welcome to christian city church's blog. we're stoked you're here! 'in other words' is the eventful mixture of stories, videos and photographs of whats happening in and around church. stay posted every week for new stuff! you can also follow us on twitter for even more ccc fun!

here at CCC, we strive to honor our fathers in the holiest of holy ways...a good old fashioned gut busting food devouring contest! it might be a testament to our father's determination (or forgetfulness) that every year people still jump up for any "games" pastor jurgen comes up with for father's day :) this year he left the vegemite at home and went all american with a big mac, fries, and a large coke from mcdonalds. the challenge: whoever could devour their whole meal the fastest would be awarded with a gift certificate for a dinner for two at ruth's chris.

lee and john sloooooowly realizing what they were in for as pastor jurgen explained the rules...

...and they're off!

to call this a contest would be a huge overstatement, wayne DOMINATED!!! he had finished a large fry, a big mac, and a large coke before the other dads even finished the fries! we had to pull him back out of fear that he might consume the table!

for good measure, wayne even dipped his big mac in his coke...mmmmmmm :)

after the battle of the stomachs, it was on the the battle of the braun and wills! three dads, all holding a push up in the down position...who would last the longest?!?!

chris made a valiant effort but eventually fell to the captain america-esqe strength of scott!

VICTORY!!!!

WE LOVE YOU DADS!!!

get comfortable, kick off your boots, and listen in as we announce that the man, the myth, the legend scott husereau is our june volunteer of the month! scott is a dedicated volunteer who serves in our super-cool kidz church every sunday teaching fuse (5-7th grade students), as well as being one of our announcers on the preview. scott has been with the preview team pretty much since day one, and is always willing to go the extra mile in order to get a laugh. the kids, parents, and staff love scott's dedication, humor, and commitment to the house of God. thanks so much scott for all you do and all you bring to ccc san diego!

THIS JUST IN!!! it's officially official, we most definitely without a doubt have the best people on planet earth here at CCC!!!

a couple weeks ago we profiled our first new intern for 2009, josh nelson, well we now have an extra helping of awesome with our second intern for 2009, nikki lynn! nikki will be interning under our amazing youth pastors and serving in our DETONATE youth ministry. nikki has an amazing heart for God, a passion for ministry, and personality that can light up any room...WELCOME ABORD NIKKI!!!!

Your favorite time of day is?
10:00 AM...if I'm awake haha.

What is your favorite place to buy ice cream?
Rite Aid, Single Scoop in a cone! Medieval Madness flavor!!!

What kind of music do you dislike most?
R & B

What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?
Have a friend over to relax, read, cook, and watch movies with!

If you could replay any moment in your life, what would it be?
I would like to watch my 8th grade year on DVD to see how much I have changed and show my Jr. High girls what not to do!! Haha.

Tell us about a task or project that you have been procrastinating about for a long time?
Hmm... definitely eating healthier and working out! I always am like, "Ok, this is my last brownie. Tomorrow I am going to start working out consistently and only eat chicken and veggies!" Yeah, never happens.

What is your favorite thing about CCC?
I love how different it is from every other church. It's so refreshing! All the preaching is relevant; sometimes I feel like I'm in a live comedy show! It's great and makes you want to be there! I also really appreciate the recognition of youth. Teens are our future, and so many people don't realize that!

last week at our 6:30PM service we had the rocktacular guys from THE REVOLUTION BAND travel all the way from vancouver, canada to blow the doors off CCC!!! they brought a super-sized dose of energy into our church and PACKED the house with a gazillion DETONATE youth as well as plenty of new friends from other churches. just like prom, it was a night to remember...and we can't wait to have these guys back again soon!
photos courtesy of thrive photography

new Christian or old Christian our alpha course is the perfect place to break the vast awesomeness of God down to the basics. two of our favorite CCC powerhouses, bret and heather vessey just kicked off another six week session of the alpha course! every week they meet up for tons of fun, good munchies, great friends and awesome discussions about what God and Christianity is really about.

bret and heather's radical son kaden unravels the meaning of life each week...and breaks the land speed record on his tricycle :)

some of the delicious spread of munchies...mmmmmmmmm!!!

the ballots are in and the votes have been cast... our volunteer of the month for may goes to the truly amazing denise dailey!!! she serves as the volunteer coordinator for our first impressions team and completely rocks the casbah every sunday! not only is she a phenomenal leader, but she exemplifies the true culture and spirit of servanthood here at ccc. we salute you, denise dailey! you are such a vital part of our church and we can't imagine it without you!

this past sunday was one of the most important sundays we have each year here at CCC...it was RISE + BUILD sunday! we're so close to getting our own building we can almost taste it!!! the energy level at church on sunday was through the roof as hundreds of CCCers made faith commitments and raised almost ONE MILLION DOLLARS and counting!!! it was so amazing to see the church boldly step out in faith and sow into our future!

the fun had only just begun! after the service, we all celebrated together with a huge BBQ, treats, fun games and activities for the kiddos...and the adults :)

snow cone machine, check!

cotton candy machine, check!

dunk tank...oh yes, we go there!

pastor mark was utterly dominated by his wife summer :)

CCC super intern josh nelson was exhibiting a submissive heart and letting everyone beat him at jousting.

yours truly committing some spousal abuse...in a very fun and loving way of course :)

pastor mark and summer's beautiful daughter charlize just keeps getting cuter and cuter :)

slather on some spf80 of coolness and join us at moonlight beach in encinitas this saturday for the kickoff to our beach days of 2009!!! with surfing, volleyball, soccer, a massive kids park, and a concession stand, you can't afford to miss this event. we will be setting up every other saturday (except 4th of july weekend) and we would love for you to come along. don't worry about lunch, because bbq is provided. gather up some of your friends and we'll see you there!

Beach Days from CCC San Diego on Vimeo.

it's that time of the year again folks...intern switcheroo time!!! the four interns we had here at CCC last year have graduated on to bigger and better things which means we're taking on a fresh new batch of amazing CCCers!!! the first official intern that has jumped on board is the amazing josh nelson! josh will be heading up our first impressions team which means he'll be managing al of the ushers, greeters, parking attendants, etc. josh is a first class volunteer and we are so excited to have him as a part of our team!!!

take a minute to get to know the wonder that is josh :)

The last thing I do before I go to bed at night is....
Well I’m a married man but this a family restaurant…so I either read or play some addicting game on my iPhone :)

What car would you love to buy if you could afford it?
I love BMW’s. Interlagos blue with Bamboo beige and black interior…M3, M5…whatever. The German’s make some sexy cars.

When you were in school, did you speak up in class? Did you sit in front or the back?
When I was in high school I saw it as my personal responsibility to make others laugh around me so that they’d suffer the teacher’s fury. People both loved and hated sitting next to me in the BACK of the classroom.

When did you first see your wife?
The truth is, she first saw me. She asked me to take my shirt off, I said “no, I’m too sexy. I musn’t”[in a Spanish accent]. The rest is history.

Do you collect anything? What?
I used to collect memorable quotes that changed my life every time I read them… but I can’t remember where I put them.

What is something that makes you cringe?
You know that sound that’s made when someone… wait everyone cringes at that. Come to think of it, I’ve got a pretty low cringe quotient. Mine might be broken.

Name something you think is weird...
I think it’s weird that there’s actually people out there that believe we never landed on the moon, or that Elvis is still alive hiding out somewhere with 2Pac and Biggy, or that Global warming really exists and it’s not just some political agenda. But most of all, I think it’s really weird that not everybody living in San Diego goes to Christian City Church. It is the best church on the planet. Give them time…give them time.