Glory Ahead

This past week many of our Washington Free Methodist Church family spent time at Wabash Park Camp at our annual Family Camp. Several days were spent in relaxation, recreation, and revival. Many of the children, teens, and adults participated in activities. Families, friends, and churches gathered for a time of food and fellowship. Several hundred shared in Bible studies and worship services.

Yet, it was often the little instances - the in-between occurrences - that caught my eye and stirred my heart. Sunday night I witnessed the teens leading the way to the altar in the midst of powerful worship. Monday evening, as I walked into the Pavilion prior to the evening service, I watched dozens of teens walking up and down rows of chairs, touching and praying over each seat and for the individual that would fill that seat. Tuesday afternoon I saw two small boys - friends - one teaching the other to ride a bike. Tuesday evening I watched the teens passionately worship in the front rows of the pavilion as the small children collected the offering. And Wednesday I walked upon a group of teens spontaneously sharing their testimonies with a group of children in the middle of a softball field. God was truly moving this past week.

And, as I considered each of these occurrences, one thought flooded my mind throughout the week. God has a great work to do - in our lives, in the lives of our children and teens, and in the life of our church. Perhaps this thought came from our Superintendent John Lanes' Tuesday morning teaching when he said "we are looking for folks who have not given up". 

I have made no secret of the fact that one of my top priority right now is to see our youth and children's ministries grow and flourish. You see, I have not given up. I pray that you have not given up either. And I pray that you will join me in this journey of reaching the next generation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Further, I pray that we will allow the next generation to lead us as God equips and calls them to. 

We cannot give up. God has a great work to do in us and through us. You see, the "glory days" of the Washington Free Methodist Church are not behind us. As we witness and serve as The Church we know that God has glorious - miraculous - days ahead. 

Another comment from Superintendent Lane struck me this past week. "When we talk about the 'glory days' our children and our teens feel like they are showing up to Thanksgiving dinner late and everyone else has already eaten. Perhaps they're thinking; 'What about us? What is still left?'." 

We cannot give up. God has glorious days ahead!

Haggai 2:3-7; ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty.

We cannot give up. God has glorious days ahead!

A Walk Through ISU

This afternoon I had some extra time in my schedule. This is not typical! My wife and kids are away and I found myself in Terre Haute with two hours to spend. What was I to do? I did not want to waste this time. As I drove through town the idea struck me; "head toward campus". The Indiana State University campus is where both my wife and I went to college.

As I continued through town, headed north, the rain was coming down quite hard. My thought was that I would drive through campus and reminisce about the years spent there. But as I arrived on campus the rain had diminished and the clouds were clearing off. Perhaps I would have a few minutes before the storm continued. I parked and jumped out of the car. 

I ended up spending more than an hour walking through campus, walking more than three and a half miles. As I walked through campus i was reminded of many ways God blessed me in the three short years that I attended college at ISU. 

Indiana State University is not only where my wife and I attended college and received our degrees. The campus is also where we met, where we fell in love, and where I proposed to her. Likewise, it was during my time at ISU that I truly experienced Christ's transformational power in my life and discovered what it meant to live a Christian life. Through Fellowship of Collegiate Christians, I began to lead a campus ministry - skills that I still use today in striving to lead a local church. 

As I returned to the car, I said "thank you Jesus, for leading me to campus today". And, as I climbed in and shut the door, the rain began. A downpour had stopped for over an hour as I walked through campus and reminisced, now it had returned. 

So now I say, thank you Jesus, for blessing me with his widow of amazing weather. God is good!

What If Your Purpose...

 

What is the purpose of your life?

Most hope, dream, pray that their life will impact many people.

At times I have listened to and watched well-known preachers, and pastors of mega-churches and thought; "what would it be like to be in such a place of influence. Challenging? Stressful? Perhaps.

Yesterday I stumbled upon another pastor's blog. I have never met this gentleman, I have never heard of him, his church, I can't even recall where he lived. But I did notice that he had more than 1,000 blog followers - people "subscribed" to his blog and who semi-regularly looked at the thoughts that he recorded on his blog. Then I thought of my own blog, I have several "regular readers", a couple "subscribers" - yet I still influence others.

Today I stopped by McDonald's to get a drink. While I was standing in line a man seemed to be peaking over my shoulder. I made eye contact with him and he apologized. Then he explained that he was trying to see the title of the book I was reading (Praying The Lord's Prayer for Spiritual Breakthrough). We had a brief conversation - in line and at the drink station - then we parted ways. 

What if your life came down to one "post", one thought? What if your life came down to one moment of encouragement? What if you were created to touch - to speak into - the life of one person for one moment?

What if my purpose on this earth was to preach one sermon? What if my life came down to one conversation in a line at McDonald's? What if I was created so that I could speak truth and love and encouragement and peace and encouragement into the life of one person or one small group of people?

How To Do Ministry

I have read an awful lot of how-to  ministry books over the years - some of them were flat out awful. 

I read them not because I am looking for the one secret answer to how to "evangelize your community" how "grow the church", how to "preach the best sermons", how to "disciple  new believers", or any other how to we could add on here. I read them to get new insight and opinions on how other churches and church leaders are doing all of these things and finding success in their geographical areas and ministry areas.

Yet, as I read many of these books, it occurs to me that many of the authors fully believe they have the secret for how ministry should be carried out. For some of these leaders it is as if they have the secret recipe that the rest of us have never considered, but if the rest of us would simply take on their approach we would see the lost won, the hurting cured, and The Church would be what Jesus had always desired it would be.

The bottom line is that we need to research and consider what other churches and ministry leaders are doing - considering what is working and what is failing in these churches, and considering what could work and what might fail in our geographic and ministry areas. And, we need to be reading The Scriptures, and praying for God's guidance in the ministry areas that He has called us to and praying for His guidance in His ministry through us.

Then, given all of this we need to do ministry in a way that is practical and reaches those that we are called to reach. Simple as that.

What are you called to speak? How are you called to speak it?

What are you called to do? How are you called to do it?

Keeping versus Reaching

These insights to the local church were written by Pastor Tony Morgan a few weeks back. After reading through them a few times and giving some consideration I thought I would pass them on.

These insights will be helpful to my Pastor friends and colleagues and also to laity within the church, especially those individuals that are reluctant to change and more progressive models of ministry within the church.

When churches value keeping who they have over reaching people outside the church and outside the faith, their thinking, language and actions tend to look like this:

They program for people who already attend the church.

They create environments that assume only Christ-followers will be present.

They use insider language that’s confusing to people new to the church.

They assume any growth that happens will be initiated by a heart-change outside the church rather than one inside the church.

They never stop ministries because that might offend someone inside the church.

They are slow to do something new because it might offend someone inside the church.

They think it’s a choice between “going deeper” and “reaching the lost” when it’s actually both.

They choose personal preferences over potential ministry impact.

They make decisions based on who they’ll keep rather than who they’ll reach.

Encouraged To Do Ministry

This morning our men's ministry director shared with us on the topic of encouragement from Acts 9:26-30;

"When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus."

Many things come to mind as I read through this passage, but I'll only share a couple.

Paul had been called and equipped to do the work of The Lord, yet without the support of the disciples, he was unable to do this work. Barbaras did two things; he took Saul to the disciples, and he spoke encouraging words about him.

Because of Barnabas' words and deeds the other disciples welcomed him, listened to him, protected him, and enabled him to continue in The Lord's work.

We can learn from this. Following Barnabas' example we must bring those that have been called and equipped by The Lord and we must speak encouraging words about them to others. Following the disciples' actions we must welcome, listen, and protect those that have been called and equipped. And, in doing this we will enable others to further The Lord's ministry.

Handing Out Cold Water

The county fair was this past week and we were under a heat advisory the entire week - at one point hitting 106 degrees. Because our church wanted to reach out and help we loaded up in cars, vans, and trucks with coolers filled with ice and cases of water and we passed out more than 1,000 bottles to fair goers!

We tried various methods of distributing the water until we found out what would work best. First we reserved a booth space and sat down at a table hoping to reach those that walked by and also provide a "water station" where people could come to throughout the week and grab a bottle of ice cold water. This worked well, but we weren't reaching enough. So, we changed our method a bit and located ourselves in the bed of a truck just outside the barn where the livestock shows and auction happened and we passed out bottles of ice cold water to those that went in and came out. This method was working better, but we still wanted to reach more. So, keeping both of these previous methods intact, we took to the ground, walking with coolers, pulling wagons, and asking anyone and everyone that was walking, sitting, standing, riding, sleeping, showing, judging, buying, or selling. We handed out water to children, teens, adults, and the elderly.

As we walked the fairgrounds this afternoon the though occurred to me that our process of water distribution and our method of handing out water can be applied to churches too. If we were just to sit in our church building praying for people to come by and worship God with us we might wait a long time and we may never reach the very people that are in need of Him the most. Yet, when we hit the streets, sharing the love of Christ through our words, actions, and lives and sharing the Gospel message of Jesus as He has called us to, we see the influence of our service and we reach the people God desires for us to reach - connecting them to God and teaching them about His love for them.

Pentecost Sunday

Today is Pentecost Sunday, a special day in the life of The Church. It was on Pentecost Sunday (40 days after Jesus' resurrection, and 10 days after His ascension) that the Holy Spirit of God came to rest on and in believers. The account of this day can be read about in Acts 2:1-4 (and 5-41);

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

The men that were gathered int he upper room on the day of Pentecost were gathered, waiting and praying. We see that throughout the Bible, especially the New Testament, powerful things happened when believers gathered together to pray. As Rev. Jim Cybala says, "when God's people pray things happen". And, on this particular Sunday, some 2,000 years ago, when God's people prayed His Spirit moved upon them. But, these men weren't simply praying for their needs or for themselves, these men were praying for God's Spirit to move. 

In order to better grasp this, it is important that we look back to Acts 1, to Jesus last words on this earth, and to His direct instructions to His disciples. 

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

The men that were gathered in the upper room on this particular Sunday were waiting just as Jesus had told them to. And, as these men waited, they prayed. They were praying for this gift that Jesus had promised to them as He spoke His final words. They were praying for the baptism of  the Holy Spirit that Jesus had told them about. And, they were praying for the power (more literally the strength or the ability) to carry out the mission and the ministry that Jesus had called them to. 

On this Pentecost Sunday we, as faithful believers, need to pray as well. We need to pray that this gift that Christ has promised us would be made real to us. We need to pray that the baptism of the Holy Spirit would come over us. And, we need to pray for the power (the strength and the ability) to carry out our mission and Christ's ministry would be granted to us.

Without the Holy Spirit nothing makes sense. Without the baptism of the Holy Spirit we do not have the gifts to carry out the ministry of Jesus. Without the power of the holy Spirit we do not have the power to achieve the mission of Christ. And without prayer we will not be given any of these!

God Is Good

This past Sunday I had the wonderful honor of baptizing nine individuals into the body of Christ. This was a high point for me for a number of reasons; (1) it was the first time I have gotten to baptize anyone, (2) it was the first time a baptism had been done within the walls of our church, (3) it was the most youth that have ever been baptised at any one time in our church, (4) it hit a record attendance of 120 this past Sunday morning.

Around Easter our youth directors began to speak to the students about the importance of establishing a relationship with Jesus and the importance of following Him with their lives. Over a ten day period, between April 15th and April 24th (Easter Sunday) we saw 24 people recommit or commit for the first time to serving Jesus Christ with their lives, eight of which were youth. Our youth directors and I began to talk about the importance of baptism and when the students were asked they responded in a big way.

I had the privilege of speaking with them the Wednesday prior to the service, explaining baptism and hearing their stories of dedication, commitment, and journey with Jesus and I was overwhelmed.

Sunday was a wonderful day for those that were baptised, for our church family, and for myself. Praise God, He is great and greatly to be praised.

Report on Growth Groups

In an effort to promote more options for Christian education and/or discipleship within our church, we introduced Growth Groups this past spring.

As this was a new idea within our church, we were aware that it would begin slow and that it would be a process of introducing people to the idea and to promoting with various individuals. Likewise, we wanted to fit the ultra-demanding schedules of our church family, and of their friends and families. It was for these reasons that we began with only three Growth Groups on three different nights of the week.

All three of these groups began with different leadership personalities as the facilitators, at different locations in and around our community and they all three began with the same discussion questions and discussion format. After only a few weeks it was apparent that the format needed to change and that several of the more mature individuals desired more of a Bible study format rather than a discussion. Likewise, it was apparent that many of the questions and discussion topics were unnecessary and that a beneficial discussion could blossom from four simple questions. These questions are an adaption of the four questions that John Wesley used to use when he first began his small groups prior to the Methodist movement. Likewise, these questions align with our church's ministry process.

1. How is your connection with Jesus this week?
2. What are you doing to foster your own spiritual growth?
3. What opportunities have you had to serve and witness this week and how did you act upon them?
4. What temptations have you faced and how did you overcome them?

Several weeks ago I was becoming a bit discouraged when the participation in the Growth Groups in our church of over 100 had stalled at 18. Of course, I tried not to take it personally but it was, all the same, discouraging. Then, in the midst of these feelings, we hosted our weekly group at our home and it was then that God revealed to me, exactly what we were accomplishing.

We only made it to one of the questions that evening but we had wonderful fellowship, excellent discussions, and several prayers together. My eyes were opened to see that it was not about the number of people that were participating every week, those things are minute and will turn around. No, rather, it was about the accountability, it was about the support, it was about the friendships, it was about living our lives, as Christians, together. You may struggle while I am soaring, I may struggle just as you are achieving a new level of spiritual high. And that is what it is about.

As I wrote about the conclusion of our spring Growth Groups in our church newsletter this month; "we met together to simply live life together. We grew in relationships as we met casually and we grew in our walk with Jesus as we talked about struggles, concerns, and joys. What a great Spring!"

We will be kicking off Growth Groups again this fall, if you are in the area, I invite you to join in.

A Reminder: Lead Me

Sometimes we need a reminder. A reminder to give up our selfish ambitions. A reminder that others are counting on us. And a reminder to lead.

This song, "Lead Me" by Sanctus Real is a wonderful reminder. It reminds husbands of their first ministry, their duty to honor, love, and lead their wives. It reminds fathers that they are to committed to their children and their families, even when it's easier not to be. And it reminds us all that when things of this life seem to over burden us, our Father in heaven grants us the strength and ability to lead in spite of the evil in this world. 

Lead Me by Sanctus Real

I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling
But on the inside, I can hear her saying...

“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're independent
But on the inside, I can hear them saying...

“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”

So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone