Happy New Year!

I want to take time to wish all of you a very Happy New Year!

I'm hoping that this coming year will be the best one that we've ever experience while walking with the Lord Jesus. I hope that this blog will be an encouragement to you during the coming year.

Feel free to invite someone to take part in the community.

If you want to extend your greetings to everyone, feel free to use the comments.

Excited or Steady?

Excited about Jesus or Steady in Your Walk...which is better?

Those of you who know me well understand that I have a personality which demands that I must always be involved in something new and exciting. I want to be challenged with some fresh idea or with some concept or action that demands my attention. Within days or a few short weeks, I am ready to move on to something different.

Some of my friends are not built that way at all. They don't like change. In fact, they hate change. They want life to be slow and predictable. They love to know what they are going to be doing next week, next month, next year, and next life.

I can see the pitfalls of my personality. Now that I'm rapidly approaching sixty years of age, there is less and less about Christianity or church work that I haven't heard before. I've tried a lot of methods, and have been excited about a few of them. I still love Jesus...I love His ideas and radical lifestyle...but, right now, I'm not too excited about it. I'm stuck in the mundane. And I don't wear it well.

But, this could be the right time for being steady. It could be the right time to walk things out. It could be the time to learn how to put those concepts into practice. It could build that dreaded thing called character.

Could be. What do you think?

It's Been A While...

All right then, I get the message! It's time to write again.

To be honest with all of you, I was kind of wondering if this blog was a very good idea or not. I was really looking for the kind of community that I had in the original blog and wasn't seeing it. So, I thought that maybe it was a waste of time.

But...

In the last couple of days, I've had people ask me about the blog and why I hadn't been posting anything. So, I get it. I'll start writing again.

But in the mean time, remember this: I'm looking for your input. I really want to know what you think, even if it means commenting that you read the post and want to think about the idea for a couple of days. That helps me to know that you're following the blog. By the way, you can subscribe to the post and be notified when there's a new post. Then you don't have to remember to check every day.

I hope that 2009 will be the best year ever for all of you. So, thanks for the encouragement and start looking for regular posts.

Connecting Through Music

I'm doing some thinking and I could really use the community's help. To be honest, I think that I'm stuck in some really old thinking. My idea of "proper" praise and worship comes from experiences that are now sixteen or seventeen years old. When I think of praise, I think of exuberant dancing before the Lord. When I think of worship, I think of being laid out before the Lord with tears streaming down my face. As a result of my understanding, I have placed expectations on how I think others should respond or connect with God through music. Expectations can be the breeding ground of miracles OR they can be the cause of judgment and disappointment because what I am looking for in others is unrealistic or the results of a misunderstanding.

So, here is what I need from you: What is it in music that helps you connect with God? Is it a connection with emotion? Is it that the lyrics speak to an experience that you are living? Does music allow you to bypass your intellect and release your soul?

When that connection comes (if it does come), what is your natural physical response? Do you want to sit down and be quiet? Do you want to dance?

Does just listening to the music feel like a participation to you? If the musician connects with God in some way, is that good enough for you or do you need to make a connection on your own?

Wow, what a bunch of questions! Please help. So...what do you think?

Waiting on the Lord

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not faint.

Have you ever been in times when you had to wait upon the Lord? and you would prefer not to?

There are several things in my world that need to be fixed...changed...set right. And in my mind, there are things that I could do to put those changes in motion.

But it would just be me. Not the Lord. At least, I haven't heard from Him yet.

So, I will wait on the Lord...for a while...as long as I can.

And I will believe that He who promised is also able to perform it.

How about you? Ever been in this place?

The Desires of Your Heart

Psalm 37:4 says "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."

I know that this is a dangerous verse for some as it seems to give us permission to be fleshly and just to want the things of this world for pleasure and excess. I understand that this verse has been used and abused by many people who don't have a desire for the things of God.

But can I say that I truly believe this verse?

I have wanted a baby grand piano since I was six years old. My first piano teacher had one in a little den where she gave her lessons. Every week, I would slide in behind that piano and receive my lesson. I loved that piano with its hard action and big tone. I made Karla promise when we got married that she would buy me one before I turned sixty.

You see, I pray when I play the piano. I sing and talk to God. It's better than any other time with the Lord.

And now, I have one.

God has granted me the desires of my heart. And I will use it to talk with Him and to worship Him.

God is great! What do you think?

Ministry or not?

The Lord really has a funny way of getting my attention.

In the last 14 hours, 7 of which I was asleep, I have had two people ask me whether or not I had heard from God about having a time of ministry.

Now, for those of you who may not understand the term, ministry is a time when people come forward in a church service and have hands placed on them during a time of prayer. Sometimes, the power of God comes on those prayed for and they manifest signs of God's power. They might fall down; they might speak in tongues; they might receive a word of prophecy; or, they might just receive prayer and go back to their seats. One never knows what might happen.

To be honest, I go back and forth on times of ministry. I know from my own experience that these times can be helpful. These times can increase faith. They can remind me that God is much bigger than me. They can get me excited again about the supernatural elements of my walk with the Lord.

But, they can also soon reduce my personal emphasis on study and personal prayer. I can get to the place where I'm not working on my character and over-time growth, while looking for the quick fix through a "touch from the Lord."

Help me out. What does personal ministry do (or not do) for you? What do you think?

An Outpost of the Kingdom

In my travels around the world, I have been able to see a few embassies of the United States of America. I have talked with personnel at the American Embassy in Paris in hopes that Dhimitry and Muriel could get a visa to come to the USA. This past summer, we drove past the American Embassy in Kinshasa, DRC, and our group was warned when Bill Lewis started to take a photo that this would be unacceptable. When traveling abroad, it's always a good idea to have a copy of your U.S. passport, and to have a good idea where the nearest American Embassy is located.

In 2 Corinthians 5:20, we are told that we are Christ's ambassadors, and that God is making his appeal to the world through us. Therefore, where we live, work, and exist should all be recognized in this world as an Embassy of the Kingdom of God. Where I am, there should be no sickness, no death, no separation, no effective use of the laws of this world. Why not? Because I am an ambassador of God's Kingdom, and I am exempt from the laws of the country in which I am planted.

This is radical thought. It is a really big thought. But I think that it is true, nonetheless.

Tell me...what do you think?

Why Is Attendance So Important?

Well...another Sunday has come and gone, and I'm left thinking about yesterday's worship services. The people seemed to be happy, the music was good, a brother from out-of-state spoke, and two little girls were baptized into Jesus. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

But I'm not happy.

I could worry myself sick...to be absolutely honest with you. Why? Because the attendance was horrible. There were only 109 in the morning services.

On the one hand, something tells me that the emphasis on attendance is overblown. Something tells me that it has to do with our inbred desire for something tangible to tell us that we're successful. We want to believe that what we're doing matters, and that we're good at what we do. I understand that we're not supposed to use the world's standards to judge our effectiveness or worth.

But on the other hand, each number in the attendance total represents a real person. And who really knows what's going on with that person? They could be fine...just enjoying a weekend away with family or friends. They might be on vacation. But they just might be struggling with their faith. They might be sick in their body. They might be sitting at home in the dark wondering if anyone really cares.

So, maybe church attendance matters. Maybe it doesn't. I have friends on both sides of the issue, but tell me...please...what do you think?

Heaven or Earth?

What will heaven be like? I don't think about heaven much because I'm too wrapped up with the things down here on earth. But Paul says that we are to "set our hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." We are not only to set our hearts, but also our minds on the things that exist where Jesus rules. So I guess I should take some time to reflect on this subject.

So, I guess that in heaven there is no death, no separation from people we love. In heaven, there is no sickness that could lead to disability or death. In heaven, there are no tears that result from disappointment. In heaven, there is no poverty, lack, or hunger. In heaven, there is no division or schism. Maybe best of all, there is no sin in heaven.

What's so important about all of this? Jesus taught his disciples to pray this prayer: "Let your kingdom come! Let your will be done on the earth-just like it is done in heaven."

This is my utmost dream. Heaven on earth! Literally. Really. Vraiment!

What do you think?

How free should church members be?

In a discussion I had last night, the subject came up again about what should happen when people want to leave a church. To be honest, it's not a subject that I'm very good at. In the 24+ years that I have been the pastor at Christ Fellowship, I would imagine that I am not overstating the case when I say that over one thousand people have left my church of 150 people.

Here's how I see the problem: People have free will. If God doesn't force me to be saved or even to do His will, how can I compel people to stay in a congregation when they don't want to? People are going to do what they are going to do.

But the other side of the coin is this: Many people leave churches because of things that are correctable. They have hurt feelings; they feel left out; they misunderstood something the leadership said or did; or, they just were never welcomed into the church family. It seems to me that in these cases, much more should be done to show the love of Jesus then to simply say "they are adults and they can do what they want."

So, tell me. What do you think? How free should church members be?

Well...I'm back. I started blogging in 2002 or 2003 and blogged everyday for three years. At first, the community was amazing, gave me genuine hope for a new kind of church, and the conversation really enriched my life. I admit that it was messy at times, but I still believe that it was helpful for me and a few friends to be able to talk about things that were important to us and to our faith.

I think that it's time to start again. This time, we'll try to ramp it up a bit slower. I'm going to invite just a few friends to join the conversation. Then, I'll ask those friends to invite a couple more people they think might be interested, and we'll just see where it goes.

So, if you're game...obviously, so am I.

Here's to the new adventure.