Upcoming Events…
I am really excited about being able to go speak to the students and young people at Augusta Road United Methodist Church! I will be there on the 18th of this month in their 5:00 service…so if you are a youth, feel free to come join us! If you are the average age of my readers…over 18, please be in prayer for me as I speak to this group of young people! Their pastor is a student of mine, and she seems to really have a passion to see these kids grow in the Lord and help them bring their friends to Christ! I am praying that God will give me the words that HE wants me to speak to this bunch and that someone will come who doesn’t know the Lord so that we can see new life born! Baby Christians are messy, but awesome! They bring life to a church just like a new baby brings new life to a family! Thanks for your prayers!
Burl
Lead on!…Starting with Temptation and Rejection!
This morning, I was reading Luke chapter 4 and something quite obvious hit me. Jesus’ temptation came BEFORE all the incredible miracles in this chapter! He cast out demons and healed people in the end of the chapter. Before he did the “cool stuff” he lived through the temptation of Satan and being rejected by his own home town. If you are a pastor or leader going through a time of rejection or temptation, remember that coming out the other side of that season with your integrity in tact could be setting you up for God to use you in doing those really cool things! Too often, we fail at the temptation stage, so it seems we end up in an eternal cycle of trying to deal with that, and never get beyond it. Or we get through that, but then crumble at the rejection part. Jesus is our example of how God can use us if we hold on to HIM through the temptation and the rejection. Let us LEAD ON….Starting with ourselves.
Directions are for Sissys!
Filed under: Direction, Encouragement, Random Thoughts, personal growth
Yesterday, one of my students said, “I just wish God would give me the whole plan from start to finish so I would know what is coming.” I answered that though I can’t speak for God, His track record tells us that this isn’t really the way HE operates. When I go on a trip, I usually have my route planned if I am driving or my round trip tickets bought if I am flying. Us humans like to know where we are headed. I have never bought a plane ticket to “Wherever you feel like sending me sir!” However, that is exactly what God expects from us. Jesus said in Mark 10:21 “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” We are to follow God without always knowing where HE is leading. Be assured, that HE is always leading us. We are not always doing such a great job of following. I pray that God will open my eyes to see where HE is leading me each day and that I can honestly say to HIM, “I will go wherever you feel like sending me sir!”
Those Great Moments!
Filed under: Encouragement, Random Thoughts, Wonderment, accountability, healing, ministry, personal growth, praise, thanks, worship
Sometimes in ministry, it seems as if all is going great! GOD is working beside you and accomplishing great things through you! Those are the Great Moments! Those moments are when hundreds of people pack the altars asking God to forgive them and take over their lives! Those are the moments when you lay hands on a cripple or even a dead person and they get up and walk! Those moments when you are seated next to someone on the plane and before you touch down there is a new name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life! So what about the other times? Those moments when our spiritual walk with GOD seems stagnant? What about when we don’t even feel like reading God’s Word and even praying over meals seems like a forced exercise instead of time spent with our best friend? As is clear from my taking some months off from writing on this blog, I just went through a time where my passion for ministry if not even my passion for the Lord was in a very low place. The great thing I learned is that GOD is the same in both places! HE still walked beside me each day even when I didn’t pick up the Bible to start my morning. HE still wanted to spend time with me. That was incredible! So, enjoy those GREAT MOMENTS, but realize that GOD is the same even in the not so great moments.
Filed under: Direction, Encouragement, Fear, Random Thoughts, creativity, personal growth
God has been challenging me lately to be more bold in sharing HIM with strangers. I don’t mean standing on a street corner shouting “YUR ALL GOOOIN TAA HEEELLL! ” I simply share stories with people of what God has done in my life. Each of us has a story to tell. Mine is one I have shared before in this post. You may not feel like your testimony is worth sharing, but each of us has influence with someone! Your story is YOUR’S to share! No one else can share your story! God has given it to you so that HE can use it to reach others for HIM. When we share what God has done in our lives, let it not be just in Church and with other Christians. Step out and share your story with people who might look at you like you are crazy. They may not drop to their knees and ask Jesus into their heart when you are done, but they can’t tell you that your story isn’t true…it is yours. Remember that ultimately, it is up to God’s Holy Spirit to convict someone to realize their need for HIM to come into their lives. All we can do is BE Christ-like and share with them what God has done in our own lives. IF our actions and our words are saying the same thing, even the most hardened atheist will listen. At the writing of this blog, NOT ONE of the people I have shared with since God put this challenge in my heart have come to know Christ as I was talking with them. While I would love to say that I led hundreds of people to the Lord in the last weeks, that isn’t so. What I can say is that God has let me share with people about HIS work in my life, instead of just talking about the weather. Each of those conversations at very least made the person think. One lady asked me to pray for her…so I see that as a step toward Christ rather than away from HIM. It has also meant that I have had the chance for some very real conversations with people. If you are tired of the “It sure is cold. “ “Yep, I wish it would warm up.” type conversations we have in checkout lines, try sharing something real that God has done in your life.
PS. It was good to take the break, but I had some things to say…so my shut down blog is on a hiatus. Have an awesome day!
15 Minutes of Glory!
Filed under: Body of Christ, Encouragement, Prayer, Random Thoughts, Sunday Reflection, Wonderment, community, evangelism, fellowship, ministry, missions, personal growth, praise, worship
Yesterday, I had a chance to see just a little bit of what the party in heaven must be like when someone comes to the Lord! NewSpring Church had a 10th anniversary celebration at the BiLo Center in Greenville, SC. Just being able to praise an ALL POWERFUL GOD along with 15,000 or so other people was incredible. The great thing was the altar call…over 350 people came forward to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior! The service was about 2 1/2 hours long and could have gone longer! During the altar call people clapped and cheered for those who were laying their lives down to let Christ take control of their destiny! For 15 minutes, 15,000 people were in unison praying for those down by the stage. For 15 minutes, there were no problems, no divorces, no debt, no tax issues, no kid problems or parent problems! For 15 minutes of Glory, people stood and cheered for the ALMIGHTY GOD who was GREAT enough to reach down and save not only those who walked forward but each of us who were cheering as well. We are ALL broken vessels saved by a LOVING GOD who cared enough to make a way for us to find HIM through HIS SON JESUS CHRIST! That was 15 minutes of GLORY!
Jealousy issues?
In first Samual 18: 7-9 we have a sad bit of scripture.
7 As they danced, they sang:
“Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands.”
8 Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” 9 And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
This got me to thinking this morning. Both men were called by God almighty to be kings. What happened? It isn’t that David was perfect and Saul wasn’t…both men sinned against man and against God at points in their reign. Saul let jealousy get the better of him. That is what got me thinking about how that applies to pastors and leaders in the church. Unless you are David Yonggi Cho, then someone else has a bigger church than you do. I am sure even he has some things that he thinks other churches do better. It is great to learn from those who God has blessed with wisdom and talent to spread the gospel in amazing ways. It isn’t ok to be like Saul and “keep a jealous eye” on our brother in Christ who is working to take Jesus to as many people as he is able. We see from the example of Saul, that God didn’t continue to bless his kingdom once he began to be jealous of David and think that he deserved to be in his position. None of us deserve to be anything. God annoints some of us as leaders, just remember that we are still followers of HIM! Do what God has annointed YOU to do to the very best of the ability that HE has given you. Enjoy the Davids in your life; learn from them and cheer them on as they help you to defeat the real enemy.
Scripture memorization…
I, like many, don’t spend enough time memorizing God’s Word. This morning, I was working on a passage of scripture and tried something my friend Steve Young taught me. (The missionary in Queretaro, MEX – not the american football player.) His advice was to start at the end of the section and work your way backwards. That way, as you work through the verses, you are working from what you know least toward what you know better rather than the other way around. Just wanted to say publicly, “Thank you Steve!” It works very well! Have a great day! Hope you will put some of God’s word in your heart today!
Morning Devotions??
Filed under: Random Thoughts, accountability, personal growth, reading
This morning, I have a confession to make. I woke up late and just got to the office and I still haven’t had my time with God or read His word! It is VERY important to do so, and I know this! In Mark 1:35 we see that Jesus himself got up while it was still dark, went out to a solitary place and He prayed! If Jesus needed to pray to start His day, we mere mortals must do so as well. I promise to take a break and get my prayer time in. Thanks to all my readers for also being accountability partners!
Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches From Growing
Filed under: Book Review, Staff Pastors, Vision, leadership, personal growth
I just finished reading Geoff Surratt’s book Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches From Growing. He wrote a very informative and transparent work! Geoff, if you read this, Great Book! He deals with some great issues to help leaders overcome what can be costly mistakes in ministry. If you are a church planter or a pastor looking to learn from other’s mistakes. I highly recommend this book.
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