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Happy Father's Day!
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Thanks dad! You are a great example of a Godly father and husband! Plus, you raised me a Nebraska Cornhusker fan… who could ask for more!
Kids Say The Darndest Things! (Christian version) – part 1
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Most people that read this blog (all three of you) know that I have 5 kids. It is exciting and rewarding, as well as tiring and challenging at times. One of the great things about kids, is that they say some pretty crazy things at times. They will use words that do not make sense in the way they are using them, or they will make up a word to describe something. “Out of the mouths of babes” refers to a truth that a kid will say, and they usually have no idea what they are saying!
This same thing happens in our spiritual lives as well. I have run across many spiritually immature people that will say things that make me want to smack them in the name of Jesus! I know, that is not a very “spiritual” response either. I do not smack them, I just want to! (That is great progress for me!) The statements that are made are an indicator o just how mature they are as Christ followers. Now, before you think I am picking on new Christians that just do not know any better, I just want to let you know that I am not talking about new Christians. They usually are not the ones that make these statements. It is usually people that have been “Christians” for a long time. You see, many years as a Christ follower do not mean maturity. Ok, let me get to a couple of the statements:
- “I am not being fed.” – News flash: It is your job to feed yourself! Come on, you have been a Christ follower for 20 years and you do not know how to pick up the fork (Bible) and eat? All five of my kids needed help to learn how to eat. They had the desire to eat, but they did not have the ability to feed themselves at first. by the time they reached their first birthday, my kids knew how to pick up the food placed in front of them and do something with it! And now they get up and pretty much find their own food and fill themselves up. Many times immature Christians say this, but what they really mean is that the message is not entertaining enough, it does not “tickle” their ears. Other times, there is a spiritual sickness that zaps your appetite. If you are not being fed, is it because of lack of desire? Is it because of sickness? I have never met a mature Christian that has a problem with being fed. They know how to pick up the Word and be fed. That is our responsibility.
- “What does this church have for me.” – As I read the Scriptures, I never once see where the church is to worry about having things for people. I do see that the church is all about putting people together that have gifts to use for the good of the body. In other words, we ought to turn the question around and ask people, “What do you have for our church.” After all, the gifts that are given to each believer are there to edify the church. Having great ministries is not a bad thing, but it is to be a by-product of people serving and using their gifts for the good of the church.
We will continue this tomorrow!
Recovering "Legalist"
Posted by: | CommentsI loved this post by Perry Noble today! I can identify with the things he says as he describes his journey!
My first conversion took place on May 27, 1990 when Jesus saved me from Hell but my second conversion “took place” when Jesus saved me from legalism.
The more and more I began to read the bible I saw and understood that my salvation is based on the grace of God and not the works of Perry. My salvation is a gift. He gave it to me. He gave it to me because of how good he is and not because of how good I was going to be.
Click the link and read the whole post! Great stuff!
Worship Confessional: April 5, 2009
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We had a great day here at G’ville as we focused on Palm Sunday. No donkeys and Palm branches, but we still had a lot of energy and enthusiasm in the place. We woke up to cold and a little bit of snow falling, but we still had over 600 in attendance. Now for the set list:
- You, You Are God – Beach
- Hosanna – Baloche/Brown
- God You Reign – Brewster/Fieldes (The people are really enjoying this one, it was the second week we have done it)
Welcome/Easter video promo
Message – Our Pastor talked about the events and people surrounding Jesus during the week before His crucifixion. As Pilate made a judgement about Jesus, so we must make a judgement about Him as well.
Building Commitment talk – After the response time, Pastor shared the need that we have for the next three years (we just came through the first three years of a building commitment). It is always hard to talk about these things on a Sunday morning, but Pastor did a great job with the presentation of the need.
Announcements (Not a normal thing for us, but we wanted to hit a couple key things)
- Let Everything That – Redman
That was it! Now, time to get geared up for Easter!
Hope you all had a blessed day! This post is also part of Sunday Setlists at Fred McKinnon [dot] com
Book Review: "Killing Cockroaches" by Tony Morgan
Posted by: | CommentsI was fortunate enough to get in on a deal that Tony Morgan and his publisher offered: an advance PDF copy of his latest book, “Killing Cockroaches.” All I
had to do was to write a review for the book and post it on my blog. Pretty good deal if you ask me! Now, I love reading, and specifically I love reading books about leadership. It is a subject that I am learning about and hoping that my learning is translating into better leadership skills on my part.
This book is a perfect book for all “ADD” leaders, as Tony’s format for the book is bite-sized pieces of information, principles and stories that can be quickly read. Though they may be read quickly, the nuggets of truth in the book get you thinking and Tony’s heart for people is obvious as read through the book. His mission in life is to help people take their next step towards Jesus, which is a great focus for any of us that claim to be Christ followers. Tony uses a lot of life experiences to give practical advice on how to better lead people and reach people.
Tony’s love and passion for the Church is also seen as he writes frequently about how churches need to wake up and evaluate what they are doing to see if it is being effective in reaching people. This resonated with me in a huge way as I also have that passion and desire to see the Church be what God intended for it to be: an agent of change for people in this world!
Tony’s book would be a great book to take your church staff through (or any business staff) to help your church evaluate where you are at. The book will help open up discussion about things that you may have been afraid to talk about as a staff, or maybe you just have not seen.
If for no other reason, buy the book to see the cockroaches running around the pages. I think that may have been another ploy to get the ADD reader to buy the book!
