we're stoked to present a new podcast from ps. jurgen on leadership development. this raw and insightful podcast will talk about the practicalities of being a leader and how it shapes our world and our destiny.

Check out the podcast here

ps. jurgen delivers a hilarious and quite accurate replay of scenes from "braveheart" that inspire passion!

“neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. if they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. no, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Jesus and his friends are invited to a wedding, at the wedding a soft murmuring begins and people are whispering in secret tones as they run back and forth from the back room, it seems they have run out of wine. this is a grave oversight by the groom and certainly will leave an embarrassing stain on the wedding as people will remember it as the wedding where they ran out of wine. Jesus’ mother comes to him and says “they have run out of wine!” Jesus response “woman my time has not yet come!” i love that mary ignores Jesus completely and turns to the servants and says ‘whatever he tells you to do, do it!” we know the story. six wash-pots are filled with water and then some is taken to the master of the feast and it is transformed into the most amazing wine. the clock has begun to countdown, this is the first of Jesus’ miracles and He is now on!

"HOW GOD DID SOMETHING ONCE IS NOT HOW HE DOES
SOMETHING ALL THE TIME."

as a church we are in a season of change, in fact the only constant season is the season of change. the earth like life is in a constant state of change, from summer to fall, winter to spring things are always changing. our biggest challenge is our resistance to change and our pursuit of security in the predictable and the constant. God is the only constant in the universe. the bible says that He is the only thing in the universe that does not change, and yet He is constantly committed to change. to go from egypt and enter into the promised land it required the children of israel to change, slaves could not dominate and take authority, but alas so many millions died in the desert because they wanted to ‘put new wine into an old winsekin” how God did something once is not how He does something all the time. we must understand that to enter into all that God has for us individually and for our church, we must be willing to adapt, to change, to progress, to move on, to develop, to let go of the old wine skin and embrace the new wine skin.

"WE MUST BE WILLING TO TAKE RISKS, STEP OUT IN FAITH
AND TRUST THE DIRECTION OF CHRIST"

Jesus turns water into wine, not just ordinary wine, but the most exquisite extraordinary wine. the wine was previously water in washing pot but when it was presented to the master of the feast it changed. water speaks of worship, it is where our spirit washes in the river of life and our heart, mind and soul is renewed and refreshed. when we take our worship by presenting it and submitting to the master we will find that a miracle occurs in our lives and we have new wine living on the inside of us. we must be willing to take risks, step out in faith and trust the direction of Christ if we are to experience new wine. do you know how much trouble the people who took the water from the wash-pot to present to the master of the feast to drink would have been in if it remained water from a ceremonial wash-pot? yet because they were willing to step out and trust they experienced more than change, they experienced something supernatural and magnificent.

"WE MUST BE COMMITTED TO CONSTANTLY CHANGING

we cannot become who God has called us to become if we build monuments to the past, worship at the altar of ‘how it used to be’ and refuse to change and progress. while we are alive we will never arrive, therefore we must be committed to constantly changing. if we don’t we will be left behind. just ask ibm who were once the leaders in the world of computers but decided that the “main frame” was here to stay and that there would be no market for personal computers in peoples homes. they refused to embrace change and consequentially lost billions of dollars as well as their reputation in the world of computing. make change your constant. the holy spirit is an agent of change. let him change you, develop you and lead you into the new. put new wine into new wineskins and you will have much joy. our new buildings will require new modus operandi and that is good, because it is the price of success in the kingdom and it pleases your heavenly Father!

*photography by julie cannon

*the purpose of "the soapbox" is to give you a front row seat on the inner thoughts and processes of our pastors on god, life, and culture. enjoy.

GENEROSITY

god is generous. he asks us to be like him. this is what the scriptures refer to as ‘godliness’ which is simply “god likeness” abbreviated.

many christians live in confusion knowing that we are meant to live godly lives, but as soon as you mention that godliness means ‘god-likeness’ an uneasy nausea overtakes them. this is because in the garden of eden we see the serpent say to eve (with her husband standing close by) that she can be just like god knowing good and evil and because the words ‘just like god’ are used most christians believe this means any act to be ‘like god’ is therefore wicked or evil. this is not what is meant by the serpent nor is it lost in translation.

god created us in his image and in his likeness. therefore being ‘god like’ should be both pleasing to god and fulfilling of our potential. but in genesis the offer is perverted and distorted. the serpent is saying “you can be like god, a stand alone entity deciding for yourself what is good and what is evil.” today we see this same spirit permeating every area of our culture. we decide what is good and what is evil. we reject god’s laws and substitute them with our own.

you and i are called to be ‘like god’ in his love, his patience, his kindness, his forgiveness, his compassion, his mercy etc. he even sends his holy spirit to empower us so that we can be just like him in the earth. we can operate in the supernatural, and see him live through us via the gifts of the spirit and the fruit of the spirit. (see 1 corinthians 12-14 and galatians 5:22-23)

...one of the greatest pathways to living a beautiful, godly, god pleasing life is to practice generosity.

it is god’s desire for you and i to become more and more like him every day. perhaps the greatest way to do this is by choosing to become a generous person. when god gave his only son to redeem us, understand he did not give what he could afford. make no mistake about it. god did not think “hmmm what can i afford to give in exchange for mans salvation?” there was no bargain searching, discount seeking negotiations. he gave his only... the problem with us is we wont give our ‘only’... in fact we use “its my only one” as an excuse not to give it.

when god gave to save us, he was not thinking what can i afford, he was thinking what must i do to purchase, what price must i pay. he gave beyond what was comfortable. he gave beyond what was easy or convenient. he gave sacrificially because that is the ultimate nature of generosity.

i have found in twenty years of fulltime ministry a striking coincidence; the most godly people i know are incredibly generous. the most miserable people i know are the most stingy. could miserable simply be the joining of two words ‘miser’ and ‘able?’ it sure looks that way.

i have yet to see ungodly people practice selfless generosity as a lifestyle. in fact i personally believe that one of the greatest pathways to living a beautiful, godly, god pleasing life is to practice generosity. giving is god’s way. this is so because it is his nature. make it yours and enjoy the thrill of a life that pleases your creator. luke 6:38

WEED, VISION, AND A BOWL OF LENTIL STEW

i was recently reading an article on how some in congress in california want to pass a bill to legalize marijuana. they were touting the idea that if this bill were to pass we could potentially get our state out of the “red” by increased revenue through high taxation on the drug. sure it may be a few extra dollars today but what will california’s tomorrow look like if this bill was to pass?

in case you were wondering i am highly opposed to this lunatic idea, there definitely is a down side to being high. california would suffer from a massive decrease in productivity which would increase social welfare needs, increase cases of schizophrenia, intense anxiety and other mental illnesses, stoned drivers on our roads and social and relational problems of epic proportions.

way back in the book of genesis a very hungry guy named esau traded his birthright to his brother jacob for a bowl of lentil stew....we may sit and scoff at his stupidity and smirk into our sleeves at his carelessness yet how many of us are guilty of feeding our “right now” at the expense of our tomorrow?

typically we humans suffer from shortsightedness. we can fail to think through and consider the long term consequences of our actions because instant gratification feels so much better. in the 1980’s the song “tomorrow doesn’t matter tonight” became the anthem of that generation...unfortunately they learnt all too late that tomorrow does in-fact matter as they awakened to a tomorrow full of regret and remorse.

the bible says “without a vision the people cast off restraint” lack of vision for your future leads to reckless choices and reckless choices lead to pain and regret. vision beyond our today is so important, when we have within us the vision of a brighter day and a promise of god it is easier for us to make decisions that will propel us toward seeing that vision and promise come to pass.

a god vision for your future empowers you to make right decisions based on principle and conviction not on feeling. that charming guy who makes you feel so good but who you know is just not right for you is a lot easier to turn down if you have a vision of what your mr right looks like. think things through to their end...how will this decision affect my tomorrow? will it enhance my life or impair it? will it move me closer to my vision of further from it?

god has incredible plans for us that are dependant on what we do with our today. when the jacobs in your world come to you with a proposition waving a delicious bowl of lentil stew under your nose consider first what your tomorrow will look like.

our media team recently went down to the san diego bay to shoot some footage with pastor jurgen. the great thing about pastor jurgen is that anything and everything can happen, and when it does we want to capture it on film. while waiting to set up for the shoot, jurgen quickly grabbed his golf club and some golf balls and proceded to crush some shots into the san diego bay. we also caught jurgen practicing some of his pop-locking in between takes. enjoy!

our C3 dance crew put on a show for our 4th Birthday here at ccc san diego, but no one could predict what would happen midway through the dance. as the bass was thumping, our very own pastor jurgen popped out from behind the stage to join the team and break out some of the sickest dance moves! needless to say he brought down the house. it will be a 4th birthday to remember!
*this video courtesy of the always amazing Yvette Williams

...the answer is yes, WE HAVE THE BEST PASTORS IN THE UNIVERSE!!! check out the all new "meet pastor jurgen and leanne" video :)


Meet Ps. Jurgen and Leanne from CCC San Diego on Vimeo.

you know him, you love him, you've laughed your trash off at his musical prowess, now click below to enjoy jurgen's the passion of the pastor