A Chat With One of the Greatest Generation

Yesterday, I went to Brantley County, Georgia and spent the entire day visiting all my kin- folks.  After visiting a few relatives, I went to see my Uncle Alvin Shuman and Aunt Elizabeth.  He's 88 and still cutting firewood and selling it!  He's about the toughest man I have ever known.  He's not that tall but a little bull.  His hands look like they are two inches thick and all rough and cracked.  He was kicked by a bull two years ago and it fractured his leg but as soon as the cast was off he was back growing a garden and cutting wood.  He said, "I feel as good as I did at 40!  You gotta keep going!"(I don't think he's ever been off that farm from his birth except to go fight the war.)

I have never been around him that much. Not sure why. Anyway, he came out and couldn't see very well so he said, "who is it?"  I told him L. A. Joiner and he laughed and said, "come on in boy!"  We chatted awhile and I said, "tell me about the war".  I knew he had been on a tank over there.  Most folks that I have talked to were there in combat 6-12 months.  Alvin was there and reenlisted and stayed 28 months.  He was a gunner on his tank.  He actually rode the tank ashore coming off an LST (Landing Ship Tank) at Normandy on D-Day!  I never knew that.  He fought all the way through the region including the Battle of the Bulge, considered the fiercest fighting of the war.  He sits and talks about details like it was yesterday.  He told me on one day in the "Bulge" he fired his machine gun over 3,000 rounds and melted down five barrels, which would become white hot! They would take it out under fire and put on another barrel. He said, "I was just trying to tear up somethin!" He said, “even today when I drive my truck down the road I suddenly feel like I'm back there firing that gun again!” He asked a VA doctor how long before it went away and the doctor said it will never go away.  You were just a boy when that happened and it is indelibly printed in your psyche. He has a German helmet, an SS Knife, Two pistols including a Luger that he brought back as spoils of war.  I was fascinated as I sat and listened.  He actually marched in the parade at the liberation of Paris.  

 Aunt Elizabeth said (right in front of him), "one person asked me one time how I lived with him?"  She said, "he's steel, you can't bend steel!" (They celebrated their 65^th anniversary last year.) I was sitting there wishing all my children were there.  Then she said, "the Brantley Co schools ask him to come speak to the kids every year and tell them about the war.  His first year he took all his “stuff” and the administration said, "you can't take guns and knives in there and you can't talk about drinking alcohol."  He said, "what you runnin' here, a cloister for Nuns!"  

Then he said, "I wasn't saved the whole time I was over there."  I said, "it's just the grace and mercy of God that you made it!"  He agreed.  He came home with ulcerative colitis. He was in torment with pain.  My Great Grandmother Brinkley was a Pentecostal.  She brought him an anointed prayer cloth.  While he wasn't accustomed to this sort of thing, he said, " I pinned it to my under shorts and wore it every day to work."He then said, "that's how I got healed!"

I wanted to share my experience with Uncle Alvin with you. He's just one of thousands who paid the same price and many more with their lives.  We owe these tough old warriors  our very lives and prosperity.  May we train our children and grand children to give honor where honor is due.

When Average Exceeds the Exceptional

Have you ever looked at someone and thought, "what a gifted person?"  We all have.  One of the problems that goes along with that thinking is an assumption that without the gift you could never accomplish what the gifted person could.  Many of the most successful people in history were normal people with a resoluteness and a focus that wouldn't stop.  It's really amazing what normal people can do if they won't stop. A prime example is Steve Jobs:  born to an unwed mother, he was fostered out.  He never finished college.  Armed with sheered determination and hard work, and the refusal to bow down to failure, he overcame obstacle after obstacle.  History is filled with just such people.  Often the really gifted people never live up to their potential.  One reason is that things seem to come so easily for them. They never develop a work ethic.  There are a host of extraordinarily gifted athletes who never made it to the top because they didn't have to work at it!  I work with preachers a lot.  In preaching we talk about the qualifications of great preachers.  There is certainly gifting.  You can't do anything about that.  Then there is the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  Yet there is another characteristic that is only determined by the dedication of the individual and that is hard work.  I'm not saying that hard work in itself can bring the anointing of the Holy Spirit yet I am saying that ongoing, never stopping  learning and applying what we learn to our craft is invaluable.  I have seen great and gifted preachers get surpassed by average preachers who never quit seeking God and learning how to better communicate.  

Regardless of your daily endeavor making yourself a continual learner and applying what you learn will put you ahead of most people.  Most people pursue a goal and get only good enough to meet the criteria to get by and then they quit.  You may make it on that philosophy but so many people, and especially in this rapidly changing world, are passed by.  Often the "exceptional are exceeded by the average." You may learn from a gifted person but if the gifted person doesn't build on their knowledge and skills they will be left behind and probably become obsolete.  Fifty years ago that wasn't a certainty but it is today.  You can even do it in your spiritual life.  The children of Israel had to gather fresh manna each day.  Yesterday's manna would get rotten and no longer produce life.  Let's press ourselves to a new and higher level.  Let's make our goal becoming all that God will allow us to be according to His will and our willingness to continue to pursue wisdom, enlightenment and understanding.  We all may have limits to our accomplishments based on gifting but let's not let our limitations be a lack of ongoing learning and application.  

Learning From the Moses/Joshua Transition

The period of leadership transition is one of the most dangerous times for any group or organization.  Even when everything is done right there are no guarantees for the future.  So many variables exists, from the future faithfulness of the new leader to the cooperation of those called to follow the new leadership, success is just not a given.  The world is watching that scenario play out right now with Apple and the death of Steve Jobs.  However, while there are no certainties, there are things from the successful transition of Moses to Joshua that we can learn.  

Most failures in transition seem to involve time.  In essence time is rushed.  It usually involves a lack of foresight.  You would think that any leader or leadership team would continually be looking faithfully into the future because it is the future into which we are called to lead.  Yet, most leaders only look into the future so long as it involves them and their part in the future.  It is difficult for leaders to see their group or organization going beyond them.  If a senior leader cannot see the success of their organization beyond them, they will leave the group ill prepared for the future.  The problem is that the thought of some future transition is painful.  Therefore, they bury their head in the sand and pretend the inevitable won't happen.  It always does in every endeavor.  Back to time.  Timing is rushed because the senior leader refuses to face the future transition until age, health or burnout forces the issue.  Then, far too late, transition must occur.  This process is then rushed and mistakes are made.  In a perfect world good leaders are selfless and are always building their organization to succeed without them and beyond them.  They are preparing others all along the way.

Moses trained Joshua for years.  It is difficult when you read the life and ministry of Moses not to see Joshua present.  At every turn Joshua was there serving and assisting Moses.  When you start reading in Joshua 1 the transition seems so flawless.  You might think that if you haven't read the life of Moses first.  There are so many examples in Scripture.  The reason it was easier for Joshua to face water to be crossed by a miracle of walking through on dry land is because he had seen it before. He had seen every aspect of leadership modeled before him and it was an invaluable asset.     

I have made the mistake in the past of keeping talented people landlocked in a particular job too long because they were doing such a good job.  If these people turn out to be your successor, you have damaged them and the group.  There are ways to allow people to function in a particular area of service while still involving them in the bigger picture.  This is critical for their expansion and the future of the group. 

If you are a senior leader, take time to lift your head above the fray and always be on the lookout for potential leaders and spend time preparing them by including them in the larger scheme of things.  The day will come when you will be glad you did!

Are New Beginnings Really Possible?

As a pastor I have seen many, many people through the years go through a true metamorphosis from the inside out.  It is the most fulfilling thing about the Christian ministry to me.  Oh, I have spent countless hours working with folks who attended meetings but didn't see much apparent change in character.  Their situations went from bad to worse and they created much pain and suffering for others along the way.  It can be very discouraging and even cause you to become cynical if your aren't careful and deliberate about your mission in life.  

What is the deciding factor regarding remarkable change or sad decline in the life of an individual.  Much of it has to do with a simple decision.  I have seen wealthy people who had the means to go to the finest rehabilitation centers continue the roller coaster ride never experiencing the change.  Others who were poor made radical changes that led to success and stable productive lives and became a blessing to others. Again, a true "never turn back" decision seemed to be the common element that decided between success or failure.  Christianity is not something that you try.  It requires a decision to radical change and a daily pursuit of Jesus.  It's not about emotion either.  I have seen weeping with puddles of tears at altars and the one crying leave with not a bit of changed behavior. I have seen others walk to the altar without emotion, embrace the Truth and never waiver from the life of a true disciple of Jesus.  

The decision is not the power that brings change.  The decision of the one in need is like a light switch that releases the supernatural power of heaven into the realm of daily life.  As you begin this new year of 2013 let it begin with a decision.  Not a decision to try harder but a decision to look to God as your source in every area of life. His power will flood in if you only flip that switch with a decision!  Happy New Beginnings!

Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary

Luke 1:26Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.28And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favoredone, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

29But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.31And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of Hisfather David. 33And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

             MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Courage to Self Evaluate

It is not healthy to live under a microscope.  I know, I've been a pastor almost 40 years!:)
As a young believer I needed so much change that I became a little obsessed with evaluating my life.  I truly wanted to please Jesus and I wanted to be "conformed" to His image.  That is a good thing for the most part.  However, it can also become morbid.  There is a kind of "overboard" self examination that can create a loss of joy and a subconscious feeling that you can change yourself through your own human effort.  It will also produce in us a judging of others who are not sizing up to our standards.

In our early formative Christian years, there is a lot of change that is necessary quickly and not hard to see our discern.  In almost every sermon or every time we open our Bible we are quickened to change or conform.  That is a good thing as well.  In our current culture in the world conformity is considered a bad thing.  Self expression is a good and conformity is too confining to our eclectic expression.  As we grow in our Christian walk we are closer to the image of Jesus and we are confronted with as much change as was once required.  However, to assume that our need for self evaluation and change is over would be a great mistake.  That assumption (pride) leads to an in-sensitization to the Scripture and the Holy Spirit.  I remember preaching a sermon once and a man came to me after the service and said softly, "my wife really needed to hear that sermon!"  

Don't allow self evaluating to immobilize you.  That's what is called, "the paralysis of analysis." Yet, remain humble and sensitive to the ongoing work of cleansing and maturing that comes from the Word of God and the living presence of the Holy Spirit.  We call that process sanctification.   

Are we making disciples or drive through christians?(Little "c" intended)

It has been said that converts are made quickly but disciples take time.  It is a great temptation though to concentrate on making converts.  We can count converts!  Counting our disciples can be belittling! Hmmm...I haven't used that word in a long time.  Another way to say belittling is "humbling". That means that making large numbers of converts can be exalting but making a smaller number of disciples is humbling!  Yet, Jesus said very clearly, Go and make disciples.  That would seem to indicate that most of our time and efforts should be spent teaching and training these student/disciples in the ways of Jesus.  Yet most training venues in churches today have disappeared.  Sunday School has disappeared and most of our efforts are focused on the Sunday Service.  There are some who are truly trying to disciple during the week those who attend the Sunday morning service and that is excellent.  Yet, way too many are letting the Sunday service be their primary ministry effort.  

If we simply let the Sunday morning service be our main attempt at discipling people we are creating a "drive through" church culture.  "Drive Through" christians don't really want to hear, they just want to "place an order".  They feel better after the service because they went but little has impacted them in a "life changing way".   We are called to be Life Changers!  Let's tweak where needed and maybe even reevaluate what we are doing all the way around.  One thing is for sure, for the most part, "it's broke so let's fix it!

Thanksgiving

Psalms 106:1(NKJV)  Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

Thanksgiving is a decision.  Like other dimensions of our Christian disciplines, thanksgiving is not necessarily an emotional response.  Certainly there are times while thinking upon the goodness of the Lord and his blessings toward us we feel thankful and great emotion swells within.  However, thanksgiving needs to grow into a discipline of the heart. 

Believers who respond to God when they perceive his goodness and mercy manifest a wonderful thing.  Thanksgiving given to God from an attitude of the heart on a daily basis is a sign of maturity.  Immaturity responds to what it senses within its own realm of understanding.  Maturity lives with a gratefulness that comes from a long time of seeing the faithfulness of God and understands that He is working on our behalf when we don't see it, when we don't understand it and even when we are tempted to think He is not!  Thankfulness as a daily faith posture is pleasing and honoring to our God. 

Join me this week as we make a decision to learn how to better live in an attitude of Thanksgiving. 

Maybe You Can!

I was talking with my 4 year old granddaughter Lucia.  She was telling me the things she liked to do.  Trying to expand her horizons I recommended tennis as a possibility.  She said, "No Papa I can't play tennis because I tried it and I couldn't hit the ball."  She made the mistake a lot of people make in life.  Because they failed at something once or maybe just made a bad showing they eliminated it as a possibility.  I explained to Lucia that as you grow you change in many ways.  One of the ways you will change is that you will get better at hand/eye coordination.  When that happens you might try tennis again and find that you are good at it!  She seemed to listen and file it away at least.  

As Believers we are constantly changing and maturing in our walk with the Lord.  Our increasing abilities aren't only spiritual.  As we mature spiritually it affects every area of our lives.  Our spirit man, the place where the Holy Spirit abides, is like the control room of our existence.  As our spirit man grows in the knowledge of God and as we allow the Holy Spirit to transform us in an ongoing way, we are stretched and expanded in natural abilities as well.  I'm not saying you can become a pro basketball player when you could never dribble a ball but I am saying you aren't the same today as you were yesterday.  Even your intellectual abilities are on the increase as the Holy Spirit is daily renewing your mind and moving you nearer the mind of Christ.  Just because you failed in an area in the past don't just assume that you will never be able to be proficient there.  

Husbands can become better husbands and fathers.  Bosses can become better bosses and employees can become better employees.  Sales people can reach new goals never attained before!  Don't allow your negative experiences and past failures to determine your identity and stop you from pursuing new ventures. Like Lucia, I'm hoping you will keep trying new things and reaching for higher goals!

God Is Bigger Than Your Faith

Part 2

In our last writing we looked at how the Lord often works beyond our methods to meet us at our place of need.  My wife Teresa often says, "while prayer is necessary, we need to be careful that faith in prayer above faith in the God of prayer doesn't occur." In the same way I have seen how studying methods of faith can result in faith in faith rather than faith in God.  Last week I told the story of how God reached past my weariness of trying to get healed and healed me in a place of cynicism!  How is that possible?  I had violated a number of learned faith methods and yet was still healed by God.  There is an interesting story of a man in John chapter 5 who had suffered physical illness for 38 years.  He was lying by the pool of Bethesda with the others who were wanting healing at the hand of an angel.  When Jesus approached this suffering soul He asked an interesting question: "Do you want to me made well?"  Certainly the answer to the question is a resounding, "YES"!  Yet, he didn't say yes.  What he said sounds a lot like whining or complaining.  He gave an excuse as to why he wasn't healed.  He didn't seem to have faith.  He didn't have his thinking right.  He didn't have his confession right.  Yet...yet...Jesus healed him!!!  Here is another very interesting thing about this story.  The place of healing was at a pool named Bethesda.  Bethesda is translated, "house of kindness".  It appears the kindness here is from man toward God.  Of course we know that God responds to our kindness with His Kindness.  

Now, what am I trying to get across in these two articles?  First let me say that, of course faith in God is something that grows in our lives and there are principles of faith that brings results of healing and blessing to us from God.  But if we aren't alert we can slip into performance driven faith.  We can begin to think, "if I do everything right according to a certain teaching, I will get my answer."  That attitude could become a hindrance to receiving from God because it is a kind of faith idol that is not necessarily motivated by "kindness toward God."  We can create a "house of Bethesda" in our own lives where we see, believe and respond to God from a foundation of kindness and mercy.

I guess as I write this that I am not really talking to people who are moving in a strong faith stance toward God.  I am speaking to those who don't feel you have it together and at times you don't feel like you have enough faith or knowledge or  discipline to get your answer.  Yet, you have a belief that God loves you and wants only His best for you.  You love God with all your heart but things haven't worked quite like you thought they would.  What do you do and where do you go next?  May I suggest that you quit trying so hard to "get healed".  God wants you to simply and kindly approach him.  It might be that all your struggling and activity has somehow hindered the very thing you need, wholeness.  

God Is Bigger Than Methods

Just about the time we think we have God figured out He will break out of our box and do it another way!   About a decade ago I was suffering from a heart condition that Doctors had said only bypass surgery would make better.  I struggled in faith doing all I knew to do to get healed.  Then, in time, I gave up on faith for my healing.  Of course, when you are a preacher who prays and believes for healing you can’t tell anyone that! Finally I went to Emory University hospital in Atlanta for one more heart catheterization.  Before I went I had preached in two different churches that week and two separate ladies spoke over me in prayer that I would not have surgery.   I smiled and thanked them but deep within I knew that I would have surgery.  I was so reconciled to having surgery that the night before I left for Atlanta I shaved my chest!  I had learned that the worst part of being hospitalized for a man was suffering with the tape on your chest!

Before the heart cath was performed my heart surgeon had said that according to the previous tests it appeared to him that I would need two or maybe three bypasses.  They prepped me to go straight from the lab to the operating room if bypass surgery was necessary. I remember the procedure and the apparent perplexity in the Doctors when they finally came and told me, “Your new results don’t match your old video film of your old test results.”  I was actually, I’m sorry to say, stunned!  I asked Teresa, “what does this mean?!”  She said, “it means that God has healed you!”  Wow!  God had healed me and I did nothing right according to my faith methods.  God had just healed me because it was in His plan to do so.

About a week later I was in a restaurant back home.  I walked by an old preacher who is now in heaven.  He asked about my heart visit to Emory.  I told him what had happened, and how I was amazed that God had done it outside of my faith sphere.  He said something that I will never forget.  His words were piercing and yet challenging to my doctrine.  He said, ”GOD IS BIGGER THAN YOUR FAITH!

Today you may be struggling with “trying to get fixed” in some way.  Maybe like the woman with the issue of blood, you have tried it all.  May I suggest that you quit struggling to get healed and simply lift your eyes to Jesus and his never ending, never judging mercy.  Just look to Him in your simplest and what may seem your weakest way and see how He responds to your childlike faith.

Peacemakers

A good friend of mine once said, "we are supposed to be bridge builders, but remember that bridges are walked on!" Often being peacemakers involves some abuse.  Yet, reconciliation is a part of our ministry as followers of Jesus.  He said to us in Matthew 5:9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."  It's just part of our job!

Serving as a pastor for most of my life I have sat with many confused people who, often after my counsel, went to be a peacemaker and left attacked and wounded. They limped back to my office to ask, "what happened?"  It didn't seem to work.  We need to understand our part in the peacemaking process. We can only do our part of extending the olive branch of peace and reconciliation.  We can't make forgiveness and a desire for reconciliation appear in the heart of the other person.  We can only do our part. The Bible tells us that if we have an offense against someone we must go to them and try to get it right. It also says that if we know that a person has an offense against us, once again it's on us to go to them.  We can only do our part out of obedience.  We like to think that obeying the Lord and going, and it's a very hard thing to do, guarantees that the other person will be gracious and appreciate our efforts.  Not always!  I remember going to one man once and humbly asking for forgiveness and expressing a desire to be reconciled.  He turned on me like a wild animal and I actually thought he was going to attack me physically.  He said, "stay away from me!" He went to his grave never changing. How did I live with it?  I learned that once I did my part I was free!  While he wasn't free, I was free because I had sincerely obeyed the Lord in the matter.  Here is a wonderful verse.  Rom. 12:18 "if it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men."  Did you get it!  "As much as depends on you..."God only requires us to obey His word and do our part. The outcome in the matter does not determine our outcome in life. 

All of this means that I have had to learn to live extending a lot of grace to people.  Forgiveness and dropping the charges are powerful and liberating activities. Where are you in all this today?  If you haven't chosen to forgive, do so now.  If you need to go to someone in a effort to bring peace and reconciliation, do so now.  If you have already gone to someone and they rejected your efforts, let it go and do so now!  Remember, the Lord only requires to live peaceably with all men, "as much as depends on you."

Spiritual Prayer

I remember how I used to struggle with the Apostle Paul's words in I Th. 5:17, "Pray without ceasing". What did that mean?  How could you get anything done if you prayed 24/7?  The phrase, "without ceasing" means "uninterrupted".  I have come to learn more and more about the abiding presence of God and spiritual prayer.  Spiritual prayer is a word I have coined to distinguish between soulish prayer and spiritual prayer. Paul also tells us that we can "pray in the Spirit and pray with our understanding". There is a definite distinction between the two.   That particular verse is speaking of prayer in the Spirit which is followed by an understanding of what we prayed in the Spirit earlier.  That interpretation is not necessarily instantaneous or even perceived as an interpretation.  It could be days later.  The fact that there is a distinction in prayer between the Holy Spirit praying through us (Rom. 8:26) and praying with our mind or soul is proof that the origin of prayer could be either us or God.  Many of our prayers that begin with us, regardless of how sincere we may be, are soulish  and self-centered.  Prayers that originate in the Spirit are pure and according to the will of God.  How then can we pray more from the Holy Spirit's inspiration and less from our own religious duty.  It has to do with maintaining an unbroken fellowship  or as we learned earlier, "uninterrupted" connection with God.  This level of communion is something we can learn and deepen as we practice a God awareness.  Obviously, we all have to work and function out in the workplace.  We can't come across as weird or super-spiritual or we work against our purpose of bringing Jesus to others.  There is a place of unbroken communication between your spirit and God's Spirit!  Even when you aren't aware, it's happening!  Often I will wake in the night our early morning and realize that Bible verses or songs are going on inside me.  I have experienced this many times.  It means that even though I'm asleep my spirit man is connected to God and involved in worship and prayer.  What is my purpose is this writing?  I want to encourage you to learn to live with a God  awareness or consciousness!  Your life is not all natural as the world around us.  The people that you know what are not followers of Jesus live in the two dimensions of body and soul.  We have the added dimension of a living spirit which has been quickened and living in a cohabitation with the Holy Spirit.  Enjoy your walk as one filled with the Holy Spirit!

Money and Spirituality

One of the first things I learned as a disciple of Jesus was about money.  Why would the Lord put that lesson near the top of my things to be learned?  I'm not totally sure but one thing I know, money was important to me.  As a matter of fact, a large part of my resistance to His call to ministry was because most preachers I knew didn't have any money.  Then those who did have money seemed to me to be unscrupulous in their dealing with the topic of money and wealth.  Unfortunately, I still see lot of that.
The way that the Lord dealt with me was in His Word.  He drilled me in Matthew chapter 6.  That chapter talks about our material needs and then Jesus tells us that we aren't to worry about them or even let them be a priority.  That was a tough one.  However, as a part of the Lordship of Christ, placing Jesus on the throne of our life above material possessions is a basic requirement.  It is not that God isn't aware of our needs.  As a matter of fact that is exactly what Matthew 6 is all about.  Our loving Heavenly Father knows us so intimately and loves us so deeply that He knows and provides those needs without worry or fretting.  The key is that this heavenly provision comes as we seek first the Kingdom of God.  The moment that we begin to struggle with our daily provision we weaken God's ability to get the provision to us.  God's ability?  Really? Yes.  The Scripture tells us that Jesus went back to his own home town and while he was working miracles everywhere He went, "He could do no mighty works there"!  Amazingly it says "he could do no mighty works there!"  Familiarity bred contempt.  Contempt is defined as, "the feeling that a person or things is beneath consideration." We can do that with God.  Jesus has declared to us that from his heart we are his "friends".  Yet, we need to be careful that that friendship/familiarity doesn't devalue his ability to work the supernatural in our lives.   We need to maintain the awe for God that says that at any moment He can break through the natural with the supernatural.  

You probably are in a place that you could use more money!  That's not a problem. The problem is our focus and allegiance.  Let's make sure that we are still committed to the Lordship of Jesus and His Kingdom above all other things.

Jesus Is Lord

As a new believer it seemed every message had as an emphasis, "Jesus is Lord".  Yes, I know that was 40 years ago!  Sure there was a lot of man centered stuff floating around as well but there was a strong theme regarding the Lordship of Jesus.  It was a pretty common thing in churches to see banners declaring that message.  We were discipled in the theology that all we did, owned or even thought was under His Lordship.  I don't hear much about the Lordship of Christ today.  I wonder why? Do the Christians of this day have a stronger connection to God than during that past era?  Is Lordship something that we have mastered?  I think not.  It must be that the message of the Lordship of Jesus doesn't fit into the current philosophy and theology.  

The message of the Lordship of Christ starts with a true supernatural conversion of the one being reached.  You see there cannot be Lordship without conversion. Lordship doesn't make room for an attitude that says, "just get them here, entertain them and over time they might just slowly change into a Christian".   Jesus didn't seem to be very good at that method.  Remember the conversation with Nicodemus?  Jesus cut right through the smoke and declared, "you must be born again".  Then Jesus drove the point even deeper when he said, if you aren't born again, "you cannot see the Kingdom of God"!  Amazing!
Then there was the conversation with the woman at the well.  He actually told here that he knew she was sleeping around and called her on it.  That wouldn't be too cool today in many circles.  Yet, Jesus was more interested in getting people to experience real conversion than he was in joining his club.  

Lordship starts with conversion and a part of that conversion is the death to old identities and appetites.  You see, when a person chooses the will of God above their desire, preferences and appetites then that is the fruit of Lordship.  When a person brings their tithe and offerings to the house of God rather than spending it on their own cravings then that is Lordship.  When a person says no to what the Scripture forbids although there may be a temptation to do it, that is Lordship.  Lordship is the message of the Church! Yet, when is the last time you heard a clear message challenging the Church to bow their knee to the Lordship of Jesus?  

It's time!  Yes, it's past time that we beat some the dust off of some old messages! Do you agree?

Establishing Your Authority

Joshua 3:7 And the Lord said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 

Before choosing this title, I hesitated a few minutes.  The reason for my pause was that I didn't want to give the impression that we should "try" to establish our own authority.  In the world, both in the military and commerce, we are trained how to establish authority in order to lead.  In the Kingdom of God the Lord establishes his leaders by his own hand.  Here the Lord speaks to Joshua and tells him that on this day He would exalt him in the eyes of the people as their leader.  Moses had been such a powerful and influential leader for so long that he was a hard act to follow.  Now it's time for his assistant to take the baton and lead Israel not only in a maintenance mode but to truly take them where Moses hadn't, into the Promised Land.
I think new leaders can miss this and this misunderstanding can cause them to fail.  The wrong thinking is that new leaders following previous leaders who have seen success should follow suit and just keep the ship afloat.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  A maintenance mode is a dying mode.  It's a slow dying mode and one that takes a long time to recognize but a dying mode none the less.  The very thought that says, "I'm here to keep the ship on course" is wrong thinking.  Certainly a new leader of a business or ministry should  be very careful with making too many changes in the beginning but the very fact that a transition was in God's plan is proof positive that change was needed, at least some adjustment.  Here is my major point this week:  your ability to lead your group into and through change is commensurate with your level of recognized authority.  In the case of Joshua the Lord was about to allow miracles in the middle of battles and conquest to establish him in the eyes of the people.  You may think you are a leader but unless the people you are leading see you in that way you are one crisis away from disaster.  It seems to be a patter in Scripture that God allows some crisis to arise shortly after a new leader takes office to display the new leader as one who can be trusted.  It is this confidence of God working through a leader that brings stability and peace among a people.  Therefore, don't hide in the maintenance mode.  Don't run from battles and much needed miracles.  It is in leading in conflict and crisis that you will be established as the leader needed for the hour.  However, remember, it is God who will establish you and not your own efforts.  Someone has said, "responsibility is our response and His ability."

A Good Memory

Remembering the past can be a bad thing as in the case of remembering our past sinful lives.  It can allow guilt  to control our present and even wreck our future.  This kind of sin consciousness makes our vision of our true identity in Christ blurred.  Those are the things we need to forget and allow the Holy Spirit to cleanse us from our connection to them.  Yet, remembering our deliverance from the bondages of the past is not a bad thing.  Israel often remembered the deliverance of God and celebrated the event.  At times I will reflect on my past and the deliverance the Lord has performed in me.  I am no longer connected to it or in bondage to it, but remembering my deliverance strengthens my faith for future needed victories.  Jesus actually used the phrase, "remember Lott's wife" in encouraging believers to press ahead in times of difficulty.  My wife Teresa tells of a particularly difficult day back in the early 1990's.  She was staring out the window and secretly missing a past day in another location that seemed pleasant compared to this one. She heard this soft voice say, "remember Lott's wife!"  It caused her to reject a double-minded faith and get focused again on a "now faith" in the will of God.  Remember your deliverance by the hand of our faithful God but forget your bondage that his deliverance ended.

Remembering deliverance also serves as a reminder not to go back again into bondages of the past.  Some would say, "our love for Jesus should be our motivation and not a negative memory".  While that sounds noble, we all still have the capacity to be tempted to return to past bondages and especially in moments of great trial.  I remember times when a fleeting thought would try to enter my mind about "the pleasures of sin" from the past.  Immediately I would be struck by remembering the power of the past bondage and how intense the battle for freedom had been.  That jolted me to have a fresh faith for now and to identify with my identity in Christ.  Let your memory serve to remind you of the loving power of God that has set you free from a past identity and established you firmly in your new identity in Christ!
Galatians 2:20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The Builders

"Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it."  Psalm 127:1
What a delicate balance between God doing a thing and our working along by his side in an effort.  From witnessing to an acquaintance about Jesus to building the local church, working with the Lord is a learned skill.  It is so easy to start off watching His hand like a trained hunting dog not moving until his master gives the command. Then as we mature in our gifts we begin to do more and more by our experience. That's not necessarily a bad thing "IF" we are still watching and listening to Jesus for his direction and approval of our efforts and the timing of our efforts.  It is just as wrong to do the right thing at the wrong time as doing the wrong thing.  Yet, the Lord doesn't want us to remain novices.  He is looking for mature and skilled workers in the work of the Kingdom.


When Jesus said, "I will build my church", He didn't mean he would do it all by himself.  Just as if a homeowner decides to build his own house he doesn't mean to imply that he will do all the work.  He means he will direct the work of the workers. The same is true of Jesus in the "building" of his church. He is looking for workers or "builders" that he can trust with following his blueprint.  As builders in the work of the house of the Lord we must regularly review our labor and redouble our efforts at building according to his plan and not our opinion or taste.  Once I hired a man and gave him specific instructions as to what I wanted done.  I left and was gone for a trip across the country.  When I returned the man I had hired said, "I think you will like what I did for you".  My thoughts were, "I'll be pleased if you did what I asked you to do before I left!"  He had not and I wasn't pleased.  He did what he thought was best rather than what I had asked him to do.  We must build with a heart to please our MASTER.  When we build with our hands active on the earth but our hearts firmly anchored in heaven, we can be assured we are building according to the pleasure of the Builder.

Revisiting an older blog:

Saving Private Ryan


I just finished watching "Saving Private Ryan" again for the "umteenth" time. My wife was out of town so I watched it alone. She was never really very fond of it. Yes, I think I cried more than ever while watching the now old man fall at the grave of the Captain who died saving the Private. Sixty years earlier, while watching this Captain die on the field of battle, Ryan had to endure hearing the last words of the dying officer say, "earn this". Today, few know the real cost of freedom or the blood that was shed securing it. It's a difficult thing to have to endure listening to someone, without a clue, speaking against the process of democracy. It's a delicate thing this democracy and not without it's problems. Yet, generation after generation, we have those arise who are the cynics of that day. Cynics are "fault finders". They don't have answers nor the courage to pay a price for change but they continue to spew forth the cheap words of protest. There are times when it would appear that each generation is going the way of the cynic. However, by the grace of God, when each generation faces it's hour of crisis and is confronted by it's own challenge of tyranny, the heros arise. From the cities to the farmlands they begin to march toward their own potential demise for the sake of the common good. Again and again they make decisions that often go against reason in order to seek to ensure that the next generation has the right to protest or to serve based upon their own internal motivation.


We have the same problem in the church world. So many see only the problems of the church and yes here too, we have those with all the answers but no stomach to work for the cure. Will we continue to see those arise, generation after generation who will hear the Call and sacrifice for the Mission? I know we will. I choose to believe that and not hear the cynics. When all is said and done and the voices of the nay sayers are silenced, I only want to know that my Lord will say to me, "well done thou good and faithful servant".

Older Blog revisited:

Revival Of The Minister

I can't remember a time when more ministers seemed to be under the gun. Many are very discouraged and some are reconsidering the ministry all together. Of course finances is always a major player in the scenario. Some are missing paychecks and churches and ministries are struggling to make ends meet. I have heard it preached that the world's economy and God's economy are two different things. That "preaches good" but they are connected and there is evidence in the Scripture as well. Of course God is a miracle working God and gives financial miracles beyond the world's economy. We have experienced that. However, in the day to day operation of things when the economy of a town is hit, the finances of the church is hit as well. There are churches of which I am aware that report their income is down by half of what it was just one year ago. People are scared. Even as I write this, the stock market closed today really, really low. No one has the answers to these problems, though some claim they do.

Where does all that leave us who are called to minister to society? What about ministers who are wanting to quit? What about those who are out of gas? What about ministers who have lost their vision or are simply confused? First, let me say this is a wonderful opportunity, maybe the best opportunity in a generation, to be "on the bridge, at the helm". It's a time to be giving clear leadership. It's a time to be preaching the Truth of the Gospel like never before. People need to be hearing a clear clarion call. They need to see and hear from leaders who are filled with passion and faith. What must we do to get there?

There are several things we must be doing in order to get off the "fantail" considering making a jump and get ourselves back on the bridge with our hand on the wheel. Let me list a few:

1. Consider the Call - Were you ever called by God to full time ministry? Crisis always shakes up the milk and the cream always rises back to the top. You can't defeat or stop the call. You can beat the call, you can persecute the call, you can discourage the call, but in the end, the Call of God is an overwhelming, unsinkable force within the man or woman of God. If you are called, take a moment and revisit your Call from God. Make a fresh commitment to that Call.

2. Die to your rights - We must move beyond feeling that we deserve better than we are getting. Nothing arouses the discipline of the Father quicker than a child complaining about the provision of the father. It is in the "taking up the cross daily and following Him" that the devil is denied his weapon of discouragement.

3. Choose Lordship over doctrine - Jesus is our Lord, doctrine is not our Lord. Jesus is clear and certain, doctrine can change, develop or even be flat wrong! God is not a compliant God. By that I mean, God will not be who we want him to be nor will he perform according to what our doctrine says he will do. His is in fact...God. If you find yourself discouraged because God hasn't performed according to your perception of Him you have two choices. You can either walk away or you can make a fresh commitment to His Lordship and ask Him to change you and your doctrine. The end result must be that whether we understand or not, we will be faithful and loyal to His Lordship. By the way, our "understanding" is just like doctrine. It may or may not be right.

4. Repent of complaining - The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 77:3 "I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah" Complaining only robs us of the energy of God and actually works against our situation and our healing. It's a time to watch our hearts and our lips. Let's be found encouraging those around us. We are leaders among God's people.

5. Guard the Sacred Trust - The Lord spoke to me recently and said to me, "be careful how you handle my Bride!" It put a new fear of God in me. His church is "His Church, His Bride" and not my Church. Some have acted as if the church was their own private business and have run it much the same way. This kind of presumption leads to all kinds of abuses. As Papa Ken Sumrall has taught us for many years, "beware of the gold, the girls (boys) and the glory." Presumption leads to abuse in all three deadly areas. If you get a leader that is hurting, disillusioned, mad at God and feeling he's not getting what he deserves, you have a recipe for disaster. He will fail in one of the big three. Let's remember, we are called to follow Him. We begin by following Him and when he returns, and He will return, we must be found still following him. No matter how anointed we may be nor how large a ministry we raise up, He will never follow us. As a matter of fact, "these signs will follow those who believe or who keep following Him".

5. Get Healed - It is time to get healed! We need you healed! The Kingdom needs you healed! Whatever it takes, get healed. If I can help, let me help. If you are close to another "healed brother", ask for help. Confess your condition. James tells us, "is any sick among you, let him call for the elders". You must confess your sickness in order to get healed. You cannot operate in the Gospel ministry which is a ministry of healing, without being healed. Of course, we are all in process but there has to be a basic level of health or else we will simply reproduce in our people our level of health or the lack thereof. Get real and get healed. Pharisees hide their sickness and pretend they are healed. Genuine, transparent disciples "confess their faults one to another, and pray for one another, and are healed." Pursue healing and health!

6. Reinvest your life in ministry - Don't invest your life in trivial pursuits. You and I have been called to a higher place. Remember how you felt when you first comprehended the call of God upon your life. Nothing else mattered to you. Money didn't matter, reputation didn't matter and success didn't matter. You simply wanted to please Jesus. Has that changed? Has the call changed? Has Jesus changed? After over 33 years of full time ministry I can tell you that we have been placed in the most important role in history. We are called to do what at times is a thankless task. At times we are punished for doing good and Godly things. We are not rewarded for our labors as the world often rewards. We can't look at what we do every afternoon with appreciation and pride because most of what we do is unseen and may remain that way eternally. Yet, no one holds the promise that we hold. For those who remain faithful until the end, we look forward to hearing those special words of the Creator of the Universe as he says to us, yes to you and me, "well done thou good and faithful servant".