www.centrallive.net

2001 E. MAIN STREET STREATOR, IL 61364

(815) 673-1581

EMERGENCY PHONE

(815) 257-1582

STAFF Dr. Rory Christensen,

Lead Minister

Tony Ross,

Creative Arts Minister

Jessica Pastirik,

Director of Involvement

Ministries

Chelsea Davis,

Children’s Minister

Rico Diaz,

Director of Student

Ministries

SUNDAY WORSHIP 1st Worship:

8:15 a.m.

2nd Worship & Bible classes:

9:30 a.m.

3rd Worship & Bible classes:

11:00 a.m.

June 20, 2017

Everyone has influence and the ability to create positive change. When you improve your leadership, you impact lives, churches, businesses, governments, schools and families.

Topics Include: Assessing an organization’s growth potential | Creating an innovative culture Streamlining process to boost execution | Reimagining performance management Identifying personal attributes critical for success | Thriving in the face of adversity

Visit the church website to register: www.centrallive.net You may also register in the church foyer on Sunday or during the week from 9:00-5:00p.m. at the church office. If you have any questions, please call Jessica Pastirik, Involvement Director at (815) 673-1581.

As a Summit 2017 Private View Site, our members and regular attenders can receive world-class leadership development at a special discount—up to $70 off regular rates! Early bird rate must be received by July 11.

"Everyone wins when a leader gets better."- Bill Hybels

Remember to check out the church calendar and keep an eye out for events taking place in the children’s ministry area this month! We will be hanging out with children at Northpoint in Streator on Friday, July 7th, heading to Brookfield Zoo on July 19th, and hosting a drive-in movie on July 26th! Come join in the fun and invite some families and children who need to hear God’s Word. Together we can continue to be a light in Streator and the surrounding areas! If you would like

more information on any event or are interested in helping out in Central Kids e-mail Chelsea Davis at children@centrallive.net or call me at 815-673-1581. Have a great summer!

Blood Drive Central Church of Christ

2001 E. Main Street

Saturday, July 29 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. All presenting donors will receive a Red Cross Visor, while supplies last! For an appointment call the church office at (815) 673-1581. Bring a photo ID or your blood donor card, or two forms of

ID. You can save up to 15 minutes when you donate blood by using RapidPass! Visit red-crossblood.org/RapidPass for more information.

Fellow Co-workers, Dr. Rory Christensen

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T here’s a noun that you’re going to hear a bit more of in the near future: the happy little noun “life hack.” By now, you probably know this one. Spelled out, it speaks to “a strategy or technique that we employ to help us manage our time and tasks in a more efficient way.” Google it, and you will find that the internet is replete with bits of advice that fit

under this description. Do a search, and you find anything from “choose ‘Paper’ when playing ‘Rock-Paper-Scissors’ (guys favor “Rock”; everyone hates “Scissors”), to putting batteries in the fridge before using them (doubles their life?) and putting a rubber band between the screwdriver and stripped-out screw head (evidently it creates the friction you need to turn the screw).

The fun thing about life hacks is that, when you discover them, they are like gems of great worth. You see them, and you get an immediate vision of how they can make your life better. It’s like they hold the promise of some secret knowledge that we are deficient without. And, now that we have that knowledge, we have the proverbial “hook up.” Make it a good enough life hack, and we almost can’t help wanting to share it with our family and friends. Good knowledge is like that. We want to live large and help them live the same.

It’s fun for me, then that what life hacks promise in part, we have promised in full from another source. Go to John 1:3 in a Bible, and you hear tell that we were created for the sort of life that only comes from discovering the ultimate life hack. John 10:10 teaches that this ultimate life hack, is ours for the taking. John 15:4-5 points you to the source of it, one that leads to an ultimate life hack life (e.g. a life packed with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gen-tleness, and self-control; cf. Gal 5:22-23). Colossians 3:4 tells us that this life hack is good for this life, and the next. And the book of Ecclesiastes does a great job of showing us that all other life hacks pale in comparison to it; miss it, and you miss out.

Fun story: when you do some digging, finding this ultimate life hack isn’t about discovering the next “What,” it’s in finding the better “Who.” It’s always a person: Jesus, the Son of God. He’s the one who connects us to eternal life (Jn 3:16; 14:6). And, He’s the one who established a Kingdom comprised of those who follow him, a Kingdom devoted to bringing that eternal life, heavenly life, to earth (cf. Matt 6:10; Matt 5-7). And for we who have discovered this life, we see it for what it is: near to us (Matt 4:17; 10:7), spiritual (Jn 18:36), and internal (Lk 17:21); a priority (Mk 1:14-25), something worth seeking (Matt 6:33) and entering into (Matt 13:44-46). It’s God’s path through this life (Matt 7:13-14), the ultimate life hack.

All that to say this: This summer, we’re going to move into a sermon series that looks in this direction. It’s a series we’re calling “Life Hacks,” a series that will take us through some of the themes in the book of Proverbs. It’s one that we’re using to connect us to the better “Who,” that leads us to eternal life. Take the next few days and get ready for it. Read through the book of Proverbs, and then come on July 2 for the kickoff. See you there!

Be bold. Stay faithful.

Rory

Chelsea Davis, Children’s Minister Central Kids

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Thank you so much to every person who helped make this year’s VBS a success! It was so much fun to see the building filled with so many happy children and families! I pray that lives were touched by God’s love and His Word. Thank you for sharing the Gospel through your words and deeds! What a bless-ing it is to be able to share God’s love with so many and to be His hands and feet. Thank you for loving on the children in our community and being kingdom workers. May His kingdom come and His will be done in our lives. It is truly a privilege to serve with so many wonderful Jesus followers! Thank you!

Please pray for our team On July 8-15 Central will be sending 10 members on a mission trip to encour-age and work with Haitian Christian Outreach (Central Missionaries). Would you please take a few moments and pray for them by name. Pray for their preparation and for God's strength, health and guidance during the trip. Central Missions Trip Members: Leanne Benner, Mike Benner, Madison Benner, Mollie Benner, David Lawless, Dan Bieck, Ellie Eccleston, Janelle Hackathorn, Jessica Pastirik, Heather Smith

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Creative Arts Tony Ross, Creative Arts Minister

Central Youth Rico Diaz, Director of Student Ministries

I am currently reading a book called Walk with Me by Hal Perkins. This book is a small book that breaks down what discipleship looks like and why it’s so important. It’s been a little over 6 months since being hired on as the Student Minister and the one thing that I am constantly asking myself is, “Are we making disciples?” I firmly believe that our main goal should be to develop our students into disciples who follow Jesus, who love God entirely and are becoming more Christlike every day.

I really enjoy having fun with all the students. Going on sweet trips to WinterJam, baseball games and amusement parks are always a good time. Big youth conferences like CIY or camp like Rock River are great, but if all of these things aren’t helping us produce disciples we’ve missed the target. This reminds me of a story from the 2004 Olympic games. A man named Matt Emmons was shooting for team USA. Going into his final shot, Matt had such a strong lead that to win all he had to do was hit anywhere on the target. He got set, looked thru his scope, locked in on the bull’s-eye of the target. Now after getting his breathing in order he squeezed the trigger and took his shot. Leading up to this moment, Matt had executed everything perfectly in the competition, but he couldn’t say the same thing for his final shot. He did everything right before he squeezed the trigger, except one thing. He was aiming at the wrong target! So instead of walking away with the Gold Medal, he left finishing in eighth place. I don’t ever want to fall into the same trap. We could be doing everything right. The target we should have our eyes fixed on is the target of Discipleship. We can do all the right things, but if we are focused on the wrong target we’ll fail at reaching the goal set before us. “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” -1 Corinthians 9:24

Passion Killers pt. 1

Rory Noland in his book, Thriving as an Artist in the Church, highlights several things he calls “passion killers”. In his book he says this, “Unfortunately, life is full of passion killers that threaten to suck the life right out of us”. If you feel you’re just going through the motions in any area of your life, look for one of the following passion killers as the culprit.

Being bogged down by the same routine. No matter how wonderful something may be, we eventually grow tired of doing it over and over. It can start to feel relentless.

Being bogged down by the pressures of life. Modern life is pressure packed, sometimes involving serious issues like ongoing health, financial, or relational problems.

Being bogged down by hairballs. For some, working within a highly bureaucratic framework can be debilitating. Some settings can smother people: Excessive paperwork, too many meetings, nitpicking processes, unreasonable demands, sterile objectives, and unproductive busywork could be classified to some as “hairballs”.

Being bogged down by perfectionism. Extreme perfectionism will eventually lead to a loss of passion and joy. Winston Churchill once told an artist, “Now don’t go out and imagine you are going to paint a masterpiece, because you won’t. Go out and paint for the fun and enjoyment of it.” Is what you’re doing fun? If not, is it because you’re striving for perfection instead of doing the best you can with what you have?

These are some real things to think about and struggle with. In his book, Mr. Noland also highlights how to sustain passion. To hear about that you’ll either have to read his book I mentioned above, or wait until the next Torch. Either way, it will be worth your time.

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NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION US POSTAGE

PAID PERMIT NO 296

STREATOR IL 61364

Statistics for May 28, 2017

1st Worship 89 2nd Worship 264 3rd Worship 117 Total 470 Bible Classes 171

Statistics for June 4, 2017

1st Worship 93 2nd Worship 202 3rd Worship 104 Total 399 Bible Classes 156

Offerings

Offerings needed to meet Budget-Y-T-D for 2017:

$316,080 Offerings given to-date:

$313,159

Financial Statement available at the Information Kiosk or the Church Office

Since April 2016 31 Givers

E Giving

Baptized

Clint Hanafin

Evan Davis

Michelle Hendrix

Blake Stites

Deborah Martin

Brian Martin

Statistics for June 11, 2017

1st Worship 96 2nd Worship 247 3rd Worship 113 Total 456 Bible Classes 172

Statistics for May 21, 2017

1st Worship 77 2nd Worship 222 3rd Worship 122 Total 421 Bible Classes 155

2001 E MAIN ST STREATOR IL 61364

PHONE: (815) 673-1581

THE TORCH

Statistics for June 18, 2017

1st Worship 65 2nd Worship 249 3rd Worship 124 Total 438 Bible Classes 158

Give on the go With summer here, one opportunity we have at the church may become more relevant to you. For many of us, sum-mer includes trips that take us away. But we still want to give to sup-port ministry. That being the case, if you haven't already, you may want to take advantage of our online giving through MoGiv. It helps you stay con-nected to what God is doing here--even while you're not! Set up secure, regular giving at http://www.centrallive.net/giving/