Mark 3: 20-29“As if to underscore the seriousness of what he has just said, Jesus concludes with a solemn “Amen” saying. He now deals the final blow to the debt code: blanket pardon. But there is one exception: mistaking the work of the Holy Spirit for that of Satan. As Juan Luis Segundo puts it: The blasphemy resulting from bad apologetics will always be pardonable…What is not pardonable is using theology to turn real human liberation into something odious. The real sin against the Holy Spirit is refusing to recognize, the “theological” joy, some concrete liberation that is taking place before one’s very eyes.This is what the scribal class cannot “see.” Thus by the close of his defense, Jesus has turned the tables completely upon his opponents: it is they who are aligned against God’s purpose. To be captive to the way things are, to resist criticism and change, to brutally suppress efforts of humanization – it so be bypassed by the grace of God. –Ched MyersMark 11:1-22Zechariah 9:9But the Palm Sunday street theatre tugs at our elbow to make a different point. He makes the poor his priority; he puts into practice the justice of God himself, and so he brings the peace of God himself.As we hold that picture in our minds and look we realize why it is that, while the crowds are shouting Hosanna!, Jesus is sobbing his heart out. The sun is shining, the crowds are cheering, Jerusalem the golden is before him in all its majesty - but with his prophet's eye he can see the disaster coming. He can hardly get the words out.If only you'd known - yes, you, even now - the things that make for peace - but you've shut your eyes. And it's too late. They are coming - Pilate is coming, the monsters are coming, the brutes and the beasts are taking over the garden, and they will trample everything in their path, because you didn't know the moment of your visitation. You didn't recognize the time. You didn't understand the play. You were living in the wrong story. You were looking for the wrong sort of king. You wanted war and I was leading you to peace. In our case, you were wanting a kingdom in heaven, and I was offering you one on earth; and by opting for the heaven-only one, you have abandoned earth to the monarchs and the monsters who still take the sword and will perish by the sword. You didn't know the time of your visitation - in other words, as some translations explain, your visitation by God himself. This was the climax of the play they wanted to be part of. But nobody had imagined that when God came back he would look like a young prophet, in floods of tears, riding on a donkey.Now all this leads, of course, into sermons that might be preached later during Holy Week. The extraordinary twist in this story is that, having announced judgment upon Jerusalem for refusing God's way of peace, Jesus went ahead, embodying simultaneously the love and the judgment of God himself, to suffer the Roman horror he had predicted for his people. - Wright“Thus Jesus calls for an end to the entire temple system – symbolized by his “overturning” (katestrepsen, which can also mean to “destroy”) of the stations used by these two groups. They represented the concrete mechanism of oppression within a political economy that doubly exploited the poor and unclean. Not only were they considered second-class citizens, but the cult obligated them to make reparation, through sacrifices, for their inferior status” - Myers

Mark 8:27-35“…to know and worship God rightly we must have our desires transformed. They must be transformed – we must be trained to desire rightly – because, bent by sin, we have little sense of what it is that we should rightly want.” -Stanley Hauerwas “The Peaceable Kingdom”The Greek term means “the stick in a trap on which the bait is placed, and which, when touched by the animal springs up and shuts the trap” (Liddell and Scott). In the New Testament it designates an object, act, or person that brings about the spiritual ruin of others. Jesus terms Peter a scandal, because he sought to dissuade Him, from accomplishing the Redemption in the manner ordained by God. (L. F. Miller)for every single degree you fly off course, you will miss your target landing spot by 92 feet for every mile you fly.That amounts to about one mile off target for every sixty miles flown.If you decided to start at the equator and fly around the earth, one degree off would land you almost 500 miles off target.How do we make Jesus the center of our lives1.Be a faithful part of the faithful worshipping community of the followers of the resurrected Jesus2. Develop your relationship with Jesus. Pray ReadGrowRestListen3. Volunteer/Give4. Be part of a discipleship group5. Live righteousness in your day-to day life[Speaking about Faith in the Halls of Power] Amy Sherman writes, “Concerning business leaders we found that “evangelical executives tend to accept the material accoutrements of an affluent lifestyle without question.” To our surprise and dismay, almost none of our interviewees raised the issue of exorbitant CEO pay. Less than half of business executives reported that their faith influences how they invest their money…with regard to Christians in influential positions in Hollywood, they “differ little from others in the entertainment industry. They drive luxury cars, live in exclusive communities, and worry that their fame and talent will evaporate overnight.” On the whole, Faith in the Halls of Power’s careful research showed that the vast majority of Christians perched atop their career ladders in various social sectors displayed a profoundly anemic vision for what they could accomplish for the Kingdom of God.” -Amy Sherman, Kingdom Calling6. Sacrifice for those around you7. Think good of people8. Make room for others and God9. ForgiveJames 5 :16“Our brother and sister…have been given to us to help us. They hear the confession of our sins in Christ’s stead and forgive our sins in Christ’s name. They keep the secret of our confession as God keeps it. When I got to my brother [or sister] to confess, I am going to God.” –Dietrich BonhoefferMost merciful God,we confess that we have sinned against Youin thought, word, and deed,by what we have done,and by what we have left undone.We have not loved You with our whole heart;we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.For the sake of Jesus, have mercy on us and forgive us;that we may delight in Your will,and walk in Your ways, to the glory of Your Name. Amen.

Mark 8:27-35“…to know and worship God rightly we must have our desires transformed. They must be transformed – we must be trained to desire rightly – because, bent by sin, we have little sense of what it is that we should rightly want.” -Stanley Hauerwas “The Peaceable Kingdom”The Greek term means “the stick in a trap on which the bait is placed, and which, when touched by the animal springs up and shuts the trap” (Liddell and Scott). In the New Testament it designates an object, act, or person that brings about the spiritual ruin of others. Jesus terms Peter a scandal, because he sought to dissuade Him, from accomplishing the Redemption in the manner ordained by God. (L. F. Miller)for every single degree you fly off course, you will miss your target landing spot by 92 feet for every mile you fly.That amounts to about one mile off target for every sixty miles flown.If you decided to start at the equator and fly around the earth, one degree off would land you almost 500 miles off target.How do we make Jesus the center of our lives1.Be a faithful part of the faithful worshipping community of the followers of the resurrected Jesus2. Develop your relationship with Jesus. Pray ReadGrowRestListen3. Volunteer/Give4. Be part of a discipleship group5. Live righteousness in your day-to day life[Speaking about Faith in the Halls of Power] Amy Sherman writes, “Concerning business leaders we found that “evangelical executives tend to accept the material accoutrements of an affluent lifestyle without question.” To our surprise and dismay, almost none of our interviewees raised the issue of exorbitant CEO pay. Less than half of business executives reported that their faith influences how they invest their money…with regard to Christians in influential positions in Hollywood, they “differ little from others in the entertainment industry. They drive luxury cars, live in exclusive communities, and worry that their fame and talent will evaporate overnight.” On the whole, Faith in the Halls of Power’s careful research showed that the vast majority of Christians perched atop their career ladders in various social sectors displayed a profoundly anemic vision for what they could accomplish for the Kingdom of God.” -Amy Sherman, Kingdom Calling6. Sacrifice for those around you7. Think good of people8. Make room for others and God9. ForgiveJames 5 :16“Our brother and sister…have been given to us to help us. They hear the confession of our sins in Christ’s stead and forgive our sins in Christ’s name. They keep the secret of our confession as God keeps it. When I got to my brother [or sister] to confess, I am going to God.” –Dietrich BonhoefferMost merciful God,we confess that we have sinned against Youin thought, word, and deed,by what we have done,and by what we have left undone.We have not loved You with our whole heart;we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.For the sake of Jesus, have mercy on us and forgive us;that we may delight in Your will,and walk in Your ways, to the glory of Your Name. Amen.

Mark 3: 20-29“As if to underscore the seriousness of what he has just said, Jesus concludes with a solemn “Amen” saying. He now deals the final blow to the debt code: blanket pardon. But there is one exception: mistaking the work of the Holy Spirit for that of Satan. As Juan Luis Segundo puts it: The blasphemy resulting from bad apologetics will always be pardonable…What is not pardonable is using theology to turn real human liberation into something odious. The real sin against the Holy Spirit is refusing to recognize, the “theological” joy, some concrete liberation that is taking place before one’s very eyes.This is what the scribal class cannot “see.” Thus by the close of his defense, Jesus has turned the tables completely upon his opponents: it is they who are aligned against God’s purpose. To be captive to the way things are, to resist criticism and change, to brutally suppress efforts of humanization – it so be bypassed by the grace of God. –Ched MyersMark 11:1-22Zechariah 9:9But the Palm Sunday street theatre tugs at our elbow to make a different point. He makes the poor his priority; he puts into practice the justice of God himself, and so he brings the peace of God himself.As we hold that picture in our minds and look we realize why it is that, while the crowds are shouting Hosanna!, Jesus is sobbing his heart out. The sun is shining, the crowds are cheering, Jerusalem the golden is before him in all its majesty - but with his prophet's eye he can see the disaster coming. He can hardly get the words out.If only you'd known - yes, you, even now - the things that make for peace - but you've shut your eyes. And it's too late. They are coming - Pilate is coming, the monsters are coming, the brutes and the beasts are taking over the garden, and they will trample everything in their path, because you didn't know the moment of your visitation. You didn't recognize the time. You didn't understand the play. You were living in the wrong story. You were looking for the wrong sort of king. You wanted war and I was leading you to peace. In our case, you were wanting a kingdom in heaven, and I was offering you one on earth; and by opting for the heaven-only one, you have abandoned earth to the monarchs and the monsters who still take the sword and will perish by the sword. You didn't know the time of your visitation - in other words, as some translations explain, your visitation by God himself. This was the climax of the play they wanted to be part of. But nobody had imagined that when God came back he would look like a young prophet, in floods of tears, riding on a donkey.Now all this leads, of course, into sermons that might be preached later during Holy Week. The extraordinary twist in this story is that, having announced judgment upon Jerusalem for refusing God's way of peace, Jesus went ahead, embodying simultaneously the love and the judgment of God himself, to suffer the Roman horror he had predicted for his people. - Wright“Thus Jesus calls for an end to the entire temple system – symbolized by his “overturning” (katestrepsen, which can also mean to “destroy”) of the stations used by these two groups. They represented the concrete mechanism of oppression within a political economy that doubly exploited the poor and unclean. Not only were they considered second-class citizens, but the cult obligated them to make reparation, through sacrifices, for their inferior status” - Myers

Mark 3: 20-29“As if to underscore the seriousness of what he has just said, Jesus concludes with a solemn “Amen” saying. He now deals the final blow to the debt code: blanket pardon. But there is one exception: mistaking the work of the Holy Spirit for that of Satan. As Juan Luis Segundo puts it: The blasphemy resulting from bad apologetics will always be pardonable…What is not pardonable is using theology to turn real human liberation into something odious. The real sin against the Holy Spirit is refusing to recognize, the “theological” joy, some concrete liberation that is taking place before one’s very eyes.This is what the scribal class cannot “see.” Thus by the close of his defense, Jesus has turned the tables completely upon his opponents: it is they who are aligned against God’s purpose. To be captive to the way things are, to resist criticism and change, to brutally suppress efforts of humanization – it so be bypassed by the grace of God. –Ched MyersMark 11:1-22Zechariah 9:9But the Palm Sunday street theatre tugs at our elbow to make a different point. He makes the poor his priority; he puts into practice the justice of God himself, and so he brings the peace of God himself.As we hold that picture in our minds and look we realize why it is that, while the crowds are shouting Hosanna!, Jesus is sobbing his heart out. The sun is shining, the crowds are cheering, Jerusalem the golden is before him in all its majesty - but with his prophet's eye he can see the disaster coming. He can hardly get the words out.If only you'd known - yes, you, even now - the things that make for peace - but you've shut your eyes. And it's too late. They are coming - Pilate is coming, the monsters are coming, the brutes and the beasts are taking over the garden, and they will trample everything in their path, because you didn't know the moment of your visitation. You didn't recognize the time. You didn't understand the play. You were living in the wrong story. You were looking for the wrong sort of king. You wanted war and I was leading you to peace. In our case, you were wanting a kingdom in heaven, and I was offering you one on earth; and by opting for the heaven-only one, you have abandoned earth to the monarchs and the monsters who still take the sword and will perish by the sword. You didn't know the time of your visitation - in other words, as some translations explain, your visitation by God himself. This was the climax of the play they wanted to be part of. But nobody had imagined that when God came back he would look like a young prophet, in floods of tears, riding on a donkey.Now all this leads, of course, into sermons that might be preached later during Holy Week. The extraordinary twist in this story is that, having announced judgment upon Jerusalem for refusing God's way of peace, Jesus went ahead, embodying simultaneously the love and the judgment of God himself, to suffer the Roman horror he had predicted for his people. - Wright“Thus Jesus calls for an end to the entire temple system – symbolized by his “overturning” (katestrepsen, which can also mean to “destroy”) of the stations used by these two groups. They represented the concrete mechanism of oppression within a political economy that doubly exploited the poor and unclean. Not only were they considered second-class citizens, but the cult obligated them to make reparation, through sacrifices, for their inferior status” - Myers

Mark 8:27-35“…to know and worship God rightly we must have our desires transformed. They must be transformed – we must be trained to desire rightly – because, bent by sin, we have little sense of what it is that we should rightly want.” -Stanley Hauerwas “The Peaceable Kingdom”The Greek term means “the stick in a trap on which the bait is placed, and which, when touched by the animal springs up and shuts the trap” (Liddell and Scott). In the New Testament it designates an object, act, or person that brings about the spiritual ruin of others. Jesus terms Peter a scandal, because he sought to dissuade Him, from accomplishing the Redemption in the manner ordained by God. (L. F. Miller)for every single degree you fly off course, you will miss your target landing spot by 92 feet for every mile you fly.That amounts to about one mile off target for every sixty miles flown.If you decided to start at the equator and fly around the earth, one degree off would land you almost 500 miles off target.How do we make Jesus the center of our lives1.Be a faithful part of the faithful worshipping community of the followers of the resurrected Jesus2. Develop your relationship with Jesus. Pray ReadGrowRestListen3. Volunteer/Give4. Be part of a discipleship group5. Live righteousness in your day-to day life[Speaking about Faith in the Halls of Power] Amy Sherman writes, “Concerning business leaders we found that “evangelical executives tend to accept the material accoutrements of an affluent lifestyle without question.” To our surprise and dismay, almost none of our interviewees raised the issue of exorbitant CEO pay. Less than half of business executives reported that their faith influences how they invest their money…with regard to Christians in influential positions in Hollywood, they “differ little from others in the entertainment industry. They drive luxury cars, live in exclusive communities, and worry that their fame and talent will evaporate overnight.” On the whole, Faith in the Halls of Power’s careful research showed that the vast majority of Christians perched atop their career ladders in various social sectors displayed a profoundly anemic vision for what they could accomplish for the Kingdom of God.” -Amy Sherman, Kingdom Calling6. Sacrifice for those around you7. Think good of people8. Make room for others and God9. ForgiveJames 5 :16“Our brother and sister…have been given to us to help us. They hear the confession of our sins in Christ’s stead and forgive our sins in Christ’s name. They keep the secret of our confession as God keeps it. When I got to my brother [or sister] to confess, I am going to God.” –Dietrich BonhoefferMost merciful God,we confess that we have sinned against Youin thought, word, and deed,by what we have done,and by what we have left undone.We have not loved You with our whole heart;we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.For the sake of Jesus, have mercy on us and forgive us;that we may delight in Your will,and walk in Your ways, to the glory of Your Name. Amen.

Mark 3: 20-29“As if to underscore the seriousness of what he has just said, Jesus concludes with a solemn “Amen” saying. He now deals the final blow to the debt code: blanket pardon. But there is one exception: mistaking the work of the Holy Spirit for that of Satan. As Juan Luis Segundo puts it: The blasphemy resulting from bad apologetics will always be pardonable…What is not pardonable is using theology to turn real human liberation into something odious. The real sin against the Holy Spirit is refusing to recognize, the “theological” joy, some concrete liberation that is taking place before one’s very eyes.This is what the scribal class cannot “see.” Thus by the close of his defense, Jesus has turned the tables completely upon his opponents: it is they who are aligned against God’s purpose. To be captive to the way things are, to resist criticism and change, to brutally suppress efforts of humanization – it so be bypassed by the grace of God. –Ched MyersMark 11:1-22Zechariah 9:9But the Palm Sunday street theatre tugs at our elbow to make a different point. He makes the poor his priority; he puts into practice the justice of God himself, and so he brings the peace of God himself.As we hold that picture in our minds and look we realize why it is that, while the crowds are shouting Hosanna!, Jesus is sobbing his heart out. The sun is shining, the crowds are cheering, Jerusalem the golden is before him in all its majesty - but with his prophet's eye he can see the disaster coming. He can hardly get the words out.If only you'd known - yes, you, even now - the things that make for peace - but you've shut your eyes. And it's too late. They are coming - Pilate is coming, the monsters are coming, the brutes and the beasts are taking over the garden, and they will trample everything in their path, because you didn't know the moment of your visitation. You didn't recognize the time. You didn't understand the play. You were living in the wrong story. You were looking for the wrong sort of king. You wanted war and I was leading you to peace. In our case, you were wanting a kingdom in heaven, and I was offering you one on earth; and by opting for the heaven-only one, you have abandoned earth to the monarchs and the monsters who still take the sword and will perish by the sword. You didn't know the time of your visitation - in other words, as some translations explain, your visitation by God himself. This was the climax of the play they wanted to be part of. But nobody had imagined that when God came back he would look like a young prophet, in floods of tears, riding on a donkey.Now all this leads, of course, into sermons that might be preached later during Holy Week. The extraordinary twist in this story is that, having announced judgment upon Jerusalem for refusing God's way of peace, Jesus went ahead, embodying simultaneously the love and the judgment of God himself, to suffer the Roman horror he had predicted for his people. - Wright“Thus Jesus calls for an end to the entire temple system – symbolized by his “overturning” (katestrepsen, which can also mean to “destroy”) of the stations used by these two groups. They represented the concrete mechanism of oppression within a political economy that doubly exploited the poor and unclean. Not only were they considered second-class citizens, but the cult obligated them to make reparation, through sacrifices, for their inferior status” - Myers

Mark 8:27-35“…to know and worship God rightly we must have our desires transformed. They must be transformed – we must be trained to desire rightly – because, bent by sin, we have little sense of what it is that we should rightly want.” -Stanley Hauerwas “The Peaceable Kingdom”The Greek term means “the stick in a trap on which the bait is placed, and which, when touched by the animal springs up and shuts the trap” (Liddell and Scott). In the New Testament it designates an object, act, or person that brings about the spiritual ruin of others. Jesus terms Peter a scandal, because he sought to dissuade Him, from accomplishing the Redemption in the manner ordained by God. (L. F. Miller)for every single degree you fly off course, you will miss your target landing spot by 92 feet for every mile you fly.That amounts to about one mile off target for every sixty miles flown.If you decided to start at the equator and fly around the earth, one degree off would land you almost 500 miles off target.How do we make Jesus the center of our lives1.Be a faithful part of the faithful worshipping community of the followers of the resurrected Jesus2. Develop your relationship with Jesus. Pray ReadGrowRestListen3. Volunteer/Give4. Be part of a discipleship group5. Live righteousness in your day-to day life[Speaking about Faith in the Halls of Power] Amy Sherman writes, “Concerning business leaders we found that “evangelical executives tend to accept the material accoutrements of an affluent lifestyle without question.” To our surprise and dismay, almost none of our interviewees raised the issue of exorbitant CEO pay. Less than half of business executives reported that their faith influences how they invest their money…with regard to Christians in influential positions in Hollywood, they “differ little from others in the entertainment industry. They drive luxury cars, live in exclusive communities, and worry that their fame and talent will evaporate overnight.” On the whole, Faith in the Halls of Power’s careful research showed that the vast majority of Christians perched atop their career ladders in various social sectors displayed a profoundly anemic vision for what they could accomplish for the Kingdom of God.” -Amy Sherman, Kingdom Calling6. Sacrifice for those around you7. Think good of people8. Make room for others and God9. ForgiveJames 5 :16“Our brother and sister…have been given to us to help us. They hear the confession of our sins in Christ’s stead and forgive our sins in Christ’s name. They keep the secret of our confession as God keeps it. When I got to my brother [or sister] to confess, I am going to God.” –Dietrich BonhoefferMost merciful God,we confess that we have sinned against Youin thought, word, and deed,by what we have done,and by what we have left undone.We have not loved You with our whole heart;we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.For the sake of Jesus, have mercy on us and forgive us;that we may delight in Your will,and walk in Your ways, to the glory of Your Name. Amen.

Luke 4: 1-13Philippians 2: 5-11How are we tempted?1.We are tempted to give people a produce instead of our lives2.We are tempted to embrace and lead with power instead of sacrifice3.We are tempted to flaunt our access to the truth instead of humbly and lovingly serving people4.We are tempted to forget the hurting and to separate ourselves from our neighborsTempted to be angryTempted to be offendedTempted to isolate if our needs are not met“No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great.”-John Chrysostom (the ancient mystic) “Indifference to our neighbor and to God also represents a real temptation for us Christians. Each year during Lent we need to hear once more the voice of the prophets who cry out and trouble our conscience. “Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades.” He continues that, “We end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own.” –Pope FrancisLuke 4 :18-19How can we pray for TCC:1.That we would not be tempted to give people a program – but that we would give people our lives2.That we would not be tempted to lead with power but with humility and sacrifice3.That we would not flaunt our access to truth but would love people4.That we would not forget the hurting or seek to isolate ourselves from our neighbors5.That we could take care of ourselves too – and remember to rest6.That we would somehow have the finances to do this ministrya.We need some more staff support…what? We have so many staff…7.That we would seek God’s desire for us above our desire for us1 Corinthians 13:1-8Milwaukee consistently ranks in the top 10 of poorest cities in America – Poverty rate of 29.4% (defined as family of 4 under $23,550)That equals 171,500 people (more than the population of Green Bay)43% of our children live in poverty = 67,229Milwaukee African-American 4th graders scored the worst in the US in reading scores Recent studies have ranked Wisconsin as the “worst state for Black Americans”Wisconsin has the highest rate of African-American male incarceration rate in the nation = 12.8% Milwaukee is the most segregated city in AmericaMilwaukee ranks as the top city where the poor are most isolated from the wealth of the surrounding regionInfant Mortality rate is 10.3% in the 53210 zip code – that’s here. One of the highest in the US.62% of Milwaukee children live in single-parent homes There are 4,700 abandoned & foreclosed homes in Milwaukee Milwaukee is “a hub” in the US for human trafficking activityTotal 2014 Funds Received: $322,64116.2% comes from outside of TCC = $52,24755% of budget goes for “inside” ministries45% of budget goes for “outside” ministriesIn essence:TCC is a fully functioning church of 300+ membersPlus:Reaching out and investing in another 200 children/youth/familiesIn reality – we are a church of over 500 people. “Inside” the ChurchResponsible for 300+ adult attendees•Provide Sunday Services •Provide pastoral care•Visit the sick•Marriage counseling & ceremony•Discipleship MinistryoTCC 101,201,301,401oTheological classesoSmall GroupsoThe CohortoStephen MinistryoCCDA TrainingsoFaith & Film eventsoMen’s Accountability GroupoBook Club DiscussionsoRace & Reconciliation Focus Groups•Care for the grieving•Building Maintenance •Baptisms•Dedications•Pastoral Counseling•Administration•Relational Meetings (20+/week)Responsible for 70 children (ages 0-11)•Sunday School discipleship•Parental discipleship resources•Special family events•Summer outings•Summer campResponsible for 10-15 youth (ages 12-18)•High School & Middle School Groups•Intentional Discipleship Groups•Small Groups•Special outings/trips•Summer camp•Parental meetings/discipleshipRelocation•Motivating, training, equipping and supporting those residentially relocating into under-resourced neighborhoods.“Outside” the Church/Non-profit WorkYouth Ministry (those not “part” of TCC)•Responsible for 60-75 teens•Working with parents not part of TCC•Visitations/Games/Trust building•Transportation each week•Summer Camp & Fund Raising•Crisis ManagementoJail, drug addiction, run away, etc•Help parents move (moving services)•Taking teens to Bucks games, Brewers games, other eventsChildren’s Ministry (those not “part” of TCC•Bible Club programming for 50 kids/wk•Weekly meals for 50 kids•Tutoring for 25 kids each week•Volunteer management for above•Transportation for 50 kids/week•Taking kids to plays, Bucks games, Brewers games, etc to build relationships and build exposure•Exposing kids to other educational opportunities•Working with parents on discipleship, education, behavior resources, etc. Mentoring•Provide mentoring relationships for 20 teens each week – the management, oversight, accountability, and training for these 20 relationshipsCommunity House•Live in a hurting community•Care for the relationship built and neighborhood issues (100+people)•Care for the day-to-day difficulties of living in an under-resourced neighborhood.Inhabit•Living in under-resourced neighborhood•Rehabbing homes•Recruiting, discipling, caring and supporting residents of houses•Responding to neighborhood issues & residents•Administrative & office supportExploit No More•Funding•Relationship building•Volunteer management•Administrative & office supportPartnerships•Build partnerships with:oOther churches/pastorsoSimilar programsoStrategic relationshipsoNeighborhoodsoSchoolsoInhabit supportoExploit No More supportoMentoring SupportoOrganizationsFunding•Seek outside funding & relationships to fund TCC’s programs•Grant pursuit and managementThe Wesleyan Church•Provide resources & training•Urban Urgency Partnership•Community Development Committee•CCDA/Wesleyan Partnerships•Wesleyan Justice Network PartnershipInterVarsity College Partnership•Offer training & facility for Urban Plunge Trips•Several speaking engagements/year to disciple students & build relationships

Luke 4: 1-13Philippians 2: 5-11How are we tempted?1.We are tempted to give people a produce instead of our lives2.We are tempted to embrace and lead with power instead of sacrifice3.We are tempted to flaunt our access to the truth instead of humbly and lovingly serving people4.We are tempted to forget the hurting and to separate ourselves from our neighborsTempted to be angryTempted to be offendedTempted to isolate if our needs are not met“No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great.”-John Chrysostom (the ancient mystic) “Indifference to our neighbor and to God also represents a real temptation for us Christians. Each year during Lent we need to hear once more the voice of the prophets who cry out and trouble our conscience. “Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades.” He continues that, “We end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own.” –Pope FrancisLuke 4 :18-19How can we pray for TCC:1.That we would not be tempted to give people a program – but that we would give people our lives2.That we would not be tempted to lead with power but with humility and sacrifice3.That we would not flaunt our access to truth but would love people4.That we would not forget the hurting or seek to isolate ourselves from our neighbors5.That we could take care of ourselves too – and remember to rest6.That we would somehow have the finances to do this ministrya.We need some more staff support…what? We have so many staff…7.That we would seek God’s desire for us above our desire for us1 Corinthians 13:1-8Milwaukee consistently ranks in the top 10 of poorest cities in America – Poverty rate of 29.4% (defined as family of 4 under $23,550)That equals 171,500 people (more than the population of Green Bay)43% of our children live in poverty = 67,229Milwaukee African-American 4th graders scored the worst in the US in reading scores Recent studies have ranked Wisconsin as the “worst state for Black Americans”Wisconsin has the highest rate of African-American male incarceration rate in the nation = 12.8% Milwaukee is the most segregated city in AmericaMilwaukee ranks as the top city where the poor are most isolated from the wealth of the surrounding regionInfant Mortality rate is 10.3% in the 53210 zip code – that’s here. One of the highest in the US.62% of Milwaukee children live in single-parent homes There are 4,700 abandoned & foreclosed homes in Milwaukee Milwaukee is “a hub” in the US for human trafficking activityTotal 2014 Funds Received: $322,64116.2% comes from outside of TCC = $52,24755% of budget goes for “inside” ministries45% of budget goes for “outside” ministriesIn essence:TCC is a fully functioning church of 300+ membersPlus:Reaching out and investing in another 200 children/youth/familiesIn reality – we are a church of over 500 people. “Inside” the ChurchResponsible for 300+ adult attendees•Provide Sunday Services •Provide pastoral care•Visit the sick•Marriage counseling & ceremony•Discipleship MinistryoTCC 101,201,301,401oTheological classesoSmall GroupsoThe CohortoStephen MinistryoCCDA TrainingsoFaith & Film eventsoMen’s Accountability GroupoBook Club DiscussionsoRace & Reconciliation Focus Groups•Care for the grieving•Building Maintenance •Baptisms•Dedications•Pastoral Counseling•Administration•Relational Meetings (20+/week)Responsible for 70 children (ages 0-11)•Sunday School discipleship•Parental discipleship resources•Special family events•Summer outings•Summer campResponsible for 10-15 youth (ages 12-18)•High School & Middle School Groups•Intentional Discipleship Groups•Small Groups•Special outings/trips•Summer camp•Parental meetings/discipleshipRelocation•Motivating, training, equipping and supporting those residentially relocating into under-resourced neighborhoods.“Outside” the Church/Non-profit WorkYouth Ministry (those not “part” of TCC)•Responsible for 60-75 teens•Working with parents not part of TCC•Visitations/Games/Trust building•Transportation each week•Summer Camp & Fund Raising•Crisis ManagementoJail, drug addiction, run away, etc•Help parents move (moving services)•Taking teens to Bucks games, Brewers games, other eventsChildren’s Ministry (those not “part” of TCC•Bible Club programming for 50 kids/wk•Weekly meals for 50 kids•Tutoring for 25 kids each week•Volunteer management for above•Transportation for 50 kids/week•Taking kids to plays, Bucks games, Brewers games, etc to build relationships and build exposure•Exposing kids to other educational opportunities•Working with parents on discipleship, education, behavior resources, etc. Mentoring•Provide mentoring relationships for 20 teens each week – the management, oversight, accountability, and training for these 20 relationshipsCommunity House•Live in a hurting community•Care for the relationship built and neighborhood issues (100+people)•Care for the day-to-day difficulties of living in an under-resourced neighborhood.Inhabit•Living in under-resourced neighborhood•Rehabbing homes•Recruiting, discipling, caring and supporting residents of houses•Responding to neighborhood issues & residents•Administrative & office supportExploit No More•Funding•Relationship building•Volunteer management•Administrative & office supportPartnerships•Build partnerships with:oOther churches/pastorsoSimilar programsoStrategic relationshipsoNeighborhoodsoSchoolsoInhabit supportoExploit No More supportoMentoring SupportoOrganizationsFunding•Seek outside funding & relationships to fund TCC’s programs•Grant pursuit and managementThe Wesleyan Church•Provide resources & training•Urban Urgency Partnership•Community Development Committee•CCDA/Wesleyan Partnerships•Wesleyan Justice Network PartnershipInterVarsity College Partnership•Offer training & facility for Urban Plunge Trips•Several speaking engagements/year to disciple students & build relationships