LifePoint Believes In Fellowship

LifePoint Values:
Prayer that connects us with God
Bible Truths as the guide for life
Fellowship that connects us as a family



The following paragraph is the voice over from the 1956 trailer of The Lone Ranger.


The Lonely Ranger
(The Lone Ranger theme,“El Cine del Oeste”, playing in the background)

The west, in the lusty days when the surge of civilization pushed onward to broader horizons and a mighty breed of man followed a new light from the wilderness. But close on the pioneer trail came the renegade hoards, land sharks, highwaymen, cattle thieves terrorizing settler and tribesman alike. Until one man rose to challenge their lawlessness, his face masked, his true identity unknown. Accompanied always by a faithful Indian companion he thundered across the frontier, appearing out of nowhere to strike down injustice, his sign, a silver bullet, his name, “The Lone Ranger.”


The Lone Ranger concept that says, we don’t need any help when facing adversity and can overcome whatever comes our way solo. This concept makes for great 1950’s entertainment, but is actually a much flawed philosophy for life. Life can, at times, fling so many dodge-balls at our head that eventually one is going to catch us right in the kisser. To quote a famous bumper sticker, “Stuff Happens.” Divorce happens, loss of loved ones happens, financial peril happens, four dollar gasoline happens, health problems happens. Life happens. When life happens on this scale, the Lone Ranger becomes nothing more than a lame poser in a weird outfit.


This adversity of which I speak happens to everyone, but not everyone handles it the same. It, to some, is their undoing. Trying times has driven more than its fair share to alcoholism, prescription drug addiction, or an extramarital affair. At the same time, others handle trials and tribulation with grace, soldier on, and become better human beings because of it. Usually, the variable that decides which statistic will be is whether or not they handle the circumstance alone or rely on the strength of others. People that have a support system usually come out on top.
We can go all the way back to the story of creation for evidence that humans were not designed to bear the weight of life alone.




The Creation Story On Fellowship
The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.(Genesis 2:20)

So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. (Genesis 2:21)

The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. (Genesis 2:22)


Sure, Adam needed God, but God was of the opinion that he also needed Eve. You and I are much the same way. First and foremost we need God, but we also need one another. As Eve was the earthly help mate for Adam, I believe the church functions in much the same way for us. With that in mind, we at LifePoint Church desire to be a group of people that bear one another’s burdens.


Jathan Seeing Things
Don’t stop reading, God showed me a vision about 10 years ago that sums up the spirit of this article. While I was praying during an altar service at a student camp, suddenly I got a very clear picture in my mind of a huge caravan of people on foot. Judging by their generally haggard appearance, these people had been on a journey for quite some time. The unique thing about the situation is that some of the people were on stretchers, in wheelchairs, bandaged up, and obviously not healthy enough to make the journey without assistance. The remainder of the group, the healthy people, were pushing the wheelchairs, carrying the stretchers, and putting an arm under the shoulders of the lame to help them walk. After a few moments of this scene, suddenly, Jesus descended from the heavens and sat down on a throne in front of the caravan. At the very moment that Jesus appeared the sick were instantly healed and the whole group ran to the throne and fell prostrate in worship. It was quite an emotionally moving scene and an experience that I'll never forget. You may think I’m weird, but in the words of Collin Raye “That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.”


The moral of the vision is that if we, as followers of Christ, are going to reach the glorious end of our journey, we will only do so with the help of others. If we live long enough, we will find ourselves on the stretcher. If we live even longer, we will look down to see our strengthened hands wrapped around the handles of the same stretcher, bearing the weight of someone else. God's purpose of that vision a decade ago was to give me a lasting metaphor for the spirit of fellowship that should be present among His followers, one that I believe was present in the early church.

The Early Church

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (Acts 2:42)

At the signing of the Declaration of Independence Benjamin Franklin said, “We must all hang together or, assuredly we shall all hang separately.” The early church was a group of people that hung together. They ate together, they prayed together, and they bore one another’s burdens. When Peter was put into prison, they gathered together in one of their houses and prayed successfully for his deliverance. When a mob had plotted to murder Paul, they successfully countered with a plot to actually hide Paul in a basket and smuggle him out of town. They pooled their money and divvied it out to those who were in need. Present in the original church the DNA of the early church was a spirit of fellowship that connected them as a family.


Even though the times and our culture are much different than the book of Acts saints, the manner in which we relate to and rely on one another should not be. From its inception, inherent in the church was a spirit of fellowship that served as a beautiful and much needed support system for life. At LifePoint Church, it is our desire to follow suite and be a safe haven located right smack in the middle of a world that can sometimes be a house of horrors.



God Bless,



Jathan Maricelli
This was a week of coaching for LifePoint church. This is my mom "conferencing" into the meeting.
Paul Trentacoste speaking in our midweek service.
The gang back together again. Paul, Jathan, Sarah, and Maurisha
Sarah and the kids in our breakfast room
We had church in my house this Sunday! It rocked! The air conditioner worked and we didn't have to have church at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The acoustics were also great which made worship really fun.

Maurisha acting like she's working during the coaching session

This was our conference room.

Paul coaching from the word.

Me and my easel pads How can you have a 5 hour coaching session withou snacks?

LifePoint Believes in Bible Truths

LifePoint values….
Prayer that connects us with God.
Bible Truths as the guide for life.

I met a college student the other day at Starbuck’s and I asked him I if he went to church anywhere. His response was that he had an eclectic view of faith. As a result, he had a Bible, Koran, and a few other holy books on his bookshelf to help guide him through life. In other words “No, I don’t go to church.” We at LifePoint Church take a different stance than this young man as we believe that the Bible is the one and only guide for our lives.

Common Ground with LeBron James
Not too long ago, saw an interview with multi-billionaire Warren Buffet. During the interview, Mr. Buffet confirmed that multi-millionaire NBA superstar LeBron James had recently visited him. The purpose of the meeting was for James to receive counsel on how best to steward his millions. Kudos to LeBron James for taking his money seriously enough to get advice on how to not carelessly blow his fortune as so many high-paid athletes do. Furthermore, when seeking financial advice, who better to approach than Warren Buffet? Major props to “The King” are in order regarding this matter.

Glancing back through your life, think about how many times you have been in the same position as LeBron? Well, not in the same position as far as filthy rich and a having a 36 inch vertical. But in the same position in that you were faced with a matter of great importance that you didn’t have the expertise to deal with. Perhaps you were faced with a major career change, relational conflict with a co-worker, or crucial financial matter. Maybe your teenagers had been acting up and you didn’t know what to do about it, or you got invited by your friends to a party that you were not sure a person of Christian faith should associate themselves with. In other words, you faced an important decision that required an expert voice to enlighten you on the matter. We at LifePoint Church deem the Bible as our expert voice.

The Bible speaks on crucial subjects such as finances, sexuality, child-rearing, anger, grief, and hurt. Basically, there is nothing we will ever face in life that the Bible does not speak to in some form or fashion. I’ve seen it proven time and again that those who seek the counsel of the Bible are led down paths with scenery much more pleasant than those who do not. Often, however, the Bible is not actively sought out.

Everyone A Student
Just because we say we are Christians does not mean that we are entitled for the Bible to work in our lives without any effort on our part. Instead, we must seek out its truths by opening it up and reading it. Paul’s instruction to Timothy is true for every one of us when he said:

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

Not only do we at LifePoint believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, we also believe we should read it. It is imperative that we search out its wisdom as individuals, much like the Bereans in Acts chapter 17.

Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. (Acts 17:10)
These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. (Acts 17:11)

Hopefully, each Sunday, I preach the Bible in such a way that is enlightening and helpful to our congregation. One must have more of a diet of the word of God than what the preacher delivers on Sunday, however. Christians seeking to have Bible truths guide their lives must not only hear someone else expound upon it, but also mine its treasures themselves. Enjoy the pics.



God Bless,



Jathan Maricelli



The pictures this week are from our fish fry on Satuday and our Sunday Worship Service.



Olen and Ashlyn


Olen receiving words of wisdom from Rene. Is he buying what she's sellin'?

John and Greg frying while Buddy, Terry, Megan, and Hunter lend moral support.

Jathan, Chris, and Jeremy re-enacting last weeks "broken string" debacle. This must have been a prophetic picture since I broke another string on Sunday!

Worship Service

Alex and Brook trying their hand as sidewalk artists.

Olen of Pea Ridge...Defender of the Crib

"Downtown" Greg Brown. The hardest working firsh fryer in Lincoln Parish.

Dining in the dining room.

Dining in the living room.

LifePoint Believes in Prayer

In the last article, I covered our mission statement at LifePoint church. Over the next few articles I’m going to expound upon our core values. This week, I will talk about Prayer.

LifePoint Church values....Prayer that puts us in touch with God.

Personal Prayer
Matthew 6:5-8 "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. (Matthew 6:5)

But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. (Matthew 6:6)

And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. (Matthew 6:7)
"Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. (Matthew 6:8)

Ceremonial vs. Connective Prayer
A few days ago I was at an event where a politician “prayed.” This particular prayer consisted of him reading a prayer from a piece of paper and ending with Amen. Because the prayer was so scripted, it did not evoke passion in the guy praying or in those of us hearing. We’ve all heard these types of prayers at various and sundry ceremonies such as graduations, banquets, and even sometimes church services. Every time we do hear them they are always, well, ceremonious. I don’t tell this story to rip this politician nor those who read prayers from Teleprompters and lined paper. But I do tell this story to illustrate that not all prayer is of the kind that puts us in touch with God.

When talking about spirituality, as I did regarding our mission statement, let me say that there is no spirituality without the human spirit engaging an outside spirit. Native Americans talk about the “Great Spirit” and do dances around fires in costumes in order to get their spirit in touch with this “Great Spirit.” Muslims pray in order to get in touch with “Allah”. Don’t forget psychics and people who gather around Ouija Boards late at night in candlelit rooms after drinking too much spiked apple juice. At the expense of freaking people out, let me say that there are spirits out there with which one can get in touch. I will also say that, as a follower of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is the only spirit that we should seek to be connected with. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” I believe that to be true. In order to be connected to the spirit of God, we must do so through prayer.

Having been raised in Christianity, one thing that I find amazing is the number of Christians who do not actually seek to engage the spirit of Jesus Christ on the level of which I am speaking. Once again, if we are to “follow” Christ, we have to do so through prayer. To back this claim I would like to juxtapose this concept with the experience of Jesus’ followers during his earthly tour.

Following Jesus Through Prayer was a bit easier for the original twelve apostles. They could see Jesus’ physical being and simply fall-in and walk behind Him all day. These guys would listen to Him teach and watch Him interact with people. How freaked out were they the first time He cast demons out of a person? What a story to tell their grandkids, eye witnessing Lazarus literally walk out a tomb with his spiffy grave-duds still on! Although it took courage, it didn’t take much of an imagination to “follow Jesus” back in the day. When Jesus’ physical form lifted off of the Mt. Olivet International launching pad and disappeared into the heavens, however, the stakes were raised considerably.

Jesus' followers were now faced with the prospect of “following Him” without being able to physically see, hear, or touch Him. From that day on, prayer became a necessary virtue for those wishing to follow Christ. Jesus’ prophetic utterance “God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” became very real to the disciples. In 2008, you and I find ourselves in the same sandals as this post-ascension crowd. If we are to follow and henceforth have a relationship with Jesus Christ, it will transpire only through the kind of prayer that, at some point and on some level connects us with His spirit.

“Mob” Prayer
Not only do we at LifePoint feel that it is important for us to pray as individuals, but we also feel very strongly about those times whenever we gather as a group and rally around one another in a corporate prayer setting. The story of Peter’s imprisonment in Acts chapter 12 provides us a great example. In this story, Peter was arrested by Herod, hurled into prison, and guarded very closely. The church, upon hearing this, responded by gathering a big group of people at one of the believer’s houses with the purpose of “praying” Peter out of prison.

Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. (Acts 12:5)
So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. (Acts 12:12)

That’s right, they got together in someone’s house and talked into the air to someone they couldn’t see while believing that this invisible spirit would not only hear them, but would also prevent Peter’s proverbial neck from being stretched. The story ends happily with God sending an angel to free Peter from prison. He lived to preach another day because of “mob praying.”

LifePoint Strategy
As we effort to build a new church in Ruston, we are faced with many obstacles. The prince of darkness of this city does not want a new faith community in Ruston; our vision cost more money than we currently have; sin does not want let go of the people that we are trying to reach. At the end of the day, we at LifePoint Church, as did the believers in Acts chapter 12 know that we do not have the political, intellectual, financial, or physical prowess to change these adverse situations. We are persuaded, however, that the same God that delivered Peter from prison in Acts chapter 12 still has His ear attuned to those gather together and ask for His intervention.

As we work toward the launching of a new church over the next year, there will be many holes in our strategy that we will survive. Should we err in that we become “prayer wimps,” however, it will be our undoing.

Enjoy the pics.

God Bless,

Jathan Maricelli

Trust me, this was a deep, deep, sermon.

"Beautiful One" was groovin'.

"Days of Elijah" was somethin' special.

I'm really feeling it at this point!....until....

My "D" string broke right in the middle of "Your Name!" Notice me trying to get the string off of my guitar so we can possibly start singing again. Also notice, Chris Frick trying to figure out how in the world he's supposed to be leading the congregation in prayer while competing with the Maricelli circus. You should consider visiting our service one day so as to not miss out on special moments like this. What a funny pic!

Sarah, Jeremiah, Mackenzie, and Ashlyn.

Serenity arrived in time to get in on the goldfish.

Owen is just a rockstar.

Proof that we have a semblance of a plan.

LifePoint Church Mission Statement

Ashlyn Frick getting ready to "get busy" on some hot dogs!

Chris and Owen Frick....grinnin'.

Sunday Worship at LifePoint

Lunch at our house after Sunday Worship

In this article I’m going to do my best to tell you what our mission statement at LifePoint is all about. Here goes.

LifePoint Mission: To meet the spiritual needs of our generation by telling and living the story of Jesus Christ.

Is it just me or are Americans these days tons more open to spirituality while being more closed to religion for the sake of ritualism and culture preservation? I think so. Perhaps this sea change is because high profile, opportunistic people the likes of Tom Cruise and Madonna champion their respective faiths of Scientology and Kabbalah in a very public way. Deepak Chopra in the meantime is selling books like crazy while constantly yakking at millions of viewers from the set of Oprah. There's more. Would you believe that spirituality has also crept into the business world? Scandalous I say! I was reading a book the other day on networking called "Never Eat Alone" by a really successful entrepreneur named KeithFerazzi. Keith said that while considering a career change he actually took a Vipassana meditation retreat where he sat for ten hours each day for ten days straight-in silence! (I know you can think of 10 people right now that you would love to sign up for one of those.)

We at LifePoint Church believe that the world today does have a desire to get in touch with the part of their being that is spiritual. It seems to me that more and more people buy into the idea that when one is spiritually fulfilled, everything else follows suit. Many in this generation realize that money, power, fame, success, etc., are overrated. People want to be happy and they want their families to jive. They want spiritual fulfillment.

Although we at LifePoint have respect for other faith groups, we also believe that faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to His plan to redeem the sins of mankind is the only way to truly fill the spiritual dearth in the human soul. I will say that we do not believe that "institutionalized Christianity" is the answer. Many times, this type of Christianity is clothed in self-righteousness, non-spiritual traditions, and, quite honestly, a bit of hate. When the true spirit of Christ’s message does manage to wrangle itself free from human motives, however, it really, really works.

Our passion at LifePoint Church is to burn off any dross that the business of Christianity has attached to the story of Jesus over the last couple of millennia and tell it like it was. We want to tell Ruston that Jesus was firm in His message and convictions regarding sinful humanity. Yet, His compassion for all of us was unrivaled. He unselfishly submitted Himself to torture, public shame, and Roman-style execution in order to provide mankind with the opportunity to be free of our spiritual ailments. Now, because of His aforementioned sacrifice, when we have faith in him and follow His plan, our addictions, anger, depression, worry, and whatever else may plague our minds and bodies gets kicked to the curb. There are people in Ruston who wish to hear this story; we wish to tell it to them.

In our nation, sadly, many people have developed a cynical stance toward Christianity and immediately throw up walls before we get three sentences into promoting Jesus to them. I think there are two major reasons for this unfortunate occurrence. First of all, our society has witnessed numerous, juicy, scandals among Christian ministers. Secondly, and probably the more damaging of the two, is that our society comes in contact with people every day that, while claiming to be followers of Jesus Christ, put forth attitudes of self-righteousness, traditionalism, and spiritual apathy. When these vibes are projected in the name of Christianity it has a repelling effect on all who feel them.

LifePoint Church, although we will never be perfect in word and deed, feels that Jesus has placed a responsibility on us not only to tell His story, but live it out publicly as well. Before we are broadcasters of Christ, we want to be followers of Christ. Before we open our mouths in utterance of such topics as Salvation, Christ’s' Second Advent, and the New Birth, we desire to communicate feelings of spiritual passion, compassion, and love to our society. After all, Jesus did say: By this will all know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another (John 13:35).

It is our prayer that God gives us the grace to live out Jesus' teachings in such a way that we are attractive to our friends and neighbors. As we follow Him, we will look for every opportunity to tell His story and its implications on life in 21st century. Then, just maybe, someone's odyssey will end happily as they find the spiritual birth that we were blessed to, not all that long ago.