Too many questions...

What should I do?
My emotions range from sadness, frustration, guilt, disappointment and worry.
I have never been very good at making the big decisions.
Maybe not as good as I thought about a lot of things.
How did I get here?
How can I possibly squeeze more into my schedule?
What kind of toll will it take on my family?
Has it already cost me? Has my past come back to roost?
Life is so short, is it fair to make my family suffer?
Isn't there anybody else?
Maybe it sounds like a whine, but it isn't. I feel like Bilbo sometimes, butter spread over to much bread, thin.
A part of me wants so badly to withdraw from everything, just be me. Tom, the guy who comes to church and then goes home.
No worries, no problems. Let someone else fight the battles, do the meetings, struggle.
Other people do it.
Why can't I?
I'm nothing without Christ, His grace is the only thing that keeps me going.
But it seems the weight is getting heavier.
Maybe I'm carrying to much, maybe I need to learn to lean more on Him.
Maybe that's what He is trying to teach me.

Happy Birthday

I have just now discovered that this blog is 1 year old.
Amazing.
Time is blazing past me, I have a son who is a senior in high school.
I'm to young for that.
That thought of my sons not being around much has already caused me some concern. I can see the empty nest coming, and its still a ways off.
You get used to having people around you, I have watched Matt grow from a baby to a young man. I have seen his body get stronger as God prepares him for his life work.
It amazes me to a large degree.
Have I taught him everything that he needs to know?
It has been hard to give him more freedom. Its not that he has done anything to betray my confidence in him, its just I see him slipping away from me.
He doesn't need me as much.
One of the cruel facts of life is that, as a parent, our job is to prepare our children to replace us. To love and nurture a child, so he can pack his bags and say "see ya".
Matt wants to live in an apartment as he goes to school. My head says that living on his own would be good for him
My heart hopes he commutes.

Are Preachers Always to Blame?

I was reading an article from Cal Thomas regarding the fact that that married people are now the minority. He states some interesting reasons, many I agree with (you can find the entire article at townhall.com).
But something he did say got me thinking, I wanted to share it.
"The clergy have not always been helpful to marriage. Many- not all , but many-regularly ignore biblical instructions about marriage, divorce and remarriage because their congregations are populated with members who have divorced and they reason that their money in the collection plate spends just as well as that of married couples. Some people prefer to hear about the sins of others-or no sins at all-than about their own. The "fear of God" long ago was replaced in too many churches with the portrayal of God as a warm and fuzzy uncle who understands why you do the things you do and doesn't care all that much as long as you are happy and "fulfilled".
I can agree that nobody likes to hear about their sins, but I have a question.
Are there any sinners in Cal's church?
I won't argue the fact that some pastor's play for the crowd and I know there is a real push to make God out as a "uncle" figure instead of a creator-judge figure.
But is it just me or does Cal sound a little self-righteous?
I mean where does Cal want the divorced people to go? Is he saying they shouldn't be in church? Does he want the remarried people to split up?
The other point I want to make is I'm sure that there are plenty of great pastors who preach the word the way it should be preached and yet still have some of their people fall into the trap we all stumble into at one time or another. You can preach the greatest sermon, and yet people will do dumb things. Is that the pastor's fault?
I'm afraid we often forget that we need the grace of Christ every day. But I'm afraid that somewhere in our Christian walk we become so "good" or at least better than "other people" that it becomes us vs. them. We stop sharing Christ with others, the gulf between the Christian and the non-Christian becomes wide.
I respect a lot of things Cal has said over the years, he is a smart guy that isn't afraid to speak his mind.
I just wonder how he would have responded to the woman at the well.
I think I know.

My Book List

I've been reading a lot lately.
And I thought my public (hi Mom) would like to know what reading I've been doing.
1."Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis.
This one, I believe, is a must read for Christians. It is a good read that keeps you interested by talking about things you probably have wondered about yourselves. Lewis keeps it pretty simple and explains things in a way that even I understand. I had borrowed it from the library, but I'm going to own a copy of this real soon.
2. "An Unstoppable Force" by Erwin McManus.
I would encourage all established traditional church leaders to read this one. At the very least read the first few chapters. Erwin nails the condition of most churches, and explains how it happened. Now I love Erwin's stuff, but remember he is the pastor of a large multi cultural church in California, so I'm not saying what worked for him will work for you. But if you read it and your honest with yourself, you will have to admit that Erwin somehow spent some time in your church.
3. "No Higher Honor: Saving the Samuel B Roberts in the Persian Gulf" by Bradley Peniston.
Yeah I know, this one has nothing to do with church, but it's about my other love, naval history. I'm half way through and so far it's pretty good. If you don't remember, the USS Samuel B Roberts hit a mine in the Persian Gulf during the Iraq-Iran "tanker war". It does show how being prepared for something can have a huge pay off.
4. "Godless: The Church of Liberalism" by Ann Coulter.
Now I'll be the first to admit that Ann doesn't pull punches, and she can be kind of rough. Her humor mirrors mine (you know, sarcastic) and she has some great social comments. My only problem is her almost pure hate for people who look at things different than she does. I consider myself pretty conservative, but I sometimes wince when I read some of her cutting remarks. Still her attack on evolution is well thought out and very scientific, which is good ammo against those who push evolution.
My biggest problem with my reading is I have a HUGE list of books that I need to read, and I sometimes set books down, start reading others, and I never finish the first one. I want to read more, but it seems I can't find the time to do it.
So many books, so little time.

What I will always remember.

I was a little worried.
We had just got done playing basketball, in one of those "unofficial" practice games when I played for Martinsville. Just because it was summer, that didn't mean you could take some time off.
As I walked into the McDonalds, I knew I didn't have any money, my folks at that time of my life didn't have a lot, and I hated asking them for any. I know my folks would have given me some cash, had I asked for it. I just hated doing that.
I walked silently in with my buddies, Brian and Wade, hoping to hear Brian say those special words, "you want something?".
You see Brian cared, and although he probably doesn't even remember giving me money, I have never forgotten.
I still tell him from time to time that I still owe him, and he always gives me that look like, what are you talking about?
My point of this is pretty simple. People remember the times when somebody came to their aid. Helped them in a time of need.
And that will be remembered much longer than any sermon you will ever preach.
Jesus taught many things, but what really strikes me is His compassion for those in need. He cared for people.
It only shows that when we give to others, with a cheerful heart, the doors will become open for us to share our faith.
I couldn't tell you how many times Brian paid for my food when we went out of town to play basketball, he never groaned or complained about the fact I didn't bring my own money.
And that, I will never forget.

Is restoration possible?

I've been reading the Emerging CGGC blog (emergingcggc.blogspot.com) and boy does my head hurt.
If you want to see some very forward thinking by some very bright people within our denomination, check it out. You may not agree with everything, but it will make you think (thus the reason for my headache).
As you have probably been able to pick up from one of my blog entries, my church is at a crossroads.
And I'm happy to report that the elders and pastors got together and had some serious and frank discussions about where we are as a church.
One of our elders (we will call him "Ed") asked a great question.
"What would we be doing if we were planting or starting a new church?"
That question really struck me, since I happen to know a couple of church planters. Now I know nothing about planting a church, wouldn't know how to even begin. But it did get me thinking about traditions and how we do church.
Anyway back to the Emerging blog, I came across this from the blog entry "What kinds of churches are we planting?". The author of this is a talented church planter named Steve Sjogren and it's from his newsletter;
If personally watched for a number of years a very gifted, nationally known pastors, speaker and author in the 70s (I know you weren't born yet) try to reverse the trend of his Southern California denominational church and renew it to see the Spirit of God fill his church with newness, a sense of expectation each week, etc. I watched him work tirelessly week after week. When I arrived on the scene of his weekly services, he had been tireless working away at renewing his congregation for over a decade. It was obvious to me as a rather intuitive person that his people resistant to the message of walking in a life of the ullness of the Spirit, of giving their lives away to others, of being inviters. It was heartbreaking. After seeing this patter up close over a prolonged period of time I made a couple of good, long-term decisions: 1. It would be a waste of a good life to devote myself, my ministry call and strength to that approach considering my desire to see change come upon a congregation (Im not wired for a snails pace change over decades of ministry), and 2. That the idea of renewing a congregation was debatable if it was really possible both according to church historical observation and the teaching of scripture (namely Jesus teaching about the message of the new wine needing a new wineskin that just makes sense and of course it is inspired scripture).
I understand Steve's heart, the task before us seems kind of like digging a hole through a mountain with a teaspoon.
Why pound your head against a wall for a church that doesn't want to move in a new direction?
I have to believe that God is in the restoration business, He does it time and time again. I also know that restoration comes only when the people repent. That means change.
So it comes to this, and it's pretty simple.
1. We continue on the way we are. We will survive for years, but with a diminished staff, and a much smaller missionary budget. The attendance will continue to slip slowly, and there will be little life.
2. We change, and really I'm not sure what that will mean. We will have to stop talking about dollars and talk more about people. We will have to identify the needs in our community and address them. It's not a lot, but it would be a start.
What will really scare some people is that option 2 won't help the churches perceived money problems, in fact it may make them worse.
I have looked around at other churches, and I find we are not the only church at a crossroads, that many have turned cold. What does the future hold for them?
David Miller commented that "at least we see the crossroads" and he's right. I'm thankful for pastors and elders that know something just isn't right. The biggest challenge for us will be to lead the people.
And it's very possible they will decide not to be led anywhere.

In the garden

It had gotten way out of hand.
I kept looking at my green bean row, and I didn't like what I saw.
Because of a major weed problem, it was hard to see the beans.
So I put on my bib overalls and decided it was time to weed the garden. Fortunately it was just one row, but bending over pulling huge weeds out, while protecting the bean plants I wanted to keep, was a major time consuming deal.
As I sweated and pulled the stubborn green enemy I thought to myself; man I wish I had done this sooner.
I had to ask myself; why did you let this get in this condition?
I had no excuse, I had walked by the garden several times and saw the mess, but I always had thought, I'll get it later.
Later finally came.
So while I was sweating it came to me, at times my life had gotten the same way.
Things that we shouldn't let get going in our lives begin to flourish, they began to crowd our lives. We know we should do things different, but yet we refuse to really deal with the core issues. So over time we let things take root, and before long our lives get in a mess.
I don't think it ever sneaks up on us, slowly over time we let this go, we let that go. We notice it once and awhile, but really don't want to put out the effort to change it.
I think it's good that we take an honest look at ourselves from time to time. What has gotten in the way of living like we should? Have we let our guard down and allowed things to take hold of us that shouldn't be there?
It was hard work making my beans look better. It will take much more work to be the Christian God wants me to be.
But it is always worth the effort.

The Crossroads

Here we sit.
Eyes looking down.
I glance around the room and I see worry, I see questions.
How did this happen?
How did we fall this far?
What do we do?
One voice says "cancel our second service", another says "the people look like zombies in our service".
The joy is gone.
The money is running out.
Another voice, "we have no twenty year olds", yet another "were not growing, in fact were shrinking".
Ah the good old days, plenty of money and plenty of people, good people, nice people. Everything we did turned to gold, if we wanted it, we bought it.
It seems that we didn't even have to work for it, everything just fell into our laps.
The services now seem cold, the people now have grown older.
What happened?!?
Here we sit.
At the crossroads of our church.
The choice is simple.
Continue the same way, and surely the results will be the same. The path that leads to irrelevance, leads to death.
Change what we do?
Can we do that?
And what do we change?
The questions far out weigh the answers it seems.
And God seems so far off.
And what do I do?
What can I say?
It frustrates me, makes me angry.
I don't have the answers.
I could say simple things like, "go contemporary, love people, be friendly".
But I know the core issue is comfort.
Down deep, really deep, our people are comfortable.
They like it when they know everyone, they know when we will end the service so they can make it to the diner.
They know they have fulfilled their Christian duty by being in church. They've done just exactly what they think Christians should do.
Nothing less, nothing more.
How do you fix that?
And do they really want to fix it?
Here we sit.
At the crossroads of our church.
We look at the road on the left.
It's smooth, nice, and there is lots of pretty things to look at. It will continue until there is nobody left to travel the road.
I look at the road on the right.
It's rough, uncertain, scary. To travel it means saying goodbye to comfort, to thinking only of ourselves, and goodbye to feeling safe. And it may be the only way we survive as a relevant, healthy and growing Christian organism.
Here we sit.
At the crossroads of our church.
And I'm afraid the road on the left may be our choice.

On the lake.

I needed it.
I had forgotten how peaceful it is.
Several years ago my friend Jim and I started catfishing at a nearby state lake, and as all good catfishermen know, the best time to catch them is at night.
In our younger days we would stay out till 1-2 in the morning, now I start to feel it about midnight.
Over the years Jim and I have been through a lot. Jim has been through two divorces, I had lost my Dad.
So fishing had been our therapy, it's so peaceful on the water at night.
Last year we both were busy in other things, we didn't go at all.
Jim called me the other day and wanted to go, I finally had a free night so I said I would.
I love being on the water, but at night it's even better.
As I sat on the boat, waiting for the next bump on my line, I looked up, and saw the night sky.
You really haven't seen stars until you see them from a boat, at night. Since there isn't much light, you can see stars that you wouldn't normally see.
I had missed that, it seems lately that a billion things are running in my head, more demands on my time, tough issues at my church and tough issues for the region I lead.
But as I sat there, smelling of garlic covered chicken livers (yes that's the bait we use), looking up at the sky I realize once again how awesome our God is. So many people are so tight, we have run ourselves almost to the point of a complete breakdown, we dance on a razors edge trying to always be right, not leaving any room for mistakes.
If we could all just take a deep breath, put some chicken livers on a hook, throw it in the water and just stare at a star filled sky, maybe we would realize that maybe we take ourselves to seriously, that we have forgotten the simple things.
That the things that concern us today will long be forgotten when we are gone, and our relationship with the Creator of the stars should have been the most important thing in our life.
Maybe I'm to simple.
But from a lawn chair, on a lake, at night, I'm okay with that.

The 2006 family vacation

I have returned.
Back from the Gulf coast were it was very warm.
When I told people I was going, people asked me "are you going on a work team?"
I have to admit, no.
What I went for was to see a couple of WWII museum ships, one in Mobile AL and the other in Baton Rouge.
You see I'm a ship nut, I love being on the water (although I can't swim) and when you combine that with my love for naval history, you can see why I went.
Don't you feel sorry for my wife and kids?
They were pretty good sports about it, they endured the heat and walking up and down ladders that were never made for the tourist.
We did see some of the hurricane damage in some places, but we didn't get off the highway very much.
What I did see made me feel pretty good.
And what did I see?
Several church vans pulling little trailers, some as far away as New Jersey.
You see the church as a whole has taken some pretty good shots from a variety of different sources.
But nobody can argue the impact churches have had in the damaged areas of the south. They have not stopped working, not stopped loving people in need of hope.
And there still coming, still working, still loving.
So I'll take my hat off to those who have sacrificed their time and energy to help their fellow man in a time of extreme need.
Just as Christ did for us.

To tell the truth or the truth redux

"Gentlemen, this is a football"
I once read that Vince Lombardi would start his training camp with these words. I can only imagine what some of the players thought about this comment.
And yet, without knowing it, the late Mr. Lombardi is going to help me make a point.
What he held in his hand was a football. Not a baseball, orange, or underwear.
It is a football.
That my friend is an absolute truth.
Call it whatever you want, it is a football.
Now can you imagine one of the rookies on the team saying, "well it may be a football to you, but I thing it's a grape".
I would bet he wouldn't make the team.
I know some of you are going to say I'm making a silly point about something as complicated as the truth.
But has it become more about taking the truth, and changing it to fit our lifestyle?
What if, dare I be this bold, we have decided it's much easier to change the truth than it is to change how we live?
Being kind of slow I'm just now try to get a handle on post-modernism and the emerging church, and I have to tell you there are some things I like. Dealing with the brokenness and social needs of people, I think, is Biblical. That's what Jesus did.
I'm cool with that.
Having a church setting where people can come and find love and hope. That's good stuff.
I'm very cool with that.
But my question is this.
At what point do we teach the truth?
See I tricked you, because some people say "well what is the truth"?
And now we come back to my first point.
There has to be an absolute truth. Without it there is chaos. There is no right and wrong, only feelings. People live for what they think is right, which man can come up with some really wacky stuff.
And I know the truth hurts. We don't like to be told what to do or what not to do. We don't do criticism very well. God better be okay with what I'm doing (or not doing) because I'm not going to change. But hey God is love right?
At what point do we preach or teach the absolute truth? The one that you know exists. The one that you know may hurt some feelings. The stuff that brings conviction to people to change their lives.
Or the stuff that you know may cause you to lose some people.
I'm really torn here because I've been reading some great books about reaching people were there at.
And I know, better than most, that the Christian walk is one of a process. I also understand, better than most, that none of us are without sin.
But do we stop preaching the absolute truth for fear we might offend someone?
I once heard of a pastor who would not preach against abortion, his reason caught me off guard. He simply stated that he couldn't preach against it for fear they would fire him.
Everybody wants to preach about Christ's love, it's a great message. Not many want to wade into areas that might step on somebody's toes.
So we come down to this, do we preach the absolute truth or do we preach the truth that everybody wants to hear.
The truth that the Bible is wide open to interpretation, that there really is no right or wrong or absolute truth. Just trust your feelings and you'll be fine.
Before long we begin to see the football, as a grape.

The man in the office

Being a pastor has to be a difficult job.
I mean think about it, he has to prepare a sermon every week that will motivate, challenge and uplift the people under his care. He has to call on the sick and dying, comfort those that have lost loved ones, plot a course for his church and then get people excited about following the course. At the same time he has to juggle a home life, and be a role model for people. He is watched very closely by the community, to make sure he does everything right. He is not supposed to get mad or upset, and well, we want him to be everything that were not.
Pretty tough job.
And yet I know some pretty good pastors, people that just love people, and love what they do.
And I think that's the key.
Loving people.
You know I have interviewed pastors, and it seems we get really interested in their education, their accomplishments, did they grow their former church?
I think really we need to be asking, do you get along with people?
You might think that's a funny question, but I was listening to a gentleman who had contacted a seminary, looking for a prospective pastor. The man in charge of placement got a large stack of papers and put them on his desk. He went on to say that on each piece of paper was a name of a person that had graduated the seminary and had enough knowledge to teach and preach effectively. But each of them had a problem.
They couldn't get along with people.
Working with people seems to be a lost art, and I think we can point to a couple of reasons why this is the case.
The first reason is that once some people become more educated, they tend to look down on those who aren't so well educated. If you want to get run out of your first church, treat them like their stupid. Talk down to them like your the only one who really knows what's going on. Then read a bunch of church growth books, and then try everything all at once, and then when it doesn't work, complain bitterly that it was your churches fault for the failure, not yours.
You have to earn your peoples trust before you do anything, they won't follow you if they don't like you. I once took a leadership class that stated that when you first take a new church, don't do anything new for at least two years. At first I thought that sounded a little crazy, but the more I thought about it, the more it makes sense. They need time to get used to you, and for you to build relationships and develop trust.
The second reason is more cultural, we don't hang around other people that much anymore. Call it what you want, but as a culture, we are building fences around ourselves. We don't just visit other people as much as we used to. Our homes have become our castles, and we prefer to be left alone to do what we want to do, when we want to do it. Oh were not rude to people who do show up at our door, but were sure glad when they leave.
In this type of culture, it's hard to develop social skills. When you only talk to family and people you know, it's makes it difficult to talk to people you don't know. We find that just avoiding to talk to these unknown people is the solution, which makes people think that you just don't like them (which may or may not be true). We don't learn humility, and being gracious. It's want I want and I want it NOW. That can be a real turn-off.
Look, I know I'm not a pastor, and I know that I really only have the slightest clue of what being a pastor is like. But I do know these three things,
1. Good pastors are in short supply. When you get a good one, hold on to him with all you have.
2. Many won't even consider the ministry, they see it as a low paying job.
3.Finding pastors that have people skills is becoming very hard to do.
Remember, pastors have to deal with people. You cannot become a shepard if the sheep you lead don't trust you. You can have all the degrees in the world, but if you don't love people like Christ loved people, your ministry will come up short.

Well, now you've done it.

It's really takes a lot to get me angry.
I mean a LOT.
I have been complimented on my mild manner demeanor. The calm in the middle of the storm.
But now I'm ticked.
I was reading something in the local paper's web site, a soldier who had been killed in Iraq was going to be laid to rest.
And a Kansas based Baptist "church" was going to protest at the funeral.
Look, I know that they have the right to protest, we all do as Americans.
But at a funeral?!?
Maybe your not happy with the country, our president, or the war.
Fine, I'm sure many people aren't happy either.
And if you want to protest, fine, do it at your church, your town square, heck do it at the White House if you want.
But can we at least give this American man, someone who died for something bigger than himself, a peaceful and respectful funeral?
Is that to much to ask?
Now that makes me mad enough, but wait there's more.
This "church" says that these soldiers are dying because "God is punishing them for the sins of Americans".
Please, please, please, can we stop trying to use God to move our agendas?
And EVERYBODY'S doing it.
From Pat Robertson to these folks, everybody just knows exactly what God's thinking, what He is doing and what He is going to do. And wow, wouldn't you know it, God thinks just like we do!
And if you know so much about God, then you know that if God was REALLY angry, He wouldn't mess around. We'd all be dead.
Is God happy with America? Kiddies God can't be happy looking at the WORLD, not just America.
And if you READ your Bibles, you would find that these things are going to happen, earthquakes,
wars, etc..
These things shouldn't shock you.
Maybe what ticks me the most is the attitude that everybody else is sinning, but were not. Punish America, but since I'm perfect, give me all the blessings. I deserve it.
If I had five minutes with the "pastor" of this "church", I would calmly ask him a simple question. How is disturbing the funeral of a fellow human being, ministry? How about offering support to the family, maybe you don't agree with the cause he died for, but how about loving the hurting people anyway?
Let's see there was this guy, Jesus was His name I think, yeah, and He, like, loved people even though He didn't always like what the people did.
What a concept.
And guess what, when Jesus did love these people, they like, followed Him.
Wow.
The real tragedy in all of this is it just makes it that much harder to reach the lost, because nobody wants to be a part of a group that says there all about love, but doesn't show it.
The Christian in me knows I have to forgive these people, and I do. The human inside me has a hard time forgiving people who protest a funeral for someone who protects the very freedom that allows them to protest.
In fact the human part of me thinks that if they hate this country that much, there is a plane leaving this country every minute or two. If they think they can do better somewhere else, they are free to leave.
And when I hear things like, God is punishing us for this or that, I would remind people of what Job found out when he finally got around to asking God why.
In a nutshell God said, I'm a whole lot smarter than you, and I've got things under control.
That's good enough for me.
So instead of pointing fingers at everybody else for what they are doing wrong, how about doing what Jesus told us to do.
Minister to His creation, in a kind and loving way.
You remember don't you?
And do you know what?
If we would show a little bit of love to these people, they might just want to be like us.
Do we dare?

Dear Church...

Have you looked outside lately?
Sometimes I think were stuck in one of those Star Trek episodes, the one when they get stuck in a time warp.
I look at the people in our church, all of them dress nice. I don't see any tattoos (except a few WWII Navy vets) and the only earrings I see are on the ladies.
But is that reality?
I guess what I'm saying is the culture that exists inside the church, reflect the culture outside the church?
I think we have stuck our heads in the sand, we have pretended that the world outside is still Ozzie and Harriet. That people will just stumble into our church, see the error of their ways, and become like us.
The truth is...
I'm not sure they want to be like us.
I know, I know what's wrong with being like us?
Well, it just doesn't fit them.
I'm not sure we are willing to get messy, and church, the world outside is VERY messy. If we build relationships with people, lost people, it will get messy. There stories are different, they didn't grow up like you and I did. They are products of a generation gone nuts, to do it if it feels good, to the postmodern view that there is really no truth at all, just what they can see or feel. They have been hurt by their parents, their friends, and sometimes even the church. They have expressed their hurt in ways that make us cringe, and they don't feel lost because they feel the only thing they can count on is themselves.
Are we ready to minister to that type of person?
Sadly the truth is no, and if we pretend they don't exist, maybe they will just go away.
The church that understands the culture, and figures out how to minister to this very different, hurting people, will be the church that God wants the church to be. One that displays His love for ALL of His creation.
But the choice is yours, we can all meet on Sunday like we always do, sing our songs, listen to the preacher, and go home. Working in the service of Christ becomes duty, come to church, sing or teach when asked to.
Reaching people, building bridges for people, is somebody else's job. But don't worry, when someone new does come, we will be sure to judge them, making sure that meet our standards.
Is it any wonder they don't want to become like us?
If I'm honest, church would be nice and comfortable if we all looked nice, believed the same things. It wouldn't be messy at all. Nice and clean, and who doesn't want that?
And I find that God gives us what we want, our lack of ministry to the world and our attention on ourselves becomes our mantra, instead of trusting God we trust ourselves. Soon we wither and die.
Our church becomes a tomb, once a place of hope and light, now holds only pomp and tradition, budgets and leaf raking, until the last few people decide to close the doors.
But there is hope, but it will cost you more than you have ever been willing to give...
your comfort.

How lucky I am

Wow it's been awhile.
And it's been REALLY busy.
What some of you know and probably a few of you don't is that the Midwest Region of my denomination did a really crazy thing.
They elected me president.
If they only knew.
Anyway yesterday was my first meeting. I have to admit I was nervous. Would I stumble, look confused or just plain blow it?
Well I'm not really sure how I did, but the people that can answer that is the subject of this entry.
I am convinced that a leader is only as good as the people that surround him.
If that is indeed true, I'm going to look really good.
I am going to introduce them to you.
VP Fred, Fred is a guy that I think is going to work out great. He asked questions and seems very interested in what is going on. He wants to see the region get better, and that is a quality that I like.
Clerk Stan, I have not know Stan very long but I instantly liked him, he has that sense of humor that I love, and he has a gentle heart. He thinks before he speaks, which is a quality that can be in short supply in this day and age.
Director Bob, Bob is so complex I'm not sure were to start. I would say he is a friend that has a billion things running through his head at any one time. Bob may have his faults, but he wants the region to improve. Sometimes the way he does things rubs people the wrong way, but he is willing to work.
Don, Don is new to the group, but I can tell he is a sharp guy. He didn't say much, but I thought what he did say was good stuff.
Andy, Andy would admit that he is a tecno-geek. He is smart and is a detail person, that can laugh. What a concept.
Donetta, One of two ladies in our group. Donetta is a pretty sharp gal herself and will tell you what she thinks.
Brian, My good friend, who is head of our church planting commission. If you were to pick a guy for church planting, Brian has all the tools. He has a strange ability to understand culture and it's shifts. He is more concerned about growing the kingdom than denomination growth, and that's cool with me. He is my sounding board and reminds me to think outside of the box.
Mark, If there was one guy that I was worried about, it was Mark. This guy can preach the paint off the walls. His church has grown to 900 and he is an evangelist that can pastor. A rare gift. I hope he can tolerate me leading, I know it has to be tough on such a strong leader to let someone else drive the horses. If he can put up with me, he will be a major asset.
Randy, Randy is the new head of our church and pastor relations. This commission has been, in the past, the most disappointing. Randy is a breath of fresh air, and I like the direction he wants to take this group. I am expecting great things from him.
Sandi, Sandi wasn't in the meeting, but I have been in them with her before. Sandi is head of our cross cultural ministries. Sandi has a heart for missions and is always thinking of them and their well being.
Dave, My pastor, and the quiet one. This is the guy that I never know what he is thinking, but I do know this, he can pick apart financial stuff, which is more than I can do.
Ned, Finally our treasurer, and I guy I would trust with my savings. Ned is unique for treasurer because he wants you to spend money. His idea is that if your not spending money, your not doing anything. He wants you to submit plans and goals, not just budget numbers.
Pretty cool huh?
Finally I have to say the human that helps me the most isn't even on the board. That person is my wife, who puts up with the phone calls, and the time it takes away from her. She is part of my inner circle and she will tell me what's on her mind. God gave me a help mate, and she has been just that.
For the next two years (Lord willing) I will be able to work with this group.
And I'm sure I couldn't pick better people if I tried.

To wear the uniform

I can remember it to this day.
I was handed the blue and white number 34 Martinsville basketball jersey.
And I had cold chills.
And not just any jersey, but the varsity jersey. The one I had seen others wear.
Now this may not seem like a bid deal to some of you, but for a tall, lanky introvert from the wrong side of the tracks, it was a huge deal.
And you have to understand, in the eighties, Martinsville basketball was something special. Other teams always had to look out for us, we may have not won every game, but we played hard, and we always won more than we lost.
Being on the team meant you were part of a special group of guys that was willing to give up a lot of time, sweat and sometimes blood for the good of the team.
And I was one of the "special" ones.
To wear this uniform however had costs. I spent a huge amount time in the gym. While some of my friends were doing stuff, I played basketball.
We had a strict code of conduct, which was good, but we had a coach that demanded perfection from us on the court. You might say he was kind of like Bob Knight, only not quite as bad.
My point?
To wear the uniform, it's going to cost you something.
Jesus said as much in the Bible, count the cost before you follow me. Understand what this will cost you.
And when I think of my life, God didn't deliver me from being a drug addict, an alcoholic or motorcycle gang member.
I remember reading amazing stories of ex-gang members being saved, drug addicts coming to Christ.
Great and wonderful stories.
But I wonder did anyone even notice the change in me?
I think as Christians we tend to put sin at different levels. My sin isn't as bad as your sin.
But remember, God doesn't see it that way.
I think we tend to find behaviors we don't like, then label it as sin. As long as we don't do it and we see others that do, we must be better than them, never mind what the the Bible says or doesn't say about it. I think the Bible calls that, the rules of men.
I've noticed 2 schools of thought on this from the church landscape of today.
View#1- The conservative approach, which I define as the don't smoke, drink or cuss approach. Those who label sin as what as seen on the outside. They have a very hard time with the thought of Jesus drinking anything but water. They feel that you can tell if someone is a believer by watching what they do or say. They just know God is against drinking and smoking and having church anywhere but in a church sanctuary.
View#2- The liberal approach, which I define as the do whatever you want since your never going to be perfect anyway approach. This group seemed to be the happier bunch, since they don't feel a need to change what they do. They love all the verses about God's grace and are content with themselves and their approach to Christianity. They want to have church anywhere but in a normal church environment.
Now these are the two extremes, and some people have a little of each. We tend to find the things we like and do those things and give up trying to do the things that are difficult.
I have problems with both views.
In the first approach I tend to find to many judgmental people who think they are perfect and make themselves feel better by pointing out sin in others. I want to state this very clearly, you are not without sin. The Bible makes this point very clear. You might have everybody fooled by your actions, but God knows your heart.
In the second approach I tend to find people who can't make up their minds who they want to follow. Since perfection is not going to happen, why try? The Bible makes it clear that we are a NEW creation. The old is gone, and we must put on the new. Does this make us perfect?
No, but I'd like to think people notice that we are a little bit different.
Should we at least try to live our lives better? If we have the uniform of Christ on, shouldn't we work as hard as we can to please Him?
As I see it, the Christian walk is a journey. Paul describes it as a race, a long race. We learn more about our Savior as we mature, and in that maturity we need to take on more of His ways. Nobody starts the race knowing everything, and we will stumble. The point is to continue running.
Jesus said in John that if we love Him we will obey Him.
Maybe we don't love Him as much as we say we do, since we can't seem to obey His word. I say this knowing that He loves me way more than I could ever love Him.
I didn't play basketball my senior year, I began to see that I just wasn't going to be good enough to start my final year. Younger and better players were coming up and it just wasn't fun anymore. You are much more willing to work hard when you know that there is a reward at the end of the tunnel.
Jesus knows I will never be good enough to approach God without His sacrifice, but the question is am I willing to sacrifice my life, all of my life, for Him?
I still have my high school basketball jersey at home. I laugh when I look at it, thinking I once could fit into it, but still I handle it with care, knowing what I sacrificed for it.
Knowing what Christ sacrificed for us, shouldn't we handle our relationship with Him with care?

NOT THE EASTER BUNNY!!!

This is a good one.
It seems that the city council of St Paul Minnesota has outlawed (gulp) the Easter Bunny.
What's really funny is the reason.
It might offend non-Christians.
I read this while looking at an article by Cal Thomas, who said, in a nutshell, that people just don't get Easter.
I would like to inform the fine city council of St Paul that the Easter Bunny did not die a cruel death on a cross, then rise on the the third day.
In fact, the Easter Bunny was probably created to make Easter more attractive to those who either deny Christ or simply don't want to think about it.
This really doesn't surprise me, in a culture that is so paranoid about offending anyone, except Christians of course.
But pick on the poor Easter Bunny?
Shocking.
Maybe if I'm offensive, the city of St Paul will outlaw me.
Well it's not like me, but I'm going to try it.
1. I want to be offensive to those who only come to church on Easter and Christmas. The church and the sacred holidays were not created so you can dress up nice and show up twice a year. I really think some of you think your doing the church a favor by showing up. Your always welcome however, and that welcome goes for all the other Sundays as well.
2. I want to be offensive to Sunday morning "tippers". You know, the people who throw God a dollar every Sunday. I mean they have been giving God a dollar for thirty years. Doesn't God deserve a cost of living increase? You probably got a raise, shouldn't God get one? Look if your REALLY that poor, just keep your buck. You must need your cash more than the church does.
3. I want to be offensive to all of you legalistic Christians. I have actually witnessed, at a former church I attended, the women of the church accuse each other of wearing make-up and having finger nail polish on. I only wish I was kidding. When you start focusing on "rules" and stop doing ministry, it won't be long and you will be the only one sitting in your church. Nobody else is going to be able to live up to your standards. Remember, Christ had his harshest words for those who "appeared" to be following the rules, but Jesus knew better. No one is without sin, so stop acting like you haven't even heard of the word.
4. I want to be offensive to those pastors who are bad mouthing other denominations from the pulpit. Can't you come up with something to preach about besides the church across the street (usually the one that has more cars parked in the parking lot)? Aren't you to lead your flock and let the pastor of the other church lead his? Maybe your jealous, maybe you think that your denomination is the only one that is right. If your leading your church in the right direction, God will bless you. Concentrate on that.
Man that felt good.
You will notice I was offensive to some church going folk.
Why?
Because a lot of people don't attend churches for the reasons I listed above (I'm sure there's more, but I'm kind of new at this offensive thing). They see the church saying one thing and doing another.
Look, I'm not perfect (you can ask my wife about that one) and I hope I'm not making anyone believe that I am. I am a poor excuse for a follower of Christ. I sin every day with my thoughts and in my heart. I am nothing without the Grace of God, because I will never be "good enough".
And I hope your not offended by that.

The Wrong Answer

As hard as it is to believe, I wasn't surprised.
I was listening to a radio program the other day while going home from work, the host was interviewing a man who had spent 3 years (off and on) as a homeless man.
He was a college student who wanted to know what life was like out on the streets and he was a Christian.
Maybe you can see where I'm going.
The host asked how he was received at the churches he attended, in the cities he did his homeless act in.
The responses he got from the churches didn't surprise me, some escorted him off the church grounds, some asked if they could help him. It was a pretty even mix.
But then he told the story of asking a pastor of a church if the church could help him get some food. The guy was really playing the part of a homeless man, he hadn't eaten for quite a while and he hadn't showered in a week.
The pastor's response?
"We don't do that, we feel God has called us just to worship".
Am I surprised by that?
No.
You see if we are honest we at least feel the same way about dirty people or lost people or hurting people as the pastor of that church. We just don't say it.
It makes following Christ pretty easy, I don't have to care about anybody or anything else. We just want to worship in our little club. There is no risk of being taken advantage of or being deceived. The best part is we can keep the undesirable people out while keeping the "good" people in.
Now I think most churches have figured out that some people simply work the system to keep from working. It's sad when the church has to look out for con artists.
But we are not talking about money in this case. We are talking about food. Driving somebody down to Mickey D's.
I wonder how the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand would have went, "I'm sorry about the fact you are all hungry, I didn't come to earth to feed you". "That's not my thing, my Father called me to die on the cross for you, that's it". "Get a job or eat before you come next time".
I don't think the story would have worked as well.
God has called us to take care of "the least of these". Like it or not (and let's be honest, you and I don't like it) the church has been called to help people. We are to worship, but it can't end there. We cannot wrap ourselves into the church and take a blind eye to the needs around us.
Now before you think I'm perfect, don't. I struggle here as much as anyone else. I have a bad habit of judging people by what I see. I have to make that leap of faith, and begin the relationship process. As I have grown older, I find it a little easier to do. I still have a long way to go.
You see our love is so conditional, I will love the people like me, who think like I do, who believe like I do. I'm really glad that Christ's love for us isn't conditional, we would all be in trouble.
I hope the dirty, lost and hurting find love when they come to you.
Or will they find that the love you claim to have for Christ leaves you with no room to love others.

Your gonna, and you do, but you may not realize it

You will worship.
Now you may be reading this and think, "I don't worship anything or anybody".
But your wrong.
I never really thought about it until I read the "Purpose driven life". The part where it says we are created to worship.
You know I really had not looked at worship that way.
I don't know how your day starts, but mine starts with a 35-40 minute commute, and I see all of you Earnhardt people. I don't think a day goes by that I don't see a number "3" on the back of somebody's windshield (also I think I have seen Calvin pee on everything that a kid can pee on). You may not think you worship the man, but I think several worship his memory.
The more I thought about it, even good Christian people worship things besides Christ, take me for instance. I have composed a list of the things I worship;
The LA Dodgers (I have enough Dodgers stuff to make a Giants fan go into a rage).
My shop (it's really cool, concrete floor and everything).
The TV (where I spend way way way to much time).
My Kubota (bigger than a garden tractor).
The Green Bay Packers (only when their winning).
Honda Ridgeline (I don't even have one of those, but man they are so cool).
The old Dodge Chargers (see old blog on that one).
My money (I don't have a great deal of this, but I can tie up what I do have in more cool stuff).
Naval history (I have enough books on this subject to start my own library).
My computer (spend way to much time playing games that make the free world safe from any possible threats).
And that's just the short list.
Now I have poked a little fun at myself, but if we are really honest with ourselves we can find all kinds of things that we chase after, cheer for, and well, worship and since God created us to do that, we are only doing what comes natural.
But here is the problem, our God is a jealous God.
Now I'm not saying that we shouldn't have hobbies or other interests, but we have to be careful that these things don't become our gods.
Even our own children can become our objects of worship.
It brings us back to our need for Christ and His grace, because as I am a blaring example, we are not a perfect people. Having said that however we do need to take a serious look at what or who we worship. I remember Christ telling His would be followers that the cost of following Him would be high. It would mean to follow and worship Him only. For some the cost was simply to high.
I have heard it said that you can tell what or who a person worships by looking at their checkbook and by looking at how they spend their time.
We might find that the person we worship the most is...ourselves.

My Prayer

I need a minute with you.
I know it seems like I ask you for a lot of stuff, like your Santa Claus. I guess it comes from hearing others pray for stuff. It just seems natural to ask for people to be well, blessings for me, my family, my church.
I've tried talking to you like I would talk to my friends, but it just doesn't seem right. Besides I find myself asking my friends for stuff too.
Why do I find myself asking for this or that? Is it my selfish heart? Probably, I can be selfish, and if anybody would know that, you would.
I can find so many more things to do than spend time with you.
I know that's not fair, you have given me far more than I deserve. You have blessed me in so many ways, my work, my family, my home, my friends, my church. Not to mention that eternal life thing. That's a pretty good return for what little I have given you.
I guess that brings up something that I know we have talked about before.
You know what this is about.
Man have we been over this ground before.
And I have a simple way out of this.
Just tell me what you want me to do. I mean it.
And I don't want the still small voice thing, I want the answer in a LOUD CLEAR VOICE.
Let's not mess around. I'm 40 for pete's sake so I've only got a few good years left.
Also, while were at it, and me being selfish of course, I hope you take into consideration what I have now. My boys love the school they attend, my wife has her dream job, and as far as my job goes, this is the best place I have ever worked. You wouldn't throw a wrench into all of that, would you?
Look, a lot of people have told me I should do this, but I'm very interested in what you think.
So let's have it, yea or nay. Tell me what you want, and then let's move on. I need to know what you want from me. This question has been driving me nuts for years, so let's finish this, here and now.
Do you really think I have the heart for this? I'm curious as to why you made me with the gifts I have. Am I doing all that you want me to do or do you have something bigger for me?
Remember, LOUD CLEAR VOICE.
Well I'm going to wrap this up, but before I go, do you remember the love letter I sent the girl I would eventually marry? I know you do. I told her that I thought you had something special planned for my life, I just wasn't sure what that would be.
Well here I am, twenty years later, and I'm still not sure.
I'm glad your a patient God.
Amen.

The church revival in today's culture

Are they still relevant?
My church just completed a 4 night revival. Every spring we try to plan a revival, and we have had some great speakers.
Our latest revival was no different.
Pastor Brian Miller came and shared his heart with us. He brought his worship band from his church and they rocked.
As I listened to his messages I had to cover up my toes. Maybe Brian and I are so close that God used him to speak to me. It was the message my church and myself needed to hear.
I find that revivals have changed a lot over the years. In the old days, revivals were places where the lost came in droves to find Christ. Some revivals were extended because people just kept coming and accepting Christ. That still happens at some crusades. But church revivals have changed.
The truth is that the lost in our world are not coming to revivals, or church for that matter. In the old days people had at least grown up in or around church. They had learned some stuff in Sunday schools when they were young because almost everybody went to some church. If you didn't go to church, you were a heathen and no self respecting person wanted that label.
Fast forward about 40-50 years and we find in today's culture that many are growing up without ever stepping into a church.
What changed?
You can point your finger at many things, the church not changing with the times in respect to it's worship and it's ministries, ignoring the needs of the communities that it served, internal scandals and strife, the focus on itself. That was just the short list.
I have some other ideas, and Brian touched on them beautifully.
Reason #1
We don't want imperfect people in our midst.
That sounds strange, you know, since nobody's perfect, but I'm afraid it's true. We like order, we like to be around people who know the rules and abide by them. Sit down and shut up, keep your kids under control or take them out. You see that way everybody can come and worship without feeling uncomfortable. Of course the problem with this is two fold. First we forget that we AREN'T perfect and second, no lost person wants to come within 10 miles of the church for fear that they will have to become perfect or get "the look". People don't need to be looked down upon and guess what, they won't make an effort to get up, get them and the kids ready, just to come and feel like they don't belong. Stick a thousand "welcome" signs on the church if you want to, but it's just not going to happen. The church thinks that it's friendly, and they are, to the extent that we will stick out our hands (sometimes), but really develop a relationship?
Forget about it.
Reason #2
The church stopped jumping.
I guess you had to be at the revival to get that one, but in a nutshell the church got comfortable and it just sat down. God wants to give us an adventure, but we would rather sit on the bench. There are so many people in need, so much work for us to do, and God is waiting for His church to move. I have to agree with what Brian said, instead of moving we decide to wrap ourselves into our church so much that we stop listening to what is going on outside the four walls of our sanctuary. Following Christ becomes tradition, service times, and announcements in the bulletin. But it's safe, nice and comfortable. God gives us what we want, and our church slowly dies a quiet death.
I think that there is a need for revival in our churches today, and Brian addressed that need. The Christians of today's church need to be reminded on what the cost of following Christ is.
And if anybody needed to be reminded, that person is me.

War

Okay, I have a question.
Think about the battles that the people of Israel fought with the surrounding nations. The ones that God told them to fight.
Got it?
Now my question, why did God make them fight?
I mean look, God could have simply said the word and blammo! Enemy dead.
The way it worked out, they fought and they died. The battle was won (or lost depending on what God wanted them to do) but at a human cost.
I know the simple answer is that man sinned and because of that we die. I got that part, but why did God make his own people fight?
War is a horrible thing, nation verses nation. Young and old, soldier and civilian suffer. Families are torn apart, huge amounts of money are expended and the scars can last a lifetime.
The only answer I can come up with is that God wanted the victory to cost something. It would make His people appreciate their freedom more if it cost them.
It may not be the right answer, but it's the only thing I can come up with.
People have asked me about the current war, is it right or is it wrong? As a Christian I have the same thoughts that Alvin York had before he entered the fighting of WWI. The book says not to kill (the book being the Bible), so we shouldn't kill.
I have to remember that the same God who gave Moses those words also told the people of Israel that when He gave the go ahead to go to war, in some of the instances they were to kill EVERYTHING. Men, women and children, period.
So when God said "Do not kill" He must have been speaking of murder, outside of the war scenario.
The human part of me wants to see Muslim terrorists pay for 9-11, and I think that's a fairly common reaction to the attacks that were made on the United States.
So my problem is balancing forgiveness and revenge.
Pretty tough to do.
I've thought a lot lately about war and it's cost. I watch youngsters play war, cowboys and Indians and I wonder, where do they learn to fight?
If we are created in God's image (which we are) and the Bible says that God is a warrior, do we have the warrior instinct in us? Are we born with the instinct to fight to protect our loved ones and our way of life?
I have a great respect for veterans of all wars. They went when their nation called. Many didn't get the chance to come home. We owe a them a great deal.
Should we be in Iraq? You can argue that one pretty hard either way and I will not muddy the waters here. As long as their are Americans risking their lives in harms way, they have my support.
So for now wars and rumors of wars will be our lot. I'm looking forward to the time Isaiah spoke about, when soldiers will have no need for their boots anymore, and we will burn all of the bandages.
Peace.

The Truth part 2

I have a request.
Brian commented, "I'm not sure where you landed on this. Maybe you didn't land, but the ending felt like an abrupt landing. I'd really like to hear you say some more about this."
Well the last post may have pushed the deep thinking part of my brain past its limits, but I'll try to explain my thoughts (if that's possible).
I have always watched people from a distance, to watch how they act and react. To listen to their words, their passions. To read their body language, the volume of their voice and their swagger. But what I find most interesting is how people convey to others and how people respond to the truth.
If that truth is the Word of God, people respond differently. The parable of the sower is a good example of what people do with truth. They accept or reject.
Now let's just say for fun we want to change the truth.
Let's say we don't like what we hear, so we create our "truth". When told we are wrong we cry foul and say "there really isn't one truth" and "our truth is just as good as yours!"
But is it the truth?
Hitler was a master at creating and conveying his special "truth". He worked the podium and speaker in such a way that made people follow him to their ultimate defeat and destruction. I think these people wanted so badly to believe in what Hitler was saying, that they looked the other way and began to believe every word that he said.
Is truth, like beauty, in the eyes of the beholder?
Let's take something from today, like global warming. You can find a hundred scientist who say it exists, and you can find a hundred who say it doesn't. And while I'm sure they can all give us data to prove their points, I wonder, does how they see the world influence how the see global warming? Would a scientist who worked for Greenpeace see the data in the same way the Heritage Foundation scientist would? My guess is no.
The data would be the constant, or truth, yet these two very different groups would see the data or truth in a very different light. Each would promote their version of the truth to be the correct truth.
I guess maybe what I'm ultimately saying is that we have so many different views of the world and we now have so many ways of distributing our views that we have the ability to convince people of things, that may not be the truth.
Look at reality television.
While it claims to be "reality", I would contend that it is really the farthest thing from reality. Even shows that do a good work, like re-doing homes or the super nanny, are not reality. If you have brats for kids or need a home make over, chances are they are not going to pull up at your door. The real reality is your going to have to fix those things yourself. Waiting on the lottery? The truth is that the odds are so far out that you might have a better chance of being hit by lightning.
And yet.
Because people want to believe in something, a truth that really isn't truth, that they continue to hope their six numbers come up, or the super nanny just happens to hear the kids fighting and pops in.
Truth is sometimes what we want it to be, not what it really is.
Many people want to believe there isn't a hell, they want to believe that everybody goes to heaven with a harp and a new set of wings. That becomes their truth. They simply refuse to listen or believe anything else.
I hope as a people we never stop searching for the real truth, but when we find it we must set aside our feelings and judge the truth on its own, without an agenda.
This probably will not answer Brian's questions, and the truth is it may have him asking even more questions.
But for right now, my brain hurts.

The Truth

Is there anything more elusive?
It is something that everyone longs for, yet when confronted with it, the same people deny it. I have wanted to talk about it for so long, but I just couldn't find the words to express my feelings. I did today.
I was reading an article about the British right wing historian David Irving's contention that the holocaust did not happen. His point was that most of the millions of Jews that died at the concentration camps, died of diseases and not by the use of torture and the gas chambers.
His argument is not new, many people deny the holocaust for one reason or another, usually because it goes along with their hatred of the Jews. Now that David has been sentenced to 10 years for making these allegations, he has now stated that the holocaust did happen.
So truth is relative?
We all see the world in a different light. Conservatives see truth differently than liberals do. Pro choice people see truth differently than anti-abortion people do. The NRA people see truth differently than the gun control people do. This just goes on and on.
So is truth the truth or is truth just what we think it is?
The examples of relative truth is everywhere, many people think that Elvis is still alive, that all college and pro sports are fixed, the grassy knoll, and of course the denial of the holocaust.
And yet people can look at solid evidence to the contrary, but continue to believe their "truth".
This "relative" truth creeps into our lives. We establish a position, then we create truth around that position. We yell and scream, pound our fist on the table and hold our truth to be beyond question. Even when we are proven wrong we still cannot admit that perhaps our truth wasn't the truth after all. We then go to the name calling and fit throwing phase in hopes people won't dig to deeply into our truth.
I don't like gray areas, I want the truth. It is either right or it is wrong, black or white.
I went searching for the truth about the teachings of Calvin or in other words Calvinism. I wanted to hear both sides of the argument so I bought the book "Debating Calvinism" and in it two very intelligent Biblical scholars wrote letters back and forth to each other. Each man stated his point, the other man made a counterpoint, and on and on it went. It was interesting to read each mans passion for his "truth". I'm afraid that some Biblical truths will always be a point of conflict between believers, but it is interesting the way we use our Bibles to prove our 'truths". Here was two men reading the same truth, and yet seeing two different truths.
That has always interested me.
I want to look at truth as a rock, a solid foundation, unwavering no matter what storm is raging around it. As people we should either accept it or disagree with it, but don't try to change it just because you don't like it. It is what it is.
Which brings me to my last point. We are a spiritual people, but not everyone believes in our God. They hear the truth, but because it doesn't fit their lifestyle or whatever, they search for another god. One that fits their "truth". It happened in the Old Testament as the people of Israel chased after the gods of their neighbors. The truth they had been a witness to was simply not their "truth" anymore.
So are you searching for the real truth or do you think you know what the real truth is?
It can be a tough question,
and that's the truth.

Ode to Mr Doe.

You know who you are.
I want to talk about people that don't want to be talked about.
They attend our churches, but they are very quiet, and yet their handiwork is everywhere.
In my church we have several people who work behind the scenes, and they do a great job.
I thank the good Lord we have them.
But I'm thinking of one man, and I find that most churches have at least one, that can fix anything and is always ready to donate his time and money to the church. Now I know there can be several people who fit that mold, but what is so unique about this special person is he never wants the spotlight. He hates being recognized, he just wants to serve his God with his special talents.
Now because he wants to remain out of the spotlight I won't use his name, we will call him Mr. Doe.
Mr Doe is an artist with the hammer and saw, wiring and the hedge trimmer. The church needs a new VCR-DVD combo unit, amazingly one appears, and when he is asked about it he calmly says that "I saw one fall out of the back of a truck I was following, I stopped and picked it up and it still works", (I have to admit I fell for this at first, until he told me the same thing about a new bathroom sink the church needed).
I want so badly to tell you who he is, I love this guy and I think his work needs to be recognized, but I can't and I won't.
It is so neat that in this day and age of self gratification and ego stroking there are people who want just to serve without recognition.
So many will do things in the church, but they want the spotlight shined on them. Look what I did, look at what I have sacrificed. See how special and important I am. It becomes less Christ service and more self service.
So today Mr. Doe I want to shine a little light on you, both in my church and in the other churches your special kind attend all over the world. You may think that nobody knows what you do, but don't worry, God knows and He will reward you when it counts. I thank the Lord for you and your kind. You are an example of true servant hood, and my hope is that we all catch your kind and gentle spirit.
To coin a bad commercial slogan,
this blogs for you!

Youth Night

I hate having this feeling.
Every so often my youth group has the Sunday evening service. They pick the music and the format. They pretty much have free reign. As with most teens they needed a little prodding from me to come up with something. All in all it went pretty well, they decided to do the same thing upstairs as we do downstairs when we are by ourselves.
The way we start our time together is spending about 10 minutes just talking. I bring some pop and sometimes I'll bring some chips. I let them talk about anything and everything that goes on in their life. So to emulate that I had the adults just take 5 minutes to meet and greet. They got up a walked around and talked to each other. I thought that was pretty cool. So far so good.
I had the girls lead us in a couple of worship songs. That was fine, I like it when they pick the music because it's something that's got a pretty good beat to it.
Then came game time.
I played a version of Hollywood squares, I picked a couple of ladies from the congregation and I had my teens be the squares. Everything was going fine, until...
one of the ladies picked a teen boy. Now this kid is a great kid, but he is one of the shy ones. He would do anything that I would ask him to do, as long as it wasn't anything that would shine the spotlight directly on him. I asked him a question, and then I realized what I had done. I put the spotlight on him. He stammered, answered the question with the wrong answer and then blurted out "I don't know". I instantly knew I had messed up.
After our game we did our lesson, which funny enough was on wisdom. Boy if anyone needed to hear that one it was me. As I did the lesson I couldn't help but feel horrible about what I had done. I should have picked a multiple choice question for him. I really blew it.
I remember back to my Campus Life days, I was doing a lesson on dating. I said something like "you go to her parents house and you discover that her mom is crazy". I said it really without thinking, I thought it was funny because that situation would NEVER happen, right? Well wrong, one of my kids mothers had some mental illness issues. He was hurt by what I had said. I didn't mean to hurt anyone and I didn't know about her illness, but yet I had hurt someone.
I hate that feeling.
It's times like these that make me want to crawl back to my pew and become a spectator. Just become a pew potato. Just sit and watch others do stuff. No risk of hurting anyone, no risk of making the wrong call. No risk at all.
Many people have told me that I would make a good pastor, I always smile and thank them for their comment, but I know in my heart that sooner or later my mouth would get me in trouble. I know pastors aren't perfect and I know I'm not perfect. But the reality is that many people think that they should be. Always say the right thing at the right time. I have never been able to do that. Much like my young friend, I stammer and when something does come out, it's never good enough in my eyes.
God uses imperfect people. I understand my role as a leader is to listen to God. To do the best that I can with what God has given me. I just wish that I could do that without messing up. I know that nobody does it without making mistakes, but when your a leader, messing up can hurt a lot of people.
And I just hate that feeling.

Turning 40

It really caught me off guard.
My father was leaving the hospital again, I was going to bring him home. Neither of us knew that in a few short months he would be gone.
He was dressed and ready to go, all but his shoes and socks. He got himself to the edge of the bed, looked down, and asked me something that he had never asked me before.
"Could you put them on for me buddy?"
I paused for a second, and began to put my dad's shoes and socks on his feet.
It's hard to explain what I felt. This was my father, the man I never could beat arm wrestling, the man who could lift anything and work from dawn to dusk with energy to spare. He had been growing weaker as time had past and I knew that, but I was jolted by his request. How many times had he put my shoes and socks on when I was a boy, and now I was doing it for him. It just seemed strange and foreign to me.
I have not looked at life the same since.
I guess as you get older you start to understand the life cycle more, as a Christian you begin to understand God's plan for a man's life. You really start understanding the "life is but a vapor" verse.
Now I'm not whacked out about turning 40, I'm not going to buy a sports car or anything like that. In fact I feel the same now as I did when I turned 30.
But there have been some changes.
My hair certainly is grayer, I have strange spots on my face and I have noticed a few more aches and pains, but other than that, I'm okay.
If anything is bothering me it's the speed at which time flies. My next 40 years, if the good Lord grants me that, probably will not be as much fun. Will the next 40 go as fast as the first?
Well enough of that, since I have become wiser in my years, I would like to make the following observations about life.
1. I have become content with who I am. I don't mean that in the "I'm perfect and don't need to improve" way. I mean that in the "I'm not sorry I wasn't a rock star" way. I made my life choices, for better or for worse, and I'm okay with where I have ended up. God has taken all of my questionable choices and turned them into blessings. God does that kind of stuff.
2. We are a people of extremes. Some might say that this is a recent thing, but I'm not so sure. As I study history I find that free people sometimes take extreme views. Freedom allows that.
If you think I'm wrong, think about the civil war. Talk about extremes. I think we just have more media outlets and talking heads who want to talk about their views.
3. People don't listen. Listening is a lost art. Everybody wants to talk, share what they think is right, but they refuse to listen to any other view. What's worse is that we don't even let people share their views because we have made our minds up that we are right and they are wrong. Let's have some conversation, and then decide how we feel about it.
4. I have become amused and saddened at the lengths men will go to find happiness.
5. I am neither Democrat or Republican. I vote for the man I feel will do the best job.
6. A bad day at the ocean is better than the best day at work.
7. A great wife and great sons bring their husband/father much joy.
(I'm starting to sound like King Solomon)
8. If you want to help your church, start by getting yourself closer to God.
9. I really don't think Phil Collins has that great of a voice, but he is one of my favorite singers.
10. I'm not an ultra conservative, but I have to admit I read Ann Coulter and Mike Adams.
11. I don't understand some pastors who think they have to use vulgar language to get their message out. Did Jesus do that?
12. While I'm on pastors, were does it say that all Christians will and should be healthy and wealthy?
13. The homosexual lifestyle is NOT pleasing to God. If you think it is, your reading the wrong Bible.
14. I am willing to admit I have made mistakes in my life that have hurt people.
15. Christians are not perfect, but somehow the rumor got started that we are.
16. The 69-70 Dodge Charger has got to be the coolest car ever built.
17. Life goes by so fast, but we continue to live like we will be here forever.
18. Never say crazy things that will get put into your class yearbook. Those things live forever.
19. I have only taken one good picture of myself in my whole life, and by the way what are those humps above my eyes?
20. I am one of the few people who can give Brian Miller the neck slash sign and live to talk about it.
Well that's all for now, look out big 50!

Is your church ISO9000?

I found myself in one of those meetings again.
Oh this wasn't a church meeting, it was several years ago at the company I used to work for.
They were starting a quality program, following in the footsteps of the Ford Motor company's "quality is job one" theme. In a nutshell it basically talked about doing your job better, documenting everything, and whammo, your doing better work.
Everybody is happy right?
We starting having what seemed like dozens of meetings monthly. We talked about how to do our job's better and how we could make the process smoother.
Sounds really good doesn't it.
One problem.
We didn't talk about our customers.
What was their needs, how could we serve them better.
In our meetings we focused on ourselves, and I began to wonder, was even all the time we were taking in these meetings, causing us to ignore our customers even more?
Which brings me to today's church landscape.
Somewhere the church adapted business ideas to church growth and development. It was reasoned that if it worked for Jack at GE, it will work for the church.
So we all sat down and ground out purpose statements, I guess for some reason we forgot why our church exists.
I can just see Paul talking to the elders at Cornith, "look your never going to get anywhere until you have a bunch of meetings and come up with a purpose statement".
I know I sound cynical, and I know the church needs reminded from time to time what it's supposed to be doing.
But I really dislike the purpose statement.
It would be fine if we really believed and practiced what we spent so much time writing. The truth is we write a beautiful statement, but then we just keep doing things the way we always did. The other thing is this, have we become so out of whack that we need to be constantly reminded what we are here for? If that's the case we have some serious problems anyway.
I guess I hate working on something, just for the sake of working on something. If we are going to do things better, then let's do it, all the way. If your going to take up my time and just talk about doing things better, then I can find better uses for my time.
In all of this I'm afraid we are missing the point of ministry, and gauging success on numbers alone. Numbers are nice, but moving people closer in their relationship with Jesus is even better. I find that when we do that, numbers don't become a problem.
I heard today that Ford is laying off. It's really sad that many people are losing their jobs.
Did Ford become more concerned with their profits than their customers? If Ford's culture was truly the best quality going, would they be in this mess?
Tough questions.
Maybe a better one is, which model is the church going to follow?
Ford or Jesus Christ?
Hmmmmm.

Take care of things...

"Take care of things until I get back"
Those words still echo in my mind. I was all of 10 years old, the oldest child in my family and my Dad was leaving.
He had to leave a lot when I was young, he worked at a pipeline company and sooner or later a pipe somewhere would start leaking. It was usually far enough away that Dad would have to be gone for weeks at a time, coming home only on the weekends.
Being 10 I really didn't think about it that much, Dad always came home. When he would walk in the door Friday night my sisters and I would jump on him and hug him, just tickled to death to see him again. I will never forget that oil smell in his clothes. It didn't matter what he smelled like.
Dad was home.
As I grew older I began to realize what "take care of things while I'm gone" meant. Dad's job was dangerous, he would weld on pipes that only moments before had oil, gasoline or other flammables running through it. I watched them carry my dad home once, he had broken his foot. He had been on fire, had a ditch cave in on him, and eventually he was crushed by pipe rolling down a ditch on top of him. He survived but it damaged his back to the point he couldn't do his job anymore. I never thought for a moment he wouldn't come back.
On the weeks he was gone my job was to take care of the chores, mowing and keeping wood in the stove. When we lived in the country, I fed the chickens and slopped the pigs (thankfully we only had 7 pigs and it didn't last very long). Dad counted on me to keep things going while he was gone. To keep an eye on things, help Mom and look after my siblings. Mom did most of it herself but I helped where I could.
Now that my father is with the Lord I still hear his words, "take care of things". What that means to me is that my responsibilities are to my family. My wife, children, Mom and my brothers and sisters. Dad would want me to watch over things for him in his absence. It was taught to me in my youth and I take that very seriously.
I have thought about what Jesus said when He left earth. He was saying take care of things until I get back. Take care of my family, my children. I will return, but until I do I want you to continue the work I started. Love each other and care for each other.
If I had to sum up what the church needs to do, it's to take care of things until our Father comes back. We are the Jesus that people are going to see. We are his representatives in His absence. We are to follow in His footsteps, not because of our feeling of duty, but because we love our Lord so much, we want Him to return and be pleased with us.
Church isn't about membership, money or service times.
It's about taking care of things until He returns.

What it's all about

The room was slightly dark as my mother in law walked into the room.
She went to the nursing home to visit an elderly lady who was not expected to make it through the night. The oxygen mask could not hide the smile she gave when my mother in law squeezed her hand.
"I'm going to see Jesus, maybe tonight"
As my mother in law shared that with the Bible study group, I couldn't help but say a few "amens" to myself, my eyes teared up.
And my load lightened.
I can get really wrapped up in life. My plans and ambitions. What I feel is important. I can get equally wrapped up in church leadership. Doing stuff. Go, go, go.
And, to quote Solomon in Ecclesiastes, it is meaningless.
I don't mean that we should just sit around and be depressed because of that, but we should remind ourselves about what life is really all about.
It isn't what you see on the commercials you watch. It isn't the latest church growth fad. It isn't wealth or a hottie on your arm.
Should we work in church? Of course, but are the things that we feel are important, REALLY important?
Are we showing love or are we just talking about showing love?
Are the church doors really open to anybody or is their people we would rather not see in "our" church?
Is the property of the church, it's money and it's buildings more important than it's mission?
You see when it's all over, is it really going to matter if we had a balanced budget?
Tough questions.
And answered, at least I feel, by a little old lady who was excited and looking forward to seeing her savior face to face.
You see everything in life needs to prepare us for that meeting. I think we get so busy sometimes we wouldn't have enough time to meet with Him.
Think I'm kidding?
How much time do you spend each day talking to Him?
Don't have the time? Hmmmm.
I wish anyone who reads this success and happiness.
Just make sure in the end you can smile and say...
I'm going to see Jesus, maybe tonight!!

Keep on keeping on

I had forgotten I had it.
In 2000 a brother in Christ had given me a devotional, it was neat, but I had packed it away into one of the many piles of books I have.
Being the new year I thought I would try to get myself back into some serious devotions.
Why had I stopped?
Well that is an interesting question.
Before my father passed away I was doing a devotional, keeping a spiritual journal, and even walking on a treadmill!!
And then my world crashed, my Dad died.
This may sound weird but even the town seemed like a different place because he was not in it anymore.
I know this may seem like a strange reason to stop doing devotions, I wasn't mad at God, my Dad had made the bad choices. It just seemed like my stride had been broken.
This brings us to today.
Being the new year I thought it was time to get back into it. Some serious time into God's word and some serious prayer time.
I opened my 6 year old devotional and guess what the first topic was about.
Perseverance.
You know, going strong even when the tough times come. Working even when the end is no where in sight.
Paul likened our journey to a race, a really long race. Which got me thinking.
I hate to run.
Running long distances is not my thing. When I was younger I would have much rather run the 50 yard dash instead of a long distance run. Face it, running a long race takes endurance, endurance comes from running, did I mention I hate to run?
You see if we are going to run in this race called life, and run it in a way that reflects Christ, it will take endurance. It will take training our hearts and minds to think in a new way, it means devoting time to our Savior and His words. Only then can we be prepared to handle all the stuff that gets thrown at us while we are running on the track.
But it means taking the time. Personal study, prayer and corporate worship are the means by which we gain endurance. We have to make these things our number one priority, even when we lose our stride, even when we just don't feel like it. We will have rest one day, but until then we must keep training.
So I have committed myself to get back into the word everyday and spend some serious one on one time with God everyday. I have to say it has made a difference already.
Now if I can just get back on the treadmill...