Jim Chandler

Friday thoughts...

I apologize for my absence from blogging for a few weeks (or maybe it's been a blessing to you to not have your inbox cluttered with my ramblings!).

By now, I hope you have either heard the news from someone or read my email earlier today about my family's upcoming move to New York. This was truly the hardest thing I've ever had to decide, and our leaving New Song and Mechanicsville is amazingly difficult.  My absence from the blog the past few weeks has been due in large part to our vacation and a pretty busy schedule when I returned, but also because blogging while I knew this decision was looming but not being able to write about it seemed awkward and inauthentic.

Now that the word is out, I hope we will be able to spend our remaining Sundays together focused as we have always been on worshiping Jesus. I'm very excited about the new series we launch on Sunday called "Don't Blink!"

I hope to see you all at one of the services on Sunday...don't be late, especially if you're a country music fan!

Blessings in HIM,

Jim  <><

Say What?!?

It's been a very busy week, so I haven't gotten to blog until now, but I wanted to take a minute to let you know how excited I am about this Sunday!

We're continuing in the series that we started last week called "Say What?!?" We're looking at some of the most riveting and controversial sayings of Jesus recorded in the Gospels. They're most likely written in red ink in your Bible, which means Jesus said them...and we're going to do our best to understand what they mean. This week we'll be looking at what Jesus said about how to handle temptation and lust.

A couple of weeks ago on the blog I told you that if you came on Sunday you would see something that you had never seen at New Song on a Sunday before, and I delivered on that promise (if you missed it, hopefully you can find someone with a picture, because chances are you won't see me wearing that again!). 

Well, if you're with us this week, you'll see something that I would bet you've never seen in any church anywhere on a Sunday...invite your friends (especially your Wall People), and be with us.

Blessings.... Jim .... <><

Friday thoughts...

* My dad was in town this week for a visit for the first time in about five years. When Mom was battling Alzheimer's Disease, it made it hard for him to travel, so he just wasn't able to get here much. He left to go home to NC this morning, but it was great to have him here for a couple of days. We went golfing yesterday...I used to play a lot, but now I only get on the links a couple of times a year, so my current golf game can be likened to how Lazarus was when they rolled away the stone as Jesus raised him from the dead ..."He stinketh" (John 11:39, KJV).... Those who know me well know that I really dislike losing at anything (even Candyland with the kids!), and Dad won the match rather handily, but it was a great day that I will treasure for a long time.  It should also be noted for the record that I won the final hole rather handily myself, so the tone has been set for our next match!

* I'm really excited about this Sunday at New Song!  We're going to see some scenes from the Student Ministry mission trip, wrap up the Identity Theft series by examining the fake ID, and....(drum roll).... you're going to see something at New Song that you have never seen before at one of Sunday morning services....and most likely will never see again... so, don't miss it!

Pray for those on The Wall...and invite someone to join you on Sunday!

Jim  <><

Way cool!

It's been a pretty awesome week!  Our Worship Leader, Robin, gave birth to a healthy baby boy yesterday! I got to see and hold little Landon last night, and he's pretty awesome! Lots of folks have been in prayer for Robin and Landon over the past few months, and we give God thanks and praise for this little boy.

This is the second baby born to folks in our Community Group in the past week, as William Dunn entered the world on Friday (I got to hold him, too!)... I told Lynda to not get any ideas about keeping the rally going...

Every time I hold a newborn and see again the miracle of life, I just can't imagine how people can do that and not believe there's a God.

Blessings.... Jim  <><

Mission Team Returns!

Our Student Ministry mission team returned home safely today! Nine students and 2 adults invested this week with Project Crossroads in the mountains of Virginia helping the poor and disadvantaged with much-needed home repairs.

I give God thanks for their safe return, and can't wait to hear their stories...Whitney has already told me several good ones! 

Whenever we go forth in mission, God not only blesses the people we minister to, but He blesses us as well!

Tiger's Tenacity...And Ours

If you know me, you know I'm a pretty big sports fan, and I love to watch the best of the best do their thing. I was fortunate to enroll at UNC the same year a certain guy named Michael Jordan showed up on campus, so I've seen some pretty good basketball played.  In golf, it's Tiger Woods who stands head and shoulders above the field.

I read this on a friend's blog this week, and thought I'd share it with you:

"Tiger won again this week. It's his 14th major tournament win. And he did it while still recovering from knee surgery...in pain...wincing on many tee shots. It took an extra 18 holes and then sudden death to win it, but once again Tiger toughed one out to win over a great competitor, Rocco Mediate.

Then word came down that Tiger has to have more surgery and he's out for the rest of the season. AND...he was playing with a stress fracture in his left leg that he didn't tell us about! And he still won the U.S. Open, the toughest golf tournament in existence.

So how does he do it? Well, obviously he has incredible golf skills. But more than that, Tiger has a different mental gear that he can shift into that nobody else seems to have. He just refuses to quit because he wants to win so badly. He literally finds a way to win.

What if the Church thought that way? What if we just refused to give up until every person we know has a chance to hear the gospel? What if we shifted into a mental "game gear" every Sunday where we just leave everything on the playing field? What if we just refused to lose?

Winning the U.S.Open is a really big accomplishment. But winning people to Jesus is bigger!"

'Nuff said!

Hope to see you in worship tomorrow!

Jim    <><

Sunday Night Reflections

It's been a great weekend, with some amazing God-moments!

• The Strategic Saturday was awesome!  My only disappointment was that we didn't have more people there to experience it, but I think everyone who was present was impacted by the day. Peggy and Jean did a great job of leading, inspiring and challenging us.  We did record Peggy's talk, so we'll be circulating copies of that to our leaders who were not able to be present. If you'd like a copy, just let me know. I'll also be praying and talking with various ministry leaders at New Song about how we can start to implement ideas from Saturday.
  
• The Holy Spirit was certainly present and active in our services today as we began the Identity Theft series. I got to meet several new people, including some whose names are on "The Wall". I didn't do it in the first service, but I really felt led in the second service to invite people to lift their hand during the prayer time if they  needed to be set free from shame and guilt in their past, and all around the room hands went up.  I know God was doing a great work today as people were claiming and appropriating the truth of 2 Corinthians 5:17 to their lives, and I'm excited about the remainder of the series!  Praise God!
  
• It's another milestone week for my family....my oldest, Whitney, just got her first real job.  She's going to be working at the new Chick-fil-A that opens this week in Mechanicsville. I've long admired Truett Cathy and the company he founded. Of course, they're closed on Sundays, choosing to value worship and family more than what would surely be substantial additional profits. And, it's refreshing to see a business that has as the opening line of it's mission statement, "To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all He has entrusted to us." I hope they'll do well at their new location in Mechanicsville...and be sure to be nice to Whitney when you see her there!

Whitney with her first job...Hannah "graduating" from elementary school this week...Daddy feeling old...but very blessed and thankful!

Blessings.... Jim   <><

Thursday Thoughts...

Wow...it seems like the (in)famous Richmond summer has arrived...it's hot out there!

I'm really excited about this weekend for at least two reasons:

• Our Strategic Saturday...I met Peggy Schaub from Blue Ridge Community Church in January, and when I heard her speak I immediately knew I wanted to bring her to New Song.  Peggy is a dynamic leader and Christ-follower, and I know we'll be blessed by having her share with us about how God has grown their church and ministries in Forest. If you haven't signed up for the Strategic Saturday, but want to attend, please email me to let me know you're coming. We'll start at 9 a.m. with a continental breakfast and end no later than 1 p.m.
  
• We're launching a new series this Sunday called Identity Theft. We hear a lot these days about protecting our credit record and Social Security numbers, but I believe that there is a form of identity theft that is far more common and dangerous...having our true spiritual identities hijacked. Each week in this series we'll look at a different culprit that threatens to steal our true God-given identity.  This week we'll focus on the damage that guilt and shame from our past can do to our identities in a message titled, "I Am What I've Done".  I know I say it all the time...but it's really, really true...this is a great weekend to invite your "wall people" to come! Make that call...send that email!

This has been a busy week, but one in which I have stopped frequently to give God lots of thanks for His blessings in my life.  I celebrated 22 years of marriage to Lynda on Sunday, and I could not ask for a better partner and friend. I'm truly blessed with a great family and great people to work alongside at New Song!

One of the things that God is continuing to teach me is that the busier I am, the more I need to carve out time to focus on Him...to praise Him, thank Him, and seek His guidance in all I do.  Martin Luther said it best: "I have so much to do today that I will have to spend twice as much time in prayer and meditation in order to get it all done."

Please be in prayer with me for a great and impactful weekend at New Song!

Jim <><

Friday thoughts...

It's an absolutely gorgeous day out there...I'm very tempted to move my office outside!

Here's some of what's on my mind today...

• Last Sunday was a great day!  Attendance was down some from the week before, but there was a lot of energy in the place.  From the Response Cards we received, 2 people accepted Christ as their Savior, 3 want to be baptized, and 6 are interested in hosting new Community Groups!
  
• I'm looking forward to this Sunday as well.  We're continuing in the "Well Connected" series, and this week I'm going to be talking about a spiritual practice that is prevalent in the Bible, but not talked about much today. If you're traveling for the Memorial Day weekend, be safe (and good luck with those prices at the gas pump!).  But if you're going to be in town, make sure you're at New Song for worship.  We'll begin the services with a special Memorial Day commemoration. As always, please invite your friends!
  
• This is one of those milestone weekends for me and my family. My daughter, Whitney, turns "Sweet 16". I can't believe she's 16, but she sure is sweet, and I give God thanks that He blessed me and our family with her.
  
• I was saddened to learn earlier this week about the death of Stephen Curtis Chapman's 5-year-old daughter in a tragic accident. Chapman is a well-known Christian music artist, and we have used a lot of his music at New Song.  He is also a strong advocate for the adoption of orphans from overseas. He had a big impact on my brother's decision to adopt his daughter, Elena, from Russia. You can read about it here.

I hope to see all of you on Sunday...give God thanks for this beautiful day, and remember to give thanks and offer prayers for our men and women in uniform and their families on this Memorial Day weekend.

Blessings,

Jim ....  <><

My Circle

It's going to be a great Sunday at New Song!  I'm excited about continuing in the "Well Connected"  series, and our focus this weekend will be on "My Circle" - building and maintaining real relationships with others so that my most important relationship, the one between me and God, is all it can be.

This is a great weekend for you to invite and bring your friends and "Wall people" as I'll be talking about the reason a lot of people fall away from God and the church in the first place. And, we'll have a little fun, too!

Trust me...you'll want to be in your seat as the service starts!

See ya' Sunday!