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Author: Stephen (Page 13 of 17)

A Fight Was Breaking Out

November 19, 2014 /

Dear Friends,

I stood at our back window looking out. I was waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. Despite my years of attempts, I have yet to develop a perfectly brewed cup of coffee without having to wait. With nothing better to do I gazed across the yards between the houses the next street over.

To my shock I saw a concerning site. The middle school had just let out for the day. I watched a group of boys surge forward against another then disappear out of sight, hidden by a house. A few moments later the group returned, this time chasing a single boy. Thoughts raced through my head as to what might be happening. Was this bullying at its worst? Were two groups breaking into a fight? Then another surge as one group pushed back. In the few moments I watched the battle I wondered if I should quickly drive over to the next street to see what was going on or just call the police. It was then that I saw it. The thing that would change everything. A boy ran through the gap, chased by a dozen others, holding a football.

What I had thought was a fight was only a pick-up game of America’s favorite sport. What had prevented me from seeing the truth were the houses on either side of my field of vision. If I had been able to magically blast them away I would have known the true context of the battle between these boys on this day. I would have known this was not a neighborhood falling into pre-gang violence but a community united. What I lacked was the full context.

When we read our bibles we can too often be guilty of the same thing. We can read a few verses without seeing what is around. The results can be devastating. There can be many houses which block our vision: chapter and verse markings, headings, and pages to be turned. Left unmoved we can fall victim to the same errors I made watching football.

During a class I took in seminary I endured a near daily drill from Dr. Ben Witherington, “A text without a context is a pretext for anything you want it to be.” And a football game without a Good Year blimp overhead becomes gang warfare. Whenever we read our bibles it is a good exercise for us to step back and read the surrounding verses, chapter and book. This is also why it is a good practice to occasionally commit to read your bible through (yes, from Genesis to Revelation). The practice will help implant into your mind a general context of scripture as a whole.

Blessings,
Pastor Stephen

P.S. Did you know you can read through your whole bible in a year by reading 3 chapters on week days and 5 chapters on weekends?

Do you feel a little rusty?

October 28, 2014 /

rusty truck

I have seen the movie so many times I should be able to quote the entire dialogue. Trevor used to love to haul logs and help thresh the corn. But those days were long passed him. He sat in the yard amongst rusty old cars and machinery waiting to be melted down and reused. That was the reason Edward came to the yard that day. He came to get a load of scrap metal to take to the steel works to be melted down. After meeting Trevor all that Edward could say was “It’s a shame. It’s a shame.” They were going to cut Trevor up and sell him for scrap. You see, Trevor is a traction engine and Edward, well he is a small steam train. Edward saw through the rusty exterior to see the usefulness of the old traction tractor. As the story progresses it is surprisingly the church who comes to Trevor’s rescue. Buying him from certain destruction, giving him what he needed most, some paint, polish, and oil and in no time he was good as new.

Seeing potential in people can sometimes be a bit more challenging and the road of transformation more complicated. But the first step is to see the next is to do something. Compassion that has no action is really no compassion at all.

Most of us have times in our lives when we questioned our general usefulness. It seemed like life was on an express train to the scrap yard. That is until someone saw us. Someone saw potential we struggled to see in ourselves. They came alongside us with compassion and gave us the opportunity to be as good as new again. Are there people in your life that need to hear a message of continued hope? Do you see them?

Blessings,
Pastor Stephen

Let’s Ride the Circuits Again

October 23, 2014 /

Hello Friends,

Today I share a bonus Milk Can. These are some ideas that have been rumbling around in my head. I have shared them on many occasions, but this is my first time to bring them into this arena.

Francis Asbury StatueIn short, my challenge today to churches and pastors is to consider riding the circuits once again, but instead of dusty trails on the back of a horse, let’s ride the electronic circuits of our computers.

What do I mean? In my denomination, and others like it all across our country, we have many small churches in small towns. These churches are struggling under the economic realities of our time. Many are unable to pay the salary for a part-time pastor, not to even consider a full-time pastor. Additionally, in many of our larger cities we are seeing a growing phenomenon of the multi-campus churches. Let’s put the two together and reach our smaller towns!

How do we do this? It is really quite simple. If you are in a city and there is a church or two in neighboring towns that are unable to find or support a pastor, offer to be there pastor. Provide pastoral care and cast a vision for what could be. When it comes to the sermon on Sunday morning there are several options available including:

  • Live simulcast your church’s sermon into the other church.
  • Video record your church’s sermon and upload it to a server. The other church could then download/stream the sermon into the service on the same day.
  • Burn a DVD of the sermon and have a runner take it to the other church.
  • Video record your sermon on a Saturday night. Play this sermon at the sites while the sermon is preached live at one of the churches on Sunday.

I hope you noticed something. Many of these options would allow us to be circuit riders once again. Each Sunday we could deliver our “live in the flesh” sermon to a different one of our churches. The other churches would receive the same sermon but in an electronic format.

What about leadership? Designate a lay pastor at each site who is responsible for the worship service details each week. One of the great things about small churches is they usually already have a person who is the de facto lay pastor. If they didn’t, the church would have closed years ago. On a very regular basis meet together with each of the lay pastors as a group. Use this time for unified prayer, vision casting, dreaming, planning, and leadership development.

What if we were to ride the circuits again?

Pastor Stephen

How to Find a More Excellent Way

October 21, 2014 /

hands in the shape of a heart

Maybe Paul knew we were not going to get along with each other. Maybe he knew we, as humans, are competitive by nature. No matter what we are doing there always has to be a winner and a loser. Someone has to be on top and be better than someone else. In the church we are certainly no better. In the midst of our competitiveness Paul wades deep into murky waters and attempts to address spiritual gifts. In his letter to the people of the ancient city of Corinth he begins to lay a foundation teaching us four things:

1. Your spiritual gifts are just that gifts.

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given . . .” (1 Corinthians 12:7).

The gifts we have, whether they be wisdom, knowledge, prophecy, or healing are not earned by you and I, and therefore we have no reason to be proud of them. We may have a picture on our wall of a state championship earned in high school. This is good, we should be proud of the accomplishments we worked hard for. But spiritual gifts are different, there are no plaques on our walls. No pictures of glory days to look back on. They come from God at his discretion.

2 . . . . but they aren’t for you.

“. . . for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7).

To be a Christian is to live and share in community. We are spiritual gift Pony Express riders. We have been given the satchel of gifts to carry for our designated time until we can pass it on to the next rider and ultimately see it emptied out for the community to enjoy what is inside.

3. We need each other.

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form on body” (12:12).

As much as we may be tempted to go it alone our gifts are worthless on their own. The gifts God gives to each one of us only have value when they are combined with each other’s. Attempting to go it alone makes us look like a chicken with its head cut off. The show is fun to watch for a little while, people may even chase you around, but eventually inevitable death will come.

4. There is an even better way.

“And now I will show you the most excellent way” (12:31).

The way is love. It is rare to hear 1 Corinthians 13 read outside of the context of a wedding ceremony, but when Paul shares these words he is not standing in a chapel wearing an Elvis costume he is describing the “most excellent way” for the church. This is what the church should look like. This is how we should treat each other. This is what using our spiritual gifts should be. So “follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts” (14:1) because . . .

Love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.
Love does not demand its own way.
Love is not irritable,
Love keeps no record of being wronged.
Love does not rejoice about injustice
Love rejoices whenever the truth wins out.
Love never gives up
Love never loses faith
Love is always hopeful
Love endures through every circumstance.

Now that is the kind of church I want to be part of!

Pastor Stephen

Why would a pastor commit suicide?

October 14, 2014 /

Blurred Stained Glass

Dear friends,

It seems over the past few months my social media feeds have frequently included posts and comments about pastors who have committed suicide. While I have yet to have had a friend choose this path, many of my colleagues have lost fellow pastor friends and neighbors to suicide. The frequency of these occurrences has give me pause and caused me to think about the reasons I believe pastors may feel trapped and choose the path of suicide. So in this month of “Pastor Appreciation” allow me to share with you some of the other side of being a pastor.

1. We are failures. Intentional or not, the message we receive today is clear. If your church is not growing, if your congregation is not a “mega-church,” then you are a failure. I remember having lunch with a gentleman and being asked what size of church I saw myself pastoring. I answered that I used to see myself pastoring a church of around 700 (to this day I do not know why that number) but now I am more interested in pastoring a church of significance than size. A church can be in the thousands and be doing nothing for the Kingdom of God, and a church can be a few dozen and cause the gates of hell to tremble in fear. My answer was not the right one.

Listen to what Trevin Wax has to say about this in his book, Holy Subversion:

Imagine interviewing for a church position today and saying, “I believe God wants us to be kingdom-focused and mission-minded. It could be that as we start to move into more intensive discipleship, we will shrink before we grow.” In most churches, you would be shown the door quickly. It’s too risky. No one wants to hear about shrinking. Never mind that the concept is biblical. Never mind that Jesus talks about branches being pruned for the good of the tree. Never mind that shrinking actually happened in Jesus’ earthly ministry. Embracing the small over the big? This is the era of super-sizing everything. Bigger is better—always; isn’t it?

2. Money is tight. Really tight. Money is a reality of life. And a lack of it in churches and a pastor’s monthly paycheck is also a reality. The skill set required to be a pastor could earn exponentially more in the marketplace. It is hard to not feel the draw to greener pastures as we see our social media friends go on elaborate vacations, buy new cars, and upgrade their houses. As a human I am responsible for the finances of my home. As a pastor I am responsible for the finances of the church. The weight of the two can be crushing sometimes. But, apart from starting a printing press in the church basement, there is little pastors can actually do about it.

3. We can’t leave. When a pastor decides to quit being a pastor or to even take a break from ministry, it is seen as at best, a failure and, at worst, an act of apostasy. Jesus said in Matthew 16:26, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” Sometimes pastors need to save their souls and leave the ministry. Church and denominational leaders, please let them go without tearing them down and exiling them for life.

4. Pastors are human too . . . but many forget this. We have good days and bad days. We say things we wish we wouldn’t have said and don’t say things that need to be said. Our kids behave in church and they don’t behave. We get sick. We get tired. We are still learning and growing. As a pastor I have been yelled at, slandered, threatened, lied to, betrayed, and gossiped about, just to name a few–all by the “saints” of the church. As one pastor I knew said, “Why is it that the people who call themselves ‘entirely sanctified’ are the most selfish, prideful people in the church?” It’s a good question to ask. Truth be told, I have never experienced the kind of personal attacks in the secular job world as I have experienced in the church. It would never be tolerated.

5. We have friends and yet we don’t. For most people when they move into a new community one of the greatest challenges is fitting in and finding friends. On this front, pastors have a huge advantage. When we move into a community it comes with a ready-made set of friends and support network. But, of course, it is a community tied directly to our vocation and so this can make forming deep friendships incredibly difficult.

As you read these words, think about how you might encourage your pastor. I mean, REALLY, encourage him or her.

Finally, I need to say something about my current church, Hope. You are a rare treasure in this world. The quality of leadership, depth of relationship, and care for your pastors and community is unmatched. Thank you for allowing us the privilege of sharing life with you.

Pastor Stephen

God and Money

October 7, 2014 /

Money Stacks

Dear Friends,

While working on a recent sermon for Hope I was reading John Wesley’s sermon On Money. For all of JW’s skills he was terrible at writing sermon titles, the sermon is better than the title would make you believe. In the sermon JW gives some guidelines to help Christians evaluate their purchases and they way they handle their money.

  1. Is this expense in accordance to my character? Am I acting as a steward of God’s possessions or acting as though it is mine?
  2. Am I doing this in obedience to his Word?
  3. Can I offer this expense as a sacrifice to God through Jesus Christ?
  4. Have I reason to believe for this work I shall have a reward at the resurrection?

Could your next purchase stand-up to his criteria?

Pastor Stephen

Colonel Dewey’s Palace

September 30, 2014 /

Charlie Litchfield/IPTWednesday, March 21, 2012

 

Dear Friends,

In 1903 the Dewey Palace Hotel opened in Nampa, Idaho. Built by the developer and silver mining baron William H. Dewey it was a marvel of elegance more likely found in the big cities of the east than a railroad town of the old west. The structure dominated the skyline of Nampa until 1963 when it was torn down because no one wanted to spend the money necessary to renovate it. The building was built for comfort and beauty but not longevity and this became its demise.

In Joshua chapter 1, God is giving Joshua his charge as he takes leadership of the people of Israel. The final charge to Joshua is to “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (vs. 9). Joshua must lead this people with courage and strength because there will be many enemies, inside and out, who will oppose what lays ahead. Time and time again the people will oppose the changes he is making and instead suggest they should return to the familiar good old days. So Joshua must not be discouraged because the task before him will take longer and be more difficult than he could ever imagine. In fact, the people of Israel would never fully possess the promise land in Joshua’s lifetime.

Leaders, like all people, want quick results. We want people who will follow our vision with enthusiasm. So to get them to follow we are tempted to build grand structures which promote our glory and satisfy the longing for comfort of the people in front of us. All the while we are building a legacy which will be torn down by the next generation who has no desire to invest in our past glory.

Many years ago while I was in college I was riding back to the hotel from District Conference with a legend of faith in the Free Methodist Conference of which I was a part of at the time. His name is Cliff. This man, already well along in his years, told me of a decision he made when he was my age and was trying to change the church but was experiencing opposition from the old guard. He made a promise to himself that when he was the old man he would use his power not to block the changes the next generation was going to inevitably make but would instead use his influence to support what they were doing, even if it made him uncomfortable or he didn’t completely agree with it.

Every generation will change and press against the systems and structures built by the previous. It’s always been this way. We who are part of the generation building the structures today have a choice we get to make. We can choose to build legacy which must be torn down by the next generation or we can choose to build foundations on which the next generation will build upon. We can choose to be a William or a Cliff.

What are you building?

Blessings,
Pastor Stephen

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Photo Source:  http://www.idahopress.com/app/artwork/beforeafter/46_b_DeweyPalaceHotelNew2.jpg

Destruction’s Trilogy

September 23, 2014 /

Dear Friends,

Each year I put on a suit and join together with other pastors from my church’s district to participate in a ritual that has gone on for centuries. The ritual of ordination. Each year I listen to a sermon from our General Superintendent charging the newly ordained to the task before them, and reminding each of us who have sat in their place to the enormity of the call we have accepted.

In Joshua 1:6-9, Joshua is receiving his ordination challenge from God. As Joshua takes on the mantel of leadership from Moses three times God says to him to “be strong and courageous.” The first time Joshua is exhorted because the task he is about to embark on is one that is not his own. It is God’s task and plan. Therefore it is God who will see it through to completion.

A second time God says to Joshua “be strong and courageous.” This time with the added words, “Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go” (vs. 7).

Money and GlobeWhy would God bring up lifestyle, the rules, and following the law when Joshua is on the verge of his greatest moment? I believe for three reasons: Money, sex, and power. In nearly every instance of a leader’s failure one or a combination of these three is at its root.

As successes began to occur under him, Joshua would stumble. He let the power he was experiencing go to his head and failed to consult with God. (Joshua 9)

David, King of Israel, would be enticed by the site of another man’s wife. It would cost the man and a child their lives and David’s kingdom would forever be divided. (2 Samuel 11-12)

Hezekiah would show envoys from Babylon all of the treasures in his palace. He was so proud of his wealth he failed to see the destruction his arrogance would bring. (Isaiah 39)

These are only a few examples out of the Bible. Many more could be collected together from the beginnings of history right up to the headlines in today’s news.

What about each of us who lead? None of us are immune to the temptations which come to us from the trio of money, sex, and power. Are we “careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go” or are we leaving ourselves exposed to destruction?

Blessings,
Pastor Stephen

Moses my servant is dead

September 16, 2014 /

Dear Friends,

“Moses my servant is dead.” It is one of the most poignant and powerful phrases recorded in our Bibles. Found in Joshua 1:2, and uttered by God, these words mark a moment of transition for a leader. Joshua has grown-up as a leader in the shadow of Moses. Now the heavy mantel of leading the people of Israel has moved to his shoulders. The next words out of God’s mouth laid out the overwhelming task set before Joshua. “Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them–to the Israelites.” God knows the responsibility he is placing upon Joshua is a terrifying and overwhelming one. First God promises Joshua he does not lead alone. “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you” (1:5). Then three times he tells Joshua to “Be strong and courageous.”Moses with the tablets

“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them” (1:6). Joshua’s task was not a new one. It was not a vision conceived in his heart. This vision was conceived in the very heart of God and it was his plan for his people from the earliest of days. In Genesis 15 God speaks to Abraham and says “To your descendants I give this land . . .” (v. 18). This is God’s plan so it is God who will make it happen. Therefore, Joshua can be strong and courageous because the work he is doing it not his but God’s. As leaders today the task we face can be overwhelming. The work we do can be very lonely. Jesus understood this. Just as he made the promise to never leave Joshua he makes the promise you and I as well. Jesus’ last words, recorded in Matthew are the promise, “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (28:20). In addition to the knowledge we do not lead alone we do well to also remember the task we are called to is not our own. The plan we work is not our own. Today, we do not possess a land as Joshua did, rather we bring the Kingdom of God. We bring the good news of Gospel to all the nations of the world. A task we cannot possibly do. But we do it with strength and courage because it is not our task to do but rather God’s task to accomplish through you and I.

How does the knowledge that our responsibility as Christians is not our plan empower us? How does the knowledge of God being with us as promised by Jesus, change the way the face our fears?

Blessings,
Pastor Stephen

Its All Been Done Before

September 2, 2014 /

Dear Friends,

Not too long ago a commercial for an insurance company told us in the 120 years that had passed since the company was founded they have survived, a Great Depression, 26 recessions, and 21 Presidents. Therefore, we should trust them with our money.

According to my own research, over the same time, there have been at least 250 different wars not to count all of the armed conflicts that never rose to the level of “war.”

The truth is it has all happened before. My own community has just been through a teacher’s strike. It is not the first time employees have been on strike and it will not be the last. Good or bad communities are divided and united every day.

Paul says to us ”. . . I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11-13, NIV).Barb Wire

Being people of the Kingdom of God means finding our contentment and security in something other than our present circumstances. It means finding them in Christ alone and that means having a long-term view of life. A view of life that sees everything through the lens of the eternal Kingdom of God.

If we live our lives with only a short term view of circumstances we can become overwhelmed by the events on the world stage and in our own communities. We can allow anxiety about tomorrow to cripple us.

Being content is an active choice. We can choose to be content regardless of our circumstances. Contentment makes us available for whatever God has for us. Whether it is prosperity or sitting in a prison cell.

Blessings,
Pastor Stephen

 

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