answered prayer

Let me share with you a story of answered prayer and preface it with the thought that I am getting ready to preach on prayer this coming Sunday, Luke 18:1-8, the parable of the persistent widow to be exact.

I haven’t had a lot of work at FedEx this year and Noralee and I have both been searching for jobs without any luck. Yesterday we were looking over our financial situation and realized that we didn’t have enough money to pay all of our bills this month. Luckily, we have a small emergency fund, but that money was set aside for Noralee’s schooling this coming fall. We would have to use that entire fund to help us pay our bills. Add to that, Micah is starting tee-ball on Saturday and we need to get him a glove. Noralee and I joined hands right there in the kitchen and prayed for God to intervene. Since that prayer the following has happened…

• I got a call from a contractor at FedEx asking me if I could work on Saturday.
•  That evening someone came over to the house and gave us a $15 gift card to buy Micah his glove. (They had no idea we were struggling financially)
• And this morning someone handed me a $100 bill.

This afternoon I took Micah to Walmart and bought him his glove (along with a baseball), put $10 in our savings account, and will place another $10 in the offering plate.

Is there any reason to doubt our God?  Is there any reason to worry? Is there any reason to doubt His deep love for us?

Keep praying folks. God continues to amaze me with His grace, mercy, and provision.

samaritan’s cupboard 2/28/09

Thanks Joe!

There’s only two words to describe how I feel after a Samaritan’s Cupboard worship service: JACKED UP!!

We served 37 families this past Saturday night and had around 60 in attendance. Alan Bollick from Haven of Rest Ministries was our guest speaker and was very inspirational.

I often have the opportunity to counsel with people before and after the service and this past Saturday was no exception. What is awesome is that you can literally see the difference in people’s countenance from before the service to afterward. The Holy Spirit always shows up in a powerful way. It just blows you away.

Our guests signed a thank you card for Joe and presented it to him after the service. He was surprised!

I am so thankful God allows me to be a part of his plan for Iva! Can’t wait till next month!

sand people (or jealous again)

I have found that it is really easy to get jealous of other ministry leaders.

C’mon now! You know I’m speaking for many of us. Be honest.

We see other pastors start churches, or take over a church, and within a very short period of time they’ve got the thing hummin! We begin to dissect their success and start making excuses…

“Well, they had everything handed to them.”

“If I had  a worship leader like ____________, we’d be hummin too!

“His wife has a great job so it’s easier for him to make the tough decisions.”

But in this world of online sermons, blogs, and twitter, there is something I have discovered about these guys…

They have built a solid foundation by being crazy in love with Christ! It oozes from their pores. They have cultivated a deep abiding relationship with Jesus that is the core of everything else they do. They are the ones who have built their house on the rock. They have built a strong foundation.

The thing about foundations though, is you don’t see them once the house is built. All you see is the beautiful structure that sits on top. Nobody looks at a house and says, “What a beautiful foundation!”

Those of us who get jealous are the “sand people”. We want to skip over the foundation altogether and go straight to the things people are going to see. We study their methods, leadership structures, and ministry principles hoping to duplicate the same kind of success, forgetting that the number one ingredient is a rock solid relationship with the creator of all things.

I like this quote from Keith Green:

“…we dare not start something in the name of the Lord without digging down deep before we build up. He doesn’t want us left in ruins when the storms come…”

God has been in my ear (and in my face!) for well over a year now on this subject. Our relationship with Christ deserves the utmost diligence.

It’s time to start digging.

dad is home!

Dad was discharged from the hospital today!

His vision is much clearer and his mobility has greatly improved. He will continue to receive physical and occupational therapy at home for awhile and will be returning to the pulpit this Sunday (in a wheelchair!).

We can’t understand the sudden turnaround except to give all the credit to your prayers and God’s healing and grace. He may never be back to 100% but we are thankful that he is home and able to continue his ministry.

Thanks again for all of your prayers and concern.

update on dad

I first of all want to thank everyone who has been praying for my dad. We greatly appreciate all of our friends and your concern for our family. Here is an update…

• It was determined today that he suffered a small stroke on January 7th.
• He has been having trouble walking as he is experiencing severe vertigo. They are still not certain that the stroke is the cause of the vertigo.
• They will be running more tests as they will be checking his heart and starting him on physical therapy on Monday.
• They still have not ruled out an inner ear infection as the casue of his vertigo.
• He is at Johnston – Willis hosptial in Richmond, VA.

Once again, thank you for your prayers. I will continue to use my blog to update his progress. We love you all.

are you willing to sacrifice everything? (and that may mean your family!)

This is a subject that I have wanted to post on for a very long time, but for some reason, the Holy Spirit put a “not yet” sign up. Today, I got the “green light”.

One of the things that has perplexed me over the past few years is when I’ve heard a fellow minister or ministerial student say, “I don’t want to leave my home state. I couldn’t leave my family.” I have heard this many times when  ministers were given the opportunity to take an assignment in another state. I’ll be honest with you. It doesn’t perplex me, it infuriates me!

My first response always is, “What if Jesus asked you to? Would you say “no”?

What if Abraham had said “no”? Or Moses? Or Peter? Or Paul? Or any of the disciples?

Listen to Jesus; “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33

Do you think “everything” might include your family or your home turf?

Do you think Jesus will give you another assignment if you turn down his request to relocate? According to the above verse, you can’t even be a disciple, much less an apostle!

I know from experience that being apart from your family is very difficult. Noralee and I are 400 miles away from one set of Micah’s grandparents, and 800 miles away from the other set. Micah’s closest cousin lives about 500 miles away. We miss every birthday party, every Sunday afternoon dinner, every school play, every soccer game, every barbecue.

We are also in a totally different culture than the one we grew up in. Everything is different! The language, customs, food, pace of life, everything! Do you know how long it took us to figure out that a “buggy” was a grocery cart and barbecue was something you eat and not do? And we’ve got it easy! At least we have WalMart and Satellite TV! What about believers who have to go into foreign countries to proclaim the Gospel?

When I sent out resumes I sent them to every District Superintendent in our denomination. I said, “God, I’m not going to tell you where I want to go. You tell me where You want me to go.” Of all the 50 U.S. States I could choose to serve in, let’s just say South Carolina was in the bottom 10. But you know what? After five years we have realized that God has led us into a place of great blessing.

• I’ve got one of the best D.S.’s (and spouse) in the denomination.
• I have made more friends here than I think I’ve had in my entire life.
• God is blessing us with a fruitful ministry.
• We have found healing (both personally and in our marriage).
• I received my education, and Noralee is working on hers.
• Our son is attending an awesome Christian School and has made numerous friends.
• I have become a huge fan of the beach!
• I discovered a new hobby.
• I have grown tremendously as a husband, father, pastor, and leader.

What if I told God I didn’t want to leave N.Y.? A place that Noralee and I absolutely love! Imagine what I would have missed out on.

Are you willing to sacrifice everything?

monday randomness

Here are some quick hit thoughts in no particular order…

• Played golf with Pastor Tim Jones today at a beautiful course in Elberton, GA. Struck the ball great, putted horribly. Nonetheless, I had a great time with Tim.
• I am jacked about “24″ tonight!
• I will be traveling to Richmond, VA on Wednesday for my father’s surgery on Thursday. Hopefully, I will be back late Friday or Saturday and there will be no complications.
• Great day at church yesterday! Numerous visitors and one of our newcomers publicly received God’s salvation through Jesus Christ!
• I preached a very challenging message on the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant yesterday. Check this out: The servant owed 10,000 talents which equals 200,000 years of work or 70,000,000 days! The King pardons him from his debt but then he turns around and chokes out a guy who owes him 100 denari, or 100 days of work. What does this mean? When someone asks us for forgiveness they are only asking for 13 ten millionths of one percent of what we have received from Jesus!! We have no right to deny forgiveness to someone else when God has forgiven us so much! And more than that, the passage tells us that the unmerciful servant was given over to the torturers until he could pay back everything! Bottom line: if we are not willing to forgive others, there is no forgiveness for us from Jesus!!!
• Great, great Super Bowl last night! I was rooting for Arizona, but I think that was the best Super Bowl I have ever watched. I know a lot of people think last year was, but not me. That game last night had two of the greatest plays I think I’ve ever seen in Super Bowl history: Harrison’s 100 yard INT return, and Holmes’s toe tapping winning catch, and I’ve watched every Super Bowl since Super Bowl X. Breathtaking!!
• We took our small group bowling yesterday afternoon with  three teenagers and 3 little ones. We had a blast! However, between bowling yesterday and golf today my 40 year old body is very stiff and sore. (It stinks getting old!)
• I’ve been with Noralee for 22 years now and she gets prettier every time I look at her. That’s the straight up honest truth! No joke!!

A Lesson in Humility

Noralee and I both recently tested to work for the U.S. Census Bureau and scored 98% on our tests. Because of our high scores they recommended we take the supervisors test, which we did together this past Tuesday.

I went into the test totally confident (and a bit cocky) about my prospects, expecting to easily best Noralee in a leadership test. Why would I be so confident? Let’s see…

• I went to Leadership School in the military
• I was a manager trainee at Radio Shack
• I’ ve lead small groups, taught Sunday School, and served on boards
• I’ve been a pastor for eight years
• I’ve been to numerous leadership conferences
• I’ve read just about every thing John Maxwell’s ever written

Noralee’s leadership experience? Let’s just say, not even close to mine.

So how did we do?

I finished the 29 question test with about five minutes to spare while Noralee was only able to complete 25 of the 29 questions within the time limit. I thought to myself, “I got this in the bag.” I even bragged to a good friend of mine in front of her that I probably bested her on the test.

Yesterday we found out the results…

I came out with 19 questions correct, while Noralee had 22 answers correct. (Do you hear the sound of air escaping from my ego?)

“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” – Matthew 23:12

Has the purpose of the church been perverted for 1700 years?

I have been reading The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch, and some other missional/emergent material lately, and have stumbled upon a theory that is new to me,  but very intriguing.  First of all, I think The Forgotten Ways is nothing short of genius. It is very well written and contains an “innovative” theory of ministry. I am anxious to finish it and read the follow up book. I recognize that this theory may not be new to many of you, but I am interested in your thoughts and opinions.

Basically, the theory states that we have been going about ministry the wrong way for about 1700 years. From the time of Christ until Constantine made Christianity the official religion in 313 A.D., the church was an underground movement that existed in homes and caves. Much the same way the underground church in China operates today. When Constantine legalized Christianity in 313 A.D., he began to construct magnificent church buildings and literally everyone joined the church due to social and political pressure. Being a Christian was the “in” thing to do. From that point on the Church and government actually formed a partnership which has led to institutionalization and corruption in many cases.

In addition, in our democratic America we have perpetuated consumerism to the point where people “choose” a church based upon factors that best suit their families “needs”.

I made the point to my congregation a few weeks ago that Jesus…

• Never erected a church
• Never enacted a dress code
• and never endorsed a translation

All Jesus said to do was to…

• “Go”
• “make disciples”
• “baptize them”
• and “teach them to obey”

This truth really came to mind recently when I was talking with a couple of people who were not believers, but who were interested in visiting my church. They said some things that I wanted to “challenge”  with the truth of the Gospel, but I thought to myself, “They’ll hear it when they come to church.” This is what Hirsch calls an “attractional” mindset, rather than a “missional” mindset.

I have heard many pastors (whom I admire greatly)  promote this mindset. Andy Stanley’s church is totally built around the attractional mindset with thier “invest and invite” strategy. Here is a quote from one of Andy’s books: 

“Instead of training our people in the art of personal evangelism, we instruct them to invest in the lives of unbelievers with the express purpose of inviting them to an event where they will be exposed to the gospel in a clear, creative, and compelling manner.” 

I have heard Perry Noble say similar things (I am paraphrasing), “You have to get your friends and family to NewSpring this Sunday, we are going to present the most straightforward presentation of the Gospel yet.”

I want to say first of all that I highly admire both of these guys. They are innovative and creative guys whose love for Jesus just oozes from their pores. However, is this what Jesus really had in mind?

I admit that if I could have Andy and Perry’s churches I’d take em! Why? Because they are seen as “stars” in the world of Christendom. They get all the props and are seeing all the “fruit”! (I am just being honest)

But what if we can’t get our friends and family to church this Sunday? What if they get hit by a car on Saturday? What if they are lying on a bed waiting to die from cancer or AIDS? What if they are so turned off by the church that there is no way in the world you will get them to darken the door of another one?

Maybe instead of invest and invite, it should be invest and ignite!

We are to be Jesus to eveyone around us. We are to live incarnationally and as Peter says; “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…” 1 Pet. 3:15

I wish now that I had not put off sharing the Good News with that couple, but would have siezed the opportunity to show them, and tell them about the grace of God through Jesus Christ.

We have confined “church” to something that happens in a church building a few times a week, but I think God had a different idea in mind. He wants to see the love of Christ shared in the bar room, the pool hall, the dance club, the gym, the marketplace, the grocery store, etc… (you get the point).

I think it may be high time we think of church as something we are and do, not someplace we go three or four times a week.

What do you think?

a little mid-week randomness

Here’s a little mid – week randomness…

• I felt like I did pretty well on the supervisor’s test for the U.S. Census Bureau yesterday. I also received a phone call giving me the possibility of picking up a regular route at FedEx again, but it won’t start until April at the earliest, July at the latest. I would really like to have that route, but Noralee and I need to pick up some work in the meantime. Finances are getting tight!
• After going through a bit of a dry spell we are all of the sudden seeing a rather fluid influx of visitors at Iva First again. He is sending us some people who have unlimited potential for Kingdom impact! This is both encouraging and humbling as we seek to be a missionlal/incarnational movement of God.
• Did Nancy Pelosi really insinuate that contraception would help boost the economy? I give the President credit for at least axing this part of his stimulus plan.
• I am also glad to see some Republicans find thier backbone again.
• I shot a 65 at disc golf the other day! The fifties are right around the corner. I would love to start playing in some tournaments!
• “24″ still blows me away! (pun intended)
• After watching American Idol last night, I have come to the conclusion that Physics majors should not sing.
• Still pulling for Kurt Warner! How many times can this guy come back from the depths!