I have been in Duluth, GA this week for our state executive committee meeting as well as staff meetings. The December installment is always a great time because of the Christmas season and the parties and gatherings that accompany it.
At our Annual Staff/Retiree Christmas luncheon our former Exec. Director (Jim Griffith) related a story about Cecil B. DeMille and Charlton Heston in the filming of Ben Hur. I went online and googled the story and found the following information.
When they began working on the movie Ben Hur, Cecil B. DeMille talked to Charlton Heston--the star of the movie--about the all-important chariot race at the end. He decided Heston should actually learn to drive the chariot himself, rather than just using a stunt double. Heston agreed to take chariot-driving lessons to make the movie as authentic as possible.
Learning to drive a chariot with horses four abreast, however, was no small matter. After extensive work and days of practice, Heston returned to the movie set and reported to DeMille.
"I think I can drive the chariot all right, Cecil," said Heston, "but I'm not at all sure I can actually win the race."
Smiling slightly, DeMille said, "Heston, you just stay in the race, and I'll make sure you win."
The Christian life is a race that we are challenged to run well. There are times, however, that the struggle to run well is huge. We try, but it seems that our efforts fall short. We struggle just to stay in the race.
The world rewards those that come in first. There is a huge disparity between the prize and prestige of the winner and the runners-up, and there is no recognition for those that finishes near the end or are last.
God, however, operates and rewards differently than the way the world does. In Matthew 10:22, Jesus said that the one that endures until the end will be saved. You don’t have to be in the lead. You don’t have to be passing everyone up in a cloud of dust. All you have to do as a Christian is to stay in the race! “So run, that ye may obtain.” Everyone that stays in this race is a winner.
Child of God, you just stay in the race and He will see that you win.
December 15, 2010
December 8, 2010
Joseph, Man of Courage
Been to a Christmas pageant lately? It's that time of year. I have been to some where the costumes looked like they came out of Rogers and Hammerstiens wardrobe room and others out of Goodwill's backroom. The angel appears, Mary hears, the shepherds visit and the Wise Men come. There is still no room at the inn and Joseph...Yes, Joseph. We know he is there, but what did he say? Well we don't know. He is silent when it comes to scripture, but he is loud when it comes to obedience.
The Bible says that he was a "righteous man." I am not speaking of a pious religious legalist, but a man that wants to do the right thing. Here was a man that was chosen to become the earthly father of the Son of God, but was about to have his world rocked by a social disaster. Given what he knew about his situation and Mary's condition he wanted to protect her as much as possible. His heart was broken, but he could not let her be exposed to public scrutiny and the consequences of the law, which meant stoning.
How do you think he felt? Heart-broken? Betrayed?
How do you think he should respond? He could have ruined her reputation. He could have disgraced her publicly. He could have just put her away, left or divorced her. God allowed Joseph to look at the situation from his perspective to show us what a righteous man does when faced with difficulty in the midst of life. Joseph was torn between obeying the law and loving Mary. Emotions ran rampant in his mind and heart yet he loved Mary and did not want to see her hurt.
Jesus' birth creates a predicament for every man. All men are forced to make a decision about Christ and His claims.
The more I look at Joseph's situation and Mary's condition I am convinced that in our world the National Enquirer, Time and the local papers would have had a hey day. The gossip lines and social networking would be hot. But look at Joseph. He would not get into that. "But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream..." While the world gets on the phone or in a chat room, the "righteous man" gets with God and prays about it.
This was a redemptive moment for Joseph. This was a moment of faith. When we trust God we arrive at His promises and at His destination. He did as the angel said and "took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son, and he called His name Jesus."
Faith is believing according to the promise of God's Word. As He informs our faith, our hope is strengthened to trust Him in our circumstances.
I guess you could say that homeland security was on the front burner for Joseph and he learned to do it God's way.
The Bible says that he was a "righteous man." I am not speaking of a pious religious legalist, but a man that wants to do the right thing. Here was a man that was chosen to become the earthly father of the Son of God, but was about to have his world rocked by a social disaster. Given what he knew about his situation and Mary's condition he wanted to protect her as much as possible. His heart was broken, but he could not let her be exposed to public scrutiny and the consequences of the law, which meant stoning.
How do you think he felt? Heart-broken? Betrayed?
How do you think he should respond? He could have ruined her reputation. He could have disgraced her publicly. He could have just put her away, left or divorced her. God allowed Joseph to look at the situation from his perspective to show us what a righteous man does when faced with difficulty in the midst of life. Joseph was torn between obeying the law and loving Mary. Emotions ran rampant in his mind and heart yet he loved Mary and did not want to see her hurt.
Jesus' birth creates a predicament for every man. All men are forced to make a decision about Christ and His claims.
The more I look at Joseph's situation and Mary's condition I am convinced that in our world the National Enquirer, Time and the local papers would have had a hey day. The gossip lines and social networking would be hot. But look at Joseph. He would not get into that. "But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream..." While the world gets on the phone or in a chat room, the "righteous man" gets with God and prays about it.
This was a redemptive moment for Joseph. This was a moment of faith. When we trust God we arrive at His promises and at His destination. He did as the angel said and "took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son, and he called His name Jesus."
Faith is believing according to the promise of God's Word. As He informs our faith, our hope is strengthened to trust Him in our circumstances.
I guess you could say that homeland security was on the front burner for Joseph and he learned to do it God's way.
December 6, 2010
Crazy Laws
These are real laws that are on the books in the State of Georgia.
State Laws:
Members of the state assembly cannot be ticketed for speeding while the state assembly is in session.
Donkeys may not be kept in bathtubs (and the point is?).
Signs are required to be written in English. (that one may be in trouble)
You have the right to commit simple battery if provoked by "fighting words." (I bet that bill writer was a Baptist.)
No one may carry an ice cream cone in their back pocket if it is Sunday.
It is illegal to use profanity in front of a dead body which lies in a funeral home or in a coroner's office. (WHAT?)
Acworth
All citizens must own a rake.
Atlanta
Against the law to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole or a street lamp.
One man may not be on another man's back.
Columbus
Can't cut off a chicken's head on Sunday.
It is illegal to carry a chicken by it's feet down Broadway on Sunday.
Gainesville
Chicken must be eaten with the hands.
Jonesboro
It is illegal to say, "Oh, Boy."
Kennesaw
Every head of household must possess a firearm of somekind.
Marietta
Though it is illegal to spit from a car or bus, citizens may spit from a truck.
St. Mary's
No spitting on the sidewalk is permitted after dark.
Quitman
Cars are not to drive on sidewalks.
It is illegal for a chicken to cross the road.
Hard to believe? Believe it!
November 21, 2010
Time to Give Thanks
Thanksgiving Day is just a few days away. I am sitting at home on a Sunday evening with a couple of days of work and ministry ahead before I can get away for the holidays. Yet, it is a good time for reflection and expression.
First of all I am grateful to God for His grace and mercy. I am grateful for a God that sought me out. I am grateful for a Savior who in spite of me saved me. I am grateful for a salvation that doesn't stop at just forgiving me and making me right with God, but is constantly conforming me to His image. Every day with Jesus is new and fresh.
I am grateful for my precious wife of 37 years. She knows me better than anyone (except God) and accepts me as I am. She is my best friend and my toughest critic. I love her and thank God for her.
I am grateful for three precious daughters that love God with a whole heart. They continue to bring us much joy. Different, distinct and dedicated...they love to serve. They really get that from their mother. Whether ministering to staff wives, serving neighbors, or taking care of children they do it well and with the love of Jesus.
I am grateful to be a Georgia Baptist. Call me prejudice, but I am a part of the best family in the Southern Baptist Convention. Called to serve Christ and strengthen churches I have the best job in all the world.
I am grateful to be healthy, wealthy and ...oh well, let's not take it too far. I do have a great group of wise friends some of which are "wise guys."
I am grateful that I get to live in these United States of America where on Thursday I will sit down with my family and give thanks all over again.
Hope you have a great week and take time to Give Thanks.
First of all I am grateful to God for His grace and mercy. I am grateful for a God that sought me out. I am grateful for a Savior who in spite of me saved me. I am grateful for a salvation that doesn't stop at just forgiving me and making me right with God, but is constantly conforming me to His image. Every day with Jesus is new and fresh.
I am grateful for my precious wife of 37 years. She knows me better than anyone (except God) and accepts me as I am. She is my best friend and my toughest critic. I love her and thank God for her.
I am grateful for three precious daughters that love God with a whole heart. They continue to bring us much joy. Different, distinct and dedicated...they love to serve. They really get that from their mother. Whether ministering to staff wives, serving neighbors, or taking care of children they do it well and with the love of Jesus.
I am grateful to be a Georgia Baptist. Call me prejudice, but I am a part of the best family in the Southern Baptist Convention. Called to serve Christ and strengthen churches I have the best job in all the world.
I am grateful to be healthy, wealthy and ...oh well, let's not take it too far. I do have a great group of wise friends some of which are "wise guys."
I am grateful that I get to live in these United States of America where on Thursday I will sit down with my family and give thanks all over again.
Hope you have a great week and take time to Give Thanks.
November 13, 2010
For Pastors Wives
Are you a pastor's wife? If you are this is for you. I have been a pastor for 27 years. My wife has been a pastors wife that long and now our oldest daughter follows in those same footsteps. Here is an interview with Jennifer Rothschild and our daughter Shauna.
San Fran a Wide Open Mission Field
November 11, 2010
Kudos to our Vets
It's Veterans Day and America has stepped up today. I really don't believe that we are that much more patriotic than at other times (or maybe we are) but with the social networks that we have today it seems that everyone is shouting out kudos. Several restaurants are serving veterans free meals, stores are giving huge discounts and I even saw a car wash advertising "FREE CAR WASH for VETS."Now I am not a veteran, nor am I the son of a veteran. I don't think they wanted any of us. But like everyone else I live in this great country with multiple freedoms because of our veterans of days gone by and our men and women of the armed forces today.
All day today on TV and radio, news media and sports outlets and even pop ups on the internet we have been reminded to thank a vet. So here it is.
THANK YOU TO ALL OUR VETERANS WHO HAVE PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE FOR MY FREEDOM, THE FREEDOM OF MY FAMILY AND THE FREEDOM OF A GRATEFUL NATION. GOD BLESS YOU.
November 8, 2010
Learning from Notherbeau
As a preschooler I had trouble forming the word "mother" so (as I am told) I said "beau." Because my parents both worked outside the home I spent a great deal of time with my grandparents and great grandparents. Many people have pet names for their "grands" and we were no different. My mom's mother to me was "Notherbeau," or my other mother.
Notherbeau was a Sunday School teacher and although I never heard her teach she must have had something because there were ladies waiting to promote to her class (which meant they had to admit their age). She loved the ladies she taught and that was evident by her actions.
A number of Sundays we would have lunch at our grandparents house and as my brother and I played with cars on the floor the ladies of the house were busy preparing lunch while the men sat and talked. I don't know when I began to notice, but my "Notherbeau" would not immediately don an apron. Before entering the kitchen she would sit down at a telephone and began to make phone calls. I later figured out she was calling those who were absent that day. She would tell them that they were missed. She would check to see if all was alright with them. She would ask about those they were caring for.
I did not hear her teach, but did I see her love. Over the years many of those ladies would speak of Notherbeau in very loving and caring ways.
A Sunday School teacher may not be the best theologian, but they can be a vessel of the Love of Jesus. That was my grandmother.
Notherbeau was a Sunday School teacher and although I never heard her teach she must have had something because there were ladies waiting to promote to her class (which meant they had to admit their age). She loved the ladies she taught and that was evident by her actions.
A number of Sundays we would have lunch at our grandparents house and as my brother and I played with cars on the floor the ladies of the house were busy preparing lunch while the men sat and talked. I don't know when I began to notice, but my "Notherbeau" would not immediately don an apron. Before entering the kitchen she would sit down at a telephone and began to make phone calls. I later figured out she was calling those who were absent that day. She would tell them that they were missed. She would check to see if all was alright with them. She would ask about those they were caring for.
I did not hear her teach, but did I see her love. Over the years many of those ladies would speak of Notherbeau in very loving and caring ways.
A Sunday School teacher may not be the best theologian, but they can be a vessel of the Love of Jesus. That was my grandmother.
October 22, 2010
Sunbelt Ag Expo 2010
The 2010 edition of the Sunbelt Ag Expo is now history, but now without new history being written. Although it seemed the crowd was down again this year an estimated 7000-8000 made it through our tent October 19-21. Whether they came to have their face painted, shoot an arrow at a target, receive a balloon sculpture or listen to some great gospel music they were warmly welcomed and heard about the Lord Jesus.
Joining us this week were faithful partners Legacy Outdoor Ministries (Kyle Woodfin and his family); Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief (Carl Lunsford and Mary Bradley); my good friend Andy Hall "Cousin Arthur and Campers on Mission.
Three of our Southwest GA Associations took the lead on various days (Thomas Co/Mercer Associations; Colquitt Co. and Grady Co. Baptist Associations). Special thanks to William Blosch, Terrell Ruis and John Paul Hasick. Also thanks to the other associations of the Southwest GA Region for their financial support.
We enjoyed having Georgia Baptist Historical Society (George Houston); Discipleship Ministries (Alan Folsom and Jonathan Jordan); Extreme Outdoors (Jeff Dever and Stacy Dyer); Giving Back Ministries (Travis Branch) for the first time. I think they will be back.August 8, 2010
A Weekend of Friends
Rarely these days do we get an entire weekend to go off unless it is during vacation. Sometimes you just have to plan things. When Phyllis was contacted by her High School Class Reunion Committee she wanted to attend. So we began to make plans. I made sure that I blocked that Sunday out and we inked it on the calendar. It started on Friday night August 6 with her Milton High Class of 70 reunion. It continued with a family lunch on Saturday, the Braves game on Saturday night and then worship with her younger brother and family on Sunday. It was a weekend to remember.
Here are some pictures.
Phyllis with Renee Rogers and Nancy Boling as well as other classmates and the larger group in attendance.
Here are some pictures.
Phyllis with Renee Rogers and Nancy Boling as well as other classmates and the larger group in attendance.
For the Braves game we were the guests of longtime friends, Royce and Barbara Chambers of Macon. Royce served as Minister of Music at Byron Baptist Church with us during the 80's. We had a great time.
August 7, 2010
Pastor, Mentor and Friend
Phyllis and I had the opportunity to visit with a former pastor and mentor yesterday. Ben and Ginger Hatfield will always have a special place in my heart and life. He was Phyllis' pastor growing up, the pastor who performed our wedding and my mentor in the early days of our ministry. Rev.Hatfield was pastor of Alpharetta's First Baptist Church on two different occasions encompassing around 30 years.
They are well up in age now, but still sharp and look good. We had a chance to talk about old times and good friends. He was to have surgery in a few days and we had the chance to pray with them.
I will never forget the evening when I went by to tell "preacher" that God was calling me into the ministry. Phyllis was at a ladies meeting at the church along with Mrs. Hatfield. I remember that he was watching "Gunsmoke" on tv. Probably the only show he watched other than the news.
When I told him that God had called me to preach he chuckled and said, "I'm not surprised." Having grown up in a small church FBC Alpharetta was like a mega church to me. Although attendance in those days was probably around 500 God was at work like I had never experienced before. Revivals were more than just meetings scheduled on a calendar. God showed up, people were saved and lives were transformed.
It was during one of those meetings that God gave me a second chance. He had spoken to me once before about the call, but I turned a deaf ear. Imagine the stupidity of that. Following one of the services I left to go play in a basketball tournament. I remember riding around that night never finding the gym and ended up going home never playing at all. However, I also remember God speaking to me as I rode. What a transforming night that was.
July 27, 2010
Preachers and Pride
You read the title right. Preachers have pride. Men have pride. All people deal with it to some degree, I believe men more and preachers...well! Israel was in the wilderness. Their water had run out. Man can do without a lot of things, but water is not one of them. We need our water. Water, the lack of water, water supply and who controls it has fostered many a conflict and even war in world history.
When Israel found herself in this situation she began to grumble. However, her grumbling was not against God, but Moses and Aaron. They had just buried Miriam. Moses and Aaron were grieving. The enemy saw his chance. The people came to Moses and Aaron and said, "If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord.! Why then have you brought the Lord's assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here?"
Moses and Aarons next step was a crucial one. They fell on their faces before the Lord at the tent of meeting. God appeared and told them what to do. Whew! That was close. Too many times man gets in the flesh when he is weak, spouts off at the mouth and blows it. It happens in marriage, it happens in business and yes it happens in the church.
Hold your horses because one right step can be followed by several wrong steps and that is exactly what happens here. Bottom line: God gave Moses and Aaron instructions as to what to do. His Way would have resulted in His Glory and their need being met. However, Moses flew off the handle at God's people and in a fit of rage disobeyed God. Now God came through, but Moses and Aaron did not get to go in.
At Rephidim God had instructed Moses to strike a rock to provide water. He did and God provided. Here God instructed Moses to "speak" to the rock, but once again Moses "struck" the rock. It's not that God was not clear, but Moses apparently was not listening. Why? What happened?
Some observations:
1. The enemy will attack at a time of great defeat or great victory.
2. We can go before God and be in His presence, experience His power, hear His voice, yet get up and go out in our strength and perform in our flesh.
3. God calls us to trust Him fully - not in part.
4. There are dire consequences to not trusting God.
How many times has my flesh and selfish pride resulted in me striking the rock and in essence slap God in the face. When I do I attempt to rob God of His Glory. I say "attempt" because I am not sure that I can rob God of His Glory...He Is God. But my actions are an attempt by my flesh to upstage Him. I am in fact saying that my way is better than God's Way. Imagine the arrogance of that.
Preacher, no matter what, no matter when... when we go before the Lord we must wait long enough to let God get us out of the way. We must stay long enough to let God so fill us with Himself that there is no room for ourselves. We must wait long and lone until the old man is dead and buried (at least for the time being) so that God is all in all, over all and through all.
Preacher, look at what Moses did and let it be a warning to all of us. He gave his congregation a tongue lashing. He reacted to them and their bellyaching instead of listening to God and His instruction. He spoke in anger when He should have let God speak through Him. He missed out on God's best and never experienced Canaan. And it all came down to simply Trusting God.
When Israel found herself in this situation she began to grumble. However, her grumbling was not against God, but Moses and Aaron. They had just buried Miriam. Moses and Aaron were grieving. The enemy saw his chance. The people came to Moses and Aaron and said, "If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord.! Why then have you brought the Lord's assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here?"
Moses and Aarons next step was a crucial one. They fell on their faces before the Lord at the tent of meeting. God appeared and told them what to do. Whew! That was close. Too many times man gets in the flesh when he is weak, spouts off at the mouth and blows it. It happens in marriage, it happens in business and yes it happens in the church.
Hold your horses because one right step can be followed by several wrong steps and that is exactly what happens here. Bottom line: God gave Moses and Aaron instructions as to what to do. His Way would have resulted in His Glory and their need being met. However, Moses flew off the handle at God's people and in a fit of rage disobeyed God. Now God came through, but Moses and Aaron did not get to go in.
At Rephidim God had instructed Moses to strike a rock to provide water. He did and God provided. Here God instructed Moses to "speak" to the rock, but once again Moses "struck" the rock. It's not that God was not clear, but Moses apparently was not listening. Why? What happened?
Some observations:
1. The enemy will attack at a time of great defeat or great victory.
2. We can go before God and be in His presence, experience His power, hear His voice, yet get up and go out in our strength and perform in our flesh.
3. God calls us to trust Him fully - not in part.
4. There are dire consequences to not trusting God.
How many times has my flesh and selfish pride resulted in me striking the rock and in essence slap God in the face. When I do I attempt to rob God of His Glory. I say "attempt" because I am not sure that I can rob God of His Glory...He Is God. But my actions are an attempt by my flesh to upstage Him. I am in fact saying that my way is better than God's Way. Imagine the arrogance of that.
Preacher, no matter what, no matter when... when we go before the Lord we must wait long enough to let God get us out of the way. We must stay long enough to let God so fill us with Himself that there is no room for ourselves. We must wait long and lone until the old man is dead and buried (at least for the time being) so that God is all in all, over all and through all.
Preacher, look at what Moses did and let it be a warning to all of us. He gave his congregation a tongue lashing. He reacted to them and their bellyaching instead of listening to God and His instruction. He spoke in anger when He should have let God speak through Him. He missed out on God's best and never experienced Canaan. And it all came down to simply Trusting God.
July 16, 2010
Churches Making a Difference
The most important element in the life of the church in tune with the heart of God, in line with the mission of God, and in pursuit with the will of God is seeing more and more people redeemed and forgiven by grace through Jesus Christ. I afraid that we have forgotten that as a church. The church is being basically ignored and mocked these days because...well...most churches have created a culture that suits them best and even a God that suits them best and thrown out the biblical model as well as "unintentionally" forsaking the God of the Bible.
People want a church to make them feel good and comfortable. They are looking for one that "meets their needs." When people come to church they are almost coming with a "consumer" mindset. That's okay because they are coming. However, it is not okay for us to recreate or change who God is and what He has said to make them comfortable or meet their needs. Should we be friendly and hospitable? Absolutely. Should their be an atmosphere of excitement? You bet and may I add to that EXCELLENCE for God deserves our best.
The church that is not being ignored is seeing more people becoming Christ followers, more believers growing in faith and more churches making an impact on the culture and community in which they live. People are drawn there because God is drawing them there. God is involved, because He is being honored and glorified. His will and way are more important than anything else. Fear in this church springs from a reverence of God and not wanting to offend Him rather than a fear of deacon _________ or sister _____and not wanting cross him or her. On the other hand pastor, God did not call any of us to build a kingdom, He has that well in hand...His Hand.
Too many churches today are so focused on buildings, budgets and bodies that they neglect if they even care about the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. Some churches have become "keepers of the aquarium" rather than "fishers of men."
Jesus said, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). LIFE...that's what people want. LIFE...that's what people are looking for. People want to live LIFE and Jesus came to give it. He has called us to LIVE out His LIFE in front of them, display a life of GRACE in their midst and "such as (we) have" give them Jesus.
Any church should be so indispensible to their community that their absence would leave such a hole that the community would cry out for their return. What would happen in your community if the church you are a part of did not exist? Would it be missed? Would it's absence be noticed? Step back and take a look. Are you making a difference?
"Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:1-2).
People want a church to make them feel good and comfortable. They are looking for one that "meets their needs." When people come to church they are almost coming with a "consumer" mindset. That's okay because they are coming. However, it is not okay for us to recreate or change who God is and what He has said to make them comfortable or meet their needs. Should we be friendly and hospitable? Absolutely. Should their be an atmosphere of excitement? You bet and may I add to that EXCELLENCE for God deserves our best.
The church that is not being ignored is seeing more people becoming Christ followers, more believers growing in faith and more churches making an impact on the culture and community in which they live. People are drawn there because God is drawing them there. God is involved, because He is being honored and glorified. His will and way are more important than anything else. Fear in this church springs from a reverence of God and not wanting to offend Him rather than a fear of deacon _________ or sister _____and not wanting cross him or her. On the other hand pastor, God did not call any of us to build a kingdom, He has that well in hand...His Hand.
Too many churches today are so focused on buildings, budgets and bodies that they neglect if they even care about the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. Some churches have become "keepers of the aquarium" rather than "fishers of men."
Jesus said, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). LIFE...that's what people want. LIFE...that's what people are looking for. People want to live LIFE and Jesus came to give it. He has called us to LIVE out His LIFE in front of them, display a life of GRACE in their midst and "such as (we) have" give them Jesus.
Any church should be so indispensible to their community that their absence would leave such a hole that the community would cry out for their return. What would happen in your community if the church you are a part of did not exist? Would it be missed? Would it's absence be noticed? Step back and take a look. Are you making a difference?
"Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:1-2).
July 5, 2010
First Interim Behind Us
Well, we just completed our first interim pastorate. Central Baptist Church in Albany, GA is a great group of people that love God and love each other. Over the last nine months we have had the opportunity to love, lead and learn from them.
Over the years I have followed interim pastors and even kept up with those who assumed that duty after I left a church field. I have had friends to serve in this most crucual role. This was my first and I must say that I can't imagine having a more fulfilling and successful experience. Church unity is essential if a church is going to fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.
Many times interims become open doors for church "power brokers" to move in and take back what territory they think they lost during the previous pastorate (as if they had territory to take). When will we learn that the church is God's church and He has not signed over one part of the deed.
We wish them well and pray God's blessing on them as they go with God. Dr. Greg Davis and his wife Mari will arrive in Albany on Wednesday and assume the role of Sr. Pastor. His is a great opportunity as they will unite as pastor and people to reach Albany for Christ.
Over the years I have followed interim pastors and even kept up with those who assumed that duty after I left a church field. I have had friends to serve in this most crucual role. This was my first and I must say that I can't imagine having a more fulfilling and successful experience. Church unity is essential if a church is going to fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.
Many times interims become open doors for church "power brokers" to move in and take back what territory they think they lost during the previous pastorate (as if they had territory to take). When will we learn that the church is God's church and He has not signed over one part of the deed.
We wish them well and pray God's blessing on them as they go with God. Dr. Greg Davis and his wife Mari will arrive in Albany on Wednesday and assume the role of Sr. Pastor. His is a great opportunity as they will unite as pastor and people to reach Albany for Christ.
May 15, 2010
Some Thoughts About GCR and the Orlando Convention
I have been a Southern Baptist all of my life. First, the choice was made for me by my parents. However, the day came when I made the choice for myself. I am proud (in a good way) to be a Southern Baptist. God has blessed us as a people/denomination. I believe His desire is to continue to bless us.
These are crucial days for us. Studies have been conducted; dialogue has gone on and leaders have met. At last years convention in Louisville a motion was made instructing the president of our convention to appoint a task force to study how we might be more effective in carrying out the Great Commission. Sounds good. We are a Great Commission people. I mean, if we are obedient followers of Christ we must be about the Great Commission.
A great part of our involvement in the Great Commission has been in the area of giving. One of our entities has for many years used the by word: Giving, Praying and Going. All three are a must if we are going to "Penetrate the Darkness." Southern Baptists are a giving people. Southern Baptists are a praying people. And in recent years we have become more of a going people.
We are all called to go. As my good friend John Marshall said recently, "Some of us are called to go and some of us are called to go and stay, but all of us are called to "GO."
In 1925, God gave Southern Baptists a funding method that has proved functional no matter what era we were in. The Cooperative Program has served us well. Because of its effectiveness, we are the envy of the denominational world. I realize it is man designed, but it is God blessed. It allows us to do exponentially together what we could never do individually. With the majority of our churches having memberships of 300 or fewer not one church could support one of our missionaries and their family by themselves. Yet, through the Cooperative Program we support more than 11,000 missionaries worldwide.
In recent years we have seen an upswing in missions going. One of our large church pastors has said that their goal is not to ever see the sun go down without someone from their church being on the mission field somewhere. I applaud that goal and say "Hallelujah." I suppose that is very costly in more ways than one. More and more churches are sending members on volunteer mission trips. That is a good thing, because I know from personal experience that I became a better mission GIVER after becoming a mission GOER.
Many churches pay for, or at best supplement the going for their people. I applaud that as well. Yet, that money has to come from somewhere and many times we rob Peter to pay Paul and what suffers is the Cooperative Program.
One of our strongest attributes as Southern Baptists is what we call "the autonomy of the local church." In Southern Baptist life the local church is our strongest unit. No one tells a local baptist church what to do. We do not have a bishop or superintendent handing down ecclesiastical decrees. Local churches under the leading of the Spirit of God make those decisions locally. As a matter of fact we work quite opposite of other mainline denominiations. Elected messengers from these local churches meet annually in the summer to give direction to the national leaders of what we as a denomination should do.
That is why in a few weeks when we gather in Orlando, Florida we will make a decision that could (and will) chart a course for the next generation. The appointed task force has completed their report. I know that they put long hours of prayer and deliberation into what they will present. I have read and reread the report. I have sat in discussions with those who like me have read and now have an opinion. (Boy do we have opinions). I have listened both live and by "webinar" to those who had firsthand input into the formation of the report.
My emotions have run the gamut. Here are some things that I totally agree with.
First of all, we desperately need revival. If revival does not come I am not sure it will matter what we vote on. We need an outpouring of the Spirit of God. We must have an outpouring of the Spirit of God. We have a God who desires to pour out His Spirit. He has told us so. We must pray, seek the face of God and repent of sin. Individually and corporately we must seek God's forgiveness and then ask for His favor.
We need to do a better job or "penetrating the darkness" of the world, which includes North America. NAMB (The North American Mission Board) which is less than 15 years old has fallen short in its effort to impact America many think. Two leaders have stood at the ships wheel and now we await the announcing of a third. America is lost and growing more lost everyday. Something's gotta give. We need churches planted all across North America.
The International Mission Board whose mission is to penetrate the darkness where 95% of the peoples of the world live has never been allowed to appoint missionaries to North America. That has been NAMB's turf. However, we live in a day and hour where there are people groups in North America that speak a language that many of our IMB missionaries are trained to communicate in. The GCR report recommends tearing down those boundaries. I agree.
Since 1950 state conventions in concert with the old Home Mission Board and now NAMB have worked together through Cooperative Agreements where monies given to NAMB to do its work are returned to the state conventions to jointly support specific mission endeavors. The GCR report recommends great change here. Granted we live in a different day. We live in the 21st Century and must be careful not to rely on 20th century methodology (that is unless that 20th century methodology is working). There is great fear however that the current recommendation could greatly hamper future work in some states if not altogether destroy it.
Then there is "Great Commission Giving," a new term that "celebrates" all mission gifts to Southern Baptist causes. Herein lies my concern. Personally I believe we already have and for years have had "Great Commission Giving." It is called "The Cooperative Program." We might have many things broke that need "fixin," but the Cooperative Program is not one of them.
I have been told that if every church that gives ANY thing to the CP would just up their giving 1% every misisonary candidate in waiting could be sent. We have leaders in our convention who give less than 1% of their undesignated offerings to the Cooperative Program. We have young pastors who look up to these leaders and guess what they are falling right in line with their mentors in their giving trends.
Every generation does things a little different. I don’t want my children to look back at me and say, “Dad missed it.” Yet at the same time I don’t want them to say, “What was he thinking?”
The GCR Task Force Report includes many recommendations for individuals, churches, state conventions and entities to increase their giving, up their percentages, evaluate their effectiveness and respond with renewed commitment. I am all for that. However, I am also for seeing our SBC President, the Chairman of the Task force, some real good friends and large church pastors step up to the plate as well and up their CP %. "What is good for the goose is good for the gander."
If a church wants to give above and beyond the Cooperative Program they have that right as an autonomous body. But if you are going to be a Southern Baptist...be one. Join hands with the over 75% of the churches with less than 200 in membership and give through the Cooperative Program.
Do we need a Great Commission Resurgence? I think so! What kind? A kind that begins on our faces before a Holy God and results in our continued cooperation to "Penetrate the darkness."
These are crucial days for us. Studies have been conducted; dialogue has gone on and leaders have met. At last years convention in Louisville a motion was made instructing the president of our convention to appoint a task force to study how we might be more effective in carrying out the Great Commission. Sounds good. We are a Great Commission people. I mean, if we are obedient followers of Christ we must be about the Great Commission.
A great part of our involvement in the Great Commission has been in the area of giving. One of our entities has for many years used the by word: Giving, Praying and Going. All three are a must if we are going to "Penetrate the Darkness." Southern Baptists are a giving people. Southern Baptists are a praying people. And in recent years we have become more of a going people.
We are all called to go. As my good friend John Marshall said recently, "Some of us are called to go and some of us are called to go and stay, but all of us are called to "GO."
In 1925, God gave Southern Baptists a funding method that has proved functional no matter what era we were in. The Cooperative Program has served us well. Because of its effectiveness, we are the envy of the denominational world. I realize it is man designed, but it is God blessed. It allows us to do exponentially together what we could never do individually. With the majority of our churches having memberships of 300 or fewer not one church could support one of our missionaries and their family by themselves. Yet, through the Cooperative Program we support more than 11,000 missionaries worldwide.
In recent years we have seen an upswing in missions going. One of our large church pastors has said that their goal is not to ever see the sun go down without someone from their church being on the mission field somewhere. I applaud that goal and say "Hallelujah." I suppose that is very costly in more ways than one. More and more churches are sending members on volunteer mission trips. That is a good thing, because I know from personal experience that I became a better mission GIVER after becoming a mission GOER.
Many churches pay for, or at best supplement the going for their people. I applaud that as well. Yet, that money has to come from somewhere and many times we rob Peter to pay Paul and what suffers is the Cooperative Program.
One of our strongest attributes as Southern Baptists is what we call "the autonomy of the local church." In Southern Baptist life the local church is our strongest unit. No one tells a local baptist church what to do. We do not have a bishop or superintendent handing down ecclesiastical decrees. Local churches under the leading of the Spirit of God make those decisions locally. As a matter of fact we work quite opposite of other mainline denominiations. Elected messengers from these local churches meet annually in the summer to give direction to the national leaders of what we as a denomination should do.
That is why in a few weeks when we gather in Orlando, Florida we will make a decision that could (and will) chart a course for the next generation. The appointed task force has completed their report. I know that they put long hours of prayer and deliberation into what they will present. I have read and reread the report. I have sat in discussions with those who like me have read and now have an opinion. (Boy do we have opinions). I have listened both live and by "webinar" to those who had firsthand input into the formation of the report.
My emotions have run the gamut. Here are some things that I totally agree with.
First of all, we desperately need revival. If revival does not come I am not sure it will matter what we vote on. We need an outpouring of the Spirit of God. We must have an outpouring of the Spirit of God. We have a God who desires to pour out His Spirit. He has told us so. We must pray, seek the face of God and repent of sin. Individually and corporately we must seek God's forgiveness and then ask for His favor.
We need to do a better job or "penetrating the darkness" of the world, which includes North America. NAMB (The North American Mission Board) which is less than 15 years old has fallen short in its effort to impact America many think. Two leaders have stood at the ships wheel and now we await the announcing of a third. America is lost and growing more lost everyday. Something's gotta give. We need churches planted all across North America.
The International Mission Board whose mission is to penetrate the darkness where 95% of the peoples of the world live has never been allowed to appoint missionaries to North America. That has been NAMB's turf. However, we live in a day and hour where there are people groups in North America that speak a language that many of our IMB missionaries are trained to communicate in. The GCR report recommends tearing down those boundaries. I agree.
Since 1950 state conventions in concert with the old Home Mission Board and now NAMB have worked together through Cooperative Agreements where monies given to NAMB to do its work are returned to the state conventions to jointly support specific mission endeavors. The GCR report recommends great change here. Granted we live in a different day. We live in the 21st Century and must be careful not to rely on 20th century methodology (that is unless that 20th century methodology is working). There is great fear however that the current recommendation could greatly hamper future work in some states if not altogether destroy it.
Then there is "Great Commission Giving," a new term that "celebrates" all mission gifts to Southern Baptist causes. Herein lies my concern. Personally I believe we already have and for years have had "Great Commission Giving." It is called "The Cooperative Program." We might have many things broke that need "fixin," but the Cooperative Program is not one of them.
I have been told that if every church that gives ANY thing to the CP would just up their giving 1% every misisonary candidate in waiting could be sent. We have leaders in our convention who give less than 1% of their undesignated offerings to the Cooperative Program. We have young pastors who look up to these leaders and guess what they are falling right in line with their mentors in their giving trends.
Every generation does things a little different. I don’t want my children to look back at me and say, “Dad missed it.” Yet at the same time I don’t want them to say, “What was he thinking?”
The GCR Task Force Report includes many recommendations for individuals, churches, state conventions and entities to increase their giving, up their percentages, evaluate their effectiveness and respond with renewed commitment. I am all for that. However, I am also for seeing our SBC President, the Chairman of the Task force, some real good friends and large church pastors step up to the plate as well and up their CP %. "What is good for the goose is good for the gander."
If a church wants to give above and beyond the Cooperative Program they have that right as an autonomous body. But if you are going to be a Southern Baptist...be one. Join hands with the over 75% of the churches with less than 200 in membership and give through the Cooperative Program.
Do we need a Great Commission Resurgence? I think so! What kind? A kind that begins on our faces before a Holy God and results in our continued cooperation to "Penetrate the darkness."
March 28, 2010
When The Pastor Hurts (Part 3)
The following is an article written by Warren Wiersbe. You can find other articles by him at 2ProphetU.com. This is a free service for pastors provided by Pastor Michael Catt and Sherwood Baptist Church.
Pastors hurt because God wants us to become more like Christ
“If the world hates you,” Jesus told His disciples, “keep in mind that it hated me first. . . . If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (John 15:18, 20). If we aren’t careful, the world can get into the church and attack us through leaders who seem to have good testimonies. Peter must have pained Jesus deeply when he told him not to go to the cross, and Jesus called him “Satan” (adversary) and told him he was thinking the world’s thoughts and not God’s thoughts (Matt. 16:21-28). During my sixty plus years of ministry, I have personally experienced and seen others experience the devil’s attacks through mean members and obstinate officers.
But keep this in mind: when the world and worldly Christians attack you, they are treating you the way sinners treated Jesus, and this is a compliment! Paul called this “participation in his sufferings” (Phil. 3:10). We have been promoted! After all, God’s purpose for all of His people was that we might “be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). Sometimes the Father has to prune us for our own good (John 15:1-4), but He is never nearer to us than when He is cutting away the things that are hindering our fruit-bearing.
There is in every church at least one person who is like sandpaper and whose “ministry” is to criticize the pastor and in the name of the Lord make his life miserable. Yes, the elders may have to deal with such people biblically, but let’s admit that God might use their abrasiveness to remove some of the faults from our own lives and polish us for greater service. “Another poor sermon!” a church member snarled at a pastor friend of mine as the man left church each Sunday morning. My friend, now in glory, simply smiled and said, “The Lord bless you!” and prayed for him. When the weekly fault-finder ended up in critical condition in the hospital, my pastor friend visited him faithfully, and one day the man broke down, apologized for his meanness and asked God and my friend to forgive him.
At least twice, Jesus told his disciples, “Servants are not greater than their master” (John 13:16; 15:20). Do we really believe that statement? Our Lord’s preparation for His priestly ministry in heaven included far more than “sandpapering.” He was lied about, laughed at and ridiculed by religious people who should have known better; but He was also illegally arrested, brutally whipped and shamefully crucified. There are places in our world today where faithful servants of God are experiencing similar sufferings and are even being slain; but for the most part, we in the Western world are spared. However, the fiery tongue that James wrote about (3:3-6) still burns, spreads and destroys.
So what does the pastor do?
To begin with, when it comes to pain in the pastorate, expect it. Your first year in a church may be a honeymoon, but don’t be surprised if the honey is one day replaced with a bitter cup of suffering. As Peter wrote to the saints in the first century, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). To ask God, “Why me?” may bring His response, “Why not you? Are you better than Moses or David or Jeremiah or Paul or My Son?” It isn’t necessarily a question of deserving or not deserving; it’s a question of our needing polishing and perfecting. “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12). Godliness invites persecution and if we practice James 1:2-7, trials can result in even more godliness.
Accept it is the second order of the day, but “not reluctantly or under compulsion” (2 Cor. 9:7), for, after all, every cup of suffering is personally and lovingly mixed by the Father. “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (John 18:11) A very dedicated Christian leader who had experienced a great deal of suffering and sorrow said one day, “My Father loves me too much to harm me, and He is too wise to make a mistake.” For us to try to run away from ministry trials is to ask for more trials. Remember Jonah?
Our third step ought to be to examine the matter honestly. Perhaps we unwittingly said or did something that offended others, and they have just as much right to feel pain as we do. The local church is a family of faith, and there are misunderstandings even in the most devoted and disciplined families. On more than one occasion I have had to apologize to congregations publicly and to individuals privately, including staff members. Let’s examine our own hearts to make sure we aren’t afraid, angry, making excuses or running away from responsibility.
Step four will take much faith: enlist this experience to work for the glory of God and the good of the pastor and people. If we sincerely believe Romans 8:28, then we should have the confidence that there is a divine purpose behind even the most painful misunderstandings or family conflicts. We may have times when we feel that God has forsaken us, but we know better and cling to the assurances written in Psalm 23:4 and Hebrews 13:5, 6. Joshua blundered when he ran ahead of the Lord and attacked Ai and also when he made a covenant with the Gibeonites, but the Lord enabled him to use both of these mistakes for Israel’s good (Joshua 8, 9). God’s grace means that we can make our mistakes work for us!
Finally, take the long view by faith. God doesn’t always settle everything immediately and it takes time for heartaches to heal. Don’t put your personal pastoral pains on center stage where they can take control of your life. Keep them in the wings, but don’t try to deny them or pretend they don’t exist. Talk them over with a close friend or family member and pray together. Sharing burdens halves them; sharing joys doubles them.
Over the long haul, pastoral pains have helped me discover deeper divine resources and to develop a more sensitive heart toward others. Jesus is still able to “bind up the brokenhearted” (Isa. 61:1; Luke 4:18, 19), and matters that haven’t been completely settled here on earth will be finally settled in heaven when we see His church “without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:27).
Whatever we do, we must not allow the enemy to accuse us and then convince us that we ought to leave town or even abandon the ministry. Let’s keep going so that one day we’ll be able to say to the Father, as did Jesus, “I have brought glory to you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4).
It’s always too soon to quit.
© Warren Wiersbe
Pastors hurt because God wants us to become more like Christ
“If the world hates you,” Jesus told His disciples, “keep in mind that it hated me first. . . . If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also” (John 15:18, 20). If we aren’t careful, the world can get into the church and attack us through leaders who seem to have good testimonies. Peter must have pained Jesus deeply when he told him not to go to the cross, and Jesus called him “Satan” (adversary) and told him he was thinking the world’s thoughts and not God’s thoughts (Matt. 16:21-28). During my sixty plus years of ministry, I have personally experienced and seen others experience the devil’s attacks through mean members and obstinate officers.
But keep this in mind: when the world and worldly Christians attack you, they are treating you the way sinners treated Jesus, and this is a compliment! Paul called this “participation in his sufferings” (Phil. 3:10). We have been promoted! After all, God’s purpose for all of His people was that we might “be conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). Sometimes the Father has to prune us for our own good (John 15:1-4), but He is never nearer to us than when He is cutting away the things that are hindering our fruit-bearing.
There is in every church at least one person who is like sandpaper and whose “ministry” is to criticize the pastor and in the name of the Lord make his life miserable. Yes, the elders may have to deal with such people biblically, but let’s admit that God might use their abrasiveness to remove some of the faults from our own lives and polish us for greater service. “Another poor sermon!” a church member snarled at a pastor friend of mine as the man left church each Sunday morning. My friend, now in glory, simply smiled and said, “The Lord bless you!” and prayed for him. When the weekly fault-finder ended up in critical condition in the hospital, my pastor friend visited him faithfully, and one day the man broke down, apologized for his meanness and asked God and my friend to forgive him.
At least twice, Jesus told his disciples, “Servants are not greater than their master” (John 13:16; 15:20). Do we really believe that statement? Our Lord’s preparation for His priestly ministry in heaven included far more than “sandpapering.” He was lied about, laughed at and ridiculed by religious people who should have known better; but He was also illegally arrested, brutally whipped and shamefully crucified. There are places in our world today where faithful servants of God are experiencing similar sufferings and are even being slain; but for the most part, we in the Western world are spared. However, the fiery tongue that James wrote about (3:3-6) still burns, spreads and destroys.
So what does the pastor do?
To begin with, when it comes to pain in the pastorate, expect it. Your first year in a church may be a honeymoon, but don’t be surprised if the honey is one day replaced with a bitter cup of suffering. As Peter wrote to the saints in the first century, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). To ask God, “Why me?” may bring His response, “Why not you? Are you better than Moses or David or Jeremiah or Paul or My Son?” It isn’t necessarily a question of deserving or not deserving; it’s a question of our needing polishing and perfecting. “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12). Godliness invites persecution and if we practice James 1:2-7, trials can result in even more godliness.
Accept it is the second order of the day, but “not reluctantly or under compulsion” (2 Cor. 9:7), for, after all, every cup of suffering is personally and lovingly mixed by the Father. “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (John 18:11) A very dedicated Christian leader who had experienced a great deal of suffering and sorrow said one day, “My Father loves me too much to harm me, and He is too wise to make a mistake.” For us to try to run away from ministry trials is to ask for more trials. Remember Jonah?
Our third step ought to be to examine the matter honestly. Perhaps we unwittingly said or did something that offended others, and they have just as much right to feel pain as we do. The local church is a family of faith, and there are misunderstandings even in the most devoted and disciplined families. On more than one occasion I have had to apologize to congregations publicly and to individuals privately, including staff members. Let’s examine our own hearts to make sure we aren’t afraid, angry, making excuses or running away from responsibility.
Step four will take much faith: enlist this experience to work for the glory of God and the good of the pastor and people. If we sincerely believe Romans 8:28, then we should have the confidence that there is a divine purpose behind even the most painful misunderstandings or family conflicts. We may have times when we feel that God has forsaken us, but we know better and cling to the assurances written in Psalm 23:4 and Hebrews 13:5, 6. Joshua blundered when he ran ahead of the Lord and attacked Ai and also when he made a covenant with the Gibeonites, but the Lord enabled him to use both of these mistakes for Israel’s good (Joshua 8, 9). God’s grace means that we can make our mistakes work for us!
Finally, take the long view by faith. God doesn’t always settle everything immediately and it takes time for heartaches to heal. Don’t put your personal pastoral pains on center stage where they can take control of your life. Keep them in the wings, but don’t try to deny them or pretend they don’t exist. Talk them over with a close friend or family member and pray together. Sharing burdens halves them; sharing joys doubles them.
Over the long haul, pastoral pains have helped me discover deeper divine resources and to develop a more sensitive heart toward others. Jesus is still able to “bind up the brokenhearted” (Isa. 61:1; Luke 4:18, 19), and matters that haven’t been completely settled here on earth will be finally settled in heaven when we see His church “without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:27).
Whatever we do, we must not allow the enemy to accuse us and then convince us that we ought to leave town or even abandon the ministry. Let’s keep going so that one day we’ll be able to say to the Father, as did Jesus, “I have brought glory to you on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4).
It’s always too soon to quit.
© Warren Wiersbe
When the Pastor Hurts (Part 2) :: Warren Wiersbe
The following is an article written by Warren Wiersbe. You can find other articles by him at 2ProphetU.com. This is a free service for pastors provided by Pastor Michael Catt and Sherwood Baptist Church.
Pastors hurt because they care
During our Lord’s three years of ministry, He sought to teach His disciples what they needed to know in order to carry on the work after His return to heaven. One of the most difficult lessons in the curriculum was the cultivation of a tender heart, and the record indicates that the apostles failed the test more than once. When parents brought their little children to be blessed by Jesus, the disciples rebuked them and told them to go home! Jesus rebuked His disciples, welcomed the parents and blessed the children (Mark 10:13-16). A Canaanite woman begged Jesus to deliver her daughter who was possessed by a demon, but Jesus seemed to ignore here. Desperate for help, the mother turned to the disciples, and they told Jesus to send her away because she was a pest! But she persisted and Jesus rewarded her faith and delivered her daughter.
“Do you want to know how to remove all problems from your church?” I used to ask the students in my seminary classes. “It’s quite simple: just get rid of the people!” There would be a brief silence, and then somebody would say, “But if we have no people, we have no church!” They got the point. The solution to people problems and problem people isn’t to get rid of people but to cultivate caring compassionate hearts and do what we can to assist.
When Jesus looked at people, He had compassion on them and sought to help them (Matt. 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; 20:34). As we serve, whether we wear clerical garb, leisure garments or business clothes, we must always obey Paul’s commandment in Colossians 3:12 — “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” These garments of God’s grace are always fashionable. We must preach the truth in love (Eph. 4:15) and be certain that the love Christ motivates us (2 Cor. 5:14). Why? “Love never fails” (1 Cor. 13:8).
Caring is costly, but not caring is even more costly. Indifference to needs hurts us more than it hurts the people we ignore and it only makes the problems worse. The isolated servant soon develops a hard heart and becomes an insulated servant and then a mere religious robot. I recall a gifted leader who made it clear that he never wanted to hear any problems from his staff, neither personal problems nor ministry problems. His philosophy of service didn’t work and eventually he had to be replaced.
A friend said to me, “The most sensitive thing in ministry is a compassionate heart,” and I can never forget it. But once we have sought and found a shepherd’s heart, it makes our work much easier. Love never asks if a person is “worthy of help” or if a painful situation “merits our attention.” Do we want our Father and our High Priest to adopt this kind of attitude toward us? “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). We may discover that a problem we think is monumental is really trivial, but the God who sees a sparrow fall knows how to handle the trivial matters as well as the major problems.
Pastors hurt because they are leaders
“Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel,” the king of Aram told his commanders, and this is excellent strategy (1 Kings 22:31). If the enemy can confused the leaders, cripple them or remove them from the field of battle, their absence is bound to weaken the army and perhaps lead to its defeat. Moses was frequently attacked, not only by outside enemies but even by his own people, including his brother and sister. While supervising the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah was repeatedly maligned and threatened, and the enemy managed to put agents inside Jerusalem and even in the temple area!
During these many years of ministry, it’s been a great privilege for me and my wife to know and minister with some of God’s great servants. The better we got to know them, the more we learned of the battles they had fought and the burdens they were carrying. I have the names of several Christian leaders in my prayer notebook and I pray for them daily. Early in my Christian life, I foolishly thought that my service for Christ would immunize me against Satanic attacks, but I soon learned I was wrong. The enemy aims at Christian leaders, and pastors are high on his list.
God equips His leaders through their personal study of the Word, their meditation and prayers, as well as through whatever formal education He provides. But the school of suffering is the graduate school of Christian service. If you read Christian biography and autobiography, you will learn that some of God’s most effective leaders suffered in many ways, but from that suffering they learned more about God, themselves and their ministry than they could have learned any other way. The burdens helped to balance the blessings and keep them from falling over!
In his famous Yale Lectures on Preaching, Phillips Brooks points out that ministers must be preachers in order to have authority and they must be pastors in order to have sympathy. “The preacher who is not a pastor grows remote. The pastor who is not a preacher grows petty.” It takes more than scholarship and sermons to build a church. It takes the personal ministry of loving shepherds with caring hearts.
In his sermon “Going Up to Jerusalem,” based on Luke 18:30, Phillips Brooks said: “O, do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle. But you shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come in you by the grace of God.” Doing God’s will, come what may, is the nourishment that gives us the strength we need to carry on the ministry (John 4:31-34).
© Warren Wiersbe
Pastors hurt because they care
During our Lord’s three years of ministry, He sought to teach His disciples what they needed to know in order to carry on the work after His return to heaven. One of the most difficult lessons in the curriculum was the cultivation of a tender heart, and the record indicates that the apostles failed the test more than once. When parents brought their little children to be blessed by Jesus, the disciples rebuked them and told them to go home! Jesus rebuked His disciples, welcomed the parents and blessed the children (Mark 10:13-16). A Canaanite woman begged Jesus to deliver her daughter who was possessed by a demon, but Jesus seemed to ignore here. Desperate for help, the mother turned to the disciples, and they told Jesus to send her away because she was a pest! But she persisted and Jesus rewarded her faith and delivered her daughter.
“Do you want to know how to remove all problems from your church?” I used to ask the students in my seminary classes. “It’s quite simple: just get rid of the people!” There would be a brief silence, and then somebody would say, “But if we have no people, we have no church!” They got the point. The solution to people problems and problem people isn’t to get rid of people but to cultivate caring compassionate hearts and do what we can to assist.
When Jesus looked at people, He had compassion on them and sought to help them (Matt. 9:36; 14:14; 15:32; 20:34). As we serve, whether we wear clerical garb, leisure garments or business clothes, we must always obey Paul’s commandment in Colossians 3:12 — “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” These garments of God’s grace are always fashionable. We must preach the truth in love (Eph. 4:15) and be certain that the love Christ motivates us (2 Cor. 5:14). Why? “Love never fails” (1 Cor. 13:8).
Caring is costly, but not caring is even more costly. Indifference to needs hurts us more than it hurts the people we ignore and it only makes the problems worse. The isolated servant soon develops a hard heart and becomes an insulated servant and then a mere religious robot. I recall a gifted leader who made it clear that he never wanted to hear any problems from his staff, neither personal problems nor ministry problems. His philosophy of service didn’t work and eventually he had to be replaced.
A friend said to me, “The most sensitive thing in ministry is a compassionate heart,” and I can never forget it. But once we have sought and found a shepherd’s heart, it makes our work much easier. Love never asks if a person is “worthy of help” or if a painful situation “merits our attention.” Do we want our Father and our High Priest to adopt this kind of attitude toward us? “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). We may discover that a problem we think is monumental is really trivial, but the God who sees a sparrow fall knows how to handle the trivial matters as well as the major problems.
Pastors hurt because they are leaders
“Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel,” the king of Aram told his commanders, and this is excellent strategy (1 Kings 22:31). If the enemy can confused the leaders, cripple them or remove them from the field of battle, their absence is bound to weaken the army and perhaps lead to its defeat. Moses was frequently attacked, not only by outside enemies but even by his own people, including his brother and sister. While supervising the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah was repeatedly maligned and threatened, and the enemy managed to put agents inside Jerusalem and even in the temple area!
During these many years of ministry, it’s been a great privilege for me and my wife to know and minister with some of God’s great servants. The better we got to know them, the more we learned of the battles they had fought and the burdens they were carrying. I have the names of several Christian leaders in my prayer notebook and I pray for them daily. Early in my Christian life, I foolishly thought that my service for Christ would immunize me against Satanic attacks, but I soon learned I was wrong. The enemy aims at Christian leaders, and pastors are high on his list.
God equips His leaders through their personal study of the Word, their meditation and prayers, as well as through whatever formal education He provides. But the school of suffering is the graduate school of Christian service. If you read Christian biography and autobiography, you will learn that some of God’s most effective leaders suffered in many ways, but from that suffering they learned more about God, themselves and their ministry than they could have learned any other way. The burdens helped to balance the blessings and keep them from falling over!
In his famous Yale Lectures on Preaching, Phillips Brooks points out that ministers must be preachers in order to have authority and they must be pastors in order to have sympathy. “The preacher who is not a pastor grows remote. The pastor who is not a preacher grows petty.” It takes more than scholarship and sermons to build a church. It takes the personal ministry of loving shepherds with caring hearts.
In his sermon “Going Up to Jerusalem,” based on Luke 18:30, Phillips Brooks said: “O, do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle. But you shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come in you by the grace of God.” Doing God’s will, come what may, is the nourishment that gives us the strength we need to carry on the ministry (John 4:31-34).
© Warren Wiersbe
When the Pastor Hurts (Part 1) :: Warren Wiersbe
The following is an article written by Warren Wiersbe. You can find other articles by him at 2ProphetU.com. This is a free service for pastors provided by Pastor Michael Catt and Sherwood Baptist Church.
When the Pastor Hurts (Part 1) :: Warren Wiersbe
“When doesn’t the pastor hurt?” may be your response to this title, but honest reflection will remind you that there are joys in the ministry that more than compensate for occasional times of pain. Seeing sinners come to Christ, helping people mature in the Lord, studying and teaching the Word faithfully, watching God answer prayer, and sending out workers from the church family to serve others — each of these ministries should be a source of joyful praise in the heart of every faithful servant of God. Paul saw problems in the church at Philippi, but he was able to write to the congregation, “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for you all, I always pray with Joy” (Phil. 1:3, 4). That even included praying for Euodia and Syntyche, two women who weren’t in agreement about something and were perhaps on the verge of dividing the church (Phil. 4:2, 3).
Let’s consider some of the reasons for pastoral pain so that we can better understand how to deal with these trials and turn them into profitable blessings.
Pastors hurt because they are human.
Paul said it best: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay” (2 Cor. 4:7). Superman may be “the man of steel,” but the pastor is made of clay just like the people he ministers to. Angels serve the Lord better than we do, but because they are spirits, there are some things they can’t do; and that’s why God has enlisted people. Jesus had to take on Himself a body before He could accomplish the Father’s will on earth, and He is our example when it comes to handling suffering and service (Phil. 2:1-11; 1 Peter 2:20, 21).
Because we live in clay jars, we experience the normal pains and problems of human life. Like any other believer, in times of trial the pastor must depend on the grace of God for his own good and for the good of his people. What life does to us depends on what life finds in us, and what life finds in us depends on what we find daily in Christ and His Word. The Father “comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Cor. 1:4). No matter how gifted pastors may be, they cannot lead others where they haven’t been themselves. Christian workers cannot afford to act less than human because then they become less than what Christ wants them to be.
Some years ago, a drunken driver going eighty miles an hour hit my car and almost killed me. Until then, I had been a hospital patient only twice, once to have my tonsils removed and once for tests, and both visits were only for overnight. Because of that accident, I spent several days in ICU, a week in a private room and nearly two months recuperating at home. As a pastor, I had visited many accident victims in hospitals and sought to encourage the, but now I was the patient! You can be sure that my ministry to hurting people improved because I had gone through a graduate course in suffering in my near-death experience. It’s remarkable what you can learn lying in a hospital bed, plugged into life-sustaining equipment. I never had that experience in seminary!
From His birth to His death, Jesus ran the full gamut of human experience, and this helped equip Him to minister as our heavenly high priest (Heb. 4:14-16). If Jesus “learned obedience from what He suffered” (Heb. 5:8), why should we ask for an easier way? There are no short-cuts in true ministry. If we want to have an effective pastoral ministry to God’s hurting people, we must expect to pay a price, whether or not others know how much we’re hurting.
The important thing is that we don’t waste our suffering. We preach to others that God has divine purposes to fulfill in their trials, but we need to make that “our trials.” If we are suffering in the will of God, then we must follow Christ’s example and use the experience to glorify God. If we want to minister effectively to hurting people, we must expect to hurt ourselves. We will never graduated from the school of suffering until we see our Lord.
© Warren Wiersbe
When the Pastor Hurts (Part 1) :: Warren Wiersbe
“When doesn’t the pastor hurt?” may be your response to this title, but honest reflection will remind you that there are joys in the ministry that more than compensate for occasional times of pain. Seeing sinners come to Christ, helping people mature in the Lord, studying and teaching the Word faithfully, watching God answer prayer, and sending out workers from the church family to serve others — each of these ministries should be a source of joyful praise in the heart of every faithful servant of God. Paul saw problems in the church at Philippi, but he was able to write to the congregation, “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for you all, I always pray with Joy” (Phil. 1:3, 4). That even included praying for Euodia and Syntyche, two women who weren’t in agreement about something and were perhaps on the verge of dividing the church (Phil. 4:2, 3).
Let’s consider some of the reasons for pastoral pain so that we can better understand how to deal with these trials and turn them into profitable blessings.
Pastors hurt because they are human.
Paul said it best: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay” (2 Cor. 4:7). Superman may be “the man of steel,” but the pastor is made of clay just like the people he ministers to. Angels serve the Lord better than we do, but because they are spirits, there are some things they can’t do; and that’s why God has enlisted people. Jesus had to take on Himself a body before He could accomplish the Father’s will on earth, and He is our example when it comes to handling suffering and service (Phil. 2:1-11; 1 Peter 2:20, 21).
Because we live in clay jars, we experience the normal pains and problems of human life. Like any other believer, in times of trial the pastor must depend on the grace of God for his own good and for the good of his people. What life does to us depends on what life finds in us, and what life finds in us depends on what we find daily in Christ and His Word. The Father “comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Cor. 1:4). No matter how gifted pastors may be, they cannot lead others where they haven’t been themselves. Christian workers cannot afford to act less than human because then they become less than what Christ wants them to be.
Some years ago, a drunken driver going eighty miles an hour hit my car and almost killed me. Until then, I had been a hospital patient only twice, once to have my tonsils removed and once for tests, and both visits were only for overnight. Because of that accident, I spent several days in ICU, a week in a private room and nearly two months recuperating at home. As a pastor, I had visited many accident victims in hospitals and sought to encourage the, but now I was the patient! You can be sure that my ministry to hurting people improved because I had gone through a graduate course in suffering in my near-death experience. It’s remarkable what you can learn lying in a hospital bed, plugged into life-sustaining equipment. I never had that experience in seminary!
From His birth to His death, Jesus ran the full gamut of human experience, and this helped equip Him to minister as our heavenly high priest (Heb. 4:14-16). If Jesus “learned obedience from what He suffered” (Heb. 5:8), why should we ask for an easier way? There are no short-cuts in true ministry. If we want to have an effective pastoral ministry to God’s hurting people, we must expect to pay a price, whether or not others know how much we’re hurting.
The important thing is that we don’t waste our suffering. We preach to others that God has divine purposes to fulfill in their trials, but we need to make that “our trials.” If we are suffering in the will of God, then we must follow Christ’s example and use the experience to glorify God. If we want to minister effectively to hurting people, we must expect to hurt ourselves. We will never graduated from the school of suffering until we see our Lord.
© Warren Wiersbe
March 18, 2010
Shepherd the Flock of God
I spend a lot of time with pastors. I love pastors. I was one for 26 years so I have an affinity and affection for those called to "shepherd the flock of God. As a state missionary for the Georgia Baptist Convention my job naturally connects me with pastors and churches. This is where God has me and I would not want to be anywhere else.
There is no higher calling than that of being a pastor. When I became a "denominational missionary" I took a step back in the sense that I no longer pastor a church. While a pastor I came in contact with some of the finest people I have ever known. I have built relationships with people and cherish those relationships. There have been victories and defeats as well as joys and sorrows. I have walked with people through storms and valleys. I have stood with some in the moment of victory and blessing and with those same people as they "walked through the valley of the shadow of death."
Peter writes, "Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and withness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; not yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:1-3). I encourage you to read on.
Peter had been there. He had been with Jesus, he had denied Jesus, he had been forgiven and restored by Jesus. He had stood against Jesus (Mt. 16:23), stood with Jesus (Jn. 18:10) and stood for Jesus (Acts 2). The Lord had told him that the enemy had requested permission to sift him like wheat, but that He had prayed for him. God used all of the experiences of Peter's life to prepare him for the calling that had been placed on his life. In spite of all of Peter's liabilities God brought him through. He was well qualified to tell us as pastors to "shepherd the flock of God among (us)."
Now how one pastor shepherds his flock might be quite different from how another shepherd cares for his, yet there are some things that all of us must do. If you pastor a flock of 10,000 you cannot be personnally involved in all of their lives, but they need a pastor. If you pastor a flock of 100 you can have more of a personal involvement.
I read a quote from Rick Warren the other day. Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Community Church and author of "The Purpose Driven Life," "The Purpose Driven Church" and other books. Warren said, "Don't call yourself a 'pastor' if all you do is study and speak. Pastoring is caring for and shepherding people one-on-one." Pastors...please read that again. Whereas one of your main responsibilities is to "preach the Word" and "be instant in season and out of season"; you are also charged to "shepherd the flock of God among you."
There is no higher calling than that of being a pastor. When I became a "denominational missionary" I took a step back in the sense that I no longer pastor a church. While a pastor I came in contact with some of the finest people I have ever known. I have built relationships with people and cherish those relationships. There have been victories and defeats as well as joys and sorrows. I have walked with people through storms and valleys. I have stood with some in the moment of victory and blessing and with those same people as they "walked through the valley of the shadow of death."
Peter writes, "Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and withness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; not yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:1-3). I encourage you to read on.
Peter had been there. He had been with Jesus, he had denied Jesus, he had been forgiven and restored by Jesus. He had stood against Jesus (Mt. 16:23), stood with Jesus (Jn. 18:10) and stood for Jesus (Acts 2). The Lord had told him that the enemy had requested permission to sift him like wheat, but that He had prayed for him. God used all of the experiences of Peter's life to prepare him for the calling that had been placed on his life. In spite of all of Peter's liabilities God brought him through. He was well qualified to tell us as pastors to "shepherd the flock of God among (us)."
Now how one pastor shepherds his flock might be quite different from how another shepherd cares for his, yet there are some things that all of us must do. If you pastor a flock of 10,000 you cannot be personnally involved in all of their lives, but they need a pastor. If you pastor a flock of 100 you can have more of a personal involvement.
I read a quote from Rick Warren the other day. Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Community Church and author of "The Purpose Driven Life," "The Purpose Driven Church" and other books. Warren said, "Don't call yourself a 'pastor' if all you do is study and speak. Pastoring is caring for and shepherding people one-on-one." Pastors...please read that again. Whereas one of your main responsibilities is to "preach the Word" and "be instant in season and out of season"; you are also charged to "shepherd the flock of God among you."
March 11, 2010
He's The God of this City
I do not know Vance Pittman. I follow him on twitter. He just posted the following statement: “God’s call on the life of a pastor is not to a church, but to a city. The church is simply a platform for engaging the city to accomplish the mission.” Such is the mindset of a new generation of pastor-teachers. Although I agree with him, I am not sure that that philosophy of ministry would go over too well in the established rural churches of Southwest Georgia.
This is why church planting among Southern Baptists is a must. No there are not too many churches. There never will be too many churches. There may be too many churches not fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. We have been called to take the WHOLE Gospel to the WHOLE World. We have not been given the right to decides who hears, but to herald abroad the glorious gospel of our Lord.
Our oldest children are moving to San Francisco to plant a church in the city. They are a part of this new generation of church leaders who are not just "working outside the box" they have knocked the walls down. Their vision statement is: "To live life as Jesus intended for the good of the city and the hope of the world." The word church is not found in that statement although they are deeply committed to the Lord and His church.
They verbalize a large part of their focus in this statement regarding "community." "We believe that spiritual life is best when it is being lived out in close proximity to others. It is impossible to live life at its best when we are disconnected from other followers of Jesus. We believe this can take place through structured environments (weekly small groups), as well as spontaneously in our daily living." (1 Thessalonians 2:8, Acts 2:42)
This new generation of leaders believe that missions is not something we do, but something we are. They believe that God has placed them here at this time for a specific purpose. This means that God has a purpose behind where they live (and who their neighbors are), where they work (and who they work with), and where they play (who they have social interaction with). They live as though they have been sent by Jesus to spread His kingdom in each of these arenas of life. (2 Corinthians 5:20, John 20:21)
It excites me to see them at work. I challenges me when I see their passion for God. I am moved when they preach and teach the word from such a fresh perspective.
Chris Tomlin wrote a song some time back entitled, God of this City. Read the words.
You're the God of this City/You're the King of these people/You're the Lord of this nation/You are.
You're the Light in this darkness/You're the Hope to the hopeless/You're the Peace to the restless/You are.
There is no one like our God/There is no one like our God/For greater things have yet to come/And greater things are still to be done in this City.
Greater thing have yet to come/And greater things are still to be done in this City
That's the vision we need. That's where our focus must be.
(Some wording taken from Mission Statement of EPIC Church, San Francisco)
This is why church planting among Southern Baptists is a must. No there are not too many churches. There never will be too many churches. There may be too many churches not fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. We have been called to take the WHOLE Gospel to the WHOLE World. We have not been given the right to decides who hears, but to herald abroad the glorious gospel of our Lord.
Our oldest children are moving to San Francisco to plant a church in the city. They are a part of this new generation of church leaders who are not just "working outside the box" they have knocked the walls down. Their vision statement is: "To live life as Jesus intended for the good of the city and the hope of the world." The word church is not found in that statement although they are deeply committed to the Lord and His church.
They verbalize a large part of their focus in this statement regarding "community." "We believe that spiritual life is best when it is being lived out in close proximity to others. It is impossible to live life at its best when we are disconnected from other followers of Jesus. We believe this can take place through structured environments (weekly small groups), as well as spontaneously in our daily living." (1 Thessalonians 2:8, Acts 2:42)
This new generation of leaders believe that missions is not something we do, but something we are. They believe that God has placed them here at this time for a specific purpose. This means that God has a purpose behind where they live (and who their neighbors are), where they work (and who they work with), and where they play (who they have social interaction with). They live as though they have been sent by Jesus to spread His kingdom in each of these arenas of life. (2 Corinthians 5:20, John 20:21)
It excites me to see them at work. I challenges me when I see their passion for God. I am moved when they preach and teach the word from such a fresh perspective.
Chris Tomlin wrote a song some time back entitled, God of this City. Read the words.
You're the God of this City/You're the King of these people/You're the Lord of this nation/You are.
You're the Light in this darkness/You're the Hope to the hopeless/You're the Peace to the restless/You are.
There is no one like our God/There is no one like our God/For greater things have yet to come/And greater things are still to be done in this City.
Greater thing have yet to come/And greater things are still to be done in this City
That's the vision we need. That's where our focus must be.
(Some wording taken from Mission Statement of EPIC Church, San Francisco)
March 6, 2010
It Happened One Fall
It was the fall of 1962. It was the time of the Cuban Missle Crisis. Marilyn Monroe was found dead. John Glenn orbited the earth and believe it or not the Beatles were turned down by Decca Records. I am sure much more took place that year, but one thing is sure a "dead" nine year old boy was made alive in Christ by the grace of God.
The journey had started that summer. I was blessed to be born into a family that believed in God, loved His Word and trusted in His Son. Back in those days the church was the center of social life in the community. Everything revolved around church it seemed. I thought everyone went to church.
As fall rolled around several of my friends had made public their decision to trust Christ. I had not. As a matter of fact the reason I had not is because I had not trusted Christ. Oh, I had been encouraged to "join the church," but (and I don't remember why) I had not.
I remember this one Sunday when I came to the point of wanting to do something about it. On the way home from church, sitting in the back seat of a Pontiac I told my parents that I wanted to be saved. When we got home my mom and dad talked with me, we prayed and then called the preacher. We arranged to meet him later that afternoon before the evening church activities.
As I sat in the office with my pastor, he took his Bible and explained to me how to be saved. Old Bible verses that I had learned as a "Beginner" and "Sunbeam" began to come to life. We went down that Roman Road right in the middle of Monroe, GA and there that afternoon I trusted Christ as my Savior.
The journey had started that summer. I was blessed to be born into a family that believed in God, loved His Word and trusted in His Son. Back in those days the church was the center of social life in the community. Everything revolved around church it seemed. I thought everyone went to church.
As fall rolled around several of my friends had made public their decision to trust Christ. I had not. As a matter of fact the reason I had not is because I had not trusted Christ. Oh, I had been encouraged to "join the church," but (and I don't remember why) I had not.
I remember this one Sunday when I came to the point of wanting to do something about it. On the way home from church, sitting in the back seat of a Pontiac I told my parents that I wanted to be saved. When we got home my mom and dad talked with me, we prayed and then called the preacher. We arranged to meet him later that afternoon before the evening church activities.
As I sat in the office with my pastor, he took his Bible and explained to me how to be saved. Old Bible verses that I had learned as a "Beginner" and "Sunbeam" began to come to life. We went down that Roman Road right in the middle of Monroe, GA and there that afternoon I trusted Christ as my Savior.
March 5, 2010
Preacher...Get Out of The Way
My friend, Ken Jenkins, tells the story of a church where on the wall just behind the pulpit is a picture of Jesus. One Sunday the preacher was late getting to the pulpit. Why? I don't know? A deacon might have delayed him. One of his children might have delayed him. He might have fallen asleep in his office. That's another blog entry. He was late, okay!
A little boy was sitting with his mother in church. The little boy leaned to his mom and asked, "Where is the man that stands in front of Jesus?" Ouch! Preacher, do you stand in front of Jesus? One day we will stand facing Him, but today if we are not careful we can just get in His way. Preacher...get out of the way.
Over the years that I have pastored I have to wonder how many times did I get in His way. How many times did I ascend the steps of the pulpit, stand behind the sacred desk and just "flesh it up real good?" I know I did, because I know me.
"Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" But Jesus answering said to him, "Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he permitted Him. After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:13-17)
Did you hear that? Did you listen well enough to see that? Simply put had John not baptized Jesus he would not have seen God's acknowledgement of the Son nor heard God's announcement of the Son much less allowed those present to see Jesus, "the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." And that beloved is our job every time we stand to preach the blessed Word of God. It is all about Him!
Vance Havner writes, "So, no matter what the theme or text, we are really considering him, for by him all Scripture consists. Satan will go to any lengths to keep you from considering the Lord. If he can put you to riding the hobby of a favorite doctrine; if he can get you to look back at yesterday's failures, or ahead to tomorrow's dreads, or around at the array of circumstances or within at your own weakness and poverty—anywhere but looking unto Jesus—then he is satisfied. And remember that he has many masks and will come so like an angel of light that you are scarcely aware at first that you are not considering Christ."
John the Baptist said, "I must decrease that He might increase." I must get out of the way so that people can see that He is the Way. There is nothing about me worth seeing. There is nothing about me worth hearing. The only thing that I have worth saying has to do with Him. It's all about Him.
A little boy was sitting with his mother in church. The little boy leaned to his mom and asked, "Where is the man that stands in front of Jesus?" Ouch! Preacher, do you stand in front of Jesus? One day we will stand facing Him, but today if we are not careful we can just get in His way. Preacher...get out of the way.
Over the years that I have pastored I have to wonder how many times did I get in His way. How many times did I ascend the steps of the pulpit, stand behind the sacred desk and just "flesh it up real good?" I know I did, because I know me.
"Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John, to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" But Jesus answering said to him, "Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he permitted Him. After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:13-17)
Did you hear that? Did you listen well enough to see that? Simply put had John not baptized Jesus he would not have seen God's acknowledgement of the Son nor heard God's announcement of the Son much less allowed those present to see Jesus, "the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." And that beloved is our job every time we stand to preach the blessed Word of God. It is all about Him!
Vance Havner writes, "So, no matter what the theme or text, we are really considering him, for by him all Scripture consists. Satan will go to any lengths to keep you from considering the Lord. If he can put you to riding the hobby of a favorite doctrine; if he can get you to look back at yesterday's failures, or ahead to tomorrow's dreads, or around at the array of circumstances or within at your own weakness and poverty—anywhere but looking unto Jesus—then he is satisfied. And remember that he has many masks and will come so like an angel of light that you are scarcely aware at first that you are not considering Christ."
John the Baptist said, "I must decrease that He might increase." I must get out of the way so that people can see that He is the Way. There is nothing about me worth seeing. There is nothing about me worth hearing. The only thing that I have worth saying has to do with Him. It's all about Him.
February 13, 2010
South Georgia Blizzard
It doesn't do this often. Quite frankly in the 22 years we have lived in either Camilla or Americus I would not need the fingers on both hands to count. SNOW and "inches" of it. Two inches with drifts to 4/5 started accumulating on Friday (2/12). It is just before noon on Saturday and it is already melting. Ten years ago we were in a tornado now a "blizzard." Yeah, I know anywhere north of the Georgia line you have to be busting gut reading that I would call this a blizzard, but just sayin. Here are some pics.
Intimidation, Indignation and Insolence
Far too often these days I have had a conversation with a pastor who has been threatened by a church leader, accused of something trivial and even asked to leave. More times than not it is not over a theological, moral or character issue. Many times entrenched church patriarchs and/or matriarchs feel their power slipping away and have to do something. At other times weak church leaders have been backed into a corner by those who won't speak up themselves but need someone else to do their ungodly bidding for them. These are days when churches and members focus on preferences rather than convictions and many times they get the two confused. How is that possible? Well, flesh can do that rather easily. Remember too, flesh can only produce more flesh.
I have talked to pastors who have been opposed for such things as "not listening," and "being disrespectful."If this is true in the life of the minister repentance is a must. However, sometimes that means...we can't find anything really to accuse you of so we'll just make something up because we don't like you. Your sermons convict us of sin, expose our iniquity and basically you challenge us to change and we like things just the way they are.
I have talked to pastors who have been opposed for such things as "not listening," and "being disrespectful."If this is true in the life of the minister repentance is a must. However, sometimes that means...we can't find anything really to accuse you of so we'll just make something up because we don't like you. Your sermons convict us of sin, expose our iniquity and basically you challenge us to change and we like things just the way they are.
February 9, 2010
10 Years Later
On February 14, 2000 two category 3 tornados ripped through Mitchell County, GA with winds of 152 to 208 mph cutting swathes over 10 miles long and 300 yards wide. I know because along with my wife and our youngest daughter we just made it to our "safe place" before it ripped through the living room of our house breaking windows, removing the roof and scaring us half to death. "Hunkered down" under a mattress and with the hand of God holding it down we emerged unscathed about two minutes later to be met in the yard by a neighbor in whose home we spent the rest of the night.
At the time I was pastor of Camilla's First Baptist Church having served there since 1987. Our two oldest daughters were students at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA and our youngest was a sophmore in high school.
Much has happened since that night. Most of what we lost has been replaced because it was just "stuff." There were sleepless nights, long days and much cleanup and recovery to follow. I saw a community come together because it had to. I saw racial lines blurred as people worked together like never before. God did some incredible things in those days, weeks and months that followed.
At the time I was pastor of Camilla's First Baptist Church having served there since 1987. Our two oldest daughters were students at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA and our youngest was a sophmore in high school.
Much has happened since that night. Most of what we lost has been replaced because it was just "stuff." There were sleepless nights, long days and much cleanup and recovery to follow. I saw a community come together because it had to. I saw racial lines blurred as people worked together like never before. God did some incredible things in those days, weeks and months that followed.
February 7, 2010
Thank You Pam Tebow
Today is Super Sunday (...of course for the Christian, every Sunday is Super Sunday). They play a football game today to determine who is champion for the NFL this season. I am a football fan. I prefer college to pro, but I like football. However, one cannot overlook the fact that the whole thing has gotten out of hand. The "circus" that is the Super Bowl began over a week ago. It has been analyzed, broken down, and discussed. Former champions have been interviewed and given their "take" on the game. One sports channel has replayed about every previous Super Bowl played.
The big news this year surrounds the Super Bowl Ads, specifically one in particular. Focus on the Family purchased and produced an ad that tells the incredible story of Tim Tebow, from the University of Florida and his mom. All kinds of pro-choice groups have come out asking CBS not to air the commercial. To CBS's credit they will play the ad.
The big news this year surrounds the Super Bowl Ads, specifically one in particular. Focus on the Family purchased and produced an ad that tells the incredible story of Tim Tebow, from the University of Florida and his mom. All kinds of pro-choice groups have come out asking CBS not to air the commercial. To CBS's credit they will play the ad.
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