Trees

I have learned a few things in the years of living in Oklahoma. I grew up in TN, so trees were everywhere. When we arrived in Oklahoma 13 years ago, I noticed a distinct lack of trees. As I learned more about Oklahoma, the heat and droughts come often. The grass burns and trees wither. Yet, there is a place where trees do not wither: river and creek banks. Here, we find long curving lines of trees that live. Actually, they thrive. Not only do they thrive, but everything around that tree thrives because of the food, shelter, and relief it brings to all who come near.

The Bible tells us that those who trust in the Lord and have made Him their hope and confidence are like those trees.

7 "But blessed are those who trust in the LORD and have made the LORD their hope and confidence. 8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-8

I want to be around that kind of person. Those whose trust is in the Lord have reconciled their life, actions, and eternity with the life, actions, and love Jesus Christ. He has become their hope. I need hope these days, don’t you? With the increasing financial concerns in our families and in our churches, hope is a high commodity. Jeremiah told the people they would be blessed if the Lord was there hope. This hope is precipitated by our trust in the life and activity of Jesus Christ. Our trust, or belief, brings hope. Those who have this trust and hope are fun to be around because they have joy. Just being around them lightens your load. The way they trust. The hope that oozes out of their attitude, tone, and posture can cause you to forget about the trouble briefly. He has become their confidence. Trusting in God allows us to walk tall in the face of discouragement, stand strong in the face of fear and the enemy. These people have trouble. These people have difficulty. However, their trust is not in themselves or anyone else. Their trust is in the Lord. Those who are around that kind of person thrive because of what they provide. They are like trees that are not bothered by the heat of the moment or long months of difficult circumstances. They provide the food, shelter, and relief others need.

I want to be that kind of person who, because of being close to Jesus, becomes help and hope for my family, friends, and future. Don’t you? I must place my trust in the Lord. Whether in good or bad I must trust in the Lord. With my past sin, my present situation, and future sentence I trust in the Lord and not myself. In Shade for the Children, Steve Camp writes,

“Shade for the children, a shelter from the storm. To be a place where they can grow. In the ways of the Lord. To train up my child, to live a pure and godly life. Through the struggles and fears, Dreams and tears of every day, to be shade for the children.”

I watch our people as they come in and out of church with emptiness in their souls. How many people do we interact with everyday who simply need a little spiritual fruit, shelter from their storm, and relief from their journey?

May we trust in the Lord making Him our hope and confidence so that those around us may benefit.

Oh God, may my trust be in You today. Bless me with hope and confidence. I want to be like a tree planted by a river. Make me that tree today. Let me feed the hungry soul, protect others from the brutal winds of life, and relieve them from life’s burdens. Amen.

Beyond Belief to Love

Isn't it beyond belief that God would condescend to our needs? He had, and has, every right to demand holiness. He had given the law, the priests, the leadership, the sacrifices, etc. Humanity had all it needed to understand and maintain the unique relationship with God. But sin changes lives. The law became god. The priests became political. The leadership became lazy. The sacrifices became scheduled more than spiritual. God had no logical reason to come to us. He had created. He had fed and clothed them. He had protected them. He had fought for them. He had forgiven them. He had warned them.

Why should God do more? It is beyond belief…to love.

I love the book, Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney.

Little Nutbrown Hare, who was going to bed, held on tight to Big Nutbrown Hare's very long ears. He wanted to be sure that Big Nutbrown Hare was listening. "Guess how much I love you," he said. "Oh, I don't think I could guess that," said Big Nutbrown Hare. "This much," said Little Nutbrown Hare, stretching out his arms as wide as they could go. Big Nutbrown Hare had even longer arms. "But I love you this much," he said. Hmm, that is a lot, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. "I love you as high as I can reach," said Little Nutbrown Hare. "I love you as high as I can reach," said Big Nutbrown Hare. That is very high, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. I wish I had arms like that.

Then Little Nutbrown Hare had a good idea. He tumbled upside down and reached up the tree trunk with his feet. "I love you all the way to my toe!" he said. "And I love you all that way up to your toes," said Big Nutbrown Hare, swinging him up over his head. "I love you as high as I can hop!" laughed Little Nutbrown Hare, bouncing up and down. "But I love you as high as I can hop," smiled Big Nutbrown Hare- and he hopped so high that his ears touched the branches above. That's good hopping, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. I wish I could hop like that.

"I love you all the way down the lane as far as the river," cried Little Nutbrown Hare. "I love you across the river and over the hills," said Big Nutbrown Hare. That's very far, thought Little Nutbrown Hare. He was almost too sleepy to think anymore. Then he looked beyond the thornbushes, out into the big dark night. Nothing could be farther than the sky. "I love you right up to the moon," he said, and closed his eyes. "Oh, that's far," said Big Nutbrown Hare. "That is very, very far." Big Nutbrown Hare settled Little Nutbrown Hare into his bed of leaves. He leaned over and kissed him good night. Then he lay down close by and whispered with a smile, "I love you right up to the moon- and back."

We can’t account for love. It is hard for us to understand, right? We write people off. We have irreconcilable differences. We denounce. We divorce. We destroy. We abandon. We hate. We leave. God loves.

At just the right moment, God stepped in with love. A love that says…

It doesn’t matter where you have been because my love is greater. It doesn’t matter what you have done because my love can forgive you. Not to believe the lies you’ve been told because this love is forever.

This is beyond belief, right? Isn’t He way up there? Aren’t we left to natural law and physics? Though God may be silent He is not absent. Though you may not have answers God still does.

The Jews had gotten it just the way they wanted. They had it all figured out. But they were not happy and God knew it. At just the right moment, God stepped in with love. It all began with a man by the name of John. This is not the John who wrote this book, he comes later. No, it began with John the Baptizer. He was loud and raucous. The Pharisees even came all the way out of there security of the temple to examine what was happening. He preached a message of repentance and expectation. He was preparing the way for the light.

6 God sent a man, John the Baptist,*7 to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light.9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

John 1.6-9

This light is Jesus. He leads us out of our dark places. He leads us beyond our dark memories, our dark side. For those who believe and accept him, he gave the right to become children of God!

What? How can he do that? Who gave him the right? This is unbelievable! There’s the problem. Somehow in the back of our minds we have this judge and jury that examines the claims of people. If it seems unbelievable, then it must be. After all, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually isn’t. Right?

So the writer, John, is telling us that Jesus is the son of God. He is the light for our darkness. He is the promise for our problem. He is the strength for our weariness. He is the wisdom for our ignorance. He is the light. John is telling us, right up front, that He was sent by God to give away the family jewels.

12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

John 1.12-13

For those who believe him and accept him, they receive the right to be children of God.

How fantastic? God’s design for the family is that it would be child-centered, not child-controlled. God, through Jesus, is offering us the opportunity to be at the center of His attention, His love, His home.

Do you realize what this means? By believing the claims of Jesus and accepting his activity on the cross as sufficient for you, then everything can be different…better.

That horrible home life can be exchanged for a home with God.

That difficult upbringing can be exchanged for the loving leadership of God.

The beating, the abuse can be traded in for a new home, new life, a new moment.

That is beyond belief! That is love!

I'll Have the Elephant

How do you eat an elephant?

This is a very good question for us today. Too often we try to accomplish too much in short amounts of time. If I remember correctly, the tortoise won the race going slow and steady. Our conventions hand out awards every year that, I believe, promote detrimental movements. I am sure these churches who win these awards are good churches filled with good people. It is the machine that is our problem. We want the exciting. We want the growth. We want big churches, budgets, and salaries. We want to grow faster than the Pentecostals and be earlier than the Methodists. All the while we become distracted from our primary goal: make disciples. This is not a quick, large group process. We as Christ-followers are all capable of making disciples through relationships and long-term strategies.

We must understand that the process is not quick. Jesus took three years to develop his disciples and they still all ran off in times of difficulty. Let us not stress out over similar issues. It will take a while for a person to adjust habits, change patterns, and develop new thoughts about God. Here are two thoughts:

First, a church must have a long-range plan of what a committed Christ-follower is to be. This long-range view extends out 10-20 years. What kind of disciple are we going to make? What is the most God-honoring way to develop others? What types of teaching styles and learning styles will be offered? What levels of development will we offer? How much doctrine? Theology? Missions? Hands-On?

Second, the church process should encourage disciple making opportunities. One church began a new approach to development. The process begins with worship. As people attend worship contact is made with the encouragement to move into a Small Group/Sunday School class. Out of these classes movement into further development and service is stressed. Several development opportunities on Sunday evenings as well as several opportunities for service on Wednesday nights. In this way faith is fed and exercised. Every Sunday School class is encouraged to do ministry that impacts the community [Power Up Your World]. Through impact the church and classes find potential members for their class, but more importantly begin to earn the right to be heard on spiritual matters.

How do you eat an elephant? You do so one bite at a time. Disciple-making takes time. Pick out a small group and begin to assist transformation. As they transform they will change the lives of those around them. Soon their fringe friends find themselves in worship and the cycle continues.

It's a Process!

"6-week old baby runs Boston Marathon"
"2-yr old allowed driving test for license"
"Toddler surprise medal winner at national track event"

If you were to read these headlines two things would happen almost instantly. First, you would smile or laugh. Second you would assume they came from a National Enquirer or Star. Either way, you would immediately believe these statements to be false.

Why?

Everyone knows that people of that age cannot accomplish those feats! They very well could accomplish them later in life, but not right now. There is a process of development that must take place first. The very things you take for granted today are a result of a forgotten series of events. A baby must learn to roll over, which strengthens muscles. Next we will sit up and begin to pull up. Once we have strengthened our stomach and arm muscles our legs must gain strength and balance before walking can occur.

Once that starts, look out!

Though our spiritual life has many similarities, we often by-pass crucial stages of development for more exciting moments. As adults, especially, we try to shrink the process. Because of intellectual and physical acumen we believe ourselves to be past all that childish learning. However, without the basics we set ourselves up for misunderstanding, malnutrition, and disaster. There is a reason why Jesus said we should come with a child-like faith. He also said that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven. Both statements speak to the issue of skipping stages having negative impact.

Most churches today are plateaued or declining for a number of reasons:

1. No outreach plan
2. Poor door-greeter mission/ministry
3. Too many lost people leading the church
4. Too many immature placed in mature roles

Now, some might take offense to the third and fourth statements. Bear with me. Over the past 30+ years of my relationship with God, I have noticed that we have shortened the gospel presentation down to "ABC: Admit, Believe, Commit". We call for decisions more than we do converts. We beg and plead for people to just ABC and never tell them the life-changing, transformative gospel message. Because of this we have churches full of members who made a decision but were never converted. These poor souls are attending, ushering, serving, teaching out of themselves and have no presence of the Spirit of God because of our irresponsibility with the Gospel.

The fourth statement is too often true. When a person makes a true confession and conversion, we fastpass them to the next level. We tell them to attend everything and something good will happen. There is no strategy to this line of thinking. There is no plan. Did Jesus come to Earth with the hope of something good happening? No. He came with a well-thought out plan and so it should be in our churches. If a church has a transformed life they often don't know what to do with him except tell him to keep showing up. The mandate is very clear. We are to make disciples.

Jesus took three years to make his disciples and they changed the planet. How long is your plan? Jesus took 12 people and shaped their behavior and thinking. Are you alone trying to change the whole church? I believe we need to review the plan of Jesus don't you? I believe we need to pattern our development after how Jesus did it, don't you?

Development is a process. Do you have one?

Hired Hand

There once was a hired hand, a good hired hand. The old farmer found him in town one day looking for work. After a short discussion and several cups of coffee the hand was employed. He gathered his things and jumped into the truck of the old farmer. As they drove out of town with windows rolled down the farmer expressed a few more rules to the employment. He had already told him about the hours being from sun up to sun down and sometimes longer. He had already expressed that the wages were room and board and some spending money. As they turn from one dusty road to another the farmer pointed to the farm. There was a nice house and barn, several implements, and fields of grain for what seemed like miles. The old farmer stopped the truck and just short of the driveway and looked right into the eyes of the hand and told the hand one more thing. He said that once they crossed through the gate there was no turning back. The hand was so excited to have this job he never noticed the other farm across the road. He was so excited he did not care that he had to put on an ankle brace much like a cattle tag. No one had ever shown any interest in him until this old farmer came along. Why would he ever want to leave?

The next morning he woke early anxious for the day to begin. He dressed and went downstairs only to find nothing for him. The kitchen was dark and musty. The refrigerator was empty. He noticed a note on the table…chores. The list seemed endless and he found no tools to repair what he was asked to repair. The old farmer passed through and grinned at the hand with a sly grin. Day after day the hand worked hard but there was no joy in the labor, but what could he do? The ankle brace couldn’t be removed and if he ever walked outside of the fence the shock was so great he fell nearly unconscious.

Was there any hope?

One day the hand was working the fence line by the road when he heard someone hollering from across the road. A man was standing there waving at him with a smile on his face and twinkle in his eye. The hand seemed drawn to him but knew not why.

“How ya doin’?” he asked.

The hand replied that he was fine, though he and the man knew it was a lie.

“How’s the old man treating you? Gettin’ fed? Gettin’ paid?”

The hand looked down and kept right on working. He had not been getting fed very well and was not getting paid as promised. In fact, everything was horrible but there was no way to leave. He desperately wanted to jump right over the fence and run over to the man but could not because of the ankle brace. He had tried to just step outside of the gate one day and felt a jolt so bad he fell down. He tried to get it off but could find no way. In his excitement of all that was promised he didn’t care, but now he did. With no hope he gave a nod to the man and kept working.

“He told you there was no leaving. Once you crossed through the gate there was no turning back. He has not told you the truth. You have a choice. You are only bound to him as long as you want to be.“

The hired hand looked down…

“…even that can be taken of.” The man called for his son and sent him across the road. He told the hand that his son would remove the problem. The hand refused immediately. He couldn’t let that happen. He would figure out a way to get the brace off and cross the road.

But there was no way. What kind of person would he be to let the man’s son take the hit? How could he?

“There is no other way. He is the only one who knows how to remove the problem. Will you let him?”

The hand was confused. He couldn’t stand being with the old farmer any longer. The more he talked to this man the better he felt, the stronger he felt, the happier he felt. Yet, he was trapped. He wanted to be there but didn’t know if he could let the boy get hurt. The pain he felt inside was so overwhelming and the hope that was being offered felt so completely honest and pure he decided to trust the man. He looked down at the boy and agreed.

The boy reached down and as he skillfully released the shackle he took the shock and jolt that was far beyond his ability to handle. The boy lay motionless. The hand stood there mortified. He looked at the man and questioned how he could have done that to his own son.

“I know what you have been going through. I wanted to help. There was no other way. Trust me. Walk across this road and stay with me. Work my farm where the kitchen is clean and the fridge is full. We feast every evening after a long days work. You will rest in a comfortable bed. You will have everything you have always wanted.”

The hand crossed the road. He was saddened by what just happened to the boy but with each step he took there was a release of the burden of his past. Each step felt lighter and more free. As the man welcomed the hand onto the farm the old farmer came blazing up in the truck screaming obscenities at them both. He could not contain the rage and anger. When he looked over and saw the boy lying on the ground he smiled that same sly grin. He laughed cruelly and drove off.

As the dust settled the hand turned and began walking to the house when he felt something in his hand. He looked down to see the boy holding his hand and walking with him. Bewildered he looked at the father.

“His life for yours was the deal made long ago with that old farmer. He never said I couldn’t call my son back home. Let’s get you cleaned up. We have a new set of clothes for you and supper smells like its ready.”

The Climb

Have you ever been hiking? I mean, really hiking? Gone up a mountain hiking?

I haven’t done much of it myself but when I did it was worth the effort. Les and I had gone mountain lake fishing in Colorado in mid-September. The snow had begun to gather on the peaks. We were driving around looking for this one lake we wanted to fish and found the trailhead. We parked and gathered our packs and began the 2 mile hike. Along the way we began to question whether this was a good idea. We couldn’t see this lake. How did we know if it would be there? No one was around to tell us for certain the presence of the lake. The map told us it was there and there were signs all around but could we know for sure?

At 11,000 feet we were out of breath and stopped to drink some water. We looked at each other and knew we had to keep going. There really never was a question, but our bodies and our feelings wanted to express opposition. At around 12,000 feet we had no clue how far we had come. We still saw no sign of the lake. Everything ached and we were out of breath. But we knew we had to continue.

Our desire to see the lake and to do what we had come to do was stronger than the desire to quit. We came to what we hoped was a final surge uphill. As we crested the hill what lied before us was absolutely breath-taking! It was at that moment I realized the camera was back at the truck. While I cannot show you what it looked like, I can tell you how wonderful, peaceful, beautiful, and exilherating it was to be there. I guess you will have to climb it yourself to feel that way too.

So it is in the life of a believer and the church. God is calling us to climb the mountain with Him. The only way we will experience the fullness of His blessing and beauty is to follow and reach the journey’s end. Today we stand at the trailhead. Many churches are gearing up for the new church year, late summer/early fall revivals and conferences, and renewed consistency in the people. Every year we stand here. God calls. Will we follow? To make it to the top we must work hard, make concessions, and commit. As the church grows as a family of believers that are spiritually thriving and impacting the culture we do so as God would desire. Like seeing the landscape at the top of the mountain, we shall see the fruit of labor come in the form of increased attendance, increased spiritual development, and increased impact on the community.

What goals do you have? What is the challenge God has laid before you? For us that day it was a 2-mile hike up a mountain. It was difficult to do but the result was worth it all! I have never returned, though I often consider going back. The picture is forever etched in my mind's eye. God is challenging us in the church today to come back to Him. God did everything necessary to get us in the relationship and now it is time we do our part. We must climb out of our pleasure-driven lifestyles and humbly crawl into the presence of God. We are to present ourselves as living sacrifices. Without this sacrifice on our part we will never experience the exhileration and rush of God's presence.

I must climb. We must climb. The church must climb out of yesterday and look toward tomorrow. The air may seem thin and our chests will pound as certain changes take place; looking outward more than inward, service and sacrifice more than selfish desires. We will not be disappointed at the summit.

Today we stand at the trailhead. Let us climb.

Live Well, Learn Much, Love Often

There are three simple things that God wants us to do as church family. God wants us to live well as a family. God wants us to learn much as we develop spiritually. God wants us to love often in ministry and service.

We begin living well as a family of believers as we experience God through worship. Gathering together is a beautiful opportunity for us to know each other better in light of God’s presence. Families get together rarely, usually around holidays, special events, or deaths. We have the opportunity to gather together one time a week! Let’s enhance those moments by getting to know one another and worship God together. In a multi-generational setting we have the opportunity to experience different perspectives. Learning from one another is integral in a family’s development.

Living well as a family deepens as we enjoy small group studies. In these small groups you are with people in a similar life stage. Just like those family reunions and gatherings where you see different sets of cousins sitting in groups. Each defined usually by age because every time they would gather that group would play together and eat together at the kid’s table. As they grew and the next set of kids came on the scene they took the kid’s table and the others found somewhere else to sit. Family development happens as we enable ourselves to live better through small group studies. These moments are well-suited to develop relationships in a relaxed but biblical setting.

A family lives well as it works together. We can live well as a church family by serving together. When the pressure is on we see each other without our masks. In this level of family we can finally love each other for who we really are. We can be real and authentic. There are times when having the entire family involved in a project can slow things down a bit but the bonds that are formed are worth it all.

The church family is a great way to live well, learn much, and love often.

When is your next family gathering?

Daddy, Daddy

When a child walks with a parent and comes to an anxious moment he will often turn and raise up his arms to be picked up. We often forget that feeling of being small and defenseless. A child feels scared because they cannot handle the situation around them and will seek safety in the arms of a parent. In turn, the parent smiles and tries to reassure him that all is well, but in some moments nothing will pacify until he is in the arms of mom or dad.

To the parent the anxiety may seem out of sorts and without merit. We can see the bigger picture. We can see above the knees and hips of the surrounding crowd. We can see the greater distance because of our vantage point. We see that all will be ok. Bu the child cannot see what we see and does not know what we know. They do not have the experience we have.

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. [John 1:12-13]

When the bible calls us children we should not take offense, but rather take notice. Our physical age is irrelevant. Our experience and wisdom lacks the perspective of the parent. We often become confused about life. We become anxious. We try, then, to figure it all out. We try to make plans. We ignore the obvious. We scramble around frightened and confused. All the while, God stands there with an empty hand. We removed our hand trying to fix our lives. If we would turn and raise our hands we would find ourselves in the grip of God’s grace. He sees the bigger picture. He has the vision and wisdom. He has the ability.

May we stop believing the lie that we can handle our lives, or that we should because of our physical age. We are called children of God for a reason. Never in scripture does it tell us that we are on our own after a certain time or age. Take your concerns to God through prayer. Listen for His response through the reading of scripture. Be patient and wait for the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

It will come. Be patient.

We Are Family

According to the Bible [Romans 8:15,23; 9:4] we are the adopted children of God. This makes us joint heirs with Jesus Christ [Romans 8:17; Gal 3:29]. We have, by faith, been brought into a unique family situation. When you take into consideration the context we actually have taken precedence over Jesus in that while God the Father sacrificed His one and only Son, He WILL NOT ever do that to us. God would never forsake the relational contract of adoption. Once we are in the family we can never be out of the family.

All of us in the Church and local church are siblings by faith. We are all joint heirs with Christ as the children of God. Do you remember Sister Sledge back in 1979? They sang a song that is helpful in this regard. They sang about family. They sang about commitment. They sang about love. What if we were like that with each other?

We are family
I got all my sisters with me
We are family
Get up everybody and sing

Everyone can see we're together
As we walk on by
(FLY!) and we fly just like birds of a feather
I won't tell no lie
(ALL!) all of the people around us they say
Can they be that close
Just let me state for the record
We're giving love in a family dose

Living life is fun and we've just begun
To get our share of the world's delights
(HIGH!) high hopes we have for the future
And our goal's in sight
(WE!) no we don't get depressed
Here's what we call our golden rule
Have faith in you and the things you do
You won't go wrong
This is our family Jewel

What if we exemplified these kinds of feelings toward each other? Is not the local church an opportunity to get used to eternity? As family, we are to be committed to each other. Intellectually we know this fact. However, in practice we often fail miserably. We have become distracted with the here and now which is baseball, tourneys, water sports, family events, etc. Putting Summer aside, we have become committed to everything EXCEPT the church family. Which brings us to one of two disturbing points. Either we have sold a short-cut gospel to raise numbers, baptisms, and accolades or much of our so-called family is not family at all. They are outsiders trying to be insiders.

After Matthew got up from the collections table and followed Jesus he brought Him to his house for a party for introductions. The Pharisees, who were on the outside, could not understand. Those who were on the inside, though, were receiving a wonderful evening of the presence of Jesus. The blessing is reserved for those on the inside. No one else can quite grasp the concept.

We are called to be family. Let's start loving like it. Let's start committing like it.

Unleashing God

Have you ever watched the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show?



It is amazing to watch how these dogs stand so still while the handlers primp and prep them for the upcoming show. The dogs will jump through hoops, run up and down ramps, through obstacles, and more at the command of the handler. Later they will be walked, on a leash, by the handler and obey every command, receiving treats for good behavior. The dogs by this time probably do not know any better but is that what they were designed to do?

What of they were unleashed? What if they were freed to do what they were created to do? There might be more pleasure and enjoyment in our life.

Too many people treat God like those dogs by putting Him on a leash and leading Him around. It is expected that God would obey every one of our commands. We give praise when He obeys, possibly treating Him with a tithe or ministry project. We become frustrated when He does not do what we command. We tell Him when to come, when to bless, when to curse, when to provide, when to be excessive, when to stay, when to leave.

What would happen if we unleashed God? What if we freed Him to do what He wants to do?

We are not the handlers we are being taught that we are. We are to be followers of God not leaders of Him. If God were unleashed power and majesty would once again reign supreme. If God were unleashed the church would become relevant in an ever-changing culture. If God were unleashed churches would be reaching, evangelizing, growing, changing the very face of their community instead of plateauing and shrinking.

If God were unleashed...

If God were simply unleashed...

Everything would be better.

Unleash God in your life today!

Make a Vision For the Future

I have spent the better part of today considering a spiritual flowchart for our church. For years we have not had a plan for people to follow other than show up at all the posted times. We try to meet people's needs as they arise but that only truly works in death.

Why can't we be more proactive in marriage, parenting, and finances?

We don't have a plan. The Bible tell us that where there is not a plan people will run into chaos. Rick Warren has a plan. However, his plan probably does not work verbatim in your community. Ed Young has a plan, but does your community have 6 figures as a base salary? Bill Hybels has a plan...for Chicago.

Now we feel cheated.

The reason each of these men and the churches they lead have done well is because there was a simple plan that was followed. If we are going to move past the past and live in today we must do so with a vision for the future. If we live in today without a vision for an acceptable future then we run the risk of shifting into living for yesterday. As everyday passes we get farther out of touch with the reality that lies within our communities. We desire "back when". What does God desire for each person?

1. A saving faith in Jesus Christ
2. Growing in knowledge and service

Pretty simple. The critical issue is that we figure out how that translates in our local communities. Every community has a DNA that must be unraveled and understood. If we try to place our personal preferences onto a community that does not have a shared heritage or interest then we run the risk of creating a wedge among the people. I have learned over the years that what works at one church does not necessarily work at another. You have to back up the thought pattern to a common denominator and begin restructuring the plan of attack in each setting.

Paul said that he became all things to all people. He contextualized ministry and so should we.

Making a vision for the future means that we must embrace what God wants, contextualize it where we have been planted and engage in ministry. Of course, this means we must begin making plans and preparing for needs before they get there. Here are a few questions to consider:

• What evangelism method works best in your community?
• What is the front door of your church? When do most people attend?
• Do you know what the next step should be for them?
• How about the next one?

A great chess player thinks several moves ahead of the opponent. If we are making a vision for the future then we must think several moves out. Post-evangelism flow is important. Once a person has entered into the flow of church through worship, what comes next? So often, we simply lay out the schedule and tell them to pick what is best for them. Whoever heard of sheep deciding where to graze? That was, and is, the shepherd's responsibility. We need to lovingly guide people through the development process. God desires that we grow in knowledge and service. How will you do that? What does it look like?

I believe that we must balance our approach. Sunday School, or whatever you call it, needs to remain shallow. If people are coming to those small groups as the entrance to your church or as the step after large group worship, then often they are not prepared for deep abiding doctrine and spiritual philosophy. Let SS be a time where they get a taste of friendships, shared ministry, and a relevant truth from God's word.

The next level is to move them into a directed and guided balance of development and service. This allows for a bright future of developed and mature servants of God. This approach also creates a new expectation and model for future generations, but it does require a paradigm shift. We must make a few adjustments so that we are not adding to but complementing what is already provided for by our schedule.

Without a vision the people perish and so do families, children, churches, and a positive future.

By God's wisdom and your prayerful commitment create a vision, cast the vision, and change the face of your community forever.

Mark the Moments of Today

Much of our culture wants to live for today. I suggest that we live in today. One word makes all the difference. Living for today means that the choices made do not take into consideration the past or the future. A person living for today is only concerned about today. The experiences of the past are not guiding him. Thoughts of the repercussions are not guiding him either.

A recent episode of Life has an office romance in the middle of the investigation. They were not supposed to have an affair. Because they lived for today they fell in love without any thought to the issues of the past or the future. She winds up pregnant. During the investigation the truth is revealed. When asked why she did not tell the police this portion of the story, she replied that she was afraid of losing her job and insurance.

She just didn't think everything through, apparently. Living for today just doesn't think things through completely.

I believe God wants us to live in today. We are to live in the world, but not be of the world. God wants us to take into consideration all that we have experienced and apply that knowledge to today's needs in light of future goals. Living in today, for the church, means to understand our heritage but not to get stuck in it. The church becomes regulatory when she forgets in what decade/century she is living.

"Why, back in my day we dressed up for church. " So the glares and stares happen towards those who do not "suit up".

"There was a time when this church was packed. These parents today just don't get it." Now the glares and stares come when they do come to church because they are not there every time there is church.

The church must mark the moments of today. She must understand from whence she has come but apply that knowledge to today's need for relationship and family. The church exists in a society that yearns for relational authenticity. Brandon Heath expresses a change of view in his song Give Me Your Eyes.

Marking the moments of today realizes that times have changed, but loving God and loving others is still the same mandate of God. May we see others through the filter of God's love and not our prejudice. Our actions and words condemn quickly. The initial judgment of a person often causes us to pre-determine what they can and cannot be in our kingdom. In reality, we are to see the potential of what everyone can become in God's kingdom as it is played out through the local church. The great commandment is more than just being tolerant of others. We are called to love, accept, nurture, befriend others.

May we take the responsibility of marking today as an opportunity to love God by loving others in whatever way God chooses.

Moving Past the Past

I had breakfast with a friend this morning and were discussing the woes of the economy and how each at our respective churches were having to prioritize ministry and be efficient in our expenditures. During this conversation we began wondering how efficient economically our massive programming really is.

How can we do things better?
How can we make a difference?

I believe that if we would embrace a paradigm shift from regulatory to relational religion we would see a dramatic increase in ministry productivity. How do we make this shift? I see three things to be done:

1. Move past the past.
2. Marker the moments of today.
3. Make a vision for the future.

Let's begin with the first item: move past the past. Calvin Whitman* in his sermons based on Exodus says that "the past is to be a guidepost...not a hitching post." I concur. So often we fondly look back at the past and the nostalgia is so thick we cannot find our way back to the present. We hitch our lives, our ministries, our churches to the ways of the past. The past is something we are to remember without replay. We are to recall the past, but live in the present. Our present is vastly different in the information age as we experience a doubling of intelligence every few years with increasing speed.

In order to move past the past and begin our transition from regulatory to relational religion we must understand the principle of reciprocity. This principle, as I define it here, means that we extend the same amount and kind of grace extended to us. Relational religion expresses this type of grace. Regulatory religion tends to hand out guilt and shame by holding on to your past and bringing it up every time there is an opportunity. Regulatory religion operates out of power by setting up levels of sin and disciplining through calling out, shame, shunning, etc. Other ways to express discipline include glares and stares, whispers in hallways, and silent treatment. Who wouldn't want to go to that church? This is the exact point I am making. Relational religion does not create levels of sin but levels out sin since all sin is equal in God's eyes. Relational religion does not feel a need to discipline to make ourselves feel better but to disciple to make others fully devoted followers of Christ. Relational religion loves people as they have been loved rather than focusing on the hatred of sin. Operating out of a negative position creates negative results. Regulatory religion is not a healthy approach. Further, regulatory religion exits when things get a little tough.

When the addict relapses do we exit or encourage?
When the marriage is dissolving do we exit because of their lack of faith or do we encourage them through love and devotion?

These type of questions go straight to the heart of our religion. We must not only move past our past, but also move past other people's past. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Let's move past the past.



* Calvin Whitman is the pastor of Applewood Baptist Church in Colorado.

Awareness to Action

Crystal Darkness was aired the other night through Oklahoma and our church hosted a watch party and discussion. There were many good questions and concerns that are opening lines of communication. Meth is an insidious drug that ruins families and victimizes children.

If we become aware but not take action we waste time.

Action is the next obvious step. What should be done? What can be done? Our church will host a follow-up discussion on Sunday night the 18th at 6pm to grapple with these very issues.

In the same way we have spent the better part 6 months to discuss the problems with religion and the state of the church today. We have become well aware of the problems that surround us in the church and its effect. We feel it. We live it. We know it.

We are aware. Now what?

I would like for us to spend the next six months investigating and discussing ways of bringing back relational religion rather than regulatory religion. Religion is not wrong. We have been wired to desire God. We are called to worship and serve God. He established the church. Religion is a part of our following God but it must be relational.

This will feel a lot like taking tea and making it water again, but it can, and should, be done. Let's begin with Biblical principles.

• Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love God with all your being.
• Jesus then said to love your neighbor as your self.

Both of these involve love. I have grown up in an environment of regulatory religion where anyone with a problem should "have more faith". Although the sermon would convey that God accepts us as we are, the church members would not. I believe that God demands differently. I believe that God desires relational religion. If we are to love God with all of our being and love our neighbor than why do we judge and condemn? Are we lacking in self-esteem so greatly that we cannot accept others as God does? If God loved us enough to die for us, does that not, in some way, increase our esteem to a level that we can finally accept ourselves? Can we not, then, learn to love others so that we can help them become what God wants?

How should the two great commandments translate into an ongoing relational religion experience?

Creation To The Cradle

From the creation to the cradle God has been desiring a relationship with humanity. From in the beginning to a journey to Bethlehem, God has been providing ways back into this relationship. Adam and Eve had it made. They had a perfect environment, a perfect relationship, and a perfect eternity but more is what they wanted. Out of love for them God banned them from the garden. If they had eaten from the tree of life and death while in a sinful state they would have become immortally separated from God, who did not desire this.

God has been working through humanity to provide the pathway back to Himself. He salvaged humanity through Noah. He called out and blessed Abraham. God provided the Ten Commandments and Mosaic law. The entire sacrificial system was designed, if done properly, would provide atonement.

But humanity wanted more.

Humanity wanted to have the atonement coupled with the freedom to behave as they wanted rather than what God wanted. Prophets came and went, each trying to share the message of loving God and walking with Him. Yet, humanity mocked and killed them.

The He chose a young girl to carry THE child. She would give birth to the One whose sole purpose was to die to carry our sins away once for all. God loved humanity. Jesus loved humanity enough to become a baby. He left all that He had and become nothing in order that we could return to the family.

The cradle offers us help today and hope for tomorrow. The cradle reveals a birth. It also leads to new births in us as well. May we want for no more than a new life and hope in a relationship with God through Jesus.

From the creation to the cradle. God wants a relationship with you.

Africa, Coming Home

We awoke Sunday morning to warmth of the sun as it began to penetrate the building. The temperature began to rise quickly as we prepared to go to the small village church in Torodi. We had passed through there the night before anticipating the stop but hoping for the guest house instead. God answered our plea and the guest house was available. Now we would trek back to the church to be respectful as they had planned on us being there. The trip was 45 minutes and we sat in a grass lean-to or hut and listened to the singing and teaching of the leadership. There was just a small band of believers in attendance but the Spirtit was there and they earnestly desired God to fill them strength and wisdom.

The rest of our day was spent back at the guest house packing, planning, and preparing for the long journey home. Unfortunately the flight would not leave until after midnight. We had MRE's for lunch and waited for 6:30 to come when we would go to dinner with our host missionaries and then take a final shower before going to the airport.

Dinner was at an Italian place in Africa where they spoke French. Can't beat a deal like that can you? Kris, our missionary, wanted to know our thoughts and feelings about the preparation and the trip itself. We talked for a while and then came back to the guest house for final preparations. The time had come and we packed the truck a final time to get us to the airport. We had considerably less luggage going home than coming because so much of the supplies were used or left for them to use in the clinics.

3:30 pm [OK time] We arrived at the airport and acquired our boarding passes and checked our luggage. As we walked through the door for security check, there was our luggage! We had just checked it as baggage and now we had to open it for manual inspection before we could go through customs and immigration for exiting the country. As expected, Pete had challenges. They did not have one of his bags out for inspection and we thought maybe there was no reason for this other than not all bags got checked. We went through immigration and down the stairs to wait for the bus that would take us 100 yds to the plane, because apparently it is too much to walk?!?! About 30 minutes later his name is called because there was a bag waiting to be checked but he was not there. He goes back through customs and gets the bag checked returns through customs just in time for us to walk toward the bus to have ourselves security checked.

5:40 pm [OK time] We left Niger and arrived in Paris. The flight was basically uneventful.

11:00 pm [OK time] We started our 7 hour layover in Paris. We walked around looking for something that was open and palatable. Not much to speak of here. We slept, we ate, we typed, we listened to mp3 players, we read, we walked laps...you get the picture. It was like 4 caged animals wanting to escape but not being able to.

SUNDAY TURNS TO MONDAY

7:00 am [OK time] We are still in Paris. We are on the plane, but still in Paris. And suddenyl to our wondering eyes did appear...Jimmy Carter! He made the rounds and shook everyone's hand and 45 minutes late we finally leave Paris. The next 10 hours we spent in that plane seemed much longer than they were.

5:35 pm [OK time] We have landed in Atlanta and I iam hustling to get through customs to see if there was a remote chance of still making our flight. I rounded the corner and looked at the time. The other three were coming through customs and I gathered the luggage fromt he baggage claim area. It could not be forwarded all the way through because of customs at teh first port of entry. We were changing from an international to domestic flight. I gave up all hoper of making the scheduled flight. We gathered the luggage and headed for the rebooking agents.

6:00 pm [OK time] We stood in line for rebooking as our flight left for OKC. We were not yet sure if we could get home tonight and on what carrier it would be. We did not care! The rebooking agent got us on a flight at 8:45[OK time] so we settled in through security and found something to eat. After we pounded Wendy's for some sustenance we strolled over to the gate and checked in.

7:45pm [OK time] The flight was overbooked because of the rebooking and lateness of the Air France flight...Jimmy Carter remember?...and we would have to see if someone would give up their seat for us to be bale to get on board. Thankfully someone did and we were told we would have seats, though we would have to be the last ones to board.

9:00pm [OK time] We take off and I sleep. I really do not remember anything about the flight. I had taken two Benedryl because of allergies and sacked out, but I think we all did a little.

11:30pm [OK time] We land in OKC and disembark the plane. After 32 hours of travelling we finally embrace our families and head home.

We are glad to have gone. We are glad to be home. We will follow our God to the ends of the Earth. Maybe you will be the ones next time.

Haruna [Aaron], Beto [Bill], Jachi [Chuck], and Pierre [Pete]

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Africa, Day Eleven

Saturday.

We rose and packed the trucks for the last road trip and village tour. We were in two trucks and one drove straight through to the clinic with Pete and Bill. The clinic in this village has two rooms and a porch. Pete was able to establish himself in a room and create a privacy he enjoys. Teh patients came in slowly and wanted to "discuss" the terms of extraction. Obviously, this made it difficult. Several caught a glimpse of what Pete was doing and went back home thinking their pain was not so bad, but some did come back and Pete was able to make a day of it.

Chuck and I went to a village on the way and shared the gospel. Here we found a woman who was making soap. I believe you saw that in the day 10 pictures. It was easier to download them all rather than trying to separate them. She was boiling a mixture of items that when cooled would be balls of soap. We went on to our main village and met the chief. He is a young man and very concerned for his village. They do not have a well and need one desperately. The "lake" that is created through the rainy season dries up before the rain returns. If they had a well or pump and storage they could keep water longer and allow for better options through the dry season. We toured the entire village and prayed with some who needed it.

The day ended a little earlier than we expected and we decided to drive back all the way to Niamey instead of stopping along the way for the night. We drove straight to the American Rec Center where we ordered burgers and fries and watched basketball...what a great moment! The shower that night was a blissful experience. We sacked out around 11. The end of another day.

Africa, Day Ten

Dry heat is what they call it, but 100 in the shade is just plain hot. I am not sure what it was in the sun, except that it was hotter. Once again we separated this morning in two teams. One team went to the clinic while the other team went to villages presenting the gospel with the roping demonstration.

I am amazed at how tight a grip Satan has on these people. I am certain, however that the grip here is not any stronger than the grip at home except that we have a look and feel of being OK. The reality is very simple. We have either turned our lives over to God through belief in Jesus or we have not. It has never been more simple. When someone chooses to walk the path of Christ in their life it means something more than it seems to at home. They will lose a job and possibly lose their family. This fear grips and tortures them. One man told me that he believed in Jesus as the son of God but was not ready to tell anyone else just yet.

Does that make him lost? How different is it at home where it takes 48 “Christians” to see one person turn to Christ? I would say that it really is no different than the silent believers at home. If we will say that since that have believed in t heir heart they are saved I would grant the same latitude in Africa. If a man says he believes in his heart and confesses to one of us, is that enough? I would say that is enough. It does not make him mature. It does not allow for much growth, but it does afford salvation. How great is our God!

We travelled to two villages this morning and shared Christ. Chuck was able to get into a good conversation about cattle with one man. We found out that he knows his cattle on sight without tags or brands. He even knows his cattle by hoofprint! His cattle know him as well. They hear his voice and come to him. What a picture of what our relationship with God should be. He knows the number of hairs on our head and formed us in our mother’s womb. He fashioned us and made a plan for us. Do we know His voice? Have we listened long enough to feel the heartbeat of God and follow?

After lunch we went back out to a village and sat down with a few men who were the heads of the compound. They wanted to hear a sermon and I obliged. I explained that the reason we were in Africa was to be obedient to Jesus’ final words of commission. We were here to share a story of truth about Jesus Christ. I began with creation and worked my way to Jesus. The gospel is so simple and they were encouraged by the word. One of the men was a believer but the other 3 were not. I answered a few questions that were asked and prayed for them before leaving. We arrived back at camp to a barrage of kids waiting patiently…well…maybe not so patiently…for the balls Chuck would hand out. They had a blast with them and played for a long time. The dust they were kicking up was getting thick so we sent them down the road to play away from the house.

Pete and Bill worked 11 hours today with a 1 hour break for lunch, although he took it begrudgingly. He saw 50 patients today. Each time someone would walk in after being numbed they would be prayed over. After Pete was done they would be prayed over. We very much believe in the power of prayer. The ones that we somehow forgot to pray for before Pete would work always turned out bad. Coincedence? Absolutely not. Prayer changes things and we would pray as often as we could. We will not know the long term effects just yet, but we have planted much love and seeds of the gospel. We pray that they will be watered and a harvest will come soon.

We had to pack up everything for the clinic in the dark because Pete wanted to work as long as possible. His final patient was done with nothing but his headlamp! We packed up and loaded the truck to be ready for tomorrow. Cherry had made a nut and chicken stew that was fabulous. We poured it over rice and ate. After supper there was a group of people in the camp that we visited with for a while. Tonight was just a visit without any questions or teaching. Our interpreter is a tea master and made us this very good tea each night. He would share it with us in three rounds. Each round was a little different than the one before and wonderful to drink. We soon finished our tea and our talks and went to bed at the very late hour of 9:45. As I write this it is 10:15 and everyone is asleep. It is my time as well…

Here is a peek at our day…

Make a Smilebox photobook

Make a Smilebox photobook

Africa, Day Nine

The overnight low was around 82 in the mud hut where we slept. Our hostess was so kind to provide the hut that we hated to sleep outside where it was a bone-chilling 74. Besides, between the bats and lizards one never knows who might get under the sheets with you.

Welcome to the bush! The bucket bath on the second day had lost all of its magic and intrigue. I gasped as I poured the cold water over my head and scrubbed fast to be done with it. We had gotten spoiled in the guest house and now were really roughing it. The morning started easy and caffeinated, as most mornings do. Pete, Bill, and Shelly went to the clinic about 8 while the rest of us cleaned up the area and prepared to go to villages.

Chuck, myself, and Cherry went to what I call two villages in the morning, but Cherry says it was all a part of one village. At each location we would stop and greet the chief and elders if they were present. Once the formal greetings were done we would bring out the roping dummy and our presentation would begin. Chuck begins with telling about raising cattle and why we use ropes. Their cattle here are tame and used to people. They do not have grass prairies fenced off to let them run free. He tells them our cattle are wild and must be roped to be able to doctor and care for them. He shows them how this would be done and transitions this to how are lives are like that cow. We run from Jesus though He only wants help and care for us. He mentions that I am there and I am a teacher to him and woujld like for them to hear me as well. When they discover that I am religious teacher they smile and look interested. I share the gospel with them and invite them to make the choice of faith in Jesus rather than doing more good than bad or sacrifices to attain Heaven. I express the truth: Jesus is the only way to forgiveness and Heaven. I pray for them and tell them I would gladly talk with any you would like to talk while Chuck lets them practice on roping.

There were many seeds planted this morning and I hope that water will soon come and harvest in the end. We all convened back at camp for lunch and discussed our day. We split again and went our separate ways continuing what we had done in the morning.

At the end of the day we had helped 39 people with teeth and shared the gospel with 3 villages. Not a bad day! We convened again for supper after taking turns with the bucket baths. Our supper was cooked by a local woman. We had a black-eyed pea, bean and rice mixture with a tomato sauce on top. It was very good and filling. While we finished eating a few guys from the night before came by to have more discussion with me about Biblical matters. We had a tea that thick and sweet and discussed several issues.

By 9:30 we were already under the mosquito nets for the night. The concert of snoring would commence and the audience would not be pleased!

Welcome to the bush!

Here is a peek into our day…

Make a Smilebox photobook

Africa, Day Eight

Roughing It!

Cherry Faile is an R.N. and IMB missionary living in Donchandou. She has served in this location for 6 years and a total of 26 years. She arrived last night and we gathered the game plan for the next few days. We were spending the next three nights in the bush. There would be no electricity. There would be no running water. Out bathes, should we choose to take them, would be from a bucket and bowl.

Roughing it.

We started out on a paved road and we all felt pretty good about it. This paved road turned into not so good paved road and then into a main dirt road. Cherry informed me after our roadside lunch that we would soon leave the main road onto a donkey cart road. This was accurate. In fact, I am not sure how a donkey cart would make it down this path or why even try. I asked Cherry how she found this place since it was so remote. She explained that she began looking for an area of one of the six Fulani kings that needed medical help. She then was able to visit villages in this surrounding region. She found that this particular village is a main village and well-respected. Many people would come to this village and it was large enough to support a clinic. At that time it was a 2-room shack. Now it has several rooms and facilities that she has helped bring. There are two additional nurses on staff now that the country has involved itself and recognized its presence.

We arrived in the village a little after noon and took a rest for about an hour. After which we went to the clinic building and established ourselves. Today was a light day only seeing 7 patients. No one was sure when we would arrive and if we would work today. Pete was getting the shakes to do something so he wanted to work. Before we could we needed to pay our respects to the village chief. He welcomed us into his patio and we make small talk for a few minutes. Pete and Bill worked the clinic while Chuck and I went back into the village to visit with the city elders.

I began our conversation with gratitude and respects. I asked them about their life and traditions and let them. I established our common ground in Abraham and shared our thoughts, too. I was able to share the truth in three different ways during that conversation and pray that God will be able to use it for His glory down the road. They recently had the sacrifice festival and this allowed for some discussion as to whether we practiced anything like that or not. I explained that Jesus weas the one and only sacrifice and that we did not need to have an annual sacrifice. However we also needed to confess our sins and we could do that one a personal level because of Jesus Christ and our relationship with Him. We were asked about prayer. I explained that we have common ground here also. They pray whether at the mosque or not and so can we. We can pray anytime and anywhere. They have a religious teacher and so do we. As pastor I help people understand the Bible and how to live a better life. We had a very good discussion that could be rekindled tomorrow if possible.

Cherry had prepared chili for us back at the guest house and simply brought it with her today. After we ate and bucket bathed, we went to a neighbor village a half mile away and had a Bible lesson and discussion. Cherry had asked if I would lead this discussion and I shared with them from John 15. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. Our relationship with Him is one of dependence and submission. We must actively choose to remain engaged and relational. We are learning the importance of relationships here in Africa. The importance of greeting people is impressive. I find myself having thoughts of “just drive” or “we need to hurry”. These are fleeting thoughts of a life miles away. Herein Africa everything slows down and watches are of no value. The sun is our clock. You rise and sleep with the sun. In between you work, discuss, and live among the people. There is no isolation. There is no boundaries, or doors for that matter. The relational lifestyle in the compounds smacks of a way of life we once knew years ago in America before fences and backyards; A time when we had porches and greetings and life together. We could learn a lot from the bush!

Here is a peek in our day…

Make a Smilebox photobook

Make a Smilebox photobook