'Love is Something You Do' by John R. Bisagno

I am excited to announce that my publishing company, Lucid Books, released Pastor John R. Bisagno's 35th Anniversary Edition of Love is Something You Do. This is a revised and expanded (12 new chapters!) edition of his 1975 release under the same title. We are very excited about this project and feel that God will use it in great ways. Here is what people are saying:

“Love Is Something You Do will change the face of marriage in America. This book should be in every library and tucked away in the heart of every marriage.” - Dr. Tim Clinton, President, American Association of Christian Counselors

"Martin Luther said “A man can become more like Christ in a marriage than in a monastery.” How true. Marriage chisels us in the image of Jesus with every decision of faithfulness and commitment. This book will help to shape you and your spouse. Let Dr. Bisagno speak from the heart of a faithful husband and effective pastor to guide your marriage to be all that God desires." - Pastor Gregg Matte, Pastor, Houston’s First Baptist Church

"Once again John Bisagno has captured the heart and imagination of his readers. In this clear concise writing, John makes a case for love as a verb. Love is Something You Do stimulates the heart, motivates the mind, and saturates the soul with helpful, holy hints." - Ralph Douglas West, Pastor, The Church Without Walls

“I had the joy of being under John Bisagno’s leadership for 25 years as he served as pastor of our church in Houston. I love and respect him and Uldine, the love of his life, so much. ” - Beth Moore, Author, Living Proof Ministries

"This is the book America's been waiting for." - George Gallup, Jr., Pollster

Click here to get your copy or request it at your local bookstore!

(Disclaimer: New laws require me to let you know that if you buy this book, I will profit financially. So, there's that.)

Proverbs 18:22

"He who finds a wife

finds a good thing

and obtains favor from the Lord."

- Proverbs 18:22

Steph and I have been married 9 years today. I love her more everyday and thank God for blessing me with an amazing, God-fearing, humble, and hilarious wife! We have so much fun together.

We are on our little anniversary get-away. Yesterday we went shopping in the Rice Village and used some of our gift cards to buy me some new clothes. We had a blast! Then we went to see a movie and finished the night by enjoying some Maggiano's. This morning we got up and went for a couple's massage. It rocked. Now we are enjoying some time at our favorite coffee shop and then going to The Melting Pot tonight.

For 9 years, here's 9 things I love about my wife:

1. She loves Jesus. Not superficially, but consequentially.
2. She's easy to look at.
3. By some miracle she loves me.
4. She's a phenomenal mother.
5. Her laugh. If I can get a belly laugh from her, then I know what I said was REALLY funny.
6. Her desire to disciple women and her faithful perseverance in doing so.
7. Her passion for orphans.
8. Her authenticity.
9. She's my best friend.

I pray that as we move into our 10th year that we will continue to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Here's to many more.

Christ Community Church of Magnolia - New Site

Click here to visit the new site!

Church Planting

We announced to our church yesterday that we will be moving to the Magnolia/The Woodlands area to begin a new church plant. I will be serving as the Lead Pastor/Elder. Our church has been so gracious to us here in Brenham and they are fully behind this move and have committed their support to us in every way possible. It really is a great thing to be a part of a church planting church, and experiencing first hand them "putting their money where their mouth is" both figuratively and literally.

This has been on the horizon for some time, but I wasn't sure of the timing until recently. Through a series of events we found ourselves spending more time at our friend's lake house and more time in The Woodlands area. Now if you are familiar with The Woodlands area, then you know that there are a lot of churches. However, what you may not be aware of is that the population is booming out there, and there are a lot of people not going to church anywhere.

Also, to be honest, we like the area. It reminds us of where we grew up, but has a lot of trees, so that's a bonus!

We know a few people who are pastoring out in that area and who are planting churches themselves. Our heart is to go and serve alongside of them and partner together for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not our desire to compete, but to "spur one another on to love and good deeds." So far, every minister/pastor we have talked to out in that area have been extremely kind and welcoming. For this, we are grateful, and acknowledge God's favor.

I have already received a lot of questions regarding the church, and most of the information will be on a website that I am currently building and should have online soon. However, here's some of the details:

• Target Area: Where Magnolia and The Woodlands meet: Click Here to see.
• Will I keep traveling with Transform Ministries?: Yes. I love to travel and preach and that is definitely part of my calling. For the next year, I do not see too much changing with my travel schedule, but I may become less available on Sundays. However, depending on how quickly the Lord grows His Church, how Steph feels about my travel schedule, my elders, etc, all of those factors will be weighed. But for now, keep the invites coming!
• When will we move?: We are working on some last minute touches to our house here in Brenham and will put it on the market hopefully in early January. Once we are able to sell the house, then we will move to the Magnolia/The Woodlands area.
• Do you have a name for your church?: Yes. We just received notice from the state that our non-profit corporation has been approved: Christ Community Church of Magnolia
• Who will we be affiliated with?: We are currently being assessed by Acts 29 and sent by Christ Church in Brenham as well as Crossbridge Church in Sugar Land. I have a video conference in early January with the Texas Baptists (BGCT). We will also partner with our friends in the San Felipe Baptist Association.
• When will we start?: We are hoping to gather some folks together at least once in January to share the vision of the church and see who might want to serve as missionaries with us. We hope to have some folks to begin meeting weekly with for Bible study, prayer, and fellowship starting in February. Our plan right now is to not do anything on Sundays until we are actually living out in that area. We will probably not launch public services (that is, when everyone is inviting whoever they can) until we have a committed core of 40 or so.

If you have more questions you would like answered, please feel free to E-mail me.

Here's how you can help:

1. Pray: Please pray for my family (the move, church planting, transitioning, finances, etc), for the new church plant (we need people, we are essentially starting from scratch!) We are asking God for a few families (singles are welcomed too!) who are believers and desire to live as missionaries in their current context and we are praying that we would see people come to faith early on in our ministry. Please also pray for finances. A lot of people don't like to talk about money, but it's the fuel that is necessary.
2. Spread the Word: If you know folks in the area who do not currently attend a church, or who are missionary minded who would like to know more about the church. Please help by getting us connected with them.
3. Give: If the Lord would lead you to support this new ministry opportunity, there are two ways to do so. 1) You can give to Transform Ministries if you are wanting to support Steph and I specifically as missionaries for the next year or, 2) You can give to the church. You can e-mail me by clicking the link above if you would like to give. Also, just a practical way to help out would be gas cards, Starbucks cards, and Amazon cards (a pastor needs a library, no? :-) ), as I have a lot of meetings and commuting to do.
4. Pray some more.

Well, this is all for now. Thank you for your friendship, love, and support. We are grateful to God for His people and we are looking forward to being a part of what He is doing in Montgomery county!

David Gamboa - The Shadow and Night Fire

Get it. Listen to it. Enjoy it. Thank me later. Word.

Click Here to Get it

Free Ministry - January 2010

I was just challenged by an old friend to trust God. This is not an issue of desperation, but determination. The Gospel MUST NOT be hindered by economic hardships and I am determined to be about my calling, even though times are tough. Therefore, I will speak at any event for FREE in the month of January. If it is out of state, then I might need some help getting there, but other than that, if there is a need, I will be there.

See Casey's Calendar

Invite Casey to your Event

Writing and ADD

I've been working on my first book and I am reminded how annoying ADD can be. I'll be writing along, nailing a point, and then boom, a paragraph is injected in the midst of a very focused chapter that was a spin-off of a sentence above. Quite frustrating, oh and did I tell you about what happened at the mall today? <-- See!

Overall, today was a productive day. I am working on a book dealing with apathy in the church: the reality, some causes, and biblical solutions. It's in the early stages, but the last few days on this writing retreat have been very fruitful. I have a lot more organized outline(s) and thoughts to move forward with. Lord willing, the book will be ready to publish Spring 2010, but we'll see how it goes. Thanks for your prayers and I will be keeping you updated.