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"He said to them: A large crop is in the fields, but there are only a few workers. Ask the Lord in charge of the harvest to send out workers to bring it in." Luke 10:2 CEV

Iron Sharpens Iron

“Just as iron sharpens iron, friends sharpen the minds of each other.” Proverbs 27:17 CEV

There are no words of Scripture that hold more truth. I am part of a clergy covenant group that meets weekly for a couple of hours and it is such a blessing to be with my clergy brothers and sisters. There we sharpen each other. There we hold each other accountable. There we solve many of the Church’s and world’s problems…at least for the moment! We are a diverse group and rarely will we all agree 100% on any specific issue…but I have found that we will always learn from one another if we will listen to each other. Each of the members has something to offer and some come from unique perspectives. There is not an issue (at least yet) that we will not tackle and wrestle to some state of resolve…though sometimes we will resolve that it cannot be resolved. That leads me to this statement, “Everyone should be in an accountability group.” Clergy meeting together has certain advantages as we have sometimes experienced similar unique struggles. But whether you find or form a group with similar interests or very diverse interests, every believer should be in a group that will encourage, hold accountable, and help them “think thru” issues that they face. It may be relationship issues, ethical issues, finances, even parenting issues…in all of these, friends sharpen the minds of each other!

First Things First

Been working hard today…almost have 2012’s preaching schedule in place, just a few conflicts to work out…almost ready for confirmation to begin on Sunday, will be by then…and I’ve almost got a speaker for JHA camp next July, just waiting for her to get back to me…all in all a productive day! Still, so much more to do…that is the mindset I can get into if I am not careful (and no it is not because of the old saying, 'There is no rest for the wicked.'). God has told us that while this ‘stuff’ we do is important, it is not the most important thing to do. I assume commandments are important, otherwise why would their actions be commanded? If that is true, then the most important commandment would be the most important things we are to do. In Matthew 22 we get a glimpse of what is most important to God.  “³⁴After Jesus had made the Sadducees look foolish, the Pharisees heard about it and got together. ³⁵One of them was an expert in the Jewish Law. So he tried to test Jesus by asking, ³⁶"Teacher, what is the most important commandment in the Law?" ³⁷Jesus answered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. ³⁸This is the first and most important commandment.” There it is…no matter what you do…or even what you do that is for God, if you do not love Him with all of your heart, soul, & mind you fail to do the most important thing. In fact, that statement should order all of our relationships. I am a husband, father, brother and each of these are important, but they are not as important as my relationship with God…none of them.

Heartbreaker

 “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.” (Romans 3:22b-25a NIV)

What wonderful, encouraging words! We are all sinners…well, that is not specifically the encouraging part, though it’s true…and we are justified freely by God’s grace because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross (there it is!). And all I need do, actually all I can do, is to claim that sacrifice by faith. It’s true…Christianity is too simple for some to believe! Too many find this simple faith too difficult…people want to “do something,” but the fact of the matter is there is nothing left to do but put your faith in Jesus Christ. Still, in order to put our faith in Christ we must stop depending upon our own strength and knowledge…we must totally depend upon Christ. What boggles my mind is that most I’ve talked to will readily confess that they have tried to work/give/earn their way to heaven with no success, but some have come to the conclusion that if they cannot earn their place themselves it cannot be done. How sad…to have the Savior offering a free gift (which cost a tremendous price) and to have someone reject it because they couldn’t do it themselves…it surely breaks the Lord’s heart.

Pray the Price

I’ve begun reading what many would consider an old book…first printed in 1997 and now in its ninth printing, “Pray the Price” by Rev. Dr. Terry Teykl. In it, if I get the gest, Terry believes we have become lazy with our prayer life…those are my words, not his. That is to say we have become comfortable in our prayer life and that has in effect rendered us ineffective. Could this be true? Yeah, I’m pretty sure it is true. Terry calls us to reclaim our Wesleyan heritage of tenacious prayer evangelism and to “target the Great Commission with prayer so that by praying the price we might target this generation to Christ” (p. 21). I think he is on to something here. How many times have you invited someone to Church or to a specific church program only to have them decline with some flimsy excuse? Had you prayed about that invitation? Really prayed about it…not only about what you would say, but first whether or not God wanted you to invite them to the event? I am sorry to disappoint you, but God doesn’t want everyone to come to your church or my church. However, there are specific persons out there that He does want there and you might just be God’s preferred method of getting them there! So we need to pray…not just once or for a few days…we might well need to pray for months for God to prepare them for our invitation. If we run ahead of God, we will spend our invitation long before God is ready for us. If we drag behind, God will have them prepared and we will not be ready. So yes, we need to pray the price…and know it’s not an easy task…but then Jesus never said it would be did he?

Teach Me Lord!

We now have two days of school behind us. The first day was fun…except for breaking a pair of glasses it was a good day. Now, I’ve had them repaired, but the homework Grinch found his way to the classroom, or at least to our house tonight. Still, it was a good day and we finally have all the homework done and we find ourselves reflecting on the day behind us and the year ahead. Psalm 119:66 says, “Teach me knowledge and good judgment (Lord) for I trust your commands.”  We (the kids and I) decided that it is a good thing to ask God for help in learning. It is sometimes hard work…learning…because sometimes we just don’t want to learn or because we have different ideas, but God wants the best for us…the very best! So if we will trust God and ask for His help, we will succeed. Now, really…if a seven and nine year old can figure that out, why can’t many adults? Maybe there really is a reason Jesus said we must become like little children in order to enter the Kingdom (Matthew 18:3).

Take a Good Look

So, in about 3 hours we shift into party mode at the Quick household. Monday is Anna’s birthday, Friday is Bella’s birthday, and I am celebrating that school starts on Monday…actually the girls are too, all three of them! So soon we will have a 3 year old, a 7 year old, and a 9 year old at home…a 20 year old at college and a 25 year old in California. It’s no wonder I’m feeling old…but the good news (for me) is I’m going to live forever…praise God! But back to the here and now…this past week in Bible study I was getting some strange looks. Paul tells us in Ephesians 5 that we are to imitate God and then he goes on to offer us some specific suggestions. “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.” That list is rather in your face isn’t it? All uncleanness…does he really mean all? Foolish talking…just what is that? Coarse jesting…so much for the redneck jokes! What does Paul, or God for that matter, expect of us…and what about those of us with children…seriously…give thanks with every breath? Yeah, I think so…I also think he was clear in verse 1: :…be imitators of God…” What do you do when you imitate someone? You strive to be just like them don’t you? I am sure Paul meant exactly what he said and while it’s a tall order for us, God is patient with us. So take a good look at yourself…do you look a little more like God today? You should!

Lord, Help Us!

I’ve struggled this afternoon to get this posted…several thunderstorms in the area and one big clap of thunder caused my mouse to shock me! Really, nothing bad, but I have never had that happen before…then the power went off and I lost internet service…hummm, perhaps satan doesn’t want this to get out! Back to my thoughts from yesterday: why is it these problems, and many others the Church faces, why is it they are predominately hapening in North America and Europe? I read of mighty revivals currently taking place in South America, Africa, and Indonesia. I am sure there are struggles there too, but it seems those churches have the power that the American Church lacks…I also realize that God is at work in some churches in America, not all are in need transformation. But on the whole, it seems God is working mighty works around the globe and the American Church lacks that same power. Again, why? Why is the Methodist and Southern Baptist (and nearly every other denomination) in decline in America and experiencing growth, sometimes explosive, in other countries? Have we (American Christians) lost the desire to seek His presence? Are we so consumed with other gods that the Lord has withdrawn His presence from us? He did that to Israel...repeatedly. Are we now in that cycle of unfaithfulness, needing repentance? Would we even admit it if we thought we were? The time has come for us (the Church in America) to fall on our face and cry out... only God can transform us into the Church again.

How Serious Are We?

Well, I should apologize…the past week or so I have been busy reading and grieving the apparent arrival of a much too long campaign season. I have been distracted at best…but you don’t want to know what I think of the abhorrently long campaign season or candidates, so let me share some thoughts with you about what I’ve been reading lately. First of all, how do we (if indeed we do) release the power of God for transformation? Let’s face it, our world is in sad shape and for that matter, so is the Church! Facing an overall decline, with only a few exceptions, the Christian Church is failing. I am one of those who believe only God can and will turn it around. Let me be clear, God never intended nor wants the Church to fail, but we have managed to excel at decline in spite of God’s wishes. How do we engage the Almighty so we might be transformed? Secondly, why do the majority of persons involved in the Church today fear the manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s power? Whether healing, signs and wonders, miracles, or a simple indwelling of the Holy Spirit, many (perhaps the majority) in the Church today do not want to experience an outpouring of the Holy Spirit…in this many I mean to include both clergy and laity. And finally, why do we who claim to follow God (again both clergy and laity) put so much emphasis on worldly thinking? I am not speaking of running the Church like a business…that makes sense to me if we know what our product is and who our target consumers are…like any good business. But too often we scheme plans and launch programs without consulting our Head…that makes no sense to me. I can tell you that the best laid plans will fail without God on the team, also I’ve seen some of the most ill-advised plans take off and fly because God was driving them. So what do you think? Are we up for transformation or are we just playing church?

Need A Prophetic Word?

I just copied this profound quote (my assessment) from one of my colleagues, “One of the problems with the country is we are more concerned about the pursuit of happiness than the pursuit of righteousness. And rather than provide a prophetic word to society the Church reacts with the same sort of polarization that exists in the rest of our culture.” You know, he may have just solved both society’s and the Church’s biggest problems! Our world is so consumed with self and ever hesitant to even recognize the problems of others…and that has bled over into the Church. The once righteous leadership of the Church is now more concerned with its own pursuit of happiness that the Church has been stripped of its power. Yes, I realize you could argue that happened many centuries ago, but isn’t it true? The Church has been given authority and the power over this world…and now rather than BE the Church, it seems we too have become focused solely on self. I would expect that from the worldly...but from the Chruch?  It seems that we are the ones who need to hear a prophetic word. I know this sounds simplistic…but perhaps if we started reading in Genesis and did not stop until we had read thru Revelation, God would speak to us. Seems to me it’s worth a try!

A Breath of Fresh Air!

Well, I had to spend over half of today in a dCOM meeting…it is very frustrating for me to give up my family day to be in a boring meeting. However, I must say this was a refreshing day. We interviewed six newly certified lay ministers who are now serving churches in the Kaskaskia River District and what a delight it was! These are all second career folks who, recognizing God’s call upon their lives, have chosen to work full time in the secular world and serve a small church part-time. I praise God for their dedication, their enthusiasm, and commitment to the Lord. It was (for me) a breath of fresh air to peek in on their process and hear their stories. I hope I encouraged them half as much as they encouraged me! If more laity and clergy possessed their attitudes our church would look very different. My prayer for these six is that God would continue to bless their ministries and families…I have no doubts that will happen as long as they continue to lift high the name of Jesus.

Prayerful Balance is the Key

Here’s the question of the ages…do we (the Church) spend the brunt of our time and resources reaching out to the lost or to growing and maturing ourselves in the faith? Are we to focus on others or on ourselves? Can we be true to our calling by concentrating on either one or the other? Fact is, Scripture compels us to do both and if indeed the Church is going to thrive, we must do both. Problems arise when we concentrate on one totally neglecting the other. At times we can lean so hard toward evangelism, putting all of our resources on reaching out to the lost, totally ignoring the spiritual growth that must occur if we are to maintain physical growth for the Kingdom. More often we become so focused on ourselves, not necessarily for the sake of growing spiritually, that we fail to reach out to the lost, or even to those who wander into our churches seeking a fellowship to be a part of. So how do we maintain a healthy balance? Scripture repeatedly calls us to do both. I am sure it is different process for most churches, but if we fail to start with heartfelt prayer, we are certainly doomed to failure.

Renewed and Ready!

You know, the bad thing about being gone for an extended length of time is the mess that awaits you when you return…praise God the mess was minimal this time…thanks to DeAnna! But even if the mess had been enormous, it would have been well worth the headaches as the Spirit moved in mighty ways this past week. I will confess my thinking was challenged more than once, but I came away with several sermon topics; suggestions for small group studies; and most importantly, a fresh (and much needed) re-baptism in the Holy Spirit. I hadn’t actually realized I lost it, but while there I regained my passion to know my Lord more intimately and a fervor for reaching the lost for the Kingdom. Now, if you even suspect you’ve lost your passion, or if you feel powerless, or God feels distant, I want to suggest you carve out some time to renew your relationship with God. Whether you take a few hours, a day, or a week, for renewal...just do it. Aldersgate Renewal Ministries has several books and tapes available or you could plan to attend the ARM Conference next July in Charlottesville, WV. I know it’s a long ways off, but I highly recommend it. Contact me; we might be able to share a ride! Now, back to my little mess...