Do they make a Microwave for “Change”?

There are so many things I want to improve about myself, about how FCC does church, about our community and world.  Of course, I need to start with myself.  That’s the one I have the most control over but it still seems slow.  Don’t they make a microwave or drive-through where I can just “CHANGE” over night?

I have to remember to take a day at a time.  It’s through “winning” each day that I can witness real LIFE-change.  And I have to remember that it ultimately comes through only by being plugged into God.  He’s the vine…I’m just the branches.  What else needs to be pruned? 

Always remember the long view of things like Jesus did, not the short view like Judas.

What’s the Best and Worst Thing About Being a Pastor?

One of the most common questions I get from new friends and acquaintances is this: What’s the best/worst thing about being a pastor?  There are plenty of blessings and there are plenty of things that make it difficult.  My favorite thing about being a pastor is seeing lives change.  Baptisms, weddings, mission trips, counseling, small groups, and Sunday morning worship are all places that I regularly witness life change.  When I get to baptize someone I am given a spiritual high that lasts quite awhile.  Or when I step back and see someone begin to use their gifts in ministry and they see how effective they are.  Man, that’s what it’s all about.  That’s what keeps me going and going. 

The hardest part about being a pastor?  Watching people self-destruct.  It doesn’t happen all the time but my ministry involves investing my life into other people.  Sometimes I invest a lot of time with a person or family and see so many positive things happening and then all of a sudden: infidelity, unhappiness with the church, sin, addiction, suicide.  That’s the hardest thing.  It hurts to see people I love fall into something they know better about.  Sometimes it makes me a little gun shy to invest in new people.  I don’t like those hurt feelings.  But then I remember that if I don’t invest, I’ll never get to see the positive life change.

Sometimes I will go for some time without seeing much change in lives around me including my own.  It’s a “winter season of the soul” for me.  But I push through it remembering that I didn’t go into ministry because of the perks, but because God called me to.

Thoughts from 2 Corinthians 9

Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!  If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.  What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.  Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.  To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.  To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.  I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.  1 Corinthians 9:16-23

What this is saying is that we need to preach and “be church” in different contexts and that might look different from one place to another.  Why?  “To win as many as possible.”  How did I get to that conclusion?  “I have become all things to all people.”  Paul wasn’t a “pleaser.”  He just wanted to reach people with the unchangeable gospel.  Read through Acts and see the different and varying methods that he (and the rest of the early church) tried to do that.  How can our (your) church change (without compromising the message) in order to reach people for Christ in your community?

Cardboard Testimonies

This is a classic…had to repeat this from last year because it is so good.

Grab your hankies…I cried watching both videos.  The first one you can access here below.  The second can be found at http://www.gowestafrica.org/cardboard/index.php?mvautoplay=true#video

Let me know what you think.  Even better, what would your cardboard testimony be?

3 Questions that Become My Answers (Part 3)

Review questions 1 and 2 in the first 2 parts and then return here.

Question #3: What is in my hand?

This is another way of asking, What has God already given me?  Instead of wishing for and complaining about what I don’t have, what do I have today?  Instead of dangerously comparing myself with others, what is within my grasp relationally, historically, and resources-wise right now? 

In ministry, I’ve seen how easy it is for us to focus on what we lack: money, staff, encouragement, education, buildings, experience, etc.  Instead, what is in our hands?  What is in your hand?  God’s ready to use it now.

Happy Church Leaders

It is important that church leaders be happy in their work, that we “serve the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2).  A church experiences love through the happiness of its leaders.  Hebrews 13:17, “[Your Leaders] are keeping watch over your souls, as men who will have to give account.  Let them do this joyfully, and not sadly, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

Indeed, it is a joy to serve First Christian Church  and serve our community alongside the FCC family.

Little is Much

Little is much when God’s in it.  Isn’t that true?!  And much is little when someone with great talents doesn’t make that available to God.  The more we trust and show faith in God’s plan and purposes the more we can be used to make a difference in the world and thereby magnify the glory of God.

Clues to a Spiritually Alive Church

Someone asked me after the last post, “OK, now you’ve given us an idea how to discern a dying church, what characterizes an alive one?”

Clues:

• The church turns outward in its focus;
• Jesus, not the institution, will become the object of our affection;
• The Great Commission will become our mandate, and we will measure everything we do  by how many converts we make rather than whether we have a black financial bottom line;
• Membership in the Kingdom will replace membership in the local church as our focus;
• Pastors will cease being chaplains of pastoral care and will become modern-day apostles of Jesus Christ;
• And those who try to control the church with an iron fist or intimidate the church at every turn of the road will be shown the door.

So, is your church alive?

Who is “Church” for?

Who is “Church” for?  Well, the Church IS the body of Christ and so we are called TO BE the body of Christ in the world and wherever we are for that matter.  Here’s a great post at the LeadingSmart blog by Tim Stevens: I Thought Church was for Believers.  Check it out and tell me whether you agree with Tim.

A Life That Matters (Part 1)

That’s the title of a great book by Ron Hutchcraft.  Plan on using it next spring for a study on Wednesday nights at FCC.  I thought I’d share some thoughts from the book.

We want a life that matters.  Last year’s champion is soon forgotten in the wake of this year’s hero.  The name on the door of your office is replaced in minutes with the name of your successor. 

Our “sick and tired of the status quo” feelings are actually a magnet drawing us toward the greater greatness for which we were created.  our restlessness is actually a holy discontentment.  In fact, it is likely that God has made you restless! 

If you are one of God’s spiritually restless ones right ow, there is great news for you: restlessness usually precedes a powerful touch of God on a person’s life.  God has made you hungry so He can feed you with something much bigger, something much more “filling.”

The stirring inside you is, in fact, a spiritual summons from your Lord, a summons to a destiny that will make the rest of your years the best of your years.  You are being called to a life that matters.  This is greatness by God’s definition.  Answering that call will put you on the superhighway to the “something more” your heart is craving (12-13)