Extravagant Redemption

contributed by:

Ron Klopfenstein

Men's:Life Director

God desires to redeem you.  Do you really believe that?  I mean REALLY?  Sometimes we fail to understand the intensity with which God pursues us.  He is relentless and passionate about redeeming people.  His motive is love and it covers our sin, our circumstances, our past and our present.  He has paid the ultimate price of His son Jesus to accomplish this.

Insurmountable

contributed by:

Staci Overbeck

Ministry Assistant to Adult:Life

Laura was living a dream. She had written a number one worship song, was working in a ministry that she loved, and she had just married her high school sweetheart. Things were definitely good for her, but shortly thereafter, she realized that there was something a little off. A visit to a doctor and some testing revealed that Laura's husband had a brain tumor. His surgery resulted in some touch and go moments with the end result being significant vision and memory loss - including the memory of their recent marriage.

Depth

Contributed by:
Tyler Ward
Spiritual Formation Pastor

One of the things that many Christians seem to be desiring is greater depth in their faith and relationship with Jesus. I think this is a great thing that as a pastor I celebrate - and as a fellow follower of Christ, I am desiring as well.

Heartbeat for Relationship

Contributed by:

Becky Johnson

Women's:Life Director

Recently, I ran across this prayer of Father Simon Tugwell:

“So long as we imagine that it is we who have to look for God, we must often lose heart. But it is the other way around. He is looking for us. And so we can afford to recognize that very often we are not looking for God: far from it, we are in full flight from him, in high rebellion against him. And he knows that and has taken it into account. He has followed us into our own darkness; there where we thought finally to escape him, we run straight into his arms. So we do not have to erect a false piety for ourselves, to give us the hope of salvation. Our hope is in his determination to save us, and he will not give in.”

Deliverance

Contributed by:

Tyler Ward

Spiritual Formation Pastor

This past weekend Ron Klopfenstein continued our series called The Story. We looked at chapter 4, which tells the story of God delivering the Israelite people from their slavery in Egypt through a man named Moses.

Through this story of deliverance, we were reminded of a variety of things that we need deliverance from – our past, the mentality that when God asks us to do things…it's all up to us, our comfort, and our tendency to fear and try to control things. As Ron pointed out, not only do we need deliverance in these areas, but thankfully God is fully willing and fully capable of delivering us. 

Here We Go Again

Contributed by
Eric Dunaway
Communications/Missions Pastor

My journey at Pathway has been a very interesting one...and one that I've enjoyed immensely. In August of 2006 I started here as the middle school pastor. At the time, I thought I would be in student ministries forever. If there's one thing that seems to be consistent in my ministry, however, it's that God never ceases to surprise me by his calling...and regularly gives me cause to eat my words.

A Story of Love

Contributed by:

Staci Overbeck

Ministry Assistant

Once upon a time there was…nothing. It’s kind of hard to believe isn’t it?  Nothing. Nada. Zilch. While on our honeymoon my husband and I visited a cave in southern Indiana. As part of the tour, the guide took us deep into the cave and then turned off all the lights. If you have never experienced total darkness, there is no way you can know the feeling. It is as if nothing else exists.

Fully Engaged

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
Small Groups Pastor

I remember my marriage proposal to my wife like it was yesterday. I had purchased the ring weeks in advance, and managed to keep it a secret...something that shocks me even to this day. My friends knew about it, my future in-laws knew about it...but my soon to be fiancé (I hoped) suspected nothing. In fact, I had managed to guard the secret so well that when I finally did propose to her on December 12, 1998, she was blown away...maybe a little too blown away. I don't think I had a firm answer from her for a solid ten minutes, which was the amount of time it took her to get over the initial shock. In case you're wondering, she said "yes."

The Greatest Resource

Contributed by:
Ron Klopfenstein
men's:life director
    
The focus of this past weekend was the greatest resource in the church today -- the people in the body.  No amount of technology, great graphics, wonderful buildings or amazing websites can equal the impact on our world that God's people working in community can have.

Don't Go It Alone

Contributed by:

Becky Johnson

women's:life director

   

It’s been an interesting year at our house. A year filled with surgeries, recoveries and trying to move forward. Through it all, we have seen and felt what it’s like to be included in authentic community. We’ve seen and felt what it’s like to not have to go through difficulties alone…we’ve experienced community!

Be Human

Contributed by:
Tyler Ward
spiritual formation pastor

Last weekend, Pastor Ron began a new series highlighting the four Life Values that we are chasing after together as church. The first of these four values involves “Living a Transformed Life.”

Sandy Time

Contributed by:
Natalie Ward
care ministries director

Paul Bunyan was good with an axe and stronger than 20 men. Hearing stories of Lucky Pierre, a champion lumberjack from Bangor, Maine, Paul headed east to challenge him. Although an old man, Lucky accepted Paul's challenge to see who could cut more wood in six hours. After an hour, Lucky stopped working, went into the woods, then returned 15 minutes later. Paul kept chopping. An hour later, Lucky took another 15-minute break. Every hour he went into the woods. After six hours of chopping, Paul was sure he had won. Paul was stronger and had worked an hour longer. But when the wood was counted, Lucky Pierre had won the contest! Puzzled, Paul asked Lucky how he had done it. Lucky just smiled and said that when he went into the woods, he used that time to sharpen his axe.

Sandy Dollars

Contributed by:
Staci Overbeck
ministry assistant


I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Philippians 4:12

Honor God With Your Bod

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

This past weekend, Ron continued in our series called Sandyland, and jumped right into the ever popular topic of sex! I'm not sure, but it looked like he started sweating a few times...especially when the Song of Solomon passage was quoted.

Don't Miss This!

contributed by:
Staci Overbeck
ministry assistant

If you have been at PCC for any time at all, you have probably heard us refer to what we call the Vital Signs of Life:

Solid Rock or Sinking Sand?

Contributed by:
Becky Johnson
women's life director

On a sunny, warm day in December twenty-six years ago, my husband and I said our wedding vows. We couldn’t wait for the day to arrive and to begin our married life together! Like many young couples, we thought our life would be filled with joy and happiness. And it has! However, it hasn’t been all joy and happiness; we’ve encountered a few of life’s storms along the way! What we’ve come to realize in our twenty-six years is that no one escapes life’s storms. John 6:33 says that “in this life we will have trouble”. Whether married or single, young or old, you most likely understand this and have experienced a few storms as well! So the question becomes, how do we weather them?

Heaven on Earth...REALLY?!

Contributed by:
Ron Klopfenstein
men's life director

People often make statements about their favorite things being like heaven on earth. Perhaps it’s being the day she said yes to you, or that amazing vacation or a visit to Yankee Stadium (a picture of the “new” heaven!)

Why Would a Loving God Send Someone to Hell

Contributed by:
Tyler Ward
spiritual formation pastor

This past weekend, Pastor Ron continued the Heaven or Hell series by addressing the question, “Why would a loving God send someone to hell?” This is no doubt one of the most challenging questions regarding our beliefs about life after death.

The Heartbreaking Reality of Hell

Contributed by:
Natalie Ward
care ministries director

Conversations, opinions and perspectives vary in our world on what Hell will be like - it’s existence and who will end up there. In the Christian circles these same questions are being asked and opinions and perspectives are being given, thereby creating interest and exploration amongst churches and Christian communities into the topic of Hell. Pathway has been hosting a series on Heaven or Hell over the last few weeks, that will continue over the next few weeks.

Because of Heaven

Contributed by:
Staci Overbeck
ministry assistant

I love to write. There is just something in me that gets excited about turning thoughts into words and seeing them come to life on a page. In high school I took every English class offered, but my favorite, by far, was creative writing. In college, after trying my hand at a couple of different majors, I returned to what I knew and loved, English, with the hopes of someday using my degree to write. Lately my writing has been more in the form of e-mail, blogs and homework help, but I am a journalist at heart.

Imagine

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

Last summer I was given the opportunity to lead a team of eight people from PCC on a missions trip to northern Serbia. Everything about the experience was amazing...right up until the morning we arrived at the airport to begin our journey home and discovered that our flight out of Belgrade had been canceled.

105*15+10,000,000,000,000+2032-4,000,000=(computation error...unable to comprehend)

Contributed by:
Ron Klopfenstein
men's life director

This past weekend we had the privilege of having Dr. Richard Swenson speak to us regarding Science and the Sovereignty of God.

The Fingerprints of God

Contributed by:
Tyler Ward
spiritual formation pastor

This past weekend we continued our Q series by exploring a variety of evidences for the existence of God.

Dr. Chad Meister talked with us about God as the creator and the grand designer of the universe. He pointed out that our faith in God should not be a belief in something irrational. Rather it is a belief that is bolstered by evidences and good reasons. He explained that the biblical word for faith is the Greek word – pistis. It implies a trust and confidence that is based on the evidence.

A Stone In the Shoe

Contributed by:
Natalie Ward
care ministries director

“A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.”- Author Unknown

Be bold. Stand up. Be fearless. Be passionate. Speak truth. These are often terms that are taught as foundational when sharing the gospel with a non believer. Unfortunately, terms like aggressive, argumentative, pushy and persistent, though, are also associated with these kind of interactions. Many times Christians will engage in what ends up being a debate of theological positions, and then after silencing the non believer with a “blow to their position,” will wave the flag of victory after perceived or assumed defeat of their “opponent.” On the contrary, there has been no victory. Few, if any, individuals come to recognize the Lord as their Savior through an aggressive exchange of terminology and heated debate.

"W" #7: Branching Out

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

The previous post in this series was all about the exponential benefits of leaders who reproduce themselves. The reality is that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of groups just waiting to be formed. All we need are leaders who are willing to step up and take the lead. In fact, I have a theory that many of our groups are full of would-be-leaders who just need a word of affirmation, or a gentle kick in the pants, to stand up and take a step toward leading a group of their own. Leaders reproducing leaders, therefore, is a win that leads to another win, and that’s when these new leaders branch out to form a group of their own.

From Bitter to Sweet

Contributed by:
Staci Overbeck
ministry assistant

What if your blessings
come through raindrops?
What if your healing
comes through tears?
What if a 1000 sleepless nights
are what it takes
to know you’re near?
What if trials in this life
are your mercies in disguise?

Blessings

Laura Story

Q: Faith and Science

Contributed by:
Tyler Ward
spiritual formation pastor

For many people, science and faith represent two opposite ends of a spectrum, and you can only choose one or the other. Is it possible that science and faith are not necessarily at odds, though? Rather than rejecting God -his existence and the truth that he's revealed to us - could science, instead, somehow support that he is real and is up to something absolutely amazing?

The Missing Piece

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

One summer I preached a sermon on community (something I should be apt to do, given my role at PCC). Following our Saturday service, I grilled Amanda with the usual questions, leading off with, "So how was it?" Her response was, "Well...I'm not sure." That's not a good sign. I protested, "How could you betray me like this!" (not really) Her response actually confirmed something I was already feeling: something was missing.

You Are Important

Contributed by:
Staci Overbeck
ministry assistant

Have you ever taken a moment to wonder what a difference you make at PCC? When my family started attending Pathway, the average Sunday attendance was around 500, and we thought that was a large church. Now that the weekend attendance is around 3,000, it would be easy to fall into the mindset that one person really doesn’t make that much of a difference.

God Is In My Battle

Contributed by:
Becky Johnson
women's life director

In the last few weeks, we’ve been in the midst of a great series entitled “Unshakable”. We’ve learned that when we find ourselves in the middle of circumstances that leave us feeling shaken, God is Unshakable. In our world today, it’s easy to feel shaken.

Q: Tactics

Contributed by:
Tyler Ward
spiritual formation pastor

We read in 1 Peter 3:15 that we should always be ready to give an answer regarding the reason for the hope that we have. I believe that when we share our answers with others, though, that we are to do it in a way that is confident and competent, but also humble and loving. If our knowledge and understanding only lead to arrogance, division, and winning debates, we may actually be moving backward instead of forward. We may actually miss the point of what God desires for us in this.

"W" #6: Leaders Reproducing Leaders

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

Someone once told me I could make quite a healthy sum of money, with very little effort, by simply starting my own business. That's only the first part of it. To make it really easy, and lucrative, I have to get other people to sign up and start their own businesses under mine. You've probably heard about these - they're called pyramid schemes. Have you ever considered that Jesus was a master at the pyramid scheme?

Q: The Problem of Suffering and Evil

Contributed by:
Tyler Ward
spiritual formation pastor

One of the most challenging questions that we face in this life relates to the problem of suffering and evil. If our God is good, and if our God is all-powerful - and can do anything, then why do we have all of the suffering and evil that we see in our world. Why doesn't God do something about it?

Inner Healing

Contributed by:
Natalie Ward
care ministries director

What happens when we anticipate and we expect, but we are just met with frustration? What happens when we allow our circumstances to define us?

We can allow BITTERNESS to take root.

So what do we do with our bitterness?
Sometimes we attempt to take it on ourselves and become determined to solve it or control it - only to wind up wasting time, destroying and distracting ourselves, and then planting seeds of bitterness in others.

Q: Questions. Answers. Conversations...

Contributed by:
Tyler Ward
spiritual formation pastor

In June, we're beginning a new series here at Pathway called "Q." For this series, we're bringing in the experts to help us take on some of life's most challenging questions. Check out the promotional video below...and be sure to visit our website to find out more information.

God is Where I Am

Contributed by:
Tyler Ward
spiritual formation pastor

This past weekend, Pastor Ron continued the Unshakable series – together we are looking at several of the names of God that we read about in the Scriptures, discovering from them more about who our God is, and finding more certainty in him than ever before, in light of what these names reveal to us.

"W" #4: LIFE Together

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

In 1939, German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a book called Life Together. In the book, he explored the gap between the body of Christ as it was described in the book of Acts, which he called a "community of love," and the way it looks to the modern world around us. Nowadays, you can't hardly read a church website or brochure on their small group ministry without seeing these words used together in some fashion. Doing life together. Experiencing life together. Serving life... together. At Pathway, we're no different. If you've done any snooping around, you know that we say our life groups are where we can pursue LIFE together. But here's why our use of the phrase is a little unique (and so much cooler than everyone else's)....

In God's Hands

Contributed by:
Tyler Ward
spiritual formation pastor

This past weekend, Pastor Ron kicked off a new series called Unshakable. In this series, we’re being reminded of the assurance that we find in our God who is unshakable, even in the midst of all the moments in our lives that seem to be quite shaken. In order to do this, we’re focusing on several names of God that we read about in the Scriptures – they reveal to us God’s character and draw us into an ever increasing trust, hope, and confidence in him.

The Choice

Contributed by:
Staci Overbeck
ministry assistant

This past weekend as we celebrated Easter, Pastor Ron shared with us an incredible story of hope from the life of Louis Zamperini - an Olympic athlete and survivor of unimaginable atrocities as a prisoner of war in Japan in World War II. Pastor Ron shared incident after incident that sought to destroy Zamperini until all looked hopeless. It wasn’t until Louis’ eventual release from the prison camp that he met Billy Graham, and through Graham, Jesus Christ. Louis’ life, and the lives of many Japanese soldiers, was changed forever because Louis chose to allow Jesus full access to his heart. He was given a second chance.

Powerful and Effective Praying

Contributed by:
Ron Klopfenstein
men's life director

The focus of this past weekend’s services was based around James 5:16b

“the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

One thing that struck me right away as we sang together is that this God that we pray to is in fact mighty, awesome, able to do anything and in control of everything. It seems to me that too often our prayers are small and anemic. We pray with attitudes like: “I sure hope God can handle this” or “I know God could answer my prayer, but He probably won’t” or “I cannot honestly see how this situation could work out” and our variations on that pathetic theme go on and on. I wonder when we do this, if God thinks to Himself “I just wish they could grasp what I am able – what I am longing – to do in their life!” As we sang, “My Savior, He can move the mountains…” Oh, if we (I) could just get that.

In The Mix

Contributed by:
Heather Everingham
connections coordinator

Community as defined in the Webster’s dictionary means:

1. A group of people who live in the same area.
2. A group of people who have the same interest.
3. A feeling of wanting to be with other people, or of caring about the other people in a group.

When thinking about the definition of community it seems to go hand in hand with small groups. Each of the above defining points even has the word “group” in it. I am so passionate about group life that when someone gives me excuses for why they can’t be in groups I often want to tell them that those are the exact same reasons you SHOULD be in a group. Not only does a group help you connect with other Christians, and keep you accountable, it also gives you a group of people who can be there for you and help you out through the adventures we call life.

"W" #10: Simple, Smooth, Successful Connection

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

My wife and I were treated to a "date night" this past Friday, which included a meal at one of our favorite restaurants, Texas Roadhouse. Apparently, it's everyone's favorite restaurant, and when we arrived at 6:40ish the wait was pushin' near an hour. As we crowded into the overflowing waiting area, the thought occurred to me, I don't care how good their food is, I don't think I can wait that long. Thankfully we didn't have to; we were saved by the splendor that is "call-ahead-seating." Instead of waiting an hour for our table, we waited fifteen minutes. The date was huge success.

Trusting the King

Contributed by:
Staci Overbeck
ministry assistant

Like many this past week, my family and I were blessed to enjoy a trip to Florida for Spring Break. I use the word “blessed” because it was evident that our getaway was a gift.

The Illegal Substitution Penalty

Contributed by:
Ron Klopfenstein
men's life director

If you are a football fan (and if you aren’t I would submit you should be!) then you are aware of a penalty that is occasionally flagged called illegal substitution. I must admit that when this penalty is called it always seems like it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. As parents, and specifically men, we can be very guilty of just such a penalty. Only the consequences of repeated substitutions can be much more severe than in a football game. What I mean is this.

Finding Victory In the Battle

Contributed by:
Alan Bugg
executive pastor

Growing up with two sisters, one a twin and the other two years older, created interesting dynamics around my home. As the lone boy, my sisters wanted to control me and I wanted nothing to do with it. I thought as the male sibling it was important for me to establish dominance, even though my twin sister matured faster and grew six inches taller than me by the seventh grade. My twin was athletic, popular, and accepted with the “in kids” and I was left only to watch, as the “shrimp” of the family and my class.

"W" #3: Surviving the Mess

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

I'm not sure if she was the first person to make this statement, but Heather Zempel told several thousand people who tuned-in to Willow Creek's Group Life conference a couple of years ago that small groups are messy. In fact, she spent a good amount of time talking about "poo" to make her point. It's true, groups are messy because people are messy. You can't throw a bunch of flawed people into a group and expect it to be anything but messy from time to time. I may have been naive enough at one point to believe that my groups would escape this reality. I'm not anymore.

Wisdom to Put Things Together

Contributed by:
Becky Johnson
women's life director

From the earliest of ages, my 17 year old son has always loved to take things apart. Any gadget or appliance in our house that no longer worked reached the same fate in EJ’s hands…it was taken apart to see what it contained. We even made trips to vacuum cleaner stores to salvage disposed vacuums so that he could take them apart piece by piece. Now, at the age of 17 and through the training he’s receiving, he’s learning how to put things back together and to make things work again. My son is no longer little but growing up…he’s maturing.

The Power of Our Words

Contributed by:
Staci Overbeck
ministry assistant

“We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.” James 3:2

Ouch. Did you feel that? Probably not…but I’ll bet you have in the past…that little jab as you listened to someone who carelessly spoke without regard to the feelings of others. It may have been intentional or purely accidental, as we never know the path that someone else has travelled.

"W" #12: Return Costumers

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

I remember several years ago I heard a guy say something that I thought was pretty weird. This was an older man that I was in ministry with at the time, and he was known for being kind of a rascal. I forget the context of the comment, and even the exact wording, but somehow the subject of marriage had come up. Now, this guy was married to a sweet woman, and there were some who generally regarded her with a mild sense of pity for the way her evangelist husband would drag her around from this place to that - all in the name of ministry. As we were talking about marriage, on this particular occasion, at some point he added that if anything ever happened to his dear wife, he would just have to get married again. Keep in mind, she was standing right next to him, and was privy to all that was being said. I actually thought it was pretty insensitive, but he was trying to make a point. His intention with that comment was to say that marriage had been such a good experience, he'd readily jump right back into it again if given the chance.

"W" #14: Sharing the Shout-Outs

Contributed by:
Eric Dunaway
small groups pastor

Have you ever been moved by a story? Amanda and I watched the movie Secretariat the other night, and we were inspired. I mean, I've never cared much about race horses, but now I want to be one! It was that inspiring! But seriously, there's just something about that story--in which a house wife is forced to take bold business risks in a time and industry dominated by men, placing her family's future on a horse that was passed over by the experts--that inspires us to follow our hopes and dreams. And part of what makes that story so powerful is that it's true.