Tag: colorado

Why You Should Watch “Jesus Revolution”

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The Jesus Revolution movie premiers today, and you should definitely go see it!

On Wednesday, our church rented out our local theater for a private showing of the movie before its public release. Tickets sold out fast, and the theater was full of people of all ages.

The movie chronicles the early days of the Jesus Movement, through the eyes of Greg Laurie. At the forefront of the Jesus Movement was Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel, and their stories are told in this film, along with that of hippie evangelist and preacher, Lonnie Frisbee.

The stories told in the movie are stories that I heard from my pastor, Tom Stipe, over the years: Chuck Smith telling his board members, who were concerned about shoeless hippies ruining the new carpet in the church, that he would rather rip out the carpet than send the hippies away, or make them feel unwelcome; baptizing thousands at Pirate’s Cove in Corona del Mar, the concerts in the tent, and more.

Tom, who passed away in 2020, was good friends with Greg Laurie. When Tom passed away, I had the honor of speaking at his memorial, along with Greg. Unfortunately, Tom wasn’t mentioned in the film, although he was right there in the thick of the events that the movie chronicles.

When I, as a teenager, gave my life to the Lord and started attending church at Crossroads – the Calvary Chapel church which Tom pastored in Arvada, Colorado – my dad told me: “You know, back when I was in high school, I remember there were all these hippies playing ‘Jesus music’ on their guitars.” It was only later on, when I got to know Pastor Tom, that I realized the significance of the experience my dad was sharing with me.

Several times during the movie, I found myself moved to tears. There is something incredibly powerful about the hope of the gospel and the message of redemption.

I was so happy to have my kids be able to see this movie and connect the dots with some of the things we’ve shared with them about the history of our movement. Furthermore, I was proud to have the members of our church who were less-familiar with Calvary Chapel see this depiction of the Jesus Movement, and understand the roots and the values of the movement to which our church belongs.

Something I really appreciated about the movie was how they portrayed the nuances of the relationship between Chuck and Lonnie, and the reasons why they parted ways. The film portrayed that tension in a palpable way.

Tom Stipe used to tell me that what God did through Calvary Chapel and the Jesus Movement in the 1970’s was a story that needed to be shared and never forgotten. This movie tells the story of this important part of American history, which has spilled over and changed the world.

I encourage you to go out, watch the movie, and invite a friend or two. I hope many people will see the movie, and that God will use it to spark a Jesus revolution in our generation as well.

The Subversive Power of the Lord’s Prayer

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Dan Marotta is the founding Rector of Redeemer Anglican Church in Richmond, Virginia, and the author of Liturgy in the Wilderness: How the Lord’s Prayer Shapes the Imagination of the Church in a Secular Age.

In this episode, we discuss the topic of prayer and the Lord’s Prayer specifically. 

The Lord’s Prayer is a beautiful, subversive prayer given to the church by Jesus. It forms our imaginations and—given time—transforms us. Dan explains how what you pray shapes what you believe, which in turn shapes how you live.

What was Jesus’ intention in giving us this prayer? Was it to give us a model of how to pray, or was it intended to be given to us as what to pray? Dan and I discuss the historical usage of the Lord’s Prayer, as well as the value and dangers of both praying written prayers and praying extemporaneously.

Dan is a graduate of Denver Seminary, and we discuss some of the cultural uniquenesses of different parts of the United States, and how those affect the way we minister to others.

Click here to listen to the episode, or listen in the embedded player below.

The Subversive Power of the Lord's Prayer – Theology for the People

Dan Marotta is the founding Rector of Redeemer Anglican Church in Richmond, Virginia, and the author of Liturgy in the Wilderness: How the Lord's Prayer Shapes the Imagination of the Church in a Secular Age. In this episode, we discuss the topic of prayer and the Lord's Prayer specifically.  The Lord’s Prayer is a beautiful, subversive passage of words given to the church by Jesus. It forms our imaginations and—given time—transforms us. Dan explains how what you pray shapes what you believe, which in turn shapes how you live. Visit the Theology for the People blog at nickcady.org, where you can read articles and suggest topics for future episodes. — Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theologyforthepeople/support

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day Church Services in Longmont – 2022

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Join us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for church services at White Fields Community Church in Longmont, Colorado.

Christmas Eve – 4:00 & 5:30 PM

On Christmas, we celebrate that God became a child so that we could become children of God.

We will have a special Christmas choir, sing classic Christ-centered Christmas carols, and have a candle-lighting at the end of the service.

Childcare will be available at the 4:00 PM service, and both services will be family-friendly.

Join us and bring a friend or family member!

Christmas Day – 9:15 AM

We are excited to have a service on Christmas Day this year! Join us as we celebrate how in Jesus, God became one of us in order to redeem us from sin and death, and give us the light of life.

For directions and more information, visit: whitefieldschurch.com

Project Back to School 2022

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Did you know that children in the foster system form an at-risk people group within our own communities?

In almost every case, the reason these children end up in foster care care is because of an unsuitable home environment, which may involve violence, neglect, drugs, crime, etc. These environments not only result in trauma many times, but they also tend to result in or be associated with poverty. Many foster care situations are kinship care, which means the child is cared for by a relative, which can create a financial burden.

Poverty has a profound impact on a child’s mental and physical well-being. Children living in poverty have higher rates of absenteeism from school. Students who come from low income families are six times more likely to drop out of high school.  Adults without a high school diploma are 4 times more likely to be unemployed and live in poverty, which means raising their children in poverty, perpetuating a cycle of poverty which may persist for generations: poverty affects education which affects poverty. (source 1, source 2)

One of the ways that we can help kids break out of this cycle of poverty is by encouraging them to stay in school – and one of the ways we can do that is by helping them have the things they need to be confident and excited about going to school, so they can succeed!

Our church, White Fields Community Church, has a history of ministering to children in the foster system, and six years ago we began a new ministry: Project Back to School.

We are working with Weld County Department of Human Services, and this year they have identified over 100 at-risk kids who need help with school supplies, clothes, and shoes. They have provided us with a list of needed items, which we will share with those who sign up to help.

We are trusting that God will raise up people to bless these families in the name of Jesus. It’s a way for us to love not only in words and in speech, but in action as well (1 John 3:18).

We will be taking sign-ups beginning Sunday, July 10 and asking items to be returned by Sunday, July 24.

How to Get Involved and Make a Difference

1. Sign up in-person

If you live in or near Longmont, visit White Fields Church on a Sunday morning this July and sign up to sponsor one or more children.

2. Sign up online

If you can’t make it on a Sunday morning, but are still local and could drop off items to us for delivery, leave a comment below, or contact the church here.

3. Contribute Financially

All monies that come in designated for Project Back to School will go directly towards buying school supplies for at risk children. You can make a tax-deductible donation on our church’s website here: whitefieldschurch.com/give/ (choose Project Back to School on the drop-down menu).

Join us in praying for these kids, and that God uses this initiative to bless them!

What Is Gospel Culture and How is It Developed?

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In this week’s episode of the Theology for the People podcast, I speak with Tim Chaddick.

Tim is the Pastor for Preaching at Reality Ventura and Founding Pastor of Reality Church London and Reality LA. A native to California, Tim’s first ten years of church-planting ministry started as the Lead Pastor of Reality LA in 2006, a thriving church in the heart of Hollywood, before planting Reality London in the UK in 2016. In 2021, Tim returned to California to take up the Pastor for Preaching role at Reality Ventura.

In this episode we talk about culture in general, and “gospel culture” specifically. What is “gospel culture” and how is it developed amongst a group of people, whether that be a church, a family, a staff, or elsewhere? 

Tim’s first two books, Better: How Jesus Satisfies the Search for Meaning and The Truth about Lies, were projects which came from lessons learned while living and pastoring in urban areas. Pastor Tim and his wife Lindsey care deeply about the ministry of the local church and seek to devote themselves to helping churches begin and flourish in their mission to share and reflect the gospel.

Tim and I will both be speaking at the Calvary Chapel / CGN International Conference in Orange County, California, June 26-29. More information and registration can be found here at conference.calvarychapel.com

If you find this episode interesting or helpful, please share it with others and leave a rating and review on your podcast app, as that helps other people discover this podcast and its content.

Click here to listen to the episode, or listen in the embedded player below.

What is Gospel Culture and How is It Developed? – Theology for the People

Tim Chaddick is the Pastor for Preaching at Reality Ventura and Founding Pastor of Reality Church London and Reality LA. A native to California, Tim's first ten years of church-planting ministry started as the Lead Pastor of Reality LA in 2006, a thriving church in the heart of Hollywood, before planting Reality London in the UK in 2016. In 2021, Tim returned to California to take up the Pastor for Preaching role at Reality Ventura. In this episode we talk about culture in general, and "gospel culture" specifically. What is "gospel culture" and how is it developed amongst a group of people, whether that be a church, a family, a staff, or elsewhere?  Tim and I will both be speaking at the Calvary Chapel / CGN International Conference in Orange County, California, June 26-29. More information and registration can be found here at conference.calvarychapel.com Tim's first two books, Better: How Jesus Satisfies the Search for Meaning and The Truth about Lies, were projects which came from lessons learned while living and pastoring in urban areas. Pastor Tim and his wife Lindsey care deeply about the ministry of the local church and seek to devote themselves to helping churches begin and flourish in their mission to share and reflect the gospel. — Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theologyforthepeople/support

10 Years… Part 2

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March 25, 2022 marked 10 years since my first Sunday as pastor of White Fields Community Church.

When I moved to Longmont to pastor White Fields, I was 28 years old. I had been pastoring for 7 years, and had a lot more hair (though it was already thinning!)

On March 27, the church surprised me with a celebration I didn’t know was coming. We had cakes and other treats at each service, and they had leaders who were elders in the first few years I was here come up and say a few words and pray for my wife and I.

Of these past 10 years, the last 5 have been particularly enjoyable; working with friends, taking steps of faith, and experiencing good fruit.

We are currently in the midst of a building expansion project, in order to create room for more people to come, hear God’s Word, grow, and be equipped. It’s an exciting time, and I look forward to the future!

9/11 – 20 Years

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Today marks 20 years since the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Those of us who are old enough to remember it can all remember where we were when it happened, but those who are younger have all felt its effects. 

Personally, I remember that it was a Tuesday and I was working for Christy Sports in Golden, Colorado in the snowboard shop, and we had the day off to attend a seminar hosted at the Burton Snowboards Colorado headquarters in Denver, so I was parked behind the shop waiting for a colleague to meet me so we could drive down together. He was over an hour late. This was before most people had cell phones, so I just had to stand and wait for him. When he arrived, he told me what had happened. I remember the confusion of that day; at first, people assumed it was an accident, until it became clear it was an attack. 

We went to Denver and instead of a seminar, we ended up watching the TV reports at the Burton headquarters. Downtown Denver was absolutely empty, as no one knew if there were going to be more attacks. 

I went home, and my dad was there; he worked at the Denver Mint, and since that was a federal building, it was considered a high risk for attack.

At this point in September, I had just returned home from my first trip to Hungary, after which I felt called to move to Hungary, and was making plans to go there in January. I did end up moving to Hungary in January, and one of the ministries I worked in was a refugee camp.

The camp was in an abandoned Soviet military base which had been reopened in 2006 by the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) to house refugees from the Bosnian war, and had then been kept open to house refugees from Kosovo. Around the time I came, there were still many refugees from former Yugoslavia, but quickly the camp filled with over 2000 Afghan refugees.  

While working in this camp, I got to know my now wife, Rosemary, and together we saw many people from Afghanistan, Iran, Kosovo, and other muslim-majority countries become Christians. As these people came to Europe to escape the conflicts back home, many of them had the opportunity to read the New Testament and hear the gospel, and meet Christians, and attend a church for the first time in their lives – and God used His Word to change their hearts and their lives.

My heartfelt condolences go out to the grieving families whose lives were changed when over 2,997 people lost their lives on September 11. I pray that the Lord would be their comfort and that they would find in Jesus the hope of the resurrection and life everlasting.

May we also honor and thank the first responders and emergency workers who served that day and in the weeks following. May we pray for our medical workers today as well as they serve the hurting and sick in the midst of this current crisis.

Let us also be in prayer for those who served in the military over the past 20 years, and for the families of those who lost family members in service. And let us pray as well for the Afghan people and the Afghan Christians who are now suffering under Taliban rule today.

Guidelines for Biblical Interpretation – with Dr. Roy Collins

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This week on the Theology for the People Podcast, I sat down with Dr. Roy Collins, a recently retired professor of theology at Colorado Christian University (CCU).

Roy attends White Fields, the church I pastor, and he leads an adult Sunday School class which is studying through the Gospel of Mark on Sunday mornings at 8:00 AM.

Prior to his retirement, Dr. Collins served as a pastor, consultant, and most recently as a professor at CCU, where he primarily taught Biblical Interpretation.

In this discussion, Roy gives some helpful book recommendations and a 5-step process for correctly handling a Biblical text in order to make accurate interpretation and correct application.

Two books Roy recommends in the episode are:

You can listened to the episode by clicking this link, or by listening in the embedded player below:

Biblical Interpretation with Dr. Roy Collins: Guidelines for Correctly Understanding & Faithfully Applying God's Word – Theology for the People

Dr. Roy Collins (DMin) has served as a pastor, consultant, and professor of theology at Colorado Christian University, where he taught Biblical Interpretation. In this episode, Dr. Roy shares with us the key to unlocking the meaning of any given passage of the Bible, as well as a 5-step system of guidelines for how to exegete a given passage. The books recommended in this episode by Dr. Collins are:  Grasping God's Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible, by Duvall & Hays The Gospel and Kingdom, by Graeme Goldsworthy Dr. Collins leads a Bible study through the Gospel of Mark on Sunday mornings at 8:00 AM (Mountain Time) at White Fields Community Church in Longmont, Colorado. Check out the Theology for the People blog site, and please leave a review on your podcast app if you've benefited from this content. — Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/theologyforthepeople/support

Project Back to School 2021

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Did you know that children in the foster system form an at-risk people group within our own communities?

In almost every case, the reason these children end up in foster care care is because of an unsuitable home environment, which may involve violence, neglect, drugs, crime, etc. These environments not only result in trauma many times, but they also tend to result in or be associated with poverty. Many foster care situations are kinship care, which means the child is cared for by a relative, which can create a financial burden.

Poverty has a profound impact on a child’s mental and physical well-being. Children living in poverty have higher rates of absenteeism from school. Students who come from low income families are six times more likely to drop out of high school.  Adults without a high school diploma are 4 times more likely to be unemployed and live in poverty, which means raising their children in poverty, perpetuating a cycle of poverty which may persist for generations: poverty affects education which affects poverty. (source 1, source 2)

One of the ways that we can help kids break out of this cycle of poverty is by encouraging them to stay in school – and one of the ways we can do that is by helping them have the things they need to be confident and excited about going to school, so they can succeed!

Our church, White Fields Community Church, has a history of ministering to children in the foster system, and five years ago we began a new ministry: Project Back to School.

We are working with Weld County Department of Human Services, and this year they have identified over 100 at-risk kids who need help with school supplies, clothes, and shoes. They have provided us with a list of needed items, which we will share with those who sign up to help.

We are trusting that God will raise up people to bless these families in the name of Jesus. It’s a way for us to love not only in words and in speech, but in action as well (1 John 3:18).

We will be taking sign-ups beginning Sunday, July 4 and asking items to be returned by Sunday, July 25.

How to Get Involved and Make a Difference

1. Sign up in-person

If you live in or near Longmont, visit White Fields Church on a Sunday morning this July and sign up to sponsor one or more children.

2. Sign up online

If you can’t make it on a Sunday morning, but are still local and could drop off items to us for delivery, leave a comment below, or contact the church here.

3. Contribute Financially

All monies that come in designated for Project Back to School will go directly towards buying school supplies for at risk children. You can make a tax-deductible donation on our church’s website here: whitefieldschurch.com/give/ (choose Project Back to School on the drop-down menu).

Join us in praying for these kids, and that God uses this initiative to bless them.

Discussion with Gino Geraci about the Perspicuity of Scripture

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Last week I had the honor of being a guest on Gino Geraci’s radio show: Crosswalk with Gino Geraci, on 94.7 FM KRKS which airs in the Denver metro area and online.

We discussed the topic of the “perspicuity” or “clarity” of Scripture, which was the subject of my MA dissertation.

The discussion certainly wasn’t exhaustive, and there is more I would like to share about meaning and implications of the perspicuity of Scripture via this blog and my podcast – such as the difference between the external and internal aspects of perspicuity, but this was a great introduction to the topic.

Gino is well-read and understands the subject well, and it was fun to talk with someone who enjoys discussing these things and helping other people understand them.

What is perhaps most interesting about our discussion is that we spent time talking about how the perspicuity of Scripture speaks to the current trend of postmodern thinking and epistemology, in which even many professing Christians are taking up views which are contrary to the clear reading of Scripture because of pressure from the culture.

You can listen to the two hours we spent discussing this topic on the radio here: