January 17, 2012
Dear Saddleback Leader,
Once a year, I plan a week of “Vision Nights” to meet with the core leadership of our church family. These inspiring nights let me report to you all the ways we intend to enrich your life and help you grow to your greatest God-given potential in the new year.
Our theme for 2012, Year #2 of Decade of Destiny, is . . .
Change your Life! Change the World!
In spite of the recession, I’m expecting, praying, and planning for this Decade of Destiny to be the most successful, fulfilling, and purposefulyears in all seven key areas of your life.
So, I’m eager to meet with you this week . . . either Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday night. I want to let you in on all the things we’ve been preparing for you for 2012. Our staff has worked tirelessly on these ideas during the last year, and now you get to hear it all!
Join me at one of our 2012 VISION NIGHTS this week.
Choose the night that’s best for you and your small group – Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday of this week. Make sure to bring your small group with you! The meetings start at 7:00 p.m. in the Worship Center on the Lake Forest campus. By the way, we will be baptizing each night.
Also 40 Days in the Word begins this weekend! The next six weeks are going to revolutionize your life. If you missed my Intro message last weekend (“How to Build Your Life on the Bible”) here’s the link to watch it, so you won’t be behind everyone else.
I am so excited to see you, both at Vision Night and this weekend, as we begin 40 Days in the Word.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012! Dear Saddleback Family, 1. A NEW YEAR ENCOURAGEMENT: “HOW TO GET THROUGH WHAT YOU’RE GOING THROUGH” I am so eager to share this hope-filled message with you this weekend. I’ve been praying and studying all week for a message to help you begin this New Year with a new boost of energy. I guarantee you’ll need and use what you learn this weekend. Text: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11 Topic: The six things God wants you to do when you feel overwhelmed Testimony: Nobel PEACE Prize nominee Chai Ling!!! This courageous Chinese woman led the Tiananmen Square Freedom Revolution against communism in Beijing, China. Author of the bestselling “A HEART FOR FREEDOM”, Chai Ling committed her life to Christ in 2010 after reading The Purpose Driven Life! Bring a friend to hear her! 2. A NEW YEAR RESOLUTION: 1710. It’s a number that has eternal significance. It’s a number that shows who really cares (and who doesn’t care) about their lost friends. It’s a number that caused a party in heaven, and will be celebrated forever! 1710 is the number of people who opened their lives to Christ and became saved forever at one of our Christmas services. Now let me ask you five hard questions: - Were any of your friends, neighbors, or coworkers included in that great number?
- If not, why not?
- Would your friend be one of the 1710 now assured of heaven if you had invited him or her to Christmas? It’s likely.
- Do you intend to let your neighbors live and die without Christ or hope?
- Who is on your prayer list and what is your plan to invite them in 2012?
We have the GREATEST message in the world. It is a message of Good News that everyone needs to hear. Jesus died for your friends. Now he waits for you to invite them to come to him. Let me suggest the most important New Year’s resolution you could possibly make. It will have eternal impact: “I resolve to bring a lost friend to church before January is over.” Will you make that resolution? If you are available, God will certainly use you to change someone’s eternal destiny. Make the invitation, for love’s sake. 3. NEW YEAR OPPORTUNITIES: Your staff works tirelessly to serve you with opportunities to deepen your growth, strengthen your fellowship with others, and help you fulfill the life mission and ministry God has called you to. Here are the January opportunities for you to bring a lost friend to Jesus: - If you know someone who doesn’t know Jesus yet and is going through a tough time, invite them this weekend, January 7-8, to hear Chai Ling’s story and my message “How to Get Through What You’re Going Through”.
- If you know someone who doesn’t know Jesus yet and is interested is health, fitness, or weight loss, invite them to our Daniel Plan Rally, Saturday morning, January 14, at the Lake Forest campus, from 9 a.m. to noon.
- If you know someone who doesn’t know Jesus yet, invite them to attend a kick-off service of 40 Days in the Word, January 14-15, when I will explain all the wonderful benefits God promises to us if we follow the Bible.
4. NEW YEAR VISION RALLIES: “Change Your Life! Change The World!” Our church theme for 2012, (Year #2 of Decade of Destiny) is “Change Your Life! Change The World!” You’ll hear all the exciting details by attending one of three evening Vision Rallies, Wednesday, January 18, Thursday, January 19, and Friday, January 20. I always look forward to these events when I get to share “inside information” with you that I can’t share on weekends. Where God is leading me to help you in 2012 will blow your mind. Choose one night to attend and bring your small group with you! A personal note: I loved all the Christmas cards you sent me, especially the ones with family photos so I could pray for you. They made me smile. I’m sure you understand that I get hundreds of letters every month and thousands of emails every day. While it is physically impossible for me to personally answer every note I receive, my team prays for each note. I love you.
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Dear Saddleback Family, Here are four things to know about Christmas at Saddleback: 1. My Christmas week message is “Lost & Found: God’s Rescue Mission at Christmas”. ON CHRISTMAS DAY (we’ll have one service at 11 a.m.) my message will be “What Time Is Christmas?” 2. You, or a friend or relative, can be baptized after any Christmas service! 3. In our first three Christmas services this week, 190 new people committed their lives to Jesus! 4. The GREATEST GIFT YOU CAN GIVE JESUS for his birthday is to bring someone to him! Who are you inviting? Don’t waste this opportunity! I’ve never been more amazed by you and how you have “loved your neighbor as yourself” the past three weeks: - On Global Neighbor Weekend over 4,000 of you instantly volunteered to be a part of PEACE 3.0 as we start 12 new Saddlebacks in 2012 in gateway cities around the world!
- On Good Neighbor Weekend 30,000 of you served your neighbors in thousands of creative ways!
- We opened The PEACE Center in temporary facilities on Tuesday, December 20 thanks to your giving of $600,000 at Thanksgiving! The PEACE Center is our Christmas Gift to Southern California. Read the OC Register article here.
- NOW, you are bringing friends to our 39 different Christmas services! You genuinely care about your friends who don’t yet know Jesus.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS CARDS! Kay and I especially enjoy the ones with pictures of you! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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Dear Saddleback Family, I want to hear from you! Watch this video to learn about what’s going on at Saddleback this week, as well as a special request I have for you.
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November 30, 2011 Dear Saddleback Family, Here are five items I want you to know about this week:  If you missed any of the five messages from last weekend, you can watch them online!
Click on the links below to watch each message: Why Historians Take the Gospel Seriously - Dr. John Dickson The Reliability of the New Testament - Dr. Sean McDowell Ten Reasons We Know the New Testament is True - Dr. Frank Turek The Truth in the First Three Chapters of Genesis - Dr. Paige Patterson A Biblical Philosophy of Truth - Dr. Doug Groothuis
You can learn the truth about HIV/AIDS, and how to help families struggling with AIDS, at three services on Thursday, December 1 as we observe World AIDS Day at Saddleback. Join us in the Refinery on the Lake Forest campus for: “AIDS: A Fearful Reality” 6:30 – 7:15 a.m. “From Fearful to Fearless” 12:15 – 1:00 p.m. “Fearless in the Father” 7:15 – 8:30 p.m. (with Crave) I’m speaking this weekend, AND Sunday afternoon will be our last membership Class 101 of the year! If you haven’t attended Class 101, know that we love you, we appreciate you, and we want you to join us this week! Register for Class 101 here. If you’d like to give any of my books as Christmas gifts to your family or friends, I’d be happy to sign them for you. Just drop off the books at our church office. The receptionist will give you a card to fill out and leave with your books. You can also purchase books and pick up additional cards from the church bookstore which is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. I’ll sign the books and you can pick them up next week from the church bookstore.  HELP US NOT REPEAT WHAT HAPPENED TWO YEARS AGO! Do you remember the crisis that hit all American churches during Christmas two years ago? Christmas fell on a Saturday, so millions missed their regular weekend worship services. That low attendance weekend meant low tithes, which created a big deficit for most churches. Gratefully, at Saddleback our deficit was made up in 48 hours because you mailed in your offering, gave online, or brought it to the church office. Your generosity made national news, and made me so proud of your maturity! Now, this year the problem is DOUBLED! 1. We’re cancelling our December 10 – 11 services so we can serve our neighbors! 2. Christmas Day is on Sunday this year, which means many of you will miss two services this month. So here’s my request: Please bring TWO WEEKS of your regular offering THIS WEEKEND to cover the two weekends you’ll miss! In the middle of a recession we’re trying to open our new PEACE CENTER which will help the poor, sick, and unemployed. Your gift matters more than ever right now! So give this weekend, or better yet, you can give online here. I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR YOU! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Dear Saddleback Family, Let me brag about YOU. I’m so thankful for… - … how you show love, grace, and mercy to everyone. It’s made our church famous as a place where people can get a second chance, a fresh start, and an opportunity to begin again.
- … how you welcome all races, cultures, age groups, and economic status. No bigots here! We’ve become an all-nation congregation that speaks 67 languages and looks the way heaven will look.
- … how you actually practice the Bible, and don’t just study it. You have an amazing desire to keep growing spiritually . . . and that keeps me growing as your pastor!
- … all the ways you serve each other in small groups, in our community, and even in other nations. When God says ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you really do it!
- … your bold faith and willingness to take risks as a church. Time after time I’ve challenged you to stretch and dream big, and each time you’ve risen to the challenge. No other church has accomplished, or even attempted, the daunting global goals that you have reached. It is fun being your pastor.
- …your outrageous generosity. You consistently give sacrificially in faith, even in this on-going recession, so we’re able to help more hurting people than ever.
- … your commitment to growing strong kids and families. Saddleback’s next generation is exceptionally strong because of our brilliant children’s and student’s ministries.
TWO THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT THIS WEEKEND - FIVE WORLD-CLASS BIBLE TEACHERS will teach on “How We Know We Can Trust the Bible” at our 3rd annual apologetics weekend. Click here to read the each speaker’s bio.
- Our THANKSGIVING OFFERING will be used to build our PEACE CENTER which will eventually house (when completed) our food bank, employment office, legal aid, immigration assistance, HIV testing, free medical clinic, clothing exchange, personal, family & financial counseling, and all the other compassion & Good Samaritan ministries that we offer, and will offer, free to everyone.
This is a very important offering that counts toward your Decade of Destiny commitment.
Kay & I are leading with our gift of $20,000. Give in faith and watch God keep his promise: “When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the Lord, and the Lord will pay you back.” (Prov. 19:17)
You can give online here, bring it by the church office, or give this weekend when you worship. I love you, and I’m SO thankful for the privilege of being your pastor. Happy Thanksgiving!
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Hello Saddleback! Are you ready for a great weekend at Saddleback? There are some exciting things taking place at Saddleback, so watch this video to hear more about what’s going on. - To read the New York Times articles on how small groups are making The Daniel Plan a great success, click here.
- To read the New York Times article on how The Daniel Plan utilizes teamwork and trust, click here.
- Don’t forget to give online giving a try – you can learn more at our online giving page.
Come see us at the 9:00 and 11:15 a.m. services if you want to have your copy of the Lord’s Prayer signed.
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Dear Saddleback Family, I’ve got a few updates for you as we move in to November and gear up for a great fall season here at Saddleback.
Watch this video to hear what’s going on at this week. To pick up the Just Walk Across the Room small group curriculum, visit the patio or Pavilion after the weekend services. To register for Uprising, click here.
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Dear Saddleback Family, We have had an incredible week here at Saddleback! From our third Daniel Plan rally to Bill Hybels’ great message, Just Walk Across the Room, we’ve been growing, getting healthier, and learning how to reach our community for Christ like never before. Watch this video to learn more about what’s going on at Saddleback this fall. - To watch the Daniel Plan rally, click here.
- To watch Bill Hybels’ Just Walk Across the Room message, click here.
Don’t forget to pray for Commissioned, our first church-planting seminar and Uprising, our greatest men’s conference ever. We’ll see you this weekend!
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Dear Saddleback Family, I want to tell you about a life-changing event taking place at Saddleback Church next week. On October 22, our church will host an historic Daniel Plan rally where we will be joined live, in person, by all three of our Daniel Plan doctors - Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Daniel Amen and Dr. Mark Hyman. The Daniel Plan has literally changed the lives of thousands of people. On Saturday, we will hear some of their success stories and also learn new tips and tools for starting, or continuing on in, the journey to become healthier. Watch this video to learn more about what’s in store for the Daniel Plan rally: This is a great event, not only for Saddleback Church, but for our community as well. So, here are two things I want you to do: - INVITE A FRIEND! The Daniel Plan is too important not to share it with someone you love. So bring a friend. And, if you come to the rally with a guest, you’ll be able to get preferred seating! We are holding seats for first-time visitors to Saddleback.
- DON’T COME ALONE! Grab your small group, spouse, kids, neighbors and workout buddy and bring them with you. Carpool to the rally and enjoy this great event together. Fitness is always more fun when we do it together.
Are you ready to eat healthier, think healthier, and live healthier? Then bring your friends and join me at the Daniel Plan rally! For more information about this event, visit www.danielplan.com.
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