Clint Bieri

So I have just started P90X the workout program again and man I am sore!  But at the end of the first round of P90X I started thinking about reading through the Bible in 90 days.  Then I went to The Xenos Summer Institute at Xenos Christian Fellowship in Columbus, Ohio and during one of the breakout sessions it was mentioned that there is a least one men’s group at Xenos that reads through the Bible every 90 days!  This insane bit of Bible reading is a prerequisite to being in the group!  I thought that is X-treme like the late 90′s and now I really want to see if I can do that!

I began to look for a reading plan (surely there had to be one online) and sure enough I found a customizable plan created by BibleGateway.com but put into a really cool format by YouVersion.com, which I can access through my iPhone or on my computer!  So 29 days ago I began a journey reading through the scriptures.  I have read through the Bible in college and at a pretty rapid pace but this has been outstanding.  At first I thought that the pace would really be crazy but because of the quickness of my reading I am remembering things that fit together like God’s various promises to individuals and who goes with what family, which has been so nice!  The other thing that I have done is I keep a small notebook with me as I read and I at the end of each chapter I write a one line summary of the action taking place in that chapter.  This has made my reading much more active and I believe has really helped with my reading retention!  If you are up to it B90X is a great way to get a bird’s eye view of the Bible and just listen to God’s Word in a fresh way.  It’s definitely a commitment of energy and time but so far after almost 30 days I know that the reward is going to be worth it!

If you are on YouVersion.com let me know by following clintbieri.   Also, if you would like to check out the reading plans you can visit YouVersion.com and get hooked up for free!

For those who know me really well, you know that I always have something cooking in my head.  Some of my crazy thoughts are worth trying and Boondocks Web Development might be a gold mine!  I enjoy tech and gadgets and using this site has been a cool way to “geek out” when I need a break from ministry.  My Dad and I, about 9 months ago, starting talking about creating a company whose goal would be to create websites for rural churches with big impact and small cost.  I am proud to present to you all, Boondocks Web Development!

www.boondocksdev.com

My goal in creating Boondocks is two-fold: 1) To serve small, rural churches on tight budgets and give then a billboard on the internet highway for the people of their community to drive by.  My prayer is that in some small way we can advance the kingdom of  God through developing websites.  2) As a part of my church planting residency, I have to start something from scratch and hand it off to another person.  This little company is going to help me start something and then I am training my Dad to take it over and have a viable business.  I know that this is going to be a lot of work but the projects that we have been a part of have been a lot of fun.  Here is a list of clients we have worked for in creating their website:

• Center Pointe Church
• Busy Babes Marathon
• Peoples Church Geneva
• Goal Keepers
• JohnMEger.com

If you are in need of a website built for yourself, your small company or especially your small church – please send a message to us at Boondocks by visiting our contact page or maybe even signing up for our “once-in-a-while” Enews letter!

P90X Day #90 - Graduate!

Over the last 90 days I have been on a mission to get stronger in my body. One of the things that God has been showing me is that this season of life is about preparation. This past 90 days I have been preparing my body for the rigors of ministry and truly I look and feel better that I have in years. The photos below shows the transformation. I have lost 22lbs and 2″. Right now I am enjoying a break and I believe I will start round 2 of P90X at the end of August so that I can eat at Thanksgiving time! Thanks to all of you have encouraged me along the way!

Continue Reading…

Clint and Christina @ Cedar Point

God is so very good to us! We can’t say it enough.  What we are seeing and experiencing during our church planting residency – only God can do.  Since our last church planting update we have seen God draw 3 more people into his Kingdom (giving us a total of 12 since the 1st of the year!) and we are getting ready to have another baptism service where could see 10 adults baptized.  We are truly blessed by God to be a part of what he is doing here in Centerburg and the world of church planting. Continue Reading…

Christina relaxes in her hammock

Dear prayer partners and friends,

I am sorry that I am late getting our update to you this month.  We have been on the move this past month with me getting back from France and getting back in the saddle at church.  Christina has kept herself busy by getting some things ready for a garage sale and as you can tell from the above photo is enjoying her hammock and the wonderful weather! So, I finally have some time to sit and write about what God has been doing with us since April – here we go! Continue Reading…

Clint on Roman Road

Prayer Partners and Friends,

Thank you for praying for me as I was in France.  Our group of 6 pastors had a wonderful time seeing what God is doing in this historic nation.  The experiences that we were able to enjoy were truly once in a lifetime.  There are so many things that God was teaching me that I could never do it justice in an email but here are a few thoughts from the trip.

1. For believers to share the gospel there must be a bridge built that will support the weight of truth. This sentence was used by a French Pastor that we met on our trip and has really hit home for me.  The French are into deep, lasting, meaningful, personal relationships with one another and when someone wants to start a friendship they have to work at it so that a bridge for the gospel can be built to sustain the weight of truth.

2. Understand how to speak the cultural language so that the gospel can be communicated. I had 3 years of Spanish in high school and have been in Costa Rica, The Dominican Republic, and Honduras – so I understand most of what is happening in Spanish.  On our trip this did not come in handy at all! We had to learn a few words in French and we had to learn about the 2000 year history of France for things to make sense.  This is the same way here in the states.  We have to learn the cultural language that people speak so as to rightly communicate people’s need for the Savior in their context.

3. Let go of the dreams that I have in order to grab on to the dreams that God has. For a while now I have been dreaming about what the church that I plant will look like.  How the service will be and the small groups and the music.  After being in France I have learned that it is good to dream about what could be but only if I am taking cues from Jesus and seeing his dreams for the church in the future. God really worked on my heart over and over in this area and I am hoping to put what I have learned into practice now that I am home. I am learning that prayer for the church planter is the life-blood of his ministry.  Being in touch with Jesus through prayer will yield obedience to his dreams and not my own.

France was a great place to learn, grow, think, and pray.  I am ready to be led by Jesus into this future of church planting. If you would like to to know more about what God is doing in France through the Christian and Missionary Alliance, I would love to get together by phone or over lunch.  Thank you for all of your prayers for Christina and me!

I would like to give you a few things to thank God for in prayer.

Prayer requests from my trip:

1. That the gospel would be heard and understood by the French people.
2. Perseverance for the pastors, church planters and missionaries in France as this field is very difficult!
3. That churches here in the US would partner with the churches in France to advance the gospel in both nations.

Prayer requests from Christina and myself:

1. Please continue to ask the Lord to sell our home in Vandalia.
2. Ask the Lord to give Christina and I contacts with people in Centerburg even though we are not living there yet.
3. Pray Luke 10:2 with us each day at 10:02 am that God would draw out workers from the harvest for the harvest in France and in Ohio.

Clint at the Palace of Versailles

We have been in France for 10 days now (we should be in Kosovo – but I believe God had other plans!) and we are enjoying the different things we have seen and done but we are also asking the question – so what does this have to do with church or understanding church planting?  I haven’t come to a conclusion yet but here is one thing that Jesus is showing me this morning.

While we have been in France we have learned so much about the French way of life (which is very, very different than in America).  These folks understand how to enjoy and live life.  The way they interact over meals is something to be envied and hearing about their deep, caring relationships inspires.

The history of the church here is dark and corrupt.  A system of religion that doesn’t bring life but bondage, suffering and spiritual death.  When we were looking for Post-Christian culture what we really found wasn’t Post-Christ it was Post-Church.  Which means that Christianity isn’t dead in this country – it really wasn’t here to begin with!  There is great potential for the gospel in France and we in the States should begin to pray for our brothers and sisters here in France – that they would be able to boldly share the gospel here, there, and everywhere.

So having said all of this… God is teaching me that when I bring a set of assumptions to a town, city or country.  When I assume I know what the church is supposed to look like in ALL contexts I fail the Lord.

God doesn’t have a cookie cutter and neither should I when it comes to church (gulp).

I think I am going to stop right here for now in the thoughts. I will have more to say later on.

here is a fun pic from yesterday at the Versailles Apple Store!

Apple Store Versailles

So we arrived safely and tired and excited and hungry this afternoon at 12:30pm (6:30 am your time) and headed out to have lunch (the best Ham and Cheese sandwich ever) and then we have been seeing the city for the rest of the day.  I am trying to pick one photo of the day (because we might have a little more time  to write tomorrow).  The history and culture of Notre Dame was absolutely unreal!  Here is a photo.

Notre Dame Cathedral

This thing took 250 years to build and all it is now is a memorial to what used to be.  God protect us from becoming a museum as a church body!

Baptizing them in the name of...

Dear prayer partners and friends,

Could it be that Spring is finally here? The weather has been very nice over the last week (81 degrees last week!) and the April showers will hopefully bring some very nice May flowers! The month of March flew by and we have been witnesses to God’s goodness in our own lives as well as the lives of the people of Center Pointe Church.

What is God up to?

Our home is still on the market and we haven’t had any bites or nibbles. Actually our bobber is in the same place it has been since November! We are confident that God will sell our home in exactly the right time but for now we drive! Continue Reading…

View Europe Church Plant Training in a larger map

The map above is the travel plan for a group of pastors from the C&MA Central District. We are going to France and Kosovo in Europe to learn about Post-Modernism’s grip on a culture. We will be talking at length with missionaries from both countries to learn from them over 14 days. God is very cool in letting me have this adventure.