Champion Life Magazine Winter 2013

WINTER 2013

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Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile -Albert Einstein

— KEVIN GERALD

1 0 NOTHING MATTERS MORE

FEATURES

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God sends great people into all of our lives—how we treat them determines whether they leave or stay.”

BY RYAN CAMERON

1 4 RELATIONSHIP REVOLUTION

BY Dr. Robi Sonderegger 2 0 RELATIONAL

MATHEMATICS

BY KEVIN GERALD

IN THE KNOW 6

Team Spotlight

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Fall Challenge Recap

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18 Champions Foundation Update WINTER 2013

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CHECKOUT THIS ISSUE

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m relational

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ABOUT US s c i at

Champion Life Magazine purposes to equip people to live successful Christian lives.

m e h at ONLINE

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26 REAL LIFE CHAMPIONS 28 K. WISE

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E XE CU T IVE PU B LIS H E RS Kevin Gerald & Sheila Gerald

E DITO R-IN-CH IE F Jodi Cameron

S E NIOR P ROJE C T MANAGE R ART DIRE C TOR

Jen Mueller

Dallas Drotz, Drotz Design Abbie Buck, Corianne Burton,

CONT RIB U T ING E DITORS

Andrea Dashiell, Kim Ludwick, Stephanie Jannsen, Raelynn Poulin, Leslie Powell, Judi Shackett CONT RIB U T ING P H OTOGRAP H Y

Andy Mueller,

Ardorlit Photography, J. Hobson Photography Josh Buck Photos CONT RIB U T ING GRAP H IC DE S IGN CONT RIB U T ING WRIT E RS

Venessa Koehn & Mickey Elliott

Kevin Gerald, Jodi Cameron,

Sheila Gerald, Stef James, Ryan Cameron, Dr. Robi Sonderegger DIST RIB U T ION

P RODU C E R

Kim Ludwick

Champion Life Magazine is produced by Kevin Gerald

Communications (KGC). KGC is a department of Champions Centre in Tacoma | Bellevue, WA, a non-profit organization.

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QU E ST IONS / COMME NTS / IDE AS

Let us know. We welcome your

feedback. Please write us at: championlife@championscentre.com

MAIL Champion Life Editorial 1819 E. 72nd St. Tacoma, WA 98404

Produced by Champions Centre Publishing Š 2013. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without expressed written permission is prohibited and a violation of applicable laws.

2013 copyright. Printed by Print NW

LET’S TALK.

WE LEARN EARLY ON IN LIFE THAT RELATIONSHIPS MATTER.

By the time most people reach high school the people we sit with at the lunch table determine whether we’re a jock, geek, socially awkward, or part of the “in” crowd or not. At work if we hang out around the water cooler, whether we’re the ones talking about everyone or not, we could easily be labeled as busy-bodies or gossipers. Growing up we probably heard the phrase from our parents or teachers or coaches, “You are who you hang out with.” And, while we may have wanted to deny it from time to time, if we take a moment to really consider what it means, we find it to be more true than it is false.

This issue of Champion Life Magazine (CLM) we want to focus on the idea of Relationships—be it family, working and/or church-life connections—and really discover the possibilities of creating positive, lasting and beneficial relationships along the journey of our lives.

When was the last time you did a self-inventory to check your everyday relationships and the paradigms you have that are influenced by those connections? Are you going in the direction you planned to go five years ago? Have you been encouraged or discouraged by the people you surround yourself with? When we take a moment to evaluate our lives, we often realize how much of our current reality has been influenced by the people in (or not in) our lives. And, as we take inventory of our relationships, let’s remember it’s also about where we are at in our relationship with God. Does a relationship even exist? Do we value what He values? Do we live our lives in such a way to honor Him? We wanted to start this year off by inspiring all of us to take some time to ask ourselves what we would like to accomplish this year, where we want to be at this time next year, and who we need in our court to help us achieve our goals. Maybe there are relationships that need some distance created. Perhaps consider the types of friends that you want to nurture a relationship with this year who don’t yet have a seat at the table of your life, including making room for Jesus Christ to be leader and Lord of our lives.

P.S. Tell us your story at championlife@championscentre.com.

Don’t forget that our greatest power is our power to choose—especially when it comes to the people we build relationships with and allow to invest into our lives. Let’s make the most of this year and invest our time into healthy relationships!

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YOU TO US I’ve listened to the “It’s OK to not be OK” CD about 50 times. Pastor Kevin says, “A defeated mind can not produce a life of victory”. That message has stuck with me. I attend Celebrate Recovery and volunteer with the parking and greeting teams. The people here are amazing! Thank you once again! —Toby S. Want to give a huge thank you to the people of Celebrate Recovery. It has been a major blessing in my life and the relationships that I am building are the kind that you can count on. I just love serving in the Coffee Shop. It is the better part of my week when I am serving. Thank you Champions Centre for having the place that takes us all! — Margaret G. I keep saying that Champions Centre is the best place on earth to be. Here God’s been changing my life. Here God changed my relationship with my husband about 3 years ago, and after every message, my life has been different.

I thank God for Champions Centre, for Mesh, Oxygen, Team Church Conference... Now I am so excited, if God is for us who can be against us? — Olga A.

CHAMPIONS CENTRE TWEETS

Here are some of the recent online tweets we’ve seen about Champions Centre in 140 characters or less. Join the conversation at twitter.com.

It’s so easy to have good intentions about what you don’t yet have. Generosity always starts where you are with what you have.

— @kevingerald

I love baptisms.

Today one of my favorite families that serves together was baptized together.

My heart is full.

— @erinwilcynski

Reflecting on our #greaterclg yesterday...10 amazing people show up and make plow burning decisions! We are all headed for #greaterthings! — @aprilbriggs

“Trusting God is about having confidence in the outcome versus being delivered from the process.” @kevingerald @ChampionsCentre #Bellevue — @danmejia

Week in and week out the Student Leaders here @championscentre give nothing less than their best! Huge shout out to the spontaneous chauffeur team! — @j_yadon

Something crazy-exciting stirring in hearts @championscentre. Bout to flow out into the community—brace yourself! #NorthTacoma — @meeganbarron

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

DO YOU HAVE FEEDBACK OR A STORY TO SHARE? CLM WELCOMES YOUR COMMENTS. Love watching the ushers @championscentre welcome people into the auditorium and get them seated. They’re like cheery air traffic controllers. — @shechoosesjoy 4

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PLEASE WRITE US AT: championlife@championscentre.com MAIL: Champion Life Editorial 1819 E. 72nd St. Tacoma, WA 98404

team sp ot light

S D I K

BY STEF JAMES

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n most churches the children’s area is commonly known as “the daycare”, “Sunday school” or “nursery”. Church members often think it’s simply a place that parents go to drop off their children so they can attend their church service without being interrupted by the business of their child. It’s almost as if children are treated as a burden rather than a blessing. Well I’m here to tell you that couldn’t be further from the truth here in our house.

We love the younger generation here at Champions Centre because they are the life and the future of the church. We begin teaching children about God at as young as six weeks old.

I’m sure many will ask, “What do you do with a child as young as six weeks old?” It’s simple, we hold them, love them, play with them, listen to worship music while we rock them, and proclaim God’s word over their young lives. And it doesn’t stop there; this continues their entire childhood. This is not a daycare service—it is an entire ministry. From infant, toddler, preschooler, elementary, junior high, and high school student, we have age-relevant conferences, praise and worship, community time, projects and ministry lessons that are developed to accommodate children as they age and their faith matures.

Parents, there is no better reflection of you, than that of your child’s life. We encourage you to dedicate your children, mark them in their young life as belonging to God. Bring your children to church on a continuous basis. We know there will be days when they fight you to get dressed, do not want to eat their breakfast, throw a complete temper tantrum, and simply want to sleep in. Don’t give in, don’t stop; they are getting it, they are growing in Christ and they are sharing what they learn about the Gospel to their friends. Kids are bringing churched friends, and unchurched friends, to services every week. They are uniting the body of Christ before our very eyes. We do not take this lightly—we recognize it, receive it, and want more of it. Parents, we encourage you to join a children’s ministry team and get involved in this area of our children’s lives.

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TEAM SPOTLIGHT: CHAMPION KIDS

It’s no secret that serving in the children’s ministry isn’t always easy. Parents aren’t always happy, which causes the child to be even less happy, and children’s ears don’t always work. They cry, scream, fight, bite and have almost every bodily function accident on the face of the earth. But anyone who has ever spent a good amount of time in a children’s ministry will tell you it’s all worth it. There is nothing like watching a room of three hundred children with arms open wide, wanting, desiring, and accepting the Holy Spirit. It’s unlike anything most adults have ever seen.

This is what makes serving in a children’s ministry so great. Children have this raw honesty. There really is no pretending if they are enjoying worship or the ministry lesson. If they do not like it they will let you know by sticking their fingers in their ears or if you ask the wrong question, you just might get an answer your ego isn’t prepared for. However when they are fully engaged, and the worship and ministry lesson are spot on, the children are fully receptive. This allows God to move in a way that is so mighty it fills the hearts of the entire adult team.

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

-Proverbs 22:6

Every volunteer in our children’s ministry counts it as an honor and a privilege to serve in the house of God and impart into the younger generation. There is often a misconception that we are the ones always guiding them, teaching them, discipling them; but if we pause for just a moment and think, we’ll realize there is a lot they are teaching us about ourselves, relationships, and each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.

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Greater

Fall Challenge

This past fall, our church family came together to experience the Champion Life Group Fall Challenge with small groups meeting during the week focusing on the Greater teaching by Pastor Steven Futick, while also focusing on it during weekend services. We experienced a new level of Greater as a church and saw many lives changed throughout this series.

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weekends, small group DVD sessions & discussion

RECAP

90

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percentage of people who came to “Starting Point Session� then joined a Volunteer Team

199 197

Salvation/ Re-commitments

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Baptised

1st time guests

Small Groups: 300 2000 200 860

Small Groups Participants in small groups hours used to edit videos by our team during the Greater Series Volunteers served during the Greater Series

COMING SOON

WINTER ADVANCE: You can’t have a positive life with a negative mind.

Church-Wide Small Groups Focus on Mind Monsters. We’ll be teaching from Pastor Kevin’s Mind Monsters book on the weekends and in Champion Life Groups during the month of February.

What is Mind Monsters about?

Mind monsters are those negative thoughts we all battle, the creeping shadows in the corners of our minds that feed our insecurities, worries, and fears.

They will steal your life...if you let them. But there is good news! You can take control. During the Mind Monsters small group challenge, Pastor Kevin Gerald will show us how to recognize destructive thoughts, take them captive, and use biblical truths to overcome them.

“If you haven’t gotten baptised and you really feel God pulling on your heart to do something more than what you’re doing right now... Then you are called to more. It’s the best choice I’ve ever made in my life.” - Brandon (age 15)

2,500

giveaways each weekend, for a total of 10,000 pieces designed to help people remember the messages WINTER 2013

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There seems to be a trend among some brands of Christianity and among certain Christian paradigms that treat the church as a second-class citizen in God’s plan for the planet. I would like to challenge that thinking.

BY Ryan Cameron

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The common position taken among this thinking is that it’s all about Jesus and nothing else matters. While I would agree that it is all about Jesus, Jesus came to the planet to give His life to build His church and restore man’s relationship back to God (refer to Ephesians 5:25 on Paul’s comparison of a husband and wife with Jesus and

CHAMPION LIFE MAGAZINE

His church or bride). My Pastor, Kevin Gerald, has one of the freshest approaches to this mindset in what he calls “Dumb Dichotomies.” Dumb Dichotomies are when people get into either/or thinking instead of both/and thinking.

See, it’s actually all about Jesus “And” His church. Both are appropriate in this instance. To lift up one and diminish the other would be a disservice to both Jesus and His church. To say “I love Jesus but not His church” is a con-

NOTHING MATTERS MORE

tradiction since Jesus is the Head of the church. That would be like saying “I love Jesus but not Jesus.” Even with all of her imperfections and impurities, the church has been the vehicle in which God has used and is using to this day to carry the message of Jesus, since the day He rose from the grave. Even if you don’t fall into the category of Christianity I mentioned above, we all have to be careful not to slip into a casual mindset about God’s church.

You see nothing matters more to Jesus than placing value on God’s house. It is made evident

by the emphasis Jesus places on it in John 2:13-17. Jesus felt so passionate about cleaning up God’s house that He actually became physically aggressive. It is through this scripture that we get a clear image of the passion He displays for the love of His church.

Where does your passion lie? Are you passionate about your work?

Maybe your passion lies with your local professional or college football team. Sometimes we are passionate about our music, our art, our family, or various other avenues of life. The questions I am posing are: How passionate are you about God’s house? How much do you value the church? Whenever our passion for God’s house is out of balance, it’s time to re-evaluate our attitudes and concepts towards the church. If you are out of balance, there are ways to improve your attitudes and concepts.

Are your trips to church mundane and methodical, treating Sunday service as just another check off for the week? Is going to church comparable to doing homework with your kids, the laundry, grocery shopping, or many other boxes to check off your task list? If this happens to be you, then your attitude about church has become too casual. So you must clear out the casual! Jesus went to great lengths to clear out the temple courts where he saw the purpose of God’s house being replaced by other things. The church should not just be a place to go, instead church life is about getting realigned, recharged, and refueled toward loving God with all of our heart, mind, and soul.

I’ve had to, on many different occasions throughout my 20 plus years following Christ, refresh my heart and clear out my own casual thinking and attitudes toward His house.

Something about our humanity allows familiarity to set in and before we know it, church becomes like just another event we attend or place we visit. Every time I’ve ended up in this frame of mind I feel God drawing my heart to hit the refresh button. And every time I respond to that drawing I’m reminded of the purpose of His church and my necessity to keep it fresh in my heart. This is why I want to encourage you to be wary of the pitfalls of familiarity and clear out the casual thinking towards God’s house.

Something about our humanity allows familiarity to set in

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Some of you might be reading this and thinking: “That’s great, but do I have to be a part of a church. After all, I read my Bible every day, I pray, and I have the Holy Spirit to guide me.”

To that I say, too casual! Church life is not all about us, it is also about loving and encouraging others. As it says in Hebrews 10:25, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another.” You must always remember that you may very well be the encouragement that someone else needs to keep going—God works through people like you and me. We have so many stories in our church where people made a decision for Christ based on how the greeter at the door treated them or how the parking lot attendant went out of their way to make them feel welcomed—we never know how God can use us in His house, but we can position ourselves in the house and watch God at work through us!

To take your new non-casual attitude a step further, I encourage you to scourge your schedule. With this step you make a declaration that church is a nonnegotiable part of your life. Many of us would never consider missing work, not sending our kids to school, or not paying the mortgage, among many other things. This is the attitude that we need to have about church; it should be an exception instead of a habit. Your devotion to God’s house will have a compounding effect on your life, because what happens in the house of God, doesn’t happen anywhere else.

Lastly, I am encouraging you to champion God’s church. We are not meant to sit on this information and keep it to ourselves. Trust me. God has more than enough love for all of us to get more than we need. God is calling on us to bring this news to as many as we can. I would like you to consider the following story when you think about the power we have to champion God’s church. On January 10, 2011, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch scored a 67-yard touchdown to send the Seahawks to the playoffs. On this run the Seahawks fans (known as the 12th man) cheered so loudly, that an earthquake was registered in the area. Actual seismic activity was accomplished by 70 thousand people over a single play in an NFL game. Now I would like you to imagine what would happen if we brought that enthusiasm to championing God’s church. Would it be the greatest earthquake activity ever accomplished by people?

We become champions of God’s house through our words and our actions. I believe that most Christians have great intentions for many things: inviting friends and family to church, attending church themselves, getting involved on a team, and even good intentions about giving money to the church. If Christians, as a whole, could come together and become positive attributes to their churches imagine what we could do in God’s name on the planet. If our words and actions make us great spokesmen for God’s cause...if we show God our devotion and trust by obeying His word and giving our tithe and offerings to our local church… just imagine how we can make God famous by bridging the gap between our intentions and the actual outworking of our lives.

The church is God’s plan A, and there is no plan B.

Nothing matters more to Jesus than placing value on God’s house. It is where we continue to fall in love with God and experience His continued grace, restoration, and healing for our lives. It is because of this that I challenge you to go to another level of commitment toward God’s house.

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FROM THE BLOG

THE CHURCH AT LARGE...

BY JODI Cameron, CC BLOG The Church at large today is living in the greatest opportunity for widespread unity! It’s up to us as believers and church leaders to rise above pointless arguments that create division and move to higher levels of agreement. One way to move to greater levels of unity is to keep the main thing the main thing!

So often churches and their leaders can create unnecessary dichotomies from the bible which can lead to unnecessary disputes. Instead of always being known for what we are against as Christians, we want to be on a mission to be known for what we are for.

Last year, Pastor Kevin introduced a topic he called “Dumb Dichotomies.” The message continues to draw people’s interest into this year since he outlines a few hot topics that sometimes become massive issues between people in the church.

It seems that in our human limitation we try to put an either/ or where God wants us to put a both/and. When it comes to trying to elevate one truth by diminishing another very valid truth, we need to ask ourselves, “Why not both?”

HERE’S A BRIEF EXAMPLE OF SOME OF THE DICHOTOMIES: Should a church be spirit led or planned? Why not both?

• Allow the spirit to show you the plan.

• We don’t have to be spiritually dry to be mentally intelligent.

Should we honor God or honor people? Why not both?

• Honor God by honoring people, and honor people while honoring God. Should a church be attractional or missional? Why not both?

• Why can’t the Church be come and see AND go and tell?

Should we believe in the Sovereignty of God or Free Will of men?

Why not both?

• God’s will is that we would will that His will would be done in our lives.

• God is all-powerful and our greatest power is our power to choose.

LET’S MAKE GOD FAMOUS THIS YEAR AND BUILD GREATER UNITY IN HIS KINGDOM! * If you’d like to hear the full Dumb Dichotomies message check out kevingerald.tv. * Check out our blog where encouraging, challenging and informative pieces like this are posted continually.

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RELATIONSHIP

NOITULOVER

FROM THE VERY FIRST MOMENT OF CONCEPTION , the first magic

moments of human life, “relationship” was present. Not only were we conceived in and by relationship, but as we grew nestled inside our mother’s womb, we were ushered into intimate relationship with her well before she ever laid eyes on us. Following our birth, relationship was so vital for our survival. If left to fend for ourselves, we would have only lasted a matter of hours or days. Without relationship, we would simply not be here, and no scientific experiment needs to be done to prove this point. Human life begins with relationship and is sustained by relationship.

BY Dr. Robi Sonderegger

From the outset of our lives, we entered this world dependent on the nurture and support of caregivers to provide for our needs. While the journey to adulthood is a journey that in many ways teaches us to provide for our own needs without being totally dependent upon others, all throughout life, relationships play a vital role in our health and well-being.

In essence, we need each other. We belong together. Although we are often separated by situation and circumstance, we are nonetheless in need of that which defines us all as human beings—relationship!

However, many people will defiantly argue that the words “relationship” and “need” should not be mentioned in the same sentence. It is contended that as we grow and mature we become less attached and freer to just be ourselves without the input of others.

Should it be seen that we are indeed dependent, we are perceived negatively as some-

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RELATIONSHIP REVOLUTION

what insecure. Yet while there is value in developing independence, there is an even greater value in inter-dependence.

On our journey towards maturity and adulthood, perhaps our greatest growth comes not from being independently capable, but from being strong and wise enough to sustain quality relationships. To be in relationship with others means that we must give of ourselves—often without getting anything in return. It means we must risk getting hurt by those we love. It means sometimes, even giving up our own life for the sake of others.

Although quoted and recounted in countless songs and poems, it was ancient scripture that first stated that there is indeed no greater love, than he who lays his life down for his friends (John 15:13). Obviously a friend that sticks closer than a brother or sister can literally lay his or her life down if the situation demands it, but there are many other ways of laying one’s life down, including putting our own needs or desires aside for the sake of another.

There is no better example of the sacrificing of one’s time, effort, finances, or sleep to help another than the devotion a parent has towards their child. However, we live in an imperfect world and many children learn while they are still young that relationships are not always safe. Children are all too often required to grow up in tragic circumstances and less than desirable conditions that have the potential to harden their hearts and create resistance to love.

From the outset, for some it seems the world is out to prove that you’d be better off alone. Does this change the fact that we were created for relationship? No! All it does is make it harder for many people to believe it.

Experiences may shape us, but they do not change our intrinsic value or worth and they do not alter our purpose. Relationship is a large part of the purpose that God has for each of us. Ancient scripture tells us that God had a relationship with us even before we had conscious thought. He watched over us, much as our parents may have watched over us after we were born.

It is not too much of a stretch in faith to assume that if God had a relationship with us before we were born, He would like to continue that relationship with us throughout our life. If we have the faith to believe in a Creator God who watches over us like a parent, we have a strong foundation for healthy relationships.

God designed relationship to be generational. More than inheritance, we have been handed down precious family heritage—the value of which transcends the material. However, in our current throwaway society, if something is broken we are more likely to replace it or get an upgraded model rather than repairing or fixing the damage.

If we choose to go against popular trends, defy the odds, fight for and fix the important relationships in our life, we would do well to suit up for battle. In our current climate, there is a battle at hand and the enemy’s plan is to divide and conquer. The question is, if the enemy has a plan for our relationships, what’s our plan?

FROM THE OUTSET, FOR SOME IT SEEMS THE WORLD IS OUT TO PROVE THAT YOU’D BE BETTER OFF ALONE.

If we find our relationships in trouble, a compelling story recorded in the book of John may help us foster a battle plan and extend hope. One of Jesus’ closest friends Lazarus became deathly ill. A message was sent from Lazarus’ sisters to come quickly, but Jesus delayed, saying rather

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than death, this illness would end with God being glorified. When Jesus was eventually ready to return to Judea, his disciples protested—reminding him the last time that they were in that particular area, the religious people tried to have them killed. To return would be suicide. However, Jesus challenged them that He was going anyway as His friend had now passed away. He reassured his disciples that no harm would befall anyone who journeyed with Him. A young man by the name of Thomas decided WHEN NEXT FACING that if Jesus was going, he was RELATIONSHIP DIFFICULTIES, going too—even if it meant certain death! He said to HERE IS A BATTLE PLAN his fellow disciples, “let us TO CONSIDER: BE WILLING... go so that we may die with • to embark upon the journey of Him.” reconciliation, even if the relationship seems hopeless.

In one sense, this hope• to take proactive responsibility, not less situation is similar to blaming or waiting for the other to a relationship that may be make amends. in disrepair. The challenge • to channel raw emotions and keep presented to us in this preour motivation alive to want to repair dicament is one of willingdamage and mend what’s broken. ness. Even though a disen• to receive Godly instruction and wise franchised relationship may counsel and undertake, without excuse, seem like a hopeless cause, restoration work where required. are we willing to venture • to remove any stone of unforgiveness back into troubled territhat keeps our heart entrapped. tory? A relationship is only • to receive and be expectant doomed when one or both for Jesus to do the impossible in your parties are no longer willing. relationship... He is able!

Despite the seemingly hopeless situation and the looming threat Jesus faced, He was willing! Jesus travelled back to where His friends Martha and Mary were now grieving the loss of their brother. Both sisters exclaimed, “Jesus, if only you had been here, our brother would still be alive.” When we have experienced relational loss, tragedy, or strain we often find ourselves making the same kind of “if only” statements. “If only he cared about me more, then...” “If only she had been faithful, then...” Relationship breakdown typically arises when we believe the other person is both the problem and the solution.

Despite already claiming from the start how the story would end, Jesus became so deeply troubled in spirit, that he too was emotionally dis-

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traught. The measure in which Jesus was moved emotionally was noted by onlookers, who commented, “look how much Jesus loved his friend!”

So long as we too are still moved emotionally by the potential loss of relationship, there is still hope for us. It is when we no longer care about the relationship, feeling indifferent or numb towards another, that indeed that relationship is dead.

Lazarus was laid to rest in a cave that had a large stone placed at the entrance, which sealed the tomb. Jesus was brought to where Lazarus lay, and gave an instruction to remove the stone. Martha protested that doing so would reveal a foul stench as Lazarus had already been dead for days.

In the same way, we too often protest at Godly counsel and wise instruction relating to restoration, pointing out the relationship stinks and is beyond repair. So long as we are willing to follow wise counsel, there is still hope for our relationship. It is when we are no longer willing to do any work towards restoring relations that the relationship has truly come to an end.

In this story, Jesus is not telling the people to do the impossible. He saves the miracles for himself. Rather, He asks the people to do what is possible (albeit not easy), so that He can do the impossible and raise the dead to life. In our own circumstance, Jesus wants to restore life to any relationship that seems beyond hope. After all, that is why the Word became flesh and dwelt among us—to reconcile Himself to us and restore our relationship with God. He is the author and the finisher of relationships and He specializes in rescue, redemption, and rehabilitation. However, He will often ask us first to remove the stone of unforgiveness that lies across our heart, sealing our relationship’s fate. In a more modern day reiteration, He wants us to uproot the nails of hurt, pain and bitterness we have banged into the coffin of our broken relationships. When we are unwilling to forgive, the relationship is truly doomed. However, forgiveness is the birthplace of healing. If Jesus can raise the dead, He can restore our relationships too... if we are willing!

UPDATE

FO UN DE

in our It all started with people, leaders, and spokesmen king. world who began to be a voice for human sex traffic red As the founder of Champions Foundation, it trigge something in my heart. At that time, little did we know er that the Northwest area—Seattle mainly—was numb It king. three ranked in the United States for human traffic oman was also during that time that a former Congressw to was beginning to gain traction in helping every state who s set laws to protect the children, youth and other In were being thrown into this billion dollar industry. same the on January 2011, we hosted an awareness night h 18-inc night that the Seattle-Tacoma area also had an in e peopl snowstorm. But, it was still a success with 598 LD, SHEIL A GERA N attendance that night!

NS FO UN DATIO R OF CHAMPIO

begin groups addressing sexual Since then we have seen our Celebrate Recovery teens who tend to be the brokenness for both men and women, as well as for ting our teams and leaders has demographic targeted for human trafficking. Educa have been able to speak into created a strong support system, and many of them those who may have fallen into the trap of human trafficking otherwise.

We launched Coffee with a Purpose last year wanting to put the information in the hands of our community, to spread the word and to help many become aware. In one month alone, we had 397 women host coffee dates with friends, co-workers and family to create awareness in their world with a DVD and tools to share stats and the current reality. and international organizations Champions Foundation is continuing to find local cycle. This past December, a to partner with to help bring an end to this horrible we were able to help it come to long awaited project finally hit the big screen, and e producer of “Rape For Profit ”, pass! Champions Foundation became a co-executiv

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[to give text ‘champions’ to 80888]

($5 donated with each text)

a feature-leng th documentary that illuminates and explores the reality of sex trafficking. The film has been in production over the last two years and just recently wrapped post-production when the doors opened for the film to debut at Lincoln Square Cinemas in Bellevue, WA . “Rape For Profit” brings a new perspective to this modern day slavery, and we were s of people by contributing to help bring it to awareness to thousand

able to this project.

yfull impact the film has had on ever At this point, it’s hard to measure the who e thos that t den confi e we’r h it. But, one who had the opportunity to watc can turn the awareness into positive ity real raw this with came face to face tuhborhoods, communities, and even change in our schools, churches, neig esom ng sayi e eon som with ts just star ally nation and world! Sometimes it t wha is that from es com that le effect thing to someone else, and the ripp ! lives really changes

-Sheila Gerald

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s c i at

m e h at

m relational

BY KEVIN GERALD

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THE SUPER BOWL IS THE MOST WATCHED PROFESSIONAL SPORTS EVENT IN AMERICA. As the final seconds tick off the game clock, the camera goes from one happy player to another.

Without exception, the winning players acknowledge, in the midst of their celebration, that they were there because they were part of a winning team. Across the field, another group of players are experiencing the pain of defeat. Each year, every team has the opportunity to build a team of players and coaches who they think can produce a Super Bowl championship. Sometimes that

means adding new personnel, replacing current players or the entire coaching staff, or any other combination of changes. Making the right change at the right time can produce multiplied results.

This is a lot like life! The people we align ourselves with can determine whether we win or lose in life.

Relationships affect our lives and destiny. They never leave us as we started. They always affect our lives in one way or another. If you’re seri-

RELATIONAL MATHEMATICS

ous about living your best life, it’s absolutely essential that you protect yourself from the wrong people and surround yourself with the right people. In fact, Proverbs 12:26 says that: “a righteous man is cautious in friendship.” We see it illustrated even further in the book of Proverbs; we are warned to not make friends with a hot-tempered man (22:24), and reminded that as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another (27:17). The right people are essential to our growth and development in our normal, everyday life.

Let’s look at relationships using the lens of mathematics. Whether you passed calculus with flying colors or barely got past pre-algebra, let’s start by assuming when it comes to relationships, there are four kinds of people: people who add, people who subtract, people who divide, and people who multiply.

• SUBTRACTORS TAKE STRENGTH FROM YOU. • DIVIDERS SEPARATE YOU FROM THE RIGHT PEOPLE THAT GOD PUTS IN YOUR LIFE. • ADDERS RESOURCE YOU (YOU ARE BETTER THAN YOU WERE BEFORE THEY CAME INTO YOUR LIFE).

• MULTIPLIERS NETWORK YOU— GOD USES THEM TO OPEN DOORS OF NEW OPPORTUNITY IN YOUR LIFE!

SOMETIMES, YOU HAVE TO SUBTRACT TO ADD. In arithmetic, subtraction is the opposite of addition. It doesn’t sound possible to use subtraction to add; but in relationships, before the right people can be added into our lives the wrong people have to be removed from the equation. Oftentimes, the wrong people hinder the right people from coming into your life, and staying in your life. Some of us are in desperate need of better people in our lives. Do you ever wonder why you always end up with the same

kind of wacky, problem-filled people around you? Why do they like you so much; it seems they gravitate towards you! Why are you not seeing more of the right kind of people drawn to you or welcoming you into their world? If you find yourself surrounded by negative people, ask yourself what you may be doing to attract them—and keep in mind that negative people could be primarily responsible for keeping the positive people away. Most of the time, when a positive person is looking for new friendships, they look for other positive people. Once you decide to subtract all the negative people from

Proverbs 20:3:

A FOOL IS QUICK TO QUARREL. WATCH OUT FOR QUARRELERS. your life, you open yourself up to the possibility of adding the right people—the positive people—into your world.

In Genesis 13:7, quarrelling arose between Abraham’s servants and Lot’s servants. Abraham said this is not good. We are not going to let this strife continue. Lot was the one who should have spoken up, and not let the quarrelers come between him and his uncle. He ended up weakened and conquered, and later, he had to be rescued by Abraham. The bottom line here is this: save your strongest stand for quarrelling people, for people who cause strife between you and your family, or for people that cause strife between you and your friends. Watch out for the people that instigate and encourage strife between you and the people God put in your life.

Genesis 13:14-15: The Lord said to Abraham after Lot had parted from him, Lift up your eyes from

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RELATIONAL MATHEMATICS

where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. Sometimes, we have to separate from some people in our lives before we can move forward with God’s will for our lives. Part of experiencing God’s great plan for your life is to have the courage to forsake the relationships that hinder you and hold you back!

TWO HALVES DON’T MAKE A WHOLE. One half plus one half equals one whole (½ + ½ = 1) when in the world of mathematics. But in a relationship, don’t be mistaken: two half people do not equal one whole person. In a relationship, 1 + 1 = 1.

We all know the saying “I’m looking for my better half!” But, when two “half” people come together, all you have is two “half” people. Let’s define half people like this:

• THEY ARE LESS WILLING TO FACE TRUTH. • THEY ARE LESS THAN WILLING TO CHANGE. • THEY AVOID DISCUSSING ISSUES. • THEY RARELY ATTEMPT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE PROBLEM. • THEY MAKE EXCESSIVE EXCUSES. • THEY CARRY A LOT OF UNRESOLVED AND WEIGHTY BAGGAGE. So, in contrast, whole people are more willing to face truth, change, discuss issues, do something about the problem, make no excuses (or at least significantly fewer excuses!), and carry less baggage. Two immature people coming together don’t

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TWO MATURE PEOPLE WILL HAVE A MATURE RELATIONSHIP. TWO SECURE PEOPLE WILL HAVE A SECURE RELATIONSHIP. TWO HEALTHY PEOPLE WILL HAVE A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP. make for a mature relationship, right? Two insecure people coming together don’t make for a secure relationship, correct? Two unhealthy people coming together don’t make for a healthy relationship.

It makes sense if you break it down in those terms.

Half people are always looking for their other half; they are desperately seeking someone who can make them whole. But we have to come to the conclusion that your wholeness and my wholeness can never be found in someone else. Your wholeness isn’t for another human being to complete. Your wholeness, your strength, your confidence and your security can only come from God alone.

TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE. There’s a story about a woman in San Francisco who lost control of her car, drove through a guardrail and the car was hanging off a bridge…front down. The fire department and rescue teams arrived and quickly went into action. The entire time they were coming up with strategies and implementing the rescue, the woman was so afraid they were going to mess up that she was screaming for them to “get away! I can do this by myself!”

RELATIONAL MATHEMATICS

God never, ever intended for us to do life alone, in isolation.

Can you imagine where that woman would be if she had tried to save her own life, without the help of the rescuers?

We are all meant to do life with other people… with God’s people. We are formed for family. We are created for community. The Bible says we are put together, joined together, members together, and heirs together. If an organ is severed from its body, it cannot survive on its own. Neither can you or I. That doesn’t mean it’s always easy, or without challenges.

But, it does mean we should never buy into the idea that we are better off keeping our distance from people. God has people in mind that He has planned for us to do life with; a place in community where we all belong. Fight off the idea of “I’ll just do it myself” or “I get more done on my own.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

When we bring adders into the equation of our lives, they sow good things into the soil of our lives and we walk away from the relationship strengthened and encouraged.

SEEK OUT PEOPLE WHO WILL MULTIPLY YOUR RELATIONSHIPS. God sends great people into all of our lives—how we treat them determines whether they stay. Make sure that you don’t put all of your relational energy into one or two people. When this happens, the people involved end up with limited perspective and unhealthy attachments to each other. Any relationship that causes or requires the exclusion of other relationships is unhealthy. When we only hang out with one or two people excessively, we will fail to experience the value of others that God has put in our lives. Make it your goal to be friendly and courteous to everyone, but also make it your goal to choose who will and will not have influence in your life. Look for people who will add into your life, and who can multiply relationships in your life by opening up doors of connection with new people.

In a re lationship,

1 + 1 = 1.

Decide what you will bring to the equation of your relationships.

In your search for these types of people to add to your own equation, remember to become an adder and a multiplier yourself for the people you meet and do life with!

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CHAMPION FINDS

Dumb Dichotomies (CD, MP3) The Church at large today is living in the greatest opportunity for widespread unity, but it’s up to us as Christians to rise above pointless arguments that create division and move to higher levels of agreement.

Instead of pinning two truths against each other, let’s ask ourselves, “Why not both?”

In God We Trust (4 CDs, DVD, MP3) Confidence, faith and trust are synonyms for each other. Trust is living as if God is who He says He is and that He will do everything He has promised to do! Learn to trust God in every situation. Move from trusting God some of the time, to trusting him all of the time. Then you will experience the rewards of putting your trust in God!

Local 253.475.6454 ext. 361 Toll free 888.935.6914 Online kevingerald.tv

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CHAMPION FINDS

MESH Conference (CDs, DVD, MP3) You were never meant to go it alone. We are designed for relationships—and if we want to live successful Christian lives, purposeful relationships are essential. In these teachings, be inspired, get wisdom and see God’s plan intertwined in your relationships with your family, friends, co-workers and spouse.

Mind Monsters (Book, Small Group Series) Mind Monsters are those negative thoughts we all battle, the creeping shadows in the corners of our minds that feed our insecurities, worries, and fears.

But the good news is, you can take control. In Mind Monsters, Kevin Gerald shows you how to recognize destructive thoughts, take them captive, and use biblical truths to overcome them.

NEW FOR SMALL GR OU PS

RESOURCE YOURSELF AT KEVINGERALD.TV

Go online to find a wealth of resources, including free videos from Kevin Gerald and MP3s of messages.

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REAL LIFE

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e love doing everything together. We met at the University of Waterloo near Toronto, Ontario during our undergrad year where we were both part of the same program. We started dating in school and graduated together. After graduation, we both landed full-time jobs away from home in the same city (Bellevue, WA), working for the same company (Expedia), doing the same job (Program Manager), just on different teams.

the signs and it led us to Phantom Lake Elementary School, where we quickly found out that “Champions Centre” was actually a church!

We both really enjoyed the Pacific Northwest and bought our very first home in the Lake Hills neighborhood in Bellevue in 2007. One Sunday morning, we decided to take a drive around the area to familiarize ourselves with the neighborhood and noticed several large posters on the sidewalk with a photo of a man standing in a white jacket with his arms crossed. He was smiling and looked very approachable and smart. We thought he was a doctor, and guessed that the name of the organization on the photo “Champions Centre” was a medical facility of some kind that the man worked at. We followed

When the new Bellevue building opened, I joined the ushering team and Stephanie joined the children’s ministry. After several months, I decided to keep up our relationship theme of “doing everything together” and joined Stephanie in the children’s ministry, serving preschool aged children. We loved serving the children together, watching them grow up, and learning from others how to one day be parents ourselves.

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Welcoming us at the entrance way of the school was Pastor Frankie Toves. His beaming smile, positive energy, and genuinely caring nature made us feel right at home that first day and we’ve been attending Champions Centre Bellevue ever since.

After a couple of years, we wanted to take our careers at Expedia to the next level so we both applied to the UW’s Technology Manage-

A N G U S A N D S T E P H A N I E FA N

CHAMPIONS

“

WE LOVED SERVING THE CHILDREN TOGETHER...

AND LEARNING FROM OTHERS HOW TO ONE DAY BE PARENTS OURSELVES.

ment MBA program. We both were admitted and placed in the same class just on different teams. It was terrific being able to experience this next chapter of life together.

Liberty Offering at Champions Centre rolled around during the second quarter of our MBA journey. In the past, we participated in Liberty Offering to a very limited extent—mostly because we felt we were being very faithful in our existing tithes already, but this year we really felt so blessed to be in the same MBA program together that we made a joint decision to praise God and contribute to Liberty Offering above and beyond our standard tithes. The following year, we both received promotions at Expedia and moved into roles with more responsibility. We were then a couple months away from completing our MBA program when Liberty Offering came around again. We both had even more to be thankful for now, so we again decided to significantly increase our contribution from the prior year. After Liberty Offering, we both successfully graduated in 2011, and Stephanie also earned the

”

distinction of valedictorian. In 2012, I received my third promotion in two years and we again felt as if our lives were overflowing with blessings especially because we were expecting our first child to be born in August. Prior to our child’s birth, Liberty Offering came around, and we again decided to make a significant increase in our Liberty Offering contribution from the prior year, in thanks and in expectation for blessings with our upcoming child.

In August 2012, our beautiful baby girl, Karys Faith Fan, was born into our family and was thankfully a healthy and happy baby. We are looking forward to continuing to serve the kids in the children’s ministry, along with our new daughter, and can’t wait to see what God has in store for us when Liberty Offering rolls around again in 2013. But there are three things that we know for sure. First, that God remains true to His word, “Test me in this” says the Lord Almighty, “and see that I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it” (Malachi 3:10). Second, that God meant for us to live our lives tightly intertwined together.

And third, for us to be part of Champions Centre.

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K. WISE

HOW HE LOVES US God’s love for us is enormous, extravagant, endless. God doesn’t love us sometimes, He loves us all the time. God doesn’t love us conditionally, He loves us unconditionally. Psalm 36:5-6 says, “God’s love is meteoric, His loyalty astronomic, His purpose titanic, His verdicts oceanic. Yet in His largeness nothing gets lost; not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks.” While it is great to know this truth, I have found that knowing it in our heads doesn’t always translate to holding it in our hearts. Even though God’s great love is demonstrated on the cross, the truth is we often don’t feel or experience the love of God. This lack of feeling God’s love is more about us than it is about Him. He loves us!

We drastically underestimate God’s love for us. Three of the most common reasons why we underestimate how He feels about us are:

1. IT IS EASY TO FEEL “COMMON” TO GOD.

It’s very common for us to feel common to God. Since there are 7 billion people in the world how could I possibly be special to God? How could He possibly be “jealous” for me?

2. IT IS EASY TO FEEL “ALONE”.

It’s the exact opposite of the feeling above. Even though there are 7 billion people in this world, we feel like we are all alone. “It’s my problem, it’s my battle to fight, it’s my issue to sort out”. But God says, “I see where you’re at and I’m actively working on your behalf”. We are never out of His sight! Matthew 10:29-31 reminds us, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

3. IT IS EASY TO FEEL “UNLOVABLE” BECAUSE OF OUR FAILURES AND SINS.

We know God’s high standards. We know His holiness, which then causes us to feel as if we don’t measure up. So we reject His love from a place of feeling unlovable.

What I’m trying to tell you is that God is crazy about you! He has abandoned all hesitations, all apprehensions and is completely committed to love you with an everlasting love. He is not ashamed of us. He’s not willing to abandon us. Even when he doesn’t approve of what we’ve done, He still approves of us!

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God’s love is meteoric, his loyalty astronomic, His purpose titanic, His verdicts oceanic. Yet in His largeness nothing gets lost; Not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks.

Psalm 36:5-6

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