Combining Business with Pleasure

It is not often you get to combine business with pleasure. But we got to do just that recently as I attended RFID World at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center on Lake Grapevine.

Check out the Gaylord for yourself. It was very nice. We had a few problems with our room. So, we ultimately ended up in a suite. Even it had a few minor issues. But, we decided to live with it. ;>)



I'll post something a little more "spiritual" later this week or over the week-end.

Ready to preach, pray or die at any given moment

I have used that phrase for so many years now that I don’t even remember where I picked it up first. I think I first heard it from Reuben Welch, author of the best selling book, “We Really Do Need Each Other”.

My best friend, Dave Woods’ called me on it recently when we were visiting his church in Ohio. And my friend, Billy Long called me on it last week in Bible study. So what does it mean to me?

Ready to Preach?

Paul said in Romans 1:15, “So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.” KJV

The NASB says, “So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.”

For these reasons mentioned in the preceding verses, he was ready, if he had an opportunity, to preach the gospel at Rome. Though it was a public place, though it was a dangerous place, where Christianity met with a great deal of opposition, (remember, the Roman Emperor was fond of dipping Christians in tar and impaling them on pikes and then lighting them on fire to light his parties) yet Paul was ready to run the risk at Rome, if the opportunity came to him:

Charles Haddon Spurgeon, one of the best known preachers of the late 1800’s wonders if Paul didn’t use the words “I am ready” as his motto. Almost the first words out of his mouth when he was saved were, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” (Acts 9:6)

Ready to Pray?

Matthew 26:41 says, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.”

Mark 13:33 says, “Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.”

Mark 14:38 says, “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly [is] ready, but the flesh [is] weak.”

Luke 21:36 says, “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”

James 5:16 says, “Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

But, I caution you. Praying is sometimes the easy part. The hard part is often the “taking our hands off and letting God deal with it in His timing” part. Or the “patiently waiting upon the Lord” part.

Ready to Die?

For to me to live [is] Christ, and to die [is] gain. But if I live in the flesh, this [is] the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh [is] more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.

Philippians 1:21-26 KJV

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.

Philippians 1:21-26 NIV

We all have a somewhat natural fear of death and dieing. I suppose it is partly because of the reluctance of leaving our loved ones. God has given to us beautiful and loving relationships, and the thought of being separated from these relationships is difficult. We are never ready it seems to let them go. We hear the phrase “hang on for dear life”. Often we are hanging on too dearly to this life.

Part of the fear comes from the unknown. There is always a certain fear of the unknown. For the unsaved, there are many unknown factors concerning, death that if they were known, they would have an even greater fear of death. For the believer, if we only knew all of the facts, we would have no fear at all. Rather, we would be like Paul, willing to be absent from this body that we might be present with the Lord.

In Philippians 1:23 Paul speaks of his mixed emotions, he had a desire to depart from this body and be with Christ, which he said was far better, yet he felt a necessity to live a little longer because of the loving relationships and he felt that they still needed his spiritual guidance.
In his letter to the Corinthians he mentioned how that we who are in these bodies often groan, earnestly desiring to be freed, not that we would be unbodied, but we longed for our new bodies in heaven.

So what does this mean to me?

I address this post primarily to men today. And the message to us as men is this. You and I are called to be the Spiritual leaders of our homes. I can think of no better way to live before our wives and children’s eyes than like Paul writes about in the passages that we have looked at in this blog post.

Paul was ready to preach – And maybe that is just a poor choice of words. What he is saying to us that we are to be ready to proclaim the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To give a reason for the hope that lies within us. “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” 1 Peter 3:15 NIV

Paul was ready to pray – There is nothing more important that we can can do than to pray. Pray for ourselves, lest we fall into temptation. Pray for our family and loved ones. Pray for our leaders in the Church and in the government.

Paul was ready to die – He says late in his life that he has run the race. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness,” 2 Tim. 4:6-7 NIV

Are you ready for whatever God will put in your path today or this week?

Are you ready to meet Him if He were to call you home right now?

Would you like to be?

You can be! By the authority of God’s Word and in the power of the Holy Spirit you can be ready to “preach, pray, or die” at any given moment.

Living in a Tent, Worshipping at an Altar

In Genesis 12, Abram goes down to Egypt for legitimate reasons. After all, there was a famine in the land. But that sort of begs the question as to whether or not God could have or would have provided for Abram back in the land that God had promised him? But, we can deal with that in another post.

So what does Abram do after his little jaunt down into Egypt? In Genesis 13, he comes back to the fertile land of the promise and he builds an altar. Abram finds himself in a situation that is very familiar to many of us. He finds himself in a location, and a spiritual condition, where he does not feel God's presence as near as he once did. So Abram does what makes sense. He goes back to the place where he last felt close tot he presence of God. And further he returns to the lifestyle that he was living prior to his sojourn in Egypt.

Abram did what he should to rekindle the fire of God's presence within him. He did not beat himself up for his recent sin. Instead he got busy by getting back on the journey and adventure that God had called him to. He went back to living in a tent as a pilgrim, back to worshipping at the altar that he had built before, and back to calling upon the name of the Lord.

Here is a model for you and I to follow when we find that we too have wandered from God's presence and found ourselves mired in sin. First, get out of the place of sin. Second, return to the place and the activities where we last felt God's presence.

This I know for sure. If we are feeling afar off from God, rest assured it is not God who has wandered from us. It is always us who have wandered from God.

Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!

Now your burden's lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!

And like a newborn baby
Don't be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall...so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!

O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can't contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!

Chris Rice - Untitled Hymn (Come To Jesus)

God's Covenant with Abraham

This was the topic in our Sunday School Class (er, I mean, Bible Study) this morning. We studied Genesis chapter 12. The Abrahamic Covenant may offer more questions than answers. I know it certainly does for me. Here are some of the questions that I have:

• Does it promise Israel permanent existence as a nation?
  
• Does it promise Israel permanent ownership of the promised land?
  
• Is the covenant conditional or unconditional in nature?
  
• If it is conditional, then the fulfillment of its promises is dependent upon the obedience of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their physical descendants, the people of Israel.
  
• If the Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional, then is the fulfillment of its promises dependent upon the faithfulness of God to His word, or upon man's obedience?

Do you need a refresher on the basics of the covenant between God and Abram (Abraham)? If so, turn in your Bible to Genesis 12 and again in chapter 15.

There are three main features to the Abrahamic Covenant.

1. God promises Abram land (lots of it!). The promise of land is found in Genesis 12:1. God called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees to a land that He would give him. This promise is reiterated in Genesis 13:14–18 where it is confirmed by a shoe covenant; its dimensions are given in Genesis 15:18–21 along with the dead animals and the stroll through the carcasses.
   
   
2. God promises descendants (lots of them!). God promised Abram that He (God) would make a great nation out of him. Abram, who was 75 years old and childless at the time (Sarai is barren at this point), was promised many descendants. This promise is further explained in Genesis 17:6 where God promised that nations and kings would descend from the him. This promise leads to the Davidic Covenant of 2 Samuel 7:12–16 and would lead to King David's throne and ultimately with King Jesus.
   
   
3. God promises blessings (again, lots of them) and redemption (final, full and free!). God promised to bless Abram and all the families of the earth through him. This promise is further defined in the New Covenant found in Jeremiah 31:31–34 as well as Hebrews 8:6–13, and has to do with “Israel’s spiritual blessing and redemption.” Jeremiah 31:34 anticipates the forgiveness of sin and points us ultimately toward the cross and Easter.

I cannot escape the "unconditional" nature of this covenant. In fact, Abram is sound asleep during the covenant ceremony. God, and God alone, in the form of fire and smoke walked among the animal carcasses. This is a divine indicator that there was really nothing Abram could have done any way. At least not at this part of the process.

Now, does that mean that Abram did not have a real and active part in living out the covenant? Absolutely, Abram had a part. His part was to walk with God and follow where He led. His part was to keep his eyes on God as God led him out of Ur of the Chaldees and into a land that Abram knew absolutely nothing about.

His part is just like our part. We are to walk with God on the same sort of "faith walk" that Abram went on. We are to walk with God daily. And daily we are to commit to upholding our part of the covenant. But, we like Abram, do not have the power and ability to do even our part on our own. Fortunately we have the Holy Spirit to empower us to live a holy life, a covenant life.

There is much more to be said about the twelfth chapter of Genesis. I particularly like the last few verses where we see pharaohs and plagues and deliverance out of Egypt. What an incredible foreshadowing of events that would take place some 430 years later. But, I will save that for another blog post.

What are your thoughts about this chapter and story of Abram's life?

What is your favorite Holiness passage?

Mine is probably I Peter 1:13-16

Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves according to your former lusts in [the time of] your ignorance: but like as he who called you is holy, be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living; because it is written, Ye shall be holy; for I am holy.

For me, being holy is the opposite of being “common” or “worldly.” God is holy in that He is utterly and completely different and distinct from His creation. We must also be different, distinct, and separate from the worldly attitudes and actions that are so prevalent in today's society and that characterize the unbelievers.

I also like the KJV for a passage in chapter 2 and verse 9, in that it conveys an idea of being separate:

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9, KJV).

I have some more favorite passages on this subject (as you might imagine.) But this will do for now.

So, what is yours? And why is it your favorite?

Life Has Settled Down

It is hard to believe that my last post was January 9th. But, that was the last one. Since then there have been many things that have happened in my life. And God deserves all the praise and glory for what He has done. And life is settling down.

I am very grateful for those of you have have stopped by my blog from time to time to see if I was still "on the air." Some of you even wrote me personal emails and I am thankful for those as well.

I have nothing profound to say on this my first post in quite some time. I will just say that I am still captured by the words of one of the songs that we sung yesterday in church.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

He has been my strength!

He has been my hope!

Great is Thy Faithfulness!

Maybe the Best Christmas of ALL Time!

Christmas of 2006 may have been the best of all time for me. There are a lot of reasons for this. Some of them are too personal to share in this forum. But God really has blessed my family in recent days. I am grateful for all that He has done and all that He is doing.

Here are some photos from Christmas 2006.

Happy New Year!

I trust that you all had a great and glorious Christmas Season. And my prayer for each of you is that this year will bring you closer to God and that you will experience His good, pleasing and perfect Will. And I pray that you will be greatly blessed in this new year.

Updated Blog Layout

I updated the blog with a new layout and some new content. What do you think of the layout? For those of you who are using Blogger, what do you think of the changes from the author perspective?

Mary did you know?

That is the key question in the popular Christmas song written by Mark Lowry with music by Buddy Greene.

Luke's Gospel records the story and answers some of the questions from the song like this in chapter 1 and beginning in verse 26:

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin`s name was Mary. And he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord [is] with thee. But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this might be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God.

So, Mary did you know? YES! Yes, she knew! The angel told her!

Did she know all of the implications of what the angel told her? Probably not. I do not think she carried the site of the cross in her mind from the time the baby was born. I do not think she "saw" the events before they took place. But she knew who was to be born that day.

The good news is that you and I can know Jesus in all of his saving grace and majesty. This time of year we focus on the babe in the manger. But Mark Lowry reminds us that this child would:

• Some day walk on water
• Save our sons and daughters
• Come to make us new
• Deliver us
• Give sight to the blind
• Calm the storm
• Restore the hearing to the deaf
• Raise the dead
• Heal the lame
• Touch the mute
• One day rule the nations
• And is the great I AM

Mary did not know everything. But she knew enough. The rest she took by faith. You and I can learn from that. God speaks to us and He reveals to us the He is calling us to a right relationship with Him. He is offering us the best gift of all - Salvation.

Let's accept the gift. And let's take the rest of it like Mary did... by faith.

With a thankful heart

Today, and every other day, I have a great deal to be thankful for.

I am thankful that Jesus Christ saves and sanctifies me today.
I am thankful for my wife.
I am thankful for my children.
I am thankful for my family.
I am thankful for my friends.
I am thankful for my health.
I am thankful for my job.

I am also thankful for my blog where I can express some of the thoughts running around in my head. It has been a while since I posted something. But there have been a lot of thoughts running around up there and I haven't been able to focus on getting them down in a coherent fashion.

Nevertheless, join me in being thankful for all that God has done for you throughout your life.

Blessings on you,

Kevin

Hold to God's Unchanging Hand

Franklin Eiland penned the lyrics below. They have been sung by many southern gospel groups over the years. I suppose Russ Taff (of the Imperials, Gaither Vocal Band, and others) has done as good of a job as anyone when he recorded it several years ago.

It speaks to me about the steadfastness of God. He is steadfast and He is neverchanging. He loved me yesterday. He loves me today, And He will love me tomorrow. The Bible says that He will not leave us without a comforter. In fact, the Psalmist David cries out to God in Psalm 27:9 this way:

Hide not thy face [far] from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

And then, in John 14:16-18 it says:

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [Even] the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

I don't know about you, but I need to hear that every now and again. There are some days when it just seems that the sun is not shining as brightly as some other days. And there are some nights that seem longer than others.

Read over the lyrics to this old song. And, if your computer supports playing midi files, then click on the link at the bottom of this post and listen to the tune. It will be familiar to some of you who are over 40!

Time is filled with swift transition,
Naught of earth unmoved can stand,
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand.

* Refrain:
Hold to God’s unchanging hand,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand;
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand.

Trust in Him who will not leave you,
Whatsoever years may bring,
If by earthly friends forsaken
Still more closely to Him cling.

Covet not this world’s vain riches
That so rapidly decay,
Seek to gain the heav’nly treasures,
They will never pass away.

When your journey is completed,
If to God you have been true,
Fair and bright the home in glory
Your enraptured soul will view.

http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/Hold_to_Gods_Unchanging_Hand/midi/

Long time no blog

It has been a while since I posted anything to my blog. But, believe me, that is not because there has been nothing noteworthy going on in my life. In fact, quite the opposite. There has been a great deal of activity. Now is not the time to share it. But let me say with full assurance that God is in control. He reigns supremely in my life and I am grateful to Him every day for his provision.

Look for more updates and new posts very soon!

Thank you to each of you who has stopped by to visit even though there has been nothing new here to see.

Kevin

All I could say was "Wow!"

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Psalm 8:3-5

I had seen it in pictures, but I wasn't really prepared for the beauty and magnificence of God's handiwork when I stepped up to the rim of the Grand Canyon for the first time. All I could say was "Wow!"

God got that one right!

Is Bigger Necessarily Better?

I don't have all of my thoughts together on this. But, I am questioning in my own mind the drive of many mainline denominations toward the mega-church model. I belong to a denomination that places a rather significant emphasis on the "K-Church". K Churches are churches that average more than 1000 in regular worship attendance. I have a friend that is starting a new church that challenges many of the models of church planting. That activity along with some other personal experiences have me wondering about some things.

As I said at the beginning, I don't have all my thoughts together on this one. Rather I have more questions than I have answers at this point. I'll get to those in a moment. But first, I have a few observations.

I grew up in a series of churches that rarely exceeded 200 in attendance on any given Sunday. Most of the churches that I have been fortunate enough to worship in have been under 100 in regular attendance. In fact, my "favorite" church up to this point was right at 200 in regular attendance. It was my favorite for many reasons. I served on my first church board at that church. We went through a building program, a pastoral search and had many other real and exciting experiences in that church. We were part of a great group of young couples and we were heavily integrated into the life of the church through various avenues of involvement. We knew everybody. Everybody knew us.

By contrast, up until recently, we were worshipping in one of the largest churches in the metropolitan Houston area. A church with the stated goal of getting larger through acquisition of smaller churches, through satellite churches operating in theaters, and through traditional growth and influx. Their motto is "one church in three locations." I know the pastor by name only. I think I know his wife's name. I don't know his children's names. He doesn't know me. He wouldn't even know I was a member if we ran into each other in the grocery store. If I was to get sick, or be in the hospital, or have a family crisis I wouldn't have a clue who to call. The Bible study class that we attended right before we left had about 110 people who attended regularly.

So, here are some questions that are in my head:

1. Is bigger necessarily better?
   
2. What is the ideal size church?
   
3. What is the value of a large church that cannot be found in a smaller church?
4. How do you achieve a sense of "family" in a church of 6000?
5. Is "one church in three locations" a Biblical model?
6. Is the small church passé?
7. Are we doing a disservice to many pastors who work hard and labor long in churches that may never be mega churches when we glorify these mega-church pastors?
8. Do you need a certain number of folks to make a "critical mass" before you can impact your community?
9. Is the community church a dieing breed as more folks flock to the mega-church?
10. Who is driving this? Is it the denomination's leaders? Is it the pastors of these big churches? Is it the Church Boards and/or Deacons?
    

Again, I know there will be some strong opinions on this. But, let me ask you to look at this on a very practical level. For those of you who attend a mega church, who in your church would you call if you found out today that you were facing a crisis like cancer or the loss of a loved one? If that is too depressing to answer, let me put a positive spin on it. If you or your daughter was planning a wedding, would she want the pastor to officiate and hold it in the mega church, or would she prefer a more intimate setting?

I don't think there are inherently right or wrong issues here. But, I know in my heart that I do not feel as connected to the church as I have in years past. And that is a desire of my heart. To be connected. To be connected to the Lord Jesus Christ. And to be connected to his body, the church.

I would gladly give up the big projection screens, the lighting effects, the professional musicians and the slickly produced worship services for a family altar time on Sunday morning and an offertory by a young person just learning to play the piano. But maybe that is just me.

An Issue of Control

There is quite a debate raging on another blog that I frequent. It is a discussion board that is primarily focused on folks with some sort of connection to the Church of the Nazarene. The thread began when someone posed the question: "Are we scared of the Holy Spirit?" It has meandered through several sub-topics. And one of those is about control.

I won't belabor that thread here. But, it has prompted me to look deeper into my own life and look at the issue of control within my own spiritual life. And then there is the recent series that we have been involved with in both Sunday School and through Worship that has dealt with the issue of Sanctification in the life of a Believer. Again, I won't belabor that.

But I am reminded of the great evangelist and missionary to India, Dr. E. Stanley Jones. Upon being elected as a Bishop in the Methodist Church he declined the election. His reason... He felt a calling on his life and heart to go to India. Dr. Jones said that he heard, "I want you in India." Is that "control" of is it a "sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit?" I certainly prefer to think of it as the Holy Spirit leading me versus the Holy Spirit controlling me.

How easy it would have been to assume that an election to the highest office that his church could confer upon him was the leading of the Holy Spirit. But that was not God's plan for Dr. Jones. Some of us are running ahead of where God is leading us. Some of us lag behind.
My goal is to walk hand in hand with Him as we travel life's journey.

He leadeth me, O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate'er I do, where'er I be
Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful follower I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.

Joseph H. Gilmore

A Brief Hiatus

I have been on a brief hiatus from the blogosphere for the last couple of weeks. And I have really missed it. Family, business travel, and every day life have conspired to keep me busy. Too busy for blogging.

But I had lunch today with a dear friend who I respect and admire a great deal. He is about to plant a new church in a nearby area of Houston. Pray for him and his ministry. You don't have to know him personally to pray for him. But as the Holy Spirit brings this post to your mind, remember him in your prayers.

He is one of several guys that I know on both a personal and professional level. He really challenges me to think about many of the ways that I have always experienced "Church". I work with another couple of guys like that. And I have several other professional relationships that have developed into real personal friendships where there is challenge and accountability and a call to continue on the way of Holiness.

I am working on another more significant post. Perhaps I can work on it next week while I am away again on business.

I'm pressing on the upward way,
New heights I'm gaining everyday;
Still praying as I onward bound,
"Lord plant my feet on higher ground."

A place where everybody knows your name

I have been engaged in a dialog with some folks on a blog that I have been frequenting lately. It is a blog that is primarily focused on folks like me who either, were or, are a part of the Church of the Nazarene. What began as a conversation around Stephen the Martyr and his activities that led to his death included an observation that these activities were not necessarily authorized by the early church. That developed into a discussion around the roles and authorities in the local church. Many have very strong opinions on that. I know that I certainly do!

What also developed out of that dialog was an idea or two about what it is like to serve in some ministry capacity in a local church. And further, whether or not that ministry is fulfilling on various levels. There were some clergy vs. laity battle lines drawn. I participated in that discussion vigorously. (Perhaps too vigorously at times.)

Several things can be noted from that discourse. Consider the following:

Many times neither side understands the stresses and issues that each other faces in their daily lives. Many times pastors, who have come right out of college and into seminary and then into the pastorate really don't know what it is like to work in an environment that is unfulfilling to say the least. They do not have a recent experience or understanding of what it is like to punch a time clock.

And equally, many times laymen do not understand the stresses involved in trying to grow a church and lead a group of volunteers. Again, I am not indicting pastors or laymen here. I am only pointing out there is often not a common basis of experience on which to operate. My hat is off to all those bi-vocational pastors out there who work right along side of us laymen and who also carry the load of leading a small church. Those guys may very well have a special reward in Heaven some day. At least I hope they do!

The discussion among the 6 or 8 of us participating indicated that sometimes there was not a mutual respect and acknowledgment of each others Spiritual Gifts. That led one church to create a policy directing the pastor to recognize the fact that the lay people in his church had gifts and graces also. And that sometimes the Holy Spirit prompts the most unlikely people with new ideas or directions and it is up to us (the church) and the clergy to be open to at least consider these ideas and not immediately shoot them down as irrelevant.

This brought out a posting that quoted the passage in the NT where Jesus Christ gave authority to bind in heaven what was bound on Earth.

“Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 18:18 RSV

One of the folks participating pointed us to an article regarding the concept of binding and loosing.

In that article, the author uses John Wesley's small groups to help see how this might work in a living context. He developed it around the last of the four questions that were asked of each of the twelve members of the “class meeting.” Those questions were the following:

1. What known sins have you committed since our last meeting?
2. What temptations have you met with?
3. How were you delivered?
4. What have you thought, said or done of which you doubt whether it be sin or not?

Look at that last question. “What have you thought, said or done of which you doubt whether it be sin or not?”

Wow! What a question! How can you ask that of a total stranger? The answer is, you can't. You must have a fairly intimate relationship and investment into each other's lives before you can ask that kind of question and receive a meaningful answer in return.

This lead me to an observation at least, if not a conclusion about the local church.

My opinion, and it is only an opinion, is that the local church that we were all referring to should be the smallest and most basic element possible. Some may call them cells or small groups. John Wesley certainly seemed to agree with that and he called them “Class Meetings”. In fact he put a great deal of emphasis on that small group. There were specifics actions and accountability in that small group structure as demonstrated by the four questions that were asked in turn of each member of the class meeting as noted above.

However, all of this goes counter to our culture that tells us that bigger is better. Culture tells us that we need to be a big church to really meet the needs of a lost and dieing world. We need auditoriums to seat thousands and thousands. We need snow machines in Houston, TX at Christmas time so that kids can play in the snow at church.

Really? Is that what we need?

Please pardon the secular illustration, but do you remember the theme song from the sit-com "Cheers"? It went something like this:

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

Wouldn't you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go.
Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.

You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same.

You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
your name.

Again, my apologies for the distinctly non-Christian illustration from that sit-com. But I think it is illustrative in many ways of what many folks are looking for today from a church. They want that kind of camaraderie that you saw on “Cheers”. They want to know people like that and be known by them. They want someone to pour my heart out to when they are hurting. They want someone to laugh with them. They want to celebrate together the successes that each encounters.

That is certainly what I am looking for! That's the kind of place I would want to bring my friends to visit.

My only response to that kind of an illustration of the local church is to ask when the church, as a whole, grew the most throughout history? It was while it was being persecuted and meeting in catacombs underground. (By the way, I have been to the catacombs in Rome and the acoustics in there would rival any modern grand cathedral that you can imagine!) They were dark and dank and not exactly the most inviting place to be.

So what was it? What caused the growth? It happened long before there were praise choruses and PowerPoint. It happened without a multi-purpose gymnasium.

That thread certainly sparked a great deal of response. Albeit by a relatively small few. But hopefully those who were observing are being challenged in their own hearts and minds also.

Is there anyone else out there other than me who wants to walk in to their church and have folks warmly yell, "Norm!"?

It's Still the Cross

FFH sings a song entitled, "It's Still the Cross".

Sometimes it seems the world's unraveling around us
We fear it all may one day come undone
We can't forget the One who came before us
To forgive the past and bring hope for what's to come

When it all comes crashing down
The cross still stands alone
And on this our faith is built
And our courage is made strong

When the world falls apart
And you fear for your heart
There's a tower of peace
It's still the cross

When it all comes crashing down
The cross still stands alone
And on this my faith is built
And my courage is made strong

Though the world may not confess
You and Your holiness
One day still stands alone
And on this my faith is built
And my courage is made strong

Though the world may not confess
You and Your holiness
One day all will see
You in all Your majesty
And the cross will stand alone
As the place where You made known
Your love for all mankind
Til then in it we'll hide.

Words and Music by Jeromy Deibler, Scott Williamson, Donna Smith

Somehow this seems appropriate for this Easter season. No matter what the world tells us, it's still the cross that provides redemption through accepting Salvation in Jesus Christ. It's still the cross that we must run to for refuge. It's still the cross that stands as a reminder of what Jesus did for you and for me.

Though the world may not confess
You and Your holiness
One day all will see
You in all Your majesty
And the cross will stand alone
As the place where You made known
Your love for all mankind
Til then in it we'll hide.

In light of all of this, how should we then live?

Hebrews 10:26 and 27 says, "For if we sin deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire which will consume the adversaries."

Let's look to the Cross this Easter season and anticipate our risen Lord.

He is Risen
He is risen indeed!

The Holiness Manifesto - Is There a Crisis in the Church?

It seems that there is a lot of renewed interest in the blogosphere these days around the "Holiness Manifesto." In case you are not familiar with it, it was one of the outcomes of the Wesleyan Holiness Study Project (WHSP). The third and final meeting of the group of pastors, denominational leaders and scholars from the United States and Canada was recently held and out of that meeting came the latest version of the Holiness Manifesto. I encourage all who profess a Holiness doctrine to read it and see what, if anything, speaks to you from its pages.

In short, it talks about:

• The Crisis We Face - There has never been a time in greater need of a compelling articulation of the message of holiness. We are not even keeping pace with the biological growth rate in North America. The power and zeal of churches has been drained by the incessant search for a better method, a more effective fad, a newer and bigger program to yield growth. In the process of trying to find the magic method for growing healthy vibrant churches, our people have become largely ineffective and fallen prey to a generic Christianity that results in congregations that are indistinguishable from the culture around them.
  
  
• The Message We Have - God is holy and calls us to be a holy people. God wants us to be, think, speak, and act in the world in a Christ-like manner. We invite all to embrace God's call to:
• be filled with all the fullness of God in Jesus Christ -- Holy Spirit-endowed co-workers for the reign of God;
• live lives that are devout, pure, and reconciled, thereby being Jesus Christ's agents of transformation in the world;
• live as a faithful covenant people, building accountable community, growing up into Jesus Christ, embodying the spirit of God'’s law in holy love;
• exercise for the common good an effective array of ministries and callings, according to the diversity of the gifts of the Holy Spirit;
• practice compassionate ministries, solidarity with the poor, advocacy for equality, justice, reconciliation, and peace; and
• care for the earth, God'’s gift in trust to us, working in faith, hope, and confidence for the healing and care of all creation.

• The Action We Take -May this call impel us to rise to this biblical vision of Christian mission:
  • Preach the transforming message of holiness;
  • Teach the principles of Christ-like love and forgiveness;
  • Embody lives that reflect Jesus Christ;
  • Lead in engaging with the cultures of the world; and
  • Partner with others to multiply its effect for the reconciliation of all things.

So, I ask the questions:

Is the message contained in the Holiness Manifesto on target?
Is it too little too late?
Is the message of Holiness being diluted in order to make the church more palatable to the world?
Is there a role for me to play in spreading the message of Holiness?

I believe that much of the message of the Holiness Manifesto is completely on target. I am currently engaged in a dialog on another blog that is largely populated by folks who come out of the same denominational and theological construct that I do. And the debate is raging fast and furiously over there. Many of us know some of the folks who made up the WHSP and we are passionate about Holiness as a defining characteristic of our church.

This area of dialog has most often been the exclusive territory of the clergy. I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard a pastor say that the church is a lay driven movement. Unfortunately that is usually followed by a call to come work this Saturday to repaint the nursery or mow the lawn.

It is an all too rare thing that a pastor will engage a layman in a quality dialog around the issue of holiness. Now maybe that is because not enough of us laymen have been interested in Holiness. Nevertheless that is a shame because Holiness is both somewhat academic and experiential.

Hopefully it is not so academic that only a few can understand it. The last time we had that in church history a guy vandalized the front door of a church with a hammer, nails and pieces of paper and started a reformation!

Now many of us are frustrated by the programmatic approach that many of our churches take to ministry. And, sometimes, it doesn't even seem like ministry. It seems more like entertainment. Whoever has the "best" Sunday morning entertainment gets the biggest crowds. And bigger crowds beget bigger crowds. And church leaders are often counting the size of the crowd and sending off a report to the denominational headquarters and pat themselves on the back and declare:

"We are a great church."
"Just look at the size of our sanctuary."
"Did you see all the special effects and fog machines we used in worship today?"

And then I hear the voice of Jesus saying...

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."

The message of Holiness is a message of the cross. It is a message of death. Death to sin and its power over my life.

That message is not necessarily a message that can be easily packaged and tied up with a bow. It doesn't really lend itself to PowerPoint slides during announcements on Sunday morning. It is not our nature or culture to run to the foot of the cross.

But if that message rings within your heart, then there is nothing more beautiful and precious.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!