Archive for Personal
A Political Thought August 16, 2010
I tweeted last week in regards to the fact that it seems to be ok in America to have a political opinion…unless you are a Christian, then ANYTHING you say in the political realm is simply you alligning yourself with a hate group and being intollerant.
It’s the perfect argument really…if you are a Christian then you cannot say anything political…OR people accuse you of being too political. (All the while it seems to be perfectly fine for any other group in the country to have a strong opinion…as long as they are not Christian.)
Please do not misunderstand me on this…I am NOT saying that the church should pimp a particular political party. I am not saying that unless you vote one particular way then God’s wrath will fall upon you. I do not believe our main message is political, but rather spiritual…the fact is that you could give everyone in our country health care, we could pass some sort of immigration reform AND find a way to pay off the national debt…and none of that will change the fact that people are spiritually lost, blind and dead without Jesus.
Some churches take the political thing WAY too far…and some pastors should run for office instead of working in the church because they talk about politics way more than they talk about Jesus.
BUT…on the flip side it is NOT wrong for a Christian to have a political opinion. In fact, I think if we are following Christ we should care about politics…we should vote…we should pray for our government officials and we should be willing to discuss our views in a gentle and respectful way with people who ask…
BUT…His church can NEVER allow politics to be our main message. because…
I’ve seen presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush II and Obama all campaign…I watched all of them make promises, I watched all of them talk about hope…and I watched every single one of them, at some point, go back on their word, let people down and fall into the political trap known as Washington DC.
And then there is Jesus…whose power rises so far above a political system. He is unchanging (Hebrews 13:8) and reigns over everyone and everything! He has never broken a promise…and when the political system of today is talked about in history books 500 years from now as an outdated idea…HE will still reign, HE will still be changing lives…and HE will STILL have never broken a promise.
So…have a political opinion (even if you are a Christian.) And VOTE (if you don’t vote then SHUT UP about how you feel about politics.) But let’s not EVER forget that Jesus died for us…HE should be our obsession…HE didn’t just want our vote but rather wanted to pay for our sins so we could be reconciled to God. HE, and not some political system, is our Savior.
A Few Thoughts That I’ve Been Thinking Lately… August 11, 2010
Sometimes there are things that I read, hear or think that keep coming back to me over and over…here are a few that I just can’t seem to shake…
#1 – “In the Bible God calls those who will not work lazy, but He calls those who will not rest disobedient.” (See Isaiah 30:15) John Walker
EVERY leader needs to wrestle with that one!!! When we get tired we give up on God and begin to think the world is completely falling apart…remember Elijah, he faced down hundreds of false prophets and then ran from a woman who was mad at him! (See I Kings 17-19)
#2 – “In order to reach the people no one else is reaching we must be willing to do the things that no one else is doing.” Craig Groeschel
Leaders…IF you do this you WILL be controversial because people usually have a problem when the status quo is upset, especially in the context of church! I am seriously wrestling with the question and asking myself, “what else is it that we need to be doing to reach people who are far from God?” And please understand…I am NOT asking, “what activities do we need to add to our agenda to try and reach more churched people who are desperate for more Christian activities so that we can provide them with opportunities to isolate themselves from the very people Jesus commanded us to reach.” There is a huge difference!
In order to go where God wants us to go…we must be willing to embrace both the unknown and the uncomfortable!
#3 – “Of course criticism hurts, its supposed to! If you ever get to the point where it doesn’t bother you anymore then something is dead inside of you.” John Walker.
One of the dumbest things you can say to someone is “don’t let that criticism hurt you.” That would be equal to kicking a man in the nuts over and over again and then getting perplexed as to why he is on the ground screaming in pain. Telling him to “not take it personally” isn’t going to help!
#4 – “Becoming obsessed with what others think about me is the quickest way to forget what God thinks about me.” Craig Groeschel.
Craig’s words remind me of Galatians 1:10!
I can either allow what others say to define me (positive or negative)…or I can allow God’s Word to define me!
#5 – “We must dream, because we are made in the image of Him who sees things that are not and wills them to be.” DL Moody
I think God is bothered and disturbed NOT because we ask too much of Him…but because we ask too little! Church leaders should have bigger dreams and plans that ANYONE ON THE PLANET!!! How dare we allow Apple, Disney and Facebook to have a bigger vision than us…we are HIS CHURCH!!! It’s sort of like what CS Lewis said…
“Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased!”
A Quick Thought Before Bed… August 9, 2010
I’m SO thankful for the 1,000 people that showed up in Greenville tonight to hear about WHY evangelism is important and HOW to lead someone to Christ. I think it speaks volumes about a church when so many people are so hungry to learn about how to share Christ.
(Hey Florence, Columbia and Anderson…can’t WAIT…you can STILL sign up here…it’s not too late.)
I had intended on hanging out in Greenville after the seminar for a while…but as soon as I walked off stage my assistant informed me that Charisse had fallen while she,Lucretia and Lucretia’s sister were at a restaurant and hit her head really hard on the floor. (So hard I was told that everyone turned around and looked.)
Lucretia is a doctor and her sister is a nurse…and both thought it was best to take her to the ER. They did a brain scan and said everything looked great…no swelling or anything. SO…as soon as I found out I got home as fast as I could.
I just went up and checked on her…she is SO beautiful and is doing great. AND ‘Cretia is pretty calm as well. I will have to admit…it shook me up a bit when I heard the news…but tonight was a reminder that she is ultimately in HIS hands, and that I need to continually learn to trust HIM with her!
About to go to bed…hope I can sleep!
Intimidation Leads To Isolation July 7, 2010
Here’s a clip from the message I preached on June 27th about the point that intimidation leads to isolation – that if we seeking to yell and scream at our kids for their first 10 years then we will isolate them for the next 50 – many times as parents we think our words are not a big deal…but we’re wrong!
Don’t Look At What Is Wrong But Rather Who He Is! July 6, 2010
I have found during my most stressful times it is best if I just stop and focus on who God is…it’s a time when I set my requests aside and just seek HIM…
I’ve made a list that helps me when I tend to freak out…
HE IS…
- Sovereign…He reigns over everyone and everything and has never been stressed out.
- Unstoppable…and so are those who follow Him.
- Holy…perfect, which means everything He wants/desires for my life is so far greater than anything I could have thought up.
- Consistant…I don’t have to worry about Him being in a bad mood.
- GREATER than any temptation the enemy throws my way.
- Better than anything the world has to offer.
- BIGGER than any sin/failure in my life.
- Gracious in that He knows every stupid, foolish, sinful thing I’ve ever done (or will do)…and yet He loves me anyway! (Romans 5:8 ALWAYS amazes me!)
- ALWAYS there with me…He has NEVER walked away from me. He doesn’t always deliver me from the fire…but He has ALWAYS walked with me through it! (See Isaiah 43:1-3)
- Faithful…if I fail to see His faithfulness in my past I will probably not recognize the fruitfulness of my future. (Philippians 1:6)
- The ONE who pursues me…even on the days I tend to walk away from Him.
- RELENTLESS…He NEVER has given up on me!
- PASSIONATE…His passion and zeal that the Scriptures reveal cause me to be in AWE.
I could go on and on…the point being is that when stress comes it is an awesome opportunity to KNOW HIM. SO…if you are stressed out, freaked out and feel like you are about to give out…then “check out” for 10 minutes from your busy life, sit down with a piece of paper, make a list of who the Scriptures say that HE IS…and focus on that rather than your circumstances.
Just a thought…but it sure has helped me!
A Follow Up To Today’s Post… June 29, 2010
I woke up at around 2:30 this morning with a few more thoughts about vision and discipline that I cannot shake and wanted to share…
Like I said earlier today…having a GREAT vision is only a fraction of accomplishing great things, we also need the discipline to make the vision become a reality…
Here’s how that breaks down practically for all of us…
We can have the VISION to lose weight and be healthy…but until we get the discipline to move our rear ends off of the couch and onto the treadmill…that vision just isn’t going to become a reality!
We have have the VISION to really know God and know His Word…but until we get the discipline to actually open His Word and read it for extended periods of time instead of channel surfing (or tweeting or facebooking)…that vision just isn’t going to become a reality.
We can have the VISION to have a really great marriage…but until we get the discipline (and wisdom) to understand that marriage is not our opportunity to be served but rather to serve – it’s not our opportunity to shape another person but rather an opportunity to be shaped by God by serving another person…then the vision of a great marriage isn’t going to become a reality.
We can have the vision (as a single dude) to want to find a wife and have a great marriage…but until we get the discipline to get out of bed before 11am, get a job, make some money and get out of debt so that your home and car are not the same thing and pursue JESUS with EVERYTHING…then the vision of finding a Proverbs 31 woman probably just isn’t going to happen.
We can have the vision to have a great ministry that accomplishes great things for God’s Kingdom…but until we get the discipline to STRIVE to hear HIS voice, to read as much as we can, to pray harder than ever before and to seek wisdom from people, even the ones we may disagree with…then our vision will always be a “prayer request” and never a reality. (It’s amazing the number of people I meet who have been praying about doing something for five years or more…and they claim they are “waiting on God.” Uh…God made an undeniable move 2,000 years ago with JESUS on the cross…odds are He’s actually WAITING ON YOU–STEP UP!)
Huge vision means extreme discipline! This concept is ROCKING my world right now and directly challenging me to change/alter many of the things I am currently involved in.
Just some more thoughts to chew on…
It’s Monday…You Might Need This! June 28, 2010
Monday is the day that most pastors/church leaders struggle…some call it the “holy hangover,” others call it “life!” So many are tempted to quit, give up and/or throw in the towel.
Don’t do it!
Don’t quit!
Galatians 6:9 is true about you!!!
I don’t know about you…but I have several quotes in my office, things I look at to challenge and inspire me…here is one I thought I would share because, well, it’s Monday!
“It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena. Whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause. Who, if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement, and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.” Teddy Roosevelt