When smaller Is BIGGER!

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."

Prov 16:9 NIV

I remember writing a piece in October in which I stated our future plans for life and ministry - at least the plans that I knew of. God has a way of granting the desires of our hearts even when we don't fully know what those desires are.

I remember telling some trusted friends that I was going to resign as an associate pastor, even though Robin and I had only a few open doors of marriage ministry to walk through. The words to a Sidewalk Prophet's song kept running through my mind, "Father of love, you can have me - YOU CAN HAVE ME!" We were willing to be obedient to what God was asking us to do - step out in faith and trust him.

I had faith, but I was also working on a plan, you know just in case. However my plan made it no farther than a browse through some local printing industry jobs, online, to ascertain any part-time opportunities.

One day after submitting my resignation, I received a email from a transition team member of a church near our home. I knew my pastoral resume was active in the area and was open to the idea, should God so will. However, it wasn't until I received that email that something begin to change in my heart.

Until that day, I had envisioned traveling and doing marriage conferences on the weekends to support our family and grow the ministry to which God has called us. However, I knew that marriage ministry, providing an income, would be very unlikely, because of our focus on couples and churches who do not have the finances to support such ministry and our committment to see that no couple falls through the cracks.

God began to instill in me that, if we would be obedient and allow him to use us, that he could do more through us in pastoral ministry than we could even imagine - even more for marriages.

We are excited about this next chapter of ministry that God has purposed for us. We are believing that the chapter will be long and fruitful. Are we going to keep ministering to marriages? In the words spoken by the people around our son's college, "Ya Sure! You Bet'cha!" By listening to God's quiet leading, we have the opportunity to see not only marital and family change in our community, but life change here and abroad.

Will we travel as much? Probably not, but I believe, through Christ, our Kingdom impact will be greater. When we, ourselves, are content with being small, God's plans for us become larger than we could ever imagine.

Time Out To Listen

With all of the rain we have been experiencing in Northeast Ohio, I decided to take advantage of the sunny day we had on Tuesday and start cutting our grass - a task that has been washed out by either the weather or my schedule. Hopefully, it will be the last time I have to do it this year.
I started with the trimming. I was pushing the mower around the north side of our dog kennel, when I heard the familiar, "Hi Dave!" I turned to see the neighbor boy standing at the property line waving at me. I waved and went right back to my task. I finished the trimming and then shut the push mower off.

"Hi Dave!" Again, I turned to see the friendly 7 year old, still waving and smiling at me. A question crossed my mind, "Have I become so busy that I cannot stop what I am doing and give this little boy a few minutes of my time?"

Calling the boy's name, I started a conversation with the lad, which lasted a few minutes and consisted of a very detailed and enthusiastic account of his recent trick or treating adventure.

Once he finished with what he wanted to tell me, he said, "Well, I'll let you get back to your mowing." He then flashed a big smile and walked away.

Did I get as much mowing done that evening? No. Did it really matter? No. While I do not know if my listening to a little boys story had any significant impact on his life, at least he knows that I care. Maybe that is all he needed from me.

An Emotional Day

By the time my head hit the pillow last night, I was well on my way to a sound sleep. I was drained, not so much physically, but emotionally.

Yesterday, we announced my resignation as associate pastor to our church family. It was a day filled with emotions. We felt the excitement that accompanies the sense of God's leading and the sadness of the thought of parting with so many people that we have grown to love.

We will be serving at Grace Fellowship through the end of the year - leaving sooner if God chooses to open a door of ministry for us before that time.

All the while, Robin and I are praying earnestly for God's will and direction to be revealed in our lives and in his purpose for us. We want to be who God wants us to be even more that we want to be where he wants us to be.

Emotional? Yes. But we are filled with the knowledge that while we do not know exactly where this road will take us, we know WHO is leading the way!

Preparrrrrrrrrring For Take-Off

It was my first "date". OK. Not a romantic one, but it was still a "date". I was a strapping young man of 45 pounds, decked out in my blue polyester pants and my blue and white checkerboard jacket. My mom arranged the "date" with a close friend of the family who had recently been divorced. I tried to be the complete gentleman, opening every door and standing to my feet whenever she would leave and return to whatever room we were in. I mustered up all of the charm that a seven year old boy could possibly have.

After dinner at a restaurant, we were off to the entertainment part of our evening. The opening of Disney's The Rescuers. One of my favorite scenes in that movie was when Orrville, the albatross, was trying to take off. Well, here, have a look...





An albatross, even though they can effortlessly fly for days and even weeks on end, has a terribly difficult time taking off. The funny thing about an albatross is that it will wait for hours for the right amount of wind to blow in order to get enough lift to break into flight. If there is little or no wind, these large birds may be land or sea-bound until the right breeze comes along. Walking, for an albatross, is cumbersome and slow - crawling along the ground. I had forgotten about this movie and this scene until last night.

Robin and I have been diligently seeking the Lord about expansion and increase regarding the marriage ministry to which God has called us. The ministry has been in existence since 2004 and, in our minds and from our viewpoint, it has never really left the ground. Much like an albatross without any wind. Sure, we are moving forward, but we are crawling. At least we are crawling after God.

In this scene of the movie, Orrville, basically attempts to run (we can relate to him well)and then throws himself off of the top of a building - the fall providing the speed and lift to achieve flight.

Maybe we have been running, trying to take-off for the last seven years and what we really need to do is throw ourselves off of the proverbial building. Maybe then, the wind of God's Spirit will lift us to fulfil His vision.

No matter what, our hope is in God. He has called us and he will bring about the reality of His vision and purpose.

"Have you never heard?
Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
29 He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
30 Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint."
Isa 40:28-31 NLT


How about you? Have you ever felt like Orrville? Have you been running after a vision that God has given you and it just has not materialized the way that you believed it would? I cannot tell you that you are supposed to jump out of your comfort zone and go "all-in", but that may be what God is waiting for.

There is one thing I take comfort in. Just as an albatross, once it becomes airborne, can fly for days and weeks at a time, God's vision, when we are faithful, will materialize as one that lasts.

It is funny how God has reminded me of this event in my life. Perhaps, even as a seven year-old, God was using me to help bind a broken heart.

The Highest Honor

Yesterday, our Son, Brandon, sent, via text, a picture of the handle of a plunger. Not just any plunger, mind you, but it's the plunger that is passed down every year to the current resident advisor (RA) for the dorm floor that our Son is living on.





What also lends personal value to this picture, for both Brandon and I, is the name of a close personal friend - a friend that I admire and respect, written on the handle.





So what's the big deal about a plunger, you ask? When we think about a plunger, our mind automatically goes to one of the dirtiest places in a house or building - the toilet. No one wants to do the task that requires the use of a plunger or, at least, one does such task reluctantly.





But the plunger in the possession of the RA on Brandon's floor represents far more. It represents servanthood. Being a servant often requires us to do things that we may not choose to do, given the choice. The menial, the mundane, the unheralded, the inconvenient and, sometimes, the disgusting are all parts of being a servant.





For a true disciple of Christ, being a servant is not an optional thing. Christ said it himself...

"If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."
Mark 9:35 NIV

What part of servanthood are you resisting because of what it requires? That plunger serves as a fitting reminder of what a servant is. According to Christ, it is the highest honor.

Tenacity

Yesterday, before leaving the office, I was startled to find a man walking down the hallway of the church building. After I extended a friendly greeting, he proceeded to invite me to his church. He gave me his pastor's phone number, directions to the church and another invite. He then asked about our affiliation and my role at the church. Soon after I responded, he encouraged me to come and try his church.

I must admit, I was a bit confused at either his reluctance to understand the situation or his misunderstanding of the same, but I couldn't help but admire his tenacity and his huge smile.

While I don't recommend going into another church to invite people to church, I wonder if, for no other reason than this man's willing effort, God smiled.

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes

I shifted the car into drive and pulled away from the parking space. I glanced in the mirror, one more time, catching a glimpse of him as he walked around the corner of a vine-covered residence hall.

It was a moment that we had been both anticipating and dreading at the same time. Our anticipation stemmed from our knowing that this was part of God's plan - a chapter in the story of our son's life.

Actually, the chapter, for us, started last week, when we left to take our son, Brandon to Minneapolis for the start of the fall semester while leaving our son, Justin to begin classes closer to home. Such is a part of life with twins, the scheduled bench-marks of their lives hit simultaneously leaving us feeling like we're wandering somewhere between good parenting and a no-win situation.

Robin and I drove the 800 miles to home feeling that mixed emotion - neither of us knowing how to put into words exactly what we were feeling. We are excited about the lives unfolding before our sons and at what God will do through them in the future.

Most parents who have experienced this time of life, probably would find our newly recognized maladaptation to the start of the empty nest syndrome, humorous. I've even questioned myself, wondering if our connection with the twins is somehow unhealthy. Unhealthy or not, this is a time of adjustment for us.

We are comforted by the words in Psalms 127:3-5

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord,
children a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.
Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate."

Robin and I watch as the first two parts of our heritage prepare to impact this world for the God that we have taught them to serve.

What?

I drove past a church sign yesterday. On it, were these words.

"In order to be loved, one must be lovable."

Immediately, my mind raced, trying to comprehend the meaning of the words and then reconcile those same words with the teachings of Christ.

I thought of a verse in Proverbs. When read in the King James translation, it reads...

"A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly:

and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."
Prov 18:24 KJV

It's possible that this verse served as the inspiration for the words on the sign. However, substituting the words friends and friendly with the words love and lovable, results in an entirely different meaning. A meaning that is sadly apparent throughout the church.

I look back into my own life. There were many times during which I was un-lovable. But God showed his love for me, not only through Christ's sacrifice, but through his people. They chose to love me, as I was.

Too often we, as the church send a message to the world saying, "We will love you if: you look like us, dress like us, act like us and smell like us." Nowhere is that attitude found in Christ's teaching. We may even feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give money to the poor and "allow" someone of lower status to attend "Our" church. But, do we love them? When you see someone who is lost and in despair, the addict, the homeless, the businessman who is working so hard at the expense of his wife and family or the neighbor next door, does your heart break for them? Are you moved by Christ's love for them?

Consider this...

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Rom 5:8 NIV

We, as humans, would not have been considered, by many, "lovable" when Christ gave his life for us in the greatest act of love ever. Who are we to declare someone as "un-lovable" when Christ, by example, loved them? It's happening in marriages, families, homes, churches , communities and the world. Love is often only being extended to the "lovable". It's easy to love the "lovable". But Christ placed the command on the believer to love.

What if we loved when our spouse, children, family, friends, classmates, co-workers and anyone else we may come in contact with are not acting "lovable"? What difference would we see manifesting in our lives?

Are you choosing to love today?

God's Big "NO's"

For the past several years, I have been "being schooled" on why God allows some to "have" more than others. I've come to two conclusions...

1. Sometimes our own laziness, procrastination and lack of discipline keep us from experiencing some of the things that we would like to enjoy and possess. So the question that I ask myself here is, when it comes right down to it and in light of my in-action, do I really want what I think I do?
2. God in his wisdom provides for our needs but sometimes, well, make that seldom, will he grant all of our desires. Perhaps, this is because he knows me so well.

I have come to a place in my life where I can say with the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:21

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

Not because I dislike my life, on the contrary, my wife, our children and my calling bring great joy to my life. However, these are nothing compared to what Christ has been preparing for me and you.

If I had riches, fame and much of what the world teaches us to value, I might not have that viewpoint - indeed, in the past, I didn't.

Today, I'm thankful to God for his "No's" in my life. He is faithful in wisdom, provision and love.

Wanted or Tolerated?

I recently attended a conference during which one of the speakers made the statement that he had always felt tolerated and not wanted. I winced as I felt the stab of that reality pierce the hearts of many individuals around me - their sentiment escaping in quiet audible groans.

Seriously? In a church-related gathering why should anybody have to feel this way? Perhaps we have become so wrapped up in going to church - a good and necessary activity, that we have failed to be the church - reaching out in authentic relationship.

"May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. "

1 Thess 3:12 NIV

The Apostle Paul's ministry was a success because of the relationships he formed with individuals and subsequently churches. Notice the example of his, and his companion's love for the church.

When you shake hands with someone this Sunday, make a connection with them. Go beyond a simple greeting on a single day of the week. Touch someones life - you may be the conduit of love and acceptance that they need. Plus, the life that you may be enriching may be your own.

What We Lack...

We have just returned home from a 2-day conference on the east coast that was probably one of the most rewarding conferences that we have ever experienced. God did some amazing things in the hearts and marriages of many couples.

It was also the most challenging, I was battling sickness, weakness and a couple of other things. It was the physically demanding conference that we have ever done.

BUT...

What I lacked in physical strength - God made up for with his powerful annointing!

God is good.

Blood On Our Hands

Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
John 3:6-7 NIV

Tomorrow is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. It is often the day when we reaffirm our views that all life is precious. We may even address the issue of abortion. While most of us believers will agree that abortion is an atrocity, I think that we fall short of the full realization of that fact.

How many of us have been to the altar or knelt alone in our homes and accepted Christ? In that instant, God's Holy Spirit conceived something in our hearts. The scriptures are marked full of references that are analogous to growing as it relates to a child growing from infancy to maturity. Just as a infant is conceived and begins to grow through birth, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and finally maturity, so do we as Christians.

However, how often do we starve, walk away from and outright attempt to kill what the Spirit has conceived in us. How many days has it been since we have been in God's Word, spent time talking to him and in fellowship with other believers? Without those aspects present in our lives, those things conceived by the Spirit within us will begin to die.

While Christ is able to keep us, he desires us to "want to be kept" and therefore does nothing to force us to remain in him. Far too often, if we are honest, our present reality might often sound like Isaiah's...

As a woman with child and about to give birth
writhes and cries out in her pain,
so were we in your presence, O LORD.
We were with child, we writhed in pain,
but we gave birth to wind.
We have not brought salvation to the earth;
we have not given birth to people of the world.
Isa 26:17-18 NIV

Let's believe and guard the Sanctity of all life - physical and spiritual. No more can we abort what the Spirit has conceived in all of our hearts.

The good news is that Christ stands ready to forgive, give us a fresh start and restore that which is dying or dead. It is up to us to stay close to Christ and his purposes for us. Doing so helps us keep our account short with God.

Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?

Who may stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false.
He will receive blessing from the Lord
and vindication from God his Savior.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, O God of Jacob.
Ps 24:3-6 NIV