The Faithfulness of God

Yesterday, after the service, I noticed a little white envelope on the chair next to my wife. It was colored on and decorated with either a marker or crayon.

I often get "gifts" from the kids in Children's Church so I quickly picked it up, anxious to see the drawing and blessing some child had felt led to give me.

After opening the envelope,  out slid a $100.00 bill. We were stunned. It came at a perfect time. Robin and I didn't know how we would pay our bills this week.

God used someone, perhaps someone and a child to show His faithfulness to us.

Trust God.  He is faithful.

My Brown Leather Jacket

I wore my brown leather jacket today. So what, you ask? I really like my brown leather jacket. Not because it is brown, not because it is leather and not because it is warm. Granted, I do like those things about the jacket; however, I really like the jacket because of a memory that is attached to it.

Robin and I were speaking at a marriage retreat during which the weather suddenly turned cold. Normally that would not have been a problem, except for the fact that I had forgotten to pack a jacket. During the retreat, we were going to spend the day as couples outside, going from place to place and enjoying the fellowship.

It soon became apparent to some of the couples that I didn't have a jacket and only a few minutes passed before a couple approached us and offered me one. "My husband brought an extra jacket, so it's no problem," the wife explained as she smiled. Her husband handed me the jacket and said, "This will keep you warm."


I wore the jacket all day. Actually, it was the first time I had ever wore genuine leather. I caught myself lifting one of the sleeves to my nose on several occasions throughout the day.

At the end of the day when it was time for each couple to go their separate ways, I took off the jacket and attempted to hand it back to it's gracious owner. "Nah, it's yours," the husband insisted. I began to protest but soon realized that any attempts to give back the jacket was futile.

The gift was so touching, that I smile every time I even see the jacket hanging in our closet. The gift was a sacrifice from someone who loved God, given to someone who had a need. Not only did I need a jacket that day, but the gift was needed as I had very few jackets in my wardrobe.

The writer of Hebrews reminds us of what pleases God.

 "And don't forget to do good and to share with those in need. 

These are the sacrifices that please God."

Hebrews 13:16 NLT

The gift of the jacket no doubt pleased God. Thank you God. Thank you Chuck.

Time to Fight

I hate getting sick, being sick and everything that comes with being sick. The aches, the pain, the fatigue  All of the symptoms of illness wear on you. I don't like it for me or for anyone that goes through it.

Of all the things that I dislike about being sick, the worst, for me, is losing my "Fight". We have an enemy who knows when the worst possible time for an illness in our bodies is. I'm convinced he waits until a physical illness has us down then he starts or resumes his crap in our lives, our families, those we love and our ministry.

It is amazing how easily he can still creep into our lives, especially when we are sick.

I have been down with respiratory problems for almost 2 weeks. Last night some people let us borrow a nebulizer and Robin gave me a breathing treatment right before bed.

Apparently, I've been oxygen deprived, because, after a great night of sleep, I awoke this morning angry.

How is that a good thing? Well, for starters, while ill I was looking at problems like they were too large, too intimidating and I felt hopeless. I felt that way because I was sick.

When I woke up this morning, the Spirit of God rose up inside of me and prompted me to evaluate everything that I had said and did for the last 2 weeks against the vision and calling God has given me.

I was mad! I was walking around my living room rebuking Satan in the name of Jesus, renouncing his authority over the areas of our lives and ministry that are experiencing trouble.

It felt good as hopelessness began to give way to fight again. That's who I am! I've never physically fought anyone in my life; however, I'm usually up for a spiritual battle, which is common for you and I as Christians.

"For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere."
(Ephesians 6:12-18 NLT)

In many ways I think I was asleep without my fight for a long time, much longer than I care to admit.

But I'm awake now and there is a battle to be won.

WHERE'S THE FIRE...Extinguisher?

I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. I was hoping for later. God has allowed me to pastor a great church, True North Church in Minerva, Ohio for a year now. Looking back over that year, I get excited as I remember services marked with a powerful presence of God's Holy Spirit,  powerful anointing and powerful change in hearts and lives.

In yesterday's service, I'm sure there was a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit, a powerful anointing and I'm praying that there was powerful change in hearts and lives. However, for whatever reason, God allowed me to go through the entire service feeling completely alone and totally unable to sense his presence, anointing and power. It was awful - for me.

I must admit, my desire was to get through the message and get off of the platform as quickly as I could. I felt nothing other than like the message was going down in flames. I sensed nothing and I wasn't about to try to manufacture something just so I could feel like we had a church service.

I have had similar experiences before, but seldom during a church service. Ironically, before the service, someone reminded me that our faith isn't, or, at least, shouldn't be based on what we feel or don't feel. Good thing, because yesterday, I had nothing - in the way of feelings.

No matter what you feel or your lack of feelings, know that your faith can still be strong.

A Friend's Dream

A friend of mine once had a dream in which he saw the Lord. In the dream, the Lord said, "Follow me," and started running. My friend said that he started running after Jesus but he could not keep up and he lost sight of the Lord in what he described as a fog. He ran for a while more and then just stopped. 

After what seemed like several hours the Lord returned and asked him, "What happened?" 

"I tried to keep up but I couldn't, I didn't know where You went," my friend explained.

Jesus, smiled and replied, "Yes, but you saw which direction I went, all I asked was for you to follow."

"I will never fail you. I will never abandon you."
Hebrews 13:5 NLT

Following no matter what I feel or don't.

Somewhere...

It's not that I'm lost or even feel lost. Quite the contrary, I'm excited at what God is doing in my life, my family and the ministry to which He has called me. Things are going surprisingly well in spite of me.

However, there is this dichotomy between the vision that God has given me and the resources for the vision.

I, being the hopeless visionary and daredevil who, often, at the sheer terror to others, trusts God enough to walk off of a cliff if He told me to do it, find myself in a new arena of ministry.

Recently, I've contemplated praying that God would shut down his impartation of the vision until there is even a minute resemblance of adequate provision.

I recently heard that the distance between expectation and reality is called frustration and similar quotes such as, "If God gives the vision, He will (I don't like using a contraction here) give the provision." Or. "If it's God's will, it's God's bill," can add to that distance.

Am I still a man of faith? Yes! But seeing the fruition of the vision requires a journey. And, that's where I am. Somewhere on the Journey...

Just Ask

Last night, I had the privilege of serving at a community food giveaway. Near the end of the evening, I was carrying boxes of food to people's cars for them. As I carried one gentleman's box to his car, we struck up a conversation and, immediately, the Holy Spirit prompted me to pray for him.

Sure, I could have prayed a vague and generic prayer, but I wanted to see God meet his need. I placed my hand on his shoulder and asked him what I could pray with him about. Instantly, his eyes welled up in tears as he shared his greatest need.

I prayed a prayer of faith with this man, asking God to specifically work in, through and around his need. It wasn't fancy, it wasn't a prayer full of eloquent words, but it was heartfelt and full of faith. When I finished praying, I gave him a hug and felt the love of God all over the both of us.

If you want to start a conversation that will engage people, ask about their need and then ask if you can pray for them in their need. Watch what God does in them and you.

The Higher the Climb - Confessions of an Introvert Pastor - Part 3

I am naive. There, I admitted it. I feel better, although, I don't really like the definition of the word, especially since it describes me at times.

naive - having or showing a lack of experience, judgment, or information; credulous: (Websters)

Just 8 months into my first lead pastorate, much of what I thought I knew, proved to be only partially correct. In college and in my associate roles, I was schooled on the basics of being a new pastor.

"Don't change things too fast."
"Work with established leadership."
"Believe the best in people."
"Be a part of the people"
"Lead from the middle."

These are just some of the things that I thought I knew or that I thought would serve me well. All of these hold some truth, but not all of these are the whole truth, all of the time and in every situation.

In the past 8 months, I have experienced some of the greatest joys of my life. I've watched as individuals gave their lives to Christ. I've watched as they take steps that are more and more like Christ everyday. I've celebrated God's provision and blessings. I've marveled at how God knits people together for His unique purposes. I've watched as person after person started "Getting It".  I've watched as this expression of Christ's Church grew. It seemed as if we were climbing higher everyday.

But, there has been something in the pit of my stomach since day one. As each new height was attained, I was acutely aware of that height and the speed at which we were attaining it. I remember telling myself, "This can't be real." "This shouldn't be happening this fast." "We don't have the foundations or structures in place to support this growth." That's what I was thinking. However, the whole time, I was speaking, "Praise God, look what He is doing."

A roller coaster's initial hill can only be as tall as the support system beneath it can handle. When a building is built quickly on a foundation that isn't ready to support it, the whole building collapses. When a church grows beyond that of the leadership structure, it collapses.

As a pastor, I read and hear leadership quotes and principals from books and during training conferences all the time. However, until I became a lead pastor, I shrugged off most of those as being arrogant and self-centered. During the last few months, my thinking on the matter of leadership has changed. I've often pondered the reason why so many churches grow and decline, numerically and spiritually, over and over again. Knowing what I know now, I can say with near absolute certainty, the reason for this sickening roller coaster ride is leadership structure.

My error has been in moving too slow in developing leaders so as not to offend people. When the situation called for strong leadership, I opted, at times, for a more passive approach to protect individuals and avoid confrontation. I wonder now if God was offended. I was naive in thinking that we would continue climbing as a church, if I didn't exert much of my authority as a pastor.

I've ridden several roller coasters in my life. I don't like them. I'm often told that going down the hill is what makes a coaster fun. However, in our churches, the track ends when we stop climbing - we stop discipling, we stop establishing leadership and delegating responsibilities and begin descending. When a church starts to descend, people are thrown in every direction as individuals as well as entire families take offense, over step Biblical boundaries and ministries collapse.

John Maxwell has stated that, "Everything rises and falls with leadership." While I still struggle a bit with the word "Everything", I am closer to accepting the truth of that statement than I have ever been before.

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Roman Church said this.

4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.

 

Romans 12:4-8 NLT

I recently heard a pastor at a conference speak on leadership. He said that, "Whenever we are influencing people, we are leading." So the question is, will God consider me a good leader or a bad leader?

I still do not like roller coasters, but I am loving the people on this ride called being a pastor.

Less naive, leading God's people and climbing higher with my eyes on Christ.