RESPECT

Romans 14:13 Let us stop passing judgement on one another. Instead. make up your mind not to put a stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.

The title of this post is one powerful word isn't it? Respect. Everyone wants it, but so often we don't give it. As a leader in my organization I often speak to my associates about leadership. I've always believed everything either rises or falls with the leadership. After all, the leadership is responsible are they not for the results of the organization. Sure I understand that the leader can't do it all, so he or she has to depend on those they supervise to get the job done. But let's face it. As a leader we are only as successful as those we supervise. If our people are not successful then we are not successful either. We as leaders need our associates to be able to achieve results. We must work as a team, we must work together, or we'll fail to succeed.

I wanted to take the opportunity to challenge you to look at your place of employment and see where you stand in your own team. I like to think of my business, well like a sports team. You can choose to be a football, soccer, basketball, or even a baseball team. It doesn't matter... the principles are the same.

Before I start let me share with you some main concerns that most employees have in their organization. These are three main fears or concerns of most employee's.

1. They don't feel they get recognized for their accomplishments or the work they do.


2. They don't see strong evidence of effective leadership from their Leaders / Managers.


3. They have concerns about their future and career.

Any and every business needs customers to survive. Without customers, the business dies. That's just how it is. Every business needs leaders and it needs workers to achieve the desired results that the business needs to survive. So we see three elements of every business don't we? Managers or leaders, workers and fellow associates, and customers. Now let's take a look at this team model I want to show you.

Every Leader is a coach. A coach for the team. Most organizations have a head coach (CEO, Manager, etc) But there are also several layers of coaches as well just like on a football team. We have special teams coaches and offensive coaches and defensive coaches etc. In most organizations there called managers or asst managers or dept mgrs etc. But they are the coaches for the team, the unit, the organization. Think about the role of a coach for a minute. Do they run out onto the field and make the plays? No, they observe the field or the court and they call in the plays as they see things pop up that affect the strategy of the game. They have a game plan and they follow it, but they also react and change their game plan if the rival team (the competitor) changes their strategy. Coaches change their strategy when they realize that what they are doing is not achieving the results they want to see on the scoreboard (P&L, profit loss statement.) Coaches also appreciate and pat their team players on the back when they perform well on the field, but they also hold them accountable to perform their expected roles on the team. But in the end... the team will win or lose depending on how well the coaches and the players have worked together to achieve the results. They celebrate together if they win and they suffer together if they lose. Coaches without players can not win! Players without coaches can not win! So you see we need each other to WIN! To be successful. It's that simple. And whether you are a coach or a player... you are both very valuable to the team and it's results or performance. What we need to be asking ourselves is this... whether I'm a player or a coach, am I doing all that I can to help this team win? Or am I causing this team to stumble? We have to be honest with ourselves. We must understand that it's very difficult for me to change someone elses behavior, but I can always change my own... always. So I ask... What are you doing to make your team the best that it can be?

It's about respect for each other, it's about realizing that no matter what your position within the team, everyone is a key player, everyone has a role and a job to do. It's about caring for each other and it's about helping people feel good about themselves while at work. It's about having a strong work ethic and doing our best... always. If we focus on RESPECTING each other, then we'll see the team performing better than it ever has. We'll all be striving to perform better and become better in our positions and this will affect our customer service as a result.

Remember every team has a coach or coaches, and every team has players that execute the plays or plans. But the team does not exist without the fans. If we don't have fans, well then we can't afford the expenses of operating the team. We can't afford to pay the coaches or the players for the jobs they do. The fans bring in revenue! Our fans, (our customers) come and participate in the game when we play well. Customers love a winning team! Our customers won't come to the game if we don't play well, if were always losing. Our fans will quit coming and they will go to another game in town (your competitor). We must win, because without fans, there's no need for a team anymore.

I hope we all realize that it's not about Management, it's not about the workers, it's all about the customer. The customer always responds to our performance. We must work together to achieve the results that will exceed our customers expectations. We must play well together and we must realize that we need every player and every coach to succeed. We must play to win!

RESPECT... treat each other with respect... always, and see what can happen within your very own organization. We all play a part in our own success. But to be successful alone is very rare indeed. This whole conversation reminds me of Christ's Church. We must be respectful with each other and we must realize our roles and place in Christ's church, His body. For Christ's church to be what He intends for it to be, we must work together, not against each other. We are after all on His team. we are... CHRISTIANS. Are we doing all we can for the team, or are we a stumbling block for our brother?

Riding the Fence

We all know what it means to ride the fence don't we? It means lack of commitment. We say one thing but do another. We stand for something but then wavier in our stance. We say were a Christian, but we don't live like it.

The bottom line is this... You can't serve two masters at one time.

Matt. 6:24 No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Luke 12:15 Then he [Jesus] said to them, "Watch out! be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

It's not that money in itself is bad. But what it causes us to do is bad. Money can cause greed. We want more and more and more than we really need. Money can blind us into a sense of comfort and peace but in the end it's only temporary. It has no eternal value at all and it definitely is nothing we can take with us when we leave this world. When money is our master we strive to get more. We sacrifice our time for it, we sacrifice our family for it. We sacrifice our work for God for it. But when God is our master, money is not the focus or the issue. God provides for us as we need it. Greed is not the main thing. Money or material things is not the focus but living in obedience to Christ is the focus and desire for our life.

Which master do you serve? Are you riding the fence with one leg straddled on each side. The way of the world or the way of the Lord, which side of the fence are you on? Are you content in your life or do you feel like a boat being tossed this way and that on the waves. Just when you think your living right, another wave knocks you back or steers you off course again. It tough staying the course isn't it? It's all about the masters we serve in our life that dictates our contentment. The love of money will never leave us content (although we think it will). By keeping free of the love of money we can be content.

Heb. 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" [Deut. 31:6]

Our contentment comes form God. He will never leave us or forsake us. We must take a stand on one side of the fence for Christ and never go back over to the other side. We must quit riding the fence and go ahead and get our feet planted firmly on the ground of righteousness. If we do this we will have everything we ever need. God will provide because we've put our faith and trust in Him rather than our faith and trust in our money.

Matt. 6:33 Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Do you want to stay off the fence? Then seek out Christ. He'll give you more than money and possession could ever give you. Contentment, love, peace, and eternal life. All of which money can't buy. So get off the fence and serve only one master... Jesus Christ. make him Lord of your life today!

God's Peace

Have you ever struggled with having peace? The peace I'm talking about is a peace that calms and comforts you in times of distress or anxiety. We all have those times. Yes the bible says not to worry, but we do because we just don't trust, our faith is weak. As a man of God I'm always disappointed in my lack of faith and my inability to tap into His power and experience God's peace and comfort like I should. You see I know about God's peace, yet I don't always ask for it?

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

My son has been in jail now for 2/3rds of his three year jail sentence. He is contemplating about going before the Judge asking for early release so he can take care of his daughter. His daughter is now 9 months old and he hasn't been able to hold her. His visitations are through a video monitor screen only and we talk through a phone line to each other as we see each other in the monitor from separate rooms in the jailhouse. Once a week for an hour we see him and we always bring his daughter Halle so he at least can watch her grow and she can see him and get to know him as as well. We've discussed this with an attorney and he says there's a small chance that the early release could be granted, but he's not really very confident that it will happen. My son on the other hand is putting all hopes in this happening.
When we talk on the phone he senses my lack of enthusiasm or hope that this is going to turn out well for him. I just can't seem to help myself and over the last few years my wife and I have been faced with so much disappointment as we went through this sentencing. I'm preparing for the worst, but I'm losing sleep and constantly worried about this meeting in court with the judge and what the outcome will be.

Tonight as I was sitting on the front porch, I realized that I have not even been praying about this meeting. Here I am filling my head with all kinds of thoughts that have been worrying me sick and I have not even taken any of it to God in prayer. As I was reading my bible this evening this was one of the verses I read, and I immediately realized why I have no peace. God's peace comes to me when I pray and petition my requests to God. God's peace transcends all understanding. and will guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus. This, is what I need.

It's the only way I'll be able to face the decision that is made. Whether encouraged and happy with the results or discouraged and disappointed with the results. My heart and mind will be protected with God's love and PEACE. A peace that transcends all understanding. I will be praying non stop for God's will in this situation, and of course I'll be asking for God to have my son released early if it's in His will.

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for giving me this verse right at the time I needed it most. Forgive me for my lack of faith and for not taking everything to you in prayer. I've learned that the reason I need to take everything to you in prayer is because no matter how you answer it... I will be ok, because your peace will be with me. Oh, thank you Lord Jesus. It's in the name of Jesus that I pray. Amen

Forgive as God forgives

One of the most difficult challenges of my life has been to forgive those that have wronged me over the years and when I think I've forgiven, something reminds me of what happened to me in the past and I begin to get angry and hurt all over again.

Eph. 4:31-32 says this... Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander. along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Let's think about God's forgiveness of us! He sent Jesus Christ his one and only Son to die for us. Even though we do not deserve it, even though we disgust Him with our sinfulness, He provided a way for us to be reconciled, to be made righteous, to be made perfect and holy. He gave His son up as a sacrifice for our sin. God let Him die on that cross and bear the weight of our sin on his shoulders. God forgave us when He gave us Christ as a sacrifice. He loved us that much. The amazing thing though is this... When God forgives us, He forgets about our sinful past completely. Now when He looks at us he sees us as righteous because our sin has been washed clean or should I say covered by the blood of Jesus. He sees His Son when He sees us. Now that's forgiveness!

It's hard to forgive others when they've hurt us, It's hard to be nice to those that get under our skin, but God does it! He did it for us, and if we truly have the Spirit of God living in us, then His spirit can help us to forgive others when we just can't do it. You see, we're not alone in this struggle to forgive others. We have within us the power to do it, when we just can't on our own.

Forgiving others is an absolute necessity.
Matt. 6 14-15 says... If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your father will not forgive your sins.

IT's A SIN NOT TO FORGIVE! And God will hold us accountable for this sin. He will pass judgement on our sin like he did in the parable of the unmerciful servant. In this parable He shows us how sinful it is not to forgive.
Matt. 18:23-25, (23) Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. (24) As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. (25) Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

The next few verses in this parable also shows us God's mercy. This king in the parable forgives this servant of his debt when he falls to his knees pleading that the master show him mercy. The servant promises to pay back everything, but the servants master had pity on him and cancel all his debt so that he no longer owed him anything, and he let the servant go free of debt. What's this servant do next? He goes away and finds a fellow servant that owed him some money and he grabs him by the throat choking him demanding that he pay him back what he owes. His fellow servant falls to his knees and pleads mercy, telling him to please be patient, I will pay you back everything I owe you. But he refused and even went as far as to have his fellow servant thrown in prison until he could repay his debt. Well the news of this treatment got back to the master and he brought the servant back in to see him.
Matt. 18:32-35, (32) Then the master called the servant in. "You wicked servant," he said, "I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. (33) Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant just as I had mercy on you? (34) In anger his master turned him over to the jailers until he should pay back all that he owed. (35) "This is how my heavenly father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.

This issue of forgiveness is serious. God intends for us all to love one another, to forgive each other when we say or do things that hurt. When we forgive, we do it out of God's love for us. We remember that we didn't get what we deserved either. We we're set free by God when he gave us his Son Jesus as a sacrifice to cancel our debt.

We need to let go, we need to not hold that grudge anymore. We must, yes we absolutely must forgive as God forgives, or face his judgement for our sin in this area. I can only imagine what God thinks of us when we won't forgive our brother, yet He forgave us and cancelled all debt and we don't pass it on. That makes us pretty selfish doesn't it.

PRAYER: Dear heavenly Father, forgive me for my lack of forgiveness. I thank you for these verses and the reminder you have given me of your forgiveness of my sin. Help me Lord, to completely forgive those that have hurt me, Please Lord help me to always forgive others and may I live in accordance to your will. Thank you for saving me and forgiving me as only You can. Amen.

Times have Changed

I'm amazed at the way things have changed over the years. I know that every generation has seen their share of changes and improvements in technology, but I feel that now more than ever it's changing at a faster rate than we can keep up! I can only imagine what the next 20 years will have in store for us.

What I miss...

1. No stores open on Sundays.

2. Having to fill up with gas (at 32 cents per gallon) on Saturday to travel to Grandma's on Sunday because the gas stations were not open on Sunday (except on the interstate).

3. I miss penny candy. I miss going into the drug store and buying a bag of candy with the pop bottle money I got from the bottles I found on the side of the road. I'd find a couple of bottles after school while riding my bike and I'd go to the store and cash them in then run down to the drug store and get me 20 pieces of candy and the clerk would put those candies in a little brown paper sack for me to carry them in. And the candies back then were great. the little cinnamon hot dog shaped chewing gum, the square pieces of flavored taffy. a huge variety of tootsie roles and tootsie pops. Remember the wax lips or teeth?

4. I miss the stores closing at dark most evenings and everyone was at home every night spending good times with the family.

5. Riding bikes or walking around town without fear of getting kidnapped or hurt by others.

6. Trick or treating on Halloween was the best. We'd run the whole neighborhood and come home with tons of candy. We never feared someone hurting us with razor blades or poisoning the candy like we have to be concerned with today. It was a community event back then.

7. Family reunions happened almost every weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's house. This was of course before we all started moving all over the United States with our jobs and careers.

8. I miss going to work for a Company that you could count on being there for you till retirement. Now who knows?

9. I miss getting a bottle of pop (coke) for 10 cents a bottle at the local laundry mat where my mom washed our clothes.

10. I miss going to the grocery store on Friday nights after Dad got home from work with the paycheck. The whole town was there on Friday afternoon. We saw everybody there and it was fun and a busy time for merchants in our town.

11. I miss going to the park downtown and playing on the huge slide in the middle of the park. We'd wax that slide down by finding a waxed paper cup in the trash can and then we'd rub the inside of that cup on the slide making us slide super fast. The parks back then had great equipment like monkey bar and all kinds of equipment to climb on. The swings were huge and we could really get some air as we would fly out at the peak of the swing. We'd play in the park for hours and the rule was to run home when the street lights came on.

12. Suppertime was family time. We all sat around the table and talked and the TV was never on until after Supper. (now the TV is never off.)

13. We would go to work for an 8 hour work day and work 40 hours per week. You could count on the same shift every week. Now who knows?

14. A wrist watch looked like a clock and we'd wind it up each day.

15. 8 tracks were the latest thing in music. This could be the end of records.

16. A car cost you $5,000 brand new off the lot and a house was $25-$30,000 brand new.

17. Everyone knew how to work on their cars back then because they were all the same.

18. the high school football, basketball, and summer baseball and softball fields were the place to be for the whole community. Now that was entertainment.

19. Speaking of entertainment... you couldn't beat the "drive in." Mom and Dad would send us kids down to the big screen and we'd all play on a playground under the screen until the show started. As soon as we saw that movie start to play all the kids would run back to their cars and settle in for a run of three movies. I never made it past the 2nd movie before I fell asleep. I remember Dad carrying me into the house in the middle of the night after the long drive back home. What a great time this was for all of us.

20. Everyone in town all had the same banker, insurance man, lawyer, teacher (for all generations), schools, etc.

21. Everyone knew the police chief and believe it or not, he was a great guy. Gave you a break once in a while because he was your friend and neighbor.

22. When we had a parade, it went through the whole town and latest for hours. Lots of candy was thrown out and us kids would always compete for ribbons by decorating our bikes up with crape paper and riding in the parade.

23. There was nothing like being home for the Holidays. It began with Thanksgiving and went all the way through to the New Year. I remember looking out the window on a cold night just hoping it would snow. As Christmas got close we'd dream of Santa and the gifts we'd get for Christmas. Believing in Santa and then finally finding out he wasn't real... it didn't warp our minds like everyone's afraid it will today. It was the fantasy of it that made it fun. It was like living out a fairy tale.

24. TV shows were for the whole family, no cuss words, no sex, but lots of comedy. We laughed a lot more back then.

25. TV was free (we only had three channels) but they were free. TV also closed at a certain time of night, usually around midnight and I remember they would always close the network with pictures of our American flag flying as the National Anthem would play. Made me proud of our Country.

26. We all had the same telephone Company, and some of shared phone lines with the neighbors on our party lines. I remember having to listen first before dialing when we picked up the phone because someone might already be using the phone line.

27. The US mail was the only way to send a package or letter.

28. We all had our laundry hanging on the clothes line.

29. We all washed the dishes in the sink.

30. Our food was home cooked, not out of a box like it is today.

31. Going out to eat at a restaurant was rare and a special treat, now it's the norm!

32. Cookies in the cookie jar would last a week, because you could only have one or two before going to bed as a snack. Now a days the cookies don't even make it to the cookie jar!

33. I remember when the families had a Mom and a Dad.

Now days...

We have email, text messages, job uncertainty, political unrest, Internet, electronics instead of toys, music that is filth (because we want to be able to express our self in our freedom of speech.) To have TV in the house we have to pay an arm and a leg now and it's not good enough to have 3 channels, we have to have 150 channels and we still can't find anything worth watching. Every time you turn on the TV you hear cussing, you see sex, and we just don't seem to laugh as much anymore. Everything's a drama! And it's not a tasteful drama either. The bolder the better it seems! One TV isn't enough, we have to have one for each room so we don't have to be together to watch TV anymore. The dining room table might as well be the computer desk because we rarely eat as a family there anymore. Speaking about computers, we all own one an we also pay dearly for the Internet as well. Not just in monthly payments but in the time we spend on it away from our families and the filth that is available there as well has hurt many families.

Cell phones are the new way to communicate, talk about costing us an arm and a leg... this is it, but everyone in the family has to have one. Not to talk to each other though, so we can talk to our friends or better yet, send them a text message or a picture or any other thing that is a meaningless waste of our time.

Between the Cable bill, the Internet bill, and the new phone bill for our cell phones, the average person has $200 more in bills that they didn't have just a few years ago. Is it any wonder that our children can't afford to leave the house and make it on their own? Those that go to college are often so far in debt with student loans that it takes them 10 years of their life or more to get that huge debt paid off. I feel for our youth and teenagers today trying to go out into the world and make it on their own. We've given them as a society a false hope. For some reason they all feel they need phones, computers, cars, Internet, and all the luxuries of life that it took us years to get as their parents. We've set them up to fail.

Those of us working out there today.... It's get more done with less people! The Internet has replaced the mail bag and instead of getting mail once or twice a week we get emails all day long everyday so that we can be informed and directed with each passing minute of the day. We all have more to do and less time to do it. So we extend our work days to get it done, but it doesn't work. People are stressed at work because nothing is secure and everyone is expendable. The technology changes so fast that we can;t even get the new changes communicated properly or learned before they change again. Today's technology, TV, computer, accessories, is tomorrows junk, only because it becomes obsolete so quickly.

I won't even go into the details of all the drugs that are out there destroying the minds and the lives of so many people. I'm amazed at the way the media drives issues. News is instant and available on all issues. Nothing is too graphic anymore and nothing is off limits. We get to see it all. We get to disrespect each other on the radio and on TV. We seem to love seeing others suffer, or at least we're quick to jump on others misfortune and talk it to death in the news. Never mind we've ruined someones life with all the media attention! Most of what we hear, we could have done without hearing... Why? because it doesn't affect me!

I could go on and on, but I'm tired just thinking about it all. I don't want to go back to the good old days, but the way we're tackling the days of today.... Well it's destroying our families, it's killing our time together, it's costing us a fortune to live and we all just can't afford the pace we've set for ourselves. We're in trouble, all because we don't remember what was important to us in those good Ole days. We have to slow down some. We have to, or this technology and fast paced world we live in will wipe us out. It's like we don't have common sense anymore? We have to get back to focusing on the family, Spouses loving each other, teaching our children how to survive and providing good role models for them so they can be successful in life and marriage. America has fallen into a trance. We've become disillusioned into believing that we have the right to do whatever we want whenever we want to whomever we want. It's all about what feels good and we've thrown morals and respect out the window to get it.

It has to stop.

We've got to change.

We must take a stand.

Let's learn from our past, Thank God our past generations were not so self ambitious and that they thought more of their families and their future rather than just... "What's in it for me?" We have good role models for the most part in our past, I suggest we start imitating them since what we're doing isn't working out so well. From where I sit, the future doesn't look real good unless something gives.

Steve

Pastoral Search Report

We do not have a happy report to give. We’ve not been able to find a suitable candidate for this church, though we have one promising prospect still. We do appreciate all the suggestions from the church members, and we’ve followed up each one with interviews or calling at least three references. The following is our confidential report on the present candidates.

Adam: Good man but problems with his wife. Also one reference told of how his wife and he enjoy walking nude in the woods.

Noah: Former pastorate of 120 years with no converts. Prone to unrealistic building projects.

Abraham: Though the references reported wife-swapping, the facts seem to show he never slept with another man’s wife, but did offer to share his own wife with another man.

Joseph: A big thinker, but a braggart, believes in dream-interpreting, and has a prison record.

Moses: A modest and meek man, but poor communicator, even stuttering at times. Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.

David: The most promising leader of all until we discovered the affair he had with his neighbor’s wife.

Solomon: Great preacher but our parsonage would never hold all those wives.

Elijah: Prone to depression-collapses under pressure.

Elisha: Reported to have lived with a single widow while at his former church.

Hosea: A tender and loving pastor but our people could never handle his wife’s occupation.

Deborah: Female.

Jeremiah: Emotionally unstable, alarmist, negative, always lamenting things, and reported to have taken a long trip to bury his underwear on the bank of foreign river.

Isaiah: On the fringe? Claims to have seen angels in church. Has trouble with his language.

Jonah: Refused God’s call into ministry until he was forced to obey by getting swallowed up by a great fish. He told us the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.

Amos: Too backward and unpolished. With some seminary training he might have promise, but has a hang-up against wealthy people. Might fit in better in a poor congregation.

John: Says he is a Baptist, but definitely doesn’t dress like one. Has slept in the outdoors for months on end, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.

Peter: Too blue collar. Has a bad temper—even has been known to curse. Had a big run-in with Paul in Antioch. Aggressive, but a loose cannon.

Paul: Powerful CEO type leader and fascinating preacher. However, short on tact, unforgiving with younger ministers, harsh and has been known to preach all night.

Timothy: Too young.

Jesus: Has had popular times, but once when his church grew to 5000 he managed to offend them all and this church dwindled down to twelve people. Seldom stays in one place very long. And, of course, he’s single.

Judas: His references are solid. A steady plodder. Conservative. Good connections. Knows how to handle money. We’re inviting him to preach this Sunday. Possibilities here.

If you have ever been part of a Pastor search committee you can chuckle at this while at the same time see the truth of this! All the reasons not to hire these men have most likely been heard during your own search for a Pastor. Is he single? Is he too young? Does he offend people? Does he have tact? How's his temper? Is he a sharp dresser? Does he like to visit? Is he friendly and socialable. What about his wife? On and on and on we go. The danger of course is that we get so involved in the negative things of his past or that he can't measure up to our expectations of a Pastor that we neglect to see the positive possible impact of his ministry.
I believe that if we're too particular, we can end up like the church in the example above. "Hey, this guy Judas sure looks good, let's give him a shot." You see all the other men were men of God, and they struggled with sin in their life just like you and I. But for some reason we expect the Pastor to be perfect! We expect the pastor we choose to meet all of our expectations and be this perfect person that does everything we need as our leader. He's not allowed to have issues! After all he's a man of God! He's been called by God to be the Pastor! And by the way, he's being paid.

How quickly we forget that we also have been called by God to serve, evangilize, witness, and preach the good news to those we meet that are lost. Why do we assume or think it's the Pastor's role to visit the sick? Why do we think it's the Pastor's duties to run the office of the Church? Why do we think he has to be the one to outreach to the community so they can be saved? Why do we think this and how did we get this way? I'm convienced of this... We want someone else to do our work that God intends for us to do. Is that why we hire a Pastor to lead our congregation? No, of course not. But sometimes it seems that way doesn't it? If it wasn't for the Pastor or associate Pastor and a hand full of key leaders, teachers, etc. where would we be? The rest of the people come to be a part of their own social club. In some ways we begin to think, this church is our church. It's our responsiblity to complain when things in our church are not right. Now wait a minute, we tried that 10 years ago and it didn't work out so well, it just won't work. Now wait a minute Pastor, did you run that by the committee for approval first before you go too far with this? Well Pastor we have no one do run this ministry... can't your wife do it? Pastor, Pastor, PASTOR, can't you do more, can't you do better?

Folks... the man is human. He's just like you and I. No different! He's not more Godly than you and I should be. Usually he is though because we fail to read our bibles and study like we should, so we think that because he's the Pastor... well it his job to be more Godly. No it isn't, It's his job to equip the Saints (the members of the church) for ministry. It's not his job to do all the ministry, it's his job to equip us to do the ministry. Like visiting, like fellowship, like teaching, like evangilizing, like reaching out to the lost.

Pastor's role...
Ephesians 4: (11)"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelist, and some pastors and teachers, (12)for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."

Some of the first preachers were the 11 disciples.
Matthew 28: (18) And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (19) "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Our role...
To be made into disciples. Men and women that have learned and been taught to observe all the things that are commanded us by our Lord Jesus Christ. This teaching of course comes from our Pastor and God's Word (the bible). He's our equipper. Our role however is to discover the gifts that God has given us and apply those gifts in areas of ministry within our body of believers (the church). For Christ's church to be all that He wants it to be, we must look at ourselves as the body of believers. Where have we dropped the ball? Why would we blame anyone other than ourselves for the condition of the church?

I hope that as you read this you look at your own church. You'll see these same results most likely. You have a hand full of people doing the work. You may have too many ministries going on and not enough people to do any of them real well. So you're frustrated and wonder why God is not at work in your church? You may be blaming your Pastor for the Spiritual condition of your church, yet, how often have you prayed this week for your Pastor or for the church? How often have you picked up your bible this week and read it with anticpation to see what God wants to reveal to you today? What does he want you to change in your life? Sometimes I think we just need to start over. Sometimes I think we make such a mess of things that maybe God just wants to take it down the foundation and start over and build us back up again as He intended. Have we built on His foundation with gold , silver and precious stones, or wood, hay, and straw?

1 Corinthians 3: (11) For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (12) Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, (13) each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is.

Could it be, that we've built our churches with wood, hay, and straw rather than the gold, silver and Precious stones that will hold up to the test? Sometimes I wonder?

My Appologies

I just wanted to say, I'm sorry for not having written for the last few weeks. I've been extremely busy. It's amazing sometimes how so many different things can pop up that absolutely fill our time isn't it?

Without going into any details, I'll just say, I get up, go to work, get home and go to sleep. At least for a few more weeks anyway this will be the routine. I'm pretty much on 6 day work weeks with long hours right now and a full day at Church on Sunday's really fills my time. But you know what? I'm doing OK. There's not much time left for writing however, but this temporary assignment to help out another store in another city will be over soon and hopefully my routines can get back to normal. I used to think I was busy before, but that was nothing.

Philippians 4:13 comes to mind...
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

I thank God for His strength right now. I know that as I work and exhaust myself each day, I'm renewed in my strength as I pray and meditate on his word each and every day. Even though the times alone with God are short... He still strengthens me.

In the midst of all this busy work, I lost a dear friend of mine this week. Chester Prater passed away and his funeral was Wednesday this week. His battle with brain cancer now over, he's in a much better place (Heaven) and his suffering is now over. His family has been a great source of encouragement and strength for me as well this week. I do not believe I've ever known a man like Chester in all my life. I've never seen him complain, he always smiled and was so genuinely happy all the time. Even during his suffering he was a very nice pleasant man, he handled this very well. He loved his family so much, his wife and children and the grandchildren were the love of his life. I've always believed the greatest testimony that any of us can give is the example we give others as we handle and live through difficult times in our lives. The love of God and the peace that we have from knowing that our life will be spent eternally with Him, can really shine through to others as they see us become weaker and weaker in our flesh, but become stronger and stronger in our faith and Spirit. Chester and his family were that example for me and many others the last few weeks as he struggled with cancer. What a legacy he left for all who knew him. His legacy is one of trusting in God to provide. His legacy is one of faith unlike any other man I've ever known. His legacy is one of how to raise a family and love his wife as God would intend for a husband to do. The best legacy he left however was a picture of what Jesus Christ looked like in a man. When I read in Galatians and study the fruits of the Spirit I see Chester. This man lived for Jesus and his life was a reflection of Christ and that is the best legacy that any Husband, Father, or Friend could ever leave behind. What a testimony he gave us!

Galatians 5:22,23 describes Chester better than I ever could.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Anyone that knew Chester saw all these characteristic's manifested in the way he lived. He was full of the Spirit and the Spirit showed itself through Chester. Thank you Chester for this example of faith, of love, of kindness, of gentleness, of patience, of goodness, of peace and of course... the joy you had in your life was the greatest testimony of all. May God continue to bless your family as they wait for their hour to come when they too go to be with the Lord. Until then... may we remember the example you gave each of us!

Your friend and brother in Christ,

Steve