Love Letters

The End of the World!? Who knows? Does this fellow?

2011-03-18T12:27:00.000-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

My mind rushes to the following passages:

1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

Also, I place myself in that apparent minority that DOES believe the book of revelation to be true. God did forewarn that such events will happen and that this world will continue to grown under the weight of corruption brought on by sin.

Japan, Chile, China.....The fact is that God is setting the stage for the unrepentant world to see the hand of God, yet we also know that the world will still respond like this fellow..."I know!" Do you really? If he did, then he would be very careful to evaluate the situation differently.

I am not a Glenn Beck guru, but here comes the evidence. God is still in control and the effects of sin are mounting. He will one day be proven correct and the rest will be forced to own up to the truth.

How To Raise Boys That Read

2010-09-24T13:30:00.003-05:00

Recently I was reading a blog by Justin Taylor that obviously for me stood out. I am the very proud father of four boys. My wife and I have a boy that absolutely loves to read and another boy that truly struggles to spend time in a book. Justin Taylor references an article he found in the Wall Street Journal Opinion Journal about the struggles of our modern boys to become readers. There is an old saying, "Readers are Leaders." We are finding a drought of solid leaders in our males and perhaps one of the issues is found in there lack of motivation to grow and mature.

I am going to leave the entire article here for you to read for yourself. I am under no delusion that the author is looking at this from a religious vs. secular viewpoint. I think he is simply looking at this from a realist standpoint. May I as a father of boys show my boys the joy of reading over the joys of sitting in front of a Brain Drain like the TV or computer screen. Let's demonstrate the amazement and the thrill of being immersed in the story of a good book rather than the numbing of carpel tunnel causing computer gaming. Here is the article.

By THOMAS SPENCE

When I was a young boy, America's elite schools and universities were almost entirely reserved for males. That seems incredible now, in an era when headlines suggest that boys are largely unfit for the classroom. In particular, they can't read.

According to a recent report from the Center on Education Policy, for example, substantially more boys than girls score below the proficiency level on the annual National Assessment of Educational Progress reading test. This disparity goes back to 1992, and in some states the percentage of boys proficient in reading is now more than ten points below that of girls. The male-female reading gap is found in every socio-economic and ethnic category, including the children of white, college-educated parents.

The good news is that influential people have noticed this problem. The bad news is that many of them have perfectly awful ideas for solving it.

Everyone agrees that if boys don't read well, it's because they don't read enough. But why don't they read? A considerable number of teachers and librarians believe that boys are simply bored by the "stuffy" literature they encounter in school. According to a revealing Associated Press story in July these experts insist that we must "meet them where they are"—that is, pander to boys' untutored tastes.

For elementary- and middle-school boys, that means "books that exploit [their] love of bodily functions and gross-out humor." AP reported that one school librarian treats her pupils to "grossology" parties. "Just get 'em reading," she counsels cheerily. "Worry about what they're reading later."

There certainly is no shortage of publishers ready to meet boys where they are. Scholastic has profitably catered to the gross-out market for years with its "Goosebumps" and "Captain Underpants" series. Its latest bestsellers are the "Butt Books," a series that began with "The Day My Butt Went Psycho."

The more venerable houses are just as willing to aim low. Penguin, which once used the slogan, "the library of every educated person," has its own "Gross Out" line for boys, including such new classics as "Sir Fartsalot Hunts the Booger."

Workman Publishing made its name telling women "What to Expect When You're Expecting." How many of them expected they'd be buying "Oh, Yuck! The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty" a few years later from the same publisher? Even a self-published author like Raymond Bean—nom de plume of the fourth-grade teacher who wrote "SweetFarts"—can make it big in this genre. His flatulence-themed opus hit no. 3 in children's humor on Amazon. The sequel debuts this fall.

Education was once understood as training for freedom. Not merely the transmission of information, education entailed the formation of manners and taste. Aristotle thought we should be raised "so as both to delight in and to be pained by the things that we ought; this is the right education."

"Plato before him," writes C. S. Lewis, "had said the same. The little human animal will not at first have the right responses. It must be trained to feel pleasure, liking, disgust, and hatred at those things which really are pleasant, likeable, disgusting, and hateful."

This kind of training goes against the grain, and who has time for that? How much easier to meet children where they are.

One obvious problem with the SweetFarts philosophy of education is that it is more suited to producing a generation of barbarians and morons than to raising the sort of men who make good husbands, fathers and professionals. If you keep meeting a boy where he is, he doesn't go very far.

The other problem is that pandering doesn't address the real reason boys won't read. My own experience with six sons is that even the squirmiest boy does not require lurid or vulgar material to sustain his interest in a book.

So why won't boys read? The AP story drops a clue when it describes the efforts of one frustrated couple with their 13-year-old unlettered son: "They've tried bribing him with new video games." Good grief.

The appearance of the boy-girl literacy gap happens to coincide with the proliferation of video games and other electronic forms of entertainment over the last decade or two. Boys spend far more time "plugged in" than girls do. Could the reading gap have more to do with competition for boys' attention than with their supposed inability to focus on anything other than outhouse humor?

Dr. Robert Weis, a psychology professor at Denison University, confirmed this suspicion in a randomized controlled trial of the effect of video games on academic ability. Boys with video games at home, he found, spend more time playing them than reading, and their academic performance suffers substantially. Hard to believe, isn't it, but Science has spoken.

The secret to raising boys who read, I submit, is pretty simple—keep electronic media, especially video games and recreational Internet, under control (that is to say, almost completely absent). Then fill your shelves with good books.

People who think that a book—even R.L. Stine's grossest masterpiece—can compete with the powerful stimulation of an electronic screen are kidding themselves. But on the level playing field of a quiet den or bedroom, a good book like "Treasure Island" will hold a boy's attention quite as well as "Zombie Butts from Uranus." Who knows—a boy deprived of electronic stimulation might even become desperate enough to read Jane Austen.

Most importantly, a boy raised on great literature is more likely to grow up to think, to speak, and to write like a civilized man. Whom would you prefer to have shaped the boyhood imagination of your daughter's husband—Raymond Bean or Robert Louis Stevenson?

I offer a final piece of evidence that is perhaps unanswerable: There is no literacy gap between home-schooled boys and girls. How many of these families, do you suppose, have thrown grossology parties?

Mr. Spence is president of Spence Publishing Company in Dallas.

Not building Museums, but being part of a Movement

2010-09-08T15:48:00.003-05:00

One of the people coming to our church passed along a link to this site recently. On the site was this video where Darrin Patrick spoke of a church that was planted and then within two generations, died. Watch the video. It is alarming, yet it is filled with hope. Young and old alike need to heed the warning and may it truly challenge our churches to mature and build for a future that is anticipating the coming of Christ, but willing to work faithfully until He does so.

A "WOW" Moment!

2010-07-09T11:14:00.005-05:00

I had a "Wow" moment this morning. In order to get to that let me take you back to...oh.... the beginning of this week. We have had a lot of rain here over the past few weeks. Now, if you are in the southern parts of the States, please do not take that as a snub to you. But we have. We keep getting these huge gully washers. You in the south know what those are. Heavy deluges of sheet after sheet of rain. Needless to say, my grass has grown over those days. Problem? Well, the timing of my week has been mismatching the available moments to drag out the mower and actually cut that lush blanket of green stuff that needed to be brought under control.

So...(getting to the "wow")....I woke this morning knowing that again I would have no time to cut it this evening and knowing that tomorrow was pretty much shot and that of course Sunday is not the day of mowing but the day of musing. That leaves Monday...NO, I am taking a van load of kids to camp! So....I had the idea of seeing if my eldest child could handle the responsibility of mowing the lawn.

Caleb is now 10 and will be 11 in January. He is a responsible boy, but is he able to handle the job? I have him drag out the mower. We go through the pre-mow checklist. Gas? Check. Oil? Check. Primed? Check. What is that thing under the mower called that actually cuts the grass? "Blade, Dad." Ok, Check. What happens if you get your foot under the mower? ...you get the idea. This is serious business. Life or death in the power of a 10 year old! I gave the lecture on watching out for rocks and to not get cute while mowing. He pulls the cord, it cranks, I lecture on cutting the tall stuff and doing a good job. He takes off and as far as I know, has done a great job.

WOW!

Where has the time gone? When did my firstborn child become tall enough, strong enough, and even decisive enough to be able to handle such a job? It has been happening everyday for the past 10 years. (Pause while I grab a kleenex.)

Where is this all going? In reality, I don't know. I mean, yes, I know what I want to say here, but what is next in his life, for him as a growing young man? I don't know. That is somewhat scary, yet I have a responsibility to teach, live, and just simply allow him to expand as he is ready. Problem is....I don't want him to be ready. I want him to stay little, controllable, maintainable, and even dependent upon me. I don't want to let the rope out and let him step out, and sometimes mess up.

But the beauty of God's Word states that I have to train him and teach him, why? Because one day he will be most likely having the same conversation with his son or daughter that my father had with me. Not just about mowers, but about life, and about making wise decisions and even how to handle failures and mistakes.

I need to teach him the joy of doing it God's way and the pain that comes in trying a wrong way. I have to warn him, but in the end, I have to remember that there will be a day when I won't be there to grab him or choose for him. What then? Will he choose wisely? I hope so. I hope that there will be many more "wow" moments where I am able to see the growth, maturity, and power of God working in him.

One thing that comes to my mind in all of this is that I can't stop leading and living the kind of life before him that shows how important God is and how involved God wants to be. I want to show him, not just tell him, how wonderful God is and how special it is to be called a child of God. That it really is a "WOW" thing to be in the will and arms of a gracious, loving God.

Oh,and another thing....Now I have someone else to mow the lawn!

Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-17T15:35:00.004-05:00

We come again to another turn in the yearly cycle where we have celebrated a New Year, Valentine's Day, the entrance of Spring, Motherhood, Veterans, and soon, Fathers.

As I am a father it is a bit more personal for me. As well, we welcomed our 4th boy into the world just three weeks ago. This is a very special Father's Day indeed.

The greatest challenge we have as dads is to realize that a very high standard has been set up for us. The God of this universe is referred to as, "Father." His place in our existence is such as Creator and originator. James tells us plainly that from Him comes all that is good in our lives.

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17

We have the classic passages where Christ describes the generosity and fairness of God. Where God is seen as a loving Father who would not withhold any good thing from His child.

"Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? "Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" Matthew 7:9-11

I also take note of what Christ had said just prior to that passage.

Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48

Mark Twain is credited as once saying that when he was 13 he realized how stupid his father was, but by the time he reached his 20's he couldn't believe how smart his father had become.

Our job as fathers is not to seek the approval of our children. We are to seek the approval of God, our Father. We are not here to emulate man's philosophy of raising children, but we are to emulate the philosophy of God in how He seeks to raise us into the image of His perfect Son, Jesus Christ. Our ministry is such as the Father has for us.

May we as fathers look to stop being selfish, self-centered, and more enamored with the reflection of our faces in the mirror of God's Word. May it reveal our faults, but may we then seek from that same book to rectify our lives according to the truth of God. Let's live each day as fathers. Let's live each day in such a way that our heavenly father is seen in us for our children's sake and for the rest of the world to see.

Newest Member of our family

2010-05-28T08:51:00.003-05:00

The Lord has graciously allowed our family to add another member to the ranks. Elijah was born yesterday around 2:01 PM. Thank you to those who prayed for Kelly and the little guy. Pray now for us as we adjust to another little one in the house.

Here is the little man.

Humor From The Aged

2010-04-21T11:35:00.003-05:00

Believe it or not, but my mother sent me this and I just wanted to share it here. Very cute and for some it is one you have heard before, but I hope it tickles a part of your funny bone today.

The local news station was interviewing an 80-year-old lady because she had just gotten married for the fourth time. The interviewer asked her questions about her life, about what it felt like to be marrying again at 80, and then about her new husband's occupation.
"He's a funeral director," she answered.
He then asked her if she wouldn't mind telling him a little about her first three husbands and what they did for a living. She paused for a few moments, needing time to reflect on all those years.
After a short time, a smile came to her face and she answered proudly,
Explaining that she had first married a banker when she was in her early 20's, then a circus ringmaster when in her 40's, and a preacher when in her 60's, and now in her 80's, a funeral director.
The interviewer looked at her, quite astonished, and asked why she had married four men with such diverse careers.
She smiled and explained, "I married one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go."

Allow for Space in the Music

2010-04-13T11:53:00.004-05:00

I frequently get e-newsletters from Christianity Today (a very evangelical magazine and ezine). Some of them are good and some are infuriating, but this particular article stood out to me as one that was well written and challenging.

The content is about dealing with the uncomfortable situation of being a true friend to some individual suffering through chronic or lifelong pain or suffering. What words of comfort are truly comforting? What words are well intended but in the end cause more frustration or feelings of wanting to withdraw even more.

As a pastor there are times I feel void of any ability to offer hope to someone. I have individuals in my family and in my church who struggle with persistent physical or emotional turmoil. What are my choices of communicating hope to these people. What can I say that won't hurt them more and drive them deeper into despair?

This article was a good reminder of some things to be aware of and conscious of. There are times we are totally unaware of the burdens that some people carry and so we find ourselves saying things that are hurtful without knowing it. Those are different situations from the ones that this article addresses.

May we learn to Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. (Romans 12:15)

I like the last part of the article where it derives the title. Sometimes it comes down to us simply living out the truth we wish to verbally share. Sometimes we simply need to shut our mouths and let our actions relay the truth of comfort the person truly needs.

Allow for Space in the Music | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Laughter

2010-04-06T10:55:00.003-05:00

I sit right now in my office and down the hall from me a group of our ladies are sitting together for a Bible study. The sounds though are sounds of comfort, refreshing, and joy. The sounds are of laughter.

The thing that makes this sound so great is that I know that many of these ladies are dealing with life's tough side. Some are struggling with health issues, some are struggling with unsaved spouses, some are struggling with relationships and family obligations. But for this moment, they can laugh.

Scripture is right:
A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast. Proverbs 15:13,15

So many times we become enamored with our lack, our frustration, and our dread of situations and life; but God's Word is filled with the optimism of hope, strength, and that source of wisdom when appropriately applying the knowledge that God grants us that ask it of Him.

Trials bring focus and that focus should be upon the One that brings joy and thus the ability to still find ways to laugh and not be overwrought and even overwhelmed with circumstances. Keep your attention on the Divine and less on the details that want to cloud our vision of what God is accomplishing in our lives.

Six the same but different

2010-03-02T12:55:00.001-06:00

Found this online the other day. Amazing the technology and with that the possibilities. Also, this guy has quite a range. Enjoy it and remember this is the same guy, singing all six different parts.

Chronic.....Joy?

2010-02-25T13:59:00.007-06:00

I just recently sat at the side of a hospital bed with an individual who has all of their life experienced one physical complication after another. Serious surgeries where organs have been removed, and procedures that left this person with drastic limitations. One thing after another has hit this one and they are "sick and tired of being sick and tired."

I have never experienced that. The chronic pain, the chronic suffering, the chronic bouts of physical limitations that lead to the battle of depression, discouragement, and a longing for release!

Chronic....On going, never finding a full release, no end in sight, or just when you think it is finally over....Chronic!

Where is there any joy in that? How can I, in reasonably good health, never much for hospitals, not aware of any physical abnormalities and find getting a head cold a point of absolute misery...How can I extend a hope of joy?

How can I offer to this dear soul the words of comfort and hope that they need in order to "feel good" when life is filled with the chronic "bad" that has plagued them for all these years?

The reality is that JOY is not mine to give. Joy is not mine to create. Joy is not within me to begin with. Joy is outside of me and comes from a source beyond me.

"If you want Joy, real joy, wonderful joy, Let Jesus come into your heart," as the old chorus goes. "Your sins He'll wash away, your night He'll turn to day, your life He'll make it over a new."

But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You. Psalms 5:11

You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. Psalms 16:11

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning. Psalms 30:5

The angelic herald at Christ's birth shouted this statement: But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; Luke 2:10 Joy came with the coming of Christ. The ability to find contentment, rest, peace.

"Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends."
John 15:9-13

Love and joy, being loved, finding joy. This is our God we are speaking of. The One that knows that this dear one is in a hospital bed for the "umpteenth" time and is discouraged with life and the body they find themselves encased in.

This is the same God however, that endured our death so that even though our "sin-afflicted" existence should leave us trapped in a physical body that just won't respond as we would hope, we have this joy! HE is coming to redeem us, to deliver us, to free us and that existence will bring about freedom from pain, suffering, trials, and depression of mind and spirit.

But what about while we wait? What do I do now? How do I endure until that day? By finding Christ to be that daily source of joy. He is my contentment, He is my daily bread, He is my peace, my lover, my provider of grace. As I live with Him in mind my pain has a purpose. My suffering has a reason. My life is not about me, but about using the daily reminder that God has given me that I need Him! He is my joy and He is my grace. He is my confidence and He is my heart's physician.

I am nothing without Him and through Him I can do all that He asks of me. He is my cause, my reason, my hope and all my tomorrows!

"My Joy...in you," Jesus says just hours, minutes, before the cross. Real joy, wonderful joy. A life changing joy that is not based upon circumstances, but a joy that brings contentment in the midst of "real life."

Joy when life is...well, "Chronic."

No Greater Love

2010-01-26T12:16:00.007-06:00

It is very rare that I comment on movies or such things like that, but here in the past few posts the movie industry has come up. However, this time I highly recommend a visual production entitled, No Greater Love.

This is a Lionsgate production and comes with a 4 out of 5 for family friendliness from the Dove Foundation.

My wife and I viewed this just recently and both of us were just overwhelmed with the acting and the portrayal of Christianity through the eyes of an unbeliever. We loved it! It was honest, fresh, very well done, and tastefully, yet vividly emotional.

The opening scenes are abrupt and certainly get your attention. They deal with a wife caught in the grips of deep depression and turns to alcohol as a way out before she abandons her husband and 10 month old son. The movie then comes to the present day where this abandoned husband, Dave, and his 10 year old son are very attached and lovingly strong in their relationship. The husband now, an unbeliever, is now actually thinking of marrying another woman, yet has such emotional ties to his long-lost wife.

The movie brings us along the journey of discovering his lost wife, now dealing with the anger, bitterness, yet overwhelming love he still has for her. The problem now is that the wife, Heather, has become a Christian. She is a totally different person. What now? Believers and Unbelievers being married? Divorced? Different paths, plans, and what about the burden of a believer's heart to follow God when now comes this man she lost contact with and a son she has not known for his entire life practically?

This is a great movie that tugs at your heart and portrays the power of Christ's change in those who are truly saved and walking in obedience.

I encourage you to watch it. I think the content is a bit much for a younger audience and would agree with Dove's assessment of keeping it to an audience of 12 years old and up. This is a much milder version of a Fire Proof kind of movie. The emotions are calmer yet very intense at the same time.

We found our copy in the local video store, so make it a date movie if you like that and enjoy, No Greater Love.

Service Times and The Big Game!

2010-01-22T14:13:00.003-06:00

Recently a man I respect and admire wrote an article about how we determine our approach to scheduling church services during big sporting events like the one coming up on February 7. What will the churches do especially if they are rooting for teams that could be headed in that direction? John Pratt, a pastor and teacher at Central Seminary in Plymouth, Minnesota addresses this topic.

He brings out several things that we all should wrestle with even if you are not a sports fan, but have any activities in which you are an enthusiast. Let it challenge you as much as it did me.

(If unable to use the link - http://centralmn.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/service-times-and-sporting-events/ )

God given abilities

2010-01-22T13:10:00.003-06:00

Was shown this recently. Thought I would pass it on. Great story and a great family from all indications.

( If having trouble seeing the clip - www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=9xwCG0Ey2Mg )

Multi-site churches, are they effectively connecting?

2010-01-20T09:21:00.003-06:00

This has been a discussion point for some in our church already. Interesting thoughts and I personally like the direction this writer took this piece. I am in agreement for the most part on many of the points he makes for this post. Collin Hansen also notes an USA TODAY article in his post that you should check out as well.

The Hansen Report: Valuing Visitation | Out of Ur | Conversations for Ministry Leaders

I do agree that more needs to be said on this topic and that there are some things that Collin left out or just bated the reader into thinking on, but I do think that it is not about mega as better, but about are we still effectively resembling a body that is fit to bring people into a relationship with Christ and into a growing identity with Him?

Christ is the focus and we simply come with abilities and gifts that God wants to add to this local body to make it effective in demonstrating the power of God's love and grace, and to show forth the change Christ is able to make in our individual lives as we work together for Him.

NOTE:
If you are having trouble with the link above then copy this link and paste in your browser bar.
http://www.outofur.com/archives/2010/01/the_hansen_repo_6.html?sms_ss=blogger

The Book of Eli

2010-01-08T12:30:00.007-06:00

I just received an email today from a source for churches and inside its contents was a link to invite churches to use this new movie called The Book of Eli as a way to have a Bible study.

I clicked on the link and open up to a trailer about a movie cast in the future after the earth, especially the United States has endured a apocalyptic event some 30 years prior.

The movie comes with a "R" rating and contains graphic violence and language throughout. So, my first twinge of consciousness is why are we even using this as a study guide to Bible study? The link above will take you to a page where there are study notes that you can download referring to particular scenes from the movie.

This obviously made me more curious about the movie itself. So I went to the movie's official site to learn a bit more about this movie.

The interesting thing is that the Bible is at the center of this film. That is due to it being supposedly the last remaining copy in existence and Denzel's character, Eli is on a mission to carry it from the east coast to the west coast. Why? We never really get a clear reason other than he has a destiny and perhaps a vision has spurned him on. So for years now he has been making his difficult journey across country to fulfill this mission given him by....well, I guess God.

Now...I know this is a movie. I know that it has many flaws and perhaps some admirable attempts to introduce faith and purpose around a iconic symbol like the Bible. But it is a movie produced by secular minds to present some sort of sordid philosophy about ignorance and education, faith and the power to control through fear and intimidation. Good versus evil in just another setting and in another imaginative way.

From all the trailers and dialogue it reminds me of a remixed version of Mad Max and Waterworld. We have led us to our deserving end and where is the leader that will rise to save the existing world and make the good to prevail?

Ok, enough about movie reviews especially since I have not seen the movie and probably won't since I have a problem with promoting a Christian to see something that even the world says is worthy of a "R" rating.

That leads me to my next thought. Why do we need to use this film to help us promote what is already in the Bible? Why do we need to turn to secular sources and even such violent ones to help us make parallels with the Biblical truth?

Now someone might argue that Jesus took the familiar and the examples around Him to bring out heavenly principles, but I would still argue that He didn't use such examples as "R" rated movies to fulfill His search for an analogy.

How far is too far and where do we start drawing lines in helping us be careful not to condone worldliness in an attempt to be "in touch" or "in tune" with where people are today? I could draw parallels to many of the apocalyptic movies of today and yesterday, because we know that sin destroys and people without Christ are basically zombies, but I still don't think we should go out and bring in clips from "Night of the Living Dead" to help us illustrate the point.

Now we have a movie that uses the Bible as its symbolic icon in a movie that is filled to the hilt with violence and vulgarity and we just have to make sure we use it to help people learn some sort of Biblical truths?

Come ON!

Alive!

2010-01-05T11:38:00.005-06:00

I am writing this obviously more for my benefit than for anyone else's. The seasons of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and now New Year have come.....and gone! So, now what? What do we have to look forward to? In a word....

LIFE.

So much of life happens between the bookends. As we read the book the title just draws us in and the contents page just lays out the progression, but until you turn to page 1 and begin to read, nothing really can be learned or appreciated from the book.

So much of life I feel falls in a similar vein. We can start this year with all the good intentions and can declare it by title...2010! Now the analogy breaks down, because as LIFE happens the contents of this year begin to be etched upon the pages of each day, month, and then in summation, the year's end. But nothing can be experienced apart from the living of this life.

We look back and see that from January 1st to December 31st we have experienced the real and the mundane. But is life really able to be mundane? When you take into account that somewhere right now children are born....and children die? When you take into account that there are those whose livelihoods were taken away this past year and others had great success? When you consider that someone's daughter or son went off to college, graduated, got married, or moved to another country?

How can we say that life is mundane? How can we call life routine? Life is what we are filled with, look forward to, protect with all our might. Life is who we are and what we live for.

So, what will our life be like this new year? What will we live for? What will we give up, let go, or claim as the moment of great delight, fear, hope, dread, or success?

LIFE

To know it, and to have it, and then to live it. As a Christian my life is sourced, founded and sealed in the ONE who alone has given to me real LIFE, real purpose, and real hope. LIFE has no real meaning apart from Christ and the life He has blessed me with. Yes, blessed me with. Even in death, in loss, or in great triumph and new found directions, all of these come together for His glory and my good.

As comes the New Year, so comes the opportunity to remember the New Life that we have because of Christ. May this new year afford us the opportunity to make Christ the real success in our lives. May we be found at December 31, 2010 as a faithful steward and a promoter of LIFE in Christ.

Minors and Major - A Request for Prayer

2009-10-25T08:31:00.005-05:00

This next week I go to be with my father who is having major open heart surgery. I am grateful that God has protected my father and I know that God is in absolute control of all that will transpire.

I have only had "minor surgery." Of course I have come to believe that the label "minor" is only given to the surgery that is done to someone else. But this is a "major" deal. No matter what kind of circumstance of life, major or minor, we need to always remember that God is still God. Nothing has taken Him by surprise and that His will is best.

I am most certainly not a fatalist, nor am I one to believe that life is only what I make of it. God has a plan, a purpose, a design for life. I fit into that framework and in my existence I affect and am effected by others.

My father has affected many lives in over 50 years of ministry. This is a surgery that will be prayed for in many different time zones and in different countries. I am sure of that. However, I am grateful that people are praying for it is to the One and only One God that we turn to in these "major" points of life with absolute confidence that He is the only one who can make the "no-matter-what-happens" of life work out for His glory and our good.

I hope we can also learn this in the "minors" of life as well. God is still the only one who can seam together the monotonous of our daily routine into a tapestry of effective and purposeful living.

Thanks for praying and may we remember that God is just as concerned with our minors and we are about our majors.

The First Argument

2009-10-20T10:16:00.003-05:00

I know I was planning to get back to my previous post, but I came across this today and thought it pretty funny. What do you suppose was Adam and Eve's first argument after they were kicked out of the garden? Here is one possibility.

Open Source Churches

2009-10-07T12:59:00.007-05:00

J. R. Kerr, the singles/teaching pastor at Park Community Church in Chicago, IL, recently wrote an article in Leadership Journal. The title of his article was "Open Source Activists." The motivation behind his article is to demonstrate how leadership styles need to change to reflect the changes in how people process and interact with information.

Open Source tools like YouTube and Wikipedia give the average person on the street the ability to create and give input where before that person would be forced to simply observe or only interact with a limited audience.

J. R. Kerr challenges the way our churches today use leadership and specifically a top-down mentality. The pastor becomes the focal point and without his input and direction, people are left powerless to perform their tasks and accomplish their ministries.

He put it this way, I was supposed to have some degree of control over every part of the church, supposed to have the answer to whatever problem arose. One day, I had a string of meetings that kept me from my office most of the day. Upon my return I met five people whose jobs had come to a halt because they needed me. They all had the information and the skills necessary to do their work, but they lacked the authority—the necessary space—to lead. This kind of organizational environment expects leaders to know and control virtually everything in the life of the community.

Mr. Kerr's big push is that leadership in churches today needs to relinquish control and allow others to be involved in the creative and development process of ministry within the church. He argues that people today want to be heard and have a voice in the development of ideas and even the shaping of vision for that assembly.

Kerr holds that nothing within our churches should be considered off limits or untouchable if it is felt to be an obstacle to success.

J. R. Kerr's final paragraph helps summarize his view. This new generation sees themselves and their potential differently. They don't require titles and positions to influence the culture. This is a generation of social activists, artists, and leaders who intend to accomplish great things for the kingdom of God. Our responsibility is to make space for them, and that requires thinking differently about how we lead.

Read the article if you find time and I am going to react more in my next blog. It is a challenge to us as "leaders" to make sure that we are truly leading in a way that is Biblical, effective, relevant, and going somewhere. Are we leading or just being control freaks? Are we enabling or just micromanaging? Are we shepherding or butchering our flock? We are to be leaders so how should we lead?

Kerr is pressing an issue here. Is he right or reactionary? Is he on target or misguided? Is it situational, personality, or is it overarching?

Crazy Love (A Review)

2009-09-30T13:35:00.003-05:00

I have just finished listening to the audio book version of Crazy Love by Francis Chan. It has been a very challenging and meditative time. Francis Chan incites us to earnestly inspect our God and His love for us. Chan also then provokes us (me) to consider how I love my God in return. How then do I demonstrate, interact, and increase my ability to love God?

Tim Challies does his review of this book as well. Read his review and then I encourage you to also read or listen to this resource.

It is a crazy love to this world. But to us may it be a kind of love that causes us to be more like Christ. You can also check out the website for this book HERE.

Fearful

2009-09-23T12:43:00.008-05:00

My family and I had the opportunity to go this past Monday and Tuesday to the Wisconsin Fellowship of Baptist Churches. It was their annual meeting and held in West Bend. We traveled over and had a great couple of days making some new acquaintances, seeing old friends, and getting know newer friends better.

The theme this year was from 1 Corinthians 16:13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

The phrase they took was "stand fast in the faith." Fred Moritz was the main speaker and did a phenomenal job of challenging us to stand fast, be strong, to understand that the source of our strength is not in us but is from the Lord.

I am reminded of Paul's comments in 2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

What do we have to fear? What do we have that could cause us to cower in dread and timidity? The power of God is mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. It is the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead, cast demons out of people, healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, gave strength to the lame, and today transforms a sin-dead soul into a forgiven-eternally saved saint!

This power is the same power that rests in each and every one of us who knows Christ as our Savior. This power is what grants us the authority to go and proclaim a message of deliverance and redemption.

Fearful? Of what? A threat on our life, a shunning of a relative, a losing of an old friend? Afraid of losing your job, losing your health, losing your parent, losing your spouse, losing your child?

Fearful? Of whom? The devil, the political activists, the unregenerate neighbor, the waiter at our table? The bill collector, the soldier at the door who is there to tell you your loved one is missing or dead while serving his/her country?

There are perhaps many scenarios that would warrant our response to be fearful. But really, what do we have to fear? For God is not its author. God is not the bringer of fear. He is the One who grants POWER! His power, the creative power of a God who can and did create everything in six literal days according to His perfect design. The Power of this God created storms and yet He also calms storms.

He is the One who grants us LOVE! A love that sees the burden of a sin-sick soul and the consequences of a life who rejects Christ's sacrifice upon that cross. A love that is not sensual, selfish, or based upon it being reciprocated. We have the love of Christ which then compels us to love others and to demonstrate that love. It is a love that passes all comprehension and yet is something to be known. It is a love that sacrificed all and gave it to you and to me. It is a love that sees past the immediate and beholds the potential of all that is good in the hand of this gracious and loving God.

He is the One who grants to us a sound mind, a discipline, a view point on reality and the way we are to live. Fear causes a frantic tendency. We lose perspective; we lose faith. Fear stirs up imaginations and tendencies to lose touch on what is real. God is REAL. God did not put into us a spirit of fear, but gave to us a source of control and understanding. We can grasp the direction we are to go because we have His Word. We can gain the comfort we need because we have His Spirit. We can gravitate toward the right support group because we have His Body, the church. Nothing can truly shake us if we are living by faith and not by fear.

We are not to live in fear. Fear cripples, distracts, and states that we have not a God who understands, comprehends, or transcends to our situation, needs, or time frame. Fear takes our eyes off God who CAN and declares that there is now before us a situation that God cannot do anything about. But that is not true. Fear focuses upon the lie and Faith focuses upon the truth.

I have not a God who can't, but a God who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. (Ephesians 3:20)

Fear CANNOT, but God certainly CAN!

Anxious

2009-09-16T13:46:00.003-05:00

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (Philippians 4:6)

I need this verse today. Quit the natural tendency to grow anxious and fretful. Let nothing distract from the primary hope and supply. Turn your worry into a prayer. Turn your anxiety into a source of supplication.

Remember with thanksgiving the hope you have in God and the past supply that God has already demonstrated Himself capable of granting.

Simple requests, important requests, the outcry of "help, its an emergency and I have no where else to turn." God smiles and says, "Finally. You understand. You had no where else before. About time you showed up. So, what is it, Child, that you need today?"

May I be anxious about nothing, for God is careful about everything that comes into my life that it be for my good and His glory.

Understanding the Times

2009-08-28T11:04:00.006-05:00

I guess for the past few days I have been very aware of some of the issues going on in our political and social spheres. Of course this impacts us. As believers we need to be aware of the times and aware of what is influencing the thinking of our neighbors and even our fellow church attendees.

I have been reading through the Chronicles lately. Yeah, I know... But as I have been working, more like plowing, through the lists of names and chronologies, and David's mighty men, I was struck with some verses in 1 Chronicles 12.

And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment. Of Zebulun, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, with all instruments of war, fifty thousand, which could keep rank: they were not of double heart.
1 Chronicles 12:32-33

Notice those words, understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.

I especially love the next verse, they were not of double heart.

These men, simply leaders of their people, no mention of names, but they new the times in which they lived. Their hearts were not duplicitous.

Obviously (but perhaps not to some) the context is that of establishing David as king after the death of Saul. David did not just assume the support of the people. They had loved Saul, been loyal to Saul, had followed him even at great peril to their own lives. They had established Saul as king. Now, here is David. Some had run immediately to crown him. Saul's descendants had been obviously less forth coming. But we find it took nearly eight years before all of Israel rallied around David.

But these men, these ones who understood the times and had hearts ready for submission saw in David the leader that needed to rule, the one that God had ordained.

Where am I going with this? I see so many times the need for our people today to be ones who "understand the times" in which we live. We have our systems of loyalty and yet we have become more stubborn in areas that perhaps God is ready to move on or allow for a new direction.

I look at people following man and they become disillusioned with the person instead of beholding where they are in time and events of life. Pastors rise for the occasion and if we are not careful we begin to grow more enamored with the charisma or the personality of that man instead of allowing the greatness of God to work through him.

We can grow enamored with a stand on some issue because it meant something different in the 60's and 70's but today that position is mute because either the medium has changed or the association surrounding it has changed. However, we will still refuse to have any connotation or context associating our lives to it because of a previous need to stand firm against something that resembled it in the past.

I know I am speaking in vague terms, but of course, I have things in my mind that I see as being a totally different issue today than it was 20-30 years ago. If we don't start understanding the times in which we live and get our hearts in tune with the current trends and directions our people are facing, we are going to continue to prove to our audiences that the Bible is irrelevant and insufficient to deal with 21st Century living. How sad that is!

Saul is dead! David is ready to assume the throne. Let's move on already. Come out of hiding, accept the vision and leadership God has given us and let's go face the enemy in power and with God's present, ordained, and appropriate strategies. Remember, David was a man after God's own heart. He was not going to lead them contrary to God's vision and leading, but it would be different than how Saul led them. Have understanding appropriate for the day in which you live.

Understanding the times and like we find in Esther, "for such a time as this." It's time for some things to change in order to reveal the changeless truth of God's Word to a different world from the one we went to sleep in last night and the one we woke up to today.

Follow up to previous Post (Below)

2009-08-25T11:07:00.000-05:00

CARS.com and YOUR Computer

2009-08-25T10:52:00.000-05:00

Obama comes down on DOMA (OneNewsNow.com)

2009-08-18T13:14:00.003-05:00

President Obama is at it again. I know we are commanded in Scripture to pray for our leaders. As believers we need to be aware of the direction our government leaders are taking this nation. The Defense of Marriage Act is now our president's target. You can follow the link below to see a viewpoint on this. May we pray..."Even so come QUICKLY, Lord!"

Obama comes down on DOMA (OneNewsNow.com)

Shared via AddThis

In that day!

2009-07-22T13:15:00.005-05:00

In our Wednesday evening Bible studies we are just starting a series on the Names of God. A study of this type is not meant to become a series of etymological digressions or a broad excuse of rabbit trails, but it is a powerful study into the character and the vast attributes of our God.

As I was studying for tonight's thought one of the key verses is found in Isaiah 12. The whole chapter is only six verses long and is such a wonderful declaration of God's remembrance and restoration. Of course it is following fast upon the thoughts found in Isaiah 11 where we read.....

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. (Isaiah 11:1-5)

The chapter then goes on to describe a regathering of the people of Israel. Then chapter 12 comes in with a certain optimism. In that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee. (Isaiah 12:1b)

Then again in verse four,

And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

Now I do understand a distinction must be made between Israel of the Old Testament and the church of the New Testament. But there is the matter of Isaiah's prophecy of this "rod" and "Branch" in 11:1. This is Christ. In many ways we see a prophetic glimpse into the coming Savior who would not only offer redemption to Israel, but also to me, a Gentile!

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:2-3)

For us as New Testament believers, that day has already come. I will praise Him! I now say, "Praise the Lord!" For today I can call upon His name and can declare to the world His doings among His people. I am ready and willing to make mention that His name is exalted.

As Peter tells us in his first epistle,

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: (1 Peter 2:9)

As Paul declares in Ephesians,

And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both [Jew and Gentile] have access by one Spirit unto the Father. (Ephesians 2:16-18)

We as believers in the promised One of God, the Messiah, the anointed and holy One sent down from the Father should respond with enthusiasm as Isaiah put it in verse five:

Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

Let it be in this day we praise our great God for such a great plan that demonstrated His awesome power and delivered unto us His very presence all granted in the Person of Jesus Christ, the rod, the Branch, the Savior. In this day!

Did You Know?

2009-07-20T10:55:00.001-05:00

I was made aware of this video short by one of our church members recently. The components struck me as "wow factors" and of course I immediately think of how these things are impacting the shape of Christianity, our missions endeavors, the way we approach the world as a whole and even the smaller cluster of that population within our local regions.

I also thought about how this is shaping end times and bringing about more possibilities than we could have even imagined 10 years ago. Check out the video and see it through a Biblical Worldview.

Amazing Techno Animation

2009-07-16T10:20:00.001-05:00

Signs of the times! This is pretty neat. The music is not so "cool," so if you wish to mute feel free. However, we are coming into an age where a picture of your face on a computer can be used to do some pretty amazing things. (Kind of scary too!) Here is a case in point. Pretty neat animation and some pretty cute kids too.

This thing called "Ministry" (Part 12)

2009-07-15T11:01:00.008-05:00

I come to the conclusion of this series I have been running on the shape of ministry through the pages of Paul's epistle to the Corinthians, specifically, 1 Corinthians.

The whole series has been a personal viewpoint of how Paul did ministry, expressed ministry, and challenged me as a minister to view my own understanding and performance. There are obviously many other passages we could go to and study, but this book was for me a challenge. Ministry is about a heart and soul dedicated and sold out for Christ. Ministry is about forgiveness and forthrightness. Ministry is about transparency and honesty. Ministry is about people and less about pride.

The passage I want to conclude with is thus:

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:50-58)

What a classic passage of Scripture! Paul grants to us a new lease on living. We are given such great contrasts between corruptible and incorruptible, mortal and immortality. We are shown the stark reality of death but the greater conquest of Christ over death. We are given "new revelation" that death holds no power over the forgiven soul and the grave is not a place of repose or cessation.

The law brought death's sting, but Christ's death destroyed death's law. Death and the grave hold no more power and we have victory, catch that, VICTORY!

Notice then the conclusion that Paul grants us in verse 58, "Therefore....BE."

Be what? Here then lies ministry. As ministers of the Gospel and the message bearers of Christ we are to be.....

Steadfast - firmly or solidly in place (also found in Colossians 1:23 and 1 Peter 5:9)

Unmovable (immovable) - without shift or change (only place in NT where this form of the word is used)

Always abounding - has an attachment to have abundance in growth and thus to be abundantly growing. Under that idea specifically here Paul is emphasizing the idea of being outstanding, to excel, to be prominent in that growth. (Used other places but a good example is found in Colossians 2:7 of the abounding of thanksgiving.)

We could spend a lot of time discussing the further implications these terms bear, but I will leave that to you. The issue then goes to what are we to be steadfast, unmovable and abundant in? Answer: "The work of the Lord."

Another passage that comes to mind is Ephesians 4:12 - the work of service, the work of ministry. The job of pastor/teachers is to equip the saints to do their labor of love (of course we as pastors are in that category of saints as well).

"The work of the Lord."

What is your work? Where do you labor? What do you find to be your place and practice of service?

The implication is that we all are to be doing something. Thus we all are to be ministers of some sort. We all have a toil to perform and a job to accomplish until the day we are called to glory either through grave's door or by means of Christ's coming back for His chosen people. So....What then is your task? Of course we all the the Great Commission to fulfill, but specifically, what is your ministry to the body of Christ?

The challenge is granted and with it Paul then offers this word of encouragement as well, "your labor (toil) is not in vain (futile) in the Lord (when done for and because of Him)."

Ministry is many things, but it is ours to do. Ministry has many challenges and sometimes is not as noticed or seems not as important as others, but it is handed to us by the Lord of our life and lover of our soul.

Whatever your "ministry," do it unto God and not unto men. Your labor is not futile, empty, vain if it is done for Christ. He is our ministry. We labor for Him because of Him, and through the power He affords us.

Now that is Ministry!

Red Neck Skeet Shoot

2009-07-10T10:00:00.002-05:00

For all my southern friends and those who love to golf. Here is a great combination of two of our favorite past times. Enjoy!

Too Young to Stop

2009-07-08T15:19:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago I posted a YouTube video of Marlow and Francis Cowan. Here is a follow up interview that was done once they found out what a sensation they had become. What a blessing and encouragement to hear these people give praise and glory to God for the abilities and talents they have been able to use over the years.

Codex Sinaiticus

2009-07-07T10:40:00.004-05:00

I heard this morning on our Christian AM station that there is a new website for the oldest existing copy of our Bible, the Codex Sinaiticus. Go HERE to see the website for yourself and to browse through digital pictures of the actual manuscript. I love the fact that we can know for certain that what we have in our Bible is truly God's Word. So much verifies the veracity and the integrity of our modern translation which we posses and read.

Here is a brief description from the website:

Codex Sinaiticus is one of the most important books in the world. Handwritten well over 1600 years ago, the manuscript contains the Christian Bible in Greek, including the oldest complete copy of the New Testament. Its heavily corrected text is of outstanding importance for the history of the Bible and the manuscript – the oldest substantial book to survive Antiquity – is of supreme importance for the history of the book.

Codex Sinaiticus, a manuscript of the Christian Bible written in the middle of the fourth century, contains the earliest complete copy of the Christian New Testament. The hand-written text is in Greek. The New Testament appears in the original vernacular language (koine) and the Old Testament in the version, known as the Septuagint, that was adopted by early Greek-speaking Christians. In the Codex, the text of both the Septuagint and the New Testament has been heavily annotated by a series of early correctors.

The significance of Codex Sinaiticus for the reconstruction of the Christian Bible's original text, the history of the Bible and the history of Western book-making is immense.

Don't Judge Too Quickly

2009-07-06T10:34:00.000-05:00

What old people do for fun

2009-07-03T14:20:00.001-05:00

I know....you have seen this before. But I came across it again and just thought I would revisit it.

This thing called "Ministry" (Part 11)

2009-07-01T10:54:00.009-05:00

It has taken me some time to come back to this thought due to church commitments and then other personal matters, but also because I did not want to come into this next passage flippantly. We have been going through 1 Corinthians and seeing how Paul handled this thing called "Ministry."

I am a minister of the Gospel. I am a minister in my church. I am a minister at home and wherever I find myself. To be a minister is not something that comes with one approach and only one manifestation. To be a minister in this thing called ministry means that I have to be in control of my flesh, and be controlled by the Holy Spirit. But Paul also leads us to see that ministry is also about being controlled by Love.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

If I wish to speak to the needs of man and I have no love for him then it does him nor me any good. It is simply a lot of noise making. It may even sound pretty, but in the end it does not give us any melody or do much for harmony.

If I wish to proclaim the wonders of God's written word so as to impart understanding to the masses and even if my ability in faith is capable of hurtling mountains from their moorings and have no love, I am nothing.

If I gave everything I owned to feed and clothe the poor and even gave my own body up to be burned for the cause of Christ and yet have not love, it profits no one.

So many times I can get caught up in the doing and Paul reminds me that the doing is not as important as the decision to love those to whom we are doing it for and to. The messages I preach and the programs I organize will not avail to anything unless we have love for these people.

A minister is one who speaks, imparts God's Word, demonstrates faith, shows surrender, and reveals character by LOVE not titles, degrees, and even years of resume experience.

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (John 13:34)

The Christian life is a life of relationship. Imagine the relationship one would have with his or her spouse if love was ever in question. The divorce rate of our country is reflective of man's opinion of love. We move from one love to the next, from one desire to the next. The consumer mentality of our love lives is evident in the material greed and the moral degradation all around us.

But notice what Christ said...."A new commandment."

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; (Matthew 5:44)

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (Ephesians 5:25)

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; (Philippians 1:9)

Why do we not get it? The image of Christ is at stake. The purpose of the church is brought to bear. The power of the Spirit is made anemic when we choose not to love. When we choose not to love we choose to not care for and demonstrate the sacrifice of Christ, the magnitude of Christ, the preeminence of Christ by our love. When we seek to deny love we proclaim self as supreme and man as superior. We announce weakness as victorious and pride as the winner.

This thing called ministry is about how we love and if we love. It has never been about who. For even our worst of associates and our most dreaded of compatriots is brought into the circle of those with whom we are to demonstrate love as God has commanded.

Of course that is not easy. But what in the Christian life has ever been "easy?" That is why the Christian experience is a race, a battle, a field plowing experience. We wage war against the natural man everyday and we do not like being told what to do let alone who to love and how to love. We want to pick our vices and pick our friends. We want to choose our associates and compliment our likes and dislikes by the people who share in the same.

To love the unlovable and not get anything in return? Unheard of! To simply do it because God said so? Now wait a minute! I did not sign up for that kind of ministry. I want to do it my way and get something tangible for it.

May we soon remember that God got a raw deal when He chose to love us. Christ suffered immeasurably when He chose to love us. The Holy Spirit is even grieved at times with us as our indwelling representative of God when we choose to refuse to love and obey.

Ministry is about loving others as Christ loved us. May we choose wisely and quit with all the loud banging and haughty mindedness that is ruining the church. May we show love, live love, give love, and have love one for another.

Now that is ministry!

What your pastor wishes you knew about him

2009-06-18T12:16:00.006-05:00

A missionary friend of mine passed this along to me and I have already told him that there is no way that I can simply let this one pass by without adding it here. Of course, he picked this up as you will see from a pastor by the name of Dan Burrell.

First I have to interject that I give this not out of necessity. I serve in a wonderful ministry where there is much grace and love and these matters have not touched our relationship. However, I also know of men who have struggled and are still struggling with some of these attitudes and issues.

Keeping to the purpose of my blog I feel it fits to help others by passing this along so that we can be fit "for the work" of Christ. So, without further ado, here are Dan Burrell's comments.

____________________________________________________

In the last week, I’ve spent time talking with three pastors who are about ready to throw in the proverbial towel. Each case is different and no two pastors, churches, boards or any other “part” of church leadership is exactly the same, but what is common among them is a sense of deep despair. Sadly, in the last week, I’ve also heard of two colleagues in the ministry who ended their ministry with a catastrophic failure — one of them a rising evangelical leader who admitted to an affair. Not in every case, but in some cases, I’ve noticed a correlation to the thought processes between those who burnout in ministry and those who “flame out” due to sin. But whether you burnout, flame out, drop out or rust out — out is still out.

I am now two years beyond my own decision to step away from the Senior Pastorate, so I hope I can be a bit more objective about a topic like this than I might have been 24 short months ago. As for my own situation, I had my own reasons for changing the nature of my ministry and I am not looking back. For the cynical or others, nothing I write in this article should be construed as anything more or less than what it is — an opinion piece from someone who has sat on both sides of the pulpit for the last 25 years of ministry and who is still engaged in pastoral ministry — just from a different perspective in recent months.

I don’t pretend to write for every pastor out there, but I spend a lot of time with pastors and former pastors. There are some trends that are impacting pastoral leadership at this time that I think impact churches and their leaders. There are some frailties and vulnerabilities that any man called to be a pastor is naturally going to carry into his responsibilities. Add to that the spiritual warfare that is incumbent upon being a spiritual shepherd (or undershepherd). It is with these realities in mind that I offer some things that I’m guessing your pastor wishes you knew about him.

1. Bible College and Seminary Weren’t Enough

I don’t care where your pastor went to school, they did not and could not possibly prepare him for all that a pastor faces. Today’s pastor must be an extraordinary communicator, an effective administrator, somewhat astute to legalities and business procedures, a counselor, a therapist and a dozen other roles that today’s high-expectation church member often expects from their pastor.

Though many will say that’s what boards and staff are for, that thinking simply isn’t based in reality. The expectation is that the Pastor should be able to protect the church, lead the church, inspire the church and manage the church. Failure to function in those four primary departments may jeopardize the support level he enjoys from the congregation.
Much of the experience and expertise in those areas needs to be learned and earned over time. That fact has lead me to a personal conclusion that we should discuss pastoral internships more seriously in seminaries and church leadership circles.

2. Good Sermon Preparation Takes Time

If your pastor is going to accurately and thoroughly present the Word to your congregation, he must have study time. The best pastors and Bible teachers will tell you that for every one hour of teaching or preaching, about eight hours of study is optimum. Your pastor may make it look simple, but it isn’t. Typically, your pastor may need 3-4 fresh preparations in a week (particularly if he speaks outside the church a lot or if he is a solo pastor.)

It is not realistic to expect your pastor to attend every function, make every hospital visit, lead every meeting, make an appearance at every social, go to every shut-in and still be brilliant in the pulpit 2-3 times per week. A pastor should be about leading and shepherding and equipping the church for the work of the ministry. Certainly every pastor should attend “some” functions, make hospital visits on occasion, attend important meetings, drop in a socials when possible and take the time to minister to the shut-ins — but to heap all of those responsibilities (plus the administration of the church, personal growth exercises and other important tasks) is not just unreasonable, it is inhumane.

If each Bible study teacher, each deacon, each elder, each staff member took some of these responsibilities, everyone and everything would be covered and all would be blessed as they fulfill their spiritual giftedness in the work of the ministry.

3. His Family is Important Too

Your pastor needs time with his children and spouse. If his marriage fails, his ministry is likely over. If his kids don’t turn out right, his grief will be deep, his regrets will be suffocating and his reputation will be diminished. You will bless your pastor and your church by freeing him to be with his family.

For years, I’ve often told my pastors to look at their day in three parts — Morning, Afternoon and Evening — each comprised of about 4 hours. On average, it is reasonable to expect that those in the ministry will work at least 14-16 “parts” over a week’s time. That way, we should have at least 5 - 7 morning/afternoons/nights available for family time. Remember that a pastor who preaches and teaches the Word is working — it isn’t the same as sitting in the pew. It is physically exhausting and emotionally draining. Most pastors go into “Sunday mode” on Saturday evening and aren’t much of a “family guy” then. If they have a Saturday night service, move that “mode” to Saturday around noon.

According to that formula, your pastor needs one full day off and 2-4 evenings free. If he can’t get those evenings free, then he should take a morning or an afternoon when he can to compensate for the lost evenings.

Another blessing you might share with your pastor is to give him a gift card for dinner out on his birthday or at Christmas or if you own a condo at the beach or a vacation home in the mountains, offer to let him take his family there for a few days. These small tokens can be a fresh encouragement when relationships get neglected. Being able to run to a restaurant with your spouse and pay for it with a gift card is a double blessing.

In cases of extreme crisis — a wayward child, substantial marriage difficulty — be willing to send your pastor to professional help, a retreat or some intervention. If you don’t think pastors ever have family problems, then you are naive. This is a great time to practice the Golden Rule and ask one’s self what they would appreciate if the roles were reversed. The investment of giving your pastor a week or even a month off to deal with a family crisis is far cheaper than the process of kicking him to the curb and looking for a new pastor — not to mention more Biblical.

4. Be Kind if You Have a Criticism

Your pastor is going to make some mistakes. I certainly made my share of bone-headed decisions over the years. And, if the truth be told, sometimes the pastor won’t see them as quickly as everyone else does. No pastor has a corner on the Truth and no pastor is above criticism, correction or simple advice. But when you approach your pastor with something you’re concerned about, address the problem without attacking the person.

Pastoring is interesting in that no decision a pastor ever makes is received positively by everyone. That would also include no sermon, no vision, no counsel, no strategy, no hire, no building campaign and the list goes on and on. So before bringing your offense to the pastor, it would wise to pause and ask yourself, “Is this important enough to complain about or to place on the pastor’s mind?” Some things are — certainly things that deal with Theology, ethics, morality and legal matters should be addressed. Some things simply aren’t — personal peeves and preferences, gossip, many traditions and irritations.

Some pastors, when faced with the cacophony of criticisms, suggestions, problems and hissy fits they regularly confront, simply shut down — overwhelmed by the torrent and unable to prioritize, distinguish and discern what is legitimate and what is simply whining. Others will respond defensively at first, but after a while, the Holy Spirit guides them to acknowledgement of the validity of the issue. A stiff-necked and unapproachable pastor will soon lose credibility and will probably require a confrontation initiated by spiritual leadership with the church. But it is wise for all of us to measure our words correctly and to do as the Scripture tells us and “entreat as a brother” as opposed to rebuking an elder with hostility, demands or threats.

5. Give Your Pastor Time to Grow

Sadly, the average term (depending on several factors) of a pastor in America today is somewhere between 2 and 5 years. Yet, all the research tells us that a pastor’s most effective years take place after the 10th year of ministry at a congregation. It is not until a pastor marries, buries, cries and works with a majority of his congregation that he can really “connect” intimately with them as a family member might. Relationships simply take time — most of us who are married realize that the longer one is married the more we learn about patience, perseverance and unconditional love.

This is particularly true if you have a young pastor. I was twenty-nine when I became a Senior Pastor. Thankfully, our church was rather small (fewer than 300) at the time. The Lord tremendously blessed and in short order the church doubled in size and then went on to triple. But the growing pains that we went through together were extraordinary. How they put up with me for a decade, I’ll never know. I was so blessed to have some of the most wonderful and Godly elders surrounding me that I’ve ever known. They encouraged, counseled, cautioned and sometimes just let me go and in the process — I learned and the Lord blessed. They let me grow up and grow deep and though I was the youngest among them, they respected my position while offering me wise and Godly counsel. I love them to this day. I’m grateful for their patience.

Your pastor will make some bone-headed decisions. Sometimes you’ll be frustrated with how he arranges his priorities or handles problems. Sometimes you’ll have to clean up his messes and occasionally, you might have to speak earnestly and honestly with him. But like rearing children, dealing with aging parents, settling in to married life or maintaining a life-long friendship — it takes time and patience and grace.

6. Your Pastor probably views you differently than you view him.

Being someone’s pastor is actually a very intimate experience. If your pastor is a good one — he loves you. He’s been there during some of your most difficult moments. He’s caught tears, perhaps had to be the one to tell you difficult news, has seen you at your best and at your worst. You may have confided some personal things in him that are known only to you, him and God as you work through the consequences of sin, personal tragedies and other pains. He has invested his heart and soul in you by praying for you, weeping with you, perhaps even putting your needs ahead of his or his family’s at times.

Then a church down the street calls a new pastor, builds a new building or offers a service style that you find a bit more appealing and you switch as if you were changing from Wal-Mart to Target or finding a new chiropractor. And of course, people are going to ask “why” and often excuses like “We’re just not being fed” or “Our needs aren’t being met” or “We just need a change” are offered. For you, it’s a new adventure. For him, it feels painfully like rejection.

That’s not to say that there are no good reasons for changing churches. It doesn’t justify those renegade pastors who then grow angry and defensive and say unkind things. It doesn’t mean that you are leaving God’s will for you life necessarily and are making the first step on a trek toward leaving the faith. But it does hurt. Pastors are human too. And while you may see him as a distant leader or provider of services, if he knows you personally, he probably sees you more like family or a friend. It’s simply a difference in roles and perspective and you might never understand that. Sometimes where you stand on things depends on where you sit. But I think you should know — pastors usually see their church members differently than they are viewed by their church members.

7. Pastors sometimes find it difficult to have friendships.

For better or for worse, there is a celebrity element to being a pastor. If you don’t believe that then check out the New Testament account of those who were “Paul fans” verses those who liked Apollos. A wise pastor resists being viewed as “special”, but this tendency is why humility in leadership is so necessary. Any celebrity, politician or person of wealth will tell you that one of the greatest frustrations is that one never knows which friendships are genuine. There is always the difficulty in knowing who is genuinely a friend or who is simply there to exploit their position or fame or influence. Pastors struggle with this on several levels. Some pastors purposefully choose not to be friends with people in their congregation — it’s too risky in their opinion. Some pastors refuse to have friendships with their staff — they are afraid it will hurt objectivity, communicate favoritism or just simply be too complicated. Some pastors have been burned by past friendships and thus become almost reclusive and over-guarded. Some pastors naturally migrate toward friendships exclusively with peers — fellow pastors who can relate to the unique role and scrutiny being a pastor encompasses.

Several years ago, a pastor of a large and prestigious church in the same city where I was a pastor had a very close friend as a church member. A local seeker-sensitive church in town “caught fire” and all of us were experiencing mass migrations out of our pews to the new “cool/hip” church. His church was among those hardest hit. But then his very best friend, the person who had introduced him to the church before he was pastor, his closest confident, took him to lunch and let him know that he was leaving for the new “fellowship”. The pastor said all the perfunctory things about following the Lord, etc… and then went to his already scheduled staff meeting. After he opened with prayer, he looked at his team of pastors — broke down in wracking sobs, explained what had just happened, apologized and excused himself. I wish that wasn’t the only story like this that I’ve heard, but I’ve got many more — people meeting privately for the “dismissal” of their pastor, people trying to arrange financial gain/business with the church, people who expected their sins to be covered and undealt with — all while claiming “friendship”.

I don’t have any solutions to this. I’ve experienced it personally. I don’t know of many pastors who haven’t. It is what it is. But maybe it will give you some insight into your Pastor’s world.

8. Your pastor may well be different out of the pulpit than when he’s in the pulpit
and that doesn’t necessarily make him a hypocrite.

I’ve laughed over the years at how people often describe me — outgoing, super confident, “people person”, extrovert. I can understand why they would say that, but they don’t know the “real me”. The “real me” is actually rather shy, mostly an introvert, hopes that the people in the seat next to him in the airplane go to sleep and don’t want to talk, am a veritable cauldron of insecurities and often would rather have a quiet evening at home with his family or a book than be with a large group of people. So why do they suddenly go “electric” when they walk behind the lectern? It’s a God thing. It’s His gift, His calling, His annointing — whatever you want to call it. Moses experienced it. Coarse Peter overcame his own proclivities. Odd John the Baptist certainly got beyond his idiosycracies enough that he was heard. The delivery of the Gospel is never about the man, but always about the message — so don’t get too enamored or distracted by the amplification system.

Some of my most important spiritual moments have regularly been before I preached on a topic that God had led me to address, but on which I was still struggling. Your pastor probably doesn’t sleep in a suit, sing praise choruses before every meal and memorizes Spurgeon and the Reformers in lieu of watching Reality TV. He has morning breath, he sometimes fusses with his wife, he yells at the kids when they forget to take the dog out and he steps in a wet spot on the carpet, gets frustrated in heavy traffic and might have a secret affinity for Roller Coasters or deer hunting or restoring old cars. In other words — he’s just a regular guy. He certainly isn’t perfect. But if he’s a good pastor, he’s earnest and sincere and also man enough to admit his faults and make them right when he needs to do so.

Take time to get to know your pastor as a person before you make huge assumptions about him as a “professional”. You might be shocked at how much like you he really is even though your callings are different.

9. Your Pastor has bills too.

This area is touchy. There’s nothing like a conversation about money to get people stirred up. Let me just say this. Scripture is very clear that spiritual leadership should be supported by the tithes and offerings of the people who benefit from and need their ministry. It’s God’s plan. Paul referenced it as the “double honor”. Someday, your pastor will need a home to live in that isn’t owned by the church. There will come a day when he will need, because of age or infirmity, to transition out of being a full-time pastor so he needs a retirement strategy. (There are few things sadder than a pastor who has faithfully served a congregation for years and years who can’t “afford” to retire and thus inflicts himself on a poor church or has to beg for “meetings” because he has no income. Many pastors foolishly opt out of Social Security and when it comes time to fund their 403b retirement plans, they get cut because of tight budgets.) Your pastor’s kids need to go to college. There are weddings that need to be paid for, children that need braces, cars that need repaired.

Please don’t demean him by noting every purchase he makes, vacation he takes or gift he receives with a “It must be nice to be in the ministry to be able to afford that!” or “I guess that explains that special offering last month!” or some other witty little cutting remark that puts him on the defensive. It’s unkind and petty. Stop it. Instead, show some maturity and say something like, “Wow….I’m so pleased that God has blessed you and provided that for you. If anyone deserves it — you do!” and then notice how you are blessed for rejoicing with those who are rejoicing and how he is blessed in receiving your kind words.

If you think your pastor is a crook, given to filthy lucre, too wealthy — then confront him Biblically or shut up. If you are a church leader and wonder what is appropriate compensation, may I recommend a study that is produced each year called the “Church Compensation Report” and HERE’s the link to it.

Finally, I want to state for the record that all three of the churches where I have ministered have been a genuine blessing to me and my family in this regard. They very generously honored us with a living wage, they gave me freedom to write, teach and speak which allowed me to squirrel away money for life’s unexpected or bigger expenses as they came and provided me with the necessary tools for ministry. I wish every pastor was treated as I have been treated in the matter of financial support.

10. Your pastor loves the work of the ministry.

You might say, “duh” — but I would ask, how many people do you know who really, deep down inside, would like to be doing something else as a vocation? If you are like me — a ton. Preaching the Gospel, seeing people accept Christ, watching lives transformed by Truth, seeing healing and reconciliation occur in families — wow….that’s just the best.

Over the years, I have wearied over the administrative load of ministry. I do not get excited about trying to get budgets to balance, dealing with maintenance issues, making sure that risk-management is taken into consideration every time we start a new initiative and dealing with governmental and even church bureaucracy and politics. But that’s simply the price a pastor pays for being able to stand up, open the Word of God and share what the Holy Spirit has laid on his heart for that day. I can be absolutely exhausted, frustrated, depressed or overwhelmed, but the moment I crack open my Bible before a group of people ready to hear — I realize once again that I’m doing what I was created to do. Whether you pastor a mega-church, lead a Sunday School class, host a home Bible study or simply leading your family in devotions — when you are called to the ministry of the Word, everything is as it should be every time you get the chance. It simply doesn’t get much better than that!

Getting Out The Message

2009-06-16T11:28:00.003-05:00

I have a certain fascination with the way some of our modern churches have chosen to address the people of our modern, post-modern, mindset. Some have some really unusual concepts that I would never find appropriate and still some others I believe are onto something.

But how does the unsaved and even our fellow believers' minds really work? More importantly, how does this next generation's mind work? What ways do they use to communicate, learn, process information and then appropriate it to their lives? How has technology changed the way people of our country and even around the world approach information and process it?

I came across this video recently and wanted to share it. It is about 17 minutes in length but very engaging. It is a TED publication and thus from a completely secular perspective. I encourage you to watch it and think about how we as the body of Christ today should be using the technology we have at our fingertips to do a better job at engaging the unsaved and even the minds of our saved church family.

17 Ways a Pastor Can Cut His Sermon Prep Time

2009-06-10T09:00:00.001-05:00

Joe McKeever gave this list and I hope that it will remind, inspire, and convict us in the intended fashion that he had in mind.

_______________________________________________________________________

17 Ways A Pastor Can Shorten His Sermon Prep Time

1) Borrow.

In the secular world, this is called plagiarism. But we pastors know "God richly gives us all good things to share" or something like that. Fortunately, your people don't read other preachers' sermon books anyway, so they'll never know. (Disadvantage: if the written sermon bombed, chances are yours will, too.)

2) Repeat.

Everyone knows repetition is a proven learning technique. Warning: do not call these sermons 'repeats' or 're-runs.' "Previously preached' is also verboten. If you have to put a label on them, try 'Back by popular demand.' It sounds better.(Disadvantage: some little sister in the church writes in the margins of her Bible every time you have preached a particular text, so you'll need to vary your Scripture even if it's the same sermon.)

3) Confess.

Tell a story out of your childhood and turn it into a microcosm of the universe, or at least of the gospel. Didn't Phillips Brooks call preaching 'truth through personality'? The advantages are that you are the authority on yourself, no one can contradict you, and very little study time is required. (Disadvantage: if nothing dramatic has happened to you, this can get boring quickly.)

4) Obvious.

Our Lord said people prefer old wine to the new (Luke 5:39). So, with that great insight in mind, choose a well-loved subject, reinforce it with three obvious points--preferably all starting with the letter 'P'--and then belabor the obvious.

An example of this could be a sermon on the Second Coming of Christ. Your points could be the PROPHECY of His coming (when), the PURPOSE of His coming (why), and the PEOPLE of His coming (whom).

The good thing about this approach is if you need to stretch out the sermon, your concordance has lots more 'P' words. Think how exciting your message becomes as you touch on the PROOF, the PRECEPT, the PREPARATION, the PRICE, the PROCEDURE, the PROFIT, the POSSIBILITIES, the POWER, the PLAN, the PLACE, the PATIENCE, and the PARADISE of His return. Any preacher worth his salt could wax eloquent for hours on these without a moment's advance notice. (Disadvantage: you'll probably want to leave out some of the good thoughts you had on this sermon, otherwise it can last till...well, until the Lord comes back.)

5) Concordance.

As you know, a concordance gives you a word and tells you where to find it in Scripture. But, if you have an aversion to actually studying for your sermons, you can use it as a book of magic. Look up a word and find at least three usages throughout Scripture that work for you. Let each reference suggest one main point of the sermon.

Then, go cut the grass while your subconscious reflects on how to make a sermon out of that odd collection of Scriptures. (Disadvantage: you have to own a concordance.)

6) Network.

Find some preacher no one has ever heard of who records his sermons and mails out tapes or CDs to friends who request them. Your people will never be the wiser. (Disadvantage: in the time it takes to learn someone else's sermon, you could be working on one of your own.)

7) Procrastinate.

Make it a point not to do any preparation until Saturday night, then begin to panic. Some people work best under a deadline, and you might as well be one of those. Besides, it's great for your prayer life. (Disadvantage: sometimes the Holy Spirit does not cooperate.)

8) Fudge.

Skip the word study. No one in your congregation knows Hebrew or Greek anyway, so they'll never be the wiser. (Disadvantage: God knows.)

9) Series.

If you preach a long series of sermons on the same general topic, you can spend half of each sermon time recapping the previous messages. Very little time is left for you to get to the new stuff. (Disadvantage: this is a proven congregation killer unless it's done well.)

10) Borrow.

Ask a pastor friend what he's preaching next Sunday and get him to practice on you. He'll appreciate the audience and the rehearsal will do him good. Your congregation can't be in two places at once, so they'll never know you both preached the same thing. (Disadvantage: be careful to adapt the stories to your own situation. Borrowing is one thing; lying is something else.)

11) Dramatize.

By turning your imagination loose, you can make biblical events come alive. Teach the people not to be bound by only what Scripture says happened in an incident. The advantage is that little study is necessary other than briefly rereading the text just before the service. This allows the inspiration of the moment to energize your message. (Disadvantage: if your imagination doesn't show up today, you could be in big trouble.)

12) Acceptance.

No one can be fresh every Sunday. Even Stuart Briscoe and Calvin Miller has their off-Sundays. Give yourself freedom to be human and deliver a poor sermon occasionally.(Disadvantage: you can't do this more than once a quarter or the deacons will get suspicious.)

13) Expand.

Shorten the song service to give preaching the central place it deserves. This will allow you time to chase a few more rabbits. (Disadvantage: know how to return to your home base when chasing rabbits. Some preachers have taken trails so deep and remote, they were never seen again.)

14) Condemn

By preaching against sin (pronounced with two syllables: see'-in), you can do about anything you please and so long as you are condemning the wickedness of the modern age, most of your people will think you are preaching the word. This may be the easiest of all methods for avoiding study, since you already know so much about sin. If you need additional material, the television will be glad to cooperate. (Disadvantage: certain elements of the congregation get high off juicy stories of sin, so be careful here.)

15) Stories

By telling stories of "what happened to me this week," you will hold your audience spell-bound. This is especially effective if you relate the conversations which took place in a counseling situation in your office this very week. People will sit on the edge of their pews trying to figure out who you're talking about. (Disadvantage: you lose a lot of church members this way. Of course, it balances out in that your counseling load drops quickly and permanently.)

16) Obedience.

Didn't our Lord tell us not to plan in advance what to say, but promised that the Holy Spirit would provide? (Matthew 10) Although He was speaking of believers on trial for their faith we all know nothing can be a greater trial than having to dig out a fresh sermon from Heaven every week. By walking into the pulpit unprepared, you give the Spirit a fresh slate on which to write His message. (Disadvantage: He has been known to leave the preacher who tries this hanging in the wind.)

17) Termination.

If you use the first 16 methods of sermon preparation, we can guarantee that you will:

a) be terminated.
b) have a lot of short-term pastorates.
c) eventually be out of the ministry altogether.

In this case, your sermon preparation time will be cut to the bare minimum. And after all, that's what you wanted, wasn't it?

A Golf Tip

2009-06-09T10:13:00.005-05:00

I am getting excited about the prospect of one of these days getting out and hitting a few golf balls. Been hard to peel away and find time as well as the money, but hopefully soon.

In preparation I have been doing a little research on golf swings, etc. Here is a short video clip that I have found extremely beneficial (note labels). Hope it will "help" you make sense of your swing and get out there and hit those fairways and greens.

At 90...Still Got IT!

2009-06-05T10:20:00.003-05:00

Fran & Marlo Cowan (married 62 years) playing impromptu recital together in the atrium of the Mayo Clinic. He turned 90 in February. I hope that when I get to be that old I will still be able to move like he does. Enjoy!

P.S. The tune is "Put on Your Old Gray Bonnet" for people like me who are not current on their "oldies."

This thing called "Ministry" (Part 10)

2009-06-04T09:50:00.006-05:00

Near Skagen, Denmark, visitors can see the tower of the Tilsandede Kirke, the Sand Covered Church. The tower is visible because this 14th century church has been buried since the 1700's. Shifting sand from the coast of Jutland has covered much of the surrounding farmland and the church as well. Only the tower is visible. What a metaphor for the danger the church always faces; the danger of being buried beneath the sands of human opinions, power struggles, and personality clashes.*

As we continue our thought about "This thing called ministry," I come again to what Paul said.

"For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body." (1 Corinthians 12:12-20)

The more I minister in the church today I get that there is a sense of uneasiness about the roles of the membership. There becomes a vision of opposing forces or different "sides" in this essence known as the "church" or the "body of Christ."

The greatest struggles come when someone hurts someone else and now both are "gun shy" about how to handle the future with all of its potential altercations. Pastors beating up on the sheep; sheep questioning the vision and direction of the pastor. Back and forth goes the power struggle and in the end, nothing is accomplished. Both sides become deeper entrenched and in the end both sides lose. Campaigns are waged and the tug of war drags unaware bystanders around like rag dolls.

So where then lies the hope of not seeing such chaos and destruction in the church? The only way we will ever see such a united church is when we as a whole adhere to unity passages like 1 Corinthians 12 and Philippians 2. Both "sides" appreciating that God has established leaders and established roles within His body. But yet remembering.....

Leadership is not Lordship.

"The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock." (1 Peter 5:1-3)

It reminds me of the game of chess. Each piece is vital. Each piece has a purpose and moves in designed fashion. (Do not take the analogy too far.) The object is to win without losing as many pieces as possible and of course to capture the opponent's king. Being the poor chess player that I am, I find myself losing pieces pretty quick and then I am left in the end on the run trying to figure out a way to keep my King alive. A lonely king is an eventual "check mate" in the game of chess.

Pastors, you are participants in this body. Breaking away from the analogy above, you are not kings for Christ is the head; but in keeping with the analogy, you most certainly are not able to stand alone. This body is one, yet its members are many. Each member is vital. As Senior Pastor, Assistant Pastor, Deacon, Sunday School Teacher, Charter Member, or "Church-Pew Warmer" Member do not forget that when you crush the spirit of another member you are hurting the body. When you abuse the membership you abuse the body. However, when you fulfill your Ephesians 4 prerogative to edify, build up, and encourage the membership, you are doing so to the body of Christ. "Speak the Truth (i.e. things pertaining to God) in Love."

"The church is the most complex of all human organizations," says Ed Dayton of World Vision. "It's what we call 'goal-conflicted.' One goal is to send people forth, and another is to care for them. People are always either getting on a stretcher or getting off. You've got this continual dynamic where relationships, not bottom-line numbers, are the key product." *

Ministry is people! Ministry is not us and them; it is us working together and there is not a "them" in this body of Christ. As ministers we stand opposed to sin and the destruction that wishes to come in its wake. As ministers we proclaim the Word of Truth to the ears of the saints inside the body and to the sinners outside the body. As ministers we are to hold our place in the body local in which you serve. Peter teaches that we are to "take the oversight," but do not take it for self-serving gain. Ministry is participating with the other members to build Christ's body and not our empire. May we Serve as the Holy Spirit serves us (John 14-16). May we communicate the Word of God as it communicates itself to us.

This past Wednesday evening in our church's Bible study we were focusing on Encouraging One Another. The last verses we went to were found in Colossians.

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." (Colossians 3:15-17)

Now that is Ministry!

This thing called "Ministry" (Part 9)

2009-05-29T11:00:00.005-05:00

We have been busy these past few weeks with travels and family obligations. Here we are again and I want to continue with the series that I have been running on "This thing called Ministry." We come to our ninth segment and all of these are based out of 1 Corinthians. HERE is a link to the first installment.

Notice with me the next thought that came to my mind as I was reading through 1 Corinthians.

"Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1)

Not too many people would be daring enough or able to say to his readers, "Follow me!" We would realize our failures, our shortcomings, our weaknesses. But what is interesting about this verse is that Paul still puts a qualifier on the sentiment.

"Even as I follow Christ."

Paul never assumed that man should follow him as a man, but follow him as he followed ONE greater than all.

Ministry is about imitation. Someone has once said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Ministry is about leading others to Someone other than ourselves. It is about being infatuated with Jesus Christ and making everyone around you keenly aware of that infatuation. I am no one apart from Christ. My ambition in ministry is to point people to Jesus and the Father through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is the only one who could boldly and appropriately say, "Follow Me."

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." (Matthew 16:24)

In my humble opinion, 1 Corinthians 11:1 should actually be 1 Corinthians 10:34. Paul has just come out of the infamous chapter 10 where he has been discussing meats sacrificed to idols and Christians who interact with the unsaved and saved Gentiles. He has admonished them to do all to the glory of God and to live their lives in such a manner as to bring no offense to any.

Now, here comes our verse. "Follow me!" Not quite...."Follow me as I follow Christ." In my personal philosophy of ministry I state it this way, I am a leader by title and must fulfill my God given duties if I am ever to truly lead by permission of the people. I am a poor example when I ask people to follow me, but I am a capable leader when I ask people to follow me as I follow Christ.

Christ is aware of my weaknesses, failures, and tendencies to incompetence. He is also the One who can strengthen me and raise me up. He is the only One who can enable me and equip me to do all that He has asked me to do. Ministry is about taking my cues from Him and as He proceeds, I am able to progress.

Ministry is about leading, Yes. But ministry is more about following. Our ability to minister is only as great as the ONE we follow. Stay close to Christ and follow fast upon His heels.

Animals Do The Strangest Things

2009-05-14T10:25:00.000-05:00

Look Up More

2009-05-07T10:30:00.000-05:00

High Five Escalator

2009-04-30T10:30:00.010-05:00

Lazy Preaching

2009-04-29T13:06:00.004-05:00

I came across this on a blog I recently discovered. The article that it came from is also very good, but this last comment really stuck out.

A congregation of suckling infants runs no risk of disturbing the slumbers of a lazy preacher.

Read the rest of the article and you will find some other tidbits of challenge, but may we as pastors truly guard our vocation and fulfill our duty to its fullest.

This thing called "Ministry" (Part 8)

2009-04-28T13:58:00.008-05:00

We come to the eighth installment of this series. We have been looking through the emotional book of 1 Corinthians. As we have skipped through this book like a rock skipping on a quiet lake, it has been my intention to see the ways Paul did this thing called ministry. Last week's thought was a bit tough. The more I have thought about it the more I realize that ministry is seeing our humanity in light of Christ's passion.

We are not above temptation and thus we are not above failure. The point I wanted to make last week was to help us as ministers to keep our head out of the clouds or out of the sand. We need to own up to sin in our lives and confess them. We need to avoid the situations that could lead to sin, thus avoid temptation's lure. We need to realize the burden of protecting the name of Christ but at the same time honoring the power of God to grant us an escape from sin's lure as well as the forgiveness when sin gets a foothold in our lives.

Now this week we turn just slightly in another direction that still comes out of 1 Corinthians 10.

Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor. (1 Corinthians 10:24)

Ministry is seeking the good of others. By this Scripture does not mean that we only look to find good in others, but that our actions and our responses to people is for their benefit and for their good.

There are many responses to this. Some argue that what is good for them is what I think is good for me. My way is right and that is what is best for these poor people. But Paul has helped us a bit by stating what he did in the verse just prior.

All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. (1 Corinthians 10:23)

Paul is very clear that this has nothing to do with my liberty, but everything to do with the certainty that all I do is not causing my fellow believer to stumble or be hurt in their faith. Also, in relationships with unbelievers we are not hindering their ability to have faith in Christ.

This is a hard line to follow. There are times when offense is so hard to detect. Other times it seems so petty and trivial. Then there are the times when individuals are creating points of contention based upon their own ideology and interpretations of Scripture that truly do not have credence.

How does this apply to us today? So many times we wish to live in utter liberty. We have the opportunity to do so. We are not going to miss out on heaven because we failed to read from the right translation or wear the right clothing. We will not be lost for going to a movie theater or driving a Cadillac instead of a Ford (some may think they are the same thing, sorry to burst your bubble). Other believers will sometimes place stipulations upon true Christianity and we are failing to accomplish the greater good due to these distractions.

The same is true with the unsaved. We want to blend in and be accepted. Yet Paul here in 1 Corinthians 10 is equating the opportunity to live in liberty not with living an undercover lifestyle, but finding ways to enter the homes and lives of all people and being able to interact with them so that they will be more easily confronted with the Gospel.

Ministry is Seeking the Good of others. Ministry is not necessarily seeking what I want or find convenient. It is not sticking my finger in people's eyes or trampling on their beliefs simply to make a point. Ministry is me not creating walls, but looking for ways to open doors.

Again Paul adds another guide in this passage. Note what he says in the verses farther down in the passage.

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved. (1 Corinthians 10:31-33)

We are not to simply allow our desires to "create" some opportunities when our restraint may open more doors. However, we should not dwell on things that are not valid either.

For example, I still believe that drinking alcohol is a dangerous road to follow. But in many Christian circles the prohibition is being less and less emphasized to the point where pastors are now openly stating it to be fine. We know that Scripture does not forbid it but certainly does warn against it, and the end result of being drunk is strongly spoken of as a sin. I have the ability, the law does not forbid it, but it is not expedient. It is not profitable nor does it keep me from opening a door that could lead to certain destruction. It has the power to control. Of course, I will admit, so do many other vices like television, internet, and other recreational tools. But I think we understand the power of the chemicals that are involved when we introduce such things as alcohol to the body.

On the other side of this I think we as God-fearing Christians have created closed doors because we are not willing to rub shoulders with people who do things, say things, and act ways that are due to their being lost. I don't know exactly what would parallel this image that Paul is creating, but if someone wanted to offer us something that stands in violation of a clear testimony to Christ and the forgiveness of sin He offered, and would create a breach in their mind or our separation from the things of this world, then I would say we must cease and desist. We must look to create an opportunity to establish Christ as the foundation or our hearts and lives and not the things of this world.

Do it all to the glory and honor of God. Ministry is seeking what is best for that other person in such a way that brings honor and glory to God. Ministry is others minded while being Godly motivated.

Welcome Back!

2009-04-23T11:33:00.000-05:00

This thing called "Ministry" (Part 7)

2009-04-22T13:17:00.007-05:00

This particular portion in this series comes out of 1 Corinthians 10. It is not as positive as many of the other things we have looked at up to now. Paul is now full swing into his deliberation of thought into such matters that are concerning him regarding this early church. In truth, they are still affecting the church today.

In 1 Corinthians 10 Paul deals with the testimony left to them and us of the Israelites as they journeyed through the wilderness. The pressure cooker of heat, sand, repetition in diet, new laws, conflicts with enemies, death, and consequences of poor decisions was revealing character flaws in the people.

Note how Paul starts:

For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.
(1 Corinthians 10:1-6)

Here they had all these great opportunities to behold the wonder of God's presence and protection in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They had seen God provide manna from the sky, and water from a rock.

The next verses (7-10) identify specific things that these people did to test God.

Verse 7 - Idolatry
Verse 8 - Immorality
Verse 9 - Insolence/Insubordination against God
Verse 10 - Murmuring/Grumbling

Verses 6 and 11 are almost like refrains in a horrible song of conflict and God's resolution to purify and refine His people. All of this is recorded for our benefit. It is placed here so that we would not forget how easy it is for us to fall prey to the tempter's snare.

Then.....

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
(1 Corinthians 10:12-13)

Where is this going? From the angle Paul is taking this he is making it clear to these believers that there are still viable temptations and struggles that we all face. These are things common, not extreme. The desire to place something in sight that illustrates God, or becomes our god is natural. Idolatry has many potential shapes and sizes.

Immorality? Are we not an immoral country and society? Pornography is accessible everywhere and running rampant in homes and school lockers. It's not just "out there in the world" but also in the lives of those sitting in our pews and in our church offices. Immorality is portrayed as convenient, conducive, expected and actually the new "morality." Turn on your TV to the most "innocent" of shows and it is there or implied. Read the magazines, listen to secular radio. From homosexual agendas to heterosexual indecency, it is there and being shoved in our faces and thoughts. The temptation is there.

I feel that verse 9 is a bit large to address here, but the temptation to forget the Scriptures and live our lives as independent is like taking fire into our bosom and expecting we won't be burned or bitten like the snakes bit them in dessert.

Murmuring! Uh oh! Grumbling, complaining, having an unquiet spirit that is filled with unrest and contention. How could that ever come into our lives right?

This thing called ministry. Ministry is understanding "temptability." We must address this negative reality attached to ministry. As verse 12 stated - Take Heed! You are just as close to failure as the rest of us. Ministry is realizing I am one wrong step away from an avalanche of devastating proportions.

We have read the newspapers, seen the TV reports, and conversed with those who are astounded at the failures of visible figures who were in this thing called Ministry. The blight it leaves and the marks of disgrace it pours out on the testimony of Christ and His purpose and design for the church is hard to recover from.

I was watching a brief segment that Oprah had with Ted Haggard. She and Ted were discussing how the church does not want to own up to its failures and be willing to address the conflicts between the supposed need to be "perfect" and still living with sincere struggles in the Christian life.

Some Oprah Show viewers said they thought Ted was lying; others said he was in denial. One viewer wrote: "I think Ted was open, honest and delightful. This is one of the problems I see with the Christian faith. They insist on being perfect. Perfection is not possible, and the problem is not that Mr. Haggard lied, but he lived in an environment that insisted on his lying."

Later Ted Haggard responded to this comment.

While there were religious pressures to keep quiet, Ted says only he is to blame for his problems. "Sometimes in religious environments there's pressure to perform, and I, particularly, had pressure as the pastor of the church … but I think the fault is my own," he says. "I submitted to that and participated in it. But now, of course, I'm thrilled to be able to speak openly and really be me."

I obviously do not know Ted Haggard and am in no position to judge his true heart, but on the surface he has brought to light some important aspects. The "real me" is that I am temptable. Ministry is realizing that I face the same fears and desires that every person out there faces. I am not perfect. I am not always right. I am not going to be perfect until He that is perfect comes and changes this corruption into incorruption.

I need to realize the burden of ministry is not perfection, but progress. I understand that temptation and sin are not the same, but I also understand that temptation leads to sin. Knowing that I also know that I will fail to do it right 100% of the time, but we also need to understand that some failures lead to things that are never recoverable. I am human, but my humanity is not an excuse to live in denial of that temptation or in abandonment to the sin that comes from it. If I have an interest that could lead to a besetting sin, an area of struggle or conflict, I need to listen to my own preaching and put people and obstacles in place to help keep me from letting temptation turn into sin.

Remember Ministers, we are temptable. We are not perfect. We are not inhuman. We are not uncommon. We are faced with the common things, the normal things, that could lead us to indescribable horror if we let it.

Ministry is a wonderful opportunity for God to use common people like you and me for His indescribable glory and for the advancement of the Gospel. But it is also a wonderful opportunity for the devil to give the gospel a black eye and defraud God of His deserved glory if we allow our unwillingness to get help and open up to trusted advisers and partners in ministry.

May we live supernatural lives for the one who has supernaturally saved us and by His supernatural power which strengthens us in the inner man. (Ephesians 3:16)

Danger of Temptability.....Now that is Ministry!

"That's My King!"

2009-04-17T10:03:00.007-05:00

A friend of mine put me onto this. I had heard this some time ago, but this was just too good not to put into my collection of "hold onto your hat" segments. This is a portion of a message from Dr. S. M. Lockridge. Sit back and just listen to how this man does his best to describe the awesomeness of our Great Big God!

This thing called "Ministry" (Part 6)

2009-04-15T14:36:00.008-05:00

For a few posts we have been focusing on what this thing called "ministry" is about. Now, notice I did not say "all about" for that is what the professional writers spend hours amassing great quantities of research and data to produce books do. I on the other hand have been tracking through 1 Corinthians to see how Paul handled ministry to a difficult group of early believers in the pagan city of Corinth. To catch up check out this link.

(Acts 20:24) "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God."

Paul had his ministry in mind when he addressed these Corinthian believers. His was a ministry commissioned by Christ and contained solely in the Gospel. This gospel now comes to bear in 1 Corinthians 9.

"For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified." (1 Corinthians 9:19-27)

What is this thing called ministry? To Paul it was Submission and Subjection. Submission to a greater cause than his own, and subjection to greater people than himself.

Submission to a greater cause

The Cause is the Gospel. The cause is the salvation of human souls. The Cause is one that transcends pettiness and programs. The cause is the message of life vs. death and the only way to know life is through Jesus Christ. Paul knew that message. Paul was very ready to propagate this all important proclamation of God's eternal love.

"For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel." (1 Corinthians 9:16)

Would that I felt that way about the Gospel. Oh, I claim to, I strive to, I want to. But to minister with such passion that I am submitted to nothing more than the Gospel message and that all else takes a back seat to the task of letting everyone around me know that Jesus died for their sins and offers them release and hope for eternity's opportunity. To be a true minister I need to subject myself to the overwhelming emotion and burden of the Gospel message. Not programs, not TV shows, not all the other things that want to trap me and bind me and pull me away from reaching people. Let it be that we are bound to the call of God to share this love story in every facet of life we find ourselves in. Be in Submission to the Gospel message.

Subjection to Greater People

In verses 19-23 (see above), Paul states that there are people at stake here - Jews, those under the Law, those who are without law, weak, all men. Paul grants us his desire to reach those who are without the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Paul does everything for the Gospel's sake (v. 23).

He becomes all things to all people. He becomes a Jew to win the Jews, as one without the law to win those who are without the law, weak to win the weak, and whatever it takes to whoever he is near; he does it to convince them, to show them their need of the Savior.

Now, we have Paul's own disclaimers here in these verses. He still is under the law of Christ and God and he acknowledges that his message is never based upon observance of the Mosaic Law or its commandments (v. 20, 21). The message still remains pure and the messenger remains true to the commands of Scripture, but he as the messenger goes to them and reaches them where they are. He finds a way to empathize and even to sympathize. He does not make them conform to something they are not before he shows them how to be accepted and transformed by God.

The societal standards are not the standards Paul used to draw people to Christ. He did not make people good Christians before showing them Christ and letting Christ remedy the areas of need. Paul did not preach reformation programs but instead transformation.

Ministry is transformation of lives, not conformation of traditions and regulations and even expectations. Who will we reach? What groups will we approach? Who makes our list of hopefuls? To Paul, if you lived and breathed, you were fair game. That is ministry. Souls, not classes.

Let's be partakers in the Gospel. Let's aim for what we know to be imperishable. We need to discipline our lives to focus on the eternal and keep our eyes on that goal. Let's not disqualify ourselves by giving attention to temporal or even sinful satisfaction. Let's give our bodies as the sacrifice God can use to reach even into gutter to demonstrate the utter love of God through Jesus Christ.

Now that is Ministry!

Go TarHeels!

2009-04-06T08:50:00.003-05:00

I am certainly straying away from my usual fair. But, I am a huge North Carolina TarHeels fan. Our family just painted one of our boy's room in UNC Blue and we are excited for this evening's game against Michigan State.

Although sports is a major thing in our country and probably for some sports it has become a major thing around the world, there is truly nothing like college sports. I do need your prayers, however. I am so surrounded by people who are rooting for the enemy and God knows I need grace not to let them try to discourage me with their banter!

Enjoy the Madness and our family will be rooting for God's favorite team. How do I know? Well as my big brother and I have noticed, God did paint the sky Caroline Blue! Go Heels!

E- Books

2009-04-01T10:35:00.003-05:00

A friend of mine put me onto a website that offers books in formats for downloading. The site is called ChristianAudio. Each month you are given an opportunity to download a free book by using a promo code. You have to create an account and they will occasionally send you an email alert, but they do not bombard you with tons of mail like some others.

Obviously you may not like or want to download each month's selection, but it is a really neat site with many old books and some contemporary writers. Check it out. This month's selection is by Leonard Sweet. I have a couple of his books and of course you have to read with discernment. Below is the promo video for this new and FREE book that you can download as MP3 or WMA (Windows).

Thanks again, David F., for putting me onto this.

So Beautiful, by Leonard Sweet from David C. Cook on Vimeo.

This thing called "Ministry" (Part 5)

2009-03-25T13:11:00.006-05:00

Part 4 and link to previous posts on this topic

Paul continues on in his first epistle to the Corinthian believers in chapter 7 by answering some questions that apparently they had written asking about. In the next few chapters Paul addresses marriage, divorce, remarriage, slavery, eating meats and drinking drinks offered to idols, deference to the weaker brother, liberty in Christ, and other similar tangents that coincided.

The thing that stuck out to me as I was thinking back to our original spurring on in this topic was how Paul had a ready answer and a sure answer to give to these Christians. Paul did not shy away from the tough questions as we noted last time. He was willing to broach the tough topics and deal with them.

Paul did this thing called ministry to perform the equipping that he would later explain in Ephesians 4 "to the perfecting of the saints."

The words that Paul communicates are words of inspiration and quotation. He is lead by the Holy Spirit to write what is now to us Scripture. As we read in these chapters, Paul also quotes our Lord directly and uses the direct teachings of Christ to reinforce the instruction he is offering.

How then do I effectively minister? To be effective I have to give answers that are not of my own intuition, but are based upon the direct teachings of God's Word.

I was recently reading some other blogs and a particular topic was addressed that is one of the "unclear" teachings of Scripture. By "unclear" I mean that we do not find a direct prohibition in Scripture against it and so the arguments were ensuing for liberty or license. Thus if there is no formal description of sin as a result of participation, God then is granting complete license to perform.

The argument then was made that judgment and discernment must be needed. We find in God's Word many principles and examples of lives that help shape our standards and even our convictions. God's Word is to become the sure foundation and not our own desires for self-justification or the seeking to be exonerated from accountability due to my status of being Justified by God's grace.

We are not to approach Scripture to find excuses or grant ourselves permission. We are to seek to find in Scripture the wisdom to discern "best" from "allowed," or as Paul put it:

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.
(1 Corinthians 6:12-13)

Ministry is not me relegating standards or even personal convictions. Ministry is me teaching people how to hold the Word of Truth themselves and make decisions based upon the clear teachings and principles found there, in God's Word. Ministry is me helping Christians to base their values and actions in life upon something that will outlast me or even themselves. From the heart the activity of life is directed. To get to the heart we need to plant seeds of truth that will bear fruits of righteousness. That only comes as we accurately and not unfairly or haphazardly approach God's Word.

I think even we as pastors need to be careful that our standards and convictions do not become the "truth" that we wish to guide our flocks by.

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
(Philippians 1:9-11)

The Crisis of Credit

2009-03-03T12:13:00.003-06:00

Again a good friend of mine gave me a link to watch. Here it is and I do find this a good visualization for the financial crunch we are finding ourselves in today. I am grateful that God is still in control and as we follow biblical stewardship, the Lord will take care of those who are lead by these principles. Here we find a good reminder that greed always makes losers out of us.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

This thing called "Ministry" (Part 4)

2009-02-24T15:28:00.000-06:00

This is the fourth of a series of thoughts regarding "this thing called ministry." I have been going through the book of 1 Corinthians and looking at how Paul "ministered" to the people of Corinth. You can go back to Part 3 to catch up and to read the previous blogs.

This thought is founded in 1 Corinthians 5. For those familiar with the chapter we find that Paul is scolding the Corinthian believers for their lack of confronting a man who is having a sexual relationship with his father's wife. The implication seems to grant that it is not incest, but it is an improper relationship and an unheard of situation, even amongst the Gentiles! Disgusting, Right? But the Corinthian believers were doing nothing about it and were allowing the man to continue to fellowship and interact with the Body of Christ as if there was nothing wrong.

Paul gives strong rebuke to the leadership of the church and direct council as to how they are handle the matter.

So, how do we see this connecting to ministry? I see that a minister (a member of God's family) must deal with the tough issues. Recently I was speaking with another pastor who was having an issue of discord among the members of the church. I have seen churches where one member is allowed to simply live in a lifestyle of sin and spiritual disruption causing harm to the testimony of Christ and that church, and yet no one is willing to confront or deal with the person. I have also spoken with people who have left good churches because the pastor would not deal with an erring and rebellious child and would even offer excuses or blame others for their own child's failures.

As a minister I need to deal with the tough issues and not sacrifice the standard of God's holiness for the comfort of apathy towards a believer's spiritual destitution.

It is interesting that in that same chapter Paul writes:

I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler--not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.
(1 Corinthians 5:9-13)

Paul realizes that the sinners of this world will act like sinners, but believers are to be held to a different standard. In verse 13, Paul is apparently quoting from Deuteronomy 13:5. The context in Deuteronomy is what to do with those who wish to delude the people and pull them away from following after the council of God. They are to be put out! These are tough words and so we find here that Paul sees the need for dealing with the tough issues. Do it in love, but do it.

We have become concerned with financial support, personality conflicts, and family ties more than with the council of God's Word. We allow our fear of retaliation or concern over saving face dictate how we hold people accountable to the mandates of purity and righteous living. We need to follow the pattern of Matthew 18 and deal with the issues instead of covering them by our fear.

Minister, deal with it. We need to teach our people to deal with it. When it is confronted, and done out of a heart for truth and honesty towards God and His Word, then our people need to respond in favor. We need to deal with the tough issues and lead our people to honesty in light of the truth of God's Word.

On An Island

2009-02-22T08:36:00.007-06:00

For about the last 10 days our family was able to escape the cold and blustery conditions of the great white north and travel to Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean. Grand Cayman is located just south of Cuba and west of Jamaica.

My parents have served there for nearly four years now and this was our second time to be blessed with the opportunity to travel there. My father, Ken Love, is the pastor of Calvary Baptist Church and has been greatly used of God to take this struggling work and see it grow and become very productive in the cause of Christ.

Grand Cayman is the largest of the three islands and is often called the Swiss of the Caribbean. It ranks in the top 5 nations for banking and financial investing. Not bad for an island that has less than 60,000 people.

While we were there we enjoyed the natural beauty but we were able to share in the spiritual beauty as we enjoyed our extended family in the church. I preached at a Valentine's Day banquet and then preached a meeting for my father from Sunday through Wednesday. God was good with many opportunities to help the many young converts who are so eager to grow and mature in their faith. Many nationalities are represented and it is a cultural experience in and of itself.

We are very grateful for the kindness of many in the church and for the strengthened friendships that we were able to renew and establish while visiting.

We traveled home on Saturday and were welcomed home with a snow storm, which only afforded us the opportunity to be reminded that we truly do live in the north. I was able to pull out the old shovel again and remove 6 inches of that great fluffy stuff. Oh for the white sandy beaches and 80+ degrees again!

It is truly a great blessing to be able to leave the US and travel to other countries. While you are away you realize that we do not hold the license on truth and Christianity. They may do some things differently, but it is alright. I come from these trips refreshed and challenged to keep my eyes on Christ and His Word and not upon man and what they may think.

I am very grateful for our church family here in Madison and excited to be home. We are ready to get back at it and looking forward to the continued blessings of God upon this place. However, if any of you want to send our family back again soon, don't fail to contribute to the "Cayman Escape Fund!"

Held

2009-02-06T14:15:00.003-06:00

There is a song I have come to really appreciate. Loss, pain, suffering are all part of the Christian's life. Yes, but the hand of God and His tenderness is ever present. To be Held! God is ever present; He is there! May we never forget that this is but a shadow, a fleeting moment, and heaven, eternity holds the joy of all that God has waiting.

We need it!

2009-01-07T14:01:00.004-06:00

I was reading a blog that was passed along to me by a friend and on this blog he gave 10 things that I can pray for my pastor's preaching. I found it great!

I pass it along to you and will be passing it on to the church people to whom I minister. I need these things to prayed for me and in turn my people need to put thought into interacting with the messages. We have too many pew warmers and too many lifeless pulpit speakers. If we could get both sides to be vibrant and astute to the goings on each Sunday God just might visit our services with authority and power.

May we be more enthusiastic for prayer on both sides of the platform!

Validation

2009-01-07T12:09:00.004-06:00

I know that some will view this as a shortcoming in self-promotion and self-esteem issues, but it does have a cute and interesting twist. I think everyone wants to feel validated, to find purpose and especially as a Christian, I am to elevate and encourage my fellow believers.

I wanted to save this clip for myself and thought I would blog it to do so. I guess I am a romantic at heart. It is about 16 minutes in length, so view it when you find time.

Film Description as given: A short film about the magic of looking for the best in people. This movie has played at 34 film festivals worldwide and won 17 awards.

Be Sure Your Sins Will Find You Out

2009-01-07T11:06:00.003-06:00

The following short film illustrates the calamity of greed. It also illustrates the old adage that God's Word gives us..."Be sure your sins will find you out." (Numbers 32:23)

For all thos who love Apple. Check this out, The Wheel!

2009-01-06T12:19:00.003-06:00

Ok, thanks David for throwing this one out there and I just had to share it as well. This is truly hilarious!

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

Some viewing pleasure!

2008-12-30T13:20:00.002-06:00

I was doing some surfing and noticed that Answers in Genesis has done some really great videos for the account of creation. Check out their page HERE!

There is a series of videos about the 6 literal days of creation. One thing I like is the forthrightness of AG and how they take on the tough questions and give even tougher answers to those who wish to believe that we are all just a superior animal instead of a specifically designed creation by a loving and gracious God.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T12:15:00.005-06:00

It is with great joy that I come to say to you and yours, Merry Christmas! This is a time of celebration as we think and ponder upon the greatness of our God's design and plan. A child, a son, an innocent participant in an eternal plan was granted to us as God's demonstration of love, compassion, and desired restoration. He, Who did not sin, was willing to send One, His Son, the spotless and perfect One, to become sin for us.

Christmas is such a beautiful time of the year. We behold the ornaments, the lights, the sounds, and the smells of this season. For those of us in the north country (and for some even in our southern states) snow falls and conditions become cold, but the beauty of the pristine brightness and the even the crispness of the cold air stimulates us to look up and behold the grand design of our God.

As carols play, cantatas are sung, and the nativity scenes come alive all around us, let us not forget the beauty of God's perfect plan to redeem us and make us His prized possession. May our hearts be warmed and our lives be stirred to reflect the beauty of the Christ that came in such humility. May our lives be challenged to grow into His image even as He grew to become a sacrifice of willing obedience, even to face the death that we deserved.

God bless each and every one of you! Merry Christmas and may the year to come be one of hope and joy as we anticipate the next major event on our God's calendar, the coming or our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ!

This thing called "Ministry" (Part 3)

2008-12-16T11:50:00.003-06:00

I began something I intend to finish it! Several weeks ago I mentioned that I wanted to evaluate what "ministry" is through the book of 1 Corinthians and as we see Paul flesh it out. (Part 1 and Part 2) So let me progress into a third passage in 1 Corinthians.

To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now. I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.
(1 Corinthians 4:11-16)

Paul is not complaining, neither is he hinting that this is the lifestyle that these Corinthian believers must adhere to. What he is addressing is the contrast to their attitude of superiority. They have become "puffed up" and filled with knowledge to the point of having big heads in spiritual matters. They are filled with pride and arrogance and so much so that they are forgetting their heritage. Paul is their "spiritual father."

There are two sides to this that I see in a very non-commentary fashion. Paul warns them of arrogance and forgetfulness. He warns them of the dangers of lauding themselves as being better or more spiritual by having all these gifts and abilities. Paul is still dealing with them as babes in Christ and even as "carnal." (3:1) He is doing his duty as their "father" to alert them to their failures.

That leads me to see the second aspect. Paul's ministry included correction and "big head popping." He wanted to bring them down to see that life is about ministry and loving your fellow believers. As we saw earlier in vs. 1-2, Paul was a minister, a servant, a slave of God's vocational calling. He was a steward of the mysteries of God's magnificent Gospel. Paul is alerting his "spiritual children" of their duty to serve.

But note v. 16 - "Be imitators of me." Wow! Can I honestly call my people up and say, "Hey, by the way, if you have a problem or need to figure out how you should be living this Christian life, then just do it as I do!" I don't think so. But as a minister of the gospel and as a pastor, teacher, and steward of God's truth, I should strive to be so.

How are we doing, "MINISTERS?" Are we an example, a servant, a leader by service rather than by demand? Are we encouraging right living by living right in front of our fellow believers? How about when they are not looking? We need to remember that this thing called ministry is.... become(ing) as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now. (1 Corinthians 4:13)

Love your people! Serve your people! They are your "spiritual children." Be then a father to them and demonstrate the compassion that our loving heavenly Father has lavished upon them. Minister!

Giving "Thoughts"

2008-11-25T12:11:00.005-06:00

It all starts with us just giving a thought. Thinking. Thanks is just a thought away, but how often do we truly stop and think about how blessed and how rich we truly are?

(1 Thessalonians 5:18) In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

(Psalms 147:1) Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant and praise is becoming.

May the days ahead bring moments of pause. May we realize the time is right for us to give thanks and to offer praise unto our God. I am grateful for the family that God has so richly blessed me with, and the opportunities I have to see life with them daily. I am thankful for the friends that God brings into my life to challenge me, build me, and encourage me. I am so blessed to have a purpose in my life and to be in this vocation to which God has called me. I am thankful for those in my church that I get the great opportunity to share my worship with and God's precious Word. I am a blessed man!

My prayer is that we might not be that generation that is thankless and ungrateful. I pray that we would truly give a thought to our thanks. Think about what you have to be thankful for and praise the One from whom all blessings flow.

(Ephesians 3:20, 21) Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

He does more than we can even imagine. He is more than we can imagine. So, in those things of life that we actually do observe let us then not be remiss to thank Him, and as well, for the things beyond our comprehension. Give thanks! Think about it. Give thought to a thankful heart and a thankful word.

An Interjection for the Global Trends Report

2008-11-21T10:46:00.004-06:00

I wanted to inject this as I came across this today. Apparently the NIC has put out an intelligence report and they just finished their predictions for our status as America in the international community through to the year 2025. You really need to read some of the bullet points, especially pages iv,92, and 105. I tell you, we are getting closer to the Lord's return by the minute! Keep looking up, Amen! Click on the hyperlink above or go to the following if your computer has trouble:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/21_11_08_2025_Global_Trends_Final_Report.pdf

See it through the eyes of one who knows that Christ is returning and that the book of revelation reveals a weakening of countries and a unifying of nations. Notice how Russia and China are gaining power and that the US is weakening in the realm of international dominance. So much is happening and the time is drawing near. I just wonder if we as Christians will be ready and willing to count the cost as our "intolerant" approach to international policies will be questioned and brought to bear in political, judicial, and civil settings? We are truly seeing the Global Trends fulfill a God given revelation.

This thing called "Ministry" (Part 2)

2008-11-18T13:46:00.006-06:00

Last week I began a thought that came to my mind one day while sitting here in my office and thinking, "What is this thing called Ministry?" I know what I think it is and after being involved with ministry for nearly all of my life, I guess I can imagine it, but what do we find in Scripture? So, as I was reading through 1 Corinthians I came across some things that stuck out to me regarding "This thing called Ministry."

In 1 Corinthians 4:1, 2 Paul makes this statement:
Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. (NASB)

The King James translates the word "servants" here as "ministers" in verse one. The word "faithful" in verse 2 of the KJV is here translated "trustworthy." As servants/ministers, we have been given some great responsibilities. Paul notes a few of these.

First he speaks of the mysteries of God. The things that God has revealed and disclosed to the world. The means of this disclosure in now understood primarily as through His Word. We have been given stewardship, guardianship, or custody for safe keeping and proliferation of these mysteries.

Then Paul goes further to announce a characteristic of these stewards, trustworthy/faithful. So, what is this thing called ministry? It is stewardship of the mysteries of God as faithful and trustworthy in character.

How are we doing today? As I see it many are sacrificing the integrity and richness of God's revelation on the alter of self preservation or self proliferation. They are blinding their people to the fullness of God's Word in order to embellish their program models and marketing tactics. Many pastors have become enamored more with building the castle walls than establishing truth as its foundation. They are doing away with honest exploration in exchange for the pragmatic and modernistic approach to the mysteries of God.

I have a duty that Paul later explains more fully to another minster of the Gospel, Timothy.
You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
(2 Timothy 3:14-4:4)

This thing called ministry is me guarding against the temptation of my humanity to be liked and applauded rather than being honest and truthful. It is to be a steward of that truth, to proclaim it as truth, and not to mingle it with acceptable rhetoric. It is my duty as a minister of the truth to stand for it and uphold it. I don't necessarily have to defend it, but I do need to proclaim it and stand upon it. I am its steward! I am the one responsible to teach it and commit it to other faithful men. It is part of my calling, part of my duty, and part of my responsibility as a Minister in this thing called Ministry.

Don't get caught in the trap of excusing the Bible or placating it to a realm of anemic potency. Faithfully proclaim it from your pulpit and live it before your audience. Don't make up justification for your lack of study or preparation to tackle the tough questions or deal with the difficult issues. It is your job to minister the mysteries. Take it serious and own up to your vocation. Be the proclaimer, the preacher, the mouthpiece God has called you to be.

This thing called "Ministry"

2008-11-11T13:49:00.004-06:00

Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Recently I was again going through the book of 1 Corinthians in my personal time with God. As I came to this book I was somehow struck by the idea of what Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:12, where Paul writes, "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;".

Could Paul actually be glad that He was in the ministry and having to write the kind of book he wrote to such a church as he found in Corinth? So I began to go back through the book and take note of how Paul "ministered." What areas Paul used "ministry." Asking myself, "What is this thing called 'ministry?'" Now, there are many things I have probably missed and I am not intending this to become a novel or exercise in some great spiritual study, but it is a bit interesting to pick out some things and I hope you will continue to see what Scripture alludes to as the "ministry" to which Christ has called us.

The first passage of note to me was found in 1 Corinthians 3:9-10, "For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. (10) According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it."

Paul points out that our ministry is one of co-laboring and establishment of the foundation of Christ. Remember Paul is dealing with a schism that is threatening the church. The issue revolved around clicks.

"I am of Apollos!"
"Well, I am of Paul."
"Humph, I am of Cephas!"
"You are just not as spiritual as I for I am of Christ!"

Paul reminds his readers that each of these men that they are looking to, even Christ Himself, is co-laboring for the cause. The challenge I received from this as a "co-laborer" is that my competition is not with those men who are working in God's field, but with the one who wants to destroy the souls of man, the devil.

The church is God's building, the field where He wishes to establish His church and the tower of truth for the world to see Christ. We are working together in this "ministry" that God has so graciously called us to so that construction and not destruction can take place. Ministry is not competition but participation.

One disclaimer here that I guess needs to be added is that I do not believe in an ecumenical approach however. For the foundation must be sure and if our Gospel is hid it is hid to those that are lost. I will not align with those who wish to change or distort the foundation, Christ. I will work, however, with any man who wishes to hold to the integrity of truth and the validity of God's inerrant Word.

Let's not forget that this thing called ministry is one of cooperation. In my first ministry I felt the strain of competition. With "good" churches all around you the sense of being a sheep stealer or a member grabber was always pervasive. You knew that if one of your members had an issue they could just show up at "Brother So-n-So's" church next Sunday and you were none the wiser. Churches merely rotated members and pastors neither sought nor encouraged restoration or resolution before accepting those strays. We are co-laborers. Since coming to Madison, I have had the great opportunity to meet some men who are striving to start and build churches in and around this city. It has been great to hear how they are seeking ways to promote all the churches that preach the Gospel in this town. God will increase our fold as we demonstrate a working love for the body of Christ. When we realize that God has each one of us with strengths and abilities that will reach some while another church across town perhaps will be better equipped to reach others. One sows, another waters, and perhaps we will have opportunity to even see the reaping, but ultimately it is God that brings the increase.

This thing called ministry is the body of Christ working as a body to accomplish locally and collectively what God has left us here to do. May God teach us to stand together and accomplish more together by praying for one another, encouraging one another, and promoting one another. Let's quit being on the defensive or offensive amongst our own, but let's stand against the one who truly wants to hinder and destroy our ministries, satan!

The Majority Wins!

2008-11-05T10:39:00.005-06:00

Today we awake to the strange awareness that our country was not the same as it was last night. News has filled the air waves that our country has elected, chosen, and empowered its next Executive, Commander-in-Chief, and Leader of the "Free World." But somehow, in a corner of my mind and heart, I wonder if somehow we are getting a glimpse of the beginning of ends.

I am not a doomsday specialist, nor am I a poor looser. I am aware, however, that Christ is going to be returning. He is going to come back to a world that Scripture alerts us to. The Bible makes us aware that these end times will see sin as overwhelming and acceptable. Nations will be at war, pestilence and famines will be heard of from places where it apparently was not accustomed. We know that a man, an individual will arise to capture the hearts, minds, and ideals of the world.

Now, I am not, again...I am not....saying that Barack Obama is the ONE, but it is amazing that he is being described as a child of the world, a person whose identity has excited Africa and Jakarta. Muslim nations and now our pantheistic, pluralistic, post-modernistic society have found him acceptable. If this man can do that, imagine what it will be like to see "that one" do the same.

My only concern right now is what will the next four years reveal? We are facing strong currents against morality, or as some of the talk show hosts call it, ideological stands. Homosexuality, Abortion, and even the definition of marriage have taken back seats because our greed, materialism and self-promotion caused us to face the consequences with depressing magnitudes.

So, we have spoken. As a nation, one that is ever evolving, we have spoken. We have declared our wishes. We want "change." But what is that change and what will it look like in four years?

As a pastor, husband, father, and mostly, as a Christian man, I know we are in for some dire straights. For the first time that I can remember, a group of people who have adopted a debauched lifestyle were singled out in an acceptance speech by the next president of our country. What group is next?

We have our work cut out for us. As a pastor in one of the most liberal cities in our union, I have my work cut out for me. I live in the belly of Babylon, Rome, and Corinth. But I also know that God did a work even in those cities. May we as His people, the ones HE chose, redeemed, and saved, may we stand firm upon the integrity and solidarity of the Truth... The Word of God! May we pray for our president. May we pray for these newly elected officials and "leaders." May we honor those in authority and not get caught up in blasting the men, but instead let us expose the corruption of sin and lead people to see that God does still have an opinion. May we uphold the truth not as daggers, but as light. May the Light of His glorious Gospel shine forth through our churches and homes even brighter today.

Another Campaign Video - FUNNY!

2008-10-13T09:30:00.004-05:00

Death Before Time

2008-10-10T10:23:00.006-05:00

We have some friends who are going through a tough time in their lives today. Warren Brokering, a man not much older than myself is in his last days of enduring the trial of colon cancer. His wife and three small children have been a real testimony of how God guides and nurtures His children in times that don't seem to make sense. Warren and I served for a brief time together in my first pastorate. He will be remembered as a man with great ability to see the humor in life and also as a man who could draw attention to His God. Pray for Tana and their three little ones. Pray that God would be glorified and honored in death as well as in life. The situation reminds me of Paul's words as he speaks with the Philippian believers and he says, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait between two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:"
(Philippians 1:21-23)

Although Paul would continue to live for a time longer, the sentiment rings true. To live on this earth grants us time to express Christ with others. Our lives should be such a resemblance of His character, His grace, His conduct that those who touch us are more affected by the hand of God than by our mere human abilities. However, to die is no threat. It produces sorrow in the hearts of those we love and who truly love us, but it is a fleeting moment in the light of eternity. To die is gain. The gain of heaven, the repose of God's presence, the reality of sin removed and all of its horrible effects. My heart breaks for Tana and those children. My heart is also jealous of Warren. Not that anyone wants to face death in suffering as he has had to endure, but to be with Christ,the Savior, the hope of my eternal existence, my Lord, and my King. Warren, you are beating us to the reward! Amen!

May God grant peace and comfort as only HE can. And should death come before our presumed time, may our tombstones read of love and convictions. May our lives truly be Christ to those around us and may we find it a great gain to see our Lord. May the cares of this world not hold so tightly that we would even hesitate to want to be with our Lord.

Warren...till we meet again, my Brother!

Peace in Future Uncertainty

2008-10-08T11:26:00.005-05:00

I did watch a bit of the debate last night between the two candidates for this year's election. Again we come to the time where fingers point and yet everyone speaks of unity and harmony. Everyone wants to prove themselves to be more trustworthy, more aggressive, more in tune with the "common folk" and more aware of the problems and their solutions than the other camp. It amazes me how politically incorrect we are becoming.

I still hold that this election is, in my humble opinion, the most important one that we have had in recent history. We face economic crisis, foreign crisis, social crisis, and religious crisis. On every front we find that our nation is being torn apart by greed, corruption, and immorality. From same sex marriages, to CEO embezzlement, we find our lives and the lives of our children hanging by fragile threads of sanity.

Now, the good news. (1 Timothy 1:17) Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. I note here that He is King, He is going to be given His glory and HE is eternally existent.

Again, Paul later goes on to say, "Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time--He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen."
(1 Timothy 6:12-16)

I have no reason to fear. I may grow weary of the debauchery and the lust that fills the hearts and lives of people all around me. I may grow angry that sin and sinners seem to gain more ground while the truth of God and His righteousness seems to be suppressed and buried, but I know my Redeemer lives, that He is coming for me and one day the Just God of all ages will stand ready to establish not only His heavenly dominion, but His earthly one as well.

Let the next president come. Let the next assault on truth be waged. May we continue to "fight that good fight." May we be ready soldiers. Not with weapons of earthly warfare, but as individuals enduring the hardness, praying steadfastly, encouraging the beloved, and standing for what is Right, what is Righteous.

The New Dollar Bill

2008-10-03T09:29:00.002-05:00

As we go through this "crisis" in our economy I am very quickly reminded that our attention is not to be drawn away to the building of our financial empire, but to the building of God's domain. Seek first, my God shall, Let not your heart be troubled, etc. So many times we are reminded that God is ultimately in control and as we invest, we invest in things that will last for eternity. Let's establish the resources of God as coming from God and not from Wall Street or from the Federal Government, or even from our own divination.

More on Fireproof

2008-09-24T12:49:00.002-05:00

Thought it was really neat to hear some comments by Kirk Cameron. Check it out and go see the movie!

Colliding with Evolution

2008-09-17T14:34:00.004-05:00

One interesting point that I wish to bring out of this little video clip is that mankind can't help but bring God and His work of creation into the language. Even the names that the speaker uses to identify some components of the experiment deal with the "creation" of life, and the "face of God." Why is it that man can use God as a trading stamp, but can't seal the truth of God's Word in their hearts?

Obviously we know one reason is that the god (little "g") of this world has blinded their eyes. So true of science today. They only see what they are looking for, not for what is there. They cram the truth into the fallacy of their so called creative genius and come to conclusions before the studies have begun. How dangerous to preconclude the beginning of life when only God was there!

Creation and Science to Collide

2008-09-09T12:17:00.004-05:00

The Large Hadron Collider, located in Geneva, Switzerland, will be switched on this Wednesday (tomorrow)! I have given this YouTube clip that attempts to explain what it is that scientists are looking for and will be hoping to recreate. Check it out. Interesting the mindset going into it and the "assumed" results they will look to find. I'll be interacting with this at least once more at a later date.

Meddling with Politics

2008-09-03T16:13:00.004-05:00

I try not to get to overwhelmed with the political sphere, but this election is, in my estimation, one of the most important ones we have had in my lifetime. Here is an article I found interesting about the "faith" of Barack Obama. In all fairness I am also going to attempt to find something as well about the other candidate, John S. McCain. Food for thought as faith and religion have become a focal point of this year's election race.

Obama: Grew up with "the Bible and the Koran" - Believes Many Paths Lead to God

Source: Editors at Lighthouse Trails

The Faith of Barack Obama

The Faith of Barack Obama written by New York Times best-selling author Stephen Mansfield was released in August by Thomas Nelson publishers. The book carries the endorsement of Archbishop Desmond Tutu on the front cover. Tutu, one of the global "Elders," calls the book "perceptive and well-written." The publisher's description of the book reads:

. . . takes readers inside the mind, heart, and soul of presidential hopeful Barack Obama--as a person of faith, as a man, as an American, and possibly as our future commander in chief.

Mansfield, says: "If a man's faith is sincere, it is the most important thing about him, and it is impossible to understand who he is and how he will lead without first understanding the religious vision that informs his life."

According to Mansfield, Obama is "raising the banner of what he hopes will be the faith-based politics of a new generation . . . and he will carry that banner to whatever heights of power his God and the American people allow."

Recently, when Obama was interviewed by Rick Warren, Obama told Warren that Jesus Christ was his Lord and Savior. Yet this "banner" Obama raises is one that has an interspiritual foundation, representing a new kind of "Christianity," one that looks more like Brian McLaren's spirituality than traditional, biblical Christianity.

Mansfield's book addresses the concern many have that Obama may be a closet Muslim, but he dismisses the possibility in the book, saying he was too young to be a "full convert to Islam"(p. 18). But what emerges from this book is a man who is New Age in philosophy, believing that all religions are legitimate paths to God, and all humanity is connected together (spiritually speaking - i.e., God is in all):

Obama does clearly believe that the form of Christianity that he committed to at Trinity Church in 1985 is not the only path to God. "I am rooted in the Christian tradition," he has said. Nevertheless he asserts, "I believe there are many paths to the same place and that is a belief there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people." He first saw his broad embrace of faith modeled by his mother. "In our household," he has explained, "The Bible, [t]he Koran, and the Bhagavad Gita sat on the shelf . . . on Easter or Christmas Day my mother might drag me to a church, just as she dragged me to the Buddhist temple, the Chinese New Year celebration, the Shinto shrine, and ancient Hawaiian burial sites." (p.55 of Mansfield's book, quoting from Audacity of Hope, Obama, p. 203).

After his interspiritually-based upbringing, Obama later spent twenty years in a church, which promotes the panenthestic (God in all), interspiritual approach. In a 2006 article in United Church News, Obama stated that the teachings of the UCC (United Church of Christ), of which he was a member (Trinity United Church of Christ) until recently, are "foundation stones for his political work." Just what are those "teachings" comprised of? On Trinity's website, on the Yoga page, the following statement is highlighted:

Within each [of] us is the seed of Divinity. Each Soul is divine. I bow to the divinity in us all!

This is classic Hinduism that teaches that divinity resides in every human being. It is also the message of the New Age movement--man's divinity!

In Obama's own autobiography, Audacity of Hope, he calls himself a "progressive" (i.e., emerging or postmodern) and says: "We need to take faith seriously not simply to block the religious right but to engage all persons of faith in the larger project of American renewal" (p. 216). Echoing the sentiments of Rick Warren (a close friend of Obama, says Warren), he clarifies that partnerships between "religious and secular" will have to be built, and "each side will need to accept some ground rules for collaboration" (p. 216). He adds:

Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers. (p. 218)

Obama insists that to base national "policy" on biblical truths "would be a dangerous thing" to do (p. 220).

There is one sentence in Audacity of Hope that sums up Barack Obama's spirituality. He states:

When I read the Bible, I do so with the belief that it is not a static (stable) text but the Living Word and that I must be continually open to new revelations.(p. 224)

In other words, just as Tony Jones said in his book The New Christians, and just as other emergents consistently say, the truths in the written Word of God, the Bible, are not unchanging and cannot be looked upon as stable or immoveable. "New revelations" can bring about new "truths" . . . truth is fluid.

To be interspiritual (all paths lead to God), to be panentheistic (divinity is in all), to reject God's Word, and to embrace mysticism is to be what Alice Bailey called a rejuvenated Christian, who is one who follows "another gospel" and "another Jesus" (II Corinthians 11:4).

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)

NOTE:
For more information go to Lighthouse Trail Research

Watch out Tiger!

2008-08-27T14:07:00.004-05:00

David Flinck sent some of us a link to this video clip. I just had to pass it along here. Very warming and it has a great story line. Be warned, you may want to have some Kleenexes handy.

Kyle Lograsso @ Yahoo! Video

Looks like a great movie

2008-08-06T13:26:00.002-05:00

A Prayer Request

2008-07-23T10:45:00.003-05:00

Please pray with our church as we are in the process of looking at a facility. It seems right now to be very much out of our reach, but the location and the facility is actually perfect. They are asking an astronomical price considering our size and what we would have to come up with, but we serve a very big God and we are praying that the Lord will give us some help from His people if this is what He would have for our church.

Please pray that the Lord would show Himself strong on our church's behalf and open this door if this is truly His delight.

Rejoice!

2008-07-18T13:28:00.004-05:00

This verse comes to my mind today, "Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." (Luke 15:10)

My wife just called to tell me that a little boy did in fact trust Christ this week at our 5 Day Club meetings. One sinner. Pray for this little guy. Pray that God will use us to now equip him for the life ahead. Pray that we will be able to lead the rest of his family to a saving knowledge of Christ.

May we rejoice with our great God who finds it to be the greatest news ever, even so that the angels and all of heaven stops and shouts, "Glory!"

Some Campaign Fun

2008-07-16T18:06:00.002-05:00

Now there is a disclaimer attached. This is done by a secular group and has some content not exactly "Christian." So...Oh, well! It made me laugh. Sorry if that offends and I guess you might need to just pray for me!

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

Mystery Musings

2008-07-11T11:46:00.001-05:00

I remember as a boy reading the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of one of literature's most unique characters, Sherlock Holmes. I loved the discoveries and the plot's thickening, and all that went into foiling the plans of wicked men and revealing their deeds of evil. Things so obscured and hidden to dear Dr. Watson and the others in the cases were so readily seen and observed by our beloved Mr. Holmes.

We are now into our fourth month as citizens of Madison. The church is steady and the Lord is working, but there is always this desire to see God do it faster and with more obvious results.

My wife and I were discussing this late one evening. The reality of God's will is always great, but the revelation of God's plan is somewhat a struggle at times. The reality is we are here and God orchestrated everything. The revelation of God's plan is....well, it sometimes seems hazy, or a bit blurry. What do we have to hope in and to put our confidence in? How do we become certain without hesitation that this is what God wants or even wanted in the first place? How do we proceed from here? What is the next step and will it also afford any clearer answers?

Does God offer us any sort of a guide or platform to stand upon? Does the Bible offer us a grid to lay down and build within? Does the work of God revolve around just a vague path stretched out ahead of us with only the next step clear to the eyes?

Job asked, "Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in?" (Job 3:23) Why do I even have this life if God is going to hide his way from me? For what purpose was I given life if God is going to do these things? "For what I fear comes upon me, And what I dread befalls me. "I am not at ease, nor am I quiet, And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes." (Job 3:25-26)

Maybe you have not felt this way. Perhaps you are in one of those situations of life where all is well with the world and the stars are just aligned perfectly. Choices have come easy, decisions have relatively few nuances, or the path is so clearly laid out there is nothing obscuring the the vision. In some ways I envy you and yet in some other ways, I do not.

I have found that in these times of searching God has truly become more real and relevant to me. I also find that His Word becomes more important; prayer becomes more earnest, and my hunger for His will becomes more pervasive.

David writes, "The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant." (Psalms 25:14)

Recently I preached a message about the "fear of the Lord." Solomon reminds us in Proverbs 1:7 that it presents wisdom to those who hold to such an awe and wonder of this great and terrible, majestic, and magnificent God.

The paths of life are measured. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way." (Psalms 37:23) Each step is identified by God for us. Each placement of our foot is weighed and found to be good by God. Good for us and glorious for Him.

So let the clouds roll in and the haze perplex the path. For God declares that I am there! David points out in Psalm 139, the darkness becomes light and the hidden becomes revealed. There is not found on earth or in the sky a place where God is not, and that gives me assurance to His perpetual presence and persistent planning.

As Job was reminded by God, "Then the LORD said to Job, 'Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it.' Then Job answered the LORD and said, 'Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; Even twice, and I will add nothing more.' Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm and said, 'Now gird up your loins like a man; I will ask you, and you instruct Me. Will you really annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be justified?'" (Job 40:1-8)

"Then Job answered the LORD and said, 'I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me. I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.'" (Job 42:1-6)

May we be humbled when we balk at God's measuring of our steps. May we be willing to "retract" our presumptions when we come to "see with our eyes" this great God who does hear us and knows our frame, and takes an invested interest in our lives. May it cause us to fall completely in all humility and declare, "I AM NOT GOD!" But, I know Him and He is real to me. May the next step be revealed and the path be lit, and the glory of His plan become our goal for life.

Having a Prayer

2008-06-19T12:01:00.004-05:00

Recently I stopped by a local church in our area. Being new to this metropolitan area, I felt it good to meet some of the local ministers. We began with the usual greetings and searchings. In the midst of the conversation we found that we were pretty much on the same page in many respects. The churches we serve in are not of great size, but we are both concerned with reaching our perspective areas.

We shared some of the challenges we had faced in our respective ministries and how the Lord had used those times to refine and challenge our ministries for growth or to reveal areas of true need.

As we were closing our time, I heard one comment he made to me that sort of stopped me in my tracks. "I find that our people get turned off when I say we are going to have a 'prayer meeting.' They will not come if we say we are going to have a 'Prayer meeting.'" Christian people bored, scared, or unconcerned about prayer? Could it be possible? I am not sure if he realized the declaration of his statement. I know it seemed to be a moment of honesty and it did seem to bother him.

I took that thought to our people here. I shared that statement in a very similar generic way without names, but shared the concern it welled up within my heart. Here we are saying that we are concerned about reaching people and yet we grow stagnant in our prayers. We come to God with our "grocery list" style of prayer. "Lord I need to move quickly and get through this list today." "I don't have time to stay long, you know, got this list to accomplish and need to just get what I need from you."

I wonder if God just sits back and frowns. I wonder if HE just slumps HIS shoulders at our lack of enthusiasm to speak with HIM? I really imagine HE grows disappointed with our lack of dependence, our lack of urgency, our lack of humility.

I challenged our people, few though we may be, "Let us pray with all dependence!" We need God to do what only God can do. We need to know His heart and the only way we will know that is to be in His Word and communicating with Him in prayer. The only way we will reach this vast, liberal city is to see a working of God's Spirit.

I think it comes from an Ephesians 3:19 relationship, "filled up to all the fullness of God." As we come with that overflowing cup, then we find that HE is ABLE to DO! To do what? ABUNDANTLY BEYOND ALL that we could even begin to ask for or to even imagine HIM willing, nevertheless capable of doing.

Then the glory is HIS, the Person of our Glorious Christ, our wonderful Savior, is evident and seen. We no longer see us, but only HIM.

Get a handle on Prayer. We have a prayer. But do we come ready for the answer He has for us? Are we open to hear HIS plan, HIS Purpose? Throw out the "list mentality," get rid of your expectations and increase your faith to see what only faith can see, to hope in what God has already pre-determined.

Open the doors,CHURCH! Pray!

Fathers of Integrity

2008-06-10T14:04:00.006-05:00

This Sunday is Father's Day and as I am one it sure makes me feel very inadequate. The importance of faithfulness and integrity come to mind as I think of Father' Day this year. My father is and has always been a true man. He taught me to be tough and to stand for myself. He showed me integrity of speech and that honesty is a precious commodity not to be squandered. Ken Love is a man of compassion and a big heart. He is not perfect and would readily admit that, but he always wanted me to know that I was loved, and he had no problem showing it and telling me as much.

My dad has served God for over 50 years now and is still very active in a ministry now outside the U.S. My mother and father are examples of faithfulness in marriage and in service to our great God. I pray that I will be able to say that and that my children will be able to express that about me when they are well gone and on their own. Integrity! A word that expresses my determination to do what I said I would. To keep my word and fulfill my promises.

I like how Tommy Nelson put it, "Reputation is who people think you are, but integrity is who you really are." As I preach, as I father our children, as I minister to my wife and those who come into my life, I pray it is accomplished through integrity. I pray that my heart will be able to stand in honesty before God and those around me and say, "I have done it to the best of my ability, done it according to God's Word, and done it to please and honor HIM and not necessarily you."

I want to live a life of integrity so that my life's legacy is God's glory. I hope my sons will grow up to become better fathers than I have ever been. I hope they will walk lives of honesty and deal with life as God would guide them. But where will they learn that if not through me? Who will teach them if I don't? Praise God for a dad who taught me to trust in our great God. Thank God for a father who demonstrated the ability I could have to trust in my Heavenly FATHER.

As a minister of the Gospel, I was challenged by a quote attributed to Clarence McCartney, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is quoted as saying, "The better the man, the better the preacher. When he kneels by the bed of the dying or when he mounts the pulpit stairs, every self denial he has made, every Christian forbearance he has shown, every resistance to sin and temptation will come back to strengthen his arm and give conviction to his voice. Likewise, every evasion of duty, indulgence of self, every compromise with evil, and every unworthy thought, work, or deed will be there at the head of the pulpit stairs to meet the minister on Sunday morning to take the light from his eyes and the power from his blow and the ring from his voice and the joy from his heart."

If sin has you in a stranglehold, you need to confess it and repent from it and then put your heart's attention back onto the mighty arm of God. Be in God's Word, spend time in prayer, and learn of Him. May we be fathers of integrity. May we be men of honesty and faithfulness to our sons and our daughters. May God fill our hearts with a hunger and a thirst that only His Spirit can fill and satisfy. May we then pass that on to the next generations!

Settling In

2008-04-18T13:49:00.002-05:00

Well the boxes are fewer and the days are a bit more routine. Things seem to be settling down as we have made our move and are into the work here in our new ministry. The church is doing well and God has seen fit to bring visitors through our doors each week so far.

One or our prayers was that the Lord would begin to bring mature, Christian families to our church. considering our size I knew we would need people to help shoulder the load and also spread the enthusiasm we have about this great work. The Lord seems to have answered with at least one family so far.

Continue to pray that the Lord will help us reach this city. Over 200,000 souls need to hear the Gospel and we understand that we are just a piece in God's plan. However, we want to take back this city for Christ and truly make Him known.

Up to our Eyeballs

2008-01-26T16:32:00.000-06:00

We have begun!.....Let the journey begin!.....The hardest step is the first one!....BROTHER! E-GAD! UGG!

So many cliches and exclamatory phrases come together when one begins this process of packing and thinking about what to keep and what to toss. I must say...the decisions are getting easier the more I get into this. Of course I will not let Kelly see me. No, I have not thrown out anything sentimental or important (to me).

We are finally wrapping up the basement and getting to a measure of control on what we have buried for these past 4 years, but then the real fun of packing up the breakables and everyday things. Kelly is a sport and is getting more and more into the "sport" of packing. We sure are hoping the truck is going to be big enough!

We close on our new home on January 31st. Pray that all the details will be settled and that we will be ready to go on that date. We then have our last Sunday here on February 24. I have the truck coming on Thursday and from there it is a mad dash to load and head out for WI. Pray for safety in packing and travelling. Kelly will be driving with the three little guys.

We are very excited about what the Lord is going to do. For sure we know it will be Him and most certainly not us. After closing we will try to put some additional pictures on the blogs to let those of you who care see what it has for an interior.

Audios for now! (For all those missionary friends learning Spanish like David.)

A Clip of Worship

2008-01-22T09:38:00.001-06:00

Came across this from FaithVisuals, and thought I would share it. Seems to have some necessary ingredients for our day and how we approach this aspect of the "worship service." Click on the link here.

Back Again

2008-01-18T12:07:00.000-06:00

August? Hard to believe that it has been so long ago, but I guess this is my world of thoughts and if anyone other than myself is reading this, then, all I can say is, "I am back!" Now we will have to see for how long.

I know we have been on this little discourse about Eternal Security, but I am going to go away for a moment and just catch up with my own thoughts as to where I am these days.

As a family we are soon to move to another ministry come March. The Lord has seen fit to move us from our place here in Nebraska to a ministry in Wisconsin. Sometimes I would love to think that the Lord would have me in a much warmer environment, but I guess we are destined to hang around the arctic regions of this great country. Proverbs 3:5, 6 keep coming up as an age old principle of God's direction and our need as well as our ability to "Trust in the Lord." God has certainly been doing some great things to confirm that this is His will and not our pushing or pulling to have our way.

When we set out as a family to determine if God was certainly moving us from our place here, I was praying that the Lord would establish it within the heart of my wife as well. I was so concerned that Kelly be certain and very connected to this decision. The past few places we have served it has been really more my call and her willingness. This time I was asking the Lord to seal it sure within her heart and let it be her coming to terms with the way the Lord was working as much as in my heart.

I can still remember the night that Kelly and I were on our knees praying about this new opportunity and us both in tears just asking the Lord for wisdom. After we got up she turned to me and said, "Let's go!" Wow!

The other aspect was a place to live. We have lived in a parsonage ever since coming to Nebraska and we had no idea if we even could get a loan or if we could even afford the housing market we were going into. Every time we have attempted to get into the market, it has always been a bit out of reach. So, we went and followed a realtor around for a few hours. Found some places that were really to far away from our church. We were just afraid that we would not be able to host people in our home and be able to offer an important part of our ministry, hospitality. We found one house about 30 minutes away and in need of some repair, but Kelly and I both just had no peace about making any offer on it.

We came home a bit discouraged, and yet we both knew that if the Lord wanted us in this place that He was going to work it all out. On January 6, 2008, I officially resigned as pastor of our church. It was very difficult. And yet in many ways, I find that God is ready to move here as well as in our move to Wisconsin. The morning of that Sunday, our realtor emailed a MLS sheet of a house in the area where we were hoping to find a home. The problem is that these homes are several thousands of dollars above our range. However, this one was in foreclosure and had been marked down "several thousands of dollars" below even the assessed price. I called Kelly and told her to look at it right away. Right then and there I knew that it was the one. Yeah, right! I hoped, but I figured that by the time we actually got back up there to look it would be gone. I know....."Oh ye of little faith."

Kelly and I planned a trip up to the area we are going to live and we set up an appointment to look at nearly 20 homes. We were determined to look and find our home in one day. We knew now what we could afford and so we set out. This house from the email was in our list. It was still on the market. No offers had been made and we were going to get to see it.

We looked at probably 5-6 houses before we got to it. Then, as soon as we walked in, Kelly and I both knew that this was our home. It gives me chills! We put in an offer still lower than what the bank had it listed for. We know that we were going to get it though. Yeah, right! We still didn't understand that God was truly working on our behalf. We got a counter offer that night and we countered yet again. The problem was that we didn't get it into them in time before they closed, so we had to wait all night until 10:00 the next morning. Our realtor, by the way here name is Angel, called and confirmed that we were accepted! We could hardly believe it. Oh, God is so Good! Can you taste it?

To imagine that He would consider me and my family! It does the bank of faith good to see the handiwork of God. It does our hearts good to know that He truly answers prayer. It does our children good to hear that God works and here is proof. We close the 31st and will move in on March 1. May God be praised!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Insecure Believers

2007-08-01T14:01:00.001-05:00

I apologize for the delay in picking up where I left off on this topic of salvific certainty. I have enjoyed some needed time away and the opportunity to see some family I have not seen in actually years.

This topic is becoming more dominant as I travel and interract with other pastors and church attenders. The conversations usually are the same with baffled looks and expressions of "how can they believe this?" The fact of the matter is that there are those within evangelical circles that are being taught that they can lose their salvation. They can miss out on going to heaven. Where do they get this?

Now, last time I mentioned that I had spoken with a lady who felt that one could never be "kicked out of God's family, but you could choose to leave God's family." The basis of this was founded upon "logic." I am in no way trying to belittle this individual. However, the basis of such a dangerous position was not directly from Scripture, but from a feeling of logical conclusions.

To this one and many others the impression is that if I sin and make the conscious decision to abandon God, renounce my faith, and leave off following the will of God, then I am no longer a "born again" individual.

To some other individual's credit they will turn to passages of Scripture. One that really amazed me was when one used Luke 9:23 which says,

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Now I do understand that in Luke discipleship and salvation go hand in hand, but to equate this verse with a possible dropping of the cross meaning you have left the ranks and am no longer a Christian is beyond the context or the intention of what Christ is referring to.

Others use Hebrews 6; 2 Peter 2:20, 21; Romans 8:13; Revelation 22:18, 19; etc. I recently received a book entitled, The Believer's Condtional Security. It was written by David D. Corner who was unknown to me and no biographical information is on the book. The book runs close to 800 pages and tries to discredit the stance of eternal secuity. Corner's contintion amongst many is that an apostate is a believer that leaves the faith. Thus if this one is saved and is then described as Scripture does, then one can lose his or her salvation.

Now we will leave this hanging for a time and I intend to come back with some further provocation as well as some hopeful answers. Take a look at these verses and see if you see a problem with the direction these individuals take them.

Eternally Insecure

2007-07-22T08:36:00.000-05:00

Although this is by no means a new debate or one that is fresh on the horizon of theological consternations, the issue of eternal security has been hitting me and some of my church members rather hard over the past few months.

I am amazed at the differing views this postion holds. Some would say that resident sin in one's life can lead to a "losing of one's salvation." Others would argue that God would never allow that to happen, but you can choose when to walk away from your faith. You and I have the power to renounce our faith and leave God's care, so they would argue.

Now on the other end of the spectrum are those who would say that once saved, you are always saved. Of course that is what I would agree with, but what of these statements.

Now again, I know that there are books written on this topic, but apparently those books are not being read by many well meaning believers. Just this past week at our annual "crusade to win the children of our community," or as most these days call it, VBS, a child came up to our missionary speaker and asked him what was salvation. David Flinck, missionary appointee to Chile, proceded to explain what God required for forgiveness of sin. The boy quickly responded that he asked God to forgive him every time he went to church. I was then speaking with the boy after one of the sessions and his mother came in to hear the discussion. Her affirmation was that God would never kick us out of His family, but we could leave the family. We have the choice to leave if we so choose, but God will always be there to welcome us back.

The greatest question I have for such statements is "where in Scripture do we read that?" Many run to Hebrews and into the Gospels, but many do not read these passages through with such interpretations.

Over the next few weeks, I want to "ramble" some thoughts down on this topic of eternally insecure. If you have any leading thoughts or questions I will do my best to interact. However, the greatest resource would be for comments on passages of Scripture that people (perhaps youself) use to come to such a conclusion that one can lose salvation or "fall from the faith" to such a point that eternal security is in question.

As a Good Soldier

2007-07-13T16:19:00.000-05:00

This next week our church will begin its annual crusade to win the children of our community. What a great challenge in these days to not just capture a child's attention, but to actually know where to begin in explaining the Gospel message. Vacation Bible School has been a highlight for us as long as I can remember. It is a tremendous amount of work, but usually very rewarding at week's end.

The challenge however is growing. Usually there is a large assortment of kids present. Most have a sordid assortment of religious backgrounds from mainstream denominations to various other groups. But have you noticed the changes over the past few years? I talk with some of these kids and first they have never been to church. This week may be for a few of these kids the first time they have ever stepped into a church building, let alone into an organized event that centers around the Bible and discussion about Christ. Just two weeks ago a family in our church was working with a foster child they have currently. She had no clue what church or the Gospel meant.

Now, VBS comes. Where do you start? Making sure these kids leave with a clear and powerful presentation of the Gospel is now a thought provoking performance. No longer can we count on a framework or a reference point, we need to be certain we are getting it across to this next generation.

Our theme this year is a military theme. We will be having Boot Camp - "Biblical Outlook and Opposition Training." The theme verses are found in 2 Timothy 2:3-4, "Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier." (NASB)

Pray that we will be able to first enlist new recruits this week. Then pray that these new recruits will be equipped to go out and become the next generation to take the posts and perform the duties suitable to soldiers in the Lord's Army!

I pray that each of us will be living "as a good soldier" for Christ. May we be keeping a Biblical Outlook and being alert that we face constant Opposition.

"Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8 NASB)

Going under the knife

2007-06-17T20:28:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow by this time I will be without my full compliment of organs. I have been instructed that my gall bladder is giving up its reputation for being efficient and has decided to go on a permanent leave of absence. My doctor is in colusion with my gall bladder and will gladly accept my part in his pension plan. The "Gall!"

I have never been one who does well with needles and such. The anticipation of pain and surgery as "minor" as it might be is not a thought that I deeply cherish. I am of course a man and pain and sickness, along with sharp objects make me cower in fret and nervousness.

As I sat in my doctor's office and listened to him explain how my gall bladder was supposed to work and how it now wasn't, it brought to my mind the reality of a few things. (Honestly I have had this conversation with some and so it isn't a grasping at straws here.)

Sin entered. Adam and Eve fell. The bruising was not a scraping of flesh, but a scrapping of all that was right. And so sin entered. Man has been enduring the effects ever since. Noah, Abraham, Lot, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David, and then came the last Adam, Christ Jesus.

The affects of sin on conduct is obvious, but the unforeseen affects on our bodies is something we are becoming more aware of. I find it somewhat interesting that when something is affecting your life how many others you come across that have or are going through the same things.

One of my brothers called me after I sent a quick email to my family and he told me that he had just had two conversations within the last 24 hours with people having just had or getting ready to have the gall bladder removed. It must be a conspiracy! In our church we have at least three people who have had theirs out. Common, routine, "minor surgery" as they call it. When did having parts of your anatomy cut out become routine? Remember sin entered and the effects of sin are abounding. Cancer, disease, disorders, and all the vast titles of procedures and medications we pop and inject.

I am reminded of the story found in John's Gospel:

John 9:2-5 And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (3) Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. (4) We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. (5) As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

The effects of our corruption and the consequences of one man's sin still lingers and will until we are freed from this corruptible and made incorruptible by the power of our living Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. In Him was no sin (1 Peter 2:22). Thus He came free from the curse, free from the condemnation of death, and free to give to us what we could not obtain in our own flesh - LIFE!

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

And what is Paul's hope and anticipation?

Rom 7:25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Sin entered. Sure, but so did God. He entered our existence to offer us what we could not have - hope, peace, love--LIFE! He entered our space to make a space for us with Him for all of eternity.

So, I will be less the man I was, but one day all will be made complete and what is corruptible now will one day be free from all that is polluted and contaminated. I will be free from sin and free from its consequences. I and my body will be as God intended them to be from the very beginning. "Thanks be to God!"

Relevance or Importance

2007-03-13T12:53:00.000-05:00

Recently a freind of mine emailed me a link to view an interview with Rick Warren, author of Purpose Driven Life and other books along that same line. He has become synonomous with the "mega-church" movement and the Purpose Driven Church movement around the country as well as other parts of the world. If you have time, here is the link to see the interview for yourself.

ABC News: Rick Warren and Purpose-Driven Strife

One of his comments made me stop and think for a moment about our view of what is "relevant" to this society. I do believe that we cannot simply do it the way we have always done it and expect this society here in America to still "get it." However, at what expense and to what lengths are we willing to go to make sure they do "get it?" At what point does the message then alter itself in our attempts to convince the world that they don't have "it."

Recently E-bay has been running some adds about what you can sell and find on its web-based auction sight. The point is that you can get "it," whatever "it" is. What you are looking for, you can find "it." Seems like we are trying to fit our churches into that same mold. Instead of us having the only thing that will change lives, we want to make that fit what the world thinks "it" should look like. But what does the world know about truth, God, the Bible, salvation, newness of life, repentance, and eternity?

Now here is my thought on this "it" that they are looking for. As the church, we need to be able to take those who come in to our facilities, into our services, and especially into our individual lives and take them from their view of what "it" looks like and show them what God says HE looks like. We need to be relevant, but never for the sake of just being able to say we are reaching people. Are we reaching them or just making them feel comfortable with their opinion of Who Jesus is, what the Gospel is, or what they think the church is?

They are the outsiders, and they stand out there looking in. Are we clear on what we are? What we are supposed to look like? Who we are trying to reach? And how are we doing that?

All the Rick Warrens of the world would claim that they are very clear on their knowledge of truth and the criteria for salvation. That's great, but is the world they are claiming to be reaching "getting it?"

Look forward to any takes on this subject. What do you think we should be doing, are doing right, and what is your view on this "purpose driven" style? Are we doing a good job at getting "it," Jesus and His plan of salvation across to the masses? Or is there something that needs to change? Where is the balance and how do we know if we are balanced? Let me hear them.

2007-02-14T15:48:00.000-06:00

Recently my family and I had a great opportunity to travel to Grand Cayman. It was a trip mixed with relaxation and ministry opportunities. One thing that came to mind right away is that God has definitely created some wonderful visuals for us to behold. As we interacted with the people on the island it was apparent that many of those who had grown up in the region were very comfortable with their surroundings. They simply viewed their habitat as the norm and without that sparkle as my family seemed to be experiencing.

One thing that struck me somewhat funny was that some individuals on the island could not even swim! Now, here you are surrounded by water (the island is only 22 miles long and only 4-8 miles wide) and the need to learn how to swim was just not as much of a priority as the rest of their existence. Some who had been on the island for years had never been to the local hotspots that all the tourists go to see. It was not viewed as important or as intriguing as to others. Obviously this is not all encompassing of all the Residents of Cayman, but intriguing none the less.

I remember in my first pastorate in the state of Virginia beholding the mountains that surrounded us. My wife, having never grown up in that type of geography, would just continually marvel at the splendor of the views and changing hues of color as fall would approach. To me and many who were more accustomed to the terrain we found it to be normal and familiar, and even at times unnoticed.

So many times in life we grow comfortable with all the "normalcy" of life. Life just seems to happen. We go about our everyday routines and little seems to get out attention. We fail to see the handiwork of God and to behold the breathtaking scenes of His intervention. Then when God does something to interrupt our "habitat" we stumble around wondering where God is and what has He been doing.

God moved our family from Virginia to Nebraska. We went from those beautiful mountains to a state with a different type of beauty. The open fields and wide horizons offer a different take on God's handiwork. Now we reflect. Now we visualize the mountains and the handiwork of God with a sense of new appreciation. If God were to move us again, I am sure we would do the same about Nebraska.

Sometimes God has to get us moving and get us out of the comfortable regions of our life to get us to behold the real beauty of what He is doing and who He is. Perhaps that is what He is doing in your life. I know He is trying to do that in mine. Get your head up, see the terrain. Behold the hand of the Lord and know that He is God. Rest in Him, and soak up the rays of His sunshine. Do not allow your heart to feel neglected and most certainly do not neglect His so great salvation.

I need to “behold” the beauty like a tourist. I am on a new journey each and every day. My life is to be filled with the beholding of God’s “reason” for my existence. Do not get caught in normalcy. Be caught up in seeing God and what He is doing on your behalf. “Behold” the Lord and that all His works are done in faithfulness (Psalm 33:4).

Scripture Thoughts: Deuteronomy 5:24; 10:14; Psalm 119:18, 40

Your Purpose....My Purpose?

2007-01-17T15:29:00.000-06:00

Starting in this new year I have been establishing some goals for my congregation. We have been discussing some ministry shaping aspects that I feel will help solidify and establish the type of ministry we can expect to have in the very near and even distant future. Some of the thinking has been helped along by reading a book by Aubrey Malphurs entitled Ministry Nuts & Bolts (ISBN #0-8254-3190-5). Along with that book another one that I am currently reading as well is entitled Management Essentials for Christian Ministries by editors, Michael J. Anthony and James Estep, Jr. (ISBN #080543123-3).

All of that to say that it is not at all original with me. However, the burden has been building and it is great to find resources to help me formulate or guide my desire into action.

The greatest challenge in all of this has been helping our people see that change is not necessarily about changing beliefs, but about appropriating truth to the next generation. Christ was relational in His approach to people. He met them where they were but obviously His message never waivered. Christ still spoke truth, lived truth, and demanded an acceptance of truth.

I recently had lunch with a man in our church. As we sat discussing a range of topics I brought him to this discussion we are having as a body. The way I explained it to him was that each of us comes in with our purpose for life. I have a purpose, you have a purpose, the fellow across the aisle has a purpose. Then, in walks this visitor and they now come with a purpose for their life. I explained to him that my job as a pastor is to try and help you and even that visitor in the development of his or her purpose for life.

If only we could grab hold of the reality that God has a vision for our life. God has given us purpose and as 2 Peter 1:3 declares,

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, (ESV)

We have been called to "excellence" and not "maintenance." I believe that it is not Biblical to exist without vision in your life. I do not believe that Paul got stuck in the "mid-life" rut. His goal was to be known by the One whose opinion really mattered most.

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith-- that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. (Phi 3:7-12 ESV)

Paul exercised a mental acuteness for life. He did not "drop out" in setting goals for his life. He lived with a purpose in mind and that purpose propelled him to run!

In our churches you bring your purpose into the household of faith. Each of us brings our purpose for living. The real question then is what is your purpose? It is what motivates and pushes you. What do you see as "success" and "accomplishment" and you will learn your purpose. Now how does that purpose affect your ability to be an effective Christian? A follower of Jesus Christ? How does that effect the purpose of your church? Does your purpose in life match up to the spiritual purpose God gave you for existing?

If not, then your reward is short lived. If so, your reward is eternal. The classic verse is still true,

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Mat 6:21 ESV)

The burden of Reality

2007-01-13T22:48:00.000-06:00

The more I deal with people in general, the more alramed I get at the lack of integrity mankind seems to exhibit. By "integrity" I infer a lack of sincere motivation, subconcious solidarity. "Menpleasers" seems to come to mind as I think of Ephesians and how Paul warns against "eye service" and simply living for the external recognition. I even catch myself seeking aproval of some supposed superior being that exists on a very horizontal plane as myself. No integrity. I and so many like me are seeking to be found laudable and appreciated by what we do in their presence or by what is recognized and perhaps applauded.

Eph 6:6 "Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;"

What a tricky phrase that one, "from the heart." I know my heart is easily hurt, easily enticed, easily overwhelmed with my passions, but the heart I am to seek is still my heart. It is a heart that all still comes "from." My heart is still the same heart that should propell me to service which is inspired by the "will of God." INTEGRITY! It is founded in something, no, Someone greater than me. It is based upon an opinion greater than yours. My heart and my activity is to be abudantly clear. It is to have integrity of thought, integrity of conduct, integrity of spirit.

Psa 26:1-2 A Psalm of David. "Judge me, O LORD; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the LORD; therefore I shall not slide. Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart."

The ESV says,

Psa 26:2 "Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind."

Not much difference, but the point is clear, God is looking for a heart of integrity. A heart that is sure, confident, and proven. He seeks a heart that is not seeking for confidence, but has found its security in doing what pleases the only One who truly matters.

The testing of the heart is seen in the response to His Word and how we follow that "will of God." What is the will of God? Boy, now that is a much longer discussion, but suffice it to say that His Word, the Bible, fills us with enough to keep us busy for a lifetime!

What is the status of your heart? What is the integrity of my heart like? Who will I seek to please today? Who will I strive to bring pleasure to today? May it always be Christ.