Some interesting facts about this blog

I discovered these facts through the counter on this site and I thought maybe some of the rest of you might like to know these as well. Since starting this blog almost a month ago, we have had seen a significant increase in traffic, to where there are over 40 significant viewer per day. That means at least 40 different computers have accessed the site each day. If you hit it 5 times, it only counts once. The really interesting part to me is where the viewers are coming from. As of this afternoon, there have been people from 18 states in the USA, and there are people reading in Canada, Ireland, Spain and Germany. You may not think any thing of this, but I think it is so cool to see how the Internet allows you to speak to people in so many places from a place like Galesburg, Illinois. It really is a small world, isn't it!

Sometimes we make folks mad.. and that's OK

Today I was reading in 2 Corinthians chapter 7 where Paul is talking about how his previous letter upset the people at Corinth, and he says in verse 8 that he did not regret it, because (vs 9) his making them angry (sorrowful) led them to a place of repentance. He points out in verse 10 that there is a difference between godly sorrow/anger and that of the world. Most translations use the term "sorrow" in this passage, but in context, it is obvious that these people were not happy with Paul for what he said... but only for a little while, because his words caused them to think and then to repent. One thing to be certain, Paul did not say what he said with the intent of hurting anyone, but rather to bring about repentance. (See verses 12-13)

But there is another key to this passage that I saw today, and that is how the Corinthians dealt with his words. The words surely cut, and they did produce some anger and sorrow; but verse 11 says, "you sorrowed in a goldly manner. What dilegence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication!" What he is saying is they used their anger in a constructive way to examine themselves and when they discovered that Paul's words were correct.. rather than lash out at him, or attack him, they repented and made things right! Now that is a novel concept, isn't it! Do the right thing! Amazing! It seems that most of the time in the church world anymore, rather than using the energy to examine ourselves and make sure we are in a right standing with God (being righteous) people tend to start talking trash against the preacher/teacher who has spoken the word to them. They begin to do what I call "circling the wagons". That's where you find as many people as you can to side with you, and then you make your defense. Kind of like the old cowboy and indian movies. The only difference is they don't take a defensive posture, they usually go on the offense, trying to take out as many as they can to prove their circle is right.

As pastor, it is never easy to speak a word from God that you know is going to make someone mad. If I knew they would follow the practice of the Corinthian church, it would be easier, but sadly, I know that most often they will circle the wagans.

The Dance Between Wisdom and Faith

I was just sending an email to a fellow pastor concerning my health, and while writing to him these thoughts came up and I thought they would be a good topic for The Dawg Howse, and I hope some of you will respond with your thoughts.

Last Friday evening I began having severe chest pains again and I had my wife take me to the ER again. They gave me a nitro and then put a nitro patch on me which relieved the pain considerably, still it was there. I did not know it then, but the cardiologist was already making plans to take me in for a heart cath that night. But then suddenly, my pain went completely away. When the doctor heard this, he decided against the emergency heart cath. Then they did another blood work to check for the enzymes that would indicate heart attack or at least heart stress. The test came back clean. Although they had just admitted me, the doctor told me I could go home if I wanted but he would like to schedule the heart cath for later in the week to make sure I have no blockages, especially since I have family history of heart problems in one of my brothers at an early age. I agreed to this completely and we will be scheduling this today.

Now here's the issue I want to discuss. I really believe that while I was in that ER Friday night, there were some people praying, and I believe the Lord touched me. So then, is it a lack of faith to go through with the heart cath... or is this wisdom? How do you balance the two? Personally I think it is wisdom, still, I have to admit that I have danced round and round in my mind about this over the weekend. I am convinced that God touched me that night. The sudden change was remarkable. I am believing that it was the hand of God. Now the questions come; Was I completely healed? Did the Lord stop a heart attack from happening, but there still is a blockage? And a whole host of other questions. The devil comes accusing me saying I have no faith and that if God really had healed me I would not have these questions. In myself, I am sure God touched me, but I want to take every precaution to make sure that everything is ok in me. Is that a lack of faith? Is this just a tap dance to excuse a lack of faith? I am curious what others might have to say.

Well, the test was not so good

I had to take a stress test today, and to put it in the words of the doctor, "If I were a teacher and I was grading your paper, I would give it an F." Thanks for being so subtle doc! He actually said I did very well on the test until the last push at the end. When they did the last excelleration for the final 2 minutes, my EKG went very abnormal and they had to stop the test. Ironically, I felt no chest pain at all. I did get very short of breath and very sweaty. The doctor said that I am at high risk for a heart attack and need to be very careful until they can schedule the next step. He also said that I am lucky, because I recognized the symptoms and went to the ER last week, prior to having an attack, so there should be no damage to my heart. So, I guess I am blessed and I thank God that this was found now, in this way, rather than through something life threatening.

It is funny the thoughts that go through your mind when they tell you this kind of stuff. Suddenly it becomes so real just how fragile we are and that any given moment it could be our last. I started thinking about my wife, and even though she was at school, I wanted to just hear her voice and I called her. I got to thinking about my kids, and I thought no matter what I have to do and what I have to change, I will do it, because I don't want them growing up with the pain of not having dad around like I did. I can't wait to pick them up from school today, just so I can hold them tight and tell them how much I love them. All of a sudden the towel left in the dining room and the chips bag and can candy wrappers in the living room don't matter anymore. Funny how quickly values can change! A rush of thoughts about my brothers and sisters hit me. Do I tell them right now? One of my brothers is such a worrier, I don't know if I want to tell him. And my sister is going through so much stress right now... do I want to dump more on her right now? Decisions, decisions.
And what about my church? Should I even preach this weekend? Guess I need to call the doctor about that. But you know the neatest thing about it all? I would not say I am really worried about it. Yeah, I think about it, but I know who my God is, and I know I will be okay. I am sitting here wondering, "What would I do right now if it were not for Jesus?" I am so glad that I know him, and that my soul is at rest, and in times like this, he breathes that peace that surpasses all understanding into my life.

Why Pastor's Cry

A fellow pastor who is a friend of mine made a post on a discussion board which we both post on a couple of weeks ago that I felt was too good to let disappear into cyber never land. He goes by the pen name of Roughridercog, and I will use that name here also to protect his identity on that board.
There had been a discussion on the board about a pastor who forgot to turn his wireless microphone off after service and when he went into his office broke down crying and everyone in the church heard his sobbing.
Roughrider wrote the following after reading this information.


Why Pastor's Cry

Pastors cry. There's no doubt about it. There are numerous reasons why:

Pastor's cry when they feel as if a church is rejecting their ministry and they still feel a burden for the church.
Nothing hurts like being rejected.

Pastor's cry when the church feels their time there is over and they still feel like there is much to do.
They pack their belongings mixed with tears.

Pastor's cry when they know their time at a church is over and they have deep roots there. When they embrace the congregation at their last service, there are tearstains present on the shoulders of those they embrace.

Pastor's cry when God has given them a message, instructed him to declare it, and yet the church will not hear it.
Those Jeremiah tears are very painful.

Pastor's cry when it seems as if things are falling apart around him and there is seemingly nothing he can do about it. No matter what he says or does, the church still seems fragmented. These tears are like the tears of a parent whose adult children hate each other.

Pastor's cry. No doubt about it. There are numerous reasons for the tears. What can you do about it? You can weep with him. You might not agree with him or particularly enjoy his ministry. But recognize the fact that his heart is torn.

He might love pastoring, but not be particularly good at it. Cry with the man who perhaps has misinterpreted his call. He might have used manipulation to get the church only to find out that it's not what he thought it would be.

Cry with a disillusioned man who perhaps has missed God and needs to receive direction from God. He might have blundered and said wrong things.

Cry with him as the Holy Spirit does an operation on his personality. He might not have any idea where he is going. His wife and children are mad at him and the church for having to move again. Cry with a man as he agonizes over his family.

Pastor's cry. No doubt about it. Cry with him.

Thanks for the great words RR!

The Devil is a Liar!

There is a man in my church named Jack whose favorite saying is, "the devil is a liar!"
There are some people who probably wonder why Jack says this so often. Well, simply put, Jack says it, because he believes it!
The devil is a liar.
The Word of God tells us that he is the father of all lies and that the truth is not in him.

Over the past few days, I have had to remind myself, and to remind Satan himself, that he is a liar. Most of you who read this blog know that I was admitted to the hospital on Saturday with chest pains. I was released on Sunday, but the doctor told me not to do anything that would exert myself physically until we can do a stress test on Friday. I am not one who enjoys just sitting around anyway, so it is very frustrating, to say the least, just sitting here killing time while I know that there is so much I need to be doing.
And of course, the devil has used this opportunity to hammer me. My mind has constantly been bombarded with thoughts of a heart attack, that this is the end, what if this and that.
Then the devil made a big mistake. He started attacking my "dream". He started telling me that it was over at this church, that all the things I had dreamt of would not happen, that it was all in my head and that God had forsaken me.
Wrong move devil!

Earlier today, he actually had me on the ropes a bit, and I was beginning to question some things, but when he told me that my God had forsaken me... I said out loud, "Devil... you're a liar!" I began to tell him who my God is and how faithful my God is, and that I would not allow him to steal my dream, because I knew that it was not just my dream but it was a dream that the Lord had birthed within me, and there ain't no demon in hell that can stop that dream from coming to pass. I know that since God gave the dream, the only one who can stop that dream from coming to pass is me. I know that if I allow the devil to get into my head with doubt and discouragement, then I will abandon the dream. Even though I am in the midst of circumstances that seem somewhat frightening and even daunting, I must remind myself that it was God who gave the dream and God does not lie. I know God placed me where I am for this particular time in my life... and he did not bring me here to fail! I am learning to look through the haze of current circumstances and to keep my eyes focused on the finish line that is on down the road.
In my spirit I keep telling myself, "God gave you that vision... don't you quit now!"

There may be others of you out there going through your own attack and feeling like your situation is helpless today. Take a few minutes and go back in your mind when God first breathed that dream into your spirit. Whose dream is it? If God gave it to you, then refuse to accept defeat no matter what the circumstance looks like. God never said it would be easy. No where in the Word can you find where he says it will be easy. But I can show you in the Word where he says, "all things are possible to him that believeth..." Keep believing the dream. Don't be discouraged because you don't see it happening just yet. Hold on to that dream with all you have and tell the devil, "Devil you are a liar! This is MY dream, and this is what God says my dream is supposed to be, and you cannot have it! Get out of my dream right now, devil!"
Then plant yourself in that, and remind yourself, " I can do all things through Christ. I will build what God has given me to build on this spot and neither the enemy nor anyone else will take it away from me. This is my dream, in Jesus Name!"

Hold on to your dream!

Who's that guy in your picture?

I have had several email messages, as well as messages on another board where I have this picture, wanting to know who the guy is standing next to me in my picture.
I guess some of you are just too young too know... and some of us are so old we have forgotten! This is Claude Clay, the undertaker in the comic stip Tumbleweeds. I always loved this guy, as he was always trying to "drum up business" by offering lay-away plans, special sales and things like that. His motto was, "You plug 'em, I'll plant 'em."

OK... so now you know the dark side of me.

I Love the Way the Lord Works

The Lord never ceases to amaze me. We tend to put God in a box pertaining to how he can work, when he can work and to whom he can work. But more and more I am learning that some of the most important "ministry" that is done is not behind the pulpit. In fact, it is not even in the church house. In recent months God has opened my eyes to let me see the "unintentional ministry" that takes place in the every day activities of life, if we will just be vessel that he can use. I want to share a couple of things that have happened recently to illustrate this. By no means do I mean this to elevate me, so I apologize in advance if it comes across that way.

Let me start with something that happened last night. I have been struggling with pain in my back and neck and extreme headaches for the past 2 weeks. A friend in another state sent an email to ask how I was yesterday, and I responded by telling her that I was still hurting, but was so much better than I had been the day before. I told her about how God was teaching me something through all of this about giving him praise even in the times of pain. She sent an email right back telling me how that when she read my email, she began to cry and she knew that the Lord was speaking directly to her through my email. It is funny because it was not meant that way… but God used the opportunity of my pain to minister to the needs of a woman several states away. Cool!

Another thing that happened this week that I just have to laugh about God and his timing, took place in the hospital ER. I went to see about an elderly woman who had just been taken in by ambulance. It was one of those “I have to go” times, because that day I was in so much pain that I could hardly stand it. When I got to the hospital, they were doing some x-rays and I had to wait. I found one of my members there talking with the sister to the patient. I stood and talked with them for about 30 minutes and then went in to see her. When I went in, I could see the loneliness in her eyes, and I simply leaned over gave her a kiss on the forehead and took her by the hand. Some time later I had to step out to make a couple of quick phone calls, and a nurse stopped me and asked if that was my mother. I smiled and told her that I was her pastor. She said, “Wow… I never would have guessed it!” I must have looked puzzled; because she explained herself by saying that she just happened to be looking in when I kissed this woman. She said, “Her face just beamed and her countenance changed after you came in. I thought surely you must be her son.” She went on to tell me that she didn’t go to church anymore, because she had lost faith in the ministry. She added that she always thought it was “a game” and the preachers really did not care. I tried to defend that… but she told me she had to leave. Later in the week, I received a phone call from that same woman. She was weeping and told me that she could not get the image out of her mind that she had witnessed that morning. Then she said to me, “For the first time in a long time, I saw Jesus in action and I know he is real, and I just want to thank you for helping me to believe again.” Wow… talk about a humbling experience.

There are so many things I could talk about, but suffice it to say that we would all do well to remember that the words from an old song are true, “You’re the only Jesus some will ever see.” It is often not the intentional things we do to win the lost that matter, but rather the un-intentional things that just happen as a result of walking in the spirit.

What is revival?

I was teaching last night at church on hinrances to revival. I asked a question, "What is Revival?" Usually when we think of revival, we think of bringing in an evangelist, having special services, everyone getting excited and on fire, and hope and pray people get saved. Usually when we have this, after a few weeks, things return to "normal."
Is this revival?
Then it hit me. To "revive" something implies something that once was alive or active is now either dead or worn out and to revive it means to restore it back to it's normal state. Therefore, to have revival implies that God is bringing us back to the place where we ought to be. Hmmm... now that got me to thinking.
Restoring us to the place where we ought to be...
That means when someone says to me, "Pastor, we need revival" what they are really saying is, "I am not where I should be with the Lord." I got to thinking, what would happen in the church if we would just stay where we should be with the Lord all of the time? What if we stayed prayed up, read up and allowed God to have his way in our lives? Now that might sound harsh and critical, but let's be honest... is this not what we are really saying? We have times where we are on fire for God; times where we really are in the right place... but how often we are candidates for revival ourselves, so in reality, instead of having a "revival" where we see souls saved, most often when the church has revival today, it is more to get the church back on track than it is to reach the lost.
Remember that Barna statistic that said, 87% of those who attended church in America believed that the church existed to meet the needs of themselves and their own family? Isn't this the same thing? Revive me Lord... instead of revive thy works... instead of save souls... instead of heal the sick... revive me again.
I am convinced that if the church is truly going to have "revival" where souls are saved and lives are changed, the church must prepare beforehand and get back in the place with the Lord where they ought to be.
I believe it is time for some fasting and rededication on the part of the church body if we really want to see a move of God that shakes our community.

On Being Real

In a previous post I talked about "being real". In that I was talking about being who you are without having to wear masks or trying to be something that you are not to please others or to fit in. I stand by that, and I am thankful that the church I pastor is a very accepting congregation, yet at the same time, something has been nagging at me since yesterday, and today it kind of came together for me. The problem is that "being real" is a two way street. While we can be real with others as to who we are and where we come from and so on, we also need to "be real" with the world and letting them know where we stand with Christ.

This moring in my devotions, I read the following verses found in Ezekiel 33:31-32:
"My people... listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice.
With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain.
Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays and instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice."

Wow! That is a heavy statement and indictment!
This passage causes us to ask ourselves, "Am I a real Christian, or one who claims to love God but never acts on that love?"
We must ask ourselves, "Am I obeying God's Word, or do I listen to it, but not live by it?" For many people, it is obvious that they would fit in with the group that Ezekiel writes about. He says of these people that something other than God is first in their hearts. They listen to Him and yet treat him as a singer with a wonderful voice and they love to hear, but nothing in their life is changed. Instead we should realize that he is the all knowing, all powerful, Holy One who has words of which we can live by!

One thing I have come to realize over the years is that the people around you, the ones you work with, play with, those you live and associate with... they know the real you and they can tell which type Christian you really are. These people can identify the "entertainment Chrisitans" who are in it just for the fun and appearance, from the ones who really mean it. The unbelievers usually don't give the less serious church goers as much grief as they do the committed ones, but believe me, when they find themselves in a bad situation and need help or prayer; it is not the "entertainment Christian" that they seek out! When they need to know about God, they will seek out a "real" Christian.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to be entertained, and neither do I want to be an entertainer, but I want to be committed to Christ in all I do.

"Why Should I Want to Go to Your Church?"

This morning I received a phone call from a woman who was looking for a new church to attend. Circumstances were such that she needed to find a new church, and when she explained the situation, I agreed with her. I receive similar phone calls to this all the time, and she began to ask me the usual questions about our church such as:
What is the average attendance?
Is the service contemporary or traditional?
Does the church follow a liturgy?
Do you have anything to offer my kids?
Do you have an organ or a band or what?

But then she hit me with the bomb. She asked, “Why should I want to go to your church? What would make me pick your church over another?”

I was taken back a little, and knew I needed to be careful with my words, because I did not want to sound critical of another church.

I will not give you my response to her just yet.
I’d like to hear what others have to say about this. Of course I am looking for some responses from the people I pastor, but I’d like to hear from others out there too.
What would you say to someone asking you this question?

You Always Want What You Haven't Got

I was listening to a CD this morning and part of a particular song got my attention and made me think. The title of the song is "You Always Want What You Haven't Got."
It begins like this:

It's like I got up one morning,
Looked at the way that we live
Thought things could be so much better
There must be better than this.
And if I relocated, to where the grass is greener
Maybe I'd be happy again
But I'm a little bit disappointed 'cause now I've got my freedom
But I'm still looking over the fence.
It's always the same, at the end of the day
You always want what you haven't got.

Man, how true, how true.
How many breakups and divorces, how many church splits, how many problems we encounter in life are brought on because we are always looking over the fence and wanting what is over there instead of finding contentment in where we are and what we are blessed with?
I think this can go back to the message I preached last week, where I talked about a God shaped hole in all of us that only He can fill. So many feel empty or unfulfilled because they are trying to fill that void with all the wrong things.