My wife, Karen, and I love to sail. She is the more experienced sailor, having owned her own sailboat at one time. However, we both love the thrill and serenity of sailing on open waters. Recently, we decided to go sailing on Lake Erie. Neither of us have sailed on the great lake previously, so we decided to hire a captain.
We found Captain Ron (not the guy from the movie) a crusty old veteran of WW2, the CIA, and many a sailing student. Captain Ron met us at the harbor, gave us a tour of his sailboat, and took us out to sea (lake). In spite of his rough edges, Captain Ron was very gentle and helpful in navigating the large body of water.
“I know every mile of this lake,” he said, and with that statement we had confidence sailing unfamiliar waters.
We enjoyed our day on the lake. We took comfort in knowing we were with someone who had the wisdom and experience to handle any of the challenges that could come our way.
Sometimes life can be like getting into a sailboat in unfamiliar waters. As you see the new storm approaching on the horizon, you worry if your going to have what it takes to endure it.
Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus was tempted and tried in every way known to man, yet he is without sin. In other words, he is the experienced captain on sea of life. Nothing happens that he cannot handle. He understands pain, suffering, heartbreak and betrayal. Just as he experienced the pleasure of sand between his toes, and the dirty residue it left behind, his heart was pleased and pained by the people he came into contact with.
Jesus offers a perspective. He understands and He cares.
This morning, in my quiet time, I was playing one of my favorite worship songs on my iPod. I love listening to great worship songs that reveal God and move me to be in His presence.
Truthfully, our daily personal worship helps us grow in three very important ways. First, it nourishes our soul on a daily basis. Just as our physical bodies need daily nourishment, our spiritual lives need to be fed daily. Quiet time filled with prayer, reading and studying God's word, meditating on God's principles, and listening keeps us spiritually strong, able to withstand the stress and temptation of the day.
Secondly, daily personal worship enriches corporate worship. When the church gathers to worship God, it is an awesome thing. I am a firm believer that the most important factor in corporate worship is not music, sermons, videos, dramas, sound, lighting or environmental elements. I believe the single most important factor to corporate worship is the heart of the worshiper. When we come to worship services with our hearts strengthened by daily personal worship, that is a worship service I want to be attending!
Third, daily personal worship is practice for heaven. This morning I was moved by the thought that someday we are going to gather around God's throne, and standing in his presence, worship. What a tremendous thought! What an inspiring thought! Worship is recognizing who God is and what God has done. In heaven, we will not be hindered in seeing Him in all His glory, and we will be reminded of all He has done.
"Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." Revelation 15:4
I have traveled much in my 25 years in ministry. I have met and spoken with hundreds of pastors. I have attended many, many churches. I have determined that although there are many types of churches, all churches fall into one of two categories: Mission Minded or Member Minded.
Let me explain the main Difference: member minded church exists for the members, mission minded church exists for the mission and vision of the church.
A member minded church expresses many concerns; the building, the budget, the existing programs, the volume level of the sound system. Although they have many concerns, their main concern comes down to this: we have to keep everyone happy. The main driving force of the staff and leaders is to keep the members happy. When the members are happy, there is little conflict. Everybody gets along, and everything is peaceful and happy. Isn't that what God wants?
The problem with a member minded church is that it creates a mindset that church exists to please it's congregates. The Bible says that the church exists to please God. Jesus is the head of the church (Eph. 1:22; 5:23, Col. 1:18) and the church exists to do His will.
Also, member minded churches produce another dangerous mindset: instead of a service mentality, these churches have a serve us mentality. These churches create a membership that comes and sits, rather than go and serve.
A mission minded church unifies it's members by rallying around the vision to reach people for Jesus and present them as mature disciples. A mission minded church doesn’t exist to please it’s members it exists to produce people who will give their lives for God’s glory.
Peter Drucker, recognized in the business world as the father of modern management says that an organization begins to die the day if begins to run for the benefit of the insiders and not for the benefit of the outsiders.
A unified church, rallying around the mission, will change a community.
When the church has the proper focus, the kingdom of God advances!
Many probably wonder what a pastor does Monday through Saturday, the days when he is not "working" (most of you are well enough informed that you laughed at that statement). Most days are filled with studying, planning, meeting with people, dealing with daily issues or crisis in the lives of people in our church and/or community. Some days, like today, are reminders that God is at work.
Shortly after arriving in the office, I received two phone calls and a visit. The first call was from a representative of our women's ministry, who mentioned that they had collected all the gifts for needy families at a local school nearby, and the total was too large to take in her van. "We need some help!" was her plea, and I was happy lend the assistance so that the ladies could meet their goal of ministry to the needy during Christmas.
The second call was from a man in our church who has spear headed a group of professionals at his workplace to provide gifts for families who would do without this Christmas. He was telling me how fulfilling this challenge was to him and his co-workers, and he was so encouraged by their generosity. "Fact is," he continued, "this kids are going to have a great Christmas." No doubt they will be blessed due to the love these individuals have shown.
Then a woman gave me an unexpected visit in my office, excited to share some news. "Our children's ministry put together Christmas shoe boxes for homeless children at St. Vincent. We will be delivering more than 20 boxes, and it's all because our kids cared!" Great news...seeing children rising to the notion that this is a time to give as well as receive.
Some days in the life of a pastor are relatively uneventful. Then there are days like today, when you see people sharing God's love through good deeds to the community around us, and it gives you pause to think what a blessing it is to be a part of the church.
Today marks the eight anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the world trade center and the Pentagon. As I sit in my home office, I am watching images from that dreadful day. Although it's been eight years, it brings back a flood of emotions. As I see family members of those who lost their lives that day, my heart is reminded of how that day impacted so many lives, and our nation was forever changed.
It is good for us to remember. President Obama has declared that the eleventh day of September every year will be a day of rememberance and of service. A national memorial is in the plans to open on this day in 2011. A museum, that will display artifacts left by mourners at the sites of the attacks, will open in 2012. As a nation, we vow that we will not forget how this moment has changed us forever. And as a nation, we still need to heal.
It is good for us to remember. On this day, I couldn't help but think how important, and how precious, our act of rememberance is each Sunday when are in Communion with God through the Lord's Supper. Each Sunday, we are reminded. We are reminded that the One who was sinless took the sins of this world to the cross with him. But death couldn't hold him. As as he resurrected, he brought victory and freedom from sin and death. Each Sunday, we observe a lasting memorial to the greatest event in human history. And it brings great healing.
It is good for us to remember.
This summer, in our Wednesday Family Reunion adult class we are looking at the Bible from cover to cover. As we begin this study, I am reminded once again of the amazing faith of the patriarchs. These men heard the word of the Lord, they trusted Him at his word, and they obeyed.
Did you know that when God commanded Noah to build the Ark, it had never rained? Can you imagine how much faith that would have taken? He knew he would be the butt of many jokes, and I'm sure, at times, questioned his own sanity, but he did what God commanded. And his faith and obedience meant he and his family were saved when the rest of the world perished.
God appeared to Abraham (then called Abram) and said, "I want you to pack up everything and leave Ur." Interestingly enough, God didn't tell him where he was going! But Abraham, by faith (Hebrews 11) left his home and began the journey of being the father of a great nation.
Later, after God had made a covenant with Abraham and promised him descendants as numerous as the stars, God commanded him to take his only son Issac and sacrifice him on an altar. Everything God has promised Abraham depended upon his son. The Bible gives us an indication that Abraham believed that God would deliver his son, in spite of the command to take his life. He told his servants that he and Isaac would be come back down from the mountain. And he told Issac that God would provide a ram to be sacrificed. God did spare Issac, and Abraham's faith once again proved to be amazing.
When you hear the leading of God, you have the choice to follow it. Take example from Noah and Abraham. Trust that God always knows what He is doing, and obey. And you will see God work his amazing will, and His goodness in your life.
This month's sermon series has taken us to some pretty dark places. We have talked about regret, past sin, lost dreams, hurt, pain, and abuse. As we have taken an inventory of the baggage of our lives we have seen how the past has affected our present and can affect our future. As we have come face to face with this pain, we have resolved no longer to hide from it, run from it, repress it or suppress it. Our baggage is ours. We own it and we take responsibility for it.
As we bring these dark memories in the light, we find that as we face it we can begin to free it. God wants us to be healed and whole. He has forgiven our past, and he wants to heal us from the pain. He can takes our past mistakes and turn them into present glory. He can work through it, use it, and transform us by it. We just have to let him. Then we can say with David, "Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again, from the depths of the earth you will bring me up." (Psalm 71:20)
What do you have to release to God? What dark thing needs to be brought into the light? What loss does God want to restore in your life?
Dealing with criticism is one of the most difficult lessons for a leader to learn. We begin in ministry with the highest of motives: to serve God and bring others to Him. Then it happens, something we do or say, or a change that is made, meets with criticism.
Encountering a critic can be a painful experience. I have learned over the years that criticism has it's place. As a matter of fact, for anyone in leadership or ministry, or anyone trying to make a difference, criticism should be embraced!
Anyone who is leading is open to criticism. All leaders, servants, and innovators are criticized. The absence of criticism may mean I am not leading effectively. David Hocking, in his book, "Seven Laws of Christian Leadership" said, "If I am not being criticized, I am doing nothing, I am being nothing, I am nothing!"
What should we do when we meet with criticism? How can I embrace criticism? First, let the critic be your teacher. No matter what manner the criticism is given, ask yourself if there is any truth in it. Has your critic seen something you failed to see? If anything, your critic is teaching you how to handle criticism!
Second, many criticize because they aren't informed. There are times that criticism can be addressed by sharing information on the strategy behind a decision or the information that brought about the change. Once the critic has more information they may be willing to let the situation play itself out.
Thirdly, if there is no truth to the criticism, or nothing you need to learn from it, you need to dismiss it. You cannot please everyone, and some people believe they have the spiritual gift of complaining! Win Arn, a very respected church growth expert said that there will always be 3-5% of people in your ministry who will be against change forever and ever, amen! The old saying is true, you can't please everyone. So stop trying. As matter of fact, if you try to please everyone, you will wind up not pleasing anyone.
Finally, we have to keep the proper perspective. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. Love people, and understand that decisions and changes you make affects them, sometimes in a profound way. But always keep in mind the goal of ministry and/or leadership is to help people become more mature disciples. More than anything else, our responsibility is to follow God's will. With prayer and fasting, earnestly seek Him. Boldly go where He wants you to go. Remember you are to lead people by following God.
Play for an audience of One!
What do you expect from God? What do you expect God to do in your life? When we realize that God is Omnipotent (all powerful), Omniscient (all knowing), and Omnipresent (everywhere), why do we sometimes wonder if God is able to meet our needs? Even our greatest expectations?
I remember when I was a young pastor in a small town in Junction City, Kentucky. I had the privilege of pastoring a small church, running anywhere from 80 to 100 on any given Sunday. We met in a beautiful little church house that was full of history and rich in experience. However, the building needed much work. We needed to replace the lights in the worship area, along with several other important building updates. I said to the leadership, "Let's have a special offering." They agreed.
The next Sunday I stood up in front of the church and I explained we were collecting a special offering on "Expect Greatness" Sunday...and the offering goal was $4000. Since our regular weekly offering was around $700, I could see the shock in the people's expressions (I was told later, after the service that the most ever given in a "special" offering was $1200) I said quickly, "Don't let that amount scare you. Just pray about it, and come that Sunday expecting greatness."
When Expect Greatness Sunday arrived we passed the offering plates and I preached a sermon on God's Power. At the end of the service, our church treasurer came up front and handed me a note. I was happy to announce, "Today, our Expect Greatness offering was $4,180!" The people cheered, and we began to praise God who had met, and exceeded our expectations.
After the service, an elderly woman came up to me and said, "You know, when you announced we were going to set an offering goal of $4000, I didn't believe it would happen. But pastor, I believed you believed it would happen! Thanks for challenging us."
Why is it we serve such and amazing, powerful God, and yet we feel helpless and hopeless at times? We let doubt and fear fog the mind instead of victory and confidence.
We serve and amazing God, who is able to do more than we can think or imagine. Let's expect greatness!
Probably the most difficult question I am asked, and probably the most frequent, deals with the subject of suffering. Why would God allow suffering? If He loved us, would He protect us from it?
There are no easy answers. It's true that all suffering is because of sin. Much of the suffering we endure is a direct result of our actions or the actions of others. Disasters and disease entered the world when Adam sinned. That answer doesn't seem to be comforting and still doesn't address the question of God's protection or intervention.
Scripture actually approaches suffering from a different angle. Our task is to become more mature disciples and the Bible says that suffering is a time of growth. What exercise is to the muscles, suffering is to faith. In our suffering we learn about ourselves and we learn about God. We see areas in which we need to grow. We become conscious of sin that destroys. And suffering is a time to seek God and His character. So we grow in our faith and knowledge of God, and ourselves, when we go through difficult times.
One of my children was suffering because of something they had done, and they asked for my help. I made the difficult decision to advise them, but not rescue them, and to let them suffer the consequences of their actions. It was a hard decision, but they endured, they learned and they grew.
Maybe God does the same with us.
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