A Blessing Before Me

It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord can drop a blessing into my life at the most unexpected time and usually in the most surprising package.  This morning I ran to the grocery store to pick up a few quick things for a recipe I wanted to make for my family's lunch.  Don't be surprised, I've always been a big guy and big guys need to know how to cook or they have to eat out a lot.

As I was exiting the store, goodies in hand, an elderly gentleman was coming in the exit doors so I had to pause.  He was walking with the much needed aid of a walker at a very slow and labored pace.  I noticed to my right and his left were the shopping buggies most stores provide for their disabled customers and since it was obvious he needed one I didn't mind waiting, not even one little bit. 

My wait gave me the time to look at the gentleman and I mean REALLY look at him.  How often do we go through life without taking the time to truly notice the people right beside us as they travel down their paths intersecting with ours? 

He was wearing a ball cap that told me he was a veteran and I guessed his age to be somewhere in his eighties.  Up and down both of his short sleeved arms he had bruises.  I remembered the same kind on my dad; just the slightest touch would leave its mark.  He also wore very large sunglasses, the type patients wear to go over their prescription glasses and protect them from the glare of the sun. 

At this point I guess he noticed me looking at him and thought I stared because I had to wait on him to exit.  He said in the kindest apologetic voice "I'm sorry, I came in the wrong door."  Not wanting him to think he was any inconvenience I replied "Oh, no problem sir!  You take your time I'm in nooo hurry."  He smiled and started to get in one of the shopping motorized carts.

Making small talk I said "How are you doing today?"  He just smiled as he continued to get settled and said "Pretty good today. It's a really good day!"  That's when the blessing struck.

I walked out to my truck just talking to the Lord.  "Sir" (That's one of the ways I refer to Him) "Forgive me for all the times I complain about aches or pains."  Then I went on "And thank you for that man who you sent to testify." 

A wise man once said "I wept because I had no shoes until I met the man with no feet."  Someone always has it worse than us yet how often do we peer out from behind the shutter of our self pity to notice?  I know you have problem but we all do.  I know you're tired but we're all tired.  We need to quit makes excuses and start praising the Lord!

Look around and know the many blessings of the Lord.  In Acts chapter 20 Paul said "And see, now I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.  But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I might finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."

Did you catch that?  Paul knew he was headed to trouble as he preached the message of Jesus because the Spirit had warned him but he just wanted to finish this race with joy.  He had decided that even if it was going to be painful he was going to keep his joy in the Lord.  That was his choice.

Everyday we have a choice to make, what will it be?  Will you count your blessings or complain about the momentary discomforts - even when they don't feel momentary?  You will always have to run the course of this life but what will be your attitude as you strain and strive to reach the goal? 

There will be times of pain but in the good days you've GOT to be ready to testify "Pretty good today. It's a really good day!" 

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and remember YOU ARE LOVED!

Pastoral Notes

For the last three years I've been trying to practice a rule I heard Jesse Duplantis share which is; "Don't preach what you're going through but what you've been delivered from!"  I liked that so much I made it a ministry rule for myself.

Today I came across some notes as I was cleaning my desk that I thought I'd share with any who might like a view from inside the ministry because they were written at a time I was going THROUGH something.  I'm reminded of a passage from Micah 7:8 where it says "Do not rejoice over me, my enemy.  When I fall, I will rise."  You see what you're going through is just for this season.  The only way it can have permanent victory over you is if you allow it to change you. 

Now that said, sometimes it's a good thing to change so you do not make the same foolish choices again.  No one likes being burnt over and over.  Yet far too often bad experiences cause us to pull back from something that was good and it's in this vein I want to share these notes to any young ministers who read this blog.  There will be hurts and there will be betrayals but how you respond will make all the difference.  It is my hope that in reading this you will be better prepped to recover from the injuries of ministry.

#1 - In church it seems "Peripheral people are the ones most easily offended."  You know these folks.  They come every now and then, never get truly involved and almost never work in any serious sense, yet it is these people who throw a fit over the smallest misunderstandings.  You say something from the pulpit (or these days on the Internet) and they take it personal when you never even thought about them.  How could you, you never see them.   These folks are always going from one church to another and they are usually very loud critics of where they've come from.
Don't be surprised.  You can best depend on those who will believe the best of others because they will believe the best of you.  Build on folks who do not live on the edges but get in and work even when you don't do things the way they want.

#2 - The uncommitted demand the most commitment.  As a follow up to number one, you need to be aware that the people who serve God on the edges will be the ones who want you for every need they have.  Phone calls, Juniors ball games, hospital visits for their neighbors third cousin (and I'm not making that up) they demand you be there for any need or support they desire.  If you're not, Katie bar the door!
You see such folks are looking for a reason to be unhappy, find fault, and leave your church.  I sadly tell you, let them.  Too often we spend so much of our time of the troubled folks we forget the people who truly have troubles.  We have a hungry world to win and how can we do it if we're constantly feeding the babies who refuse to grow up?

Now before I get to my last two points I want to say something sad.  Ministers, you are going to have seasons of betrayal.  Pastor Randy Valimont recently spoke at the Louisiana Assembly of God District Council and he did a great job of ministry.  One message was about a book that he will soon publish called "Dealing with Betrayal; Judas is that you?"   In this he talked about how every minister will deal with some form of betrayal on some level and when he gave his altar call for preachers who had been wounded the altar area was FILLED from wall to wall by ministers. 

It's going to happen so the best thing you can do is be prepared to let it grow you and not kill you.

#3 - You don't know who's on your side until most are against you.  In those times of struggle you might be surprised to see who is at your side.  Those you thought would never leave you sometimes do and the people you think just don't care fight tooth and nail in your support.  This is a Biblical truth we can see in the lives of Moses, David, Peter, and of course Jesus.  Your eyes must always be on the Lord.  He and He alone will never leave you nor forsake you.  The people you minister to are just flesh and blood and you can no more expect them to be perfect that you expect yourself to be.  Love everybody and if it's hard to do love them even more.  When you go through the seasons of struggle look around and see how God will rally to your side the most unexpected allies and take strength in who you have not who you've lost. 
An awesome side note; almost everyone who loved you before they left you wants to see the relationship restored when the battles over.  It's up to you preacher on whether they will or not.

#4 - The depth of the cut matters less than the hand holding the knife.  This is the area of betrayal that can be devastating.  Invariably in church you are going to have people you just "click" with.  Your personalities, likes and dislikes will create a bond making you closer to some than others.  This can create jealousies if you have folks who do not understand this so be careful.  No matter how hard you try to love everyone the same it's just not always possible.  That said, what do you do when betrayal or just hurt feelings comes from those closest to you?
We had a family one time that sat in our home and told us "You know, if you ever leave you better get two moving vans because we're going with you."  That was one of the greatest things I had ever been told.  Now we almost never speak to them.  Just over a year after that statement we were told (for months) that they were unhappy with us and were going to leave, and then they did.  I was SO crushed by the thought of losing these folks I decided I needed to leave that church and now looking back I know I didn't consult the Lord it was just my feelings.  I know there are more direct betrayals and I've even had people under me want my job but it didn't hurt as much.
I don't have perfect advice for this but let me share with you how I survived.  I MADE myself get back to the work of the kingdom and I believe this will work for a lot of ministers.  We must always be reminded of WHO we work for.  It's not the local church, the people who make up that body, or even our dearest friends, we work for Jesus.  In my pain I studied more and more (and fully admit for a long time my sermons were stained with my hurt).  I began to reach out to others who I wasn't close to and suddenly I had a new church and new friends.
What is done to you may be minor to some and painful to you but what you have been called to do and by who is the important thing to remember.  Romans 11:29 says "God never changes His mind about the people He calls and the things He gives them."  You've got to keep going and trust in that call.

Whew!  I feel like I just preached a camp meeting.  I hope these simple words help and if you don't agree that's fine, we all deal with life differently.  One thing I promise you no matter what you're going through, tomorrow is coming and the Lord wants you to hang on.  These notes may seem depressing but I don't mean them that way.  With all I've been through and seen in ministry I can honestly say I feel better about what I'm doing now than ever before.  I believe life is better today than any days gone by.  I survived my season and I'm better prepared for the seasons ahead.  I hope you are too.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and remember, YOU ARE LOVED!

The Sin of Racism

I've been saddened by the outbreak of anger over the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman tragedy and though I know less than nothing about the legality of the situation and the controversial Florida law, as a pastor I do know sin when it lifts it's ugly head.  You see young Trayvon Martin is dead because he was black and in that Mr. Zimmerman has possibly ruined his life as well.  That's why I call this blog "the Sin of Racism".

I've heard and read many stories where people have tried to turn this into a black versus white thing and that's simply not the case.  George Zimmerman is the son of a Peruvian mother and a white father.  This birth has given him the physical appearance of being Hispanic and you're fooling yourself if you think the jury saw him as anything else.

In the American culture we are very visual on our judgments.  As mixed race relationships become more and more common some of the old walls are being torn down but they are far, far, far (!) from gone.  Whereas it was once so simple to see who was this or that by their skin tone the mixing of relationships have begun to change the visual as outward appearance no longer tells you the whole story.  The mother of a mixed relationship will usually present the strongest factors in skin appearance for a child but make no mistake the father will be there as well.  In Mr. Zimmerman's case on first glance you see a Hispanic-American. 

Now we don't know all that went on in that courtroom and everything that the jury heard, but they had to make their decision on the information given them and in regards to a dangerous local law.  By the laws of Florida George Zimmerman was found innocent and it doesn't matter what you or I think about it.  It didn't matter what we thought when OJ Simpson was found innocent in California and I promise you it won't matter when the next sensational cross race story hits the news either.

What I do believe is that the jury which was made up of all women from mixed racial backgrounds did their best.  Reports tell us that some cried when the verdict was read.  I further believe and have no way of proving or being disproven that when they sat in that courtroom they didn't see black versus white but a black teenage boy versus a young Hispanic man.  In those two images come the danger of a new and dangerous stereotype.

I heard a black preacher (after the verdict) say it is our society's perception of young black men that lead to this tragedy and I said "Amen" without thought.  That's what Zimmerman saw.  He saw this teenage black boy walking through a neighborhood that was not predominantly black and he made up his mind that that kid was up to no good.  I've heard many people of all races and ages that think that same way about young black men these days.  Zimmerman followed him and made Trayvon nervous enough that it led to confrontation and tragedy.

Here's where I say this whole thing started from sin (or sins!).  When Zimmerman saw Martin he judged him without knowing him.  I could preach here about the sin of judgment but you probably already know it's wrong so I'll move on.  Another way I see this as sin is how Zimmerman would have had to determine Martin was potentially dangerous.  Not knowing him he would have had to go by outward appearance only and friend that is most definitely of the flesh.

In 1st Samuel 16:7 we learn that God does not look on the outside of a man but judges him by what's in his heart.  ANYTIME we go by the appearance we are making judgments in the ability of the flesh and not as the Father would.  A sad side effect of this verdict is how it has stirred up some hearts and brought to the surface that we, and I do mean every race in these United States still have some growing up to do because we still have problems with one another.  We are still looking only at the wrapper and not what is insider the person as the Lord would.  God help us.

I do believe justice will eventually be done.  Zimmerman is guilty of racial profiling.  The only reason he followed Martin was because he was black and that's simply wrong.  I believe as this now becomes a Civil Rights case peace will return but until we all quit seeing the outside we will never get beyond our sin.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and remember, YOU ARE LOVED!