The Darker Side...

A GREAT post by Tony Morgan...it's true of all people...not just pastors. Tony Morgan's page...

The Dark Side of Pastor Appreciation Month

I always blame Hallmark for the “holidays” that nobody ever heard of that suddenly pop up on the radar. I’m sure it’s just a vast right-wing conspiracy to sell more greeting cards.
“Pastor Appreciation Month” probably wasn’t a Hallmark invention, but it sometimes it feels a lot like Grandparents Day or Sweetest Day or many of those other invented holidays where the prospective gift-receiver is left wondering, “If people don’t recognize me, do they really love me?”
I appreciate pastors. I really do. Many of my best friends are pastors. My brother’s a pastor. I was a pastor. You don’t have to convince me that pastors have a challenging role with unique stresses and rewards.
Having worked with hundreds of pastors across the country, though, I know you. I know your tendencies. I know your vulnerabilities.
With that, here are some things to consider…

• You’re setting yourself up for disappointment if you are expecting appreciation. When we our surprised by someone’s kind word or gesture, it has a bigger impact. When it’s expected, you’ll never know if it’s genuine and it’s unlikely it’ll ever meet your expectations.
• You think you have a tough job, but there are people in your congregation that have tougher circumstances. You are not unique. If you ever get to a place where you think your circumstances are far more difficult than anyone else’s, that’s a sure sign that you need to see a counselor.
• You may be pushing people away who don’t have appreciation months. There are factory workers, administrative assistants, CEOs, food service workers, homemakers, insurance salespeople and many other professions that don’t get entire months to be appreciated. Don’t alienate the people you are trying to reach by expecting appreciation that they will never see.
• If your church appreciates you, I sure hope you’re effectively appreciating them. Remember, God designed honor to go both ways. What are your strategies and systems to make sure the people in your church are honored in the same way you feel honored every October?
• When we spotlight the role of the pastor, it downplays the role of God’s people doing the work of God.Lifting up the role of the pastor can be a dangerous thing if it deviates the church from embracing the priesthood of the believers. We need to be careful that we don’t embrace a practice that reinforces poor doctrine.

For all the pastors out there who are reading this, know that I do appreciate you. Thank you for doing what you do. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for your teaching. Thank you for helping hurting people. Thank you for loving people enough that you don’t want to leave them where they are.

It's Been a While

For a season I took my blog off line.  I wasn't sure I wanted to keep blogging, I wasn't keeping up with the page, and honestly, blogging is sort of a thing from the past.  I mean seriously?  Who is blogging these days? 

Over the last few days God has made a few things clearer in my life and one of them is that he wants me to expand my duties and increase my spiritual influence as a writer and speaker.  I'm not all that certain as to what that is going to look like, but for now, I'll bring the blog back to life and allow God to speak through me via this tool. I'm not sure how often I'll post, but I'll post more frequently than I have over the last year. 

God has take April and I through some incredible things and I'll begin sharing those very soon.

Stuff the Church has to Deal With...

Saw this post by Perry Noble and had to paste it...you can click on the title and read it on his blog or here :)

Four Problems The Church Has GOT To Deal With! April 19, 2012

#1 – We are answering questions that no one else is asking.

I’m glad that we can debate theology and know terms that make us seem intelligent and cause other people to scratch their heads; however, at the end of the day people are not asking about the five points of Calvinism, the trichotomy or dichotomy of the Spirit or the peccability/impeccability of Christ! They are asking “why is my life falling apart?” Or, “how do I get past the fact that I was sexually molested when I was eight?” Or, “how do I, as a single mom, lead and provide for my family?”

Too many people are so obsessed with their theological labels, I believe, so that they don’t actually have to do real ministry!

#2 – We call laziness “authenticity!”

The church is the bride of Christ–established by Him, purchased by Him and pursued by Him! We have the promises of God and have been empowered by HIS HOLY SPIRIT! We should be doing things BETTER than Apple, BETTER than Disney and BETTER than Google! There is WAY more at stake with what God has called us to! And “Spirit Filled” should not equal poorly planned, thrown together and poorly executed! And…no one should say, “I’m doing this for Jesus” and then follow it up with a half-hearted, piss poor effort. When it came to redeeming mankind Jesus did not search the back corners of heaven to find some under-challenged angel who had nothing to do…HE came, HE did it, HE paid for the sin of the world!!! HE GAVE HIS BEST…His followers should do the same!

#3 – We use “discipleship” as an excuse to not do evangelism.

I’ve heard too many churches say that they are not reaching people because they are too busy making disciples. A few things to consider here…

ONE – EVERY disciple in the Bible was an evangelist!!! There is not one example of one of the original disciples that formed some sort of holy huddle and gave the rest of the world the middle finger! It is IMPOSSIBLE to become a DISCIPLE if EVANGELISM isn’t a part of the process!

TWO – I have found that every time people in a church says something like what was mentioned above it is simply because they do not know anyone that is lost!!

#4 – We are becoming political and neglecting the prophetic.

Let me be very clear…Christians can and should have political opinions! (Have you ever noticed that those who criticize Christians for having a political opinion always seem to have their own political opinion?) We should vote (and if you don’t then keep your mouth shut when it comes to our country and how it is led!) We should pray for our leaders as the Scriptures clearly teach.

However, the churches main goal should be to declare the Gospel, NOT advance an agenda of a particular political party!!! We should declare God’s message, God’s Word, God’s truth and in God’s way (see John 13:34-35!) Churches than get in bed with politics always wake up the next morning to find their lover gone!!! We should NEVER use the platform God has given us for an agenda other than HIS!!!

Politics and the Church..Some Ramblings

I enjoy Facebook. I like being able to keep up with friends some close to me now and others I once enjoyed the company of on a more regular basis. One thing I am not looking forward to is the soon to be coming onslaught of political speak that is sure to increase with the upcoming Presidential election. I enjoy politics, I enjoy a healthy debate on issues, and I detest name calling and belittling over disagreements. I can say this much, there are good people on both sides of the political isle that I care very much about....with that in mind here are a few of my thoughts about politics and the church:

• My faith will NEVER be in any candidate or political party.
  
• Collectively the church, I believe, does itself a disservice by investing itself so heavily in the process during Presidential elections...these are just men (and women) as Benjamin Franklin once said "we are not demi-gods."
  
• Until hearts and minds are broken for the things of God, any victories it gets in the process are fleeting at best.
• Jesus did not come to the earth to score political victories.
  
• Will I vote? Yes, in fact, I just did in last weeks primaries...but I don't ever...ever want to get to the place where my faith, hope, and dreams rest in the hands of any politician or party.
• I will say I am praying for the country, but not for a candidate to win.
  

Sunday Mind Dump

What a nice day out there! Started out with a great church service, moved to lunch with my daughter, a two hour nap, and now the best weather in about 6 months....that is a Sunday right there! So let's dump:

• Finished up our series on parenting with a discussion about prodigals today.
  
• Couple things to keep in mind if you want to reach a prodigal: Get serious with your prayer life...some things to pray for: the right friends, pray they get caught when doing wrong, and pray god will do whatever it takes to get their attention.
• Learn to have unending patience! It's hard I know...
• Love unconditionally.
• Next week we are going to start a new series looking at some of the miracles Jesus performed and what that means to us....promise you're gonna like it!
• We can't meet at the Lighthouse on March 25th-so we are going to meet at the Greek Garden....just for that one day :)
• I am so excited about what God is going to do at 242 Church I can hardly contain myself! We are believing for some big big things!
• Next week we are going to do a new song hand picked by your's truly as the theme for the series! Hope it grows on you!
  

Sunday Mind Dump

What a great weekend! It was honestly off the charts good! So let's dump:

• Best Chili Cook Off ever! A great turn out...good food...and so funny!
• The highlight of the night was the comedian...Will McDaniel was very funny and the kids had a ball!
• Congrats to Tina Lamb! She had the chili with the most points and won the contest.
• The night was topped off with a lock in for the kids...Shout outs to John, Kelli, The Emily's, and JT for staying up all night with the kiddos!
• Message this morning on disciplining our kids. So important. A couple of things.
• Allow your kids to feel the consequences of their actions...it teaches them the concept of reaping and sowing.
• Never discipline you kids when you're angry...Ephesians reminds us "in your anger do not sin." As parents, it can be easy to cross the line if we are disciplining when we are angry.
• Next weekend we'll talk about how to reach our kids when all seems lost.

I am outta here!

Sunday Mind Dump

It's Sunday...that can only mean one thing...it's mind dump time! So, let's dump:

• John taught this morning on the subject of what our kids really need. He did a great job on it too!
• I am enjoying playing the drums every week. Still getting used to it though...I've always been a guitar player or a bass player and now...adding being a drummer into the mix is a tad weird...but, if it brings glory to God and helps build his church I am all over it!
• Next weekend is the Chili Cook Off....really excited about that...should be a hoot!
• Also...we are bringing in a comedian for the event! That will be fun !
• Better get back to my Sunday afternoon laying around time...I never get that any other day...not at anyone else does either :)