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Dear Friends,

It is great to be back. The warmth and kindness shown to me at all services was overwhelming. Thank you for your prayers and support.

This church is a great place to preach. Very few of you have the vantage point that I have as I begin a message. I see people who are eager to hear the Word of God preached and applied; explored and explained. Heads look up. And it is only at the 27-minute mark that people start looking at their watches.

Something that you need to know is that we will change bible translations for our church pew bibles, the pulpit reading and the Bible that I use and preach from. Fr. Jason is writing a brief explanation as to why we are going to remove and donate the current NIV Bibles and replace them with the English Standard Version (ESV). I have been using the ESV for my personal devotions for over two years. It is an amazing text. It has the cadence and depth that you would want to find in God’s Word. The Bibles are on order and next week Fr. Jason will fill in some of the details about why this is a good move for us.

I am starting a new sermon series on August 8 called More than Conquerors. It is an 8-week series on the crown jewel of the highest theological and literary achievement of the apostle Paul. Many of you may want to purchase a new copy of the ESV from The Bookstore for this series. (I think we may end up memorizing a good portion of Romans 8. The ESV will make it grand!)

In the meantime, here are a few more things you need to know:

On Point for Men
Remember that On Point for Men (a Bible study that I teach with Jason Bowman) begins  August 24. Every Tuesday at 7 a.m., join us for an in-depth lecture, application of scripture and a spirited discussion of some principles found in God’s Word. No prior experience or deep Bible knowledge is needed to attend. The coffee is free…and the lesson we learn from God’s Word is priceless.

Coast Camp
Our youth group kids (many, many, many of them) are leaving Sunday, July 25 for a week at Coast Camp. They will be joined by youth groups from other Anglican churches in the southeastern portion of the United States. Their music leadership group will be none other than our own Josh Havens and his band, The Afters. It will be a great week for them. I plan to fly down to the camp on Wednesday to hang out for a day with the kids and attend The Afters concert that night.

I can remember those church camp moments when I was a young student in high school. Nothing was more profound to me that the moments I had coming to know the Lord. Camp introduced me to Christ and to His Church, and I was never the same. Many of you have a similar background. Please pray for our kids this coming week.

New Study Guides
It is a real pleasure and joy for me to preach here at Christ Church. The whole process of study, prayer, preparation, and final touches is one of my weekly habits that I truly enjoy.

But did you know that you can find a study guide for the sermon here on my blog? I began producing a study guide for this message that will be uploaded on Mondays following the sermon. Check out last week’s study guide. The purpose for this extra effort on my part is to help many people think about the message throughout the week. Small Groups can use these as their curriculum and, our radio audience can use these when we begin broadcasting with WRR on August 1. (By the way, do I need to say that lying in bed listening to a radio message on Sunday morning is NOT going to church?)

See you Sunday,

Fr. David+

For many people summer is a time to kick back, relax with a slower pace and enjoy having the kids around without homework. That is not the way it is at Christ Church. While we are enjoying having the kids around there is no time to relax because so many ministries are in full swing.

Here are a few highlights of the past few weeks and a peek into the future.

Vacation Bible School concluded a very successful week with 400 children being ministered to by a gifted team of 170 adults & youth volunteers. The theme for the week was “Power Lab – Learning About Jesus’ Miraculous Power in our Lives.” The children were able to raise money for four mission projects including: Buckner Christmas Orphan, Orphan Outreach, Casa Hogares and The Mission. We want to express our heartfelt thanks to Jennifer Morrell for her leadership and personal sacrifice that made it such a wonderful week.

Sixty (60) middle school students along with 10 adults attended camp at Jonathan Creek Camp in Hardin, Ky and all returned safely inspired by the Christian fellowship and teaching which centered on the theme of “Blue Print – Laying the Foundation and Building Upon It.” There were many newcomers attending camp this year! Thank you to Pam Coghlan and her team for the great example of the love of Christ and direction they have given to our young people.

Two teams traveled to Guatemala where they ventured into very remote sections of the country to build stoves for some of the poorest people in the region and to share the love of Christ Jesus. It may not sound like much to those of us who have never had to cook over an open fire in the living room, but this one simple gift will dramatically change the quality of life for these people. The health and safety hazards which produce serious respiratory problems are eliminated and the cost of fuel is significantly reduced. Praise the Lord for the gift of love which the 16 men and women and 10 high school youth took to Guatemala on behalf of Christ Church. The high school youth will return this Sunday, July 6.

Looking forward, we still have several mission teams heading out: From July 26-Aug 2, the Casa Hogar team will travel to Arequipa, Peru. A men’s construction team will head to Lima, Peru on October 11 and return on the 18th. We have a women’s retreat team that will be in both Lima and Arequipa, Peru from October 23-November 3. The New Orleans team will leave on Nov 5 and return on the 9th. The Buckner Christmas Orphan team will travel to Lima and Arequipa, Peru from December 5-14. To learn more about joining these teams, click here.

This summer there will be two camps in Colorado: High schoolers will go to Buena Vista in July and the Men’s Mountain Encounter will be held at Silver Cliff Ranch in Nathrop, Aug 1-6. There is still time sign up and escape the Dallas heat for a wonderful week of refreshing high mountain air and rewarding study of the Scripture. Contact Brian Mountjoy for the high school trip and Fr. Jeff Rawn for the men’s trip if you are interested in going along.

One of the most important parts of the Chapter Two campaign was a commitment to help the Diocese of Peru to purchase a building to house the Seminary and offices as well as to provide much needed ministry space. The Christ Church Vestry recently sent a team to speak with Bishop Godfrey and to complete our “due diligence.” The team came back with a glowing report. The Bishop’s health is much improved, the vision for the new facility is exciting, and though the progress getting the legal paperwork is predictably slow, things are moving along and the purchase documents should be ready for completion within the next few weeks.

Please join us in thanking the Lord for His grace in returning Bishop Godfrey to health and for the progress on the Seminary building. We hope to be able to let you know in the very near future that this important phase of Chapter Two has been completed to the Glory of God.

Thank you again for your faithful stewardship in support of Chapter Two and the other ministry needs of Christ Church during these summer months. I know that with travel and other unusual expenses it is easy to let our commitment to the support of the church slide a bit in the summer, but you have continued to be generous and faithful making the ministry projects above possible. Praise the Lord.

Cordially in Christ’s Service,
Howard Clark
Executive Pastor