The Journey

Seek First the Kingdom

For the last several days I have been thinking being a spiritual shepherd--a pastor leading people to actively and effectively pursuing the things that matter to God. Being a pastor is more than preaching a message on Sunday morning. Don't get me wrong, preaching is very important. Paul instructed Timothy to "preach the Word" (2 Timothy 4). However, a pastor not only instructs, he leads--he helps people follow Christ.

The great challenge of ministry is helping people take seriously the importance of seeking first the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). Too many people are becoming content in observing, spectating, and being an audience, rather than being a full participant in God's Kingdom. A couple of days ago someone asked this question (aimed at himself and the people of our church): "How much time do you devote in spiritual pursuits?" Implied in this question is this: if a person is just spending a couple of hours a week (during Sunday services) in seeking God, it is not enough. I think when people are not seeking God like they should, it affects our faith, our trust in God, our confidence that God heals, delivers, sets free, etc...

I believe the time is now for us to change and focus on what really matters: GOD!

Church and State

In the last month two issues have placed the Constitutional freedom of religion front and center. First, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanomously that the government violated a church's right to select or remove a minister. The second issue was a ruling by the President to force the Catholic Church to provide controceptives, even though this goes against Catholic teaching.

Over the years, as athiestic and secularistic groups have gained more influence and power, there as been the threat of the Government to place more limits on the right of religious freedom. These two issues illustrate that when government interests conflict with the people's right to worship, assemble, and proclaim, the government has no desire for self-restraint.

As a Christian and a pastor, I must, out of a matter of conviction, side against our government's desire to marginalize the church and religion. In otherwords, I am convinced that this government, when it is faced with a conflict concerning the church, it's commitment is: "Church, you lose!" God help us.

Vision and God's Word

I recently viewed on on-line "devotional" by a pastor who suggested that too many Christians are taking the Bible too seriously. He seemed to argue that Bible study gets in the way of having a deep relationship with Jesus Christ. I beg to differ.

It is the careful study of God's Word that will lead the follower of Christ into an authentic, God-honoring relationship. Our feelings and emotions can and will lead us astray unless we are guided by the precepts of Truth. God's word is truth. "Where there is no revelation the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law." (Proverbs 29:18) As followers of Jesus Christ, we need to be committed to faithful study and obedient application of the Bible. "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15). The next verse gives us a strong word of caution: "But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene." In other words, let's keep our life and conversations aligned with Scripture.

Fan or a Follower

Over the last several months I have been praying over my congregation concerning authentic discipleship. My heart has been heavy concerning people struggling to be real in their relationship with God. I came across a quote from Kyle Idleman, in his book "Not a Fan." I believe it is more true than I have thought in the past:

"The biggest threat to the church today is fans who call themselves Christians but aren't actually interested in following Christ. They want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything from them."

A Church's New Year's Resolution

If a church was to make a New Year's resolution, what would it be? I thought about this question and compiled a list of seven resolutions--resolutions that every Christian should put into practice.

1. The church resolves to know and do God's Word. The Bible is the church's operating manual and by far the best church growth handbook.
2. The church resolves to be compassionate to the poor and hurting. If this was Jesus' passion, it should be ours as well. The church resolves to be the light in darkness.
3. Evangelism still needs to be a common practice of believers in Christ. The church resolves to genuinely worship God.
4. Too often the focus of our worship has been to entertain the saints rather than glorify the Lord of heaven and earth.
5. The church resolves to help people grow in maturity and faith. Are we making healthy disciples or are we focused on making people feel good about their sin?
6. The church resolves to pray, and pray, and pray. Are we seeking first His kingdom, or are we focused on building our own kingdom?
7. The church resolves to be the Bride of Christ: pure, holy, righteous, and ready for her Groom.

Compassion for the Lost

Earlier today I went to Wal-Mart for some last-minute Christmas shopping. It was crowded. As I was pushing my shopping cart, I began to look at people with this thought in mind: "do you know Christ, or are you lost?" For most of my life this examination of people has been a common practice. I found my heart heavy--a sense of grief, of deep sorrow.

The fact is that most people have embraced the way of the world--the prevailing belief that God either does not exist or He is absent and impersonal. Strike up a conversation with a person about Jesus, and often you will be dismissed. But that does not mean we stop sharing our faith with others. The opportunities do present themselves. God does arrange divine appointments with His truth. As believers in Christ, we need to be aware of our responsibility to explain the truth of Christ.

But through it all prayer is always appropriate. My compassion for the lost leads me to prayer--prayer that God would use me to share the Good News, prayer that God would use others, prayer that people would be open to the truth of Christ. My prayer also includes the plea that I would never loose compassion for people--to love people without condition--and that I would live a life that demonstrates God's presence in me. So this Christmas, and beyond, let us commit our lives to fulfill Christ mandate to "preach the Good News to all people."

A Pastor's Heart

A pastor must manage many responsibilities--budgets, counseling, sermon preparation, leadership development, vision casting, teaching, preaching, discipline--the list goes on and on. I have met many pastors who have experienced stress and burnout over these duties, and even those whose marriages and children suffered.

Being a pastor is difficult work. One of my friends in church jokes that I only work on Sundays and Wednesday. I only wish! The job centers around people--often hurting people. It takes time and effort and much prayer to determine the best action to facilitate healing and encouragement. Sometimes I can get tired. The danger in all this can be when a pastor gets so overwhelmed that he (or she) become cynical--even doubting God's power and authority.

I guard myself from the dangers of doubt and stress by realizing that I can't do it all. It is important for me to raise up godly men and women to help with the load. I also set aside time to pray and seek God. Also, I take my day off religiously--if not, my family suffers greatly. Finally, I don't think the whole church's survival is rooted in me. It is God's church--the incarnation of Jesus' body. He builds the church; I serve Him. I don't mean to suggest that biblical pastoring is easy or absent from hard work. It is work. But, I rest in this truth: when it gets difficult I know that God is my great Burden Bearer. With Jesus, His "yoke is easy and [His] burden is light."

So as I approach this busy season of Christmas with all the celebrations, musical, meetings, parties, and so on, I have peace and joy in knowing I am living the balanced ministry life--thank you God!

Holding to a Minority View

As a follower of Christ--a person who trusts in Jesus Christ and His work on the Cross, as well as a person who attempts to follow His teachings--I know that I hold to a minority view concerning what is right and what is wrong. The culture of 2011 considers my beliefs inappropriate, out-dated, narrow-minded, and ignorant. I live in a day where my views of life are oftentimes not welcomed. As a result, I am confronted with one of four options as I navigate through life.

The first way is to be quiet--to conceal my faith in Christ--to withdraw--to be alone. By nature, this is what I tend to lean toward, except this approach is contrary to Christ's call to be light and salt.

The second way is to be loud--to be argumentative--to be in "their" face and tell "them" what for. Obviously, this approach does not display the love of God that Christians are compelled to share and demonstrate.

The third way is to compromise--to re-define what it means to be a Christian, and to live like the world--to declare that wrong is right and right is wrong. This approach is nothing less that a fall from grace--and to reject Christ as Lord and Savior.

And, there is the fourth way--the narrow way. It is the way of loving God and loving people--to live as Christ and to love people with compassion. I am to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ--and that means that I live a life the pleases Him. And as I live by faith, I also share the love of Christ, even with those that reject Him. I don't need to be quiet, or to argumentative, or to compromise--I need to live in genuine faith in the One who died for me.

Working Vacation

I promised myself that I would not work on vacation.  I am in "sunny" California.  Actually, there is sort of a cold spell going on.  We are supposed to go the the beach today - a high of 67 degrees.  But, during this time of rest and fun with the family, I have been doing a lot of thinking about church and ministry.  Maybe I shouldn't - this is a vacation, isn't it?  However, my thought keep drifting to how I can better lead God's church - how I can preach better, administrate better, help people better.  Then I thought about not focusing on "work" but focus on my personal relationship with God.  To be the best pastor I can be I need to center my thoughts on having a strong, biblical relationship with God.   So this morning, I read in John 14-15 about abiding in Christ.  It was a good spiritual workout today.

Moses and the Pentecostal

Sermon prep.  Sometimes easy and then sometimes I get "writer's block."  I was facing that kind of situation.  I knew what theme I wanted to address:  Living in the Spirit--more specifically, what do we need to know about living as a believer in Christ, full of the Spirit.  As I prayed and thought, my focus was drawn to something I read in the Old Testament book of Numbers (chapter 11).  Moses said to Joshua, his assistant, that he wished all the Israelites would be filled with the Spirit.  Wow!  From the earliest of times, God impressed on Moses His plan to pour His Spirit out on all flesh (Joel 2; Acts 2).  It became obvious to me - preach about the Holy Spirit and His interaction with Moses.  So, this Sunday I will begin a new sermon series on just that: Living in the Spirit - Learning from the life of Moses.  The first installment will center on the setting - in Exodus 1, where the people of Israel were under great bondage, in a culture that was opposed to God.  We will also look at a correlating passage in the New Testament: 2 Timothy 3.