GuyMelton.com: What Were You Thinking?

Perfect Day Predicted for 1-10-10 at 1:10 pm.... Oasis Weekly Newsletter

For our Extended Oasis Family , once again Im sharing our weekly newsletter. This week is devoted to our Big Celebration and Worship service for this Sunday. This letter is in a differant format that was sent out via email. You might have a few words cut off some lines and not be able to get to the links.  Thanks for your prayers and your invited to attend Sunday if your in South Florida.

Dear Extended Oasis Family A perfect day is forecast for this Sunday! The weather reports have predicted all week no precipitation, and temps in the 60's. Now unless you're from the Islands where the temps are never cooler than 70 and you are used to perfect weather, this is Perfect Weather for 99.9% of the USA. It is perfect for a Service, and a Tailgate Party. I have just come from the site of our 1-10-2010 Service and Joel and the Tech Team is setting up, James Brown has just finished bringing hundreds of extra chairs with his team and things are really shaping up for the most "Amazing Day" in our 18 year History.  I hope you plan to be there, and bring your family and friends.   Now, I am known for my wordiness. I have spent two months telling you how important this day is and to mark it on your calendar. Honestly if you haven't decided by now to be there, I'm over trying to convince you. So, what's most important is to just lay out the last minute, most important facts and details you should know. So here are my Top Ten Things to know for this Sunday. Concise and to the Point:   1.   Location: Corner of Taft and 441, Hollywood. (Not our Downtown Campus)  Enter the Parking Lot from the South side - Taft Street entrance. Signs say Hollywood Community Church, Hollywood Christian Academy. 2.   Watch for the Parking Volunteers with Big Arrows that say "Oasis Church"  at the Entrance. Follow the Parking lot attendants' directions for where to park. This is huge! Wave and be nice to the men and women. They will have been there long before you arrive. (If possible car pool with someone, since parking will be limited). 3.   Watch for the KidsWorld Sign under the Canopy outside the Auditorium for KidsWorld Class locations. (Children's classes are provided as always, from Nursery-5th grade). 4.   Bring your food toward the Auditorium and to Gym at the left of the Auditorium. The food will be left there, and set up for the Tailgate Party following the service. (Bring your favorite dish representing your culture. Singles bring an Appetizer or Dessert) 5.   Arrive as Early as Possible since the Service begins at 1:10 PM promptly, and you don't want to miss the incredible Worship that our combined Worship Teams will be leading in. (It will take extra time to park and find your way, so come early!) 6.   Bring your regular Tithes and Offerings as you normally do. Bring some extra loose CASH, we will take a special offering for those out of work and hurting. Or give ONLINE NOW. 7.   Dress is casual as always. But you're welcome to come as you prefer. (If you want to bring an extra set of clothes to change into for the Tailgate luncheon, that is fine.) If you have a lawn/folding chair to bring, that would be great for outdoor eating and games. There will be some games and bounce houses for the kids and adults who want to get down and dirty during the Tailgate Party. That's Optional!  8.   Oasis Church is providing the drinks and paper goods for the Tailgate Party/Luncheon. 9.   Come Prepared to Worship and to have God knock your socks off with His Presence and Spirit this Sunday!  (Please, Pray, Pray, Pray for God to do great things Sunday.) 10.  I'm leaving this blank to show I can be shorter than you expected!   I can't wait to see you and give as many of you a hug as possible.  REMEMBER, IF YOU MISS THIS YOU WILL NOT GET ANOTHER SERVICE THIS WEEK AND IT WON'T BE ON THE PODCAST OR ON CD, OR DVD. YOU MISS IT, YOU WILL HAVE MISSED POSSIBLY THE GREATEST DAY IN THE HISTORY OF OASIS CHURCH.  JUST SAYING...............   I love you, and can't wait to see you!       Guy Melton Pastor Oasis Church http://www.guymelton.com http://www.visitoasis.org

The New Florida Gator Snuggie Unveiled just in time for the National Championship Game

Ok, I could not help myself. Ive already admitted I love Tebow, and have profound respect for him personally. But anyone who knows me knows I hate the Gators. In love of course.

But today, I was sent this picture. I hear this is a new Item being sold in Gainesville, and they are flying off the shelves in time for the National Championship Game on Thursday night!!!

Every Gator should be able to sit down with the Coach and His pupil and watch the two best teams in the Nation Play on Thurs night.   

Financial Peace University begins soon.....................

Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University will kick off in January. If you are interested in taking this 13 week course, you will need to attend  the Tuesday, January 5th  Orientation meeting. The info for this is found on our church website at http://www.visitoasis.org/article/financial-peace-university

Perfect day in "Paradise" Predicted for 1-10-10 @ 1:10 PM

Perfect day next Sunday!!! You better plan to be there.

God is going to do "Amazing Things"

  Today Mon, Jan 4 Tue, Jan 5 Wed, Jan 6 Thu, Jan 7 Fri, Jan 8 Sat, Jan 9 Sun, Jan 10 Mon, Jan 11 Tue, Jan 12

Day	Night
Partly Cloudy High 67°F Precip 0% Wind: From NW at 10 mph Max. Humidity: 55% UV Index: 5 Moderate Sunrise: 7:10 AM ET Avg. High: 76°F Record High: 85°F (1971)	Partly Cloudy Overnight Low 53°F Precip 0% Wind: From NW at 6 mph Max. Humidity: 68%       Sunset: 5:47 PM ET Avg. Low: 59°F Record Low: 32°F (1970)

1-10-10 @ 1:10 pm Video Announcement

 With some of you traveling over the holiday's you might have missed this BIG Announcement for 1-10-2010, at 1:10 PM. You need to watch this or you WILL be sorry . I promise.

Its only about 5 min and it is very important.

See you on January 10th, 2010, 1:10 PM

Watch it here!

Oasis Church Sermon Series Review of 2009

 
 

 This past week in our services Joel Collins did what he does so good. He put together clips of our different Sermon Series of 2009. We put so much into each message it is a shame you really put them in a file when they are done . So last year we tried reviewing the year. It worked great and decided to do it again this year. Joel did a great job. Its amazing how much we cover in a year. This year we spent time looking at about 5-6 of the books of the Bible. That is somewhat different. We spend more of our series doing Topical sermons but changed it up this year.

I hope you will check this video out!!!

Happy New Year, and may you have an awesome 2010.

Help I need Almost $1 Million Dollars by Midnight............ Rick Warren

THIS WAS A LETTER I SENT TO OUR STAFF A LITTLE WHILE EARLIER BUT WANTED TO SHARE IT WITH MY FACEBOOK FRIENDS AND EXTENDED FRIENDS OF OASIS CHURCH.

Hello Everyone.

An interesting letter from Rick Warren surfaced today  on the network news. I went to the website since its better to hear from the person and not the media version.

I copied it and it is posted below. Whether your Rick Warren, super Mega pastor or your the little guy in the neighborhood or your Oasis, its been a rough year for the church financially and especially for many of our people. Unfortunately while I'm always hopeful and optimistic by nature, I don't see many signs that 2010 financially is going to be any better, it could be worse.

 

However, I'm still optimistic in the future. I'm realistic it might be a lean year and more belt tightening personally for us all and our church. But $ isn't everything and it sure isn't in ministry.

Its only a tool. When we see it as our formula for success or failure, we might as  well be working on Wall street .

Gods power to change hearts and lives is not bound up in a "George Washington" greenback . 2010 may mean being more creative yes, but God is going to do "Amazing Things" of that I'm sure!

 

What I appreciate about Ricks letter is he not only shared the hardship facing Saddleback of a deficit of almost $ 1 million dollars, he shared how God had used them  as a church this year. While we aren't Saddleback, God has done amazing things this year and I think He has positioned us to do even greater things in 2010 and beyond. I have never been more optimistic in what God can do and is doing in Oasis. I cant wait to share some of this on January 10, 2010, at 1:10 pm.

 

Thanks for being a part of the team and I cherish your gifts and your effort. I love you all. Enjoy the next couple days of rest and time off. and let me to say a bit early, Happy New Year! I love you guys so much and its a privilege to serve with you at Oasis Church.

 

Guy 

P.S. You can link to his blog where the Letter is located if you like, or read it below.

http://www.saddleback.com/blogs/newsandviews/index.html?contentID=3411

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Dear Saddleback Family,

THIS IS AN URGENT LETTER unlike any I've written in 30 years. Please read all of it and get back to me in the next 48 hours.

I have thrilling news to share with you below but first some seriously bad news:

With 10% of our church family out of work due to the recession, our expenses in caring for our community in 2009 rose dramatically while our income stagnated. Still, with wise management, we've stayed close to our budget all year. Then... this last weekend the bottom dropped out.

On the last weekend of 2009, our total offerings were less than half of what we normally receive - leaving us $900,000 in the red for the year, unless you help make up the difference today and tomorrow.

Please read this end-of-the-year review and then take one of the 3 actions below.

2009: A BANNER YEAR OF MINISTRY IN SPITE OF THE RECESSION
There's so much to share - I can only hit the highlights (maybe 5%) of how your church has served our community this year:

YOUR GIFTS HELP THE POOR & THOSE HURT MOST BY THE RECESSION:

• Saddleback Food Pantry- Your gifts are feeding 400 hurting families in our community each month. Over 2,000 different families received food assistance in 2009, thanks to your generosity and the help of over 250 volunteers.
• Breakfast Together & Homeless Ministry- Thousands of Saddleback volunteers are serving in the 6 locations hardest hit by poverty here south OC.
• Financial Coaching- With 10% of our congregation out of work due to the recession, this ministry exploded with growth in 2009.
• Cars Ministry- Received over 150 donated vehicles. Some were sold to pay for parts to refurbish the rest of the cars which were given to members struggling without transportation. All our mechanics volunteer their time.

YOU ARE HELPING THOSE WITH PERSONAL & RELATIONAL PAIN

• Counseling- Your 230 certified Saddleback counselors provided over 20,000 free counseling sessions to our community this year! Training for new counselors start in January. The need is so great.
• Support Groups- 193 volunteers lead these specialized small groups that focus on acute needs. We support everything from Alzheimer's and AIDS to Young Adults with Aspergers.
• Recovery- During the recession, attendance at Celebrate Recovery has grown 35% after 27,000 participated in our 8 week Life's Healing Choices Campaign Experience. A new program for elementary kids, Celebrate Station, was launched. Over 12,000 other churches nationwide now use our Celebrate Recovery program.
• Prayer Garden- 6,720 people in crisis received warm, face-to-face attention and prayer through our Prayer Garden and Restoration Service. This does not include our counseling ministry.

YOU ARE HELPING CHANGE LIVES FOR CHRIST!

• Baptisms - 2803 people demonstrated their new life in Christ through baptism- the most in 30 years!
• Joining our Family - 4,026 attended Class 101 in 2009 - another 30 year record.
• Prison Ministry - CR Inside grew by 20 state representatives who are directing our work in jails, prisons & rehab facilities nationally. Every state will be covered by the end of 2010.

YOU ARE HELPING PEOPLE FIND GOD IN WORSHIP
There is so much going on with our worship ministries it would require 3 pages. Here are just a few activities you probably don't know about:

• A 5th Saddleback campus opened in Laguna Woods - Adding to our available services in San Clemente, Irvine, Corona, and Lake Forest. Our Lake Forest worship venues (Overdrive, Praise, Traditions, and others) continue to minister to tens of thousands of spiritually hungry people. 20 worship leaders have been mentored.
• Saddleback's School of Music & Arts - 472 students took weekly lessons with our ten instructors. Our children's choirs, involving hundreds of kids, did 20 outreach events in our community.
• Guitarists in God (GIG) Ministry - Over 50 guitarists volunteer to play at nursing homes, our motel ministry to the homeless, urban outreaches, and Bible studies on our campus and in homes. A new credentialing program will launch in 2010.
• Purpose Driven Radio - Began in 2009 on the Internet, offering 24 hour a day music, daily devotionals, children's programming, and more. You can hear it HERE.
• Our Ohana Band & Hula Team - (Island music) serve the community as Saddleback ambassadors.

YOU ARE HELPING PEOPLE GROW SPIRITUALLY

• Small Groups - The heart and soul of our church family grew to over 4,000 adult groups, meeting in almost every city in Southern California. We're testing 26 online groups. Talk It Over, our small group studies based on the weekend messages were downloaded 53,893 times for use by groups. Our groups speak over 20 languages.
• Our online Spiritual Growth Center - was used 44,716 times. All our Bible studies set records for growth.
• Married Life Pathway - 2,704 people took advantage of our programs for couples to strengthen their marriages in 2009.
• Our Children's, Jr. High, Senior High & College Ministries - We are shaping thousands of young lives and exploding with record growth. High school ministry doubled in the last year after we opened the Refinery.

YOU ARE MAKING A HUGE INTERNATIONAL IMPACT!

• PEACE Plan & Purpose Driven Leadership Training Worldwide - It would require a book to tell you all your church is doing to Promote reconciliation, Equip leaders, Assist the poor, Care for the sick, and Educate the next generation. No other local church on earth has the international reach that Saddleback does. Over 8,000 Saddleback members have served in 139 countries. PEACE Teams are already planned to serve in the remaining 58 nations of the world in 2010.

READING JUST THIS SHORT LIST
It's obvious that your giving through your church family is providing more "bang for the buck" than anything else you could support. It is no wonder that our ministry was named the top religious newsmaker of 2009 as reported by Associated Press.

YOU CAN HELP SAVE THE DAY 3 WAYS BEFORE JAN 1

 

Guy Melton

Pastor

Oasis Church

http://www.guymelton.com

http://www.visitoasis.org

25 Days of Christmas Traditions final day..................

My last Traditions were Days 14-15. I got sidetracked with the Floods of 09 in Downtown Hollywood, Christmas messages, and preparing for January 10, 2010. Then it was out of town for our Family Christmas in TN.  Sooooooooooooo  I didn't finish all my 25 days this year. I did get farther than all the other years when I had planned to do it and never got to it. Soooooooo , Ill share some today on Christmas morning for my last of the season. Several are some of my fav's. Next year I might get them all in during Christmas. I am even adding a few this year.  Sabrina our newest daughter in law and Corey are with us in TN for Christmas. She shared one of her family traditions growing up this morning. I thought it was cool and Ive never heard of it before. She said her mom would always lay out the Candy Canes from her bed to the Christmas tree where her presents were placed from Santa. She wanted to do it for all of us this morning, but couldn't find enough candy canes. LOL

Day 25-  Tonia's World Famous Christmas Morning Casserole. Maybe she will come on and give the recipe. She has made this egg, and more casserole every christmas morning since the kids were small. They wont come home now unless she promises to make it on Christmas morning. It was the best ever today. Glad Im taking my Crestor and Plavix though. Lots of Eggs, and cholesterol.    

Day 24- Old Navy Christmas Boxers from Tonia to all us boys. Last night for Christmas everyone got the long legged ones this time, since we are in the mtns for Christmas. I still got the boxers though. This latest chapter of Boxers with the entire fam is on FB Profile Pic today with my playing Don Carter Carpets guy laying down in front of the fam. If your not from South Florida you don't know Don Carter. He was the old guy who laid down and posed nude and they put it on all the billboards around South Florida advertising his carpets. He is about 80 now and still on the billboards.  

Day 23- On Christmas Morning we all open presents from Youngest to the oldest opening theirs. Over the years the family grew , then shrunk and now growing again, with daughter in laws, and grandkids, depending on the year and who is visiting. This morning we did it once again. One thing I have noted is I used to be one of the first to open my present each cycle around the room and now thank God for Granny, I am not the last one to open my gift. Next to last!! It gets a little long waiting on each one to open their present, the conversation and then the next one. Jim this morning suggested we change it up some, and make it timed to one hour. Whatever isn't opened by then, we all tear into the last gifts. Might work. But no one voted to do it.

Day 22- Lotto Tickets from Tonia's Brother. Barry Tonia's brother years ago brought lotto tickets for allthe fam to open on Christmas morning as a joke, knowing we don't gamble and Ive been known to preach on the evils of Gambling from time to time. Well it was such a hit he now does it every year. Even granny gets Lotto tickets. It keeps her busy the whole day trying to figure out how to scratch them off. Keeps her busy!!! Everyone wins!! This morning even though we are all in the mtns of TN he still sent them and once again we all sat around and scratched and lost!!!!   BTW, this year he gave me a Million Dollar lotto drawing for next week. Tonia says he felt sorry for me since all my investment's are under water and Ive lost so much he is trying to help me get bailed out. So if you see me on the news as the new Million Dollar winner you will know why!!! NOTE" :  No Monies were spent on this tradition of christmas and gambling. (not mine anyway). My family always tells me what would I do if I won big and Ive preached against Lotto and the Lottery. I just say I would cash it in, and pay off my debts. Sorry!! Just being honest.

Day 21- Open one Present on Christmas Eve following the Christmas Eve Service, thats pretty normal for many families. So enough.

Day 20- Tonia left Santa Milk and Cookies and Santa loved them. Not unusual either.

Day 19- Tonia and Santa always meet under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.Oh, those memories. Enough said here too........ (Im dead when she sees this. She doesn't like to read my long blog post, so she will probably quit reading before she gets here) 

Day 18- Boys and I would always Ski Christmas Week if we were away before or after Christmas.This year snow was great even in the South, but its melting now, and not surer we will make the skiing. Well they all Snow board now, but I still do old school skiing. Last year when it was warm for the week, the grandsons were here, and we drove over to North Carolina and they snow tubed in Maggie Valley. That was so cool doing it with the Grandsons. Cant wait until they can start snow boarding with their dad and our family.

Day 17- Tonia would always decorate the Tree with Candy Canes and then Christmas morning hand them out and we would eat them for like 6 months. Don't do this now that they are grown.

Day 16- Always Buy Christmas Devotionals and read them during December. I have tons of them and love reading different ones. Love the ones with the Pics. This year I found one from Billy Graham and his late wife in the $5.00 store months ago and Im reading it. Great time to start this tradition is after Christmas when they are on sale and many times you can find them up to 75-90% off the retail. I would love to write a Christmas Devo book some day. Its the only book ive ever wanted to write.

I Have Been Elfedddddddddddd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Daughter in Law Sabrina elfed me the other day. If you haven't been elfed you need to be.

Its fun and  my mom, even loved it when Corey Elfed her. If your a FB friend of my mom, you need to go on and see it . Its so funny.

Merry Christmas!!!

There is a Reason Corey Melton is still in NYC..................

For all those that know my youngest Son, Guy Corey Melton from his early days you know what a crazy out of control, kid, teen , young adult he was. While he kept most in stitches and was the life of the party, he drove his teachers crazy, and was almost  killed at least a 1,000 times over by his mother or I.

But when he moved to New York City, he not only reunited with his girlfriend of 8 years and soon married Sabrina last year this very weekend, but he also found probably the perfect boss.

He is the Executive Assistant to the Executive Pastor/Administrator of a Church in New York City, Manhattan. A very historic church that has been in existence for almost 200 years. While the buildings are almost 100 years old, and right across the street from the Russian Tea Room and a few store fronts away from the historic Carnegie Hall not everyone in this old historic and traditional church is as formal as its neighborhood.

Why has Corey Loved NYC so much? Why has he made it for these two years? How has he made it in a very historic church so vastly different then the ones he has grown up in.

Well I have known this, but it was confirmed today once again when he sent this picture. Its obvious the pic below tells it all. This is the only type of Guy who could understand Corey and deal with his free spirit fun loving way.  I salute you Corey's Boss!! Are you sure you aren't Corey's Father???????????

BTW, Corey took these Pics.

Make sure you click this pic so you can see it best.