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“David not only left behind a legacy to avoid, but a legacy of contrition to emulate,” says Greg Byman, senior pastor of St Joe Community Church. “Most monarchs then and today would simply retaliate against their critics, but King David left for us some key biblical insights on how we can courageously engage the elephant in the room to begin the process of recovering our relationship with God and family.”

The series includes four sermons that candidly explore the causes and consequences of a family avoiding difficult subjects -- “elephants in the room” -- and proposes biblical principles for addressing and resolving those issues in a healthy and God-honoring manner. The four-part sermon series begins November 4th and runs through November 25th. 

Nov. 4, Part 1: How to identify elephants
Has the elephant in your home become the family pet? Every family has its difficult issue(s), and while the elephant might seem docile and domesticated for now, a 12,000 pound behemoth still lingers and lumbers from room to room, generation to generation, threatening to maim and crush its roommates. For this first installment of the Elephant-free Family Life series, Pastor Greg Byman shares some principles about identifying elephants that prevent effective family communication.

Nov. 11, Part 2: Elephant-free Marriage
Is there an elephant in your marriage? Every marriage needs a process for addressing hard issues. Whether a marriage has suffered through strife with in-laws, infidelity, chemical addiction, loss of a child, or any number of heart-wrenching struggles, God promises that he is bigger than the elephants in the room that we find too painful to address and resolve. In this second installment of the Elephant-free Family Life series, Pastor Greg Byman shares some principles about how a biblically-minded husband and wife can, with God's help, lead even the scariest bull elephants out to pasture where they belong, and bring peace to a home.

Nov. 18, Part 3: Elephant-free Parenting
You swore that you'd never (ever, ever...) say that like your father and never (ever, ever, ever...) say that like your mother and, yet, look at who you've become.... Is there an elephant in your parenting? Every parent begins parenthood the same way: a naked baby with no owner’s manual. Years, laughs and tears later, mom and dad have done some things right and other things...less than right. Through it all, God promises that he is bigger than the elephants in our parenting. In this third installment of the Elephant-free Family Life series, Pastor Greg Byman shares some principles about how a biblically-minded dad and mom can, with God's help, lead even the scariest bull elephants out to pasture where they belong, and recover authentic communication the way God designed it.  

Nov. 25, Part 4: Elephant-free Generations
Is there an elephant in your scrapbook? Your journal? Your yearbook? In a sense, these can represent first drafts of our personal history, but they don’t have to be the final draft. God warns his people against generational consequences for wrong-thinking and wrong-living (sin) but promises to lavish generational blessings for right-thinking and right-living (righteousness). In this final installment of the Elephant-free Family Life series, Pastor Greg Byman shares some insights about how a relationship with God empowers us to not only identify the generational elephants that have held back authentic communication but also break the generational sin that too easily entangled our ancestors and imperils the next generation.

About St Joe Community Church 
St Joe is located at 2900 North Anthony Blvd., just a few blocks south of the campus of Purdue University at Fort Wayne. Pastor Greg Byman serves as the senior pastor and the entire St Joe church family welcomes you to join us for worship service each Sunday at 10:00 am. For more information visit www.StJoeCommunityChurch.org or call (260) 471-4704. Pastor Greg Byman is available for media interviews.

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​St Joe Community Church will host a unique evangelism and discipleship seminar called ReSermon Institute on November 9, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. at 2900 North Anthony Blvd. Early bird tickets only $15 and covers a box lunch from our friends at Chick-Fil-A as well as some complimentary resources from ReSermon. The seminar is primarily intended for pastors and minister leaders, but the event is open to all. For more information visit http://www.resermon.com/resermon-institute.html.

ReSermon Institute is led by former World magazine writer and Fort Wayne local, Christopher Mann, and now member of the St Joe Community Church communications team. For more information contact ReSermon Institute at (260) 508-3136 or Chris.Mann@ReSermon.com.

Nathan is an experienced Camp Pastor who has frequently served in Children’s Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and various camp staff roles. He earned his Biblical and Theological Studies degree with an emphasis on Worship and Pastoral Studies from Boyce College of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is currently working towards his Masters of Divinity. He currently serves as the interim pastor for Calvary Baptist Church in Greenwood, IN and as the Bible Teacher for Greenwood Christian Academy working with Middle School and High School students. Nathan has focused on increasing a love for the Church among young believers, encouraging them to trust God’s desire for the Church’s loving community to be the best place to grow in Christlikeness and to glorify God with every thought, word, and deed in the name of Jesus.

Carman Hammond grew up in Southern IN and found his love for music and worship early in life. At age three, he started playing drums and singing with his parents. At age 11, he started playing guitar, writing his own songs, and leading worship for small groups. Through high school he led worship for several area churches and then went into full-time worship and pastoral ministry at age 20. In 2011, Carman graduated with his bachelors degree in Biblical studies with an emphasis in worship ministry from Cincinnati Christian University. He now serves as the Worship Pastor for Graceland Baptist church in New Albany, IN. Carman has been married to his wife Lauren for 13 years and together they have four children. When he's not playing guitar or singing, Carman enjoys watching movies at home and at the theatre, camping, drinking coffee, playing basketball, and hanging out with his family. ​

Rayden is a church planter in the St. Louis area. He and his wife Sarah have three kids: Kaleb, Nathan, and Aubri Jane. Rayden is passionate about living everyday life for Jesus, and he is excited to pastor Red Hill Church in Edwardsville, IL. He is an engaging story teller and a passionate evangelist. He believes that this generation has the opportunity to finish the task and usher in the return of Jesus. Rayden believes that there has never been a better time to be alive, a better time to serve the local church, or a better equipped generation to reach the world for Jesus

Connect with Chris Kern on:  
Facebook | Linked IN | YouTube

Chris Kern has been on staff with the youth ministry Young Life since 2007. In 2016, Chris left the Indianapolis ministry to serve as the leader for Fort Wayne's Young Life outreach to Snider, Northside, Homestead high schools, and Canterbury School.

​Young Life's vision is to serve as a lifeline for kids, one kid at a time. Over the last twenty years, Greater Fort Wayne Young Life has expanded into four high schools, with more in their sights in 2018. Chris and his leadership team is developing a network of leaders and committee members who will serve specific communities in Allen county. Young Life's five year goal includes expansion into two additional high schools.