Talking to myself...

Psalm 42:11. Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why are you so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
     Have you ever been discouraged and alone? In the hospital and no one visits? Lost your job, your friends, your spouse or your position and no one calls? What can you do when your bleeding but all alone? David said this is a good time to talk to yourself. This is where I have been living recently when my best friend reminded me that we can encourage ourselves. Most of us spend too long reminding ourselves why we should be discouraged but instead David spoke directly to his own soul. This was the same guy that took on a giant named Goliath and won. John wrote that "greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world." When you are living in partnership with God Himself then there is no reason to be discouraged or disturbed. So if you are facing discouraging circumstances it may be time for you to start talking to yourself.
 Rom.8:32-37 says that we are more than conquerors in Christ. Start talking to yourself today.

The multi-campus myth?

     Our culture is crazy with the worship of celebrities.  There are people who are rich and famous just for being rich and famous.  Someone please tell me what important work the Kardashian's have ever done.  Our headlines are filled every day with adulation for people who have accomplished nothing.  We worship actors, and athletes and want to know where people are going minute by minute.  What can be really important enough to put into a tweet and how empty must our lives become to want to fill our days with following anybody but Jesus Christ.
     Jesus said long ago "when the Son of man returns will He find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8  When I was a young man I thought that was a strange question since I had recently come to faith in Christ and I knew lot's of other Christians.  Surely many of us would still be here when Jesus returned.  How would it be possible for so many people to get so far off base?  Jesus warned us in Math. 7 that we should be careful to build our house on the rock of hearing and doing His Word.  Are you building on the rock or the sand?  What place does God's Word have in your life?  Are you listening to messages that are filled with God's Word or are you just hearing a watered down feel good message?  God will still raise up fire filled men and woman of God who value and deliver God's Word.
Eph. 4:11-12  And God gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors (shepherds to feed, guard, and guide) and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry...until we are united and perfected.  Since I know that none of us have reached perfection then we must all still need all five of these ministry gifts.  We all need a pastor.  Someone who cares for us, prays for us, has the liberty to speak into our life, and feeds us God's Word on a regular basis.
    A video is not a Pastor...there I said it.  The multi-campus church ministry is a myth, even if it seems to work in some places.  Success is not a good way to determine if God is in something.  You can successfully rob a bank, or cheat on your wife but that won't make it God's will.  A video can't pray for you.  A video can't be interrupted by a Word from God that spoke to a situation that you were facing.  A video can't love you or counsel you when your marriage is on the rocks.  A video can't give you a living example to follow.  In fact if you are attending a place that has live worship, care groups and a video message you might be enjoying the ride but you aren't a part of a local church.
      Just because a celebrity minister is doing something doesn't make it God.  Every Christian needs to be a part of a church or they will eventually die spiritually.  How much ego does it take for me to think that a video of my ministry is all you need?  If the technology had been available would the apostle Paul have sent video's instead of Timothy's.  When our technology makes the ministry of Pastor's obsolete then we are missing the mark.  Ps. 92:13 says that those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.  Healthy Christians are planted in a local church.  Are you healthy?  Are you planted in a local church...If there is no pastor there it isn't a church.  This week find a local church with a pastor, and find a place to serve.  Don't fall for the myth of the multi-campus ministry.  Are you following a man/woman of God, or a celebrity.  Get involved in the real thing.

Who is indispensible?

One third of the way through a 3 month sabbatical and I feel as though I am still relearning how to relax and what is really important in life.  I can hardly remember how many years it has been since I took a two week full blown vacation.  This is really embarrassing!!!  How overly important do we view ourselves.  It is more than the world can bear to live without us for two consecutive weeks.  I am assuming that this must have been my thinking since I cannot remember taking a full two week vacation in over 30 years.  For the last 8 years I couldn't take two consecutive Sunday's off because of the church's need to hear me teach, or maybe it was my need to feel needed?  Do we have an overly inflated view of ourselves, and our personal importance?  I think maybe the answer is yes.

  Paul said in Rom. 12:3 nkj  For I say, through the grace given to me, to every man among you not to think to highly of himself than he ought but to think soberly as God has dealt to each man a measure of faith.


   None of us have it all.  None of us know it all, and none of us are indispensable.  Only Jesus Christ is indispensable but we all want to be needed.  Does this create a conflict within us?  Could this verse have been intended for today's pastors?  We don't think we are indispensable but we live like we are.  At least I did.  We live like that until we are worn down and burned out.  How often does your Pastor take a break?  Is vacation a dirty word?  How often do we actually take a Sabbath?   If we don't need a regular break then why does even God Himself take one during the creation week?  I don't know about you but I was living my life with very little margin.  Taking a 3 month sabbatical has helped me realize this because I am learning how to relax all over again.  I think that we all need a regular adjustment of our view of our place in this world.  He is God, not me.
    A few  years ago I began to notice that a lot of the really big names were developing multi-campus ministries.  You had to have more than one location.  The first ones were really time consuming.  Preach at your mega church in the morning on the east coast and then fly to New York or California to preach in the evening.  Hearing my voice is so critical for your success in life that I must spend hundred's of thousands in travel expenses and the cost of building a completely functional second church in another city.  One thing is clear when you read the book of Acts, and that is that the local church was local.  The Apostle Paul invested his life raising up Timothy's that he could assign to help the people of God in other cities.  I guess there just isn't anyone living in California or New York who could effectively lead and feed God's people, or is it just another case of us thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to.  I believe that it's time for God's people to ask "who is indispensable?"
     It's long overdue for all men of God to check their ego's at the door.  Only Jesus is indispensable.

Partner's for life...

I looked across the porch this morning and saw the tears in her eyes.  These past few years have been very hard on my sweet wife.  I didn't know that I was suffering from an undiagnosed battle with Parkinson's disease.   This was stealing my ability to think through problems and decisions clearly and decisively as I have most of my life.  She suffered through being the lone voice of both "somethings wrong" , and the need to protect me from criticism.  Meanwhile, I was floating off into some kind of mental fog that comes with this disease, and insisted on staying involved in what is clearly one of the most easily criticized professions you can work in...I was the Pastor of a local church. She was living in a no win situation.  It might have been easier if I had been involved in some moral failure because than she could have left me without being criticized.  In the Christian world women can never leave, they are just expected to suffer on in silence.  This has been the price that she has paid to be my partner and I am sorry she has paid it.  I have seen the pain in her eyes.  Apparently when she said till death do us part, she really meant it.

A challenging diagnosis.

A few months ago my doctor told me that I have Parkinson's disease.  This is a challenge to say the least because it answers some questions that I had over some symptoms I had been experiencing physically.  There was no doubt that I had been going downhill for many months but I just didn't want to see it.  Please understand that I am one of those crazy, radical Jesus lovers who has prayed for people, horses, and even a few sick cars over the years.  I have seen God heal many people with worse symptoms than I have...but this one thing I know and that is no one ever gets healed by ignoring a symptom.  It is time to apply God's promise to my life.  I Peter 2:24 by His stripes I am healed...Today I am reminding myself that God is not a man.  Numbers 23:19....check in with me from time to time and see how I am doing.

Disruption

The average married person in North America spends more time on the internet than with their spouse.  If facebook was a country, it would be the third largest country in the world.  I have a droid phone and it makes a droid sound every time I get a facebook, email, or text message.  Disruption is the word for the way our lives go today.  But in the middle of all the disruptions I must find a way to experience peace and hear the still small voice of God leading me through the day.  We must not let all the disruptions disrupt us on the inside.  This is our challenge today.

A water emergency

Do you ever have problems that spin out of control, and cost more than you can afford?  I had one this weekend when we called a plumber to help solve a small problem that became a big problem.  This all started with the first plumber coming on Saturday and should be done (I'm told) by next Monday.  When he left late Saturday night nothing was solved and I had less running water than before they started.  I brought in a second plumber Monday night with the same results, and then brought back the first guy on Tues. and Wed.  By the way we had no hot water for the entire weekend.  In the end I have hot and cold running water again for which I am very grateful.  I also have holes in two walls that I need to find help getting repaired...Anyone out there know how to repair drywall...The lesson I learned is that I still have a way to go in the patience department, and I have taken an awful lot of things for granted.  Thank you Lord that stuff doesn't break down very often...I'll try to remember these important lessons.