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Lori Champion

Lessons from My Early 20’s

April 12th, 2011 | Author: admin

I was recently asked by a young church-planter what I was doing in my early 20’s. The question would probably be best answered in a book, rather than a blog, but here’s a summary:

20 – LSU sorority girl, reluctantly acknowledging that I was “called” to the ministry, maybe even to be a pastor’s wife (eek! I thought I’d be the first of four generations to lose that title), rather than fulfilling my life-long ambition of becoming an attorney. The very next month, after that dramatic realization, I met my husband, Joe Champion who was pursuing his ministry calling!

21 – Graduated from college, married 50 days later, became Marketing Director of an international company, a.k.a. “breadwinner” for our family, as Joe was earning “an offering a month” as Youth Pastor of a very small church.

22 – Joined our church staff and became pregnant with our first child — five nights a week of ministry, poor, and loving every minute!

23 – At seven months pregnant, I was diagnosed with cancer. Had an early delivery of our first child, then surgery and radiation treatment. Meanwhile, my mom re-married and became a missionary, moving my 16 and 18-year-old brothers in with us. INTENSE year!

24 – We became Senior Pastors of a rural church in the swamps of Louisiana – cancer free! We bought our first home, paying $52k for it, begging and borrowing to get the down payment.

25 – Stay at home mom – a major adjustment for a workaholic, but very active in the life of the church! I’m exhausted just thinking about those years, the massive changes and growth that took place in my life to transform me from being a pre-law student/sorority girl to a cancer-survivor/stay-at-home mom and pastor’s wife!

What I learned was that God equips whom He calls. His grace is sufficient for our inadequacies, our disappointments, our insecurities, and for when we feel like complete failures! I never felt super qualified (or even a little qualified) for any assignment that God gave me then…and that hasn’t changed! But I do know this: in my weakness, then I am truly strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). He has never wanted me to become someone else to do what He’s called me to do. We’ll never feel old enough or ready enough to fulfill God’s vision for our life, but I Timothy 4:12 says, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” There will never be a day when I don’t need the Holy Spirit to lead and guide me!

Oh.
By the way…
I LOVE being a Pastor’s wife!
God knew best!

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BEYOND: Fasting & Prayer

February 8th, 2011 | Author: admin

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2010- Impossible Year of Success

January 20th, 2011 | Author: admin

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Celebration Ladies Luncheons

January 15th, 2011 | Author: admin

Click here to reserve your tickets!

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A Night in Italy

October 6th, 2010 | Author: admin

A Night in Italy

Thursday, October 14th at 6:30 pm
Celebration Church Georgetown

Pick up your free tickets (one for you & a friend) at Celebration Church in the Welcome Center or the church offices.

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Recap of Celebration Women’s August Event

September 2nd, 2010 | Author: admin

Ladies, I was so thrilled to share our latest event with Christine Caine this August.  Thank you to all the ladies who served to make the night unforgettable and for raising awareness for The A21 Campaign.

Here’s a quick rewind video of the event.  Hope you enjoy!

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Celebration Women Presents Christine Caine

July 20th, 2010 | Author: admin

Celebration Women Presents Christine Caine

Monday, August 2nd, 7 pm
Georgetown Campus

Pre-register: $12 or $15 at the door
Childcare is available.

Girls, I can hardly wait for us to get together this August with Christine Caine.  Be sure to pre-register now and invite the girls!

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Friendship

June 18th, 2010 | Author: admin

For two years, I’ve been processing a message that I shared yesterday on Friendship. Being the perfectionist that I am, I thought maybe I had to get everything right (i.e. had to be the perfect friend) before I could share any profound revelations. Well, I finally realized that that would never happen, so I just decided to share on this topic that’s very dear to me straight from my heart. If you weren’t there, I encourage you to get a copy of the CD. God is already using this message to change mindsets and set people free. I had no idea that so many women were struggling with this issue! Here’s a very small excerpt – I may end up writing a series of them out of my 10 pages of message notes!

Enjoy, my friend!

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Friendship is the highest form of relationship! You may think it’s marriage or family, but what are they without the foundation of friendship?

Friendship, loyalty and longevity of relationships are oxygen to me. There was a time in my life (and probably in yours) that friend time was easy. Ring a doorbell of a neighbor, and then spend the next several hours playing Barbie dolls or Hide and Seek! Now, it’s tweeting, texting, Facebooking and scheduling an occasional lunch months out. But true friends, once together, can pick up right where they left off – even if you meet once or twice a year – there’s nothing sweeter!

Jesus had the best friendship model for leaders. It was the “Follow Me and Let’s Change the World Together!” Model. Along the way to healing and restoring people, they had lunch, they had dinner, they fished, they prayed, they walked, they talked . . .

The greatest friends you’ll ever have can be found in church. Our vision for Celebration Church is to connect people in friendship with a God who stepped out of the comforts of Heaven in order to lay down His life for friendship with each of us – He is the ultimate friend.

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Celebration Women Give Big

John 15:12 – This is my commandment that you love one another as I have love you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made know to you. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another.


Secondly, our desire is it is to join people together in friendship – generations, experiences and callings to partner for a cause that Christ gave his life for – the Church. There are no greater friendships than those formed in faith, with a common and divine cause.

Here are 5 questions to ask yourself about your friendships (from Pastor Brian Houston):

  1. Is it hurting my relationship with God?
  2. Is it distracting me from my call or purpose?
  3. Is it destructive to the work of the Lord?
  4. Is it helpful to my marriage or family?
  5. Is it going to take away from the network of relationships God has given me?

God designed each of us for a purpose and he gave us friends to encourage us in that purpose. Who are you surrounding yourself with?

Surround yourself with people who are more interested in you becoming what God wants you to be than they are with their personal desires for your time and their plans for your friendship. I want to be the right kind of friend to the relationships God has given me. I want everyone I touch to be challenged to serve God and His House with greater love and passion – to be the World-changers God designed them to be!

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Celebration Women Give Back

June 3rd, 2010 | Author: admin

I can hardly wait!  Download the complete gift registry and register for the luncheon or the dinner at CelebrationChurchTx.com/women

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I Want My Walk to Count!

May 19th, 2010 | Author: admin

spacer So I just had a frustrating thing happen! In a rare moment, I was motivated to go for a power-walk and, this time, I actually did more than put on my running shoes! In fact, with the weather warming up (I hibernate in sub-70 temperatures) I thought, “I’m going to download a pedometer app on my iPhone to start measuring my steps and walking a little more each day!” So, off I went to the corner of my street and turned around, only to find that my pedometer had shut itself off – stuck at 655 steps. I think I should just add a zero to the end and we’ll call it even!

It made me think of my spiritual walk. We don’t have to earn our salvation.  His grace is unmerited, unearned, undeserved and freely given! Thank you, Jesus! Yet, at the same time, Ephesians 4 challenges me, beginning with the first verse, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called . . . ” What a powerful verse and chapter and book! It is a selfish Christianity (BTW, “selfish Christianity” is an oxymoron!) that says, “I was bought with a price.  My eternity is secure.  Now I will rest easy!” One may as well say, “I’m safe and everyone else can ‘go to Hell!’” Our walk counts for eternity!

At last night’s Celebration Serve Team event, Joe shared about Jesus leaving the multitude to go to the other side, where he encountered the “one” – one person, who needed an experience with Jesus. Our multitude meetings (a.k.a. church services) should always lead us to “go to the other side and reach one!”  At one point, we heard a great example that illustrated this. Joe called a woman named Maribeth to the stage to share how her neighbors and her granddaughter’s swim coach relentlessly invited her to Celebration. She was un-churched, and although she’d been raised in a Catholic home, time and events happened that left her empty of a relationship with Christ. She changed her plans to visit her mom on Easter, just so she could try Celebration and her life and her family have been radically changed as a result.  Hundreds of Celebration leaders were brought to tears and challenged by her testimony. She said, “I needed this (hope of Jesus Christ) years ago!”  She’s now serving faithfully, never misses a service and is “walking worthy of the calling,” by using her very new story of her relationship with Christ to lead others to Him.

I loved Rick Warren’s tweet directed to Pastors this week that said, “If you count the offering and don’t count the church attendance, it shows you care more about money than people!”  Ouch!  People count and I want every bit of my walk to raise the number of people who experience the love of Christ and secure an eternity in Heaven.

People desperately need the Lord. How many Maribeth’s do I walk by daily? I want my walk, my walking each and every day, to count! I not only want it to count, but I want to be able to count the lives that have been affected by how I live, invest and invite people to Him.  Walking on!

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Welcome

This blog represents my personal views and opinions as a wife, a mother, a pastor, a church planter, a cancer survivor and a worship leader.

My passion is to see others connect to their destinies through Christ and the Church. I hope you find encouragement and that you enjoy this site! Check out my full bio.

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