This weekend I begin my final three messages as Senior Pastor before we celebrate together Rajendra’s installation as our next Senior Pastor on November 3. I pray these are NOT my final messages at DRCC, but they are the last in my current staff role. So for these three messages I chose the three core themes of my teaching ministry; then realized they mirror the same three themes of my first three messages 27 years ago. Not surprising really. They are, for me, the heart of why DRCC exists. So join me in a series reflecting on “The Beginning and the End” as we look at:

Christ and His Cross: Jesus FOR Us (October 12-13)
Christ and Our Character: Jesus’ Spirit IN Us (October 19-20)
Christ and His Community: Jesus AMONG Us (October 26-27)

From the start, as a church we have always placed premium value on training and discipling the next generation. This weekend, join me along with Roger Record and Michael Yudt as we share details of a multi-year planning process we are rolling out for our children and youth ministries. This is an indescribably important investment for us and one that we believe will bring a rich harvest for the Kingdom of God. We have a dream of seeing our church continue to grow as an inter-generational community of God where each of us knows and practices the value of pouring into and discipling our children and young people. As we all gather around this mission, my hope is that one day, may each of us receive the greatest commendation any human being can ever receive, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

If you want to scare Christians, tell them to “evangelize”—just get out there and lead someone to Christ. Even those who are sold out to Jesus, who know the Bible pretty well and who have a beautiful testimony of His work in their lives still get nervous. Maybe because the idea of us all heading out as individual ‘evangelizers’ is not really how Jesus intended it to be done in the first place, or how the Spirit wired all of us all to play our part. Join me this weekend as we continue our PATHWAY series by looking at the beautiful way the Body of Christ can work together to share Jesus and draw people to Him—knowing that people come to Christ best on the arm of a friend.

There are a few regular drumbeat themes at DRCC, but no two are more important than:

1.) the Cross of Christ as the lifeblood of our faith and
2.) the identity and the power of a community of ordinary people functioning together as the Body of Christ. Our focus on these two themes is a reflection of the New Testament’s focus. With just five messages left as Senior Pastor, I want to spend one camping at Calvary the entire time (though all five will pass by the foot of the Cross) and two exploring Jesus’ clear call out of our religiously or irreligiously isolated lives into a shared mission, where we use our God-given gifts to create a Biblically-functioning, servant-hearted community.

This weekend join me as we think through the practical applications and lasting impact on us and those around us of “Doing Life Together”—the central element of our PATHWAY strategy.

Unselfish serving sucks the cynicism out of seekers. We all sense it—the beauty of someone doing something that requires some sacrifice for someone whose need is real and who can’t repay. We see in it a hint of the Cross, and sense in it the smile of God. We see the kind of heart that kind of serving forms in people who consistently live to give—and not just get and get and get until they arrive at death safely, as they too become more beautiful in their soul.

Our friends outside the community of Christ see it too, and they aren’t always sure what to make of it, but they are attracted by it. It sucks cynicism out of them and opens up dialogue. Join me for part 2 of our series on our PATHWAY to a Christ-centered life as we explore the circles of impact that ripple into eternity which our serving and giving create.

We have a very “low-hanging fruit” way to dive in to making a difference together this weekend; and for those who come to the Saturday evening service, a free meal! See you this weekend.

Easter morning has happened. The tomb sits empty. Some women report to have seen Him alive. The disciples are confused and afraid. Now it is late Sunday afternoon. Where is the risen Christ? What is He up to? What are His top priorities, post-resurrection? This weekend begins a four week series exploring the key life-disciplines that move us down the PATHWAY to maturity in following Jesus—step by step. Our first step in this series is to look at what Jesus thought was the most important thing to nail down on His first day out of the tomb—on the day He began His new beginning for the whole world. Twice Jesus makes one focus His priority on that day—and it is still a focus that speaks to our priorities as those who follow Him today. Join me as we consider together: who are we really listening to?

A note from Pastor Richard...

In preparing for our series: The Elephant in the Room, I have been so grateful for the counsel and perspective of Michelle Rader, our Lead Elder. As much reading, reflecting and listening to folks as I have tried to do, looking at issues and ideologies current in the LGBTQ community, Michelle has done more. And always with a Christ-centered grid. I have asked her to finish our series. Below is her thoughts on this weekend:


This week will be Part 4 of our series, The Elephant in the Church. This series has raised a lot of questions for a lot of people - probably more questions than answers for many. We will conclude the series by considering how Jesus responded to a question - “Who is My Neighbor?” - and how he turned that question around. Jesus has a habit of taking our questions and giving different answers than we might expect - always with the goal of expanding our understanding of God, His Kingdom, and who is included in it.

Community. A common unity. Of what? Of people, all kinds of people, with all kinds of hurts, habits and hang-ups (to borrow a phrase) bond together by a commitment to know and follow Jesus as LORD. People doing life together. At the heart of this community are circles of authentic friendships in small groups. So if you have ever considered helping run a group, please come to our Small Group Leadership Conference on Saturday, September 7. You can register by clicking here.

This weekend we continue our Elephant in the Room series on insuring Damascus Road is as embracing a place for a ‘gay’ seeker after Christ as it is for a ‘straight’ seeker after Christ. The ground is level at the foot of the Cross and there, together and equally, we all stand in need of a Savior, there God’s Spirit can heal our wounds, confront our selfishness and fears, there He calls us deeper into following Jesus as LORD and closer to each other as family. This week we’ll talk about God’s Edenic ideal, about God’s restoration of all things to His ideal, and about how God, throughout history and in our story, has continually worked for, with and through far less than ideal people and even calls them His church. Thankfully…

This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life
Ezekiel 37:5

Have you ever found yourself in front of a large group of people doing something you are not at all good at?

NO!!!! That would be RECKLESS!!!

I'm sure all of us have had that dream and were really glad to wake up.

This weekend, men from 20+ churches in the area, are coming to Damascus Road to do something they are not good at, in front of a lot of people they don't know.

Seems RECKLESS!!

Why would they do that? Have they all lost their mind?

Maybe these men have simply reached a place in their lives where they realized that life on their own looked a lot like the dry bones talked about any Ezekiel 37. Each of these men are experiencing a Reckless love that is transforming their lives from dead men walking to fully alive men dancing.

Jesus embodied the fullness of both grace and truth always, equally, in every situation. Grace—and truth. Not sometimes one and sometimes the other. Grace and truth perfectly blended, perfectly united. We need both, equally, to follow Him: His grace gives us our relationship with God. And by His truth we are set free to flourish. God’s truth frees us to flourish.

But only through the Bible can know the truth of who Jesus is, how He lived and what He taught. The Bible is our authoritative source, given to us by God through the apostles of Christ under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This weekend we will look together (from within our framework as struggling sinners surrendered to the LORD) at defining passages of Scripture on God’s will for marriage and sexuality. See you then.