Kenny Hibbard

I got to read one of my favorite stories in the Bible this morning! The story is found in 1 Kings 18:16-46. It is the story where Elijah challenges the priest of Baal (false god the people worshiped) to a duel. It was better than the “Thriller In Manila.”

There was a severe drought going on and they needed rain bad. Elijah told the people to build two altars. They would put a sacrifice on each altar and pray to their God. Which ever God came through by sending fire and consuming the altar would be declared the “true” God.

The prophets of Baal prayed, danced and pleaded for Baal to send a fire and show himself true. They screamed and chanted. They cut themselves and acted crazy. Nothing happened.

Elijah then steps onto the field of play and ask God to show Himself. The fire came and consumed both altars at once. Then they heard a crack of lightning and the rain began to fall. All who were there saw the power of God and knew he was the One True God. You should read that story today! It is great.

As I read it, I thought of how we today do not have names like Baal for our gods that we worship….thinking they are more fulfilling and meaningful than God. However, everyday we walk around acting crazy thinking that our little gods of money, sex, power, stuff, prestige and the like will bring us the true happiness and contentment that only the One True God can do!

We see it everyday in the Headlines. The big time stars like Owen Wilson with all the money, fame, sex, drugs, power and whatever else they want…are lonely depressed people who actually think killing themselves is better than living. Crazy and sad.

This Sunday we will be looking at what God would say to another Headliner and News Maker….Paris Hilton. Bring a friend who needs to hear about the True God who has the power and grace to be everything their false god’s are not.

Remember the new times 9 10:30 12

Proverbs 29:18 says, that where there is no vision, people wander around aimless and without direction. This wandering leads to a useless life and deadening of their spirit, hopes and dreams.

Last night at our Vision Night 2007 I gave specific things that CSF will be doing in the next 16 months. Here is a quick look. You can also go online and listen to it in a day or two.

It is our heart and passion to accomplish these things by our 10 year anniversary in January 2009.

We are starting now and will have a full spectrum of classes and seminars offered at CSF on Wednesday nights. THRIVE will offer everything from Connect 101, 201, How to study your Bible, New Testament Survey, 10-10-80 financial basics, apologetics, parenting classes, and much more. Our goal is to have a multitude of classes offered through out the school calendar year. Classes will range from 3-8 weeks.

We are launching our Public School Impact Ministry. Teams of volunteers will be trained and certified to go into our public schools and volunteer in as many ways as one can imagine. Our public schools need Christian people to go into them with a servants heart and serve the teachers, administration and students. Trust me….the harvest is full and in today’s Christian culture, the workers are few! Not anymore!

We are launching our Community Impact Ministry. These volunteers will be trained and certified if needed, so that they can go into our local fire departments, police stations, jails, hospitals and other such places as chaplains, Bible study leaders, care givers and the like. Giving food and clothes to help our community was a good start, but it is time to give volunteer leadership and volunteer pastoral care to these places. The NICU and PICU at our local hospitals are places where families sit for days wondering if their kids will survive. (trust me…I have been there) We want to put a team of volunteers in these places to help these folks in their real time of need.

We will plant a new church somewhere. We will bring in a church planter in January and have them trained and resourced for a full fledged new church plant to launch on our 10 year anniversary Sunday. This church will have a specific target group in a specific area. Boone, NC? Monroe, NC? Albemarle NC? Not sure yet….we have some things cooking!

We will begin looking, praying and strategically implementing the process for an extension campus. We have many people who love CSF and our unique DNA as a Fellowship. However, they have a hard time inviting and bringing their friends WHO ARE NOT CHRISTIANS to CSF because of the 35 – 40 minute drive. We believe technology can help us start a CSF campus in their area.

We have adopted Kevin and Emily Layne as local missionaries as they leave us to go and serve in WVA.

We are starting Divorce Care and Addiction Care groups on our campus.

We are making plans to reduce our debt on our current new building so that we can start the process of expansion. More kids space is needed, athletic fields, office space on site, gymnasium and community use space. This process will start this winter.

Of course….these are just the new things! The next 16 months are going to be great! The question is will you be a part of it Heart and Soul?

Last night at 8:20 pm I got home from Football practice with my oldest son Peyton. I am the head coach and practice had started at 5:45pm….which meant we had left the house at 5:15pm. As soon as I walked into the house my two and half-year-old son, Brady, screamed “daddy is home” and he now wanted to play.

My wife, Kelly, gave Peyton his dinner and started him going on his homework. I washed up and sat down to eat. I was thinking I could catch a few minutes of Sports Center, eat and relax a few minutes. Brady would have none of that. He jumped up onto my lap and and said he wanted to watch Mickey Mouse and play. I tried to redirect his ambitions by giving him a dry bowl full of Apple Jacks to eat like dessert.

Instead of eating them he thought it would be more fun to dump them on the carpet and start throwing them into the bowl as a game. About the time I was ready to put him in “time-out” I realized I had not seem him all day and had not played with him at all. I looked into his big blue eyes and saw a little boy who just wanted to play. So I slid down onto the floor with him and we played a weird game of Apple Jacks basketball. At that moment, on this day, I made the right choice. Many times I do not. Being a parent is hard sometimes and we all make mistakes. Dad’s have different challenges than moms. If you are a dad you know what I am talking about.

As a dad who loves sports I have found this site to be very helpful. Check it out and see what you think. It is an organization started by Tony Dungy of the Colts.

http://www.allprodad.com

See you tonight at our CSF Vision Night!