» Preaching and Mentoring.

What a Privilege it is!

I have not taken preaching lightly... I pray to God that I never do. Ever since I was a kid, I remember writing long notes when I preached. I pray to God that He could bring things to my remembarance while I preach... but have not yet accomplished the art of preaching without notes. Hehe. I'm not that skilled. Yet. Anyways...
I love watching preachers. There are some that preach like they wish they were out fishing somewhere else and there are those that preach like if they really mean it.
I strive to be a preacher that really means it when I'm preaching.

Well, I am thankful to God... Pastor advised me that I would be preaching at Starting Point Church. I am excited. Kind of nervous as well. I have not preached in a couple of months (outside of my bathtub, I mean), but I know that God will back up His Word. In Jesus name. Please pray for me.

I love God. I love His mercy and grace. Really, I do.
There is nothing like being a sinner that has been cleansed of his sin... and when the enemy comes to tempt, I could give him all the reason for accusing me... but I also have to tell him that thanks be to God that He paid the price.
I am so humbled by what Jesus did on the cross.

He lived the life that I never could live.
He died the death that I should die.

I got a call from Pastor this yesterday afternoon. He wanted to meet me so we could talk. We met and talked... and talked... and talked... I love those sessions with him. I really take advantage of hearing every illustration, every story, every experience that he tells me. I really do. We talked about the future of Iglesia de Campeones. We talked about what I am called to do in Ministry (Be a Pastor). I really felt comfortable talking to him about it. Ah! Mentoring.... It's awesome. Well, being mentored is. You can learn so much. Just be open mided and take the experiences, successes and failures of people, so that you can be a better person (for me, a better Minister).

Mark Driscoll said:
The best mentors are the dead mentors... because they'll never disappoint you!
Haha. That's funny.

I thank God for my mentors. Dead and alive.

» IT IS A DEGREE!

What a day! I loved it... After taking Ruthie out for lunch at our favorite Thai fast food place, she went home because she needs to study... a lot. Hehe. I went to Lifeway bookstore and bought me a book called "Launch: "Starting a New Church from Scratch". It's a practical book on church planting and I cannot wait to start reading it.

Sooo, I then went to CBS (College of Biblical Studies). I was a little discouraged of starting school again. I know, I know... I must go back. I have to... But I have missed 1 class lecture already... and I want the whole treatment. Hehe. So, I asked a professor that was leaving, "If it would be wise to join his class next week?" (Since I am doing late registration).

He asked me: "Why are you coming back to school?"
I said: "To get my degree."
He said: "You know, I'm all for that... I barely got my Masters this Summer, but don't come to school to get a degree. Come to school because this is where God wants you to be at this time."

AHHHHH! I wanted to scream! SO HARD! I wanted to tell him, "That's what I've been saying!!!"
But I have been led and pressured by so many people to get a degree... to get that piece of paper that will hang on my office wall (one day) with my name on it, and just be praised by self centered people that have degrees themselves. Come on, I already study by myself.

OH MY GOD!!

I mean... yes, I encourage people to go to school... go to college. But with the correct motivation. Go because that is what you are called to do. Go because you want to major in that career. Whatever it may be. Doctor. Nurse. Lawyer. Pastor. Counselor. Engineer. Teacher.

All I know is that a Doctor's degree pays the bills as well as the Pastor's degree.

And if you do not believe that... Get a revelation and read your bible. It says so! I'll elaborate in some other post later!

I was telling Ruthie... after I graduate with a degree from CBS, I know that I will have to defend the fact that I have a degree. Why? Because it's a degree from a Bible College. That's why.

It is legit. It is a real degree. Do not undermine it just because it's not a Business degree or and Education degree or an Engineering degree or an Architecture degree. I'm about to go off!

It is a Biblical Counseling Degree!

You better recognize!

So. I repent. I will go back to my regenerated mentality. I will go back to school because that is where God wants me to be... the degree is second. (I just need to finish. Hehe).

» IGLESIA DE CAMPEONES HAS LAUNCHED!

Someone said that they had been waiting for this service for about 3 years... Wow! what a statement. Hehe.

Well, it's here! Iglesia de Campeones has blasted off in the Northwest area of Houston this past Sunday!

WITH A WHOPPING ATTENDANCE OF ABOUT 75 PEOPLE!

Wow. We give God the glory. There were no mail-outs... no yard signs... no kind of publicity. It was all about word of mouth invitations. Also some bulletins that I posted on myspace. Haha! But nevertheless, the people came. There were a couple of pastors there. 1 of them was from out of the state (I think Colorado). There were people from all over... and I was glad to see them. I was also happy to see my future mom in law. Hehe.

Although all these people will not come next week, I feel that the people that were there needed to hear the message.

Pastor preached from JOB 14:7, with the title "There is Hope for This Tree"

"At least there is hope for a tree:

If it is cut down, it will sprout again,

and its new shoots will not fail."

What a message!!! I had not heard Pastor Rios preach in a while already. It was awesome.

I thank God for this move that the Church Of Champions have made. Pastor Hutchins has been so generous in letting Iglesia De Campeones use the main sanctuary... the sound system... the powerpoint, the VIDEOCAMERAS! Are there any camera people out there? We need vounteers...

We need VOLUNTEERS! Help us reach the lost people.

We need unsaved people, singers, musicians, ushers, receptionists, sound technicians, video people... Hey, if you are not serving, you can help. Hehe.

I am excited. We are excited. What an awesome atmosphere we had.

From the countdown on the screen to Joel's music.

From the greeter's smile to the handshake of the Pastor.

From the wounded hearts to the filled altar of people.

From the fallen tree to its roots looking for water.

Are your roots looking for water?
Are you just a stump of a tree needing help?

Iglesia de Campeones is here!

To give you water.

To give you fertilizer.

To see you rise again.

I leave you with part of the scripture.

"If it is cut down, it will sprout again"

» Pastor Joe Rios Sr.

It's finally here... I have been telling every single person I can tell... I have been posting all over myspace... I have been thinking about waht God is going to do in people's lives starting this new Spanish service at Church of Champions.

Pastor Rios... To me, this man means a lot. I have stared at pictures of when my parents started to go to church back in the 1980s... the way they did it back then... WOW! I have seen the pictures of when my parents dedicated me to the Lord, and how Pastor Rios prayed for me.

He was my pastor during my childhood years.. I remember being raised in church, clapping my hands to the loudest music that you could ever hear. Hundreds of people engaged in corporate worship. Running the aisles was common when I was a child. Hehe! And there was the preaching! Oh, the preaching of Pastor... I have tapes that date back to 1984. I was not even born yet! But the preaching.. the illustrations that were given in the pulpit, compelling sinners to walk to an altar where they could kneel and tell God, "I surrender!"

I remember sitting in the padded pews, swinging my legs, my eyes fixed on the pastor... the pastor, sweating, hollering, asking for an "amen" often... I loved that! I loved how he tied it all together in the conclusion. I loved the invitation to a new life.

I came back to his church in 2002. He was preaching on the series "Desatando las Ligaduras de la Iniquidad" (Breaking free from the Bondage of Iniquity). I learned so much. I could not wait for midweek Bible Study to get taught the Word of God. I went back to school... back to my childhood... back to my version of Sunday School.

Now, I have been so pleased to assist him once again in ministry. I have learned a lot from him... and I know I will keep learning from him. Some people can do without others. There are friends... relatives, ministers. But this man is viewed as my father. My spiritual father.

I think a lot about my dad. The lessons that he taught me and the life that he led. I also think of Pastor in this sense. People can say whatever they want about my father, but I love my father. I know that if I am away from my dad, one day, I will see him again. It is the same with Pastor. I have seen him again and it is a privilege to work with him again... He is my spiritual father.

I am glad.
My spirit is at peace.
I think myself happy.

» ipod nano... VIDEO!

I want one of these... I am hooked to the podcasts... Listening to Mark Driscoll, Steven Furtick, Ed Young, Rick Warren. Man!! It's like going to conferences every day I listen to these guys on Ruthie's ipod... gotta get one for myself.

Help me pray that God guides my hand to my wallet and drop $150... like it's hot!

» Some thoughts...

Enough bible, no? hehe! I can never get enough. I love it. I love God's word. Sometimes it points the way and assures my steps... and sometimes it hits me hard. What an awesome God we serve. I love my Jesus. Thank you for saving me...

I have been reading "The Radical Reformission-Reaching out Without Selling Out" by Mark Driscoll... It is a good read.

I want God's power to rest in me. As I think on my life... the experiences in my 21 year ol life... the sweet moments of being in church with friends... the people that I have met and encouraged me, from the prophet that had a word to the little old lady that told me that she had prayed for me that previous night. It has been a ride. A sweet one.

AND, It's not over... My God! What a relief. Good experiences and bad experiences, I will serve God. Betrayals and new relationships are all part of life. I thank God for that. Sometimes, I get to thinking and kind of say to myself like that guy in the bible said, "Will I only accept the good things from God and not the bad?"

There is a whole bunch of people in this city of Houston... in this state, in this countrty that are so frustrated of church... I see young people and they are wanting something real. Who will give it to them?
Will you wait to be ordained? Recognized? Licensed? Oh man! Those are good things, but that has been the excuses that people have used to sit on their butts and do nothing.

I know of so many young people (and I know you do too) that have talent and potential. Just think, if we could teach them just a couple of things about "Character" and "Confidence."
I pray for young people to stand up and do something.

Preach something relevant based on Scripture (Preach Jesus).
Write a Book.
Write a Journal.
Make a movie.
Lead a ministry.
Make a series of short films.
Draw a comic book.
Teach.
Pray.
Love people.

Do something..

» Gospel, Church and Ay Bay Bay! (Part 2)

I hope we all learn something new. We have to get back to the basic principles... the basics. It is so easy. Let's take a look at these 3 Principles one more time and let's go deeper.

• Gospel - (loving God)
• Church - (loving our brother and sister in Christ)
• Culture - (loving our neighbor)

When we mess up and do not love God, or our brother, or our neighbor, we fall into different categories that I will outline in this post.

These categories are: PARACHURCH, LIBERALISM, and FUNDAMENTALISM.

In what category do you fit in?
Hopefully in neither of these. Let me explain.

Gospel+Culture-Church=PARACHURCH
You have the Scripture. You have the Culture. But, you do not have the Church.
There are some people that are hurt or frustrated with the church that they start a ministry without having a local church to refer them back to. "Young Life" falls into this category. Also, any organization or outreaches that do not have a local church as a backup. This is good. It's O.K., but the people that go to these meetings are not motivated to evangelize and have little knowledge on biblical stuff (Theology).
PARACHURCH loves the Gospel and loves the Culture, but does not love their brothers.

Culture+Church-Gospel=LIBERALISM
You have the Culture. You have the Church. But, you do not have the Gospel.
These churches are so relevant... that they are so into the culture in the church. Everything they do is based on what is going on in the world at that time. The negative thing that this brings is that they do not base anything on Scripture. And anything that does not begin with Scripture is bound to start wrong already. Their belief is to bless people and not confront their sin with love.
LIBERALISM loves the Culture and loves the Church, but does not love the Gospel.

Gospel+Church-Culture=FUNDAMENTALISM
You have the Gospel. You have the Church. But, you do not have the Culture.
This is where I can relate the most. Haha! These people have the gospel down. They study like crazy and they are always at Church. So you know they got Scripture and Church. The only thing is that they cannot relate to lost people. They cannot relate to this Culture. When they teach "love your neighbor"... they often mistake that for "love your brother." There is not a genuine love for the lost. They judge people's appearances.
FUNDAMENTALISM loves the Gospel and loves the Church, but does not love their neighbor.

The new Christian has to be taught these 3 Principles. We have to be in touch with the Gospel, attend our Church, and relate to this Culture. To that I say, AY BAY BAY!!!

Failure to not aquire at least one of these principles forces you to go to the extreme of being strict and legalist or head the other direction, by preaching a watered down message with no substance (Scripture).

Let's nail all these principles.
I hope you learned something. Let me know what you think...

Ay Bay Bay!