All I Want For Christmas Is a Good Book: 2009 Christmas Book List

Words, Words, Words – my life is one that is set on fire by the written word. Here are my “great read” book recommendations for Christmas:

• For Every Christian – New International Version Study Bible (NIV) – Every growing Christian needs a Bible that includes a commentary, study tools, history, and general information to help understand and apply the Bible.

• For A Larger Appetite for God – Forgotten God and Crazy Love, by Francis Chan – This author has a passion for a large God and seeks to catalyze your faith in pursuit of a wild Savior. These books coincide perfectly with my Passion Sermon Series beginning in January.

• For Those Interested in Islam – The Crescent and the Cross, by Nabeel Jabbour – This book gives an overview of Islam from the perspective of a Muslim background believer. This read will prepare you for Central’s course in Islam this spring.

• For Those in Difficult Relationships – Toxic Relationships & How to Change Them, by Dr. Clinton McLemore. This book exposes the brokenness in our own lives and how to first deal with our own shortcomings before we attempt to “fix” others.

• For Those Wrestling with the Goodness of God – If God is Good, by Randy Alcorn – Fantastic book on what God is doing in the midst of overwhelming pain and hurt.

• For Those Overwhelmed by the Busyness of Life – Simplify, by Paul Borthwick. This small book will help to uncomplicate your life so that you can be more usable for God and to make the most of our time on earth.

• For Men – Living Life in the Zone, by Joe Pettigrew – A 40-Day Devotional for men that will help you elevate your game in the areas of life that matter most.

• For Busy Moms – Good to the Last Drop, by Dee Dee Wike – Central has our own in-house author in Dee Dee who offers insight and encouragement to busy women who are struggling to find peace amidst the chaos of everyday life.

• For The Mission-Minded with a Global Heartbeat – Here are three new books that need to be devoured – The Hole in Our Gospel, by Richard Stearns, The Poor Will Be Glad, by Peter Greer and Phil Smith, and How to Inherit the Earth, by Scott Bessenecker – This triad of global exposure will quicken your heart to what God can do through you on a global scale.

• For Raw Passion – Don’t Waste Your Life, by John Piper – Celebrated author and speaker will biblically provoke and bother you in the best possible way to make a difference with your life.

• For Those Interested in Being Used Daily by God – Divine Appointments, by Bob and Matthew Jacks – This book will awaken you to the daily opportunities you have to share the love of Christ with everyone who crosses your path.

• For Everyone Interested in Making a Difference – The Blind Side, by Michael Lewis – This is the book that became the movie that chronicles the life of Michael Oher and the difference that one local Memphis family made in his life.

• For Everyone Living in the Burbs – Death By Suburb: How to Keep the Suburbs From Killing Your Soul, by David Goetz – Not a new book but a classic study on how we can be sold out to Christ in the midst of living in the suburbs.

Impact someone’s life this Christmas – give them the gift of books.

Pastor Ernie Frey

The Christ of CHRISTmas

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” – Luke 2:11

Bottom-Line: We have to be very intentional that we do not lose Christ in the cultural celebration of Christmas.  It is ironic to even have to make mention of this reality, but it is so true – Christ is often the missing figure of the holiday season bearing His name. For many, the days leading up to the 25th are the most hectic and busy time of the year – shopping for gifts, preparations around the house, activities at school and church, the secular bombardment of Santa, the Reindeers, and Frosty the Snowman – all seem to distract from the true meaning of Christmas.

 To focus our energies it is important to hear that Christmas is the celebration of God breaking forth in human history as the God-man incarnation. Jesus was 100% God so that He could be man’s perfect substitute on the cross and He was 100% man so that He could be man’s representative on the cross. Christ was birthed as man’s Savior so that we might have forgiveness of sins and salvation. Christmas is the grand celebration of true and lasting eternal life and hope in the midst of spiritual darkness. Christmas is the gift of our spiritual freedom. May we never forget what it is all about!

My heart’s desire for each of us is that we might maximize Christ this season. Here are some practical ways to get more of Christ into the holidays: 

#1 – Read daily the account of Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. If reading as a family or in a group, seek to hear the story through the eyes of child-like faith and discuss the significance of His entrance into the world.

#2 – Give gifts that require sacrifice and are a reflection of the heart. My hope would be that you would stay away as much as possible from the commercialization of Christmas and focus less on the material side of Christmas and more on the spiritual aspect. Think what you can do, say, write, or speak for someone rather than what you can buy.

#3 – Serve someone this Christmas other than yourself. Prove the truth that it is much better to give than to receive. There is nothing that fills the human heart with more joy and contentment than serving someone else without expecting anything in return.

As followers of Christ, we have a great reason to be filled with an unspeakable joy. Enjoy Christ to the fullest and share the wealth with as many people as possible.

May Christ fill you richly this Christmas Season!

Pastor Ernie Frey

Mazimizing Christmas: Being Rich Toward God

“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” – Luke 12:21

Thanksgiving is over and the Christmas Season is upon us! After today there are only 26 days until The Day!  For most of us these days are action packed, filled with the hustle and bustle of preparations and parties and the race to get it all done! So often the Reason for the Season gets squeezed out of the process and the life altering entrance of Christ gets marginalized and becomes an Ebenezer Scrooge’s Bah Humbug. In that scenario we lose and miss out on the fullness of life and the heart that Christ and Christmas provide.

What if this Christmas was different? What if this Christmas some intentional choices were made to enjoy Christ and the true Reason for celebration? What if we chose to be a blessing to as many people as possible?  What if we decide that we are going to be rich toward God and see Him alter our hearts as well as the hearts of others? I WANT THAT KIND OF CHRISTMAS!

Several Season Altering Thoughts:

• You and I have been blessed to be a blessing to others – not meant to hoard or spend on ourselves, but to give it away!

• Generosity is extremely contagious – once you start the process of blessing and giving to others and see the difference it makes in people’s lives, you will desire more involvement.

• Every Christian can bless another person in Jesus’ name regardless of age or economic condition – it boils down to having an attitude of gratitude.

I want to let you know of several things in the life of Central Church to help you maximize Christmas:

#1 – New Christmas sermon series about Jesus beginning next week entitled The Gift: Born So That We May Live. This series is designed to get to the heart of Christ’s entrance into the world. It is a great opportunity to continue with Central’s core value of inviting others to enjoy Christ with us.

#2 – ’Tis His Season Christmas Celebration – on the nights of December 10 and 11, we will be having a program of seasonal food, music, and drama as we celebrate Christ corporately. Tickets are available and I would encourage you to get a whole table for your friends with whom you are spiritually engaging.

#3 – Blessing Memphis Ministries and Individuals – Christmas provides a great opportunity to financially support and get involved with some of Central’s local ministries. Visit the missions table and explore local ministries and ways to connect in the city. Central Church also has certain individuals that your family can support.

We are convinced that there is no greater joy than giving our lives away for the benefit of others.  May we all enjoy this Christmas to the fullest by being a blessing to others!

Pastor Ernie H. Frey

Healthy Relationships: The Need of the Hour

Relationships are what life is all about! We have a relational God who created us in His image for relationship. Our vision at Central Church clearly states this relational emphasis:

“To be a loving family, passionately sharing the life changing truth of Jesus Christ.”

Though we are made for relationship, we are also relationally challenged – we need help in our relationships.  At Central Church, we want to help grow healthy relationships in three areas:

• Connection with God – the primary relationship.

• Connection with Others – the importance of fellow Christians.

• Connection with the World – our responsibility for those who don’t know Christ.

In light of the importance of relationship and our need for connection, I want to share with you some practical ways you can enhance your relationships:

#1 – Night of Forgiveness on Tuesday, November 17 – This night is targeted for married couples and will focus on the necessity of forgiveness in the marriage relationship. This is the last day to purchase tickets!

#2 – Thanksgiving Grocery Bag Distribution, Sunday, November 22 – Next week we will fill our stage with grocery bags of food that will be distributed later that day to needy families in the area.  This is a great way to connect with people who need the Lord, as well as connecting with others while you move out into neighborhoods. Pick up your grocery bag today, fill it this week, bring it back next week, and plan on going out at 2 p.m.

#3 – On-Going Connecting Point Classes and Small Groups – We have classes that meet on Sunday mornings, as well as small groups that meet throughout the week. The purpose of these venues is to connect you with others and to the Lord. If you are not in a group, take a step of faith and connect!

Life is all about connection – the more you are relationally connected, the more you will experience the fullness of life that Jesus talked about – “I have come that you might have life and have it to the full.”

Life is to be shared with others!

Pastor Ernie Frey

Grief and Grieving

(Adapted from an article by Tim Clinton/George Ohlschlager)

From intense mental anguish to acute sorrow and deep remorse, grief is a unique human suffering. It is described as an amputation of the heart, a never-ending pain that reaches to the marrow of one’s soul, a sorrow that leaves no part of the bereaved life untouched. While grieving is unavoidable, healing in and through grief is what a compassionate God intends. As Christians, we must learn how to grieve. The shortest and one of the most powerful verses in the Bible – “Jesus wept.” John 11:35 – reveals that Jesus grieved.

Too many of us, however, hang on to various myths that block the healing process that God intended. Let’s expose some of these myths:

Myth #1: Don’t grieve. An especially harmful belief is that God doesn’t want us to grieve or has saved us so we might avoid grievous suffering. We are led to believe that it’s morbid or even offensive to sorrow in loss or to talk about death. Although few people say it directly, many tend to think that we are to simply let go and move on quickly. This is contrary to our God-given need to express our emotions, and when we fail to do this, it causes further stress.

Myth #2: Grief harms our faith. Another lie is that grieving and working through the loss of a loved one damages our Christian testimony and diminishes our faith. Some falsely believe that they must always be strong or at least look strong. Quite the contrary, sharing with and giving our heartache to the Lord will build a deeper, sweeter, and more intimate relationship with Him. Our weakness becomes His strength (Philippians 4:13). Honest grieving that seeks and leans on God nearly always helps our faith grow as we depend on Him to heal our brokenness.

Myth #3: Always be positive. Another Christian myth is that we should only express joy and positive emotions.  However, who better than our Father in heaven knows the anguish of losing a loved one. Jesus, Himself, was prophetically revealed as ‘a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering’ (Isaiah 53:3).

Myth #4: God is absent. At times, some feel they experience God’s silence as it seems heaven’s door is slammed shut during a time of loss. Other individuals report a stronger sense of God’s presence following their loved one’s death. What can this mean? Why does God seem present at one time and absent in another?  This clearly reveals that the grieving process – a lamentation of the soul – is as unique and individual as the person experiencing it.

At Central, we offer several support resources available during a time of grief and loss. These include individual counseling, PATH, Growing Seasons, and Celebrate Recovery. We are ready to minister to you, a friend, or a loved one in a time of loss.

Bill Bellican, Director

Pastoral Counseling

The Big Squeeze: Standing Firm in the Midst of Life’s Storms

We all face trials, troubles, and tribulations! Difficult circumstances are here to stay. You are either in the middle of a storm, have just come through one, or are preparing for the next. Though most of us can agree that difficult circumstances are a constant part of life, it seems that most of us are unprepared to handle the storms when they come. We might all face trials but not everyone handles them in the same way. Some seem to triumph through the troubles while others sink in the face of tragedy.

If trials are a constant part of everyone’s life, then we as Christians must be able to thrive in the midst of what is going on around us. How to handle difficult circumstances is a question that each of us need to be prepared for.

Beginning next Sunday and continuing through the five Sundays in November, we will be in a new series called The Big Squeeze; what do you do when life has put you in a box?

The Big Squeeze will be dealing with the following topics:

• Life’s overwhelming trials, troubles, and tragedies

• Relational conflict

• Morally declining culture and guilt

• Discontentment and a lack of true thanksgiving

• Busyness and the need for priorities

These topics apply to all of us and most all the time. I encourage you to personally make plans to be here for every message, as well as to invite a friend! As Christians, regardless of the nature of the trial or the intensity of the squeeze, we cannot only survive the storm but thrive in the midst of the storm.

Be encouraged with words from the famous song, The Anchor Holds:  The anchor holds Though the ship is battered The anchor holds Though the sails are torn I have fallen on my knees As I faced the raging seas The anchor holds In spite of the storm.

The anchor holds because God is faithful and Christ intercedes on our behalf!

For His Glory,

Pastor Ernie Frey

SERVOLUTION Opportunities: You and Your Church Partnering Together

“I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields!  They are ripe for harvest.” – John 4:35

The Servolution Series has encouraged every Christian to be intentional in moving into people’s lives!   Jesus reminds us in the above verse that people are needy and ready for a spiritual harvest.  There is a great opportunity for each of us to get connected to others by serving their needs. 

Central Church wants to partner with you as you build relationships with people who either do not know Christ or are not currently plugged into a local church.  As a church, we want to be a resource that you can use to deepen the relationships you are intentionally building.

Here are some on-going and upcoming opportunities that are waiting for an invitation:

• Weekly 9:25 and 11:00 Sunday Services – Every Sunday at Central is a Bring-a-Friend Sunday.  Our experiential, Christ-centered services provide an opportunity for both the saved and the lost to witness the life-changing truth of Christ, as well as His supernatural community called the church.
•  “The Big Squeeze” – A New Sermon Series in November – In my lifetime, there has never been a time where more people are experiencing such a wide variety of life pressures and challenges.  Every person is thoroughly acquainted with a host of overwhelming circumstances.  This five Sunday series is a great opportunity to hear the hope of Christ regardless of the size of the trials!
• KidzCentral and Parenting Night – On Wednesday, November 4, we have two family-oriented events that are powerful opportunities for invitation.  The night begins with the KidzCentral family worship experience from 6:00-6:50, followed by a practical and biblical parenting seminar from 7-8:30 entitled “Leading your Child in God’s World.”
• “A Christmas Dinner Theater” – Thursday and Friday, December 10 and 11, we will be having a great night of food, connection, and theater as we focus on Jesus’ entrance into the world and His impact on our lives.  Tickets are limited so make sure that you order in advance.

This might surprise you but so many people are waiting for an invitation – all they need is for you to ask them. 

May we be bold and have a blast as we move into the lives of the people that Jesus loves!

For Christ’s Harvest,

Pastor Ernie Frey

PEOPLE: The Bottom Line of Christianity

“I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for the harvest.” – John 4:35

What is the litmus test of Christianity? Unfortunately, the sub-culture of Christianity makes answering that question difficult. We have answered that pivotal question many different ways:

• Regular Sunday morning attendance at a church that has good programs.

• Listening to worship music in our car.

• Avoiding negative cultural influences in our life.

Don’t get me wrong; these are all good things – but is this really why Christ came and died?  What was Jesus’ bottom-line and overarching MO (modus operandi)? Jesus was all about PEOPLE and their eternal salvation. He came to bring everlasting life – life that would begin immediately and then carry over into eternity. He desired to start a movement of transformed people who would then live for the transformation of others.

That’s it pure and simple.

Therefore, “SOME THINGS IN LIFE ARE TOO IMPORTANT NOT TO SHARE.”

The practical question that we must face as Jesus’ disciples is, “Why aren’t we doing better at leading people to the Lord?” Tom Lindberg, a local pastor at First Assembly of God in Memphis, challenged his congregation with the following answers:

Perhaps it’s because…

#1 – We have HEART PROBLEMS. We don’t share the passion which our Lord Jesus had for people.

#2 – We have EYE PROBLEMS. We don’t see the true lostness of people all around us.

#3 – We have HEAD PROBLEMS. We don’t think about the future destiny of a person without Christ.

#4 – We have EAR PROBLEMS. We don’t hear the Spirit calling us to opportunities.

#5 – We have KNEE PROBLEMS. We don’t pray enough. We forget some things will only happen by prayer.

#6 – We have MOUTH PROBLEMS. We don’t speak often enough about our magnificent Savior. Remember, some things in life are too important not to share.

Jesus’ call is clear – may we answer the call with the entirety of our life.  May we GO FOR IT – lives are hanging in the balance!

Pastor Ernie H. Frey

Tips For Leading Friends to Christ

Though all of us may be called upon to give a witness to someone in a short period of time, the most frequent situation we should find ourselves in is helping friends to come to Christ. Here are five steps an unbeliever must go through to become a believer:

1) He or she must come to trust a believer. Very few people are going to listen to you tell them how to have a relationship with the living God if they don’t trust you first. Building a friendship is the most important first step you can take. Are you friends no matter what or only friends if they choose to believe what you believe?

2) He or she must develop a curiosity about Christ. You might be good friends but until the unbeliever knows you are a follower of Christ there will be no curiosity to know what it is that motivates you.  When the unbeliever does know you are a Christian, help stir up their curiosity about Christ. This should lead to questions you will find answers to, but don’t expect that the unbeliever is now ready to embrace the gospel.

3) He or she must be willing to radically alter his or her life. The gospel calls for radical life transformation.  People aren’t normally ready for this unless the hope they have put in earth-bound dreams are shattered. Pray for an openness to make a total turn around in life as a preparation for the gospel.

4) He or she must earnestly seek to find if the gospel is the truth. No longer just curious but now earnest about whether Jesus is the answer to life, the unbeliever is really ready to come to a point of decision.  This is a time of great wrestling.

5) He or she must commit his or her life to Christ in faith. The unbeliever must ultimately choose to trust Christ with his or her life. This is where they become a disciple of Jesus and begin the greatest life journey possible for a human being.

For more information on this process read I Once Was Lost, by Everts and Schaupp.

Randall Johnson

Director of Adult Education, Central Church

Deep Change: The Promise of Christianity

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the new has come and the old is gone.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

The great promise that Christ makes is that we can become like Him! What other faith or religion promotes the fact that our attitudes and actions can be that of its founder! The term for our growth in Christ-likeness is called sanctification.  The sanctification process where change occurs in our hearts results in amazing spiritual metamorphosis over time. Several thoughts to consider about DEEP CHANGE:

• Does not happen automatically – requires us pursuing Christ and the things that promote growth like the Word of God, fellow Christians, and corporate worship.

• Does not happen evenly – certain circumstances in our lives initiate growth spurts.

• Does not happen individually – we cannot change ourselves but must cooperate with the Holy Spirit.

Have you ever wanted to make profound changes in your life? Any repetitive behavioral or attitudinal areas of your life that you would like to move away from? Praise God – Christ can help us move out of those areas and into a different spiritual dimension.

Several Habits to Keep the Deep Change Process Alive in Your Life:

• Regular reading of the Word of God – the Bible is alive – “living and active” and promotes life.

• Regular prayer – prayer is conversation with God, and we need a regular spiritual connection.

• Regular fellowship with other Christians who are growing – there is nothing more exciting than sharing with other believers who are making deep changes as well.

Several Ministries that will help with the Deep Change Process:

• For Women there are regular Bible Studies on a weekly basis both in the a.m. and p.m.

• For Marriages we have a fall marriage focus on Wednesday nights.

• For those struggling with a particular area of brokenness we have Celebrate Recovery on Thursday nights.

• For Men, Pastor Frey will be teaching a 5:45 Tuesday a.m. study entitled “Deep Change: Making a Difference in the Areas of a Man’s Life that Mean the Most” that studies the life of Nehemiah.

I gave my life to the ministry because I was amazed at what Christ had done in my own life and what He could do in the lives of others. There is nothing harder or more exciting than deep change.

Looking forward to the transformation,

Pastor Ernie H. Frey

Senior Pastor, Central Church (Collierville, TN)