Humility/Maturity

Philippians 2:3 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."

A truly humble Christian is aware that what he knows may not be right, and definitely not all there is to know about God, the Bible and all things considered.

A mature Christian can hold beliefs/convictions of his/her own, yet will respect the beliefs/convictions of others even though they may be different.

There are approx. 224 million Christians on the planet today; wouldn’t it be cool if we could all work together to solve world hunger, or to rectify social injustices rather then debating on who’s interpretation of particular Bible passages is right.

A truly happy Christian is a person who knows what they believe and is secure in knowing what he/she doesn’t know AND doesn’t need anyone else to believe it in order to feel good about themselves.

On the flip side… as Christians we should want others to know of this Jesus who died so that we might be free… this is the Good News we are to proclaim.

Gnat

Matthew 23:24 “You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”

I just read recently that there are over 2,000 different Christian Denominations in America alone… not to mention tens of thousands of independent and/or non-denominational churches. All claiming to be followers of Jesus, though most have divided over doctrinal issues or in the ways they express their faith. And what is even more disconcerting is that each feels their way is right and the better way.

Christians claim to be followers of Jesus, a man who reproved the religious leaders for their adeptness of missing the whole point, was frustrated by their religiosity that shut out and judged most in first century Judea, and made it clear that prostitutes and sinners were welcome in the kingdom of God. Yet, these same Christians excel at focusing on the gnats of theological positions.

As many of you know I was raised in a conservative Pentecostal home. And what I believed was right; at least that is what I believed for many years. After graduating from a conservative Bible college I began to expand by reading and study to include those who were more on the “liberal” side of the theological spectrum. And what I discovered was that they love Jesus just as much as I do, and have a heart for the word of God just like I do. And more than anything they want the truth just like I do.

So, now I would consider myself a person of the “center” of the liberal – conservative spectrum. I can appreciate both sides…and actually isn’t it sad that I would say “side”? We are all on the side of Christ… just different views, different interpretations, different tastes… all the same Jesus though. It's sad we squabble.

I hope that in my life-time (over the next 60 years) we’ll see a shift in the Church/Christian culture and see less divisions and more unity amongst those of us who follow Christ. I personally feel this is a mission of mine… to break down the walls that divide us, and let’s unify!

*I am currently reading a great book that addresses these same issues called, Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White by Adam Hamilton.

Easy Rider

I am a firm believer that life is what you make it. And even so, it’s not always easy, enjoyable and/or fair. But still it (life) is what you make it… and it is what it is… and here is why I believe this… it’s not what happens to you that matters, but what you do with what happens to you.

Many times we blame our sourness on not-so-happy circumstances that surround us… not making enough money, spouse doesn’t make me happy, kids are driving me crazy, I hate my job, I drive a piece of junk, don’t like my neighborhood, my friends, etc. Grumble, grumble!

Okay, so now you have a choice…continue to grumble about what isn’t going the way you would like…and do nothing to change it. Or, you can quit grumbling about what isn’t going right, and begin to make the necessary changes to get you where you ultimately want to be… and just accept the things that are out of your control. Now, here is where we must be careful and ask; where does God want me to be? Too many times we run after what WE want, and we lose the most important things.

Yet another thing is that we must own up to the circumstances we find ourselves in because of the choices we’ve made to put us there. My parents used to tell me, “You made your bed, now you must lay in it”.

What I am saying is that when you do “lay in the bed you’ve made” you can enjoy it… and be happy!

There is a grid to run all decisions through:

1) Is this good for my relationship with God?
2) Is this good for my relationship with my spouse?
3) Is this good for my relationship with my kids?
4) Is this good for my carreer?

Unity NOT Conformity

When I reflect on many of Paul’s letters to the Christian church I am astounded that the challenges he faced are many of the same challenges we (the entire church… all Christians) face today, some 2,000 years later.

Philippians 2:1-5 "Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had."

Here Paul address a group of Christians in Philippi, who like us no doubt had differences of opinion of various topics… YET, Paul says, “…work together with one mind and purpose.”

I have worked side by side on various projects with people who had different political views then me, different theological views then me, different fashion tastes then me… but we worked with one mind and one purpose on the task at hand. Paul is saying the same thing to us here today… “Hey gang, forget about your little petty differences and let’s focus on the one thing we do agree on and that is Jesus… the one who is, and is to come… let’s spread His message of hope”.

The goal for a church (in my opinion) is not to get everyone to agree on “these” 5 things so we can check off the boxes… but that we are all in UNITY with the message of hope that is found in Christ.

"At the foot of the cross the ground is level" - unknown

After thinking about my statement, “Secondly, “how can Christ’s life be formed in us? This is accomplished by studying Christ’s life. It would be hard to have something formed in us, if we didn’t get familiar with it” in Friday’s blog… I realize “studying” is only the beginning… because again simply “knowing” about something and not living it is actually dangerous. In my opinion the difference between “knowing” and “doing” is where true Christ-likeness lies!

To have Christ’s life formed in us we must put it into practice; we must LIVE IT! DO IT! This is where Christians have done the greatest damage to the name of Christ… when we “talk it, but don’t walk it”.

Paul later in the book of Galatians tells us exactly what “Christ’s life being formed in us looks like”… Galatians 5:22 – 24 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”

Our life (if it’s being formed in the image of Christ) will exude LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS and SELF-CONTROL!

Of course, just like with any imperfect person, there will be flaws, failures, set backs, mistakes, sins, and short comings for which we are all guilty of… BUT… I truly feel (again, my opinion) if there was a way to measure our "good vs. bad out-flow" we should register heavier on the GOOD things coming from our life.

For example; 70% of the time our life should be proclaiming (in how we actually live… not just words) the list mentioned above and 30% of the time we’ll cut you some slack. Make sense?

*** PLEASE PASS ALONG MY BLOG TO A FRIEND***

Christ-like – pt 1

Galatians 4:19 "My little children, again I feel the pain of childbirth for you until you truly become like Christ." – NCV

So what did the apostle Paul mean “become like Christ” when he wrote this letter (Galatians) to the churches he founded in southern Galatia while on his first missionary journey?

Another translation says, “May Christ be formed in you”… what does it mean to be “Christ like” or rather how can I be “Christ like”?

First, to be Christ like simple means our lives should be a reflection of Christ’s life, and we get a pretty clear picture of His life in the Gospels. The bible says in Acts 10:38 “…God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” There is where we start; wherever you go, whoever you meet – be good, and do good.

Secondly, “how can Christ’s life be formed in us?” This is accomplished by studying Christ’s life. It would be hard to have something formed in us, if we didn’t get familiar with it.

Let’s be honest here… we have all come across people who have been “in Church” or a “Christian” for many years… yet they are very UN-like Christ. How is that?

That’s a heck of a question that baffles me honestly! Because when you ask these people if they should be nice to people, they would say “yes”, yet they aren’t nice to people. I am even shaking my head now as I reflect on this mystery.

I will give this more thought and blog on it the next few times to help us all truly allow Christ’s life to be formed in us.

To be continued…

A Day in My Shoes

Have you ever wondered what a “pastor” does in a day? Well here is a peek into my life.

I woke up at 5:25am this morning; I used the restroom (TMI, but it's true) while I read a chapter from the 4:8 Principle. I then prayed from about 6:00am til 7:00am. I then went to the gym around 7:20am and worked out til 8:20am. Then I showered, shaved and ate breakfast (2 eggs).

I got to work at 9:45am, set up my computer, studied 1 Corinthians 3, talked with Brandon about the Family service this weekend and some other various church services we are planning for in 2008.

My first appointment was at 11:30am with a new church attendee, Tim Cupp. He heads up the Kansas Chapter of a great ministry called, Hard Hats for Christ. Great guy.

12:30 – 1:00pm – Lunch (Black bean burritos that Jana made, yummy! Of course all organic and vegetarian)

1:00pm - I then had the pleasure of spending about 2 hours with Greg Montague who is the pastor at Southwoods Christian Church in Overland Park, Kansas. Greg and his family founded the church back in 1990 and have seen God do some wonderful things. It was a pleasure meeting him, touring their facility and hearing his story. The thing that impressed me the most about Greg was his pure and sincere heart to help people find life through Christ.

3:30 – 4:30pm I then headed to pick up the kiddos from school, and back to office to get some other work done for this coming Sunday.

4:30pm – Head home to be with family!

Then from 7:00 – 9:00pm – I get to gather with about 25 people from OLF to have a Bible Study/Discussion. Always rich and rewarding!

9:30pm - I will read a little bit, then crash!

Yes, my life is pretty exciting... this is why I have posted "A Day in My Shoes"... to amaze you!

When Life Doesn't Go as Planned - pt 3

Without taking the time to go through all the examples we see in scripture of people who faced barriers, hurdles or dead ends and how they handled those times… let me just sum up what I see is the common thread through each story – it’s HOPE!

We all have had life NOT go as planned; the house we bought to “flip” (fix up, then sell for a profit) doesn’t sell, and we actually take a loss, the job that we had that we thought was secure and wasn’t, the love-making we thought would produce a child, but it hasn’t, the un-timely death of a loved one, the sickness that was only a cough turned into something life-threatening, the church you started that you thought would be running 1,000 people by now. On and on it goes; life not going as planned.

This is what author Seth Godin calls the DIP. The Dip is when times get tough and things are no longer easy, everything you touch only turns to plastic rather then gold, things aren’t as fun anymore. This is when we see what people (he says “companies”) are made of. He said many companies quit during the dip, and they miss out on all the blessings on the other side of the dip. You can quit, settle, or fight life through and keep pushing forward.

I do not know what you are going through right now, but my encouragement to you is DON’T GIVE UP! Keep HOPING, keep the FAITH, and keep BELIEVING.

I do not agree with the philosophy of, “oh don’t give people a false sense of hope”. Hope is many times all we have… and we should always keep HOPE ALIVE!

When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned – pt 2

2 Chronicles 15:7 "So you must be brave. Don't give up! God will honor you for obeying him."


As I struggle with this issue within my own life I find it very propitious to see that there are many examples in the Bible of people who had the very same struggles I am facing in my life. And what is just astounding is that I get to peer into their life and see the outcome - whether it worked or not. Don’t we all wish we could do that with situations we face? If God would just show me the end result of each choice so I could make the one to get the result I am wanting. Though I must admit, there have been those times God did clearly reveal to me the answers to some of life tough choices I was facing; many times through scripture, other times through an inner witness, or a trusted friend. I wish I was more spiritual like some people who God audible speaks to (so they claim). That is wonderful for them, though I have never heard an audible voice… strong sense in my heart, yes, but no audible voices (and if anyone says they've heard an audible voice - yikes, be skeered).

As I have wrestled with God about some of the dreams He gave me I am reminded of Moses and His dream to deliver his people from Egyptian slavery and it wasn’t near as easy as he had hoped... there were one too many plagues I am sure. Then not to mention the 40 years roaming on the backside of the desert with a bunch of whiner complainer types (that'll make you want to jump off a bridge).

As I began to run through just my memory of bible stories I thought of one of my favorites; Joseph - I would imagine that as his stomach rumbled from hunger in the prison cell he thought, "God when you gave me that dream about the fat cow and skinny cow deal that I told to my brothers, I don’t see where prison is fitting into that dream of me becoming a great leader".

On and on I could go… So, what can we learn from them, and others in the Bible?

When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned – pt 3... tomorrow!

When Life Doesn't Go as Planned - pt 1

I just celebrated my 39th Birthday, and I am happy with my life, my marriage, my children, my career, my friends, etc. Though, if I can take a risk and be open and honest with you… not everything in my life is as I planned, or even as I would have thought or hoped it would be (if that makes sense).

I don’t mean that I thought I would have been an Astronaut, but now I am a pastor. What I mean is that I thought I’d be farther along in life, especially in ministry… like with Olathe Life Fellowship; we just celebrated our 5th year anniversary. It’s going well, especially considering most churches fail in the first 5 years, and the average church in America is 80 people, and OLF is 300-400 people (actually 600 people call us their home church, but you only see many of them on Easter – ha!). But if I am honest - the dreams I had for the church are happening, but not near as fast I had hoped or dreamed.

What is your dream? What did you plan for your life? Is it going as you planned? Is it as you thought? Are you where you thought you would be? Is your life what you wanted it to be? Questions I am sure you struggle with just as I do. But the ultimately question is in the title of this blog; what do you do when life doesn’t go as planned? Do you quit? Some people do! Do you get sour? Many people do. Do you get bitter? I know some people who have! Do you just settle? I hope not!

James 1:12 God will bless you, if you don't give up when your faith is being tested. He will reward you with a glorious life, just as he rewards everyone who loves him.

Part 2 of When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned … tomorrow! We’ll take a look at some pretty famous Bible Characters and see what they did when life didn’t go as planned.