George Barna and his team have compiled a list of Six Megathemes that emerged in their research in 2010. It's a sobering list for every Christian leader (or Christian, for that matter) in America to read.

I recommend reading the full article, but here are the six megathemes:

1. The Christian church is becoming less theologically literate.

2. Churches are becoming more ingrown and less outreach-oriented.

3. Growing numbers of people are less interested in spiritual principles and more desirous of learning pragmatic solutions for life.

4. Among Christians, interest in participating in community action is escalating.

5. The postmodern insistence on tolerance is winning over the Christian Church.

6. The influence of Christianity on culture and individual lives is largely invisible.

Only one (#4) even has a positive vibe, but the article points out that most Christians still "remain more self-indulgent than self-sacrificing," and may be interested in doing good deeds primarily because it's popular and socially acceptable.

And then there's #6--the final megatheme and the most disheartening of them all, in my opinion. Do you really grasp the significance of that statement? Of the climate in which we live?

Bruce Little, director of the Center for Faith and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, expressed in a 2007 article: "Increasingly we have witnessed the blunting of belief in God. Even among those who claim to believe that God exists, there is very little edge to that belief--it is weak and ineffective. Our voice in the name of truth will have little weight if our theology has no edge and we do not order our lives any differently than those without the truth."

Kids Klub Christmas

On Tuesday & Wednesday evenings, we've taken Kids Klub children to see "Star of Wonder," a Christmas production by Phoenix 1st Assembly. The first evening, we took 18 children. The second evening, we took 35 children. A big, big thanks to the interns and volunteers who went along and helped navigate the parking lot and interior of a megachurch while keeping eyes on the children, patiently escorted little ones to and from the restroom, distributed snacks, collected empty juice pouches and wrappers, and made the night memorable and enjoyable for so many kids. Paradise Valley Mennonite Church graciously let us borrow their van for both evenings; what a blessing that was!

We had balcony seating both evenings.

Eating snacks before the start of the performance

I loved watching the kids' expressions as they saw the special effects and many "surprises" during the show....trapeze artists, a live animal parade, live camels and donkeys, just to name a few.

There was even a visit from Rosie the elephant!

The white blurs are angels swinging from the ceiling.

Tonight is the final Teen Night of 2010, with all programs then taking a "Christmas break" until January. Wishing you a blessed Christmas of celebrating the One who came to save us!

Sanctum Christmas Service

Monday evening's Sanctum was a blend of Scripture reading and songs, a telling of the Christmas story that spanned Genesis to Revelation (in condensed form, of course). Special thanks to Bob Oxley, leader of Sanctum, for planning the service for teens and adults.

Stocking Stuffing!

On Thursday evening, we had a "Stocking Stuffing Party" as close to 20 volunteers gathered to fill around 75 stockings and gift boxes to be distributed to children who attend Kids Klub. Along with a variety of toys and books, we stuffed the stockings with English and Spanish Bibles, snack items, socks, toothbrushes, and toothpaste.

In the 1st Weekend of the 12th Month...

On Saturday, we took 14 children to a Christmas party at Living Streams Church in Phoenix.

The party is organized each year by local philanthropist Jimmy Walker, and underprivileged children from a variety of ministries and schools are invited to attend.

The party is a child's paradise, with free hot dogs, cotton candy, popcorn, sno-cones, ice cream, and soda, as well as carriage rides, a petting zoo, inflatables, the Suns Gorilla, and much more. At the close of the party, there's the grand unveiling of brand-new bicycles that are given to the children, along with a food box and turkey for each family.

In the First Weekend of the Twelfth Month...

We had a smaller crowd on Friday evening for Teen Night, but you could sense that God was stirring in hearts as Darrell unpacked John 3:16 in a very simple, clear way and shared the Gospel. As I visited with two sisters afterwards, I asked if they understood the message and had ever accepted Jesus as Savior. The one told me, "Yes, 3 times!" I was thankful for enough Scripture memory to be able to share the wonderful promise of John 10:28 with her.

The group playing some games inside:

We also celebrated Stephanie's birthday.

What We're Learning....

This week and next, Kids Klub children are learning about a few of the names of Jesus while we study the Christmas story. Yesterday's name was Immanuel, as depicted by the fine coloring skills of these kindergarteners and 1st graders.

As I tried to get the wheels turning in the brains of the 2nd graders I taught yesterday evening, I asked them how God (in heaven) could come to where we are (on earth) so that we could see Him. We know He came as a little baby, but why wouldn't the God of heaven come with fanfare like a superhero?

One of my favorite Christmas songs explores this theme:

How should a King come?
Even a child knows the answer, of course.

In a coach of gold, with a pure white horse,

In the beautiful city in the prime of the day.

And the trumpets should cry and the crowds make way,

And the flags fly high in the morning sun,

And the people all cheer for the sovereign one.

And everyone knows that's the way that it's done.

That's the way that a King should come.

How should a King come?

Even a commoner understands.

He should come for His treasures, and His houses and lands.

He should dine upon summer strawberries and milk,

And sleep upon bedclothes of satin and silk.

And high on a hill His castle should glow,

With the lights of the city like jewels below.

And everyone knows that's the way that it's done.

That's the way that a King should come.

How should a King come?

On a star-filled night into Bethlehem,

Rode a weary woman and a worried man.

And the only sound in the cobblestone street,

Was the shuffle and the ring of their donkey's feet.

And a King lay hid in a virgin's womb,

And there were no crowds to see Him come.

At last in a barn in a manger of hay,

He came, and God incarnate lay.

And the angels cried, "Glory, glory to God!"

Earth was silent so heaven rang, "Glory, glory to God!"

Men were dumb so the angels sang, "Glory, glory to God!"

Peace on earth, good will to men, "Glory, glory to God!"

- Carol & Jimmy Owens

Humbly, simply, deliberately, He came -- and in His coming said, "I choose to identify with you, to cry, to laugh, to get dirt underneath My toenails, to be a child, a teenager, an adult, to attend church and weddings and funerals, to be tempted, betrayed, forsaken.

A paraphrase of Hebrews 4:15-16 says it this way: "We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all -- all but the sin. So let's walk right up to Him and get what He is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help."

Giving Thanks in a Season of Thanks!

If you have a few moments during this week of giving thanks, feasting, gathering with family and friends, and more feasting, hop on over here. You'll find several photos of the Celebrating Transformation event interspersed with Psalms.

How better to praise the One who "faithfully answer[s] our prayers with awesome deeds" than to praise Him using His powerful, living Word?!

Recent...

It's finally chilly enough for a campfire, so Friday's Teen Night involved S'more making and hot dog roasting, along with good conversations and music.


The interns have been intentionally connecting with younger teens (7th-8th graders) lately and planned a "Game Night" for them yesterday. I was upstairs in my office working late and heard a LOT of laughing and shrieking below in the basement, so I went down to investigate and take a few photos. Everyone appeared to be having a grand time!

Jesus is ______!

The scene:
Around 25 kindergarteners to 2nd graders answering review questions from past weeks' Bible lessons.

One of the multiple-choice questions that stumped a few:
Jesus can forgive sins because...
a) He has super powers. b) He loves people. c) He is God.

The correct answer explained to the children:
c) He is God.

The final question of the evening (intended to be multiple-choice as well):
"Jesus is...."

Around 25 kindergarteners to 2nd graders standing and yelling enthusiastically, before the options are even presented:
"GOD! GOD! GOD! GOD!"

Theology 101 at Kids Klub. I think they got it!

Remembering...

"Remember His marvelous works which He has done..." Psalm 105:5

re-mem-ber: to retain in the memory, keep in the mind, remain aware of

Over 150 guests joined us in "Celebrating Transformation" at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort on Saturday evening. It was an evening of reflecting on the marvelous works God has done through the outreach of Aim Right. Lourdes Roman shared how God used the Kids Klub program and simple conversations with interns in the car on the way to or from a program to impact her life. Today, her husband Ro is leading Kids Klub.

Teen Edwin shared how his life has been transformed by the power of the gospel.


Jonathan Roe of the Mission Increase Foundation spoke about the $15,000 matching grant that has been awarded to Aim Right. In addition to the grant from MIF, a supporter of the ministry donated another $5,000, bringing the total match amount to $20,000. We praise God for the generosity of the grant donors, as well as the overwhelming generosity of those in attendance on Saturday evening, who "matched" the match!

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In other news...

The familiar faces of Charles & Marlisa Beachy were in Phoenix again! Charles served as an intern from 2002-2003, and then he and Marlisa served as volunteers extraordinaire for a few months in 2007. Marlisa is a cousin of Joel (current intern). Here are the three atop Camelback Mountain.

The littlest Beachy, Elena, who enjoyed birthday cake at Teen Night:

And a few more photos from Teen Night on Friday:

We celebrated intern Andrea's birthday. The big box was full of boxes of her favorite __________.

CEREAL!
CEREAL!
CEREAL!

Continuing in a series on the armor of God, Caleb spoke about the belt of truth. In this object lesson, he had youth guess if they thought the items in the boxes were "true" to the labels on the outside of the boxes.