The latest Karis e-newsletter, The Loop, is up here.  Check it out.  Be in the know.

What an awesome day we had as the body of Karis.  We installed Aarik Danielsen as our third elder.  He preached and did an amazing job (listen to “Wounded: Betrayal” here).  Also below is the time during the worship Gathering when Aarik vowed to lead Karis, by God’s grace, in a way worthy of the gospel of our Lord.

Aarik Installation from Karis Church on Vimeo.

Ray Ortlund joined Karis this week for some time of teaching, and it was a tremendous blessing and privilege.  He taught two sessions entitled, “Illicit Worship: Escaping Spiritual Adultery,” on Wednesday and Friday nights.  He led a session for area ministry leaders on Thursday at noon on the subject “Through the Flames,” dealing with trials and ministry.  He also selflessly served the leaders of Karis, sharing breakfasts and dinners with us, fielding lots and lots of questions.  I asked him a couple of times if he felt like he was surrounded by 6, 4, and 2 year olds (like I am at my house); they ask lots of questions.  And so do we.  But he kept answering them.  And his words always dripped with grace.  He is so full of the gospel of Jesus.  My heart was full when I dropped him off at the St. Louis airport.  What an encouragement his visit was (read more here).  I was personally moved to tears by his messages on the imagery of adultery and marriage in Scripture.  I would strongly encourage you to listen to them.  Check them all out here:

“Illicit Worship: Escaping Spiritual Adultery, Part 1″

“Illicit Worship: Escaping Spiritual Adultery, Part 2″

“Through the Flames: Trusting God in the Trials of Ministry”

Ray, thanks so much for serving us.  Thanks for being a part of Acts 29.  Thanks for investing in those coming behind you.  You are such an inspiration to us.

Aarik Danielsen will be installed tomorrow as the third Karis elder.  We’re very, very excited about this.  Please join us in both worship Gatherings (10 a.m. and 6 p.m.) for this celebration of God’s grace in Aarik and his sweet wife, Brooke.

Join us for part two of special guest Ray Ortlund’s presentation on “Illicit Worship” tonight, Friday the 19th, in Middlebush Auditorium (9th and University) on the University of Missouri Campus.  Part one, this past Wednesday, was amazing.  Don’t miss out tonight.

Ray Ortlund is joining us today at Boone Tavern in Downtown Columbia.  He’ll be talking about trials in ministry at noon.  Don’t miss it!  It’s free.  Just buy a lunch.

Join us tonight (Wednesday) at 7:00 p.m. in Middlebush Auditorium on the University of Missouri campus (9th and University) for the first session of “Illicit Worship: Escaping Spiritual Adultery.”  Ray is a well-known pastor and scholar, the church planter of Immanuel Church in Nashville and a former Old Testament professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.  A main area of study for Ray has been spiritual adultery in the Old Testament.  He’ll be sharing on that topic tonight and Friday night.  Go here to get more details about the rest of our time with Ray.  This is a great privilege for Karis and Columbia. Join us!

My friend Jeremy Writebol, a pastor at Santa Rosa Bible Church, in Santa Rosa, CA, had these words of encouragement, based on his previous exposure to the teaching of Ray Ortlund, who will joining us at Karis this week:

Every once in a while I run across a guy that I should have known about a long time ago.  In 2009 it was Ray Ortlund.  Where did I find him?  As I was studying Isaiah.  He wrote the ESV Study Bible Notes on the book of Isaiah and I was compelled instantly by his writing.  So much so that I bought the commentary he wrote on Isaiah to read through as I studied it.  It was fantastic.  Every chapter pointed me to Christ and called me to know and love Jesus more deeply.

Then I got to hear Ray speak.  First, at a church-planters gathering about Acts 29, and then later as he preached Christ at a local conference I attended.  What was wonderful in his writing was now explosive in his preaching.  He took the Scriptures plainly.  He pointed me straight to Christ.  With joy, wit and passion he called me to stop loving myself and live to love Christ, His church, and others with an unbridled sense of joy and acceptance from The One who gave Himself for me.

If you do anything this week of importance it would be to go and humbly listen to Ray Ortlund.  It could be the death of your own religiosity.  It could be the beginning of living out God’s grace.  It will be the best thing you have done in 2010!  And that’s not because it’s Ray Ortlund speaking, it’s only because he will point you to a Savior full of grace and truth.

Here is the third and final installment from my interview with our elder candidate, Aarik Danielsen. This clip shows so well the wisdom and pastoral heart of this man. We’re looking forward to commissioning him in his calling this Sunday, Feb. 21!

See part I here, as well as part II here.

Pastor/Scholar Ray Ortlund of Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee will be visiting Karis this week for two special events.  Ray is one of the editors of the ESV Study Bible, and has written a number of books, including God’s Unfaithful Wife, which happens to be the subject of this week’s talks (below).

First, on the nights of February 17 and 19, Wednesday and Friday, Ray will be teaching at 7 p.m. in Middlebush Auditorium on the Mizzou Campus on “Illicit Worship: Escaping Spiritual Adultery.”  The event is free.

Second, this Thursday, February 18th at 12 noon, Ray will be teaching at Boone Tavern in downtown Columbia (811 E. Walnut) on “Through the Flames: Trusting God in the Trials of Ministry.”  The event is free.  However, participants are strongly encouraged to purchase lunch at the restaurant.

Both events are open to the public.  However, “Through the Flames” is geared toward pastors and ministry leaders and guests should keep that in mind, as seating at that event will be limited.

Both events are sponsored by Karis Community Church.  For events posters and further information, contact Kevin Larson at 760-51-Karis or kevin@karischurch.org.