conference. It wasn’t a normal or usual conference, but one filled with testimonies and worship and prayer with a little goofiness added in.

Those of us that serve the Lord need a time to gain perspective every now and then. The ministry can become so hectic and demanding, that it’s easy to lose perspective of Who it is that we serve and why it is that we serve. The answer is Jesus! Jesus Himself said that He came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life.

That’s really where my week ends today. My heart is set on service and giving. I know things get tough. I know things have been pretty tough for me lately. But in Jesus, it’s all worth it. It’s all worth it to see folks built up and edified in Jesus. It’s so worth it to see folks growing in grace

Bottom line: It’s so worth it!

REFRESHed in Jesus,

Pastor Ed

RESPONSES: (I know it’s a little longer than usual, but please read.)

Hi Guys, I just wanted to put out a quick praise report for the REFRESH Conference we just attended at CC Aurora. It was great!...and truly a refreshment for myself and the peeps from our church that were able to attend. So my desire for years has been to get folks to commute to a CC conference, so that they can get a better handle on our roots and philosophy of ministry (Yes, they have read distinctives and watched Venture of Faith)...and after many years of prodding, they went! We are not a big church, a couple hundred adults and hundred kids on a Sunday morning, but Jesus miraculously moved on 15 of our people to make the normal 6.5 hour trek down to the Denver area. I say normal 6.5 hours, because this trip took almost 10 hours due to some very early crummy weather this year in the travel area. Not a complaint from any of them, and the road trip provided some wonderful fellowship. After attending this conference, every one of these precious people said they were profoundly impacted by the vulnerability and honesty of the pastors and servants that shared over these 3 days. They were able to mingle and make great friendships with the over 300 CC servants who attended. A major principle that these people walked away with was, that now, they have a much, much better handle on why CC does what it does and why we do it. THE major principle they walked away with was that the Holy Spirit is alive and well and working mightily through those that desire Him to. As a pastor in an outpost Calvary, it certainly brought some more street credibility to our movement and to our church, and that goes a long way in not having to constantly defend the simplicity of the way we do things. For the peeps personally, I could see the Holy Spirit's humility and brokenness having their way in these folks hearts, and the excitement that resulted from this investment of their time. I asked if they would like to attend another CC leadership conference soon, and all of them said YES!

It wasn't your typical main session after main session and workshop after workshop conference, which I, being the consummate type-A really enjoy too, but this was more along the lines of what Pastor Mike MacIntosh does with the "Huddle" every year. It's very relational and yet powerfully life changing. I can't encourage you enough to hound Pastor Ed to make those DVD's available to ya as soon as possible. The DVD's will not be able to convey even 50% of the overall environment, but you'll get a taste of why I'm so excited about the impact that I am trusting the Lord will do throughout the entire church as a result of being a part of this conference. Many thanks to Pastor Ed Taylor and the rest of you pastors who make opportunities like this available to the rest of us smaller CC's. I know that putting one of these together is a huge amount of effort, and in this case, I would imagine that for the minimal registration fee of $20 for 3 days (including giving every person a very styling REFRESH t-shirt), CC Aurora didn't even break even on recouping their total expenditure, but the treasures their team stored up in heaven is immeasurable. Again my brothers, I encourage you to get the DVD's, and plan on attending the next one...if the Lord tarries in His coming.