A Shepherd’s Night

I am going to give a short prelude to this Sunday’s sermon with this blog. I realized something as I was reading the story of the birth of Christ in Luke 2. A thought hit me as I was reading Luke 2:8. It is not a normal thought from this passage – which is pretty much the norm for me as I read Scripture. I often see things that I wonder why I saw them, but some times they really help others experience the love of Christ in their lives. I hope this is one of those thoughts.

What were these shepherds doing? They were shepherding. They were just out in the field watching the sheep. It was not Christmas – there was no such thing. They were just doing regular stuff on a regular night living their regular lives. That is when I realized this, “God does remarkable things in the lives of regular people living regular days.”

Maybe you already knew that, but I think we forget that way too much. Often in our spiritual lives we want God to only do the extraordinary. We get busy looking for something big and awesome for us to do for God and fail to realize that the coolest stuff he does is most often in the midst of common life.

God revealed himself to this shepherds in a remarkable way but they had done nothing to deserve that. They had not worked up a plan for the mighty work of God. It is impossible for man to plan the revealing of the glory of God all we can do is participate in it when he moves. Sure we can pray for it. We can work toward the things we know he has called us to do. We can be obedient in our regular lives expecting God to do remarkable things. He will, however, not move because we say so. He moves because he already said he would. He is at work in the lives of men.

See that is the good news of great joy. There has been born to us a Savior that is Christ the Lord. The Chosen One of God has come in the flesh. Literally the Immanuel – God with us – is who Jesus is. He is doing the remarkable around us everyday. It is remarkable every time one life is redeemed. It is remarkable every time one of his followers responds to his grace. It is remarkable every time the people of God raise their hands and declare the worth of God even though those hands raised and those lips that move are not worthy of such action.

It is indeed remarkable that every regular day in our regular lives people like you and me have the great privilege of living redeemed. So don’t just live a regular life, live a redeemed life, but realize that the Redeemer will do the remarkable in the midst of the regular if you live constantly ready to respond to His work.

Allow God to do the remarkable through you by living redeemed in the midst of the regular.

What makes a gift great?

What is the greatest gift you’ve ever received? Don’t go Sunday School on me and say, “Jesus.” I realize he is the greatest gift but let’s be real about gifts we receive on earth for a moment. I would love to hear from you on this. Email me or facebook it. What is the best gift?
Then answer this question, “why?” Why that gift? What made it great?

Some gifts are great because of who gave them to you. Other gifts are great because of their actual value. Other gifts are great because of when you got them. Gifts can be great because of the personal meaning behind them. You can love a gift because the person that gave it to you put so much thought into it and knew exactly what you wanted with out asking. Maybe you love a certain gift because of the impact it has had on your life.

Gifts can be great for many reasons. There are only a couple of common threads among great gifts. The first is that you accepted it. A gift not received is not a great gift, it is just a great thought. The second thing is that someone gave it to you. Gifts are never purchased nor borrowed. They are given.

God has given you some gifts. Have you accepted them? They are great gifts if you will stop and see the value of them. If you will allow yourself the time to stop and reflect and consider what it means that God has uniquely gifted you for his purposes, it will make a difference in how you view that gift.

The first gift that we receive from God is faith itself. Then there are many others that follow. One that all Christ-followers have in common is spiritual gifts. We also all have our natural gifts or talents. The problem with these gifts is that many people never accept the gift. They never unwrap and put to use what God has given them and in so doing they miss out on so much of what life as a follower of Christ is about.

Do you understand the value that God has given you in being a part of His Body, the Church? There is great value in what God has gifted you to do. The issue is will you accept those as gifts and then give them away for the benefit of others. Will you allow yourself to become the gift that God uses to bless someone else?

Do you see those gifts as valuable? God did.

P.S. My greatest gift is difficult. My dirt bike when I was a kid. A mountain bike from my wife. My uncle’s entire theological library when he died. They are all great but for different reasons. But honestly the greatest gift anyone ever gave me was when my wife gave me her True Love Waits Ring on our wedding day. The ring symbolized a promise kept as a new promise began. It is a gift that is unique and priceless.

The Way of the Manger

Since I became a father, Christmastime always causes me to consider fatherhood as I think about the actions of God the Father. Those thoughts are mixed this year with some encouraging words I heard recently. I received a great compliment from several people recently. The compliment was that they saw me as a great dad. They had observed my love for my children and how I act towards them in such a way they felt led to tell me about it.

That compliment humbles me. I do truly love being a dad. It is pure joy for me. Honestly there are certain things that are no fun. Changing diapers always stinks – practically, figuratively, and financially. But in the midst of all the things you have to do, it is the things that I get to do as a parent that make it fun. Just today as my 3 kids sat and ate breakfast with me I sat there and thought about how beautiful they are and how much they bless my life. (It helps that all 3 were eating what I cooked without complaining.)

This has caused me to think about God the Father at Christmas. I am excited about Christmas. I get to bless my kids and others with gifts. It is always fun for me. What about Christmas for God? Was it fun for him? God the Father sent his one and only son from that place which is perfect to where everything is imperfect. He sent his son from the Holy, orderly, and peaceful world of Heaven to the unholy, chaotic, and fractured world of Earth. He sent his son to this world knowing that he would suffer all the pain and hurt it causes. He knew that Jesus would not become like the world ye he knew all about the world he would live in. God the Father also knew that the sole purpose of his birth was the same purpose of his death, yet he sent him anyway.

God sent his son into this world, not because he did not love him, but because he loved him enough to send him into the world to fulfill his purpose – to be the Savior of the World. He sent Jesus into a world that was not like him and would not like him so that we might become like him. We have now been lavished with God’s love so much that we have been given the title Children of God. (John 3)

As parents and people we must make many tough choices in this world. Choices we make are often about living in the protected environment of “Christiandom” or venturing out into the world at large. I hope during this Christmas season you will stop and consider the loving act of the Father in sending his son into harm’s way. As parents we must make choices about when and how our children will live in the world around them. I have learned from Daniel that he wants to be in the world and not of it. He desires (even as a 6 year old) for the world to see how much he loves God. If I do not allow the risk of the hurt the world could cause, I will prevent him from fulfilling God’s purpose for his life. I need great wisdom as a father.

I believe we learn this by doing ourselves. We, too, have been sent into a world that is not like us and does not like us. The truth is that God with us is still with us because he lives in us. This Christmas will you take that gift where it is needed? Will you take Jesus to the people who need him?

There is risk in this mission, but is that not truly the Way of the Manger?

Are you free?

I have never lived without freedom. My life has always had certain unalienable rights. We, as Americans, have very little understanding of what it means to live under oppression. I think that too often causes us to take it for granted.

Today, I encourage you to thank someone who fought for those freedoms. The Americans that most appreciate the freedoms we enjoy are the men and women who have put their lives on the line for those freedoms. I think I understood this difference one Memorial Day as I sat on the porch and listened to some stories told by Wendy’s Uncle Jack.

Uncle Jack is a veteran of the Vietnam War. He stayed in the military until he retired as a Lt. Colonel. Uncle Jack is a great communicator. That day as I listened I did not realize that I was privy to a special moment. As we left that day, my father-in-law (Pops) asked how I had started that conversation. I told him I did not really remember how we got there. I then learned that Pops had never heard his brother talk about Vietnam that much in the many years that had passed since the war had ended.

Uncle Jack talked about what he saw in Vietnam in the lives of the people. He told me about one of his toughest days in commanding his troops and the devastation a battle had caused in a local village that was out of their site line during the battle. I could tell that day still stung in his memories.

Pops then shared with me the story of the first time Jack went to the Vietnam wall. It was in 1997 while I was engaged to Wendy. Their family was in D.C. for a family reunion. While they were driving to the wall Pops asked Uncle Jack how long it had been since he had been there. He answered, “Never.” The surprising thing about that answer is that Uncle Jack had lived in D.C. for many years.

Pops told me that when they got there Jack began to walk down that wall. There was one particular spot that he stopped and got very quiet. I do not know what that spot represents to him, but since the wall is in the chronological order of the war, I would imagine it represents one really bad day. I am sure Uncle Jack had many of those as an officer. I am sure there are names on that wall that he had command over. I would imagine that those names are difficult to read and the memories are not easy to bear.

Why do I share you these stories? I learned something from Uncle Jack that he does not even know. I was not even there to see it. I learned this. Freedom is expensive. It costs more than most of us could ever imagine. Some of you, men and women who have fought for it, understand it better than others.

No freedom is free. Our spiritual freedom carried a great price. Jesus said, “I have come not to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.” It is also said in God’s Word about us, “You are no longer your own. You have been bought with a price.”

If Jesus is our Lord, we are free. We must always remember, however, that our freedom was not free. It carried a great price.

So, today, to our veterans, we say, “THANK YOU!” I personally want to say Thank you to Uncle Jack and his son-in-law Louis, and Louis’ son, Matthew. These 3 generations have bravely served in the Marine Corps and all during times of war. Thank you for showing me what freedom costs. Thank you for showing us how to be willing to pay the price, not just for your own freedom, but for the freedom of the Vietnamese and the Iraqi people. You – and the others who have served like you – have taught us much.

Also, today, tell Jesus “THANK YOU!” He, too saw a people that were not his people, and he paid the ultimate price for their freedom.

Face to Face with a Facebook Friend

This past Sunday I had the cool privilege of preaching at my home church. Cook Baptist in Ruston is a great place. The people there have always loved me and supported me. They are absolutely awesome.

I had two bonuses on the trip, too. That Sunday was my mom’s birthday. She is an absolutely amazing woman of faith. My mom was up at 4 AM on a Sunday morning for her own birthday cooking for college kids’ lunch and loved it. She rocks. I hope hearing me preach on her birthday was better than hearing me sing for her birthday all these years. (Although it would have to be one awful sermon to be worse than hearing me sing,) The other bonus was getting to deer hunt with my dad. He rocks, too. My parents are great people who love Jesus. Another cool thing was that I got a spike, but what I really want is to kill one of the 8 points my dad kills all the time – like last week. He must still be living better than me or something.

Anyway, the title of this blog is not really about any of that. It is about the sermon I preached at Cook. That was the title of it – Face to Face with a Facebook Friend. Facebook is a great site to catch up with old friends. In so doing many of my old friends have been a tad surprised to find out I was a pastor.

The sermon I preached was about why I always hope that people on Facebook might see that I am not who I was. The truth about my life is not that I got saved and God changed my life, though. I was already saved. I just was not living like it. I shared a truth out of Romans 12:1-2 that God taught me many years ago now that I believe is the real reason for the change I have experienced in my life.

It was this. We always need to see God’s mercy. We often think about the part in this passage that says “offer your bodies a living sacrifice” or “do not conform to the pattern of this world” or “be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. What we must realize is that all of that truth begins with these words, “in view of God’s mercy.”

The question I have to ask you is this, “Do you see it?” I do. I now see it every day. And it is new every day. His mercy is fresh in my life every morning. That is what changed my spiritual life. I finally realized I was not responsible for the condition of the living sacrifice. The mercy of God made that sacrifice holy and pleasing, not me. That truth really set me free.

Stop trying to sacrifice enough to deserve the mercy of God. Stop trying to quit conforming to experience the mercy of God. Quit trying to transform your mind so that you can understand the mercy of God. Just stop and see it. See the love of God in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Understand that his mercy is already yours.

Then, get up and live your life in response to Jesus. Allow him to give you the power to no longer conform to the world. Allow the mercy of God to transform your mind.

Never lose sight of God’s mercy. He has never lost sight of you.

That is the confession of a Facebook friend. I am not who I was, because Jesus is more than I knew He was. And that my friend, is the mercy of God.

Do you see it?

The Freedom of Life

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

One of the basic foundational truths of all of Scripture is the importance of life. The Bible begins with God’s work in the creating of life. God created all living things and then he said, “It is good.” God took very seriously the first act of murder. (It is interesting that it took only one generation for man to begin to think that he should take another one’s God-given right to life.)

God is strong in his judgment on murder. The Scripture speaks to the beauty and the activity of God in the creation of each life in Jeremiah where the beautiful words are written, “Before I knitted you together in your mother’s womb; I knew you.” We see the value that Jesus gives all life when he raises the widow’s son or as he takes time for the small child that others see as a distraction or as he speaks with love and mercy to thief on the cross.

The truth is that life is sacred. It is a God-given gift. Life according to the beautiful words of God begins when he begins the life in a womb. Life must be sacred to all those who love God because life is sacred to Him. He created it. He sustains it. And he sent his son to die for it. Jesus died so we could have life beyond breathing in and breathing out for a certain number of years. Jesus died so that life could be full of all that God desired it to be when he made it in the first place.

The issue of life must be a deciding factor for Christ followers when they vote. We must be willing to stand on the same principles and truths that the Bible is built upon and the God clearly established in his laws (and interestingly enough through His grace, too). People who follow Christ must choose to not vote for those who oppose every person’s God-given right to life.

I do not speak on many political topics with that much authority. Truthfully there is no wiggle room in the Scripture that will allow a person who stakes their life on the truths found within it to support people who believe they have the authority of giving or denying others the right to life.

Interestingly enough, it is not just a Biblical principle. It is an American constitutional principle, too. Our unalienable rights are LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The issue we are facing with abortion is that people believe their right to pursue happiness should give them the right to take away someone else’s right to life. Not only is it wrong Biblically and morally, it is wrong constitutionally.

Please hear this. God is gracious and forgives such acts. The man on the cross with Jesus found grace as did the soldier at the foot of the cross that crucified Jesus. The grace of God over the personal acts that rob a person of their right to life does not, however, mean that it should be legal in our society.

The taking of another’s life is wrong. The issue that most conservatives will not deal with in this discussion is why capital punishment is okay. I have a very straightforward answer to this one. When a person decides that they have the right to rob another person of their right to life, they give up the right to their own. Biblically murder is punished with capital punishment. God saw that as appropriate. He understood that a person that takes away a life has in some way decided that they should be the one that gives and takes away unalienable rights. That is not theirs to decide.

When you vote remember these foundational Biblical and Constitutional truths. We as a people must be willing to stand for life and that means we must stand against all political candidates that no longer believe life is an unalienable right. Life is not a choice!

Caesar’s or Citizen’s

Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." Matthew 22:21

Jesus says this quote in response to religious people who want don’t want to pay taxes. They don’t really want to pay the temple tax or the governmental taxes. They just want their own money (sounds familiar). Jesus says give what you are supposed to give to whomever you’re supposed to give it.

Christ-followers that desire to be obedient to the Lord in their life, must vote on Tuesday. Ours is a government of the people, for the people, by the people. We, as the followers of Christ, must participate not just in the tax plans of our countries, but also in its electoral process. It is what our government has required of us.

The issue is not just about voting, but about paying taxes, too. One of the most ridiculed statements in this election has been Biden’s statement that it is patriotic to pay taxes. The truth is; it is patriotic to pay taxes. It is doing what the government requires of us. It is not just patriotic for the Christian, it is obedience to Christ.

The issue of how this plays into the current political debate is about what is rightfully Caesar’s. We live in a country with the freedom to work and make a profit as best as you can. The American Dream has been built upon these basic truths since the founding of our country.

Is it American, however, for people in our nation to have to pay to Caesar what is another citizen’s? Is it right for people to be forced to share their profit just because another person did not make that profit? You must decide what you believe about this issue before you vote. It is the foundational economic issue separating these two men’s economic plans?

The hardest part is to give to God what is God’s. Truthfully if the Christians of America were giving to those who are thirsty, hungry, naked, and needy the way Christ commanded us, our nation would not be trying to legislate equality and fairness. The American government is facing an issue that is not really a Caesar issue. It is a citizen issue. No one would be proposing Robin Hood plans that take from the rich and give to the poor, if the rich gave to the poor because of their love for Christ.

When was the last time you helped this situation without legislation? It does not mean we should legislate the change, but we must change indeed.

Serving up the Best Servant

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Matthew 6:24

The truth that we can not serve both God and money goes against almost everything we see and hear in our world today. If one listens to the debate over our current presidential election, one would think that money is the only issue in our nation. You might hear about war, but honestly one side of the debate always turns that discussion back to money again.

Followers of Christ must see more than money in this world. The Christ-follower must arrive to vote on Tuesday, November 4th with a decision that has been prayed over and considered over all of the issues. Money is not the most important thing in this election or any election.

The truth of what the Bible has to say about that type of thinking is this, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10a) This truth is so evident in the economic discussion of today. The problem that our nation faces is that the answer to remedying this problem will not be found in the economic policy of our next president.

There are some key thoughts about finances you should consider, though.

1. What is the root economic principle behind the policies presented?
a. Trickle-down economics will give breaks tax wise to the wealthy, although they will still pay the vast majority of the taxes simply based on income. The theory is that people will always desire to make more money and when you free up the money-makers’ money to make more money they will hire those who do not have the money to work for them. The sole reason for that employment is their profit. The simple truth is that it has been the overall economic principle of our nation throughout its history.
b. “Grass roots” economics is the theory that if you give money to those who do not have the money that they will spend it and that it will feed the economy. The goal of this theory is to create economic equality in society through taxing those who make the most and giving it to those who make the least.

2. Is that economic policy based on American principles?
I would like to make this part more spiritual, but that would require me to stretch the Scripture. Truth be told, this is an issue that you must decide for yourself. So here is the issue. Do you believe the American Way is to give people an unearned and undeserved check every year at the cost of another citizen so that we can have equality economically? Or do you think it is the American Way for each person to do their best with what they have to work with and make as much as they can understanding that there will be many who do this in a greedy and selfish manner?

3. In a society that believes in the freedoms of religion, speech, property ownership, and a free market economy, is it right for the government to force financial equality?
I believe this to be a conflict of constitutional principles. The real issue is that we have a society that is greedy. Greed causes great need. The answer of one party is to hope that there is enough good in the American people that they will make wise investments that will benefit others through employment. The other party believes that people will not do what is good and wise and the government should dictate that sharing of resources through taking what has been earned by one and giving it to someone else who has not earned it. What do you think?

4. Is the government’s spending any different than yours?
In government it is called deficit spending. In our lives it is called debt. As our nation yells at our government about its spending practices the people of our nation are mounting debt they can not pay at the fastest rate in the history of the world. The real issue is our overall unhealthy love for money. We must learn how to be wise with what we have individually before we will learn to be wise with what we have nationally.

Who will you serve with your vote? If are not considered in the wealthy and you vote just to get a tax credit; you will be serving money. If you are considered wealthy and you vote just to get a tax break, you will be serving money. If you pray and earnestly consider all of the issues, you can serve the Lord with your vote.

The best way to serve up the best servant for our nation is to be one. Who will you serve?

I have decided to…

follow Jesus. Let me explain.

I have built up in my blog about me speaking about who I believe will make the best president and that somehow my opinion is really valuable in this vast world. Then last night I was not sleeping well because I was worried about our political mess – it means that much to me – then all of a sudden God reminded me about this verse.

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help And rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD! Isaiah 31:1

There is only one Savior, and he is not running for president. His position is not elected. His role and influence on the things of this earth are not bound up in the opinions of the masses. He is indeed the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He reigns and there will never be an end to his government. His name is Jesus.

I realize that the problems we face in America are not political or economic or legislative. The problem America faces is spiritual. The truth is that we live in a nation that needs to see the real Jesus. The people who for some reason read my blog will not come to know the real Jesus because I know economics better than they do. That really will make no difference whatsoever.

The real issue is spiritual and it begins with me. I am not the answer, John McCain is not the answer, Barack Obama is not the answer. There is no legislative bailout for the spiritual condition of America. There is no plan that is going cause everyone to have good spiritual healthcare this year.

There are, however, people like me. Who have a small voice to a certain group of people. I have decided that if I am going to yell something loudly from this small corner of the blogosphere it will be this truth…

Jesus said, “I have come not to be served, but to serve. And to give my life as a ransom for many.” The price for your spiritual bankruptcy has been paid on your behalf. Our nation might have some thing to figure out, but, today, you can be right with the world if you accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord.

I will over the next week share from some sayings of Jesus some spiritual truths that should affect the election decisions of the followers of Christ. I will not, however, tell you how to vote.

There is only one vote in your life that really matters to me. Have you voted for Jesus as Savior and Lord? He is without your vote, but you are not his without it.

Using the Voice You Have

Well I have learned several things about the First Amendment and my rights this week. I do (according to our current law) have a fine line to walk as a pastor. The current interpretation of law concerning separation of church and state is very anti-religious. This is poor interpretation by the Supreme Court of old laws that were originally focused on protecting the church from the state.

I have learned, however, that much of the actual debate is about non-profit status. I find myself in a fairly moderate position on this legal issue. Political parties and groups that support candidates are not supposed to be able to be non-profit. This means that those who donate do not get tax credits as charitable donations. This is really what a church puts at risk when it supports a candidate.

I have had to ask myself this question, “Is non-profit status a church right or a church privilege in America?” The truth is that Christians should not tithe because they get a tax break. That is not the call of Christ in obedience to giving to the church. Churches that feel they must endorse political candidates can. They just can’t give anyone a charitable donation letter for tax purposes. It is an interesting idea to me.

The problem is that the law is not equally enforced. Conservative churches and religious institutions are the only ones targeted for law suits. The conservatives do not target the liberal entities back because they believe that it should be their right to speak their opinion.

With all that said. I pastor a conservative church. We would probably get sued. If I feel at some point that our church must make a stand vocally for a candidate, we will. This election would have been the time to do it but I did not move early enough to make the risk worth the reward. In the future we will address whatever we feel the Lord leads us to. If that means we have to tithe for the sole purpose of obedience, we will. That would not be such an awful thing. It would probably cost in a lot of ways, but would be worth it.

What I did learn, is that I can speak. This blog saying Pastor Kirk does not mean I can not. This is not a church run website. Any blog I write concerning a candidate must not be done on a church computer or during my work hours, but that is fine with me. This is my voice anyway. The odd thing – is that it is always my voice. That is what being a pastor is about. The people I pastor have elected to trust my voice. It is odd that I am not supposed to use it when it comes to politics. Interesting times we live in.

So, keep your eyes open if you care what I think about this election. If not, well, hopefully you will not be able to vote for some minor reason that causes you no long term issues in your life. J

First Amendment Frustration

I was about to post a blog concerning the election when I opened a mail-out from www.ivotevalues.com. (Which, by the way, is a wonderful website during these days.) In it I saw that not only can a church not endorse or oppose a candidate but neither can the pastor.

I have, therefore, not posted my most recent blog. I am, however, furious about it. I understand not getting in the pulpit and preaching about a candidate. I understand not passing out materials at church in support of a candidate. I do not agree with those ideas but I understand them. I believe the separation of church and state does not mean that the church must be void of opinion when it comes to the matters of the state. (The state is certainly not void of opinion in matters of the Church.) I think it is actually unconstitutional for people who do not desire religious opinion in their lives to dictate to those who do that they can not have it. The people I pastor have chosen for Fellowship Church to be a place for insight and influence in their life. They have chosen for me to be a voice they listen to. The church should have every right to respect that decision and to give guidance to its people.

The issue that I have addressed concerning the church is one matter, but the other is that I somehow am supposed to give up my voice. I have friends that are able to express thoughts concerning candidates no matter the accuracy of them. I am a man that has the right to freedom of speech and I have something to say. The truth is that I have studied economics, political science, American government, and American law while getting my bachelor degree. I have the ability to come with an informed decision but I am not allowed to voice my opinion because God has placed me in a position where certain people are listening.

That is the whole point. The reason I feel I must speak is that very truth. I have a responsibility to speak. There are those who say that one’s religion should not influence ones political views. I must entirely disagree. I believe that religion must affect one’s political opinions. If religion is a person’s highest set of values and beliefs, it must by its very nature, affect all that lies below it.

I appreciate your prayer as I learn more about this issue. I have sought legal advice as to what I can say where and how I can say it. I encourage each of you to find your voice in this election. America has much at stake. The foundational differences between these 2 candidates are important. The truth is the foundation of our nation is at stake in this election. We must have a president that has the same foundational beliefs that caused the foundation of America. Don’t listen to the rhetoric, research the reason. Don’t simply look at the policy, examine the principle behind it. America needs you to see the truth.

I will find my legal voice and I will speak. Will you?

Getting There…Wherever There May Be

I recently read some interesting thoughts from the book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. The book basically deals with the delusion of success. People who are successful often end up not being successful later because of how they view their past success.

One of the inaccurate thoughts that successful people often think is that they simply choose to succeed. When a person is mostly successful in life they begin to think that success is simply something they choose. I have to admit that I have struggled with that thought. I am mostly successful yet not splendidly successful. The one place I have struggled with seeing myself as successful is in church planting. The voices around me can say we have been successful but I see so much more out there than we have experienced. The issue I had to realize at some point was that the lack of success in areas I desired for Fellowship were not because I had not chosen them. God blesses churches with different types of “success”. That is his work. When a church plant grows rapidly and wildly it is not because the church planter somehow chose that, it is because God chose that.

What that causes is the need to redefine success. We have to begin seeing success as God sees success. There are certain habits we have to overcome to continue being successful. One of the unhealthy habits was winning too much. It is not that I always win. What struck me was the thought that we try to win when no one is counting. The problem is that some of us are always counting. Another habit is to be a person that always feels the need to defend their position instead of listening. Well if you’re like me, and always right, this habit is hard to break. Another one is speaking while angry. One of the most important bad habits was not listening. We have to listen to learn and we have to learn to continue to be successful.

What I know is this. God has gotten me somewhere and it is a pretty cool place. This cool place, however, will not be cool for long because I am driven to see God do more. The tough truth is that what God did to get me here will not be what he does to get me there, wherever there may be.

The Fine Line of the American Dream

The American Dream is one of the greatest privileges in the world. It has been communicated through the years with these important words from The Declaration of Independence. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

I love truth that is self-evident. I often feel that way about the claims of the Bible as we look at the world around us. Yet there are others that take the world around them and use it to completely deny all that the Bible claims. The odd thing about life is the interpretation of things that are self-evident.

Throughout the history of the United States of America there has been much said concerning our unalienable rights. Much of that has been summed up in the phrase – “The American Dream”. This dream is less a dream and more a vision. Dreams are simply the fantasy of the mind when one has no control over it. Vision is that which a person sees as possible even when others see it as not. Thomas Jefferson understood that when he penned these words to Great Britain.

Vision has been and will always be what drives nations, organizations, churches, and people to greatness. I pray daily that God will give me vision for my life, my family, and my church. We must be conscious of what we fix our minds own because it will cause what we set our eyes on and what we set our eyes on will define our life.

During the current political debate the American Dream is being discussed yet not enough of us are catching what is being said. Our country has always operated on the freedom to pursue these things. It is the government’s role is to secure these rights. The United States of America has an obligation to provide the security of these rights to its citizens. It is not, however, the government’s responsibility to ensure our success in the use of these rights.

In our current political debate the biggest issues is the defining of the American Dream. We must realize that when the American Dream becomes the obligation of the government and not the opportunity of its people, it ceases to be the American Dream. That concept in and of itself is not American. It is not what this country was founded on and is not the ideology that has made it great.

The United States does not owe any of us anything except the rights we need to pursue that dream. They do not owe us the down payment on it. They do not owe it to us to bail us out when we fail at an endeavor while pursuing it. They do not owe us the health care needed when we work ourselves sick seeking it. That is not what a democracy with a free economy is about.

What the United States owes us is the opportunity to work our tails off and get after it. They owe us the freedom to define that dream as we so please. That dream is not about money for me. My vision is to be used by God in ways I could never imagine. My vision is to see one city completely come to Christ in my lifetime. If God did that in Prairieville I would die a man who had ultimately experienced the American Dream.

The issue that we face today as voters is that each candidates’ interpretation of the American Dream is what causes their Vision for America. My version of the American Dream might sound usless to you, but that is my unalienable right. As you vote be sure you consider how the candidates are defining this dream. The key issue to that definition is this, Is the American Dream an obligation of the government or the opportunity of its people?

You must understand that each of them has a vision for America based on their interpretation of that dream. If the dream is not American, the vision can not be.

Well Here I go into the wide world of the...

...Blogosphere. I have been asked by several people for a long time if I would ever do this. I make no guarantees that I will consistently post. I am, however, beginning to see the value in it. Hopefully you will find a view that is not always predictable but valuable. My hope is to encourage people to love Christ.

I might post on my personal devotions and the insights that come from them. I might post on something about leadership in the church. I might talk about my family and what I learn. You never know what I am going to say - but if you go to Fellowship Church you already know that.

What might suprise you on this site is that you will also read some theology and politics. There are many topics that I do not believe are the best use of the hour I get each Sunday to preach the good news, yet many of those topics are important to me and I often think deeply concerning them. This is an approprate place for such activity of the mind. My first real post will be political. As will probably several posts between now and Election Day. It is something I care about deeply and have worked to stay informed on.

You might learn something about me you never knew about me here. You might also read this blog and think I knew there was something wrong with Kirk before he wrote that. Well that is okay, too. I hope you enjoy it and I hope it blesses you.