I’m Just a Guy



I forget how we pastors/elders can be perceived by our church members. I remember when I was a teenager and thinking how my pastor was just a great guy who can leap over a building in a single jump. When I was first called in the ministry, I could not see myself being like Lynn. I had no idea who Lynn truly was until he allowed me into the inter sanctum where he allowed the men or young men to enter as he mentored us. It was eyes opening to see he was just a guy like every other guy.

I’m very transparent when I teach and preach so I just assume people see me as just another guy who loves the Lord; no better than they and no worse. Well I had a wake up call Sunday morning in the men’s Bible group. I have always tried to just be who I am around the people God has me to lead so they will not see me as something I’m not. In the men’s group, I was using something that happened to Teresa and me last week and Sam (one of the guys) was just surprised that I was a just like him in how I reacted. Here’s the story;

Last Tuesday evening was the last night of the parenting class Teresa and I took regarding the arrival of our baby. The class was totally geared toward the women (no surprise there and it should be) so us guys were completely bored out of our heads; at least I was. Tuesday was the tour of the birthing unit at Maryview Hospital and a Q and A time with some doctors. The class was to last until 8 pm but it went to 8:45pm. By 8:30pm I was not happy because of the length of this boring session, and my face and body language showed it. The topic of flu shots came up and Teresa called me out in front of everyone about getting one. I’ve never had one because I heard if you get one you could get the flu the first year and I’ve never had the flu. Teresa and I have an agreement to not talk bad about one another to others and not to embarrass one another in public. With her calling me out, she embarrassed me big time. I could tell by my voice I was not happy and the hot feeling on my forehead, I was red. As calmly as I could, I told Teresa and the group of strangers that I was planning on getting one this year because of the baby. The Pediatrician told me in front of everyone that it was time for me to live for Teresa and the baby and not just for me. This was a “Oh no you didn’t” moment. If looks could kill, the man would be dead and if he was close to me at the time, he would have a black eye. My thought at the time was, “Dude (yes I say dude), you don’t know me so don’t assume anything on me. I live my life for others and try to always but me last (don’t always succeed). If you were closer to me, I would snap that toothpick neck of yours.”

That’s what I thought and that’s what I shared with the group. I guess my men thought I couldn’t react that way. I’m not proud of my reaction to Tuesday’s event, but that was my reaction. As a man of God, I try very hard to stay focused on my walk with God and grow in Him. I’ve come a long way but I still have a ways to go. As do all other pastors, elders, evangelists, and Bible teachers. We are not perfect and on this side of heaven we will never be perfect but we are working on it. Just see you pastor as a guy, no better; no worse than you.

Missing Piece of the Puzzle



I heard this morning on the new that Patrick Swayze, the actor who danced in "Dirty Dancing" and was in "Ghost," died Monday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57. I can’t help but remember an interview he gave back in his height of popularity where he shared his journey of seeking for peace. He mentioned many different philosophies ranging of Buddhism to the ancient worship of the Roman/Greek gods and goddesses. He was just looking for inner peace. The first thing I thought of when I heard this sad news is that he now knows what is on the other side of the veil of death and unless he came to Jesus, he is not happy.

Because of the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden, we all come to this world incomplete. We are like puzzles with a missing pieces so the picture isn’t finished. The missing piece is designed to fit in the space just right to complete the puzzle; no other puzzle piece will do. Because of the fall of man from God’s grace, we all have a God shaped hole in our hearts that only He can fill. No religion; no amount of money, fame, sex, or drugs will fill it; no exercise or works will fill it. We can’t fill this hole ourselves; only God can do it.

Because of the love God has for us, He made a way for us to be complete in Him. God executed his plan 2,000 years ago by putting Himself in a human body and paid the sin debt the sin of Adam and Eve created. Because of what Jesus Christ did on the cross, mankind has a way to have the inner peace and completeness. It is only through Jesus Christ true peace can be found.

Christianity is not a religion; Christianity is a relationship with Jesus Christ our Redeemer.

God always seems to make me stop and go "Wow!" I was killing time on FaceBook and came across a group called PHCC Men's Fellowship. I clicked on it and it's the men's ministry of the church I worked with before coming to Common Ground. Back in 2002, I felt God telling me that Point Harbor Comm. Church needed something for the men. I started a monthly men's breakfast which morphed into doing golfing outings, men's retreats, and trips to Promise Keeper's Conf. God allowed me to see that this ministry is going strong without me. I handed this ministry off back in 2005 to 2 men who God has used to carry it further. When God is in a ministry, it will last long after we are gone. Our God is awesome!

Finishing My Course



I read today in Acts 20, Paul talking with the elders in Ephesus as he made his way to Jerusalem. Verse 24 popped out at me;

“But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”

I love how down to Earth Paul is in the Book of Acts. He did not put on airs in his daily actions. Paul knew who he was in Christ. I think that if he was asked who he was, Paul would reply that he was a redeemed murderer. On the way to Damascus, Paul had an encounter with the living God. This encounter left him changed forever. This encounter left him with a purpose; he was given a course in which he intended to run with all his strength.

The day God draws us to Himself and redeems us from our sins, we are given a purpose. Our purpose is to bring Him glory. The day He saves us, our course is set in motion. Each of us [Christians] has a course God wants us to complete. It’s not us completing this course; it’s God who has already completed it (see Ephesians 1).

My course is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to equip the saints to good works. A new addition has been added to my course and that’s to show baby Ripley that God loves her and died for her so she can live forever. She has not been born yet but I whisper to her in her mommy’s stomach that God loves her and Jesus loves her. My course is to point others to the redeeming power of God’s love.

Paul writes to Timothy (just before his death) that he had finished his course. He had no regrets on how he lived his life for God. My desire, when my time on Earth ends, is that I can say the same thing. I want to finish my course strong and as long as I keep my eyes on the One who saved me and do His work, I will finish my course strong.

Is Cursing Ever Called For?



I have always felt that using curse words shows a lack of vocabulary. I work on not using colorful words because what’s the use for them. I especially think that a Christian shouldn’t use curse words because we are to be representatives of God on Earth. How do using curse words honor God anyway?
I’ve heard some preaches curse in the pulpit for shock value. I say, “Why?” to that train of thought. There is a pastor in Washington State that cursed all the time in his sermons until he heard that Don Miller in his book, “Blue Like Jazz” referred to him as the cursing preaching. He’s working on not cursing and doesn’t curse in his sermons anymore.
Using words that build up and not tear down should be a Christian’s goal. Using curse words doesn’t build anyone up; on the contrary, it tends to destroy. This is just my opinion.

Where’s The Hymnals?



Last week, Teresa’s sister came to visit us for a week. I enjoy Beth because we are very similar in some ways. Beth loves old buildings and stain glass so we took her to look around our church. Common Ground Community Church meets in an older building. The sanctuary was built in the early 1900’s and the back building was added in the 1950’s. The sanctuary has stain glass windows so Beth wanted to take pictures. We walked in and Beth started taking photo after photo of the windows and the sanctuary’s cathedral ceiling. Everything else in this room has been updated; the pews were removed and padded chairs are what we us and we use multi-media so there is no need for hymnals. After taking her photos, Beth looked at the rows of chairs and asked, “Where’s all the hymnal books?” I pointed to the multi-media screen and back at the computer beside the sound board and told her we put the words to the songs on the screen each Sunday. Her reaction was surprising to me; she said, “You have to have hymnals? It’s not church unless you use hymnals.”

The reason I was surprised by Beth’s reaction is that Beth does not go to church. She became Catholic 13 years ago to marry her ex-husband but hasn’t gone to a Catholic church since their wedding. Beth’s background is not one of church attending so her thinking you should have hymnals surprised me. This event has played over and over in my head since then because it makes me remember the first time I was involve dealing with multi-media in a church’s worship service.

I remember way back in the spring 1998 when Fellowship Baptist Church first went the way of using multi-media. The then pastor had always been big on technology so I was not surprised he wanted to go this route. We had just had a fire in the church’s offices so we had the insurance money to invest in this newer tech. We didn’t have enough money for a multi-media projector (way too much money for one back then) so we bought two 36 inch TVs. One of our members built two platforms to put these two huge things on; it took 4 men to haul each TV on the platform. We ran cables from the front to the back of the sanctuary where a new computer sat. I had a crash course on presentation software (not the easy MS PowerPoint but the harder to use Coral version).

The pastor was happy and so were the associate pastor that we had this new tech until the Director of Music found out about it. He hated it because it took away from him (his words; not mind) and that hymnals are the only way to sing songs to God. The man was a graduate of Bob Jones University (a legalistic College). The man refused to even acknowledge the existence of the TVs so either I or Randy (Assoc Pastor) had to make up music slides. The pastor struggled with the Director of Music over this until one day the Director of Music resigned (the resignation was over something else; not due to the multi-media so I think). I think the pastor knew I was learning how to read music (I had a course in college on how to lead music but our church’s piano player offered to teach me to read the music) so he asked me to lead the choir the first Sunday evening and then he told me I was the new Director of Music. My stint as Director of Music was many things and the highest was learning the ins and outs of how to use multi-media in worshiping our God.
Hymnals are tools like the multi-media slides and projectors are tools. Both can be used to enhance the worship experience.