chc on the hill

5 weeks, and still going...

2010-01-21T14:06:00.000-08:00

This coming Saturday will mark our 6th week of chc @ the schweitzer chapel. It's been a great experience so far. Last week we found ourselves competing with the Winter Carnival. There was a torch light parade and a fireworks show at 6pm, and I expected that would impact the turnout at the gathering pretty significantly. That really wasn't the case. About 35 of us had a great time together, singing, praying for our brothers and sisters in Haiti, and discussing the role servanthood can play in our lives.

On a personal note, I'm having a lot of fun partnering with Justin Landis to make the gatherings happen each week. I think we both are loving the simplicity of what happens at the chapel Satursday nights. I've been reminded what a great gift Justin has behind the guitar.

We have averaged around 25-70 in attendance. Suprisingly, we have seen a bunch of new faces each week. All in all I would say that this gathering has been a blessing to a bunch of people--whether they were up for just one week this season or plan to be back many more times. There seems to be an energy and excitement about it. Sounds like a God things to me.

Would love to hear from others--how do you feel this experiment is going...

And We're Off!

2009-12-23T06:06:00.000-08:00

We had our first gathering in the Schweitzer chapel last Saturday night. We had a couple technical issues, but overall it went very smoothly. Eric shared a truncated version of the message he shared the following Sunday morning. I played a handful of songs including some Christmas carols.

For me, being a part of a gathering like this is all about the potential for setting something into motion. I don't place a ton of weight on being "in church." I've had a lot of experiences over the years in church gatherings that yielded minimal long-term change, and many experiences outside of church gatherings that have started me down revolutionary paths. The point is simply that I think we need to be on the lookout for truth wherever it shows up.

Generally, people come to church gatherings expecting what they've experienced in church before. We want to experience God and we have ideas about what that means, but what if God is bigger than our expectations? What if we're so comfortable in our perspectives that we're not on our toes to discern where God is moving? For this reason, I feel that the best thing I can do, as a facilitator of church gatherings, is to help people to emerge from the expected, and be vigilant for God's moving hand.

On Saturday evening, my goal as a musician there is to play songs that encourage thought and evoke emotion. I played Where the Streets Have No Name by U2 because it speaks of Heaven in metaphors that are not the typical ones we hear in church. I played August 30th by Delirious because it's filled with a sense of appreciation for God's love.

Come join us, Saturday evenings at 5:30 in the Schweitzer chapel.

We're Starting December 19th!

2009-12-05T15:16:00.000-08:00

Well, we've finally got a serious starting date for the gatherings on Saturday night at the Schweitzer Chapel. We're starting at 5:30 pm and will go for a little less than an hour. We're working on setting up a shuttle from the village down to the chapel that will leave at 5:20.

Look for posters around the village and you can also subscribe to the feed from this blog for the latest news and updates on the Schweitzer Chapel gathering.

CHC is Going to be on Schweitzer Mountain This Year

2009-11-19T10:36:00.000-08:00

During the 2009-2010 ski season, Cedar Hills Church will be hosting weekly church gatherings in the Schweitzer mountain chapel on Saturday evenings at 5:30pm.

Cedar Hills Church has been a part of the Sandpoint community since 2001 and is made up of people from all different backgrounds and lifestyles who are doing their best to love people the way that Jesus Christ modeled love.

These weekly gatherings will consist of several elements including music and Bible teaching. The gathering is slated to last between 30 minutes and an hour. The Bible teaching will consist of the same basic content as the following Sunday morning at Cedar Hills' in town gatherings. The music will be mostly acoustic guitar-driven and will integrate both standards for worship music as well as original compositions.

The teaching team will be the same as at Cedar Hills' in-town gatherings. It will be shared by Eric Rust and Kevin Caudle, and with occasional guest speakers from inside and outside the Cedar Hills family.

The music team will consist of Justin Landis and a couple others, who are still considering their level of involvement. Those names will be forthcoming as soon as they are confirmed.

The first gathering will be in early December. If you're interested in more information please email heyjustinlandis@gmail.com and you'll be added to an informational email list for this gathering.