Anyone, especially anyone a little older, that thinks any and all things new or not done in the traditional sense are the only things being pushed in church that are worldly should watch this video through to the end.  Worldliness is not necessarily what you think and could actually be seen as the exact things you might not want to let go of.  I hope you take something from this and actually apply it to your thinking.

Love you all

Tags: Love, traditional sense, video, world, worldliness

It has been a long week.  My pastor is retiring in a little over a week and we have had to be at church almost every night for interviews with prospective pastors.  We have three Godly men to choose from and that in itself is not an easy task for all of us.  We also have a special baptism service tonight to attend.  It is great to be a part of the Kingdom but it is sometimes work.  But it is work that has eternal benefits.  It is awesome.  It has also not left me as much time as usual to write anything substantial for this blog.

Last night as my wife and I were coming home though, we were a couple of cars back from a teenager that lost control of his automobile and spun out, crashed into a guard rail, bounced off, spun around, careened into the opposite guardrail and finally came to a stop, sideways in the right lane of the interstate.  We eased around and stopped because the car was still in the road and we wanted to make sure nothing was wrong with the occupants, and to see about getting the car out of the road.  It was dark and I was afraid that someone else was going to come crashing into it.

All of this worked out and is not really why I am writing about it.  I am relating it because of what was going on and being said by the three teenage boys that were out of the car.  They were freaking out.  They couldn’t stand still and all were on phones already.  But the driver was calling out a couple of things over and over.  He was saying that his father was going to kill him and he kept asking everyone if his car was totaled.

I understand his concern.  I unfortunately had a number of accidents when I was younger also.  I am sure that I freaked out back then also but I do not remember exactly what I was concerned about.  But I haven’t been able to stop thinking of this young man’s concerns.  His father’s reaction and the state of the car was the main things he worried about.

I hope that my kids would not be concerned that I might kill them if they lived through an accident.  I hope that they know that I am only concerned with their health and safety.  I need to make sure they know this.  I also hope that they are not just concerned with stuff also.  This teenager asked at least seven or eight times if his car was totaled.

I do not know if it was just a reaction to what had happened or if this kid really was concerned only about his father killing him and the state of his car but I wish we all would get concerned about what really matters.  What I believe really matters are things eternal.  The work of the Kingdom.  The spreading of the good news that Jesus is the Christ and He reigns right now.  That the fields are ripe and we need to be making disciples.

We have an opportunity to choose a new pastor Sunday night.  I hope we choose wisely and that the one we do choose knows what really matters and can bring the members of my church to a consensus about how to reach and keep a community of lost souls that surround us.  I hope my kids do not have any more accidents but if they do I hope they know what really matters.  I hope the people of God that make up the whole body of Christ learn what really matters because if the evidence shows anything, it shows we have a lot of problems knowing-

What really matters.

Love you all

Tags: automobile, baptism service, Body of Christ, Church, Father, godly men, Kingdom, pastor, teenager

Today’s discussion is going to be lighthearted and friendly.  I need a break from the heavy lifting.

What is your most memorable experience in a church service?

Please exclude salvation, baptism, and such.  We all should remember those and praise God daily for them.  I am talking about something out of the ordinary.

What is the funniest thing you ever saw happen in church?

We are human and should be able to laugh, even in church.  I believe God laughs at us more than we might imagine.

Please share your stories.  I am sure there are many.

Love you all

Tags: Church, Discussion, fun, great memories, Love, Praise, Salvation, town hall, Tuesday

Just a few things I want to say.  This is the tagline of this blog.  A tagline is a brief description of what a blog is about.  When I started this blog I really did not know for sure what direction I was going to take with it.  Was I going to try to teach biblical concepts?  Was I going to comment on the church?  Was I going to reflect on my personal walk with Jesus?  Was I going to be serious or sarcastic?  I decided to use the tagline I did because frankly, I was not sure.  But I did know that whatever I said here would be my own thoughts, my own opinions.  It is still that way.  It has not changed.  What I say here is not necessarily backed up by my wife, family, friends, church, or anyone for that matter.  I do ask the Holy Spirit for guidance but that is in no way saying for sure that God is okay with it either.  It is simply just a few things I want to say.  And so is the following.

I really don’t understand how so many people can read something and not have a clue what the writer was trying to say.  Take for example the last post that I wrote.  It was about the need for all of us to grow in our relationships with each other.  I used a real group in my church, The Bridge, to start it off but that was not the focus.  But some readers went no further than that.  Instead, someone, and maybe more than one, took it as another opportunity to see me in a defensive position, trying to take up for this new group.  They took it upon themselves to put into action some things that hurt at least two people.  Since these are supposed to be my family, also followers of Jesus, this simply saddens and amazes me.

I do not have to defend this fellowship of young adults.  The evidence that it is good and godly comes directly from the attacks that have been launched against it already.  It is evidently offensive in some way to others.  And Jesus warned us of these things.  So my question is simple.  Who exactly is trying to cause division here?  The Bridge has brought a couple of people back into the fold already yet the verbal attacks from others have almost sent a couple of members in my church fleeing.  Who is on track as far as the mission is concerned?

When are we going to stop feeling threatened by things that are outside of or do not include ourselves?  When are we going to realize that we have to sacrifice some things that maybe we are a little too dogmatic about to reach our kids and grandkids?  When are we going to realize that relevance is not synonymous with degradation as concerns the gospel?

I am at a fork in the road as it concerns my own future already.  There are some very important decisions that I am about to have to make: decisions about life, both secular and spiritual.  I wish that the people of God would not keep on adding to it like they seem to be at the moment.  I wish my “family” would make it easier instead of harder.

You may think that I just say this out of habit but it really is from the heart.  I…

Love you all

Tags: blog, Church, Holy Spirit, jesus, Love, mission, Personal, Relationships, Relevance