I Need Medication!!! September 24, 2005

OUCH, my stomach hurts! I can’t believe my Tigers lost again…in overtime. I can only imagine how they feel!

I also find it amazing that the local radio stations are criticizing the coaches and the players, saying that this team isn’t any good…and two weeks ago (when they were 2-0) these same people were singing their praises. People are funny–if you want to call it that.

Oh well, we win some, we lose some…I still think they played well.

BUT TOMORROW IS CHURCH…and I am PUMPED about that…see you then. (If you can make it then you can download the message here on Monday.)

Update On ‘Cretia September 23, 2005

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and your encouraging e-mails. Lucretia and I have most certaintly felt the love.

One of the doctors who was studying the labs called her yesterday to let her know that they are 99.99999999999999% sure that there is nothing to worry about…that in his studying of the cells that were drawn from the cyst that there was nothing abnormal. YEAH GOD!

So now we will wait for three months and then I think she will go for another ultrasound to see if the cyst has increased or decreased. Me, personally, I think I would prefer it to just disappear, but that’s just the loving husband coming out I guess.

I know Friday is usually the “Super Cool Person of the Week,” and maybe I will post that later on today; however, my mind has been occupied with the message for this Sunday…and then on Wednesday afternoon it was pretty much consumed with my wife.

Once again, thanks for your prayers!

MAJOR Wake Up Call September 22, 2005

I don’t know how to write this…I don’t even know where to begin. It seems that God is continually bringing me face to face with the reality of my own mortality. I had a MAJOR close call with death back in July…and the Lord used that experience to teach me a great deal about Himself AND the life that He wants me to live.

I came through that experience much stronger…and my faith was strengthened. I thought I was basically ready for anything at that point…

And then my cell phone rang yesterday and I saw on caller ID that it was ‘Cretia. (BTW, I ALWAYS answer when ‘Cretia calls–always. I don’t care who I am meeting with…she always gets through…I am to love her like Christ loves the church…and I have always gotten through to Him, He’s never in a meeting or on the 17th hole and puts me off until He’s finished with His golf game)

It was the phone call that no husband wants to receive.

“Perry, you got a few minutes?”

“Yeah–shoot, what ‘cha got?”

“Well, don’t panic (sound of me gulping) but I am at the hospital…they found a knot in my neck today and I went to have an ultrasound done on it to make sure it was nothing. Well, they found that I have a couple cysts on my thyroid and so they sent me to the women’s and children’s area of the new hospital and are getting ready to do a biopsy. They don’t think it is cancer…but they can’t rule it out.”

I really wish I could say that my faith was strong. I wish I could say that I smiled and gave a Sunday school answer like, “Well ‘Cretia, you know God is in control…and He has a reason and purpose for everything.” But I just sat there, numb, speechless…and feeling like someone had just kicked me in the mid section. (Just being honest)

We chatted for another second or two and then I went straight to the hospital to be with her. I confess that I was worried…anytime I hear the word “cancer” I freak out. My mother died of cancer in 1982…and there has always been this fear that one day cancer will take someone else who is very close to me.

I could not pray…I could not think clearly…my mind was a million different places. I tried to talk with God, but the words would not come out. (If you have ever been there you know what I mean.) When life threatening things happen to me then it is really no big deal in my mind…but this was my wife, Lucretia…the most awesome woman on the planet…my best friend, my partner…the person who has seen me at my worse and still loves me!

I went back into the room where the biopsy was done and held her hand while they performed the procedure. The doctor who actually did the biopsy later commented that Lucretia looked a lot more at peace about the whole thing than I did. (She was right!)

I stood there–and I was strong on the outside…but on the inside I was asking God, “What in the world is going on…first it was me, now it is her…is this the devil attacking us…is this You trying to tell me something–what is it?” I went through the scenarios…our marriage is great, we are spending quality time together…neither one of us is “living in sin”…we have not chosen to neglect one another to pursue our careers–what was it?

The initial test came back…and I was relieved. They are around 99.9% sure it is not cancer; they are running the final tests today and will give her a call within 48 hours. She has to go back in around three months to have another ultrasound to see if it has gotten bigger or smaller…and future surgery to remove it is a slight possibility.

We walked out of the hospital together…I was still numb…relieved, but numb. You just don’t expect those things. I thanked God that she was ok, that nothing was wrong…but I have been seeking what He wants to teach me through this.

So this morning I had the realization that for some reason I feel the Lord is trying to communicate with me the urgency of people knowing Jesus Christ…that the mortality rate is hovering right around 100%, everyone will step into eternity and without Christ–they are doomed.

I know I am right with God…and I know ‘Cretia is as well…but there are so many that I do not know about…and my fire has had gasoline thrown on it…I do not have anymore time to sit around and debate theology with arrogant guys who have read the writings of some dead white guy & now are passionate about his teachings more than the teachings of Jesus’…I do not have time to try to please people…make them feel comfortable about the condition of their lives and trying not to offend them…I do not have time to deal with skeptics and critics who are merely tools of satan being used to try to distract me–say what they may…I am more in love with Jesus than I have ever been…and my urgency meter has just gone through the roof!!!

Pastors–one question for you before I go…I really felt led to ask all of you this, if you had just one more message to preach to your church…you knew that the following Monday God was going to call you home…and so you had one shot left…what would you say? What would you tell the people that you have the privilege to serve every weekend? Why don’t you prepare that message–and say it! Preach like you have nothing to lose…go for it…pedal to the floor! I did on July 31…and it is one of the most freeing feelings in the world. Your people need to see fire and urgency…not political correctness or a wimp who is afraid of losing his paycheck!!!

Pray for ‘Cretia and I…she’s great, she actually went to the gym after the biopsy (told you she was awesome) and is at work this morning. Pray that God will bless our physical health…and that we will continue to serve Him with fire and passion.

Yeah God! September 21, 2005

Had a scare today…major one, will be blogging about that tomorrow–God is awesome!

And thanks to those who have e-mailed to inform me that the Clemson game will be on television this weekend…I was misinformed…but nonetheless–I will be able to WATCH the game from the comforts of my own home. :-)

Making Tough Choices September 21, 2005

This coming Saturday is going to be ROUGH for me. “Why,” you ask…well, because the Tigers are playing, and for the first time this season their game is not on television.

I know, I know…I can listen to it on the radio–but its just not the same as watching it.

So I had this thought earlier in the week, “Lucretia and I could go to the game this Saturday.” We do not have season tickets…but have had a number of people offer to give us some.

But then I began to think about my experience at a game last year. It was the first game of the season–we played Wake Forest–it was a 3:30 kick off and was televised by ABC. Lucretia and I had INCREDIBLE seats–45 yard line, Clemson side…about 20 rows up!

I remember that day being incredibly hot…and TV games are sooooo long. Now I hate to admit this…but I am “one of those fans” that if the game is looking like a sure win either way…and I think I can beat the traffic rush…I will leave early. (Please save the comments that I am not a true fan!!!) BUT last year the Wake Forest game was a nail biter…it went into overtime. (And Clemson won!)

‘Cretia and I made it back to the place where we parked and got in the car with the people we rode with and headed home…I think we actually ate supper that night at around 9:30…and then went straight to bed.

The next day I had to preach four times! It was awful…one of the worst jobs speaking I have ever done. I seriously wanted to call everyone who was at one of those four services and apologize to them.

(If you are a pastor–then you will understand this…it was one of those days where I wanted to walk out and deliver the following sermon, “Good morning–this is a Bible–READ IT, it will tell you about JESUS…He is the way to heaven…if you receive Him into your life you won’t go to hell. There–I said it…if you go to hell–it’s your fault. Now we are going to take an offering…and don’t pretend you have to go to the bathroom so you miss out–SIT DOWN! Thanks for coming–see you next week!)

As I said…if you are a pastor or a church leader–you have wanted to deliver that sermon so many times…if you are not on staff at a church it is quite possible that the previous paragraph horrified you–trust me, pastors think this way sometimes…just being honest!

Anyway…the following Monday in staff meeting I apologized to our lead team for not making a wise choice. NO–NO–NO, going to a Clemson game is not a sin–it’s not wrong…on the contrary, it is so much fun. But it was not a wise choice for me because the sun drained me, I was not able to get the appropriate amount of rest that I needed…and that affected me following God’s calling on my life to the best of my ability.

Lesson learned!

So this Saturday I can’t go to the game! I really want to! I remember a few years back when Clemson beat FSU 26-10 that Lucretia and I had the privilege of being in the box seats. Now THAT was awesome–food, away from the weather…seriously–we totally relaxed and enjoyed the game. I came home, went straight to bed…and got up the next day and preached just fine!

(I tried to convince ‘Cretia to let’s buy some box season tickets…but she brought it to my attention that if we did we couldn’t really do the things we enjoy such as…oh, I don’t know…eat, live in a house, drive cars…you know–the basics! THEN I thought about getting NewSpring to buy box tickets…just think–I could take unchurched Clemson fans to the game and eventually they would come to church…uh, well…our leadership team didn’t go for that either. AND then I thought, “Maybe I will ask my friends who have box seats…” Uh, well…all of my friends are just about as poor as I am…so no luck there!)

So my choice is to sit @ the house Saturday & listen on the radio. Trust me–this was a tough one to make. But I had to decide to choose not to do something I really like (the Clemson game) so that I could do something I really love to the best of my ability (share the Gospel with passion and energy.)

We all have to choose not to do really good things at times so we can do really great things in the future. So go Tigers–I will be screaming for you from the confines of my house…and maybe one day ‘Cretia and I will have some kids who make a lot of money and buy us the box seats…but until then I am limited to attend Thursday night games and games that occur on a weekend that I am not speaking!

See you Sunday! I can’t wait!

Attention New Springers!!! September 20, 2005

If you have not read Monday’s post yet–scroll down and read it!!! I can’t wait for Sunday to get here!!!

Thoughts On Rob Bell September 20, 2005

I have been watching with an amazing interest the articles, the blogs, and the reviews about Rob Bell’s new book, Velvet Elvis. And this has caused me to want to share a few thoughts about what has been going on.

#1 – People who understand the least usually speak the loudest!

I am NOT trying to drop names here…or say, “Hey, look at me–I’m special.” But my wife and I had the privilege to fly to Grand Rapids back in April and spend the weekend with Rob and his family. We stayed in their home, shared meals together (in really cool restaurants), and talked about life.

I can say without hesitation that Rob Bell is in love with Jesus. He’s the real deal! I watched him interact with his boys…and I hope that one day my children can admire me the way his kids admire him. I saw how he adores his wife…and I was challenged and inspired to be a more godly husband. I watched him wrestle with sermon preparation…and witnessed how passionate he was about communicating the truth.

And then I see people ripping the man apart on the internet–and I would be willing to bet you money that they have never even had a five minute conversation with him–they don’t know his heart–and yet they feel that God has chosen them to judge the man!

#2 – You can’t judge a person based on ONE comment that was probably taken out of context!

If you are a speaker or a leader then you understand this–people WILL misquote you and misrepresent you–that’s a fact. It is amazing to me how often I hear, “That preacher over at NewSpring said so and so.” And reality is that I did make that statement…but not in the context to which the person repeating it placed it.

Once again–it amazes me the things that people are saying that Rob said. My advice to those people is that you need to stop and look at the fruit of his life…and if it is slightly possible that God may be at work in him and at the ministry at Mars Hill then the best thing for you to do would be to shut up. If Rob is wrong…then God will discipline him…and will probably NOT need the internet to do so!

#3 – Pharisees are alive and well today!

The majority of persecution that Rob is receiving is from…get this…people who CLAIM that they love Jesus! Amazing!

I say amazing–it shouldn’t be. If you read the Scriptures then it is obvious–Jesus received fierce opposition from one major group–the Pharisees, the religious people. (Tax collectors and sinners loved Him!)

Rob is different–he marches to the tune of a different drummer…and that is GREAT! Praise God, can you imagine how boring the world would be if we were all the same?

The fact is that many pastors have came out and sharply criticized Rob…and that is sad because Rob will have more people get lost in the restrooms of his church this coming Sunday that some of those pastors will even have in their audience.

My advice–stop trying to reform Rob’s theology and begin to look inward–more might be accomplished that way.

#4 – The internet is a place where cowards hang out and try to make life miserable for other people.

This isn’t the case with everyone on the internet–but is true for the most part.

I have some rules about my blog. I never blog about anything that I would not publicly say from the stage. And I never say anything publicly from the stage that I would not say to someone’s face–that’s a fact.

But what amazes me is the number of Christian websites that have had to begin to moderate their comments because mean spirited people who claim to be in love with Jesus show up there and begin to attack things. AND they will spend the majority of their time wrapped up in going from site to site to try and defend their position.

This is the reason I do not allow comments on my blog…I feel that in many cases it gives an audience to cowards who would never even speak to me face to face–but feel they can sit in the bleachers and take shots at my efforts to do what God has led me to do. My advice to those people–either shut up…or put down your hot dog and get in the game!!!

OK–well–that’s about it for today–well, maybe not–I don’t know–might want to check back later.

By the way…if you want to check out Rob & his church you can do so here