Unleash The Dream Within

"Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall have no beggining" This is a quote that I recently came across by John Cardinal Newman, and how true it is so many times in life we live by the rules of playing it safe, but sometimes playing it safe can be risky business. When God first laid it on my heart to plant Eagle Heights Memphis I thought that it was just me talking, that God wouldn't tell me to uproot from a great life, a great church, and a great job to go and start a church from scratch 400 miles from home. I thought that just didn't make very good sense. However, that was the problem, I was spending all of my energy making plans for God, instead of really seeking God and what it was that He really wanted me to do. The point is this, maybe there is something that you have always dreamed of doing, or maybe God is telling you to take a leap of faith into the unknown and the unfamiliar, keep this in mind. Twenty years from now you will be more dissapointed by the things you didn't do than by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, discover. (Mark Twain)

Growing

I have titled this blog growing in expectancy of what the Lord is doing here at Eagle Heights. Last night we had our second connection group meeting (It was a great meeting). We had several new folks and everyone that came again from last week. We are excited about what God is doing. He is writing our story, and we are watching it unfold.

I think that planting a church is kind of like reading a book. You know that the end has great things in store, but you have to take it one page at a time. We are looking forward to reading our story that God is writing, and we hope that you will join us and be a part of it as we watch God build His church for His Glory.

A Brave Soul

This past Sunday we had our first youth event, we had a blast and we gave away a phone. Cograts to Liz for winning the phone You are the texting queen. One of the things that we did was a belly buster competition in which they were climbing up onto a wall about 4 feet high and seeing who could do a true belly buster without breaking or folding. I have attched a pic of one of the youth that we caught in mid air.

As I was looking at the picture, once again God gave me a paralell as it relates to us His children and Himself. The kids were willing to jump off of a rather high place and expose themselves to a considerable amount of pain for the glory of being called the belly buster champ (Wow) and I don't think any of us remember who won the competition.

However, when it comes to God, often times He requires us to do just the same, something that may seem somewhat crazy and courageous both at the same time, though it may seem foolish to some it is wisdom to God. (God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise 1 Corinthians 1:27). Maybe God is calling you to jump off into something that is unknown, unfamiliar, maybe even a little painful, but just remember that God always rewards our obedience to Him.

And we're off

Well tonight we had our first connection group meeting in my home. It was great! I am looking forward to next weeks meeting.

We are pumped about our upcoming youth event the 312 text challenge. If you are reading this and are from the ages of 12-18 you have to come. We will be giving away a free I-Phone(or comparable to whatever your plan provides) to the winner. We will be texting, swimming, eating, and winning prizes. You don't want to miss it, this Sunday night at 6:00. Look for the details in the events section on the youth page of the web-site.

Today I was reading in Psalms 144:1 Bless the Lord who is my Rock.
I want to encourage you today to remember that the Lord is your shield and your strength. No amount of worrying or fretting about a situation can change the outcome. You must lean not into your own understanding and in all your ways acknowledge God, and He will direct your paths. I want to encourage you to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might and in the end God will see you through, for His promises are always true and He is always faithful.

May you be Blessed Today,
Jake

We are here

It is 12:09 a.m. on 7/4/08 and I am posting for the first time from Memphis. I find it interesting that I woke up to make this post on Independence day (The day that we celebrate our nations independence from tyranny and oppresion, and our rights as free people of a free nation), how blessed we are.

I am excited to see where the Lord is going to take us from here. For those of you who may have gotten a flyer or an invitation to come to our church, and are visiting the web-site for the first time. I felt it neccesary to explain a little about what we are doing, and how we are going about doing what it is we are doing.

Eagle Heights is a new church plant that is being started here in Memphis in which I (Jake Claunch) will be the lead pastor. I have been the youth pastor, associate pastor and just about any other ministry position you could think of at a church in Hammond Louisiana for the past seven years (Eagle Heights of Hammond).

In the fall of 2007 God called us to Memphis to plant a church, so with the support of our home church we have now officially moved here to start Eagle Heights Memphis.

In the begginning stages we will be meeting as a home church in my home on Wednesday nights at 7:00 p.m. We will be meeting as a small group, also called a connection group. Child care will be provided. We will also be holding our youth group services on Sunday nights at 6:00 p.m. at the home of Charles and Becky Claunch. Of Course, it is our prayer that these locations will only be temporary locations and we can move into a more central facility in the Cordova area. We will be having our first connection group meeting on Wednesday 7/16/08 at 7:00 p.m. at our home at 1360 River End Cv. Cordova, Tn. 38016. I look forward to seeing you there.

In regards to what denomination we are? Eagle Heights is an interdenominational church. The best way to describe that is to think of an interstate that connects states. That one interstate may connect many many different states, each state having its own personality, culture, ethniticity, history, landscape, and makeup. However, all are joined together by the one common thread of the interstate that runs through them. This is what we desire to be at EHCC, a church where people from all different walks of life feel welcome, accepted, and challenged to live a happier more fullfiling life through the common thread of Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour.

The Time Has Come

It is hard to believe how quickly the time has gone by since we originally announced that we would be leaving to plant EHCC Memphis back in January. Our journey at Eagle Heights in Hammond is coming to a close, and our new journey is getting ready to start. Only God knows the rest of our story, we have been obedient to His call, we have prepared and planned as best as we know how. Now the rest is up to God.

Words could never express how much we are going to miss all of you at EHCC Hammond. You are our best friends, and we will forever value your friendship. I will never forget my first Sunday at Eagle Heights, how welcomed and accepted I felt. I pray that you will always treasure that quality, as it is a special quality that not every church has.

I want to say to my 313 group how much you have meant to Ashley and I. You have been a special jewel in our lives and I know that the Lord has great things in store for each of you, keep God first in all that you do.

Thank you 312 youth movement for being an awesome youth group. Never settle for just being an average youth group. God has called you to greatness.

To our best friends Philip and Julia: What an amazing man and woman of God you have become. You are an amazing example of a witness for Christ. You inspire us. Be strong and of good courage, fight the fight of faith, and run the race with endurance

What can I say to my Pastor (Pastor Kevin) I could not have asked the Lord for a better spiritual father, mentor, and friend. You are a true man of God with the utmost integrity. Thank you for everything. You are a pastors pastor.

Pastor Lisa, never has there been a spiritual mother quite like you in our lives. Your humility, passion for God and His people, and your willingness to serve God will always go with us.

I have always said that the opportunity of a lifetime, must be taken in the lifetime of an opportunity. Thank you Eagle Heights for giving me the opportunity to be your brother, your friend, and your pastor. It was an opportunity well worth taking.

We love you,
Jake and Ashley

Fishing and the Lessons it teaches

I had the pleasure of taking the guys from my Community Group Bible study fishing in Venice Louisiana this past weekend. For those of you who don't know, I enjoy fishing, and there is no greater fishing in the world(if you ask me) than Venice. It is a very special place. When the Lord told me to move my family to Memphis to start the church he knew getting me away from Venice would be tough, as I will be 6-8 hrs from any body of saltwater. I guess I will just have to take up freshwater fishing. Pictured here is my friend Cole Martin standing on Breton Island (a barrier island off of the coast of Louisiana) holding his first ever Jack Cravelle, a prize fish to many anglers. The fish was about 40 inches long and weighed approximately 30 lbs, the fish was released and swam away in the pristine waters joyfully. Congrats Cole. I had about 9 of my closest friends with me on this trip and we had a great time.

As we were cutting up and laughing around the dinner table Friday night at the marina restaraunt after a day on the water the Lord reminded of the story in the Bible when Jesus speaking to some of His future disciples said "follow me and I will make you fishers of men". These men were rough neck, blue collar, ordinary guys (fisherman by occupation), and Jesus challenged them to leave what they knew and felt comfortable doing, to do what sometimes can be the uncomfortable, for us Christians (fishing for men). As I began to think about most of the guys at the table that night, I started thinking about thier stories, remembering when they came to know the Lord, and how far in life they had come. I started to think about the individuals that had invited them to church or shared the message of Christ with them, that would eventually lead to thier salvation in Christ. I thought about the difficulty of a fishing trip to Breton Island, this an Island that sits about 8 miles off of the coast, and can at times be not easy to get to, but if one can get there, the fishing grounds are tremendous, the fish seem to always be there. Sometimes as Christians we tend to want to sit back in our comfortable places and never leave the shoreline, it's not always easy, but Christ is calling us out into the deep, where the hurting world is crying out for a savior that is real. That savior is Jesus, and I challenge all of us including myself to launch out into the deep on a daily basis and be a fisher of men.