Fragments to Form

Bob Ingram's Funeral Meditation

2011-07-09T16:16:00.000-05:00

Bob Ingram Funeral

July 9, 2011

You never really get to full picture of a person’s life from just a few months of having known them. We meet people at various seasons of their life and often miss out on childhood or adolescence or other formative seasons of a person’s life. And so we evaluate often based on the very short snapshot that we’re given never really knowing all the love and joy, all the hurt and pain that a person has gone through – all of which contributed to who and what a person has become.

It makes us hesitant to evaluate or sum up at all.

But in some instances and in some lives we are given glimpses of a depth of character and vision that transcend our day to day encounter with them. We hear a story or get an insight into someone’s life experiences that reveals something hidden from view. And then we see, there is much, much more here than meets the eye.

In the time that I knew Bob Ingram, he was already deep into his descent into full blown Alzheimers and with each week it was becoming progressively worse. He and I sat a table with Leigh in the fellowship hall several months ago and he told stories of some of his experiences as a father and as a pastor. The stories for him were still present to his mind even if the words were not. Leigh helped Bob with names and places as Bob would look at her and ask, “Who is that guy again?” Leigh would fill in the blanks and Bob would continue relating the memory.

As I listened, I began to realize that these were not just pastor’s memories. These were the memories of a pastor who was exceptionally brilliant, educated, compassionate and in a word - iconoclastic. Herman Norton, the dean of the Disciples Divinity House at Vanderbilt once observed that Bob was one of the most brilliant students who had passed through that school. High praise! He finished seminary and began pastoring during one of the most conflicted seasons of our country’s recent history – the 1960’s.

As a seminary student in the early 90’s, I arrived on the scene after many of the significant cultural battles this country had been fought and to a large degree decided. Bob Ingram arrived on the scene just as opening shots on the issues of race, war and violence, peace and justice were being fired. He wasn’t one to gauge the direction of the prevailing winds and play it safe. Bob had a clear and distinct picture in his mind of what Jesus would bring to the hard questions being asked and in the either/or of “this is the way we’ve always done it” versus “Jesus is calling us to a new spirit-led way of life” – Bob chose Jesus.

Mark and I had a conversation about the time we both encountered Bob that centered on many of the justice and compassion issues we saw facing Crockett County. We were concerned still with some of the racial divide but our focus had shifted to how sustained poverty and addiction impacted the lives of family and especially the children. As we got to know Bob, we realized that this too had been a concern of his, here in this community, thirty years ago. Our discussion turned to Bob. Mark had been talking with Bob about Bob’s vision for ministry and Bob had shown Mark some of things he’d written reflecting on his time and experience as a pastor. What we began to recognize and appreciate was that he had been a forerunner, identifying these issues and teaching and preaching into them long before us. And now were reaping some of the harvest – thirty years later – of seed that was sown by Bob Ingram.

Bob was an iconoclast. What others around him believed and did wasn’t near as important as the vision of life he’d been given by God. If others were bigoted and prejudicial, Bob would call people to inclusivity and fraternity. If others chose to be provincial and self-satisfied, Bob would call people to a larger vision of life that saw God’s activity and beauty and purpose taking shape in ways often very different from our own. Our God is a big God and isn’t the least bit limited to our perceptions and imperfect beliefs about Him.

In short, for Bob Ingram, there was no greater guide to life and heaven than the very life of Jesus himself. Opinions about Jesus, theology about Jesus, dogma about Jesus could never replace what one actually encountered inside of the life of Jesus – and it was that life that releases one from the shortcomings of oneself and into a grand and encompassing and eternal life with the Father.

No one is perfect, not even a minister. Paul said in Romans that “All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.” And I think that those who possess incredible vision for life in Christ perhaps struggle the most. They’ve been given a gift for seeing into the kingdom of God and the blessing of life together as believers but then had to provide also for their family and establish some measure of security and comfort for those who didn’t have the option of choosing full-time ministry. It’s often a tight-rope act.

In living this tension there grace and forgiveness is sought – grace and forgiveness from God… and from others. As they do their best to balance calling and home life, a minister remains someone whom God has called to proclaim a vision of heaven to people hurting and lost here on earth. And if our lives struggle to keep up with the words we speak, that doesn’t diminish the power of the words. The vision of life in Jesus is real. Ministers point to and speak of that life. And pastors like their brothers and sisters who serve alongside them daily have to choose to die to self and live in Christ. We haven’t been made exempt from the spiritual challenges faced by the people to whom we proclaim the word. The vision Bob was given was real and powerful and transforming. And it moved him to incredible compassion for hurting people. He had encountered Jesus. And his life, like all of us, was lived - again in the words of Paul in Philippians 2:12 – working out his salvation with fear and trembling.

Bob’s life and ministry stand really as a marker to the idea that every community of faithful believers exists as a prophetic and proclaiming witness to the real presence of Jesus inside of that community and inside of the lives of the people who make up that community. If someone were to ask the question, where is Jesus, I am certain that Bob would point to the church and say, if you have eyes to see and ears to hear you will encounter him there.

In a manner of speaking, Bob Ingram has left the world of the “now, but not yet” and entered the world that he knew and preached about and longed for. And it’s God who gets the glory for the amazing grace that allows Bob Ingram .. and us… to live with him eternally.

Silence

2011-06-21T16:10:00.002-05:00

I can't remember who exactly it was who said that when we appreciate poetry we assume silence as the starting place and then ask ourselves the question why and with what has the silence been broken?

I trust the same is true of our speech in worship. We could gather and a la Quaker worship, say nothing. In the silence we would wait on God to move us to speech and break the silence only when there was fresh revelation from the Holy Spirit.

What we do instead is come with intentional speech. We pray, we sing, we speak the word, we challenge, we praise, we hope and expect, we speak healing. Being silent is something we could do alone. But speaking is something that requires a hearer. God hears our speech. But it isn't only to God we are speaking. Why our gathering is so important is that we have opportunity to speak INTO the lives of others who have drawn near to the person of Jesus.

Some (probably most) of the people speak the same language that we do. But occasionally, and surprisingly, someone shows up to the place where the body meets who speaks a slightly different language. Sometimes, different nouns describe the entities that populate their universe and so we try to translate and understand what parallels exist between our language and theirs. Sometimes, we use the same nouns, but different verbs and the joy becomes trying to appreciate the other's experience of life and the ways they have come to apprehend life's process and flow on terms other than the one we're accustomed to. As challenging as this is at times, it doesn't negate the absolute value of speaking intentionally together and in our web of language pressing each other forward to a greater and deeper appreciation of God's movement in our world and in ourselves.

It's when we cease the conversation that we make the subtle declaration that our language has triumphed and there is nothing more of value to learn. And what a small world that would be.

The Words You Speak...

2011-06-21T10:42:00.001-05:00

...create atmosphere! I know it's difficult because the world seems to wire us otherwise, but try to think of the growth and maturity that happens naturally when we face challenge rather than focusing on "why is this happening to me." Every interaction with someone, every conversation, every Facebook post or comment, every bill you pay, every interruption of your schedule is an opportunity to model Jesus-like love and grow in grace. It's inside of that place of grace that we have our capacity increased to live and enjoy LIFE!

So, taking a cue from Paul in Colossians 4:6, "Let your conversation be always full of grace."

Freedom!

2011-06-20T09:10:00.003-05:00

Reading through Romans 6 today and listening to Paul's thoughts about being free from the law. Freedom isn't living without boundaries and constraints. A life without any parameters wouldn't be life at all; it would be chaos! Real freedom through Christ is about being given through grace a new "end point" to life. We all have end points. An end point is that light at the end of the tunnel that guides our movement forward. In Christ, we have the "end point" of enjoying life close to the Father, living as we were created by Him to live, experiencing blessing, having things we are thankful for, and celebrating with others the thousand joys the Father has scattered wonderfully along our path. The end point for someone without faith is oneself. Without Christ, one is left to become the measure of their own life - which means all of those fears, doubts, insecurities, inadequacies, and failures loom large in our view. When we're our own end point we wonder how we could ever transcend ourselves - which we can never do... on our own.

That's why life in Jesus is freedom. It means I'm not God and God is. And that's good news.

Father's Day

2011-06-19T20:48:00.002-05:00

It's impossible to be the best father one can be without a relationship with THE Father. It's out of our recognition of His unconditional love for us that we are able to love unconditionally, with no strings attached, no agenda to be fulfilled. He loved us while we were still in sin, self-deception, and selfishness - pouring life and love into us even when we were in rebellion against the way He created things to be.

Because He fathers us, we father others. As my good friend (now deceased), M.A. Thomas, once remarked to me, "Why wouldn't we want to share with those we love the most the relationship that matters the most." Our encounter with God isn't ours to horde. God changes us as part of His larger mission to change the universe. What a blessing that He considers us worthy of being a part of that mission.

Why church?

2011-06-18T16:23:00.003-05:00

Because we always run the risk of personalizing our faith to suit our preferences. It's only in the company of others that we have our egos checked and our idol-making tendencies challenged.

Worship

2011-04-03T19:06:00.001-05:00

Powerful worship today at both churches! Interesting what a little rest can do for your perspective and passion. Without either, you are grinding away just for the sake of grinding. The good news is that Jesus has released is in freedom for so much more! Love those times we encounter he manifest presence of Christ in community and worship. These times serve as signposts to what is always available to those with "eyes to see and ears to hear."

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Location:Rolling Hills Dr,Jackson,United States

Another day in Paradise

2011-03-24T08:25:00.001-05:00

Fun week so far hanging out with the family - soaking up the sun, squeezing some sand between the toes, and letting my mind drift away with the current. It's a different life from keeping pace with the rhythms of ministry. The interruption breaks the pattern and invites one into not just a different life but into seeing the pace of life differently. Some activities in our day to day routines (prayer, meditation, exercise, reading the Bible) actually create increased capacity for living, feeding you, increasing energy, and providing greater focus. Others seem to diminish you - drawing you into what seems like and never ending cycle of striving. We really only recognize the latter through the lens of the former. Hence, the necessity for embedding in "normal life" consistent "Capacity-increasing" activities. As we wrap up our week on "vacation" this appears more non-negotiable than ever.

YouTube Video

Location:Shipyard Dr,Hilton Head Island,United States

Celebrating Life

2011-03-18T22:08:00.001-05:00

It could be said that the passing of time is marked and given tempo by the occurrence of special occasions. In church life, time is kept in seasons like Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter. In one's personal life, time is measured and celebrated as we observe birthdays and anniversaries, baptisms and weddings, victories and achievements. The life lived well seems to be full of such moments - each one a looking back to a seminal event in which a special grace was experienced and looking forward anticipating the life sustaining presence and work of God. Without this anticipation, how could we ever really have live in hope?

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Susan's birthday!

2011-03-18T19:45:00.001-05:00

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2009-12-09T09:32:00.003-06:00

The church is receiving more and more calls from the community for assistance with rent or utilities. We usually refer anyone who calls to Area Relief Ministry or RIFA, but we're seeing a large number of people turned away because of "technicalities." They don't have a driver's license. They're living with their girlfriend or boyfriend. They haven't kept record of their expenses. They don't have a cell phone. The list of "exceptions" seems endless.

My vision for Promise Church has always been that we are called to be a MISSIONAL church. By that, I mean that we minister to precisely the ones that for a myriad of reasons have been pushed to the margins of our community. It's a hard ministry. There often are some quite valid reasons someone finds themselves without work, in and out of harmful relationships, and seemingly spiralling into chaos. As I learned a long time ago (and have to remember now) our choices always come with consequences.

But we're seeing increasingly a number of folks who never received just the basic "training" that many of us take for granted on such things as how to pay your bills on-time, how to make a budget and follow it, how to tighten the budget and let go of behaviors that are costing you money you don't have and even relationships you want to hold on to.

If ever there were a time where the "good news" of the gospel meant more than just intellectual assent to something, that time is now. The gospel literally saves lives by transforming lives. Believing in Jesus can literally mean the difference between a lifetime of hardship and despair, depression and death and a lifetime of meaningful relationships, a modicum of joy (often deep joy!), and a legacy of responsbility and love left to one's children.

The church is the only place where these values are taught and anchored within a story of God's redeeming grace that resonates deep within our souls.

And that's what makes church so important.

I love the "ethos" of the AA and Recovery community that states (I'm not sure if it's official or unofficial) that once you've received freedom from your addiction, it's your job to help someone else to receive their freedom - by being present at AA meeting, being a sponsor, or simply pointing people in the direction of the AA community.

Wouldn't it be awesome if members of the church thought and acted the same way? As we walk in our freedom, we point others in the direction of the source of that freedom. Jesus Christ, the son of the living God. And where do we best encounter the living Christ? In the church that worships and celebrates and teaches Jesus.

Promise Church isn't yet another "new church start" in Jackson so that people can "have it their way" in worship or church. Promise Church is a mission outpost where free believers set others free by pointing them toward Jesus.

Unity

2009-11-24T08:18:00.006-06:00

I found myself praying a lot this morning for unity. I know that word can have a lot of meanings so much so that we might even find it difficult ever to achieve "unity" around a definition for the word itself.

Somewhere, we were taught that we had to lay down hard defenses around our own particular way of thinking about things or else risk being diminished by someone else's point of view. Flexibility and movement in our idea life look a lot like uncertainty and that looks like weakness and self-doubt. And who wants to be perceived as weak and doubting!

I think there's an alternative.

In seminary we studied Jewish interpretation of scripture and I remember especially the conversation we had about the Talmud. The Talmud was the Jewish commentary on the Mishnaic teachings of Judiaism - all of those do's and don'ts developed by Jewish rabbis in the latter part of the first century after the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. Following that earth-shattering event, Jewish teachers felt it necessary to write down what they saw as the essential Jewish beliefs and practices so that they could be preserved for succeeding generations.

That was wonderful until the Jews gradually drifted or were expelled from their homeland, found themselves ensconced in other cultures and had to translate what was obvious Jewish teaching and practice to not so obvious circumstances. Follow?

What the new rabbis did was to take the Mishnah (the book formed around the first century teachings) and begin writing in the margins. They didn't want to mess with the text because the text itself was considered sacred. Not on the same level as Hebrew scripture, but definitely revealed and inspired by God. And so if you go to your local Barnes and Nobel and look in the Judaica section there, and locate what is called the Talmud (published by Jewish Publication Society) you will see that there is the main text with lots of commentary on the edges and then even some commentary on the commentary. It's a pretty fascinating read, actually, to see Jewish interpreters adding layer upon layer of commentary all in an effort to make Jewish belief and practice relevant and meaningful to the setting they now find themselves in.

Fast forward to our own time. What if we saw truth not as crystallized statements handed down for all eternity around which we had to stake out our ground and build high our walls... but as a process of God's revealing a core (through both words and experience) and then ALSO God's presence, guidance, and wisdom in the conversation that followed? If you believed that God was actually revealing truth on an ongoing basis THROUGH you, how would that change the things that you spoke or the way you lived? Would we be more humble, seeking out not only the truth that God revealed in us, but also the truth God revealed in... OTHERS? It might also cause us to want to enter into community more and have our own kooky ideas about things tested to make sure that what I believed was true was actually true. And that might mean laying down my protection about my identity and my need to always be right so that I could be free to speak truth and have truth spoken to me.

When I consider the ways God has shown how amazingly big he is over the course of my lifetime it's clear that if I had stayed hard and fast with my limited perception at let's say the age of 22, I would be really stuck in a pretty shallow way of seeing God, the world, and other people. Development comes only after engaging others, listening, testing, adapting, sometimes eliminating, sometimes accepting. It comes after the give and take and give and take of an ongoing conversation. Are you involved in a conversation with others about your faith? Or are you pretty much content with the way you see things right now? Your answer will reveal a lot about your willingness and desire to grow deeper in what God wants to do through you.

Buiding Up

2009-11-19T08:54:00.000-06:00

One of the things I love about our church is people's hunger to know and experience Jesus Christ. I was reading Ephesians chapter four this past week and reminded again that the measure of every spiritual experience we seek is its conformity to the person, the ministry and the purposes of Jesus.

In that amazing chapter, Paul reminds his listeners that all teaching, all experience, all "programs" and "offices" of the church are directed toward the building up of God's people and their service together in unity. Anything that doesn't contribute to unity among believers is to be pushed to the side. Kingdom people are focused on relationships far above any specific experience or individual belief. Our experience can be misinterpreted or our belief may be wrong, but LOVE never fails.

This is defining for our church. We're open to what people have to say about their experiences with God. We will practice scriptural discernment in matters of doctrine and prayerful discernment when someone makes a claim that God has revealed to them knowledge or wisdom. We look for the "fruits" of the teaching (Gal. 5:19-26) to guide us to see evidence of the Spirit's presence.

There is always the possibility in this atmosphere where the value is relationship that we will be presented with an experience that challenges our point of view or that we even think is wrong. Far more important than our reaction is our willingness to engage the process of discernment and conversation IN COMMUNITY. If you're like me, you've reacted to a new idea or experience only to find yourself warming up to it over time as you've seen it manifest truthfully and powerfully in people's lives. The "fruits" are evident in a way that our reason can't always comprehend.

I'd like to challenge all of us to be so oriented around our Christ-formed relationships with each other (living out of Acts 2:42ff) that we are willing to suspend our own unique "notion" of things if it means rupturing a relationship. If we learn to speak the truth in love, then we can seek truth together with people who have had radically different life experiences and God-encounters. And together we can begin to see a much larger picture of what God is doing than our own personal perspective allows.

The conversation can only occur, though, when we are actively engaged in community. I intentionally seek out people who see things differently than me knowing that if I'm only around people like me, I will grow spiritually stale and stagnant. I don't always agree with them. But I love them. And I love what God is doing in their lives. And for me, that is living closely to a correct "theology" of Jesus.

Pastoral Burnout

2009-10-28T16:17:00.003-05:00

I'm reading Wayne Cordeiro's "Leading on Empty" and just came across the following statistics (he quotes from H.B. London Jr., Pastors at Greater Risk).

- 80 percent believe that pastoral ministry affects their families negatively.
- 33 percent say that their ministry is an outright hazard to their family.
- 75% report they've had a significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry.
- 50% feel unable to meet the needs of the job.
- 90% feel they're inadequately trained to cope with ministry demands.
- 25% of pastor's wives see their husband's work schedule as a source of conflict.
- Those in ministry are equally likely to have their marriage end in divorce as general church members.
- The clergy has the second highest divorce rate among all professions.
- 80% of pastors say they have insufficient time with their spouse.
- 56% of pastor's wives say that they have no close friends.
- 45% of pastor's wives say the greatest danger to them and their family is physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual burnout.
- 52% of pastors say that they and their spouses believe that being in pastoral ministry is hazardous to their family's well-being and health.
- 45.5 percent of pastors say that they've experienced depression or burnout to the extent that they need to take a leave of absence from ministry.
- 70% do not have someone they consider to be a close friend.

Kids!

2009-10-27T17:54:00.002-05:00

Encourage!

2009-10-21T11:34:00.002-05:00

What's the most effective strategy to combat the effects of negativity in your life? This may sound "counter-intuitive" but the most effective way to turn the tide of negativity is to focus your thoughts on showing love and compassion for someone else! In other words, replace negative speech that usually limits and condemns with encouragement that builds up and releases!

Just try it. When you find yourself thinking of all the reasons why your life is feeling limited or trapped, be VERY INTENTIONAL someone you can call and immediately encourage. Who do you know who is feeling depressed, lonely, or anxious? Is there anyone around you right now who has expressed incredible disappointment or frustration? Try taking out a pen and paper (you could do an email, but pen and paper is so personal!) and write them a note telling them that you're thinking about them and praying for them.

I know what you might be thinking. This is such simplistic advice and doesn't get to the root cause of what I'm really feeling right now. How does encouragement break my own negative feelings?

Well, think about it. If we're having a difficult time seeing God's possibilities over our own lives then a great exercise it to help someone else see what they can't see in their life. I've always sensed that it was easier to see what God is doing in another's life than my own. Have you ever felt the same way?

Simply speaking encouragement to someone else's situation begins the process of "re-wiring" our own thinking. Recent studies in brain science suggest that this is also a physiological re-wiring. Our brains actually change neural pathways when we practice a shift in thinking. Even our languaged becomes "re-programmed" using the vocabulary and grammar love and compassion rather than condemnation and criticism. It also forces us to exercise our eyes of faith which sooner or later will reveal God's presence and light in the midst of my own situation.

Not only that, but when we encourage, we step into the very life and design we were created to fulfill. God never intended that we live simply for ourselves. We were created to live in life-giving, compassionate, and joy-filled relationship. It's when we "practice" our design that we move more deeply into the very heart of the Father.

And then finally, making someone else feel good makes us feel good! Do it often enough, and you've created a new pattern of living and being.

Feeling discouraged? Then ENCOURAGE!

I believe...

2009-10-14T10:52:00.001-05:00

What difference does believing in Jesus make? Saying “I believe” amounts to nothing more than wind passing through one’s windpipe and the mouth forming words if it isn’t somehow related to disposition and action. Disposition because the kind of truth claim made by the church is ultimate on one’s life and so “disposes” one to believe certain things to be true about all of life. Action because the things we really believe are never separated from the actions that follow those beliefs. There are always "fruits" of what we believe.

Saying that one believes in Jesus could then mean one or more of the following: (1) Jesus existed. (2) I believe that the way of life Jesus talked about leads to the vision of life he described. (3) I believe that Jesus was who he said he was. (Jn 14:6-7) (4) I believe Jesus did the things he is described as having done in the New Testament. (5) I believe that the story of Jesus’s life possesses a modicum of power for people’s lives (1 Pe 3:13-22).

Jesus outlines though what it means to believe in him. If you love me, you will keep my commandments (Jn 14:15). In other words, if you love Jesus, you will do the things you see him doing, take on the attitudes you see Jesus showing in his life, and love others like Jesus loved. The knowledge component of Christianity really isn’t about a “metaphysical content” or “teachings” like you might find with ancient Greek philosophy. Rather, Christianity is about learning to love God's creation like God loves the creation and allowing that spirit of love to invade your thoughts and actions and whole being. As we do this, we become "walking peace" bringing the shalom of God to all that we do. That's what Jesus did and that's what he taught his disciples to do throughout their ministry together. Jesus's life itself WAS the teaching!

Believing in Jesus means believing that the resurrection after the crucifixion is something in which we as his disciples share. Jesus's story in a manner of speaking is OUR story. Belief in the power and providence of God is belief in God’s ability and desire to rob the sting of death from tragedy and hardship and pour in instead joy, meaning, and life (1 Cor 15:50ff). It’s the work of the Holy Spirit to bring to Jesus's followers what God did in and through the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus (Jn 14:26).

What would it mean for OUR lives to become the teaching that show others in a powerful way the love and grace of God? Is there something we can change today that better "instructs" the deep love of Christ for the people in our lives and for our community?

Wrestling in Prayer

2009-10-07T08:52:00.000-05:00

Some of life’s challenges seem too overwhelming for just a quick prayer for release. Paul describes one of his co-workers in Colossians 4:12 – Ephaphras – who is “always wrestling” in prayer for the church at Colossae.

Wrestling in prayer. What do you suppose that looks like? In an age where we leave ourselves little time to commit to anything with any depth and where it feels like we are constantly skimming the surface of experience the idea of wrestling in prayer appears almost wasteful. Doesn’t God already know the things we need? What benefit could be gained by an hour or hours of prayerful struggle?

And still, all of the great revivalists considered their time in prayer to be their most important activity of the day. John Wesley famously said, “I have so much to do that spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it.” He also said, “God does nothing except in response to believing prayer.”

Your prayers matter. I believe that we are in a time that will experience transformation only through wrestling prayer. Do you know anyone who has lost work because of the economy? Wrestle for them for God’s release of provision. Do you know anyone who is suffering because of someone else’s selfish choices? Wrestle for them for release and grace. Do you know people who are bent on destroying their lives and in desperate need of God’s grace? Wrestle for them in prayer that they would have opportunity after opportunity to know the love of Christ.

Your wrestling matters – whether for others or for yourself. It’s on the other side of wrestling with God that we are made strong in our weakness. And if the case of Jacob is at all an indication, we can wrestle until we “rest” a blessing from God. When Jacob wrestled with God he was given a new name representing the purpose and the hope God has over his life.

God is Good.

2009-09-12T09:09:00.004-05:00

God is this good. Rolland and Heidi Baker are missionaries in Africa and have seen hundreds of thousands of people come to faith in Jesus Christ. This is Rolland's testimony of being healed from a life-threatening disease. This is the God I believe in.

When the President Speaks to Our Children

2009-09-08T08:45:00.002-05:00

President Obama's speech today to our nation's classroom's today at 11am CST is not without precedent. This was President Ronald Reagan's speech delivered in 1988.

Inside Out

2009-09-02T08:31:00.000-05:00

Go Deep

2009-08-31T17:24:00.009-05:00

Things are not always as they seem. One of the reasons I love studying the Bible is that each time I take on a new Bible book or class, I discover new insight into the encounter the first century apostles, disciples, and writers had with the risen Jesus.

The more one studies Greek, for instance, the greater awareness one has of stylistic nuances a NT writer used to communicate a transforming idea. You can study rhetoric and see precisely how the "books" of the NT were written to be heard as powerful oral messages or even "sermons." Studying history helps one to understand the complex political and social backdrop against which the lives of the early Christians were lived. Each layer of understanding opens up scripture's beauty and depth as well as the writers' receptivity to God's revelation. It also reveals their skillfulness in communicating well the "good news" about Jesus.

Becoming more knowledgeable on topics like these can only open up the word of God and increase our ability to see how God moved in people's lives back then and how He might move in people's lives today!

Here are three really helpful resources that can serve as an entry point to a deeper appreciation of scripture..

Virtual Campus of Reformed Theological Seminary. You can find a completely FREE course on the New Testament (and many other topics) on Itunes (www.apple.com/itunes).

Ben Witherington has a wonderful little book called What's in a Word which is a look at how we can understand certain New Testament passages by better understanding how people in the past constructed speeches on important topics (known as the study of rhetoric)! (available HERE)

For a good historical overview of the New Testament period you can read Witherington's New Testament History, found HERE.

If you want to go deeper in your understanding of what's taking place in the New Testament, check these out. They are really wonderful places to start for learning more about the words that give us hope and life!!

Pure Religion

2009-08-28T08:56:00.006-05:00

"Religion" has become one of those words that spirit-filled Christians have let go of - preferring instead to speak of expressive faith in Jesus. Religion, in this vein, conjures up images of emotionless ritual and routine worship. Faith is about opening up one's eyes to see the reality of God in one's everyday experience and moving in agreement with that vision.

Martin Luther was suspicious of the the book of James (not so much a letter as an "homily" to Jewish Christians written in about 45 AD) because of its emphasis on doing, relegating it in his canon to secondary status. Luther, Calvin, and many others in the reformed tradition preferred the writing of Paul, particularly Romans, which gave primacy to faith, thinking that any faith that elevated works would simultaneously elevate human pride.

Interestingly, James has a lot to say about human pride. He castigates the rich who show preference in the worship service for other wealthy people and disdain the poor (Jas 2:5-7). Unafraid of speaking of his faith in terms of "religion" (latin meaning "reconnect") real religion, James observes, is about caring for those who are on the margins of society or even forgotten - the widows and orphans (Jas 1:27)

He even gives critique to those who would take pride in their "faith." Isn't that interesting. "Faith without works is dead", he tell those who would pridefully rest on their superior knowledge and understanding and then do nothing to pour life and love into those who have no home or family.

I think James would offer the same critique today to anyone who rested in their "doctrinal purity" and neglected the spiritual discipline of compassion. When you talk to someone outside of the church about why they aren't a Christian, the conversation always turns to how those who claim to follow Jesus have squabbled over minute differences in scriptual interpretation while the world around them (including the environment, the government, social networks, and economy) fell to ruin. Naturally, there are apocalyptic scenarios in which some Christians maintain that such ruin is a "sign of the times." But James, who lived in equally uncertain and oppressive times would have offered a different prognosis. Knowing intimately the power of Jesus to heal and "sozo" save, he told the Christians of his day to LIVE their faith and PRACTICE their love. Any "wisdom" in fact, that doesn't take into account and work toward real life transformation is "demonic" (Jas 3:15).

James believes our faith together makes a difference. Followers of Christ are to be peace-makers (Jas 3:18). Why would he cast vision for peace and being peace-makers if real peace, real reconciliation and wholeness weren't something that we could work toward and hope to actually see? Real faith actually believes in God's power to transform his creation and works toward the healing of people and nations.

Patrick!

2009-08-25T16:07:00.002-05:00

A friend of ours - Patrick McNaughton - the brother of John Ryan McNaughton is moving back to California to San Jose. We had a great "going away" lunch for him today at Thai Cafe and wish Patrick the very best as he establishes some roots in sunny CA. We also wish him the very best as he develops his relationship with a special young woman there. We'll miss Patrick's laid back style, humorous outlook, and passion for late night guy flicks!

Leaders

2009-08-24T18:28:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I met with several new deacons at First Christian in Alamo while John Gilbert, Mark Crider, Dale Dodd (and several others) held down the fort at Promise Church in Jackson. As ministry in both places heats up, I'm finding that I have to rely more on the great leaders at both churches to step up and do what otherwise I would do. In other words, I'm finding that as I hit my limits, room is being made for others to step into leadership and practice their gifts of leadership.

There's always the temptation to try to do it all yourself. You've got a vision of how you'd like something to look and you believe (wrongly) that you're the only one who can make the vision happen. In following this path, though, you prevent others from being used by God, gaining experience in the ways God is wanting to use them, and being developed into people who use lead with confidence. All of us can probably look back to the time and the person who gave us an opportunity to "do our thing." Where would we be if they had held on to what was their "responsibility" and not opened up a development path to the potential they saw in us?

I'm finding that the best leaders (1) identify other teachable leaders, (2) pour life and experience and vision into them, and (3) make room for them to grow by giving them opportunities to use what they're learning.

This is really how the kingdom of God is supposed to look. We see a picture of this also in Romans 12. We all are part of the body. We each have our function and we each depend on the other to become more complete as missionally competent servant-leaders. We want more of this sort of leader in the church, not fewer. We want more people activated and equipped to live out their purpose. It's in in this way that each of us become catalysts for further kingdom growth. Multiply that process exponentially and you've created a culture.

Mastery

2009-08-23T18:27:00.007-05:00

Christianity is a faith that has emphasized, well, faith. But as James's letter describes, there is a "doing" aspect of the faith as well. In fact, as James says, faith without works is a dead faith.

I enjoyed Mark Crider's sermon today which began with a short clip from Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon." My own martial arts movie experience is pretty limited. When I first saw the movie, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", I was drawn in by the film's highly technical fight scenes between karate masters who had become so sublimely identified with their art they could perform it almost magically. Chase scenes portray the characters running up the sides of walls and making heroic leaps off of rooftops. There's one scene where the fighters demonstrate their amazing self-mastery and balance fighting on the tips of tree limbs.

This is all fiction, of course. It's just a movie (as I so often tell my children when they're trying to figure out the film's "magic")! But think about it. Don't the great masters often appear to possess something vaguely magical when they practice their craft? Watch a you-tube video of Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic back in the sixties. Or picture Michael Phelps swimming for the gold. Ever seen Chet Atkins or Steve Patterson, for that matter, pick the guitar? We know that what appears to us as "magic" emerges out of thousands and thousands of hours of rehearsal or training or study. It doesn't come easy. It is patient, painstaking work to achieve mastery.

I wonder if in our agreement with Luther the Reformer, we've sold the practice of our faith short? Can Christians develop a form of mastery over the "spiritual disciplines" of their faith - prayer, fasting, study, promoting justice, serving, community-building? What could the church look like if believers took the exercise of their faith as seriously as the karate master takes the perfection of karate forms? Maybe then we could move mountains with faith or shift entire cultures toward recognition of a loving and empowering creator.

Intention

2009-08-21T15:00:00.002-05:00

One of the words you hear me use a lot is "intentionality." Simply expressed, intentionality is visualizing a desired outcome and then thinking logically what steps must be taken to bring about that result. Easy, right?

I'm an incredible planner. I can generate "to do lists" in my sleep and think through multiple steps on massive projects with ease. But intentionality is not just about making maps. It also involves the discipline and mental focus to work through the plan, to adjust the plan when you see that you're headed in the wrong direction, and then ultimately evaluate when you're in need of an entirely new plan!

Living the life of a Jesus follower requires intentionality if only because there are "powers and principalities" (Eph 6:12) – unseen forces – at work in the world moving against the flow of God's justice, mercy, and compassion. We see the movement from order to chaos in just about every area of our life where there isn't some force acting to nudge, push, or shove in the direction of greater order. My house, if left to the people who live in it, can quickly become a dungeon of unwashed laundry and stacked high dishes. Someone, something has to exercise intentionality to see that laundry gets done and dishes are put away.

Our life is the same way. When we aren't mindful of the direction we're headed and then exercise "force" to move in that direction, we follow the natural groove of "disorder" resulting in depression, fear, stress, anxiety, feelings of incompleteness. We can endure short periods of this sort of living. But we all arrive at a place where we're forced to reflect on how where we're headed and what we're doing with the life we've been given.

Get a picture of your best, most joy-filled life. What force needs to be exerted TODAY to move in the direction of that life?

I’m Willing

2009-08-20T07:23:00.002-05:00

^{Phil 1:12} Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel."

I came across this verse last night. Paul is sitting under house arrest near the end of his ministry in Rome awaiting an audience with the Roman emperor Nero. Prison would seem like "the end of the line" for so many. For Paul it is the opportunity to tell the good news of Jesus to the most powerful man in the world in his day. But note here that Paul isn't simply waiting for his moment with the emperor. While imprisoned in Rome he writes four letters that now appear in our New Testament: Philippians, Philemon, Colossians and Ephesians. And he sees his imprisonment as an opportunity to minister to the Praetorian guard (Caesar's elite guard). Inspired by his own boldness, Paul says, Christians in Rome are have become unafraid to share the gospel.

What would it look like if we too saw our present circumstances, no matter how undesirable or depressing they may seem, as opportunities to live our hard won freedom in front of those who don't know Jesus. What would it be like NOT to join in the chorus of complaining and blaming and instead ask for God to use us to shine light in the darkness and let His joy flow through us to others?

I've been thinking about this recently. Not everything I would have liked to have happened in almost twenty of ministry has happened. I've had to make adjustments. More often, I've had to completely re-orient when I finally figured out that the path I was on wasn't the path God was leading me down. How much happier I would have been if rather than dig in my heals and "fight for my right" to do it my way, I had the faith to see that God had bigger and better plans to use me to accomplish the very thing I felt led to accomplish all along – leading others into a transforming relationship with Jesus.

Paul doesn't stop leading others toward that relationship because he is in chains in Rome waiting for the emperor to see him. Even in incredibly limiting circumstances, Paul never stops living for the purpose for which he was created. He looks around and asks, "okay, Lord, what would you have me to do now?" And then he does it. And people's lives are changed. A whole world is changed through this man's willingness to press through his limitations, his hurt, his pain, his depression and fear, and simply say, "Lord, I'm willing even here."

Think what might happen inside of your world if you let go of the outcome and simply said, "Lord, I'm willing."

Powdered Sugar!

2009-08-20T06:35:00.003-05:00

This was the first time we took Neeley downtown in New Orleans. We didn't stray too far from Cafe du Monde. After dumping most of her powdered sugar from her beignet onto the table (but some great cafe au lait for mom and dad), we took a stroll around Jackson square.

Barnes and Noble

2009-08-18T11:58:00.001-05:00

There are few places today that invite quiet sitting and soaking.
Barnes and Noble is one of them. It's cool to be in a place where we
haven't self-selected who will be there. There's always the
possibility of the random encounter with an old friend or perhaps a
new one.

--
Sent from my mobile device

NOLA for a day!

2009-08-18T11:23:00.000-05:00

Getting to visit the parents for a day in New Orleans. Mom is having pre-opt exam today for knee replacement surgery in two weeks. Inviting prayer!

Consider It All Joy

2009-08-18T11:06:00.001-05:00

^{Jas 1:2} Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Beginning study today on my series on James that will go through the end of September and excited because James is one of my favorite books. It is probably the most practical book on the New Testament written in a style resembling ancient Wisdom literature like Proverbs. The writer, James the brother of Jesus, wants his audience to know how to live their faith in Christ. He encourages people to be "doers" of the word and not merely "hearers" (1:22).

James begins by connecting wisdom with real life experience. It's not just what we know – that would have been the pursuit of the later Gnostic heresy – it's how we LIVE the faith. James sees faith and life as wholly integrated. The belief we have about Jesus gives definition to how we pattern our lives. Faith without works, James says, is dead faith. (2:17). This isn't merely a theological observation, it's a declaration about how we experience in real life the presence and love of Jesus. We all live oriented toward something. Pagan religion in James's time believed that the Gods could be placated and manipulated to bring peace, war, provision, prosperity, and love. Jesus followers were instructed to live FOR the world so that the world would have REAL LIFE. That life was reflected in the best of the world's wisdom literature (it's amazing to see how Christian themes have analogues in so many philosophical streams around the same time as James is being written). In Christian thinking, Wisdom stems from Jesus being the pre-existent Logos, or Word. When we live wisely, we live in congruence with the purposes and will of the creator WHO provides for ALL of his children (and causes it to rain on the just and unjust).

The same is true today. With Tillich we agree that faith is living for one's ultimate concern. Everyone has the one thing (or things) that give structure to one's life, that shape one's schedule or spending habits, that determine who one is in relationship with and who one avoids. For James, our ultimate concern is life in the kingdom of the one, true, creator God. God is the organizing principle under which all of our dreams, aspirations, goals, and purposes gain their meaning and significance. There is no other life that could ever really be called "ultimate." Any other path would be a dead end as it stopped short of diverged from God whose purpose and will has been made known fully in the life, ministry, and teaching of Jesus. To truly live means then being a "disciple" – a devoted learner and practitioner of the WAY of Jesus. In James' mini-sermon, we are given clear pathways into THE WAY of life that brings REAL LIFE.

The Power of Memory

2009-05-24T17:18:00.002-05:00

FCC/TPC 05.24.09
MEMORIAL DAY

How many of us know that our memories can serve a powerful function in our lives?

When we’re little we learn to avoid touching the hot stove because either we’ve touched it or we had mommy or daddy make a loud noise when we got close. We retain the memory of pain.

Or, if you’re like my kids, when we ask them where’d they like to go for a treat they invariably say “Baskin Robbins.” They retain the memory of something sweet and pleasurable.

You know memory is important as you get older and, like me, you can’t ever remember where you put the car keys.

There is such a thing as muscle memory. If you haven’t played tennis in over twenty years after having played all throughout high school and college, you can pick up a racket and with some practice remember how to serve or hit a backhand spin.

We remember important people in our lives. How many of us can remember a teacher we had when we were younger? Maybe someone who took a special interest in how we did in school or helped to motivate us just a little more. I remember Miss Ouanita Muller, my 9th grade English teacher, who knew my interest in history and my love for literature took me to the school library and hand wrote a bibliography for me of some of the great works of historical fiction.

In our men’s group this past Wednesday night, we remembered the lives of some of the men who in years past at First Christian had unique personalities, done funny things in church, or had influenced the church in some way. As we went around the circle, it seemed that everyone remembered someone at First Christian who had impacted them in a powerful way.

Who do you remember? When you think about how you’ve turned out in life, as you reflect on the person you’ve become, who is it that sticks in your mind as having a big influence for good long ago? I want you to take a moment right now and write that person’s name down on the sermon note insert inside your bulletin.

Memory is a powerful thing. Memory has the power to anchor us when we feel as if life is rushing by. There have been many times that I’ve found myself in ministry situations that I didn’t have the answer to and I’d think to myself what would my dad do or what would one of my former mentors do in this situation?

When we find ourselves getting lost today as we try to figure out who we are and what we’re supposed to be about – we can look back and see where we’ve been and discern the path that has got us from there to here. Sometimes that can help us move forward. We know who we are, where we’ve been and that gives us direction for where we want to go.

Of course, there are also times when we want to make a break with that path and get on a new path. We know where we are and where we’ve been and we feel as if God has MORE in store for us that what we’ve experienced and we want to pursue that.

The memory of an experience can also be powerful and transforming. Think of a time when you completed a project or task that you never thought when you started you’d be able to do. Was it hitting a baseball for the first time? Making your first free-throw, making your first “A” in Junior High, reading your first full-length novel, holding down your first job and receiving your first paycheck? How about the memory of when you accepted Jesus into your life. And then the memory of being baptized and having the entire church celebrate your decision with you.

In the book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament, the word “remember” is used over sixteen times. And it’s an interesting contrast. As the people of God are beginning to move forward into their promised inheritance and take the land of Canaan, God says to them – REMEMBER! Remember where you’ve come from. You were once slaves in Egypt. Remember the struggles you had in the desert. Most of the time you didn’t think you were going to make it. Remember where your provision came from. You didn’t do it on your on. Remember the promise that is before you. You will be tempted to chase after other gods.

Dt 7:17 You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?” 18 But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. 19 You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the miraculous signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.

I want you to think about the journey that has brought you to the place where you are in life right now. Who were the people that influenced you? What were the forces that led you to ultimate decide that going to church either by yourself or with your family was a good move to make? What were the struggles you had in your past the pointed you to a better, more secure way of living in God? What were the experiences that you had in your life that suggested that being in the place where God was worshipped was better than being outside of that place?

We know the end of the story with the Israelites. They began to take the land and then to rule over the land that God had given then and then slowly but surely, they forget how it was they received God’s blessing to begin with.

That so typical, isn’t it? We work to receive the blessing. We let go of the stuff holding us down or holding us back. We become focused and diligent and intense about moving toward the desired goal… and then once we have a taste of the blessing, what happens. We start to relax. We start to think to ourselves how awesome we were to get the thing we wanted. We begin the process of forgetting all the hard work and focus and diligence and intensity and prayer that enabled us to step into the blessing. Has anyone else experienced that dynamic before?

I think there is a way out of that cycle. A way past the very thing the Israelites experienced in their repeating cycle of Obedience – Blessing – Complacency – Rebellion – Suffering – Repentence – Obedience – Blessing. I don’t think that it is God’s plan for us that we have to walk in the same mistakes we’ve made in the past or for our children to repeat the patterns of life that we’ve gone through. In fact, I believe God wants us to have victory and to walk in authority and power and then to help others break this cycle.

So this morning, I want to leave you with three things to remember as we observe what we call Memorial Day. And the first is this:

To move forward into the promise we have to first remember where we’ve been.

The summer after my senior year in college I spent the summer in Germany studying the German language. And there, I had the opportunity to go Dachau – where the Nazi’s had one of their most notorious concentration camps. Twenty-six thousand Jews lost their life there. There was an inscription on one of the walls where you can read the history of the time and the camp. The inscription is from the philosopher George Santayana and it reads, “Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.”

It was chilling to read that quote at Dachau. It was both an observation and a warning. An observation that the Germans had forgotten their own past of brutality and struggle and national arrogance. And a warning that if future generations forgot what atrocities had taken place at Dachau then the deeds could be easily rationalized again and repeated.

Our personal journeys and difficulties often arrive at that moment of forgetfulness, when we’ve left our guard down and forgotten exactly what it is our lives are about. It’s easier to focus on the moment. On how we’re feeling right now. It requires a little more focus to bring into view during these times that God has us on a journey of building righteous character which may or may not make us “feel good” in the moment but enables us to withstand troubles that come our way and still find joy everyday in the small things.

So what do we keep in front of us when we’re tested?

One of the things you can ask yourself is this. Have I been through this before? If so, what did I learn? Too often, we see believers simply going through the cycles of repeating self-destructive and unhealthy patterns. When we begin to see a pattern begin to emerge we have are presented with the choice of going through again or changing it. By choosing to change your behavior you may be going into uncharted territory for you. The pattern, though painful may look initially more comfortable simply because its what you know. The Bible tells us in passages like James 1 and Romans 5 that when we choose to chart a path through the difficulty we face we will always grow.

1 Cor 6:9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?... 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

For the believer, formation of our character is everything. It is what we call discipleship. And discipleship begins with find our rootedness in the teachings and life of Jesus. We remember what he taught. We remember what he did. And then we do the same.

Not only do we remain aware of what we’ve learned from our life experiences, but we also look to the people we’ve known to inspire us to show us what to avoid.

Hebrews 12 talks about having a “cloud of witnesses” around us. The author of Hebrews was talking about those who had gone before in the faith who were tested and proved faithful in the test.

This is just common sense, really. If you want to learn a new skill or pick up a new hobby, what do you do? You find someone who’s done it already and ask them to show you how to do it.

This makes perfect sense, right? But how many of us try to do the really important things in life – like being a husband or wife, or raising kids without ever asking someone how to do it with excellence?

We’re almost embarrassed to admit that maybe we don’t know how to do what looks to come so naturally to others. But if truth be known, and after having done ministry for almost twenty years now, I can tell you that everyone struggles with relationships or finances or parenting.

If I want to know how to be married for thirty years – I want to talk to someone who’s done it. I want to do what they have done and learn from them the skills it took to make it past the rough spots.

If I want to raise children that are self-reliant, focused, and disciplined, I want to talk to parents whose kids have turned out well and find out from them what things did they do daily to pour life into their children.

If I want to be have the financial freedom to do some of the things I want to do in life – including as John Wesley taught – to have the money to tithe to the ministry of Jesus in your church – then I want to imitate the disciplines followed by people who have saved their money and worked hard.

We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses who can show us what righteous and Godly living looks like. All we need to do is ask. All we need to do is observe and watch and learn and put into practice the lifestyles that actually have staying power and result in life.

Finally, what the Israelites kept in front of them as they wandered through the wilderness was the promise that had been given them of the inheritance they would receive if they remained faithful to God.

Speaking to the Israelites after they had been through the cycle of rebellion over and over, God still shows the grace to say in Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

I’ve been reading through the book of Proverbs this month. And I find it interesting that every in that book is the assumption that as God’s people live faithfully, they will prosper. Not only will they prosper spiritually, but they will prosper financially. Their children, it says, will live in security and be blessed.

Pr 14:26 Those who fear the LORD have a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge.

Sometimes we get lost in the stream of our everyday stuff. In fact, it can be a bit overwhelming. That’s why we have to keep our eyes fixed on where it is that we’re headed. We’ve got to keep our vision on where God’s leading us and not get knocked off track by the length of the journey or the difficulty of the course. If we are faith, God will be faithful. Every time.

If we are faithful to the task of parenting. Our children will learn to love and trust in God.

If we are faithful to our spouses and committed to growing in our love and service to them, we will experience marriages that not only last a lifetime but are filled with joy and laughter.

If we are faithful to exercise restraint and put off gratification until later, we will grow wealth and be in the position to leave an inheritance for our children.

If we are faithful to the call of Jesus to exercise our spiritual giftedness for the kingdom, we will see others blessed and the kingdom grow. Our lives will be blessed with Gods’ meaning and purpose.

We ever keep the promise of God’s goodness in front of us. We ever keep his love in front of us . God loves us and wants us to walk in power and authority as disciples of Jesus. We ever keep our destiny in front of us. God is raising up a people who will one day judge the world in righteousness (1 Cor 6:2).

But first we remember. We remember the words we have heard and the sights we have seen. We remember what God has done for us and what we’ve seen Him do in the lives of others. We remember what he did through Jesus. How we were once in sin, but through God’s grace we came to know the new creation. Become intentional about talking about the power of God in your home and passing along your spiritual legacy as the legacy of others has been passed along to you.

And we close with the words of the Lord to the Israelites as they are about to possess the land and step into the awesome inheritance that God has planned for them.

Deut 11:18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.

Graduating toward Maturity

2009-05-20T20:31:00.002-05:00

It's the season of graduation.

It's both exciting and a little scary leaving behind what you know and jumping into something new. The new is exciting because it's not the old. It means new friends, new experiences, new opportunities, new challenges.

The old, though, can sometimes be hard to leave behind. It's what you know. It's what's comfortable.

In the Bible, God everywhere is pushing his children forward into the new. He doesn't do this because he takes some sort of sinister delight in watching us suffer as we get acclimated. I think he does it because he knows that we are hard-wired to like things the way we like them. And to get us to grow in any way, God has to turn up the heat a little bit - make things just a little uncomfortable, a little risky, a little awkward so that we'll let go of the past and trust in the future that God has for us.

We see this in the OT as the Israelites are wandering through the desert toward their final destination of the Promised Land! Throughout their wanderings they cry out to their leaders to take them back to Egypt! At least there they had consistent food to eat, a place to live, and work to do - even if they did have all those things not as free people, but as slaves.

It was hard for the Israelites to let go of what they knew and press forward to God's amazing promise for them.

At the same time we're letting go, God is doing a work inside of us of pressing us forward to greater maturity. We leave behind spiritual childhood and we move toward becoming spiritually mature adults.

Now it's possible to be a biological adult without being a spiritually mature adult. Look at what Paul has to say in 1 Corinthians as he goads a divided church to start acting like spiritual adults.

1Co 3:1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly-mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?

There's milk. And then there's solid food. There's simple teaching about what one must do to be saved. Then there's the harder work of living out that salvation like Paul says to do in Philippians 2 with "fear and trembling." Once we leave behind simply knowing how to be saved, we enter the much more difficult (but rewarding) journey of daily living out our walk with Jesus.

It's one thing to have a one time experience of your sins being forgiven. It's another thing to daily forgive those who have hurt you and seek God's forgiveness for the ways we've hurt others. It's one thing to to experience the "high" of receiving Christ for the first time. It's another thing to receive Christ every single day even though you're not sure where the strength is going to come from to make it through your day. It's one thing to see realized the hope you have of being in heaven in eternity. It's another to bring heaven down to earth in the ways you treat people, the ways you do your daily work, the ways you show love for people you don't always feel like loving or honoring.

My men's group that meets on Wednesday Nights is reading through C.S. Lewis's, The Screwtape Letters. One of our discussion recently we talked about how every day we experience a "mini-salvation" - a deliverance from evil, a setting free from the things that want to keep us chained up, a renewal of the hope we have that God is good and wants good things for our lives.

Most of us would admit that we are not the same person today that were were in High School. We graduated from High School and just started living life. In the course of that life, we have had to make choices remain stuck where we are because it's what we know or to step in faith into the amazing life of living Jesus daily.

Consider one of my favorite scriptures from James, chapter 1. Jas 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

The journey into God's promise - though uncertain - can be filled with joy because each day of walking that walk, God is perfecting us, God is making us more mature. God is making us complete human beings.

The last thing I want to point you toward is this.

Eph 4:14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Our growth doesn't happen without others praying for us, encouraging us, challenging us and holding us accountable to the goals we have for ourselves. As we live this life together, we're like a body that is held together by a thousand different ligaments each one supporting and assisting the other. We speak the truth in love and don't hold back because life is too short to be stuck in bad place just because the people around us want to be polite and spare our feelings. We can't grow unless we know the truth of where we are.

We also can't grow unless we have a destination. And our destination is full maturity in Christ. He is the head of our body. He is the completion of our process of maturity. He is the horizon upon which we fix our sights as we press forward in life.

Ministering to the Orphans

2009-05-14T11:11:00.000-05:00

God's really been stirring my spirit recently about the place Promise Church can play in Jackson ministering to children and youth. When you consider the people that have been gathered into our community and how many teachers and educators and people with "nurturing" high on their spiritual gift it would seem to be almost a no-brainer!

The question, really, is how.

Of the "mission-ministries" I've visited in other countries - Hopegivers in India, and Have of Hope (actually Templo Christiano is the name of the church!) in Mexico - the focus has always been on children. I saw this in Mexico the very first day I was there. The Sunday morning service wasn't an adult service at all. It was designed especially to attract and disciple children and youth. The songs were songs children would want to sing. The praise team consisted of high schoolers and young adults. They had a dedicated team of adult volunteers who viewed it as their MISSION to make disciples of children and youth!

In India, M.A. Thomas sends his recent Bible school graduates out with a Bible and a Bicycle and they go to a village and what's the first thing they do? It often isn't setting up a Bible Study, or creating a church. They will begin gathering orphan children into their families and caring for them. Dr. Thomas's dream was to raise 1 million orphans in India each filled with a passion for serving Jesus Christ. He possessed a vision of what 1 million Christ-filled orphans might do in that predominately Hindu country.

Closer to home, we see the effects of "spiritual orphans" daily. School dropout. Crime. Drug abuse. Broken homes. Divorce. General hopelessness and lack of vision. Is there anything we can do?

That's the question I've been taking to God recently. When we first started Promise Church, I believed our mission would be to reach people who had little or no experience with church. And we have certainly seen some of those folks come and be blessed. But what if our mission really is to and for those who have no one speaking life into their lives right now? Those, who come home from school to an empty house. Those whose parent or parents can't spend time with them because they're working multiple jobs? Is there any way we can help strengthen the family by providing a safe, nurturing, and life-giving environment in which children can be taught to thrive? I believe we can.

I would like to see a shift take place in the way we do ministry at Promise Church. We've been really good about providing small groups and places of nurture for adults who want to experience healing in their lives. This is important ministry. The shift, however, that I would like to see is for these adults who are receiving life begin pouring life into the lives of others. How many of us know that a body of water that just has water coming in but never flows through becomes stagnant over time?

Would a shift take place in the predominantly secular culture of the United States if there were a movement to educate and nurture 1 million children with the good news of Jesus Christ who have been left spiritually orphaned?

Find a moment today to read James 1:27 and then pray this prayer, if you would.

Lord, how can I be a life bringer to a spiritually orphaned child in my city?

And see what the Lord reveals to you. I'm praying this prayer as well and will be working with the Vision Team to design a way we can do ministry and worship that reaches the "orphans" of Jackson.

2009-05-06T11:26:00.003-05:00

It's funny how the prospect of having one's reality changed can wake you up to what you should already have recognized as one's spiritual and moral obligation. John Gilbert sent me today a link to a video on You-Tube depicting demographic changes that were taking place in Europe in fertility rates that would over a short period of time lead to those countries becoming dominated by Islam. (View here)

It was frightening. The solution (according to the video)? Christians having more children, of course. But also, evangelizing Islamic people and culture.

Evangelism in the west - particularly in the United States - hasn't been something that the church has shown much passion for. Largely, the United States is viewed already as an evangelized nation. So our efforts have been much more along missional lines in other countries or what we might call "social" missions at home. Evangelism in mainline churches is almost non-existent. Evangelism in non-mainline churches more resembles a trip to Disneyland than it does a sacrificial commitment of one's life to Jesus Christ - through good times and through times of suffering.

Part of the reason for that is that we're not too sure what it is we're supposed to be evangelizing about. In liberal churches, seminarians have been taught to avoid language or thinking that denigrates the identity and value of another. Sounds great in theory. But this has led to questioning whether Christians have any basis at all for critiquing the value systems of others. That has not been particularly helpful.

Conservative and charismatic churches have been all too willing to make that critique - but often its been from the standpoint of an historical and highly dogmatic point of view - often that has no real relevance to scripture or the gospel (or history, for that matter) and done in a spirit of arrogance and spiritual elitism rather than compassion for others.

I'm not so sure I even want to consider a "middle ground" as much as I want to ask God to reveal a completely "out-of-the-box" manner of sharing the story and power of Jesus with others.

The key, for me, is found in 1 Corinthians 2:1 where Paul tells the Corinthian church that he didn't come to them with wise and persuasive words but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power. I don't think anyone today has any clue what that looked like specifically. We have hints of it throughout Paul's letter to the Corinthians because of the corrections he felt like he needed to make within that church's practice of the faith.

But here is what we can be certain of.

1. Believers have experienced life transformation through Jesus Christ that is worth sharing with others.

2. We can be confident of what God is doing with us as we measure our experience against the "law of love." The check against arrogance and elitism is - Do we love others? (Not in a "we'll love them as long as they become like us" sort of way).

3. If we hunger and pray for it - God will gift believers for the ministry of sharing our encounter with Christ with others. In Matamoros - God's display of His power might look different than it does in Jackson, TN - but we can be confident that God will grant the gift. He wants the good news to be shared.

4. We have a mission, if not an outright mandate, to share the experience and teaching of Jesus with others. Our God is a relational God. He revels in connecting people with each other. Sure, God could choose to download into the memory banks of every person absolute knowledge of Jesus's teachings. Instead, God chose to use "jars of clay" to communicate the good news. If God knew that ahead of time, He also knew our imperfections, our doubts about our being "up to the task", our lack of resources at times, and even that at time we might "get it wrong." Still He chose us. Blows my mind, actually.

5. And finally, if we don't share our message, someone else will certainly share theirs. There exist a number of versions of what life ought to look like in the world - some of which are growing at exponential rates. Ask yourself - does the version I've been taught and now live bear any truth to it? Whether liberals want to recognize it or not, there are versions of truth in the world that are fast growing acceptance that would seek to eliminate entirely any "liberal dream" of an open society. Whether conservatives want to recognize it or not, there have been times in history that believers have tried to impose something other than the gospel on other people.

How important is your story - the story of your experience of Jesus - to share with the people you know who don't know Jesus in any meaningful way? Can we avoid sharing it any longer?

Back from Mexico

2009-04-29T13:54:00.001-05:00

Our mission team had an amazing trip to Matamoros, Mexico where we worked closely alongside Pastor Lalo Castro and his wife, Patty. The days were filled meeting with Pastor Lalo and listening to him describe what God is doing in Matamoros as the church moves to a new location and builds an orphanage on the outskirts of town. The evenings were filled with praise and worship and members of our team were asked to bring messages each night and then pray for members of their church.

What I observed most from the church was their incredible hunger to experience the power and presence of God in their lives. They didn't have a lot of resources to "do church" but what they had was a longing to see God at work. And where there's that longing, amazingly, God shows up providing exactly what's needed to love and minister to others.

Isn't that awesome? When we find ourselves being extended beyond our abilities and resources to do what God has placed before us, God shows up to help us do what we can't do ourselves. The glory then is God's glory and not our own. The big question is - Are we extending in faith toward that calling? Are we hungry for God to move through us? To work through us? To minister through us?

The question applies to us individually (are we risking so that we have to rely on God?) and as a church (are we reaching out past our walls and saying whatever you have for us God, we gladly receive!). I know that the times I've grown in a big way in my faith are those times I said yes to the invitation to walk in unkown, unmapped places and put my trust in God's leading and provision to see me through. When we do this we will always grow. It might stretch us a little. It might stretch us a lot. But God is growing inside of us the heart of a warrior - ready to do battle, ready to bring the peace, ready to risk it all for God's eternal kingdom. Don't become cynical or despairing when these growing times occur. Keep your sights focused on the promise of God's goodness and trust in what God is building in you.

Why Do We Call This Friday "Good?"

2009-04-11T09:50:00.001-05:00

Why is it exactly that we call this Friday good? If you run through in your mind the course of the day’s events there is nothing in this day – two thousand years ago – to remotely refer to this day as a good day. It begins the evening before as Jesus shares his last meal with his apostles and tells them that his body will be broken and his blood shed. He is betrayed by one of his disciples who has walked closely with him throughout his short, three-year ministry. And for what? For power, prestige, for fame? No, for money. For thirty pieces of silver and lasting infamy.

He is taken into custody not by the Romans, at first, but by his own people – the Jews. They have been the ones most threatened by his ministry. Put yourself in their shoes. They have worked out a nice arrangement with the Romans – the Romans receive their tribute money and in return the Jewish temple authorities and king remain in power. It’s a sweet deal. Except for one, small thing. Jesus has promised those who would listen to him that they no longer need to go through power or the temple to know and serve God. In fact, they may know God as “Abba, Father.” Papa.

Well, that’s not going to work in the nice, sweet, deal that the Jews and the Romans have worked out. Because everything hinges on the people living in dependency on the temple and the priests and the political power of their day. That very last thing that anyone would want would be actual "freedom."

Why is it exactly that we call this Friday good? Those same Jewish authorities arrest the trouble-maker Jesus and bring him before their own rigged court. And in that court, what happens is perfectly predictable –they find Jesus guilty. Oh they trump up some charges against him because they realize that they really have nothing to hold him on. They quote back to him some of the things that Jesus talked about in his ministry – out of context, of course. But that doesn’t matter; they’re the ones asking the questions. And then they wait for Jesus’ reply knowing that anything he says will be something they can jump on – “See we told you all along he was a blasphemer, a bandit, and a rebel.”

But Jesus is mostly silent. There’s no arguing with power in power’s court.

Jesus is handed over to from the religious leaders to the Roman governor – Pilate. Pilate had been given the ominous task of preventing Jewish revolt and maintaining order in their capital city. He answered to Caesar in Rome. He, too, had lines of power that must be followed and structures that must be kept in place. Order must be maintained for the sake of empire. But he saw this man as no threat to Roman power. You can almost hear the sneer as he asks Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” is Jesus’s only reply. Jesus is mostly silent, because you see there’s no arguing with power in power’s court.

Pilate can’t be bothered and determines that this is a Jewish matter. Let their political puppet Herod decide this case. It really is a Jewish matter, after all. Let the consequence rest in Jewish hands – this man is no threat to Rome.

Herod – not even a Jew but an Idumean - had been installed by Rome to keep peace in volatile Judea and make sure the tribute continued to flow. But Herod was intrigued by Jesus. He had been informed of what Jesus had done. The miracles. The healings. The teachings. And he was hoping that maybe Jesus would do some of that for him. But before Herod – the shadow of power – Jesus is silent.

It’s against the backdrop of religious authority and political power that Jesus remains deathly silent. What was it inside of the hearts of those seated on the Jewish council that prevented them from seeing the very presence of God in Jesus? What was it inside the heart of Pilate or Herod that prevented them from recognizing someone who could bring real justice and kingly leadership to the people? What was it inside of the hearts of the Sanhedrin, or Pilate, or Herod, that needed to hold so tightly to their power, their version, their authority, their control, their structure in the face of one who was in fact, the Life-Bringer? Of what, or of whom were they so afraid?

Do we miss the Life-Bringer when he stands before us? Do we become blinded by our own need to protect what we have that when real life is offered to us, our eyes are pressed shut and our hands clasped tightly over our hears?

You know the rest of the story. Jesus was crucified shamefully on the cross on a hill outside of Jerusalem for all to see – this is what happens to those who try to thwart the system. This is what happens to those who offer the promise of real freedom to those who dare to dream that they may one day be free.

It would be a sad story, repeated so often throughout history if it ended there. Freedom fighters dying for their ideals against earthly and spiritual forces of oppression and greed. We resonate with the story of the freedom fighter because something deep down inside of us desires real freedom. We quietly recognize the places where we have given up hope or given in and said “well, that just how things are.” “That’s life in the real world.” “Better just to get used to it.” And we say these things as our spirits sink and we become further dulled.

It would be a sad story were it not for what happens on the third day. Because it’s there, on that day, that the lie is exposed that it always has to be like this. There, on that day the promise is fulfilled. God reigns, his power prevails over the powers of darkness and oppression. And we get to be part of that victory. We have tasted it. We live in it. We rise to new life in it. And it’s in the victory that we look upon any mere earthly power and ask “would you presume to have power over us when we stand in the presence of the Risen King?” It’s in that victory that we have been released to real freedom.

And so it is that a Friday otherwise destined for darkness and misery can be seen through the light of the victory as Good. We call this Friday good because it was power’s last stand against the victory that Jesus would bring. For ever since then, all exercise of power or influence whether it be earthly, spiritual, or emotional has been weighed and judged against the victory of the cross.

Preparing for Peace

2008-12-04T06:22:00.002-06:00

Susan and I both observed after Thanksgiving this year how "peaceful" it was. We didn't do anything out of the ordinary. We got up, fixed some coffee, and cleaned and organized the house a little bit. But it was a noticeably un-hurried morning. It felt wonderful to have nothing to do except spend some good family time together.

We sat down this week and reviewed our calendar for the month of December and were struck by the number of events that we have scheduled. There are parties for this, gatherings and dinners for that. And the holiday season for a pastor and his wife tend to be a little "hurried" and hectic. Lots to do. People to see. Gifts to buy. Relatives to visit. Well, you get the picture.

A friend of mine, Wayne Reed, used to be a missionary in Ireland some twenty years ago. I remember the story he told me of spending the Christmas season in Dublin. Families would have to be mindful of purchasing two weeks of groceries and supplies because during the Christmas season the stores would close - completely close - so that families could be together. I'm not sure how that would work in today's America - but it doesn't sound too bad, does it? Wouldn't it be cool to have a couple of weeks to do nothing but enjoy friends, laugh a lot, celebrate life, eat heartily but healthily, and give and receive presents? Sounds almost like heaven to me.

I suppose if I want to have anything that resembles Wayne's experience, I'll have to be a little intentional. Plan our night's out, be careful with our December budget, think through our food intake (more than normal!), etc. so that December - the season we celebrate the incarnation of God in Christ Jesus - really takes on the character of blessing and peace and not a mad consumptive dash to January 1! Maybe, what I'm saying is this. I can choose to have Jesus dwell in the season we celebrate his birth with all that that means - the traditional Peace, Joy, Love, and Hope - and that choice, like everything else in my life can happen with some discipline, some balance, some view of God's larger view of my life.

Come January 1, I hope to have accomplished one of this past year's New Years Resolutions - to spend the holidays with my family and truly and deeply experience the presence of Jesus.

Slow down. Breathe in. Breathe out. Enjoy more. Give thanks deeply.

Thanksgiving Meditation

2008-11-27T12:20:00.002-06:00

Imagine yourself having traveled from the country you have known and loved to a new land – unsettled, wild, unpredictable, dangerous. In this new place there is no guarantee that you will be fed, that you will prosper or even that you will survive. And still you travel across an ocean in a small, rickety merchant ship, crowded with 102 other pilgrims – seekers, like yourself – for a place to start a new life.

The draw of that new life was so powerful to those pilgrims that sailed 65 days across the Atlantic Ocean to Plymouth colony that they were willing to endure a painful and debilitating winter, suffer starvation and disease, and risk attack from Indians so that they would be able to experience life together as a free Christian community.

In late September or early October of 1621 – almost a year after they had arrived – the pilgrims were ready for a breakthrough. Half of their community had died. They faced another difficult winter without enough food. The Indians, whom they had only recently begun to interact showed up with five deer, vegetables, and some wild game and shared with the pilgrims a meal. It was in the “nick of time” as they say.

This meal wouldn’t have been called Thanksgiving by the Pilgrims. They had other religious holidays by that name. But they were thankful nonetheless. They were not alone. God had opened a providential door for them to trade with the nearby Indians and with that came the confidence that they would make it through their second winter in this new land.

I think what has endured in our memory of the Pilgrims has been their absolute reliance - when they had come to the end of themselves - that God would provide. I’m not sure that if they had come and not faced the incredible hardship that they faced that we would be celebrating a day we call “Thanksgiving.”

No, it seems that somehow being thankful comes with the recognition that we rely on something deeper and greater for our provision – that what some people call luck we can with the eyes of faith recognize as what we call - God’s providence. In the economy of God’s providence – God has a plan and as we choose to live and work and love and worship in agreement with God’s plan, we find that our most fundamental needs as human beings are cared for.

This brings joy, doesn’t it? To know that all we have to do is say yes to God and God will care for his children whom he already loves! We no longer have to strive against a resistant and unmerciful existence, we can instead have faith that in obedience and surrender to God is life.

Mt 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

It was a lot like some other pilgrims we read about in the Old Testament. As the prophet Jeremiah had foretold, the Israelites would spend 70 years in Babylonian captivity and then released to their homeland to rebuild the temple. Around 538 BC, groups of Israelites were allowed to return to Jerusalem and there they were allowed to begin rebuilding the Jewish temple. The Jews who returned pooled their few resources to pay the masons and carpenters to build the new temple. As they witnessed the foundation being laid they celebrated and praised the God who had delivered seen them through.

Ezr 3:10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. 11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: “He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.” And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. 12 But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. 13 No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.

That’s the kind of noise we should make when we see the goodness of God. When was the last time you shouted for joy that God had delivered you from sickness, from depression, from a poverty mentality, from loss – so much so that your neighbors had to call the Sheriff’s dept because the noise you made was so great! Against a larger tapestry, we are able to see the hand of God at work so that even pagan princes serve the purposes and divine plan of God. It’s when we pause long enough to express our thankfulness that we can see a loving God connecting all the dots in our life.

This was certainly true in Ezra’s day. It’s also true in ours. God isn’t finished yet. The people and places and events that the Spirit of God uses to bring about His kingdom are the people and places and events you and I see, touch, and hear every single day. God is still at work and his intentions are good.

We may feel at times as if we are in a season of Babylonian captivity. We may feel as if we’re always waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled over our lives. But persevere and wait with great expectation. God has a day of deliverance set aside for each one of us when we can look book with “Aha!” eyes and see the lengths God has gone to do draw us into deeper relationship with him.

Galatians 5:1 says “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” And every day in Christ is another day toward our ultimate freedom and purpose. Let’s then receive each day with thanksgiving. God is working out his purposes in us. And his purposes are good. It’s Jeremiah who tells us about God’s good plans in Jer 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Let us pray.

Gracious and loving God, today we bend our hearts toward you and receive your blessings with thanksgiving and praise. Send your spirit to breakthrough our doubt and “right now” thinking to see your grander movement in our lives. Allow each day, Lord, to be a day we receive as a blessing from you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Spiritual Gifts

2008-11-16T19:21:00.002-06:00

Thanks to Shannon Haynes for sending me the link to an interesting spiritual gifts inventory. She grabbed it off of New Directions Christian Church website. Here it is...

http://www.TeamMinistry.com/

Here were my results. Very cool and confirmed the kind of pastor I tend to be.

Jay Hutchens

Spiritual Gifts (number is relative strength compared to the others)

Evangelism 6

Prophecy 12

Teaching 16

Exhortation 12

Pastor/Shepherd 20

Showing Mercy 16

Serving 13

Giving 13

Administration 21

About Your Spiritual Gifts

Spiritual gifts are tools God gives Christians to do the work of the ministry -- to fulfill the Great Commission to reach, baptize, and teach and to minister to one another. Every Christian receives at least one gift at the moment of salvation. Spiritual gifts are not rewards, are not natural talents, are not a place of service, are not an age-group ministry, and are not a specialty ministry. They express themselves through various ministries which, in turn, accomplish a variety of results. A spiritual gift is the primary channel by which the Holy Spirit ministers through the believer. It is a supernatural capacity for service to God -- and He gives you a supernatural desire to perform the duties of that gift. Spiritual gifts are tools for building the church. They are a source of joy in your Christian life and influence your motives. A spiritual gift is a divine calling with a divine responsibility, because what God has gifted you to do, He has called you to do, and what He has called you to do, He has gifted you to do.

There are three categories of gifts: The Miraculous Gifts, generally known today as Charismatic Gifts; the Enabling Gifts which all Christians have the ability to develop (faith, discernment, wisdom, and knowledge -- qualities possessed rather than activities performed); and Team Gifts which are activity, service, or task-oriented. The Team Gifts are functional and involve speaking or ministering.

Chances are, you have several of these gifts that vary in different degrees and intensity. In many cases, spiritual gifts even complement your secular employment. The Spiritual Gifts Analysis you took identified your dominant TEAM GIFTS which will help you find your place on the team in your church. Prayer and serving God will also help you see where God wants you. This profile gives you a simple bar graph showing how all the gifts relate to you and to each other, but analyzes indepth only your dominant and secondary gifts which are the ones that will have greater influence in your life.
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Your dominant gifts are Administration, Pastor/Shepherd

The results of your Spiritual Gifts Inventory indicate that your number one dominant gift is ADMINISTRATION! The Greek word "kubernesis" means one who steers a ship. This expert had the responsibility to bring a ship into the harbor through the rocks and shoals, under all types of pressures. As an administrator you have the Spirit-given capacity and desire to serve God by organizing, administering, promoting, and leading the various affairs of the church. The administrator is not a glorified file clerk.

As an administrator you are a take-charge person who jumps in and starts giving orders when no one is in charge. You will put a plan on paper and start delegating responsibility. You may lean toward organizing things, events or programs, OR toward organizing people, emphasizing personal relationships and leadership responsibilities. In the first case, you usually organize details and have people carry them out. In the second case, you tend to organize people and rely on others to take care of the little things.

You don't often admit to mistakes and do not like to take time to explain why you are doing things; you just expect the job to get done. If things in the church, office, club, etc. become fragmented, you can harmonize the whole program if given a chance. You are a person with a dream and are not afraid to attempt the impossible.

You are goal-oriented, well-disciplined, and work best under heavy pressure. You are often a good motivator and not a procrastinator. You are serious minded, highly motivated, intense, and have an accurate self-image. You tend to be more interested in the welfare of the group than your own desire. You are probably a perfectionist and want things done your way now.

Although to others you appear to be organized, you usually aren't. Be careful that you do not make decisions just based on logic rather than Scripture. Work on your willingness to admit to making a mistake and on being more sensitive to "little" people. Try to be a little more tolerant of other people's mistakes.

Beware of Satan's attack on your gift. He can cause pride because of your leadership role, selfishness because of success (not sharing glory with those under you), blame-shifting when things go wrong, discouragement and frustration when goals are not met, anger and mistreatment of those who disagree with your plans, lack of concern for people, lack of spiritual growth, and wrong motives.

HOW CAN YOU USE YOUR DOMINANT GIFT? You may work well as the leader of a project, ministry, or program; chairman of a committee or board; a church planner; or chairman of building or fund-raising projects. Other positions where you may serve well include pastor, assistant pastor, business manager, office manager or department head for large staff, Sunday school superintendent, fellowship group or missionary circle leader, library manager, camp director, church moderator, bus ministry director, nursery coordinator or Vacation Bible School director.
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The results of your Spiritual Gifts Inventory indicate that your second dominant gift is PASTORING/SHEPHERDING! The Greek word "poimen" means pastor. In Paul's spiritual gifts listing in Ephesians 4:11, this term is translated "pastor." Although the word "poimen" is translated pastor only one time in Scripture it is used sixteen additional times. The remaining sixteen are all translated "shepherd." Therefore, we are actually discussing the GIFT of shepherding, not the POSITION of pastor. Though a good pastor must have the gift of shepherding, everyone who has the gift of shepherding is not called to be pastor. The gift can be used in many positions in a church.

As a gifted shepherd, you have the Spirit-given capacity and desire to serve God by overseeing, training, and caring for the needs of a group of Christians. You are usually very patient, people-centered, and willing to spend time in prayer for others. You tend to be a "Jack of All and Master of ONE," meaning you are usually dominant in one of the speaking gifts (evangelist, prophet, teacher, exhorter) as well. You are often authoritative, more a leader than a follower, and expressive, composed, and sensitive. Your pleasing personality draws people to you.

You have a burden to see others learn and grow and are protective of those under your care. You want to present the whole Word of God and do not like to present the same materials more than once. You are willing to study what is necessary to feed your group and are more relationship oriented than task oriented. You are a peace-maker and diplomat - very tolerant of people's weaknesses. You tend to remember people's names and faces. You are more concerned with doing for others than others doing for you. You are faithful and devoted and may become a workaholic. You can become an all-purpose person in order to meet needs.

People with the gift of shepherding make the best Sunday school teachers and group leaders because their desire is to go beyond just teaching or leading, to shepherd and minister to the daily needs of their students. The position of Sunday school teacher or group leader is an extension of the pastoral ministry in the church. These groups should be shepherded on a small scale the same as the pastor shepherds the whole congregation on a large scale.

Be careful to involve other people; don't try to do it all yourself. Work on making people accountable. Do not be overly protective of your "flock." Because of these potentially weak areas, other people may think it is your job to do all the work; they rely too heavily on you. You may be expected to be available at all times, know all the answers, and be at every function. Learn when to say no.
Beware of Satan's attack on your gift. He will cause discouragement when the load gets heavy, and pride because your "sheep" look up to you. You may develop family problems because of too little time and attention. You may become selfish when "sheep" feed in other pastures.

HOW CAN YOU USE YOUR GIFT? This gift is a great help in many areas. You may serve as a Sunday school teacher, small group leader, pastor or assistant pastor, bus captain, special ministry leader (such as youth, children, men, etc.), nursery worker or as a half-way house or other type shelter volunteer. You may consider serving as a dormitory leader in a college, orphanage, children's home, etc. Scout troops would appreciate your assistance as a den leader.
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Building an effective team in your church depends on putting the right people in the right places. The best way to determine what place each person belongs in is by determine everyone's spiritual gifts. But, just discovering your spiritual gift is not enough.

Here's the real challenge. Many Christians are asking the question, "What is my spiritual gift?" When in reality they need to be asking, "What is a spiritual gift?" They do not understand the relationships of spiritual gifts. That is, they don't understand how a spiritual gift relates to their life, how it relates to the will of God for their life, how it relates to the lives of those around them, how it relates the local church, or how it relates to the body of Christ as a whole. To give John J. Christian an additional name and make him John J. Exhorter Christian is only doing him an injustice. Having a new name or title does not make you a more effective, more fulfilled, or a better Christian, nor does it give you any more understanding of yourself or those around you. Most contemporary material written on spiritual gifts does an adequate job in helping you recognize, discover, and define what your spiritual gifts are. Also, many do a fine job of teaching on the individual parts of the body, but few complete their teaching by assembling the body, thus showing how church members can work as complementing, effective, and efficient team. Thus, teaching a person only what their spiritual gift is without teaching them what a spiritual gift is, is like giving someone a new tool without giving them the operator's manual. They will never understand it fully nor will they be able to use it to its maximum potential. The same is true with your spiritual gifts.

Now that you have taken this inventory and know what your spiritual gifts are, we encourage you to study the principles that revolve around and relate to spiritual gifts. These principles combined with recognizing your gifts have been proven to dramatically change lives AND build churches. We have many resources available to help you better understand your gifts and how they relate to all areas of your life. Plus, we have resources to equip and assist you in teaching spiritual gifts and biblical team building to others. Furthermore, we have teachers who can come to your church and teach private seminars for you group. For additional information on resources or seminars just click on the appropriate button below.

Seek a blessing...

2008-11-13T10:32:00.000-06:00

I've been reflecting this week on some of the lessons I've learned in close to twenty years of ministry. And out of those reflections have emerged some very general principles that seem to rise to the top of our experience of being church and seeking God.

There's not one of us that doesn't want to be blessed by God and experience favor in our families, work, and relationships. If you're like me, you've spent some amount of time wanting God to "fix it" for you - to undo all the unpleasant consequences of decisions I've made in these areas of my life. We're taught that God moves miraculously and supernaturally, and so it's very natural for us to look for that movement in our own lives.

It's occurred to me though that God does nothing in our life without our agreement. It's not until we say "yes" that God's "YES" becomes something that we can actually see and touch and feel. Our "yes" is more than what we learned in Evangelism 101 as "intellectual assent." In truth, our "yes" resembles a passionate trust in God's purposes and promises over our lives. We literally begin acting out and acting upon what we have come to know to be true about the character and presence and mission of God. We come into agreement with who God is and what God is up to. And we do this completely trusting in the faithfulness of God for whatever outcome He has for us - trust that God desires GOOD things for His children.

In brass tacks, it looks a little like this as we seek God's blessing on our lives...

If you want to receive a blessing, give a blessing.

If you want to hear a blessing, speak a blessing.

If you want to walk in blessing, then lay down the path through which others are blessed.

That may sound like a simple little instruction. Almost too basic for experienced Spirit-seekers as ourselves! But what would your walk with God look like if this guided your walk today? Just today. Would it get a little deeper? And then tomorrow. A little deeper? And then the next day... a little deeper?

When Silence Interrupts...

2008-11-11T11:44:00.004-06:00

Something unusual happened last night at our weekly Intercession service. We pride ourselves much of the time on being open to a "move of the Spirit." So it's not uncommon for worship to last an hour and then to have a time of praying for healing or deliverance for people and then to have a message or some combination of the above. We often find ourselves still praying for folks at 10pm. We begin at 7pm. I love it!

Last night, John Ryan McNaughton was "scheduled" to bring our message. But as he led worship, he felt a "halt" being placed on him by God. He described it to me like this - "it felt like moving foward in any way would be contrived. I was confused about how to proceed." Now, this isn't a reflection on John Ryan's competence as a worship leader. He's a very gifted worship leader. It's more of a reflection on how we listen for the prompting of God and respond to it in worship, in work, in relationships, in life.

You see, in North American culture we are convinced that we are wasting time unless we are occupied with work. We derive much of our value from this. Unless I'm doing, unless I'm accomplishing, then I'm not being valuable to someone, and hence I'm being irresponsible with my time. It's a pretty big value for us. And so we at times will do just about anything to keep from doing nothing and feeling "value-less."

Last night, God interrupted our "doing" with "non-doing." It was as if God was challenging us to be in His Presence without doing another single thing. John Ryan played a single sustained note while we sat and struggled with "what next?" What's supposed to happen? What are we supposed to DO now?

And we discovered the answer together which was... not a thing.

One of my roles as a pastor is to interpret a move of God when I perceive it. What I perceived last night was God issuing a radical challenge to our socially inherited sense of what makes me valuable. At any given time, what constitutes the value of the child of God is quite simply their sonship and daughter-ship. God delights in us AS WE ARE.

There are times when I love to go into my children's room at night before I go to bed and just watch them sleeping. I pray over them but I also just stand and just simply wonder. They are beautiful. They are innocent (at least while they're asleep!). They are so wonderfully made by God. There's nothing they're required to do for me to love them. Sometimes, I just get to enjoy them while they're doing absolutely nothing except being asleep.

Our time with God doesn't always have to follow a programme. Sometimes, we are allowed - perhaps released - to just be with God in the manner that God chooses to be with us. God may desire to interrupt our words, our schedule, our highly structured expectation of our time with Him and do something new. He has that permission. After all, He's God. And that's okay. It's more than okay. Against the stream of a culture that so highly values doing over being - it's a very GOOD thing.

A Better Way to Pray

2008-11-11T08:32:00.003-06:00

Came across this quote this morning from Andrew Wommack's book, "A Better Way to Pray" (thanks to Jacki Shuttleworth for recommending the book!).

"Don't try to build your relationship with God too intensely, either. Some people think they need a lightning bolt from heaven in order to curl their hair in the morning! If you asked God for that today, what would you need to "feel" His love tomorrow? If God didn't perform something bigger and better, you'd wonder, "What happened, Lord?" Yesterday You zapped me but today I don't feel a thing! Why don't You love me anymore?" He'd have to jump through a new hoop each day just to keep you satisfied. This is the worst thing that could happen to you. Instead of maturing in intimacy with Him, you'd become addicted to spectacular experiences. God's not going to do that!" (Andrew Womack, A Better Way to Pray, 43).

Some Random Reflections on Pastoring...

2008-10-10T11:49:00.001-05:00

A discipline of the preacher is cultivating awareness of God’s presence and movement. The movement itself needs no special casting. It stands alone. By itself it is powerful enough to forever transform a life. All the preacher need do is point to it and by itself it delivers the hope and the promise.

We then shepherd the people of God toward the light of the place where God is moving. When the cloud settles, we settle. When the cloud lifts, we pick up and move.

One of the reasons our evangelism has become doctrinal is because we can’t completely (or even partially) understand what it means to have a “relationship” with God. So we point to “truths” in scripture and ask people to come into agreement with those truths thinking that at least if they do that they will begin the journey of relationship. “Truths” are easier for us to grab hold of. We can walk people through an understanding of a series of logical truths that interrelate with each other and form thematic structures.

But a relationship. That’s the harder work – mostly because we can only point the way. To invite someone into a relationship with God is to be a third-party broker. The person being invited is required to say yes and then do the difficult work of surrendering to the will and the purposes of God. I can’t do that work for them. The most I can do is offer wise counsel about the “benefit” of the relationship or how it “feels right” or “gives meaning.” But even those things ring hollow. It isn’t until you’ve been called and answer “yes” to that call that you have any notion of what that “yes” actually means or entails.

From Olympics to Politics...

2008-08-28T09:48:00.001-05:00

It seems like we've gone from one big television event to the next - from the Olympics to the National Convention of the Democratic Party. The Olympics were amazing this year. Who will ever forget watching the men's 400m freestyle relay as Jason Lezak caught up from behind to beat the French by a "fingernail" of a second! Susan and I tried to be near the TV every time Michael Phellps raced and cheered on in front of the TV when he won his 8th gold medal in the 100m medley relay!

We've also been watching parts of the DNC convention this week. And the one thing that strikes us and that we've been talking about is how while there is great pageantry and commentary about the presidential race this year, the rhetoric is not anything we haven't heard in some form or fashion before. Not that we're discouraged. It's not that at all. Perhaps it's a recognition that the power to change the quality of my life doesn't lie with legislation or bureaucratic change. It's the recognition, instead, that transformation MUST occur first in the heart of the individual believer completely surrenderd to the purposes of God. And that's true no matter what political leader or party is in "power." Truth be known, the time of the greatest advance of the kingdom of God was under a government militarily and ideologically opposed to Christianity - the government of Rome!

It's time for believers to take seriously the power they've been given by God to win the hearts of people and instill real hope in God's presence and provision. We begin the conquest first in our own hearts, allowing God to "burn off" desires and motivations that don''t originate in Him. We follow by telling others of the amazing love and grace we've discovered in surrender to Jesus. And God hasn't left us powerless in that surrender. Rather, God in his awesome wisdom has gifted his people to speak life, heal the sick, minister to suffering, restore to wholeness, engage the powers and principalities, and bring heaven down to earth!

That is VERY exciting to me as we enter the Fall together. That is a "campaign" I can rally behind and believe in. Will you join me in campaigning for the kingdom?

Back from Vacation - some meditations

2008-08-02T15:48:00.006-05:00

Today I officiated the funeral of Richard Jerman - a lifelong member of First Christian Church, Alamo. The Jermans were part of the group that founded the church in the 1840’s and have been members and leaders and servants at the church for the last 165 years. I loved the solemnity of the service – the reverence shown in the face of an important transition for a family and for a church.

Susan and I arrived back in Jackson from our vacation yesterday at 9:30pm after twelve hours of driving. Most of the time, for me, was spent having pain from what one practitioner said was Gout. Isn't that an ailment of older people? They said that it could be brought on by eating lots of certain kinds of seafood - oysters, crawfish, crabs, scallops - which I ate by the bucketful on Tuesday night!

It's awesome to be home. Vacations are good opportunities to get away and re-wire and be with family you don't see but once or twice a year. But being in one's home, around one's friends, and near one's church family is very refreshing.

Susan and I are looking forward to this Fall in ministry. I'm going to start preaching two different sermons on Sunday mornings at the different churches. FCC and Promise Church are different ministry contexts and have some different needs right now. Both churches are poised for "mission greatness" - ready to take their communities by storm offering the unique mixes of ministry gifts that exist inside of their communities. For us, it's exciting to serve two very different ministries. Each allows us to exercise our talents and spiritual gifts in different ways and together fully. It's challenging, but we enjoy the variety of people God has put in our lives.

I'm also excited about our Thursday Night Intercession! service. There is a place in God's kingdom for expressive worship. A mentor of mine - an older Disciples of Christ minister - once said that worship and theatre go hand in hand. If you've ever been to a Broadway play you know what I'm talking about. There is a place for "audience participation" and expression as we move worship beyond the dualistic performer-audience model to the increasingly organic and networked "we are all worshippers in the Spirit." Some have labeled this worship style as "charismatic." Honestly, I don't like that label at all because it suggests that other forms of worship aren't filled with the Spirit's gifts. And that's simply mistaken. I prefer "expressive."

Expressive Worship isn't new. The Greek Orthodox church which is conservative in worship if measured by liturgy and ceremony stands on their feet for hours, chanting, praying, lifting hands, breathing in the aromas of incense and seeking desperately in their physical surrender to the things of God a powerful experience and move of the Spirit of God. I'm conservative in my basic nature. And yet there is something deep inside of me that needs to be able to viscerally express a "YES!" to the love and mercy of God. Sitting in a pew on Sunday morning quietly observing others practice "religion" just doesn't do it for me anymore if that is my only option. There's a place in God's church for noise and motion and expression. And yes, there's a powerful place for solid "liturgy," powerful and meaningful ritual, and moments of deep quiet - listening as it were for the movement of God as He walks in the still of the afternoon of the garden (Gen. 3:8).

I suppose what resolves the tension is simply the Spirit of the Lord. The Spirit is with us when we are lonely, when we are tired, when we are hurting, when we are experiencing loss. But the Spirit is also with us when we are excited, passionate, compassionate, cheerful, and filled with deep joy and hope. There's no expectation that in every emotional state we experience our demeanor will remain quiescent. Instead, if we truly believe that the Spirit lives inside of us, it is appropriate that we speak to that Spirit out of whatever fear or joy we may be experiencing. Our voices may tremble with trepidation, our voices may shout with gladness. But however we speak, we speak as a transparent self before a God who is willing to meet us exactly where we are - not where we think we are supposed to be. Maybe that's what Jesus means when he says that we are to worship in "Spirit" and in "Truth."

Vacationing with Susan's Family in Hilton Head, SC

2008-07-30T20:30:00.004-05:00

This week Susan and I are spending our last week of vacation with Susan's family in South Carolina before Will goes back to school. Will is out riding his bike with Susan's mom, Neeley is playing on the floor with her three year old cousin Ellie - and Susan and I are secretly wishing that one of her sisters can babysit while we get away for a nice lunch alone!

We so undersestimate the importance of breaking our routines if even for a week and realizing that our daily patterns of living are not life itself. We are not the sum of our jobs or even our relationships. And it takes getting away from what we're used to to realize that who and what we are is understood in relation to God's purpose and provision for our lives.

What does that mean for us? It means that we can build in regular times of departure from the norm to reconnect with God. This happens in daily prayer and scripture reading. It happens when we take a Saturday and spend it fasting or in prayer. It happens when we pick up a good religious book and allow ourselves to be challenged in the way we understand our own ministry and gifts! (I suggest Bill Johnson's, "When Heaven and Earth Meet"!)

So break a pattern, interrupt a routine, or skip a groove. Whatever it takes to place you right in the middle of God's presence where you can hear his voice!

Pictures from our Trip to Hilton Head, SC (with Susan's Family)

Neeley and Ellie Dance at Shannon Tanner (Hilton Head, SC)

2008-07-30T20:24:00.003-05:00

Vacation Photos!

2008-07-15T15:51:00.004-05:00

Pictures from our recent trip to Blue Ridge, Georgia! Enjoy!

Take My Yoke

2008-07-09T00:55:00.001-05:00

Mt 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

If this is true then I haven’t yet found the easy yoke. What keeps me from fully following the teachings of Jesus? Interesting that the first thought that comes to mind is embarrassment. Embarrassment that all of those years I’ve been wrong and have to admit to others that my forcefulness (my Will to Power?) was just a front for insecurity or worse than that it was simply done in ignorance – a cardinal sin for someone whose intellectual satisfaction derives from being perceived by others as living intentionally.

How weary am I? Obviously not so much that I don’t continue striving by my own power to achieve things that don’t really matter to God. When I get to that point, Jesus says “Come.” When I’ve exhausted all of my faculties to the point that I’m ready to trust in God’s provision, then I’m ready to respond to the invitation given to those who are “weary and heavy burdened.” But not until I’m ready to hand over my burden.

The ease with which one hands over their heavy burden is a direct result of having exhausted oneself. It seems hard now, of course, because I’m still holding on to my burden, convinced that I can still carry it alone. Not to worry, though. I will exhaust myself carrying around all of this baggage. And when I do, in faith, Jesus invites me to come to him.

He invites me to come to him to do what? To give up my burden? To share my burden? To have someone else carry my burden? No. He invites me to come to take on another load, another “yoke” as it were. To someone already carrying a load this is heard as utter nonsense. How can I possibly carry more than I already am? And it’s a good question.

The answer to that question is again found in Jesus’s invitation to take on HIS yoke. This is another of Jesus’s paradoxes. Trade off my yoke for his yoke which is no yoke at all and yet is the most difficult yoke of all to bear. That’s the paradox. Difficult because I’ll never bear his yoke as long as I’m stubbornly intent on carrying my own.

Rob Bell has descibed in the Nooma Video Series that a rabbi’s yoke was their teaching. So to take on a yoke was to take on their teaching. But Jesus’s yoke wasn’t so much a compendium of teachings as is was a entirely different way of life. Something about Jesus’s yoke – about his teaching – has something to do with being humble and gentle in heart.

It’s interesting as I carry MY yoke how prideful I am about it even though I despise the very thing I carry. This is MY yoke – MY burden. My identity has become so caught up in my own pain and suffering that I can’t see past it to another identity that carries with it the promise of Life and Freedom. It’s the old adage that it’s better to trust the demon you know than the demon you don’t. At least that’s the calculation that occurs in my spirit when I’m finally reaching the point of exhaustion, finally at the point of giving up my yoke and taking on the yoke of freedom in Jesus.

Because when I do, I just might find rest through a new-found humility and gentleness. And my life of striving through which I have so completely identified myself for all of these years might just come to the end. My yoke would be lifted. Still, even in the face of absolute REST, my fear kicks in – that in that rest I might not recognize myself. What I have longed for – freedom from the burden I’ve been carrying – is the place where I must cross the wilderness in faith. It is the point of crisis and the point of decision. It is the point of exhaustion. It is where I say in fear and trembling and tears “No More!” and in submission and humility cry out “Yes” to the invitation of Jesus to “come.”

A Cup of Cold Water

2008-06-29T20:53:00.000-05:00

Mt 10:40 “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”

A friend of mine recently told me about Bill Gates who just left the helm of the Microsoft Corporation. As you know, Bill Gates has been listed as one of the richest men in the world with net worth being valued over $58 billion. Gates has set out to make sure that every child on the face of the planet has a complete set of vaccinations against disease.

That’s staggering to contemplate. Consider that there are somewhere around 4 billion children in the world. And still its amazing that of all the uses Bill Gates could think of for his immense wealth, the way he has chosen to spend it is on people who need it the most, making sure they have a chance at getting a good start at life.

Why would he do it? What could possibly be the reward? I’m sure a financial manager has somewhere made the argument that Mr. Gates money would be better spent earning a good rate of return on his $58 billion. I imagine that he’s even been courted by political candidates arguing that if he would help them get elected then that would be the greatest impact his money could have.

But it’s when we empty ourselves enough to give exactly what’s needed to the ones who are the least in our society – that’s when our hearts most resemble the heart of God.

You see, the heart of God is to show mercy to those who don’t deserve mercy and forgiveness to those who don’t even know they need to be forgiven of anything. The heart of God is to love the unlovable and to draw into community the ones no one believes is fit for relationship. The heart of God is to raise up leaders from among those who have been cast out and dismissed because – well, that’s just how God is. I suppose if he were to raise up spiritual leaders from among the rich and powerful there might be some confusion over who actually got the credit! And so God chose Moses – an infant cast off by his mother out of fear for her son’s safety. And God chose Samuel, who had been given to an elderly priest to raise and teach. And God chose a reckless harp-player turned bandit named David to become Israel’s greatest king. God has a heart for the underdog it would seem.

Do you? Who would you give the most simple of gifts to – a cup of cold water? Who is deserving of your selfless love? -- Jay

STREAMS!

2008-06-21T22:28:00.001-05:00

Please be in prayer for an emerging network of churches that Promise Church is apart of called “Streams.” Streams is a developing association of churches around Nashville and Jackson who are beginning to share resources, ministries, and encouragement. Typically the churches are smaller church plants like our own who are dedicated to being places where the Spirit of God can move freely and nurture incredible faith, mission, healing, and community.

Pastor Jay is working closely with Tony Woodall to develop this network and will be planning a retreat for the pastoral leadership of these churches in September in Pensacola, Fla. Please pray for Jay and Tony – for energy to do this in addition to their other job responsibilities. But also pray that Streams will be a fresh source of inspiration and energy to all of the churches involved and that it follows God’s organic plan for nourishing the body of Christ!

Lose Your Life. Find Your Life.

2008-06-21T22:26:00.000-05:00

Mt 10:37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it."

If you think about we all have a basic philosophy of life. Seriously. We all do. Our philosophy might be to build a business. It might be to simply go in and be a good employee, do a good job, and be rewarded for our work. Some people have the philosophy that society should provide them with the basics of life. Others have the philosophy that one can never count on society to provide one with anything at all. Still others will say that they have no philosophy, which sounds nice, but usually only means that they haven’t really thought about it. Talk to someone for long and you’ll begin to sense the idea that guides their most basic beliefs about their life.

Jesus in this text challenges those who put even their own self-preservation before God. He begs the question that is so powerful – “Is there anything worth living for if you don’t have anything worth dying for?”

For Jesus, what’s worth dying for is a vision of God’s reign that draws in people of every stripe and calls them to simply be who God created them to be.

That sounds too simple! You mean that Jesus didn’t give his life for a political ideology or for economic prosperity or for some notion of personal freedom? That’s right. Jesus died for a vision of the world where people lived in freedom, had REAL prosperity, and lived with perfect governance because they lived in willing obedience to God.

To the cynic, that sounds pretty Pollyanish. How incredibly naïve to think that broken, selfish human beings could ever experience, let alone achieve anything like that. And the cynic would be right. Human beings could never achieve that. But God could.

Through God’s own power (and grace), he could take broken, selfish, self-protective human beings and mold them into a people who could enjoy creation and each other rather than live in fear of their own annihilation. If only they would say “yes.” If only we would say “yes.” If only I would say “yes.” Saying “yes” is to enter to “abyss” (Kierkegaard!) of trust. It’s on the other side of that abyss that we are restored to the Garden of Eden – to perfect intimacy with God- where literally heaven and earth meet.

Do I trust enough that God is able? Am I willing to lay down my life and all the hopes of this world to trust that maybe, just maybe, life with God is as amazing as the Spirit has revealed to us?

YOUR FAITH HAS HEALED YOU!

2008-06-07T11:33:00.001-05:00

Mt 9:18 While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.

Mt 9:20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”

Mt 9:22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment.

Mt 9:23 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. 26 News of this spread through all that region.

I often ask myself “How much do I really believe in what Jesus can accomplish?”

I had a conversation with someone at the gym a few months back who told me that she was having trouble getting past some difficult issues in her life. Her life had been on a collision course with alchohol addiction and in finding healing through AA meetings she was still experiencing some lingering bitterness over some of the things that had happened during and since her addiction.

During the conversation (I was on one exercise bicycle and she was on the other) I suggested that she ask Jesus to heal her heart of the pain she was going through. My thought at the time was that believing in God as one’s “higher power” is a good first start, but that like the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’s garment that there is power to be released when “press through the crowds” and go after Jesus with all of our heart.

Her reply has stuck with me and it has challenged me to think – and pray – about how much we can expect from Jesus today in our own lives. She said, “Jay, those are nice stories from the Bible, but I’m looking for real healing in my life today.”

Her words struck me to the core. Are the stories of healing just children’s stories to make us feel good and create in us a very general (and inchoate) hope of restoration and healing? Or is it possible that the work of Jesus never ended with his death nor with the death of the last apostle. Rather, are we right in believing that Jesus’ ministry to our bodies, souls, AND spirits continues to the present time?

I’ve been amazed by some of the stories coming out of Lakeland, Florida of the healing revival taking place under the ministry and leadership of Todd Bentley. In fact, one night Susan and I and some others put the revival (that is broadcast on God.tv) on the projection screen at church and simply watched in awe as people came forward to be healed of blindness, severe illness, deafness and other physical ailments. A tangible presence of God filled our worship center. I began to weep as I saw people press through crowds to be prayed over and touched and given encouragement and then healed.

There was a season of my life that I would have been the worst skeptic about this sort of thing. I simply had been taught some wrong things about God and at the time didn’t know better than to believe them. Our challenge today is to accept the grace of God to have our eyes and ears renewed so that we can see and hear the places where God is moving today. Deep down, we believe in the possibility of the miraculous – of the transformation of individuals, communities, and even nations! We believe in the possibility. Now is the time perhaps for us to believe in the actuality of God’s will and purposes being accomplished in this world that He has created. And as we see them – let’s celebrate them together.

With Authority!

2008-05-30T09:21:00.000-05:00

7:28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

Can you think of your favorite teacher that you had growing up or in college? I remember my American Philosophy professor at Texas A&M – John McDermott. Dr. McDermott was hardly a Christian. He would have called himself a “pragmatist.” Rather than being rooted in Hebrew and Christian scripture – he was rooted in the writings of Josiah Royce, William James, John Dewey, and Charles Peirce – all philosophers from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. And yet, I list him at the top of “My Favorite Teachers” list and after twenty years since I graduated from college, I can still remember his classroom presence.

You see, Dr. McDermott wasn’t just someone who conveyed information about what philosophers wrote – he was passionate about seeing the possibilities of taking those writings and thoughts and using them to reorient modern culture and political life. In other words, for him, his craft of philosophy wasn’t an ancient and arcane practice, but a living, breathing source of inspiration. And this passion came out vividly in the classroom as Dr. McDermott would pace in front of the chalkboard or sit on top of one of the front row desks – his tweed jacket with patches reeking of aromatic pipe smoke. When Dr. McDermott spoke, the class couldn’t help but listen.

I’ve chosen a different path than John McDermott. In fact, on my Senior Paper on Alfred North Whitehead’s Process Philosophy – he wrote at the top of the page – “Beware the snares of the ministry.” I didn’t take that advice and have since fallen deeply into ministry’s snares. But I can’t help but remember a teacher who spoke with authority because he passionately believed and lived the truth and life of his message. And so, thousands of students experienced his class and were transformed by his ideas. Who was your John McDermott?

Jesus’ message wasn’t a rehash of the Old Testament prophets and the Law – even though he liked to quote them and used them often to illustrate his understanding of the Kingdom of God. The point of Jesus’ teaching was to show how all the things that had been promised in the Hebrew scriptures were now coming to life in the presence of the people of Israel. The blind were receiving their sight. The deaf were able to hear. The lame could walk. Good news was being preached to the poor (Luke 7:21-22).

When we share our stories of faith in God, lives are transformed! The reason Jesus spoke with authority was because he lived what he taught and the Kingdom of God that he talked about always seemed to follow Him wherever he went.

I believe that this sort of faith “to move mountains” is attainable by us today. That when we speak of Jesus’ love and presence to our friends and loved ones, we do so knowing that a life is about to be changed forever! The same authority that John McDermott had in a classroom at Texas A&M is nothing compared to the authority that WE walk in when we passionately believe in and practice the living, breathing Kingdom of God! What the world needs today isn’t a new philosophy, but a way of life rooted in the deep things of God. A “way” of life, not a philosophy “about” life. There is incredible power in our practice of the way of Jesus that far exceeds our mere words! (see 1 Corinthians 2:1-5!!!) -- Jay

Whose Right to Judge?

2008-05-23T13:19:00.000-05:00

1Co 4:1 So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

The Corinthian church – which Paul had planted – questioned his authority to later come back and coach them through some difficult problems they were having as a church. There were some people from Judea (in Palestine) who had come and told the Corinthians that to be good before God they needed to follow the Old Testament Law. There were others – probably more steeped in Greek hedonistic philosophy – who taught an “anything goes” theology. They said that since Jesus had come – everything was permissible, since we were covered now by God’s grace.

Paul knew the importance of remembering their roots in Jewish scripture and practice and yet knew that it was “for freedom” that we had been set free. Christians were no longer bound to the law to be measured under the law. At the same time, Paul also knew that people’s lives were a reflection of the holiness of God. And so, not all things were permissible, rather Jesus followers had been called to lives of holiness and faithfulness and witness.

It’s hard being a servant of God, isn’t it.

The good news is that ultimately our only judge is God. Christians may have the confidence to be bold, courageous, and truth-telling at all times because we stand under no human court. We are God’s children – entrusted with the mysteries of God. The more we seek God and surrender to Him, the more we are entrusted with heavenly things. The more we understand. The more we discern in the Spirit. The more authority and power we walk in as servants of the world. So let us walk in humility and grace – reflecting the character of God in our lives, allowing all that we are to fall under His Lordship and not man’s! God will honor our submission and everywhere we look, we will see plainly his kingdom and dominion.

Moving In Freeedom

2008-05-10T12:49:00.001-05:00

Gal 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

I grew up in a church and in a “movement” that taught that any difference in practice or theology from the “norm” meant that someone was in deep error and could in fact be in danger of going to hell! Writing these words now, I’m struck by just how harsh that sounds. In twenty years of ministry it never ceases to amaze me how people “use” heaven and hell to manipulate other into conformity!

A few years ago, after having experienced burnout in a long pastorate in Memphis, the Lord began to show me a new way to express my faith and worship! As I would learn – it didn’t mean giving up deep theological truth that I had come to know from scripture and solid teaching – rather it began to look like the passion and commitment and fire that drew me to ministry in the first place!

Today at Promise Church we are coming to know as a fellowship that there is incredible freedom in surrender to God and God’s purposes! At first, this may look or feel awkward to us. After all, surrender isn’t easy. It means letting go to ways of thinking and living that even though they didn’t work for us still made us feel some odd sense of “comfort.”

But as we go deeper into the “mystery” and the “deep things” of God we have a unique opportunity to experience the freedom we have always wanted but really were afraid to go after!

I’d like to encourage you. As someone who has travelled and IS travelling that pathway, I can assure you that there is incredible LIFE down the road. It doesn’t come easy. It doesn’t come without some pain and a lot of letting go. It doesn’t come without – as a famous Christian mystic once called it – a “dark night of the soul.”

But the wonderful thing about this journey is that beyond darkness of the night is the brightness of the new morning. And it’s the new morning that draws me forward toward! You are all in Susan’s and my prayers!!

Encouraged!

2008-05-08T14:45:00.006-05:00

Tony Woodall and I just returned from the Jackson Association of Ministers (JAMA) meeting feeling pumped about what Ted Leach - Senior Minister of First Methodist and JAMA President - described as "the Holy Spirit moving in Jackson."

Forty pastors gathered today at Mother Liberty C.M.E. Church downtown and heard a presentation from Dr. Vicki Lott (V.P. at Lane College) on the structure of dialogue needed to needed to foster an environment of racial reconciliation in Jackson. The most beautiful thing about the gathering wasn't just Dr. Lott's presentation which was excellent but the suggestion that the JAMA ministers gather for an overnight retreat together and pray through a response to the issue of race. WOW!!!!! I very nearly cried! Yes, there's a "task force" for discerning and outlining the issues but to suggest that we retreat and PRAY as ONE!!! I could only cry out in my spirit, "Yes Lord!!! Yes Lord!!!"

Jackson is blessed to have ministers like Ted Leach, Craig Christina (First Baptist), and Willie Miles (Sign of the Dove) and many others who are expressing a profound willingness to serve humbly. As they model surrenderedness to the Lord they are leading the rest of us toward visible and practical unity as a city-wide fellowship of Christians. Please keep these leaders in your prayers!

I don't know what will come next, but the Spirit of unity is moving across all fronts in Jackson. Who knows? Perhaps the revival in Jackson will become a model for the rest of the country as ministers from very different backgrounds and traditions come together for Kingdom Work!

P.S. Promise Church will be the host for the NEXT JAMA meeting the second Thursday in June - June 12th at 11:45am. See our website - www.promisechurch.info - for directions.

Team In Spirit Explosion

2008-05-07T13:06:00.002-05:00

I was reminded today as we hear more and more how God is revealing powerful vision to individuals how important it is to "submit to one another!" (Eph. 5:21) Each one of us hears in part and sees in part. The beauty of community is that all of our parts come together and in God's kingdom the whole is ALWAYS greater than the sum of the parts! And when the Spirit moves powerfully as we've seen recently at Promise Church there exists an even greater opportunity for appreciating our individual visions as well as our corporate vision of mission.

In God's kingdom, it's never WIN-LOSE, but WIN-WIN! God has given individuals vision for a reason. The body does well to acknowledge and celebrate what God is doing in the life and Spirit of a person. We desperately desire to hear from God understanding that God's voice often is heard in people that aren't at the center of leadership! And at the same time, that vision becomes even further empowered when it is SHARED, prayed for, and CONNECTED to the larger vision of a community!

Will and Neeley Snow Pics!

2008-05-06T21:08:00.003-05:00