Smile or Cry

Leading up to Christmas I had the privilege of going to my daughters' Christmas presentation at their school. Kara and Melanie both got on stage and were proud to display the Christmas craft they had made. Each year all the children sing on stage together. It is funny to watch the different personalities on a stage during such a performance. Some kids seem obsessed with the motions and forget to sing the words, while others stand frozen but get every word right. Then there are those that sing loud and make big motions and those that sing quiet and make small motions. And then there are others that just stand there in great fear of the moment, while there is always at least one that is simply doing their own thing on stage but in a big way for everyone to see.

My two girls have extremely different personalities. Melanie is quiet and reserved while Kara is, well let's just say, not quiet and reserved. They are both great joys to my heart and soul. That day I was sitting in the crowd trying to watch two girls standing in two different parts of the stage sing, when God showed me something interesting about my fatherhood that taught me something about his Fatherhood.

As I sat there I would move my eyes and head back and forth between the two of them so they would both know that I was watching them and was proud of them. What I quickly realized was that many times by the time I looked back to the one I had not been watching, they were looking for me to watch them. I would catch their eye and without fail each and every time they would smile. Kara a great big smile followed by louder singing and bigger motions. Melanie with a smaller more steady smile. Her singing and motions would not change so much as her gaze would. Kara would look back at the teacher and jump back into the performance. Melanie on the other hand might get a little distracted from the song because she would keep her eyes on mine.

Honestly, it was neat experience. I pray that my two girls never struggle with feeling valued and important. I want them to know that I am their biggest fan, that I love them, and that I am proud of them.

The thing that really hit me was that the simple gift of my gaze added to their enjoyment. They both enjoyed performing and singing more because they knew I was watching them. Truth is I had no part whatsoever in their performance. I simply was present. I was there and they knew it.

This experience caused me to think about my relationship with my Heavenly Father for a moment. I thought about the fact that he never has to lose his attention on one child to enjoy the other. God is always present. He never misses a performance (like I have had to do because of other responsibilities in my life.) He is always watching.

Then I thought, if I caught the eye of my Lord Jesus Christ right now would it cause me to smile? Would I jump back into what I was already doing with greater joy and enthusiasm?

Or would I cry?

Peter caught the eye of Jesus one night in a courtyard while standing around the fire with powerless people who had asked him a difficult question. He had just denied any relationship to Christ three times. Scripture says that Jesus looked back at him, the rooster crowed, and that Peter ran outside and wept bitterly. He had failed his Savior.

Yet, not many days later, Peter had an interesting conversation with Jesus Christ in which he was restored to a right relationship with him. I think that day Peter wanted to cry again, as his Lord asked him three times, "do you love me?"

Yet there was also a day in which Jesus had asked his disciples who he was and Peter was the first to speak that he was the Christ and Jesus told him that upon that truth he would build his Church.

There were days in Peter's life that the gaze of the Lord made him smile. Those days he felt more empowered and emboldened to be who he was supposed to be and do what God desired him to do.

So the question I have for you is this, if you caught the Lord's eye in your life right now would it make you smile or cry? Not would it make him smile or cry, would it make you smile or cry? Would you be proud to be his child or ashamed to be seen by the Father in what you are doing?

I challenge you to live 2010 with that thought as a challenge.

Live the smile. Enjoy the presence of the Father. And give your very best for his pleasure. For He is a loving Father that is ever-watching.

Sweat the Details

A person with my personality does two things with details – obsess over them or pay no attention to them at all. This is typically the result of how important one considers a particular detail. My overall opinion is that if the big picture is good than it is all good.

Truth is some people get lost in the details. Some people get so consumed with how they want something done that it never really gets done. On the other side some of us can allow little things, that in the end don't really matter slip by, and they can have a negative impact on someone.

This Sunday I preached a B- to C sermon. (We have to grade each other's sermons in seminary so we actually learn how to grade sermons and unfortunately it is a skill we never lose.) The content in the sermon was good. The problem was that the content consumed more time than normal. It was hard to finish. So, I spent less time working on the "peripherals" – the illustrations, etc.

Well, I used a story that tied to an Old Testament law and then I said and applied the Old Testament law incorrectly. It is not a "big" deal but I was wrong. I am actually embarrassed by it because I know it better than that. The problem was that I had just not spent enough time thinking that part of the sermon through.

After the sermon a young man came by and corrected me on my use of the Old Testament law. (I have to admit I wanted to reply with a wise-crack, but I refrained.) My first thought was, I just preached this whole message that has good truth in it and that is what this young man is thinking about as he leaves. Later I thought about it some more and realized, it did matter.

That detail mattered. If one person was distracted from hearing truth because I said something untrue, it is not that person's fault for being distracted by that. It is mine. I can't let it consume me and worry about a mistake, but I know better than to get something incorrect from the Bible in a sermon.

The reality is that we have to sweat some details. The little things often do matter. They are not things we should obsess over. We should not get ulcers over the details, but often it is the way we handle the details that make the biggest impact.

He who is faithful with LITTLE will be given much.

Relax and take in a deep…thought

Everyone once in a while I will have something hit me that is deeper than the norm. Today in my personal Scripture reading a deep thought struck that I decided I ought to share. In my reading plan I read from the Old Testament and New Testament every day. (For those of you not sure what those are, the OT was written and is about times before Christ and the NT is written starting with the time of Christ and the early church. Reading from some of both is a great way to stay well-rounded in understanding the depth of what all God has done in the world through Jesus Christ.)

Today I read Ezekial 44-46 and 46:9 really jumped out at me. "'When the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by the north gate to worship is to go out the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate is to go out the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which he entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate."

My question was, "why?" It is obviously not about north or south because you must simply leave through a different gate than you enter in. Here is why I believe God commanded that. At each of these occasions sacrifices would be offered and people would experience the power of forgiveness through obedience to the commands of God. God desired them to leave through a different gate so that they would go out different than they came in.

Then I read 1 John 2:1-6 from the New Testament. It says, "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."

This is a powerful imagery and truth about what Jesus Christ had done for us. He is the "atoning sacrifice." This sacrifice is the one that is a substitute for the condition of our lives and our own sinfulness. He has atoned for that wrong by actually becoming the perfect sacrifice for the cost of our sin. This in itself is the most amazing act of love in history. Then it says that because of our faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord we should live in obedience. Our obedience does not cause us to be right with Christ we are obedient because we are right with Christ.

We walk out a different gate. We come to Christ and we are changed. Life is lived differently because we are different.

The deep thought was the combination of these two passages in this truth…

Old Testament worshippers walked into the presence of God with their sacrifice and their sin and they walked away without their sacrifice or their sin.

New Testament worshippers come before the presence of Christ with their sin but without a sacrifice and they walk away without their sin but with
the sacrifice.

(I challenge you to "chew" on that thought for a little while.)

The truth is that Jesus is the sacrifice and when we accept him as our Savior and Lord our sin is no longer ours – it is his. "He died for sin ONCE for all." We bring him nothing but our sin. He, himself, offers the sacrifice of Himself, yet through his resurrection he is our living Lord. So we come to him with nothing but our sin and we leave with him.

It is Christ himself…his presence…and his power…and his provision for our sin that leaves with us.

John 10:7 wraps the thought up for his when Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate…"

Have you entered? And have you exited different?

 

 

The Sacrifice of Praise

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. (Rom 12:1)

 

This is one of my favorite and one of my least favorite verses in the Bible. It is one of my favorite because it calls me to view the mercy of God in such a way that I can see my life as an act of worship. Least favorite in that it calls me to be a living sacrifice.

This verse has been on my heart as we have wrapped up our Don't Forget the Lyrics series on worship. We have looked at several Psalms and the different forms of worship found in them. Through this series I have been challenged to consider the depths of what worship really is – what it looks like and sounds like.

God has challenged me with the idea that often our worship falls so short of what God deserves. But in some ways that is the whole point. Worship is the unworthy declaring the worth of the Worthy One to the Worthy One. I have been encouraged and challenged to really look at the idea and concept of worship during these days. I have also been willing to take a long look at my own life. I have done this in view of that fact that my act of worship is to give the living sacrifice of myself. Sacrifices are by definition deaths. Am I truly giving all of my life over to the cause of Christ to the point of a living sacrifice?

I have asked this question of the Lord…although I realize I will never be able to offer to you what you are truly worthy of, what in my life is preventing me from truly offering to you all that I can?

Through this question, the Lord has led me to several truths, some of which apply directly to my life, and some others that apply generally to all of our lives. I want to share with you those that are in the general category.

1. You must speak the Gospel to those around you.
   It is impossible to be a faithful follower of a Lord you refuse to speak the truth of to the world around you. This one issue is the number one issue for the majority of us when it comes to being a living sacrifice given completely over to the cause of Christ. I see the unwillingness in myself too often and in the church of today constantly. We must change this before our lives will ever declare the worth of the Worthy One.
   
2. You must give God what is best in your life not what is left.
   The biggest obstacle here is money. Do you give from abundance or obedience? The second one is time. Do you give what is convenient or what is commanded? The third issue is talent. Do you give what others see or what God sees?
   
3. You must be honest with God. Worship is always honest. There is a difference between feelings and belief. Sometimes we will sing that which we do not feel yet we still believe. But when we stand before the Lord and sing in unison things such as "Here I am send me" but then we stop the song and live a life that refuses to be sent is it worship at all? Simply, don't lie to God and call it worship or praise. Come with that which is authentic and honest. If that means standing in silence and praying for God to change your heart while others sing of their commitment then do just that. The Worthy One will feel much more honored by that than a lie.
   
4. Public worship is a result of personal worship.
   If we are going to gather in a corporate and public setting to worship, we must first be people who worship in private settings. A person will never find a level of comfort in expressing themselves to God personally in public until they are doing it personally in private.
   
5. Worship has many forms and is always a privilege.
   

On the personal side of this issue…

• I have been challenged to see sharing of my faith as worshipful obedience instead of a burdensome requirement.
  
• Giving your best as worship can never be about how good your best is but must always be about who you gave your best to for it to be an act of worship.
  
• I have grown more in love with God through times of personal worship.
  
• There are many styles and formats of worship I have never grown to appreciate the experience of. I pray that I can and will learn to enjoy those more than I do now.

Praise Feast – Day Six (Saturday, November 21, 2009)

Praise Him with timbrel and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals.

Today is LSU game day. (Pretty much true of every Fall Saturday) Today many of us will turn on the tv or drive to the stadium and go nuts over a football game. We will yell and jump and give opinions that matter no one in the world about how LSU could be better than they are.

We will invest a great deal emotionally in a game that will not matter beyond the sound of the horn, except in the BCS rankings which will not matter but for a few more weeks.

Yet – most of us – bring to God the blandest of emotions when we praise him. We shout at touchdowns but remain silent at salvations…We jump up and down over defensive stands on 3 and 1 but don’t jump up and down when someone in our church stands up and gives a testimony of God’s great work in their life.

Do you see where I am going here?

Praise in the Bible includes LOUD cymbals and CRASHING cymbals and DANCING and all kinds of instruments. It was not tame. It was NEVER old. Actually in the Bible we are commanded to “sing a new song” several times and we are never commanded to sing an “old song.” What that means is that praise should be fresh and present and real and personal and emotional and powerful.

So right now I dare you turn the music up loud and get down with God for a little while. Sing it loud. Sing it hard. Dance around before the Lord and let him know that there is no first down or no touchdown that is as meaningful to you as the fact that he came down to this earth and gave his life for you.

Praise him LOUD. Praise him with JOY.

And then show up at church tomorrow with the same attitude and heart. Don’t come ready to watch or listen. Come to participate and to praise and to express to the Lord your praise.

Some Loud Songs you can praise to with your lips and your feet…Great is the Lord by Elevation Worship
We Unite by Elevation Worship
We Have Overcome by Elevation Worship
Shout unto God by Hillsong United

Praise Feast – Day Five (November 19, 2009)

Let Everything that has breath praise the Lord…

The key to understanding this passage is to understand that breathe meant life to the culture of the Old Testament people. God "breathed" life into man. So basically this means let everything that has life praise the Lord. The essential truth is that praise is the meaning to life. Giving God the glory due him is the very purpose of our creation.

We praise God with ALL of who we are and what we have…

Today praise the Lord for being a God that has made you who you are. Do this by choosing to do something in another person's life to simply speak to and show them the love of Christ in a real and authentic way. Praise God by being who He made you. This praise challenge is not one where you sit alone in the silence in ponder but a praise of the "living" sacrifice. It will not be over when you 7:07 gets here, it will begin then.

Praise the Lord with some act of generosity, love, kindness, compassion, mercy, grace, forgiveness, etc. with the sole purpose of sharing with someone that great truth about the character of our great God.

Scripture to Ponder

Matthew 5:16

Songs to Praise by

Give my Your Eyes by Brandon Heath

Proper Praise – Day Four (Thursday, November, 19, 2009)

Praise him according to his excellent greatness…

Exactly how great does something have to be to be excellently great?

Praise is the simple yet difficult act of expressing the greatness of God that is beyond expression to a God that is beyond comprehension. I believe our most difficult obstacle to doing this is that we consider our praise to be insignificant and unimportant in comparison to such a great God.

God, however, inhabits the praises of his people. He chooses to dwell in them. Praise is personal and powerful expression of our reverence and awe of God.

Magnify his majesty…

Magnification is to bring into greater focus that which already exists.

Spend some time today focusing on the things that are already true of God. Things that you know to be true of him. Magnify that to God. Focus on it and express it to God.

One good way to do that would be to take some of the names used for God in Scripture and focus on their meaning and depth in your own life.

Lord – what does it mean to you that Jesus is your ruler or king?
Savior – what does that mean to you? What does it say about his love for you in the midst of your past?
Messiah – which means chosen or sent one. What does that mean to you?
Rabbi – or teacher. How does that translate to your life
High Priest – meaning the ultimate mediator between God and man. How do you valued that truth?
Heavenly Father – A personal name of endearment. Do you know him that way?
King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Emmanuel

Some Scriptures to Praise by…

Exodus 15:11, Psalm 8, 1 Chronicles 16:23-34 and 29:11-13

Songs to praise his majesty…

Majesty by Delirious
Majestic by Lincoln Brewster (I love this song)
Here I am to Worship by Tim Hughes or by Randy Travis if you prefer
Revelation Song by Gateway Worship

Praise Feast – Day Three

Praise him for his acts of power…

What have you seen God do in your life that only God can do? Speak to the Lord today the truth of your wonder at his power and majesty.

We acclaim his actions…

What does that mean? It means to brag on a God a little bit. Or as Paul would say, "If I boast, I boast in the Lord." Thankfulness and praise are not all that different. We must be thankful at times to praise God. Here is the difference. Today, thank God for being the God that would do what you are thankful for.

Don't just say thanks for the blessing. Tell God I praise you for being a God that would think to do such an act. Think of the characteristics or names of God that might describe these actions.

Here are some verses that give to God particular praiseful names that are connected to his actions

The Lord our Provider (Gen 22:14)
The Lord is my Banner (Ex. 17:15-16)
The Lord is my Peace (Judges 6:24)
God is my Salvation (Isaiah 12:2)
The Lord is my strength and my song (Ex. 15:2)
The Lord is a warrior (Ex 15:3)

Fill in this statement (maybe several times) You are the Lord my              and I have seen that in you when you                         . I praise you for being my             .

Songs to praise his actions…
Amazing Grace (my chains are gone) by Chris Tomlin
God of Wonders by Caedmon's Call
Your Love Oh Lord by Third Day
You are so Good to Me by Third Day
Rock of Ages by the Statler Brothers (I bet none of you knew I owned that one)

Two more songs that hit me as I ran and listened and praised this morning.
He Knows My Name by Tommy Walker
Everything Glorious by the David Crowder Band.

Great question in that last song. "You make everything glorious, what does that make me?

Praise Feast – Day Two

Praise him in his mighty heavens…

Today as you praise the Lord I encourage you to spend some time seeing his creation. If you simply sit at the window and look outside and see the beauty of the world through the window.

We declare the wonder of his works…

Spend some time declaring the wonder of God's work that you have seen in your life. You can express praise by expressing to God his greatness in giving you the many blessings in your life. Perhaps it would be good to think of some of the things you are most thankful for in your life. Praise is different than thankfulness but they have a lot in common, too. So spend some time praising God for the wonder and the blessing of the things you are thankful. Not just a simple thank you but wonder at the fact that God chose to bless you with such wonderful things in your life.

Scriptures to praise the wonderful work of God by…
Psalm 8, Psalm 19, Psalm 33:1-8, Psalm 36:5-7, Psalm 57:7-11, Psalm 89:1-19

Songs to Praise God for his wonderful works…

Indescribable by Chris Tomlin
Made to Worship by Christ Tomlin
Then Sings my Soul many artists have performed it

Critical Construction – Part Three

So to wrap up this series of blogs, I decided I will tackle the obstacles that prevent us from the wholesome insights, helpful conversations, and critical construction that God intends us to have in each other's lives. I hope you understand that in these blogs, I have not said do not share your insights. The Bible says "as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." We have to be willing to hit up against each other some to become the people God intended us to be.

So I want to share two lists. One is for the person that is trying to critically construct in another person's life. The second is to the person that is being constructed on.

Hindrances from Helping others grow…

1. It is hard to construct what you have no clue about.
   - Don't consider yourself an expert because you have an opinion.
   - Don't try to become an expert because you have an opinion.
   
2. It is impossible to construct where there is no foundation.
   - Don't try to build on someone's life what they don't have the foundation to hold up.
   - If a person is simply not qualified or capable of a job or a position, your criticism will never change that. Either help them find something else to do or let them go.
   - In the spiritual life, do not put standards on people that don't know the Savior. They cannot live up to them.
   
3. Most construction needs a plan.
   - Don't just react. Take some time. It is not as big an emergency as you are making it out to be. Stop and really think through what you need to say.
   
4. Don't cast your own shadow on God's work space.
   - It is not about you. So get your personal agendas, desires, and goals out of the way.
   

Hindrances from being Helped to grow…

1. Don't think of yourself as perfect.
   - I mean come on…do you really think you are doing everything the best way possible all the time?
   - Be willing to listen to imperfect people…remember you are imperfect, too.
   
2. Don't defend yourself.
   - If what you are doing is right or is from God…it will defend itself.
   - Not defending allows you to hear what they are saying instead of only thinking about what you already thought.
   
3. Put your "big boy" pants on.
   - The longer you lead the more you will have to deal with criticism from people who stink at it. Many of them have decent intentions but they are just not as spiritually mature as they think they are. They simply fail to see past themselves when they share their insights.
   - So, what do you do? You listen and you learn.
   - Allow yourself to learn from God even when the people that he is using are imperfect.
   
4. Sift, save, and throw away.
   - Sift through a review or a critical conversation. Sift looking for the GOOD not the bad.
   - Save the good stuff. Save the truth – even if it hurts.
   - Throw away the rest and don't hold it against the person – even if they did a poor job sharing it.
   
5. Acknowledge your own personality.
   - If you are a more sensitive personality, then be honest about that with yourself.
   - Don't hold others to an unrealistic expectation of pampering your feelings. Especially a boss. They have to review you. It is a part of their job. Let them do their job.
   

So this wraps this up. I hope it is helpful. I know many of you have to face reviewing others and being called upon to help build others up. Remember the catch words in these processes. Improvement and Progress are the most common words. So improve and help people progress. Allow others the right to do that in your life, too. This role is one I have dreaded and wanted to do at the same time. This year God has simply brought me to a more wholesome place with these processes and responsibilities. I look forward to sharing insights with those I lead this year. I know that God has a plan in that for me and for them.

As Christians, remember, that criticism is not Biblical, construction is. Don't go out and make your opinion heard, go out and help God's truth be used to build up his people.

Praise Feast – Day 1 (Monday, November 16, 2009)

First – my apologies for this being late. Two soccer games yesterday as coach took up my afternoon and I let this slip by me. I will have the rest out the evening before you need them.

For those of you who were not at Fellowship yesterday, this week's challenge is to go on a PRAISE FEAST. At 7 each day I am challenging you to spend 7 minutes praising God. Praise means to declare the truth about God to the God it is true of. There are no requests, no intercessions, no personal agendas in praise. Just declaring to God who he is and how you love him. If 7 minutes is too long, start with 70 seconds, but give God the praise due his name this week.

Praise the Lord in His Sanctuary – a place designated for worship.
Meaning praise the Lord for his proper place in your life.
Spend today’s 7 minutes focusing on the truths about God in his relationship to you.

What words describe his rightful place in your life?
Lord, King, Ruler, Gracious Father, Redeemer, etc.

Give thought and time to this truth in your life.
Scriptures to Help you Praise Today
2 Sam. 2:22-24, Psalm 92, Job 19:25-27, Psalm 19

When looking for Scriptures to praise the character of God, look at the openings of the epistles (or letters) in the New Testament. Basically Romans-3 John. These greetings often include deep and great truths about the character of God.

Romans 1:7, 2 Cor. 1:1-4, Galatians 1:1-5, Eph. 1:1-3, 1 Thess. 1:1-4 (and so on, some have them some don’t but a great way to look for truths to praise God for.)

Songs for Praise Today
Probably my personal favorite about praising God in his sanctuary – Better is One Day by Matt Redman

Other songs that simply praise God for being God…
Hosanna by Hillsong United
Your Name High by Hillsong United
How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin
Indescribable by Chris Tomlin
We Give Your Praise by Delirious

Critical Construction – Part 2

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." (Eph 4:29)

So our Biblical command is to not allow anything out of our mouth that is not wholesome nor is not helpful. That is a tough standard. It is especially tough when we are in the place of having a responsibility to build someone up and we see something that needs to change or they could improve.

The majority of people struggle with sharing critical thoughts and insights. Few people do this really well, but I think more of us could if we just looked at it a little differently.

Here are some Biblical insights in how to do this Biblically…

1. Earn the right to listened to. "that it may benefit those who listen."
   Some people have a problem with wanting to correct or better everyone. You only have this role with those people in which God has placed you in a relationship to do this with. If you do not have the relationship that allows you to speak such critical thoughts, perhaps you should remain silent OR if you believe God desires you to help that person, build the relationship first. This passage was not written to disconnected believers that only passed each other in the church or office hallways. It was written to people whose lives were deeply connected. You need to consider that as a boss too. If the only time your employees hear from you is about what you need and never includes any legitimate and honest concern about them, then know they are not prepared emotionally to be helped by you. If you want to develop people commit to them before you see their issues and decide you need to help correct them.
   
2. Meet their needs not yours. "according to their needs"
   Don't allow your insights to be selfish. Often people will bring "criticism" with a "constructive" twist simply to try to get someone to do what they want or how they want. Fight this urge. Your role is not to make them do what makes your life easier and better. Your role is to help them live the life and live out the role God has for them better.
   
3. The goal is construction not criticism. "what is helpful for building others up."
   It might be semantics but I think it is the key to the whole deal. We need to see our role as critical construction not constructive criticism. Make sure you have the right adjective and action in your life. Many people are not bringing their thoughts for construction but simply for criticism. Our relationship with one another is always to build each other up and never to tear each other down. Consider that the next time you want to make a snide remark about a Bible study lesson or a sermon or a song. Think about that in the context of church. Think about it in the work world. Don't just complain in your review time, use it for the intended purposes. When you tear down…you sin. Insights are not sinful…selfishness is.
   
4. Learn to limit your thoughts to the crucial.
   "only what is helpful"
   Often well-intentioned insight meant to be used by God to build someone else up is lost in our decision to share everything we observe in the other person or their actions. Perhaps you have seen someone do something that you thought was out of place and could really use some help seeing it, but instead of sharing that one issue you shared with them everything you think. The one important and Spirit-inspired insight is lost in an avalanche of undeserved criticism. Limit your insights to the real issues.
   
5. Take responsibility for your words. "come out of your mouth"
   If you say…own it. Don't back out of what you meant to say. Overly critical people like to blame hurt feelings and problems on other people's over-sensitive natures. If you say it, you have to own the consequences – whether you think they should be or not. What you said and how you said it is on you…not on them. This principle goes back to earning the right to be listened to. The more you truly know someone and actually care about them personally, the more you will know about how to share a needed insight. If you do not know them well enough to know how to talk with them, maybe you should stay silent until you do or at least admit that in the conversation and limit with them the role you have in their life. Share with them that you think you need to share something but that you are not really qualified to do so. People can take criticism in that context differently than when they are thinking "who does this person think they are?"
   
6. Speak only what the Spirit gives you. "Do not let any unwholesome talk"
   Some unwholesome talk is not acceptable. If you talk negatively about others to others…that is gossip. It is unwholesome. In church life this is usually found in the people that sit around and criticize preachers and worship leaders. People who think because they "care" about the church it is okay to talk with others in negative ways. Often this is also done in review times as bosses because the things we are sharing are things that frustrate us. The problem is we lose the ability to be wholesome because in both of these situations we lose the whole picture. That is necessary in wholesome talk. It is not just about that issue even if you think it is. It is about the person. It is always personal. Don't lose the big picture. Never lose sight of the person or people. When you do your lack of the whole picture will rob your words of any wholesome intentions.
   

So my take on criticism is that it is not Biblical. It has no rightful place in the life of believers. But construction does. People who want to build up will. People who want to criticize never will. They will only tear down and tear away.

When you review someone as a boss or an employee or if you just feel led by the Spirit to share a critical insight into someone else's life or action, remember your role and your purpose. Remember the person not the problem. Focus on yourself first and share only what God said to share. Let him do the rest.

Critical Construction – Part One

Well it is one of my least favorite times of the year as a "boss." It is review time. Every year I approach this time with a spirit of uncertainty. Naturally, when you work with people day in and day out you see their imperfections. Not only do you see these things, but if you take your role as boss (and as pastor) seriously you want to help those under your leadership improve at what they do.

The issue is how does one take ones observations, insights, and opinions and use them to the betterment of someone else. One of the crucial issues with doing this well is realizing that you have an opinion. Some times in reviews we have some hard data. Goals and objectives not met, but most often our reason for why that is true is based on our opinion.

So how do we correctly take these thoughts to another person for their good. It is not just about professional reviews. I think this is an overall spiritual issue people need to consider. Often in life we have people who want to bring us their "constructive criticism" but the issue is that it is often destructive more than it is constructive. This is true of those with a good-heart and those with a critical spirit.

I have taken some time to study this concept over the last few months and want to share with you what I have learned about the concept of criticism. These blogs will not simply be about review process but about the overall concept of criticism in the life of Christ followers.

The first question you must answer as a follower of Christ is this…is there any place in the lives of Christians for criticism?

Take some time and examine what it is. Consider this challenge. We call it "constructive" criticism. You must realize that even in its best form constructive describes criticism. Is that a Biblical mindset or approach to other people?

Let's start with this thought. What is criticism? According to Webster, criticism can be defined as the act of criticizing usually unfavorably. At its best criticizing is to consider the merits and demerits of and to judge accordingly. Criticizing is also defined as (and normally acted as) finding fault with or pointing out the faults of.

I want to challenge you in a couple of blogs over our concepts about criticism. And I want you to honestly ask yourself, how much construction comes out of my criticisms?

I will leave you with this verse to chew on today as you consider the Biblical truths concerning criticism. "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." (Eph 4:29)

 

(This is the first in a 3 part series. I have really thought through this a lot this year and read and prayed. I hope I can share some things God taught me and help you be a better leader through it.)

Defeating Dead Brain Syndrome

Some days in life we are brain dead. (For some of us that happens more often than others.) I know that for myself I most often feel this way on Mondays. Some Sundays just take so much out of you that the mind and spirit are lagging behind the body on Mondays.

So what do you do on these days? We all have them. There are several options.
1. Pretend you are not brain dead and tackle important tasks with half-a-brain.
2. Be a bum and hope no one notices.
3. Do work that is productive and helpful but does not require tons of brain cells.

I had such a day yesterday. This last series has taken a lot of mental and spiritual work to get through. It is not easy to talk about sensitive and tough topics in life in a real and authentic manner. So after a month of this series I showed up to work yesterday brain dead. What was I to do?

Would I pretend my brain was functioning fully and try to write something profound for this week's sermon like my normal plan? Would I pretend to be ready to lead a meeting that is not completely necessary that my mind was not ready for? Or would I hide at my desk and pretend to be productive?

Very often people choose those as valid solutions. Sometimes we do poor work because we are poorly prepared to do the work we need to do. I believe option 3 is the way to go. Choose to be productive. Just be productive doing something you have been putting off. Catch up on those tasks that slip through the cracks because they are never urgent.

Now, you cannot do this on days you have an important meeting or a deadline. On those days you man up and ask God for some mental grace and help. You should never bum out. You must choose to do work as if working unto the Lord and not unto man. The answer is not nothing but also might not be the same old thing.

So yesterday I finished cleaning all the windows on the office. They really needed to be ridded of the yucky film of green mildew they had gathered. I did some administrative paperwork type stuff. I ran a few errands that needed to be done. I made some phone calls. I read some in a leadership book I need to read. I ended up being needed on some technical issues and things during the day and I stepped up and did what was needed, because it is my job. But I purposefully chose to have a dead brain day since I was brain dead anyway.

I was productive. I was a good employee. I think I honored the Lord with my day. But I chose not to write the life group material and sermon I needed to do. I actually had more time to do that this morning because I did not have the administrative stuff to do because I did it yesterday. And this morning I came to work with a clear mind and was able to get some really good work done. I was able to focus and was thinking clearly on the tasks at hand.

So my advice the next time you find yourself brain dead and you don't have a deadline hanging over your brain dead head, take a dead brain day. Do something useful. Be productive. Choose not to be lazy. And get some good work done.

ANTI – Teaching the Tough Truths

I am somewhat humbled by the responses, emails, and comments I have gotten over the last couple of weeks concerning the series I am preaching. ANTI is a series in which we are tackling some real issues that are tough, sensitive, and honest. This series has been an emotionally charged and draining series for me. The toughest part of dealing with these types of issues as a pastor is being real, personal, and honest. Authenticity and transparency are necessary when you speak to the issues that people struggle with in their daily lives.

Over the past two weeks (since I last blogged) we have dealt with sexual immorality and divorce. The Bible has much to say about these issues. The truths of these issues are hard to face because we know the reality of life. The Church as we know it has not addressed such issues in a Biblical manner. Sure we have heard things are wrong, but have we heard why or what to do about it or how to treat someone when they have failed. The truth is that too often we tiptoe around such issues because we are afraid to offend someone or we bash people about these issues because we enjoy offending people. Either way, the Lord is not pleased.

So over the last two weeks I have tried to approach some sensitive issues that are raw and real in the lives of people in personal and honest manner that allows people to deal with the reality of where they are. The right reasons for dealing with these issues are because of their response to God not because of their response to me or my opinions or condemnations.

I think the most encouraging things I have heard have been from those who have dealt with some of these issues directly. One person simply told me after the sermon on sexual immorality "I wish I would have heard that sermon when I was 16." Another person simply wrote, "I'm thankful you had the courage to send a positive and truthful  message to our teenagers of what God's word says about sex and some tips on how to deal with compromising situations, but also that our church is here to help them and not condemn them.  They need that. "

The last email really hit me as I heard from one person in the congregation. They said, "If I would have heard the sermon on pornographic material when I was a younger man, I wouldn't of had to struggle with what became a full-blown addiction by age 16. I don't know how many people are telling you how good you are doing, but trust me; you are affecting everyone in the service because no Christian deals with murder on a daily basis, we deal with the things that the modern church is afraid to speak of."

This blog is not about me or the wonderful job I am doing. I don't necessarily even agree with that part. I do believe, however, that people need the church to be real and honest and open and to the point about issues the church has either said nothing about or has simply ranted and railed about. It is time we just opened up tough topics with grace and love and laid out the truth.

I challenge church leaders to step out there. Honestly, it is a little unnerving to stand in front of a group of people and be real about the issues of sexual immorality, divorce, etc. It is hard to do, but it is worth it. The feedback I get makes it worth it.

Here are some things you have to do it…

1. Be real. If you can't be real about you, you can't help others be real about them.
   
2. Say what is there; not what is not there. Speak to what the Bible says not what it does not say.
   
3. Don't hold back on any truth.
   
4. Be full of grace and mercy. After all, Jesus was.
   
5. Don't apologize. We cannot apologize for the standard Jesus died to attain for us.
   

So I challenge Christians to ask themselves these tough questions…

1. What am I for? Not what am I against?
   
2. Do I define my spiritual life by what I do not do? Or by what I do?
   

This week's sermon will have a little bit of an interesting twist to end the series. I hope you will be there. If you are interested in hearing the past sermons here is the link to my podcast. They are titled under ANTI – and honestly they are a tad long. I would say I am sorry about that, but I am not.

ANTI – Week One

Well, we kicked off the ANTI series Sunday and we had a great time in worship and in the Word. (Maybe a little long in the Word – my apologies to the heroes of FC – aka children's workers.) This series is really challenging me and others to consider some real issues.

We started this week in 1 Cor. 5. This passage deals with how the Christians (for this discussion meaning those who profess Christ as Savior and participate in a local church as a result of that profession) should deal with another Christian who is living in sexual immorality.

The first thing this sin should cause in our lives is grief not judgment. Paul said it should grieve us. I believe this is why this series is needed. The world things Christians are ANTI because Christians are not grieved by the spiritual condition of the world around us. If we truly believe that people who die without forgiveness in Christ die and go to hell we should have a lot more grief about the lives of those around us. But too seldom we do. More often we feel real good about ourselves more than we feel broken others.

So once we are grieved we have to hold the other Christian accountable and allow their sinful choices to have consequences without having our condemnation. The reason that we cannot condemn is because the Scripture clearly says that the goal of such judgment is for the saving of the soul.

I think the biggest issues Christians face in holding to standards are…
1. Not becoming arrogant toward others that do not share them.
2. Being grieved by what is commonplace in the world in which we live.
3. Not bringing standards to those who do not believe in their Savior.

This passage goes onto tell the church in Corinth that they should in NO WAY judge those who are outside of the church like they have the one inside the church. The reason we should not do that is because that a person that is not a follower of Christ does not have the Spirit of Christ empowering them to live in obedience. We, as Christians, believe this is necessary to live out the commands of Christ in our lives. Yet, we often find ourselves trying to demand that this world live up to them without Christ.

My main point for the week was that "Our world does not need our standards. They need our Savior."

So my challenge to the Christians of the world is quitting pointing out to the world around you everything they do wrong and start sharing with them everything Jesus Christ has made right.

Each week during this series I am issuing a public apology for where I see the church has failed at this. This week's apology is this. "We are sorry we boycotted Disney." Why? Because we told the people of Disney we care more about your morality than we do your eternity. What if they had changed to meet our convictions and yet they never came to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ? What profit it a man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his own soul? What is the profit to the people of Disney to live by my standards so I will give them my money for my entertainment if they die and go to hell?

We as Christians must start acting on what we truly believe to be essential in life and sharing that with a world that needs it. The people in your life do not need your rules. They need Christ's righteousness.

Fellowship Church - ANTI series video promo

Well, this video is my first ever video blog. I recorded it in hopes that you Fellowshipites might use this video post as a way to share what is going on at Fellowship through your online social networks. The video posted on my blog is to you. Below it is a link to a video that I have recorded as a message to our community.

Here is why I have done this. Sunday I am starting a new series titled ANTI. It will be an interesting series where we look at some real issues. So take a couple of minutes to watch the video and then send the other video out into the world wide web.



This is the link to the second video.
Share it with others. Thanks.

My lesson from the life of Jack Daniel

Today, my family is celebrating the life of and mourning the loss of Jack Daniel. Uncle Jack (Wendy's uncle) was a great man that lived an impressive life. As I write this he is being honored with a full military burial at one of our national cemeteries. My prayers and thoughts are with Wendy and her family as they are there with each other during this time.

Jack was a special man. He has a unique life story and leaves a powerful legacy. Today, I want to share with you what I learned from Uncle Jack. In the 13 years since I met Uncle Jack I have gotten to spend some unique moments with him, but not as many as I would have liked. I wish I could have had more moments like the ones that I will share that gave me my insights into the life of Jack Daniel, but they are limited. I will simply share what I had the great privilege of hearing, observing, and learning from him.

I will start by saying that Jack Daniel was a man I greatly respected. By nature and personality I am a leader. I am also a leader by calling and profession. Men like me tend to gravitate toward other leaders that we see great leadership qualities in. Jack was such a man. In the often short but meaningful times I spent with him I always walked away with some observation or story that stuck in my mind.

In observing his life from the lens of his nephew by marriage, I gathered the opinion that this verse in particular would describe his life well. "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 3:13-14)

One of the first personal memories I have about Uncle Jack was at Grandma's house in Winnfield, LA. It was Memorial Day weekend and some of the family had gathered. I remember sitting outside on the porch and listening to Jack talk about the Vietnam War and his experiences there. This man served bravely in that war along with a lot of great young men in our nation at that time. He rose to rank of Major during the war and would later retire from United States Marine Corps as a Lt. Colonel. The story he shared is one I will not give the details of, but it was a particularly tough day in the war. The day included casualties and loss. I could sense in his telling of the story (which by the way story telling was one of his many gifts) that this memory was one that was still vivid and real in his life. That day he made some decisions (although not wrong ones) that had consequences that were unforeseen. Jack had to live with those types of decisions everyday as a military officer.

I share this to tell you that what I realized about Jack Daniel was that he was a man willing to make the decisions at hand, but he was not a man that lived in the past. His life was shaped by those days in Vietnam but it was not defined by them. Jack was simply not a man that lived in the past, yet he loved the past. He was a history buff especially his own family history. He could retell and recall the smallest details of life in the Daniel family and loved to share that family's heritage of love and faith with others. Yet I believe he left behind the past and always lived in the present.

I learned this from him on the golf course too. Jack was a prolific golfer. While visiting him this summer – while he was sick and weak from chemo – he and I went to the driving range. Jack, in a weakened condition, consistently hit the ball further and better than I did for the entire time we were out there. He lived a life goal by shooting his age. A goal few golfers accomplish and then not usually till their late 70's or early 80's. Jack did it at 69.

He helped me with my golf swing every time we played – mostly because I REALLY need the help - but that was not what I learned from him on the course. Jack had the ability to not allow one bad shot to become two bad shots. He forgot what was behind on the course and focused on what was ahead. That is a difficult thing for a competitive person to do, yet he did every time I golfed with him. He did not push back to where he failed, he pressed forward to where he would succeed.

His military career was quite impressive. This summer I learned – along with some other members of the family – some of the details of his service for our nation. Uncle Jack has a display case with his military medals and honors presented in it. In it was his White House staff badge. I had never known he worked at the White House. I asked about his time there and learned some new and impressive things about Jack.

Uncle Jack served under 3 presidential administrations. He was military debriefer to the President and was a military liaison there at the White House. One of the roles he held during his time there was to carry the "football" – that is the nuclear code brief case often seen in movies. Jack was a man trusted by our nation with one of the codes necessary for launching nuclear war. (I have to admit that when he told me that my "man crush" level increased even more. As did my respect for him.) I did not know what to say to such a neat thing presented in such a nonchalant way, so I said, "You realize they put you in movies. They just have never used the right name." Then he told me that he was also in charge of the President's evacuation plan in case of attack and would sit at the desk in the oval office and "play" the part of the president when they would run the drills. How cool is that. And yet he had not really talked about it to that many people. I don't know why. Maybe some of that was not something he was supposed to talk about at the time, but I think there was more to it than that.

Jack's life was not defined by such important roles and responsibilities. He did not live his life as a former important person at the White House. He enjoyed that and served faithfully while doing that and then he pressed on. He forgot (without forgetting) what was behind and pushed on toward what lay ahead. He went on to a successful career in a business that carried some military contracts and then started a cabinet business that makes some of the finest cabinets I have ever seen.

His life was full of successes and accomplishments. In sports he was multi-sport letterman in high school, made the varsity basketball team at Arizona State University, played football for the Marine Corps, and won the club championship several years at his home golf course in Virginia. As a marine he was a highly decorated officer. As a business man he was successful. But I don't think any of those things best describe this man's life and legacy.

Wendy summed it up well when she said this about her Uncle Jack as I started writing this tribute this past summer. "Whatever he is doing at that moment he is the best at it. If he is playing golf it is golf. If he is a soldier then he is the best soldier. When he is with me, he is the best uncle. He listens and cares and truly interested in my life. When he is dad, he is being the best dad he can be. When he is making cabinets he is making the best cabinets he can make."

Jack was a man that understood that life, faith, and love are built on past experiences but are lived in present life. That life cannot be lived in what lies behind, it must be lived in what lies ahead. I thank God for great men like Jack Daniel. Our country needs them. Families need them. The world needs them. I think this world is best impacted by those whose stories rarely get told because they do not desire them to be told because they are too busy living them. These types of men and women leave the greatest legacies because they are always living life now.

Jack's love for God, family, and country was evident in his life and will continue to be evident in his legacy. My prayers are with Aunt Karen and her children, their spouses, and his grandchildren today. My prayers are with his brothers and sisters and family members. Yet in this moment of loss, I am thankful. I am thankful for such a great example of what it looks like to not live in the past and to live a life that grabs hold of what is ahead.

So, learn from yesterday, but don't stay there. Press on for what lies ahead. You never know where it might take you.

Brokenness not Broken down

Sunday I had the privilege of sharing a word from the life of David. David – a man after God's own heart – was also a man that committed adultery and murder. He was a man that was not allowed to fulfill his life-long desire to build a temple for God because of the shortcomings in his own life. This man loved God but he was very imperfect in living that love in all he said and did. He was like the rest of us…he failed. Yet it says of David that he was a man after God's own heart and that he was faithful in his own generation.

There is nothing I would rather have said of me than those two things. I think that is why David is one of my favorite people in Scripture. I want to be known as a man after God's heart and I want God to use me in my own generation. I so want those things that I often allow them to become burdens in my life.

It is an interesting spiritual issue when our desire for God and for being who he wants us to be becomes the stumbling block for us having a proper relationship with God and being who he wants us to be, but it can happen. In my life this burden is often attached to the fact that I feel there is more God desires from me and my ministry. I believe he desires to use me for some purposes than are bigger than what I can see and do right now. And at times, I so desire to be successful for that reason that it gets in the way of me being that.

It is odd how being who God wants you to be – if you are not careful – is what prevents you from being who God wants you to be. God wanted David to be king. David acted like a king the day he committed adultery. He said to his servants go get this woman. He got what he commanded. He was being king, but he was not being the king God wanted him to be.

Today as I was dealing with some things that are bothering me in my own life and spirit, God really spoke to me through a Psalm I was reading. Psalm 144:2-4 is a powerful passage from the heart of David about God. He says that God is his loving God…fortress…stronghold…deliverer…shield. God was those things in his life. Then he says who is man that you are mindful of him. Who am I that even though my life is but a breath of air you care about me?

This passage really hit me because I think the reason that I often feel burdened is because I am not good at allowing God to be all those things in my life. I too often think I can be that person in my life. I would never say it that way, but I live it that way. I have confessed that in blog before, but it is just the back and forth in my own spiritual life. So this morning, God once again began to do some breaking. He showed me some brokenness I have been lacking. And in an instant, the burden became lighter. It is not gone. I still have some things to do right now that I know God has told me to do that are going to take a lot of time and effort. But they are not really mine to do.

So what does brokenness look like? Brokenness is actively, honestly, and pursuing pursuing change in yourself. God reminded me of that this morning. When your life's work is about seeing other lives changed it is easy to forget that your life must be the one first being changed…even when you say it in sermons.

So, what are you going to do today to actively pursue change in yourself? What are you going to do to honestly pursue change? What are you going to do to personally pursue change?

Well, whatever you do, remember that ultimately it is God that changes us. It is not our activity, our honesty, or our person that changes us. It is God. David forgot that. I sometimes forget that. I imagine sometimes you do, too.

Brokenness is not the state of being broke down. Brokenness is the state of being open to God. Open to who He is. And that brokenness requires us to know who we are not.

So, are you willing to live broken?

Check it out

Great word from Todd Blount. Check it out here. http://toddblount.blogspot.com/2009/09/clean-your-plate.html

Here and Now

“For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep, he was buried with his fathers, and his body decayed.”  Acts 13:36

Our current sermon series is looking into the lives of great leaders that experienced change and caused change.  David is one such leader.  This passage about David is a profound and deep truth too few people ever realize in their own lifetime.  It is the truth that I preached about last week by looking at the lives and Biblical truths from the life of Daniel.

Faithfulness is a necessary ingredient in our lives if we are to live lives that are so changed they are delicious with Christ.  The flavor of faithfulness is, however, unique.  The issue about faithfulness is that faithfulness will never taste the same way twice.  It will never look the same in any two lives.  Sure there will be commonalities.  Two lives lived in faithful following of Christ will live in obedience to common commands, but they will live it out in different circumstances.

Each of us must learn to be faithful here and now.  In our own generation and our own time.  We must be like Daniel and be faithful where we are and when we are.  Daniel would never have chosen to be the wise slave-servant leader for the kings of Babylon.  Daniel would have chosen a life leading a free and independent Israel.  But that was not his time and place.  Daniel had to be faithful with his own here and now.  David had to be found faithful in similar ways.  He wanted to build the temple but he could not because God said not.  Yet he was found faithful with his own here and now.

So must we.  Each of us must learn to be faithful where we are, when we are, and as who we are.  It says in Scripture that God “ordained the times and places for us.”  Where are you right now in your life?  That is where you are called to be faithful.  If you are a student be faithful in study and in the classroom and in your social life as a student.  If you are a career professional then be faithful in your professional ethics and to your job description and position.  If you are a full-time mom then be faithful in your home and in the lives of your children.  Each of these times (or stages) in life are valuable and important.  So be found faithful there.

You can never be faithful with someone else’s talents, gifts, and abilities.  Nor can you be faithful with their salary or their position in life.  You have to faithful with what you have.  Quit telling God you would do something for him if he would just allow it be                                           .  Tell God I will do exactly what you have gifted me and called me to do and I will find joy in that.  Quit telling God you would tithe if you made the amount of money so and so makes.  Quit telling God you would be faithful at your church if they would just do things this way or that way.  Be faithful in your place and your position.

Some times in my role as pastor I have to deal with people who are unfaithful but like to think that they are faithful.  Often these people have justified not living up to the truths of Scripture and feel very righteous in that disobedience.  Some times these people feel it is their place to make decisions and influence things that are in no way form or fashion their calling or role in life or the church.  Honestly these issues are just obvious results of an issue we all struggle with – selfishness.

Selfishness is that which robs us of faithfulness.  We are not able to be faithful because we are too focused on what we want and not what others need and God desires.  The difficult part of this issue is that we think we want to faithful with someone else’s life, money, or position, but in reality we know nothing about it. 

That is why the flavor of faithfulness is unique.  You can not be faithful with where you are not, with what you do not have, and with who you are not.  You must be faithful here and now.  So quit bribing God to give you what you need to be faithful because you already have everything you need.  Quit trying to convince God that he needs to cause others to do things your way because they are most likely already being done His way.  And be faithful here and now because in the end you too will fall asleep and your body will decay, but can it be said of you were faithful in your own generation?

Be faithful here wherever you’re here may be.  And be faithful now.

Diversity with Unity 2

(This is numbered 2 because I posted one and took it down because I thought I needed to work through my comments with more gentleness.)

I find myself in an interesting place in ministry these days. Several times in recent weeks and months I have heard interesting criticisms against many of the Biblical convictions I hold about church, ministry, and preaching. Often these comments have come in bland statements in meetings with other pastors or in a denominational setting. They have also come from well-intentioned and perhaps a couple of ill-intentioned church people. Criticism does not frighten me, it challenges me. It does not cause me to think I should back away from what God has told me to do.

It does, however, challenge me to be correct in what I do and say. I am not afraid of criticism because I have found it makes me better and stronger. This year I dealt with some criticism about how I led Fellowship through some significant changes. There were several people that brought criticism with love and passion for the ministry. These people are priceless in my life. God really used them to teach me and to show me his correction. God used them to help me better at what I am called to do and honestly just to be better at being me. On the other hand, criticism not given for the sole purpose of bettering the person you lovingly share it with, is just selfishness and does neither of you any good.

The key to being a person who can bring honest and constructive criticism instead of hurting and selfish criticism is found in the Biblical truth of 1 Cor. 1:10. "I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly unified in mind and thought." That sounds like "pie in the sky" to most of us, yet is the Biblical mandate for the Church. Each one of should seek to not cause any division. Actually we should seek to "uncause" any division. We should each feel it our responsibility to seek unity with one another and to do that which prevents any division whatsoever.

Yet, this is instruction is found in a letter in which Paul gives lots of strong commands and disagrees with the believers in Corinth on many issues. Seeking unity and fighting against division does not mean that leaders with Biblical and Godly convictions forget about them to purchase peace at the cost of the work of the Gospel. It also does not mean that any follower of Christ should put away their Sprit-led and Biblical convictions to have ungodly unity with those who stand against his truth.

So, how do we deal with seeking unity while not always agreeing? Paul in this letter speaks of many "disputable matters." Disputable matters cover a wide variety of issues. Many Christians today, however, build their entire concept of what a Christian looks like on disputable matters. Many people believe "good" Christians like certain types of music and wear certain styles of clothes. Or perhaps your big issue is that good Christians never take a sip of alcohol. Or perhaps you define it by never miss a worship service in a year. Or maybe it is the boxes you check every week on your tithe envelope.

The problem is that many divisions are the result of people desiring uniformity and not unity. The problem is that many people want to turn their convictions into mandates. God is the only one that gives the mandates in Christianity. The issue, that leaders – like Paul – have, is that they have to make decisions concerning disputable matters that affect every person that is under their leadership. I, as Lead Pastor, at Fellowship Church and responsible and will be held accountable for the work of the ministry at Fellowship Church. The Lord will one day call me to account for many things. I must be willing to stand on my Spirit-led, God-given, Scripture-inspired convictions concerning the disputable matters in "church world."

Such issues as how do we express the Biblical vision of the Church? (The vision of every church should be the Great Commission – but we have to figure out how we will communicate that at our church. For us it is Connecting to Love…Grow…Serve…Go. Your communication of it is disputable – the vision itself is set.) What music style to have. Or what clothes should people wear? What is appropriate in a worship service? How will small groups be done at our church? Etc. Etc. But the truth of the matter is that most of these issues are disputable matters. They can have a wide variety and still please God. But each church can not do the whole variety. It is not possible and is a futile attempt. So, leaders must make those choices. The Bible is most often descriptive about such matters not prescriptive.

As a result of some criticism that has challenged me to be correct in all that I do as a leader, I have decided to spend some time over the next few weeks and months to express in writing the Biblical convictions for the ministry I lead. I believe it will be good for me and perhaps be enlightening to someone else along the way. You will probably see these issues come through in the blog some. I ask that you would pray for me during this endeavor. My prayer is that I will not defend anything, but that I will simply express the truth of Scripture in the convictions God has given me through His Spirit.

The reason I feel led to do this is that I want to be able to share with others my convictions without being critical of theirs. The truth is that I celebrate a church down the road that does it different than us and, therefore, reaches someone different than who we are reaching. I think that is totally awesome. I guess some times when you hear enough criticism (although be it, usually from the same sources over and over again) you start getting critical of others about things they do not deserve criticism over.

The remedy to this problem is to leave no doubt why you stand where you stand. Then stand there. And if you find others that it is difficult for you to stand with because of a disputable matter, then either decide to stand with them and not allow that difference to cause a division or choose to not stand with them. But you must know why you stand where you stand. I know why I stand where I stand, but I need to work a little harder at allowing others to see the depth of it.

In a couple of months I am preaching an entire series on disputable matters. I am excited and terrified to preach it. People live real lives in the disputable matters. Disputable matters cause disputes. Disputable matters often hurt. But they don't have to if we will just decide to "agree with one another." Some times that means agreeing on what we can agree on and "shutting up" about the rest without "shutting down" about the rest. Don't shut down on your convictions but if they are disputable then learn when to keep those thoughts to yourself. Some times what God really wants you to say is nothing. Every time you see something that in your opinion could be done better does not mean it is your God-given job to tell the other person that thought.

Thanks for your prayers as I tackle this God-given and criticism-inspired challenge. My prayer is that God will use this endeavor to help me grow. (My hope is that because of that it will help others grow, too.) Many of my convictions and thoughts about such things began with great books written by great church leaders but they honestly did not do a great job using Scripture in them. I, however, do have Scripture behind those same convictions (as they probably do, too). My goal is to share that – the Biblical convictions.

Are you willing to do what it takes in your life to stand on your convictions? Before you take that stand you need to know why you stand where you stand.

Delightful Deliverance

Life and Scripture entwine themselves in my life all the time. It is amazing how true it is that the Word of God is "living and active." It is so true that it is useful in our lives in teaching and in correcting and in training. The Scriptures of God are alive because God is alive and His Spirit uses them to speak into our lives. It is amazing how God shows us great truths in the midst of normal moments in life.

This week I had the privilege of meeting with someone who, honestly, has no understanding of God's grace. They have come out of a religious background that is built upon works. They have been taught that they must do certain things and that only through those actions does a person receive the grace of God in their life. As we met and talked it was wonderful to have the privilege of sharing with this person the truth of God's grace. The basis of our conversation was Ephesians 2:8-10. They were completely blown away by the concept of grace as a gift – yet that is exactly what grace is – grace is a gift. If grace were not a gift it would not be grace.

So this week the truths of grace have really been on my mind and spirit. Then I read something out of the Vine for this week that really jumped out at me. In is in 2 Samuel 22 (verse 20b) "He rescued me, because he has delighted in me." The verse really hit me as I realized this is one of the hardest truths for us, as imperfect people, to grasp about God. Salvation (which literally means to rescue from perishing) is a delightful thing to God. He does it because it delights him.

Why does salvation delight God? Because we delight God.

That is right, God delights in you. Your salvation is not the result of you being delightful. It is the result of his delighting. There is a difference. The truth is that "God demonstrated his love for us, in this, while we were still sinners Christ died for us." In the midst of your very worst moment – your most undelightful actions and thoughts – God showed you his love. At your very worst God delights in you, not because of you, but because of himself.

Our salvation is delightful to God because he delights in us. Our life response should be to be a delight to him. We should strive to be delightful because he is delighted in us – not so that he will be delighted in us. That is why Jesus said, "if you love me you will obey my commands." Obedience is not so we can love him and he us. It is because we love him because he already loved us. ("We love God because he first loved us."

So that is the truth rolling around in my head this week. I love to have such truths to meditate on. I love thinking about that over and over again. God has rescued me because he delighted in me. Not so that he could delight in me. Not because I had made myself delightful to him. Simply because he delighted in me.

I pray that God will show you his delight this week. And if you have never allowed his delight to bring you to a place of repentance and confession in Christ, I pray that this week you will find your delight in him, too.

He loves you more than you will ever realize. So experience the delightful deliverance of a Delighted Deliverer. And once you experience it, choose to delight in it by delighting Him.

Fervently Zealous

I came across a passage that was a key text in one of my sermons early in my ministry. Back when I was preaching at this church and that church. Here and there and getting a little experience. Meaning I could use the same sermon on numerous occasions. There was one verse in Romans 12 that really jumped out at me all those years ago. (I think I first preached this passage when I was 19.) The funny thing is that I read it in my quiet time this morning and it hit home again. So I thought I would share the thought with you.

Romans 12:11 says, "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." As a young preacher I had no knowledge of Greek or near the number of study tools I have today in my office so I did the profound thing to figure out what zeal and fervor are really about. I pulled out Webster's dictionary. I still remember the answer I found. Zeal means enthusiastic diligence. Fervor means zealous. They are synonyms for enthusiastic diligence.

So that became a part of one of my first sermons. We need to be enthusiastically diligent in our service and faith. We do not often combine these 2 thoughts. Enthusiasm means you are excited and ready to do some thing. Diligence refers to working hard through a difficult task. Here is the cool thing. That combination is exactly what serving the Lord should look like. Serving the Lord is a difficult task yet it is exciting. We should be enthusiastically diligent in serving the Lord.

The problem is that too often in the seasons of life that seem more diligent than enthusiastic we give up and quit. Or the times that seem so enthusiastic and exciting we forget to be diligent about it and it somehow loses its excitement and then we do not like the diligence so we give up and quit.

The thing is that our tendency is to do the exact opposite of this verse. I have seen so many people quit serving the Lord because they had lost their zeal, that it makes my heart hurt and my head spin. So often these well intentioned people said they just needed a break so they could restore their zeal, but it never happens. They never get back up and going (or at least EXTREMELY rarely).

You want to know why? The Bible says that you need to do the exact opposite thing. If you want to not lack in zeal then keep your fervor by SERVING THE LORD. Serving the Lord will make you more zealous for the Lord. Why do we think not going after the things of God would make us want to go after the things of God more?

It's like sports. The more you practice…the more you want to play. I have started trying to really run and the further I run…the further I want to go the next time. (My longest yet is a 6 mile run.) The more you are around a person you think you are interested in - the more they interest you. (Or not and you don't marry that person.) But when you are dating someone you would never say, I think the best way for us to get to have a good close relationship would be for me to do nothing else for you for a while. That will really build up our relationship. I am just going to sit around and do nothing and ask you to join me in it. That will give us a great and lovely relationship that is exciting and full of fervor. WHAT??????

Why do we think that would be true with our relationship with God? So if you don't feel very zealous for the Lord, quit telling the Lord you are sitting and waiting and get up and serve him. If you have been hurt some how in serving the Lord or in the church, realize that healing starts with rest, but is really experienced in rehabilitation. You got to get some spiritual exercise.

So I challenge you today to not lose your zeal, but to stay fervent by serving the Lord. I challenge you to find your lost zeal in the only place it can be found…in the fervent service of the Lord.

Cannonball Faith

Some times in our lives we get to hear stories that make us laugh so hard we cry, but at the same time can teach us a very valuable lesson. I heard such a story last week.

Last week I met with a young lady in our church who has accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior and Lord and she decided to be baptized. While riding home in the car she called her grandmother, who led her to the Lord, and told her about the baptism. After she got off the phone her little brother – who has a tendency to need to one-up his sister – spoke up.

He said he already has been baptized. His parents asked him, what do you mean? He then told them, the other day as he was at the swimming pool, he ran towards the pool, asked Jesus to come into his life, did a cannonball all the way under water, and when he came to the surface, he had a new life!!!

I love two things about this story. First is the cannonball and second is that he knew he needed to go all the way under. The story is humorous and fun, but it also teaches us a great lesson.

As soon as I read the email with the story I thought of these words. " I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it" (Mark 10:15) Do not misunderstand what I am saying. I do not believe this idea to be the process by which a person has a genuine experience of salvation, but I do think it is a genuine expression of genuine faith. It is a faith that is still not completely informed or understood but a genuine and true all the same.

This child does not yet understand what the Lordship of Christ means and how the death and resurrection of Christ forgives us of our sins, but I told his dad this the other day, "The day he does understand, his faith is ready." Listen to what he says. He asked Jesus to come into his life. He immersed himself. And he had new life.

Do you believe in new life like that? Do you believe that Jesus Christ does exactly what he says he does? He did not have potential for new life or hope for new life – just NEW LIFE! Jesus told us that he came to give us "life and life more abundantly."We, however, must have faith like a child to enter into it.

We must have faith that is all in. All the way. No qualifications or limitations.

Faith like a cannonball. Faith that is committed to going all the way under and coming up having made a huge splash.

So...do you have cannonball faith?

Learning Wheel - Link Six

This one is from a cool lady in our church, Donna Guillot.  Donna has been a Christian for about a year now and she is growing in the Lord in leaps and bounds.  She has a past of many struggles with her health.  She was blogging before I knew her, but some of her blogs since she became a Christ-follower have really inspired me and challenged me.  I went back to an old one for this learning wheel challenge.  In my blog that started all this I told pastors to listen to the people they pastor, too.  Donna is one I have heard from and learned from this year.  http://trials2triumph.blogspot.com/2009/07/true-cost-of-our-freedom.html

Learning Wheel - Link Five

Craig Groeschel is the man.  His book It has really challenged me this year to seek it, to keep it, and to know it is all from God.  His blogs are great thoughts.  The one I am linking is actually the last of a 4 day series on “spiritual fathers.”  If you know me and my ministry and my age you will see why this one challenged me.  I too struggle with the same thing he discusses often in my life.  He had a great practical series on hiring from within or from the outside for churches before this one.  It was great to learn from too.  http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/2009/08/06/are-you-ready-to-be-a-dad/

Learning Wheel - Link Four

Here is a great and challenging word about the Gospel and its place in our Christian lives.  It is written by the mack daddy author of the modern era – John Piper.  If you want something deep go buy a Piper book.  I can barely read an entire book from him because my brain hurts, but I am pumped to have recently heard of his blog.  Dude writes some great stuff.  Read this one and take it in.  It is really good.  (BTW I heard about this one in the morning meeting from Jonathan, too.  The Learning Wheel works.)

http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1687_never_let_the_gospel_get_smaller/

Learning Wheel - Link Three

This one is from Sir Todd Blount.  He is a great writer.  The cool part about this one is that it was from one of our morning office meetings I mentioned in The Learning Wheel.  This one had really stuck with me like Joey’s quote in the Jonathan’s blog that came from another morning meeting Joey led.  Do you see how this thing works yet?  The more you are around Godly people and have God-centered conversations or take in thoughts from books, blogs, songs, and other forms of communication that point you to God the more the wheel turns.  So here is a great thoughy for the day from another great dude who learned it from a dude who was great but kind of blew it in the end.  http://toddblount.blogspot.com/2009/08/devils-in-details.html

Learning Wheel - Link Two

This blog entry by Steven Furtick also makes The Learning Wheel point.  I think Steven is a great blogger.  He is not like me at all.  He writes short stuff.  He preaches long and writes short but does both exceptionally well.  Anyway, in this blog he does not even write the part that really hit me.  He knows a man in his church who is great at what he is writing about so he has him write the meat of the blog.  Brilliant use of the The Learning Wheel.  (BTW his whole series of blogs on encouragement, thoughtfulness, and kindness is really good and will probably be fodder for a series at FC in the next year.  I drew some great inspiration from it in just a few short moments of time.)  So here it is…

http://www.stevenfurtick.com/uncategorized/well-timed-words/

Learning Wheel - Link One

Check out this great blog by Jonathan Ickles.  It is a good word from a good dude.  It really shows the concept in my last blog about the “The Learning Wheel.”  Jonathan quotes Joey in this blog entry with a quote that really hit me, too.  What is funny about it is that I was thinking about blogging the same thought but I had not yet done it.  So check it out.  A great word from a great dude who got it from a great dude who got it from somewhere or God.  http://jonathanickles.blogspot.com/2009/08/fisher-of-men.html

The Learning Wheel

I was asked an interesting question yesterday about who I am and what I do. The question was in a great conversation about our church and other things like that (while I was on a fishing trip in which we caught 100 speckled trout by 10 AM.) The question made me think about the difference between what others see and hear in our lives and how we see and hear the same things in our own lives.

This is the question and the explanation of why it caused that thought. The question was simply "Where do all the sermon series and topics come from? Do they come from the Southern Baptist Convention or a book or from other preachers?" The answer is honestly, they come from me. But the other honest answer is they do not come from me. Let me do my best to explain.

First, they come from the Lord. That is not an attempt to sound holy-roller like, but an honest answer about how such things take place. The Lord really does lead when we ask him to. The thing is that seldom in the process or in the speaking is that communicated. It is a background fact. It is simply a part of who I am and what I do that I think most people figure happens, but is difficult to actually speak to it or give it credit week in and week out.

Second, they come from what I observe. I see and hear things in the lives of the people I pastor and God gives me compassion for those people. I ask God for insight in how to teach people in dealing with such issues and truths in their life.

Third, I have some help from within Fellowship. Most of it starts with me, but the creativity is most definitely a team deal. And not just staff. We have great people who can make things work well. The topics are basically from me (although Todd is helping out with that more and more), but the creative elements come from a group of volunteers and staff.

Fourth, I read other people's stuff. I am not a good sermon listener. I know we encourage people to listen to podcasts and I think that can be a great thing, but I stink at it. I have never made it through an entire sermon online with the exception of the ones we showed during the God is series. I simply lose my train of thought in it. I do, however, listen to parts of them. I hear where and how they are coming from on a topic. I love to see the different insights into communication especially when other pastors use creative ways to teach deep truths.

I also read. I read blogs. Not a ton of blogs, but some real good ones. I read books. Not tons of those either. I often do not finish books. If you are not a good writer or if you are saying very little in lots of words, I don't finish your book. (maybe how you feel it about this blog.) I skim it for what is good and I go on. I love Executive Book Summaries because they take the best leadership books and summarize them. Right up my alley. Great books often cause great sermon series. The truth is some times a bad book can spark an even better one.

There are several people that I like to read the blogs of. So this week I am going to put out several blogs that will link you to some good stuff I read this week. A simple blog entry by a pastor will cause a whole train of thought for me that will end up a sermon series at Fellowship. That is how the Lord leads.

Another new source of thought provoking material is the daily office meetings at Fellowship. Every morning at 9:30 someone is responsible for leading a short time together to learn and pray. Todd, Jonathan, and Joey bring some great stuff that really challenges the mind and spirit. I love learning from them.

The other person God uses is you guys. Many times you say things that stick with me and I struggle with them and they challenge me. Wendy is probably the person that God uses the most in my life to do this. She asks great questions. She challenges my thinking on things and often when I am thinking through why I think what I think I learn where it comes from and I think "someone else could really learn from that." Some times you will make a comment in a conversation and it sticks in my mind and spirit and later becomes a sermon or series, but most often I forget who said it by the time I have some thoughts ready to use on it. So you get no credit, my apologies.

The last thing I will mention is the one God most often uses. I get messages to preach from the Word during my personal times of studying the Word. I read the Bible on my own simply for my own spiritual growth on a daily basis. This is separate from sermon prep, life group lesson writing, or Vine writing time. This is just God and me time. It is during these moments he speaks his strongest truths into my life. It has been during my own personal walk through the Bible this year that God started showing me the characteristics in Biblical leaders that are the recipe for change in Changelicious. We will have another series coming up on Psalms that is not a coincidence that I am currently reading through Psalms during my Bible reading plan from www.biblegateway.com.

So that is how that works. It is like a wheel. It goes around and around. I hope that God is using what I have to say like that in the life of someone else. That is life. That is the learning wheel. I hope your life is like that. I hope you are constantly turning and constantly learning. Never stop rolling. Never quit moving forward. And learn to enjoy everything new you learn – even if it hurts.

The thing about who we are and what we say is really a result of who we hear and what we take in. That process, however, is seldom mentioned. I hope this is insightful for someone. I encourage you, if you are another pastor that for some reason reads my blog, to make sure you are taking in enough stuff. Take in the Word of God, spend time with God, but also open your ears and eyes and hear what other believers are saying. Listen to the people you pastor, too. Not just to hear where they are weak and need instruction but to the wisdoms and insights God gives them. Your people probably say some of the wisest things you have ever heard if you will just stop long enough to listen. You never know where a simple blog you read today might take your church next year.

So, Fellowship, lets keep on rolling. Coming soon Maximum Security, Anti, Honest to God, The Arrival, The Total Temple Project, and a series out of Acts that has yet to be named. Who can say exactly where it came from but I am most excited about seeing where it takes us.