Easter by the Numbers that Count: 2 New Families in Worship and 5 Bibles given away!

Jesus and the Holy Spirit never cease to amaze us. We met three new families while hunting Easter Eggs in the grass and 2 of those families followed us into worship. Our people taught us just how much they need beautiful feet to bring them the Good News; they did not know the hymns Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art. Yes, we did use a Youtube video of the Spanish version Sublime Gracia / Amazing Grace and Grande Dios Es / How Great Thou Art. It was telling to know that the group did not know these familier Christian hymns in Spanish or English. The people we are reaching out to have not been to church in a long time, some have never been. Parents who have not been to church in a long time have young children that have never been to church. It is a challenge for God’s misisonaries, but the Holy Spirit keeps working through us to share the story of Jesus dying with our families that they may be saved and have eternal life. The service ended with Pastor Darren speaking spanish with a lady who really needed the Gospel. She was conversing with Darren about Jesus’ path through death into new life. The lady repeated back that as Jesus simply passed through death into new eternal life in heaven, he proved that he can keep his promise to take us with him. There is direct, visible proof that over 500 people,                  1 Cor. 15:6, saw Jesus after he died.  He showed us through his death and ressurection that we will pass through death into life eternal with him. Jesus’ ressurection is the proof that we will live eternally in the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We hope and pray you find a way to invite your neighbors into a conversation about Jesus’ ressurection. Sherry and I thank you on behalf of all our families for making this life changing conversations about Jesus possible. God Bless you, Dios de Bendiga and Go with God, Via con Dios.

Christmas Worship and Party were Awesome!!

The place was packed with people to celebrate the birth of Chirst.

Our Christmas Worship and Fiesta were Awesome! There was no room in the apartment for everyone to worship. People were crammed in the apartment and many were outside and in the hallway listening to the service. It was our biggest worship yet. The service was conducted in English and Spanish. Families attending worship included Hispanic and African American families. Volunteers from St. Paul Plano ran the projector and led our members in song. Pastor Darren led a bilingual worship and Sherry led a terrific children’s message.

The fiesta was awesome! The ladies prepared tamales, traditional Christmas feast in Hispanic culture making sure everyone received food. Full Circle passed out traditional Lutheran Christmas bags to each child as they left. The week before Christmas Full Circle hand delivered Christmas presents and food bags to the families of Garden Ridge.
Full Circle is doing exactly what we were commanded to do. We are making disciples in everything we do Matt 28. It is evident in the fruit the Work of God is producing, John 15.
The people are becoming disciples who plan, set up, cook and give up there seat for new people to hear the work for the first time. Together we made a joyful noise to the Lord on his birthday. It is wonderful to serve our Lord, but it is even better to watch new disciples catch the fire of the Holy Sprit and bear sweet fruit. God Bless you for all of your effort to spread the word from Dallas, to DFW, to Texas, the US and the World, Acts 1:8.

Success! Our First Art Show Was Great!

Thanks so much to all of our volunteers who helped make the Full Circle Communities Art by Kids for Kids, Art Show event so awesome!  Here’s to the people who helped the children and the parents of Garden Ridge create beautiful art.  The moments when they are creating exciting pictures of what they want their lives to look like is a huge experience for people who live in the inner city.  In Discipleship Based Development, we ask the mothers to imagine a city and community they would like to call home.  Art is an outlet for the children and families to express their dreams.  They most have amazing dreams, because the art they create is phenomenal.

Thanks to all the people who came and made the event a success.  Full Circle was hoping for 30 to 40 people to attend our first show.  I think we were very close to that number.  The people enjoyed the art.  The venue was gorgeous.  Everyone had a great time.  Sherry and her team put together a great event to raise funds to bring the heavenly city down to earth a little early, Rev. 21:1-6.

The night before the fundraiser, 9 to 10 women and their families attended a Discipleship and event planning event.  It was a great meeting.  Three ladies enjoyed a devotion on the salvation time line, ending with the heavenly city.  We started with God’s perfect creation, the fall, or broken relationship with God, as one member stated it, the redemption paid for us by Jesus, the washing of our sins in baptism, and the heavenly city of God, Dios de Ciudad.  Darren asked them, what do we do between baptism and the city of God.  We have taught this time line before, so Maria said that we share the story.  She was exactly right.  We learn the story.  We are discipled.  Someone teaches us the story and then we share the story until Jesus call us to his city.  Friday night, we focused on what the city of Jesus will look like.  It will be perfect and beautiful.  It will be the greatest place we could ever live.  There will be no crying, good schools, plenty of food, a room in his father’s house, good jobs, good bosses, fair bosses, honest people, people will love each other, people will respect each other, there will be justice and there will be the visible presence of Jesus’s love everyday, Rev. 21:1-6.

The question is how to we bring the city of God to our city?  What would it take to have that wonderful city here in Dallas, in Vickery Meadows and in the Garden Ridge Apartments?  The ladies said that we would have to work together.  We would have to love each other.  We would have to care for each other and make sure no one was in want, just like the believers in Acts 2.  It is a wonderful thought.  I let them know that part of bringing this dream into reality is the Art Show, Expisicion de Arte.  Through this Art Show and other fundraisers like the Cup of Peace we raise money to transform our neighborhood into the city of God.  A city that we will all call home someday soon.  It is our jobs as Christians to spread the word, love each other, love those who do not know Jesus, care for all of Jesus family, even those who don’t come to our parents house every Sunday, treat them like family, love them like we want to be loved and work hard to make sure everyone has their daily bread.

The ladies loved the Discipleship lesson and seemed very eager to come to the Art Show.  It was disappointing that only one of the ladies and three children attended.  A different three children were helping me load the car to take supplies to the Art Show just hours before the event.  I was in one apartment and the whole family told me they were getting ready to leave in 20 minutes.  We are not sure what happened.  It was our first event away from the apartments.  It was only 300 yards.  The families shop and Home Depot, JCPennys and Wal-Mart, which are very close to the theatre. It may have been cultural.  Often in Hispanic culture the ladies rule the house and the men rule the outside activities.  It may have been a conflict with something else.  Some of the men may have gone fishing and left the ladies to look after the children at home.  We thought the ladies were very excited to sell tamales, taquitos and burritos to the none Hispanic families.  Several of the families were looking to buy from the Garden Ridge ladies.  It is very interesting that even when people don’t attend we get a lot of interaction with the  families.  We created a texting list with all of the family’s cell phone numbers.  The list worked great on Friday and we had a great group.  The list was ready to go on the day of the event and we texted them twice.  When no one was attending I stopped by some apartments to talk to the families.  Having events gives a great opportunity to talk to our families.  Even when no one attends, we still are creating strong relationships that is one giant step close to bringing heaven to earth and creating the city of God.

Sherry’s Father Taught Her Well

Today of all days, Sherry got a flat tire.  We were rushing around to get ready for a major Art Show fundraiser  tomorrow and Discipleship planning and Bible Study meeting tonight.  Sherry called me and said she was driving on the rim of the tire.  A very kind woman pulled up next to her car and told her, her tire was completely flat.  It is shocking how many times these things happen right as we are doing things of great importance for the mission of Jesus.  The reality is, that there is no mistaking it, El Diablo, doesn’t like to lose.

Sherry handled the problem like a champion.  She handled it like her father had taught her how to handle herself, if something like this happened.  She took a deep breath and started to way her options.  She called we worked her three options.  She had already thought of changing the tire herself and that was the first option.  The second was to call someone from the Garden Ridge mission.  As it happened, she was about a mile from the apartment.  Her third choice was to call our towing insurance.  Over the last few years we have had too much experience with being towed.  Tow insurance is great, but it does take two to three hours to get picked up and delivered home.  Sherry did not have two to three hours.  The mission had important a Bible Studies and an important event that needed our attention in the next few hours.

Sherry decided that she could change the tire.  She did not want to wait for the tow truck.  Over the phone, Sherry and I worked out how to change the tire.  Last year, there is no way Sherry could have done this with her Chiari Malformation.  The of bending over and straining to loosen the lug nuts would have been too much for her before the surgery.  She is not one hundred pecent better, but she was ready to get her hand dirty.  The tools, the jack and the spare tire were all in the trunk.  She found the lift point on the car and started to learn how to work the rinky dink emergency scissor jack.  Oh by the way, if you are wondering why I did not get in the car to save her, remember that our other car seized up after burning tons of oil for three years.  She was in a parking lot 4 or 5 miles from the house.  I was in no shape to ride my bike to save her.  My tough and gorgeous princess was able to get the donut out of the trunk, loosen the lug nuts, jacked the car up and changed the tire.  It felt like she did it in record time.  I am very proud of her.  At the last-minute, a few young men stopped by to ask her if she needed help, but she was already done.  She is the princess, with whom people love to get the picture taken and she can get down and serve with the best of any disciple I have ever met.  Mmmmmmmmmmm, ……. this just may be one of the reasons I pledge my life and my love to my Sherry.  She is a  missionary, a doulos or bond servant of Jesus, beautiful and She has a smile that lets you know just how much Jesus loves you.  She really is all that  and a bag of chips.  God bless you, my beautiful wife and lifelong partner in the mission of our loving savior.

Fiesta to Worship

Our strategic plan at Full Circle Communities is to gather people for fiestas or parties and through service and relationship building create a worshipping body.  Everyone is invited to the parties and everyone is invited to worship.  More people come to parties than worship, but no matter what everyone is invited.  No one is told they cannot party or attend service events, because they did not attend to worship.  Full Circle wants to create true lasting development with the community, families and each member of the community.  Everyone is invited to Discipleship Based Development meetings where everyone discusses how to create a better community working with our neighbors.  In the end, our hope is that the community looks like an Acts 2 community.  The community in Acts 2, made sure that everyone had what they needed and no one was with out.  Full Circle serves its neighbors, because our Father in Heaven, loved us and fulfilled our every need.  Full Cirlce loves our Father and wants to give his gifts to all poeple.  Garden Ridge is the first of many neighborhoods with whom Full Circle hopes to share the love of our heavenly Father, Matt 22:37-39.

Dia de Muertos – All Saints Day

My Grandfather, Opa, Mi Abuela Nolen Fredrick Biehler and the kids eating his favorite popcorn.

Over 40 people and over 10 Adults!

This All Saints Day was awesome!  We melded the traditions the Spanish brought over to Mexico with our American / Christmas traditions.  There are so many traditions that we have brought together into a worship service.  We have brought them togther to pray to our Lord and Savior for our for our loved ones who have made the most awesome trip we are all waiting to make.  They have passed over from this world to a city ruled with love, perfect justice and all your needs serve before you ever think you need to be served.  I made the effort to lead the customs of our Garden Ridge worship.  It is my second third time combining All Saints Day with Dia de Muertos and Halloween.  Luckily for me, there is a long tradition of combining these holidays.  Christians long ago came up with All Saints Day to convert the pagan practice of worshiping our ancestors in Europe.  All Saints Day has always been the beginning of the season of death, winter, and praying that life will come back again, spring.  Things die in the Fall, stay dead in the winter and come back to life in the spring.  It is this thinking that led us Germans to bring evergreen trees into our houses as a symbol of life.  When everything else was dead the evergreens still alive, reminding our ancestors that life would come back to the world in the spring.  Martin Luther is credited with turning this a ritual into the Christmas tree we put on our altars every Christmas season.

This All Saints Day, I chose to remember my Grandfather Nolen Fredrick Biehler.  I found a picture of him.  I thought of a great story about him.  I lived with Grandma and Grandpa Biehler when I started working towards the Seminary.  I love popcorn with lots of butter.  It turns out so did my Grandfather.  We both liked it with the more butter the better.  Grandpa had several strokes and was not doing so well.  I was trying to help Grandma take care of him.  Even though he was mostly out of it, every time I made popcorn he would perk up.  He would ask for a bowl of the popped corn, as he called it.  It felt really good to give him something he liked.  The moments he was coherent and excited about life were very rare.  So, this week, while I was preparing our All Saints Day prayer service, I had a chance to remember this great story about my Grandfather who really loved me.  This formerly pagan ritual, gave me the blessing of remembering this great story and how much I loved my Grandfather.  I put some cheese flavored popcorn on the altar and told the story of my Grandfather over and over.  I even used cheese popcorn to remind me of another great story about my Grandfather who always perk up when I cam around.  We prayed for many of our congregations departed loved ones and we got to learn about each other and our families who loved us.  What a great day!  Jesus bring us together and shares things with us that are unexpected in such unexpected ways.  Thank you Lord Jesus, for my family, for my friends and for all the wonderful people you have put in my life.  I pray that everyone I know and love will find their dwelling with you in total peace for all eternity.  P.S. thanks for the memories.

We need to work with Jesus to Restore People in these situations

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/headlines/20120825-dallas-isd-s-truett-elementary-fixed-up-after-years-of-neglect.ece

This was the first school Pastor Darren ever worked with as a Pastor.  Pastor Darren with LINC DFW worked very hard to help the school.  The principal asked the church to help him get the city to notice them.  It was an uphil battle.

It is very hard to believe a school that was this bad 8 years ago is still this bad. This is not right in the land of equal opportunity. The Church join Jesus and the Holy Spirit in these neighborhood to bring proper reconcilation to the people, His creation and our neighbors, Matt 22:37-39 and 1 Cor. 5:17-21. It is just sad that we can’t be everywhere. Hopefully we can be successful at restoring some, so that we can restore more in the future. God bless, you everyone. See our discipleship and restoration studies for ideas, https://fullcirclecommunities.wordpress.com/discipleship/discipleship-2/1-who-is-jesus/1-who-is-jesus/

https://fullcirclecommunities.wordpress.com/discipleship/discipleship-2/1-who-is-jesus/re-creator/

https://fullcirclecommunities.wordpress.com/discipleship/discipleship-2/1-who-is-jesus/3-the-annointed/

85 Children and 35 families recieved School Supplies!

The line was around the corner!  There were so many children and their families.  They were all so thankful for their gifts from St. Paul, Thrivent, my sister in Alaska, and all the people who donated money and supplies.  Full Circle thanks you as well, without all of the donations we cannot make these wonderful things happen.  Jesus and the Holy Spirit are also always working at these events.  Through the work of the Holy Spirit we met 5 new families once again.  Each family gave their information and excitedly listened to all of the opportunities to get involved with Full Circle Communities.  Most of the new families did not know all of the things going on in our apartment.  We find that funny, because a month ago we met 10 new families for the first time.  Through the strength and effort of the Holy Spirit and our Lord and Savior we have met 15 new families in two months.  Daily we give thanks to our Lord for what he is doing at Garden Ridge.  Full Circle knows that we cannot do any of this by our knowledge and strength.  All of these awesome things come from the strength of our Lord and through his love shinning through our hearts.  We love these people, because Jesus loves us.  We love them with all of their faults just as Jesus loves us.  Thank you Lord Jesus and thank you Holy Spirit, give us strength and courage to continue this ministry, because we know that everything good comes from you.

Bible Enthusiast

At our Discipleship Bible study on July 27 on of our friends asked for her own Bible.  When we first met her 5 months ago, she had never read a Bible before.  We were so excited to give her the Bible.  We absolutely jumped at the chance to give her the Bilingual Bible, so she good read the English.

This week she brought her new Bible back and it already had four bookmark.  She sat down and asked how she should read her Bible.  She had started in different places and wasn’t sure how to get going.  We were studying the book of John 10:1-18, and I recommend we go through the study and she start reading the book of John.  She was super interested in our study as she always is and learned a lot.  John we got to share one of our favorites verses in John 10:10.  We learn that “I am” means God, as he named himself in Exodus 3:14.  Jesus calls himself “I am” twice in our passage.  She learned something new about God and we taught her she will need to study and be discipled to understand the full meaning of the Bible.  We got to the most important part of our study, what does Jesus mean in verse 1o when he talks about the abundant life?  The Abundant Life is the translation of the word Zoe from the original New Testament Greek.  I share this definition –

Zoe is life as God has it, that which the Father has in Himself, and which He gave to the Incarnate Son to have in Himself. Eternal life is the present actual possession of the believer because of his relationship with Christ, and that it will one day extend its domain to the sphere of the body is assured by the resurrection of Christ.

Jesus wants to give us life as God has it.  He wants to give us a life as good as he and his father have.  This is so much more than abundant life.  it is so much more than a life filled with more stuff, great food and a great house.  This is life as God has it.  The is having eternal life now in the present.  It is having eternal life the moment we are baptized.  It took some explaining to understand this definition, but once she understood, she knew just how much Jesus loved her and her family.  Jesus wants to make us his brothers and sisters.  God wants to reclaim us as his children.  Pray for all of our disciples to have a thirst to continuing learning about their salvation through Jesus Christ.  Pray for that love flow to the other sheep Jesus is also concerned about verse 16.  There were 9 ladies there tonight with 2 or 3 who came and went.  Pray for this church of young disciples to keep growing.

Thank you for your support and prayers, God bless,

Pastor Darren and Sherry

Thrivent Donates $500 for School Supplies

Full Circle thanks Thrivent so much for their gift of $500 to buy school supplies for the children.  St. Paul and Thrivent have been so generous in their donations FCC will be able to help many children and Jill Stone Elementary.  The more school supplies FCC recieves the more people it can help. There are never enough supplies.  Thank you Thrivent and St. Paul for all of your gifts.

God Bless, Pastor Darren and Sherry