Normalcy

About 3 months ago my life got very crowed. Jennifer learned she was having some pregnancy complications and was placed on bed rest, our church decided to partner with one of our church plants to open a coffee shop, I began an internship with the illustrious Mark Dever… add that to the fact that summer is the busiest time of year for our church and we found ourselves right in the middle the perfect storm of chaos.

This week it feels as if some glimpse of Normalcy has returned… the baby is healthy, the coffee shop is finished, the internship is going fine and church has settled a bit. So… I return, like an ashamed child to the blogosphere… all  my normal readers have written me off … I get it… but here I go again. Proving just how dirty Clint is.

I will beging with a pictorial introduction of two new births… Coffee With A Cause and Moses Owen Clifton.

Moses Owen Clifton

Born: 9.16.09 @ 9:57am weighing in at: 8lb 6oz and measuring 21″ long.

Moses is our fourth child and by far the most difficult to bring into the world. Tuesday evening as Jennifer and I were heading up to bed (around 11:30) she started experiencing complications from Placenta previa. We loaded our sleepy kids into the minivan and headed to the hospital. Jennifer went through a battery of tests over the course of the night then around 8am the doctor came in and said that we would just be waiting around for a while…. we went about our morning, getting the kids together then 20 minutes later. Doctors and nurses rushed in and said to scrub up because we were having the baby now! I got on the phone and called Pastor Bryan and he came to the rescue within 10 minutes. Jennifer was in the OR for more than 2 nerve racking hours. but eventually word was delivered that everything was well.

Jesus, you give life and take it away… thank you for giving it today. You are our source and the one who will provide for every need he will ever have. Thank you for this gift. Amen

CWAC Items

The Coffee shop is getting set to launch (November 1) Here are a few promo items we are using for the shop. These are in draft form so feel free to comment.

For The Theo-lokester

For the past 5 years or so I have been listening to Dennis McCallum’s teaching. He’s a brilliant expositor and an Arminian. Last week I listened his teaching on Romans 9 which I have been skipping over for several months now. Although I am convinced that McCallum’s conclusions are quite erroneous – I have to say that he has made the best attempt at an Arminian exposition of Romans 9 I have heard to date. I would encourage all of the Theo loving lokesters out there to give it an honest listen as it is likely the best argument for Arminianism you will ever hear from Roman’s 9.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

The Nines

Where I’ve Been

My wife and I are expecting our fourth child (Moses) in October. A month ago the pregnancy took an unexpected turn and things have been a bit volotle for the past several weeks. Both Jennifer and Moses are doing fine but after two stints in the hospital and a “bed rest” order from the doctor my schedule has been dramatically adjusted. Please keep our family in prayer until Moses safely arrives.

During this time I also started an internship at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in DC. As you know CHBC is stacked with great leadership. Twice a year these guys bring in 6 interns from various parts of the world and load them up with sound ecclesiology and then let them loose. Dr. Dever is allowing me to participate in the internship reading and discussion this semester and the leadership at Pillar has given me extra time to focus on my studies with CHBC. Over the semester I hope to post some of the things I am learning here for you to benefit from also. If you are interested in learning more about the CHBC internship you can check out the CHBC website HERE or see that Owen Strachan includes the internship atop his list of “exceptional pastoral ministry internships” HERE

Don’t You Love F. Chan?

My friend Becky from Lyons GA sent me this… Love it.

Seven Photos

1. This week was great at Pillar. Great crowd and got to share what the Lord is up to in Bali..
2. One of our friends there got us some updated photos of progress on the house.
3. My family bought a mini-van four months after ours died along the capital beltway.
4. The fund raising for our Coffee With A Cause project is going well, we are at 30%. Learn more HERE
5. My wife got a zany photo shoot idea…
6. I have been preparing for my internship with Dr. Mark Dever… it starts in less than a month!
7. Today my kids got to sit inside a NASCAR race car and crank it up! Good times.

CWAC Design Concept

My amazing wife is leading the design team for CWAC. Here are some animated mock ups of her design concept. Feel free to comment (if you think it’s awesome)

Will You Be One of the 100?

Tomorrow we launch the 100… “What is the 100?” you say, read about it HERE. As you may know, we are opening a coffee shop in Locust Grove VA. The shop will serve as a base for the ministry of Lakeside Community Church and will serve to raise funds and awareness for our work in Bali. Our tentative opening day for the coffee shop is October 3rd, 2009. We have done much of the work for the opening already but we are in need of about 25K to finish the project. So we are seeking 100 families that would be willing to give $250 to help us reach the goal. Tomorrow morning the project starts at www.thelakeside100.com all you have to do to be one of the 100 is to log on and make your donation. For those who choose to become one of the 100 you will receive a box containing the goodies pictured below. The 100 club starts July 1st and will last as long as the spots are available. Download a brochure about the project HERE.

T-shirt, Travel Mug, Stainless Coffee Cup, Bali Coffee Sample, CWaC Pen, Cupon for Free Coffee.