Monthly Archives: March 2009
Shape
Ok I may catch some flack for this but I am going to put it out there anyway.
I am a scrawny guy. I am around 6’2″ and weigh around 175. But here over the last year I have started to develop a little protuding belly. I figured it came with getting older and that I would level out after a while. Well the other night my youth group noticed and called me out on it. I will admit it had been eating at me but I thought it was all in my head. But with the affirmation I am taking it seriously.
My goal isn’t to loose weight just to change shape. To see the roundness of my stomach disappear. One thing I am doing is doing away with diet soda. I learned via the Google machine that aspartame is linked to belly fat now. So I ahve abandoned the Diet Mountain Dew for Propel water.
I am currently downing the strawberry-kiwi variety. I also have eliminated snacking on cereal and crackers rather opting for apples and carrots (what we had in the fridge). I just started this a few days ago and we’ll see how well it works. The lack of caffeine is bothersome but if I can get past the headaches I will be in good shape.
Cut ‘em Loose
Something me and my wife had to learn the hard way early on in our ministry was when to cut people loose. That is, to cut them out of our social circle. We have found in the ministry that people will take advantage of your friendship and try to use it to their advantage. Some will take your shared secrets and spread them around some will use their infuence to gain control some will even try to upstage you and some will just flat out lie about you. I remember a time when a friend took ideas from us and passed them off as their own all while putting us in a bad light.
As painful and as cruel as it may seem there comes a time when you have to cut people off. Ministry is a delicate thing and we have to be careful to guard ourselves against our integrity being marred and if you have people in your inner circle who are not adhering to the standards of integrity then it is time to cut them loose. I would even venture to say that you should be proactive. We were in a situation that was heresay at best but it was not the first instance and though we never knew exactly what had happened or what had been said we knew that it was happening far to often. So we cut ‘em loose.
It hurt. It really did and it still does looking back now years later , but it was necesary.
Proverbs 30:7-9
Francis Chan Posted a video not long ago about this verse. It says
Prov 30:7 There are two things, Lord, I want you to do for me before I die: 8. Make me absolutely honest and don’t let me be too poor or too rich. 9.Give me just what I need. (CEV)
Chan challenges that as Americans we are taught that to have a big 401k and a whopping savings account is the measure of success. But Biblically we are taught to be seeking only for provision for today. Notice the Lords Prayer
Mat 6:10 Come and set up your kingdom, so that everyone on earth will obey you, as you are obeyed in heaven. 11.Give us our food for today. 12.Forgive us for doing wrong, as we forgive others. (CEV)
Jesus didn’t teach us to pray for more than we needed. In Acts the new believers became aware that all they needed was to have what would sustain them .
Act 2:44 All the Lord’s followers often met together, and they shared everything they had. 45 They would sell their property and possessions and give the money to whoever needed it. 46 Day after day they met together in the temple. They broke bread together in different homes and shared their food happily and freely, (CEV)
Just when you thought it was safe…
I have held a good bit of security in the fact that my wife is a nurse and as such should be fairly secure in her employment status. Afterall we always hear about the healthcare shortage and how nurses are hard to find. I thought she had a secure place working in a trauma recovery unit. A bad economy doesn’t keep people from doing stupid stuff. Well apparently I was a little off. My wife was called in last night to a meeting at work and her unit is merging with another underperforming unit and she is one of the 50% of the work staff to go. What stinks is that if the management had their way she would have been one of the first ones kept but since everything is based off how long you have been there and not how well you have performed she was the first to get cut.
What is wrong in society when the hardest working or the best performing gets the short end. Where is the reward. My wife has been at the hospital 8 months and has already leapfrogged people who have been there for years in the eyes of her management. She has been given more responsibility and been given charge duty over people who have 3x the experience. She has received awards and recognition that previously was unheard of on her floor and yet because she has been there the shortest amount of time she is not valued enough to keep. It is no wonder many nurses are rude and uncooperative and even lazy. In a system where hard work is ignored why try?
Therefore…..
As the book of Joshua opens an interesting thing takes place. Following the death of Moses God comes to Joshua and says “My servant Moses is dead. Now, therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people to the land which I give to them, to the sons of Israel” There is no pause there is no down time from Moses’ death to the transition of leadership God gives Joshua a command straight away. In essence God is telling Joshua to move on.
I am doing a course on Joshua right now and this passage hit home. When I arrived at this church I had very little time before our pastor left. I had made it up in my mind that I was not going to press certain things because without a pastor I wasn’t capable or not responsible to put those plans in motion. But God tells us just the opposite. There is no time to pine over the loss of a leader nor is there time to sit back and wait for another person to come and take over. There is no wait for the people to get to know you period either. God wants His people to be moving forward and He expects us to be following His direction. There is no time when being idle is acceptable.
What excuses do you make to avoid doing God’s work? What obstacles are you imagining?
I heard a complaint…..
I love when people preface a conversation with this statement. To me if you say that you “heard a complaint” without saying who from or what people group you are hiding something. More than likely you mean “I have a problem but I am not willing to admit to your face that it is coming from me”.
A complaint is a complaint. We all deal with complainers in the ministry, it is unavoidable. What we can contro is how to respond to the complainers. I suggest never catering to complainers but you cannot just brush off what you are hearing. Here is what I suggest
- Take the complant in context. Where is this complaint REALLY coming from? Is it an issue that you can control or is it out of your hands? A good example of this is if your attendance is growing and a parent complains that their kid doesn’t want to come to youth group because it is boring . If other kids want to be there then why does this one kid not want to come? It could be a social situation but it could be a personal one or just simple laziness. You do not necessarily have the ability to fix it and you no matter how you change your format you are not going to win over that kid.
- Take the complainer in context. Is the person someone who is dedicated to making things better or are they a seldish person who things the world revolves around them? Some people complain just to complain. I have had, through the years, many senior adults complain about our youth program. Problem was they had never attended any youth related activity during my tenure. Their complaint was based on assumptions and second hand knowledge. These people will never be happy and trying to make them happy winds up in pointles exercises.
- Examine yourself. Is the compalint coming from one person or on a larger scale? In my current position I was faced with an issue about lack of communication. I took issue with this because I was trying to communicate. What I had to realize was that the forms of communication I had implementend were not working and I needed to go in another direction. The key here is you must look at the situation as a whole identify the problem and come with a solution on your own. Everyone and their uncle will tell you how to fix a problem but if you always follow other people’s solutions you will be changing things all the time and confusing yourself in the process. You need to come up with what solves the problem AND what works for you. If it is more than you can handle it will blow up in your face.
Again you will never get rid of complainers but there is a rpocess to go through. Don’t let things snowball before you address an issue. If you want to achieve longevity ou must be on your toes and react quickly and efficiently.
Do Not Disregard
Leviticus 10 sets up a sobering scene. Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu were offering incense to God, problem was that they were doing it incorrectly. God was extremely displeased and responded by immediately striking them dead without warning. Furtehrmore he forbid Aaron and his other sons to participate in mourning for their fallen loved ones. They had to show that they were in aggreement with what the Lord had done.
This is an incredible story. How many pastors today are doing things in their church out of selfishness and pride. How many have overlooked what is pleasing to God at the cost of His church. What about plain old Christians. I know so many people who have blamed God for their children’s death when in all actuality if their child had been living a life that was acceptable to God more than likely they would not have been in the situations that led to their death. Could we show total acceptance of God’s will in those situations. It makes me wonder and pause to evaluate where I am at in my walk with our Lord.
I like Moses’ summation of these events. In short Moses reminded Aaron that God had said to never disregard His commands. That was the command and the warning. God had a one and done policy. I am thankful that when I screw up I receive grace. How about you?
Can’t Say?
One of the downfalls of the church is that there are always nay-sayers among you. I recently posted about preaching our services a couple weeks back and I am still getting feedback from church members. Most of it is positive but I heard something last night that made me snicker. There is a group, a small group, of people that have said that I talk about things that should not be mentioned in church. I am wondering what that might be. I have a process and have outlined that here but I wonder if the people who say such things really mean they don’t want to be confronted.
I personally feel that as long as you keep from talking about topics that won’t make mothers cover their children’s ears then everything else is fair game. Some have said I get too personal and open. I challenge that and say that preachers don’t get personal enough.
I have long been told that a pastor has to keep a profesional distance from his congregation. That doesn’t seem right to me. How can you knowingly put distance between you and someone and then expect them to trust you. I understand there are some boundaries but I put myself in the place as being one of the people who just happens to have been called to lead them. I open my heart and talk about my shortcomings my fears my hopes and my dreams. Most of our people appreciate that. People like to know that their leadership gets what they are going through. They respond better when they know that the person they are following is living a Christian life that is met with struggles and hardships just like they are. I get personal in the pulpit and I intend to stay that way it seems to have been working so far why change now.
27
So today is my B-day. It is always interesting when my B-day falls on a Friday because I am always asked about being named Jason and being born on Friday the 13th. I had a toy chainsaw I would whip out years ago but I wound up losing it in a move.
Anywho… I wound up getting some great swag. Including
A new pair of black Chuck Taylors-which I have been eyeing for awhile 2 AreoPostale Tee’s A new UNC Tee And five new books- Cha-ZOWN Faking Church Life Beneath the Surface Not a Safe God and……I can’t remember right now…. But most importantly was what my wife got me….. A brand new 50” Plasma TV Yes I was excited. Yesterday I got to take a day off and was able to get away by myself and that was cool and then I hung with my bud Colt til late las night which hindered me from getting to work on time. Tonight my wife is taking me on a secret date so I am jazzed about that. It turns out 27 isn’t so bad so far. Alot like being 26 !!How I preach
I was given, and have spoken about, the opportunity to preach our AM service earlier this month. You can find that sermon HERE. I have received some pretty positive feedback and thought I would talk about how I go about my sermon prep. Now understand that I do not think I have some expertise in this quite the opposite. I have no degree and very little experience in the pulpit but I have had years of teaching experience as a Youth Minister/Pastor
1. Bathe it all in Prayer: I find that it is important not only to pray during the process of preparing a sermon but I take an extra step. The night prior to my preaching, after everyone in the house has gone to bed, I go to the church. Before I do anything I go to the altar and stay still and quiet, then after awhile I will begin to speak to God. I will tell Him what my heart has been burdened with and ask Him to remove anything that is of me and not of Him. I will pray for people who I think He would have hear this message or people I think He is preparing for service in our ministry. I will walk around the church and as God lays certain people on my heart I will pray for them specifically. I will touch every seat at least once. I will touch the instruments and pray over them as well as the sound board. At the end I will return to the altar and be silent.
2. A Message that Educates: I believe that many people in the church take the Scripture at surface level and so whenever I preach I try to peel back layers of Scripture taking it into context and revealing things about the culture and symbolism of the time. As I did last time I tried to get people to identify with the characters in the passage even if very little detail is provided sometimes if we dwell and think about what was said it can work wonders.
3 A Message that Encourages: Now this is tricky because I know I will not encourage everyone. The ones I seek to encourage are the ones in the trenches. The ones that see the ministry for what it really is. Many times that will be simply to preach a message that dwells on the next point. Unfortunately the people who need encouragement the least wnat it the most, but I feel like a congregation in the traditional declining church needs more conviction and less stroking.
4. A Message that Convicts: Let’s be honest, our world is in hellish shape. People, church people that is, need to wake up. The do not need to be told how great they are doing they need to be told it is all going to be alright. Their ears have been tickled for far to long and I follow the example of Christ and lay heavy words on the religious leaders of our time. Through these words the entrenched ministering Christians will find confirmation of what they fel and want but cannot or are to afraid to express. I had a man stop me as everyone was leaving and tell me that I made a bunch of folks mad and that that what he thought a preacher should do. And I think he was spot on. People do not like to be called out and they do not like to feel broken or imperfect and sometimes when that illusion or delusion is broken they get upset.
I am unapologetic about what I preach. Sometimes I am afraid but I try my best to listen to God. I added a story and removed a point from my sermon at the last minute simply because I thought it was too much from me and not enough from God. It is a process. I am fine tuning it. Maybe someday I will be able to preach a good one!!
