The Church's Blurred Vision!

So some days I wonder just what God really intended for us as he birthed the Church. Meetings, church camp, ministries, special services, more meetings, extra sermons, reports, deadlines, building issues, more reports, youth trips…don’t get me wrong, I am truly blessed and I know it, but is that what God had in mind for us? I know we are not perfect…neither was the early church, just read Acts 5 & 6…seems like we've had problems from the beginning. It’s as if the church simply blinked and immediately lost it’s focus…I mean, what part of “go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19) don’t we understand? Yeah, I know there are many, many ways to make disciples, and I believe that many trying have the purest of motives, still, we get caught up in numbers, buildings, the latest programs, and competing with other churches for sheep instead of reaching out to a mission field that is ripe for harvest. How did this happen? Better yet, how do we return to the mission that God called us to…nothing more, nothing less? I am looking forward to calming my mind and spirit and re-focusing as I journey through this Holy Week. By God’s grace I want to reclaim, perhaps we all can reclaim, our focus on the charge placed before us: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Some Days...

Well, I’ve had one of those weeks! Did you think I had left the country? I thought of it, but I've been too blessed at the same time…blessings first. Camp meetings: yeah I realize that meetings are not a blessing, but if any ever will become a blessing it will be camp meetings. Worship: I had the privilege of worshipping at Jesus es el Senor last Sunday with fourteen crazed females (you figure out which was the blessing)! This is at least my second best confirmation class ever…maybe the best! Funeral: funerals are generally not a blessing, but I was asked to go back to the Sesser area and help memorialize one of the saints there…what a privilege…and good to see some faces again. Finally, missionaries: Rev. Anna Kpaan from Liberia was at Sumner UMC visiting on Wednesday night…truly a blessing. Now, the curse: my computer all but lay down and died late last week, so I bought a new laptop…wait for it…got a good deal I think and it will serve me well for several years…wait for it…but I already have the program Microsoft Office 2007, which I rely heavily on…AND I CANNOT FIND IT!!!!!! AGGGGGG! So, I’ve got a new laptop with a super-duper fast processor and an ancient word processing program…which is barely compatible, but I do have it up and working while I search my office and home for the box that contains MS Office 2007. Should you hear a loud and exuberant Woo Hoo! over the weekend, you will know I found it. Until then, I think I am back online.

Cannonball!

Need a laugh? I recently received this video from a friend and there are so many sermons in this short clip on such doctrines as forgiveness…grace…stupidity! However, it really explains better than words why I prefer to deal with girls rather than boys, both at home and in church. You gotta love this little guy, and the miraculous restraint of the pastor…I thought this type of stuff only happened to me. Listen closely to the remarks of the pastor and enjoy.

The Verdict

As we now read thru the Gospel of John an I again encounter the story of the woman caught in adultery, I was reminded of a devotion I read once from Max Lucado, from his work “Grace for the Moment.” I recalled my reaction to it the first time I read it several years ago now, the liberating tone, and thought someone else might need to hear it…but pause just a moment and first read John 7:53-8:11.

If you have ever wondered how God reacts when you fail, frame the words of John 8:11 and hang them on the wall. Jesus said to her, “I also don’t judge you guilty. You may go now, but don’t sin anymore.” Read them often...ponder them. Or better still, take Him with you to your canyon of shame. Invite Christ to journey with you…to stand beside you as you retell the events of the darkest night of your soul. And then listen. Listen carefully. He’s speaking… “I don’t judge you guilty.” And watch. Watch carefully. He’s writing. He’s leaving a message…not in the sand, but on the cross. Not with his hand, but with his blood. His message is two words: Not guilty.

Got Revival?

I will confess that I have been running on empty lately…too many meetings, workshops, and paperwork crowded into too short a period of time. However, the past four days I have experienced revival at the hands of Mike Rayson. For me, to be able to sit in a worship service without having to plan it or worry about the flow of the service is renewal in itself, but to hear the music and preaching of my friend is that shot in the arm that not only boosts my system, it inoculates me against any future fatigue, at least for a time. Now I look forward to worshipping at Jesús es el Señor near Cobden next Sunday with the confirmands. That will be another big shot in the arm. Easter follows soon and holy week is always an uplifting time for me, regardless of what services I attend or lead. Then immediately following Easter I will attend the Gathering on the Holy Spirit in Decatur. This has been a time of Spirit-filled preaching in the past and this year looks just as promising as Bishop Palmer will bring the message one evening. I can feel my battery being charged even now. Here’s my point to all of this…there are numerous opportunities to worship and experience renewal, we just have to intentionally put ourselves in those places. If we don't we will eventually begin believing a lie of satan; O woe is me, there just isn’t enough time for all this busywork. Oh, and by the way, congrats to the Sesser-Valier Red Devils and their near-perfect run for the class 1A State Championship…second place in the state is nothing to be ashamed of!

Thing You Don't Say to Your Wife

I must look as if I need a laugh, because I’ve received several Christian comedian videos by email lately, most recently Dennis Swanberg’s story of Bengy and the Zipper. It is hilarious (you can search YouTube for it), but here is another one of my favorites from Tim Hawkins, who I introduced to you about a month ago with a different clip when he was at VU. This one is for all of the men who are married…I guess this could be considered a public service announcement ‘cause it’s just plain good advice. Enjoy!

The Church--A Secret Society!

I hate being gone…today I am running around trying to catch up like a…well, you can insert your own image here! Fact is, it is usually more work catching up than it’s worth being gone, but that is not the case this time. The Fruitful Congregation Leadership Institute was well worth the aggravations I’m suffering today. The workshop, with a theme of Radical Hospitality, focused on those in our community that we often don’t even see. I have stated before that there are people in our communities who do not see our churches anymore. We are nothing more than uninteresting scenery to them. They have driven by our buildings for so long, never seeing any activity there (cars in the parking lot on Sunday mornings does not count as an activity), that they no longer wonder what goes on in there. It's like we've become a secret society to them. To complicate the matter, we church folk are the same…we have seen un-churched and marginalized people in our communities for so long that they no longer stand out to us, or if we still see them we avoid the places they congregate, and well, out of sight, out of mind. We all know that Christ died for them too, but how do we re-connect with our communities? Isn’t that what Jesus calls us to do…reach the lost with the good news? Church we’ve got lots of work to do, all of us, and until we decide to seriously carry out the Great Commission, we will never break the bonds that render us ineffective.

God Help Us!

I had a conversation with someone recently that made this remark: “If I could ask one thing of God it would be that tornados would destroy every church in our town…maybe then the church folk would work together.” I know that person’s pain. Perhaps the greatest attribute of our God is his longsuffering. God surely tears up when he sees his children…this is church folk I am speaking of…fighting and fussing with one another over utterly insignificant issues, harboring un-forgiveness and jealousy toward each other. Don’t misunderstand me, doctrine is important, as is interpretation, but more important is our ability to work together for the Kingdom. Jesus never called us to grow a church or a ministry; he calls us to further the Kingdom. Your church, my church, the ministerial alliance, para-church ministries, study groups and mission organizations are all worthless if they are not building up the Kingdom. Now, I realize there are many, many ways to do that, but we are not doing it when churches compete against each other for people or programs, or when believers debase other believers, regardless of where their church membership is, or isn’t. Now, I’ll be honest, I am not sure having all the church buildings destroyed in any one community will unite the Christians of that community…though it might stop the bickering for a moment…but prayer will. So, if you want to see the Kingdom ushered in, pray for other churches, for your church, for other believers, and pray for yourself! Pray that God would love all the other believers through you. If we would all do that, we might just see the Kingdom.

Mighty to Save!

I have been walking around for a couple of days humming the chorus “What a Mighty God We Serve.” If you don’t recognize the title, it’s because it’s an oldie, but a goodie that I haven’t heard for several years. Well, they played it on the radio a few days ago and now it’s stuck in my head. One of the reasons I can’t shake it might be because I have run across some folks recently who either don’t know, or don't believe, how mighty our God is. It’s true, Jesus said we would have trials and tribulations, but that wasn’t because he feared them…it was so we might glorify God through them. I don’t know about your god, but my God owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10), so I do not need to worry about resources, He will provide for my needs…and my God is the great Physician, the Lord who heals (Exodus 15:26), so I will not fear cancer or any other disease…and regardless of what I go through, or what the prince of this world throws at me, this I can say about my God, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth” (Job 19:25). We do serve a mighty God; a God whose greatest might is found in the redemption of a creation that does not deserve His amazing grace!

Don't Go It Alone!

I often wonder why we choose not to put ourselves in God’s presence, or better said, why we choose to withdraw from the presence of God. It is a choice we have…in every situation. I do not see any exceptions. Even when we find ourselves entering those places where God is absent, we can/should make the choice to bring the presence and power of the Holy Spirit with us to that place. Isn’t that what Jesus asks of us…to be his witnesses…everywhere? Does not the Spirit live in us? Are we not temples of the Holy Spirit? Absolutely! The Spirit of the Living God goes with us everywhere we go; it’s when we presume to go alone, which is the downside of our freewill, that we get into trouble. It’s then we lack the power and direction of the Spirit. It’s then we fall to temptation and sin. Want to insure this never happens to you? Continually focus on the presence of the Spirit. Repeatedly acknowledge the presence of the Spirit. When you struggle, invoke the presence of the Spirit. Remember, where ever you go there is no reason to fear, He has promised to "never leave nor forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6), so, not only can you go with confidence…you can go with God!