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"These days, people can get good teaching, wonderful music, and excellent writing, whether through iPods, TV, or online. They learn to shop around and pick and choose. Then they expect the same high quality in their local church. A generation ago, the average person learned to accept his home pastor and was faithful to his local church. But now, people's appetites for excellence have been heightened." Bryan Wilkerson
This is for all the wives out there who have to deal with the "Man" cold. It's dreadful...for the wives that is.
Another great one from ASBO Jesus.
There is a website that I go to called Seeds For Thought (www.seedsforthought.org) that is provocative and stimulating. Recently I read an article called "What Jesus Never Said." I wanted to share an excerpt from it that really hit home with me. Let me know what you think. Seriously....Let me know.
Here is the excerpt:
How does one effectively hold up a mirror to society so that we better understand who we are and what we really believe? We need the kind of mirror that can reach into the depth of our souls and shake up the complacent hodgepodge of conflicting values.
The following represents such a mirror. It presents the opposite of what the biblical record reports Jesus as saying. What we find is that this opposite describes pretty accurately what we really hold to be true, despite religious loyalties.
"It is the successful and socially accepted people that I have come for: I have no interest in the rest, and neither should you. Separate yourselves from them, and associate only with the hypocrites who pretend to be righteous. Learn what this means: I desire image, not purity, pretension, not authenticity, class distinction, not brotherhood: I come to call those who cannot possibly respond to me, for they have already justified their sins in their minds, and have no taste for being forgiven...."
Compare this passage with Matthew 9:12-13 below which is what Jesus really said.
"Jesus heard them and answered, "Healthy people don't need a doctor, but sick people do. Go and learn what the Scriptures mean when they say, `Instead of offering sacrifices to me, I want you to be merciful to others.' I didn't come to invite good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners."
Which one of these does your life represent. Could it be that the opposite of what Jesus really said is a more accurate depiction of what we really hold to be true? I think we all know the answer.
What a Thanksgiving for the Bouldin family this year. Angie's parents are out of town with a sick relative so we decided to put all the traditional Thanksgiving routines on hold and do something different. Part of our day consisted of helping participate with The Restoration House in feeding those who had nowhere to go on Thanksgiving. Every year The Restoration House and several other organizations use the Wendy's in Monroe to prepare meals for those in need.
The hi-lite of my time there came when a man came in that my 9 year old son called a "Hobo". I don't know where the word "Hobo" comes from and I know my son didn't mean any disrespect, but this man was not the kind of person my son is accustomed to seeing. It didn't take long for Brad's inquisitive nature to take hold and before long he and the "Hobo" were in a conversation. Hearing that the man didn't have a home and that he jumped into trains each day to stay warm was an educational experience the likes of which Brad had never had. The impact of the conversation was something that will remain for quite awhile. It was especially meaningful to me to see Brad take him a plate of warm food and some ice tea. This was true "Thanks" giving for my son who has so much.
Jesus said, "When you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be done in secret. Then your Father, who see what is done in secret, will reward you." I don't know how the Lord will reward those who gave yesterday, but I do know this. I am a Father who received a "great" reward as I witnessed my son doing what His heavenly Father would want him to do by caring for and serving...."The Man Who Rides Trains."
I was reading a blog yesterday where a guy, I will leaved unnamed, started a weeks worth of blogging on what he was thankful for. He began with his relationship with Jesus Christ. Today he will probably talk about his family. Tomorrow he will probably talk about the church he pastors. Now don't get me wrong, all those things are extremely significant, but sometimes I think the things we say we are thankful for are those things we think other people want to hear rather than really spending time understanding just how blessed we are. I mean to say I am thankful for my relationship with Jesus Christ and for my family and for my church are a given. What other things do we really have to be thankful for? Maybe some of these statistics will help us all understand.
When I read these statistics, it overwhelms me. It convicts me. It helps me understand just how blessed I am. It compels me me to want to do more for "the least of these".
Thank you Lord for all I have. Help me not to take it for granted. Help me to be a "Thanks" giver.
He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down. Psalm 146:8
Leonard Sweet in his book Summoned To Lead tells this story:
On January 19th, 1915, the Antarctic ice held the ship Endurance in its frozen teeth. Ernest Shackleton and his 27-man crew had sailed nearly halfway round the world and maneuvered through 1000 miles of pack ice. But they were stopped in the ice, unable to see open water anywhere. They were less than 100 miles from the Antarctic continent, but that's as close as they would get. At any minute they were at risk of slipping off the bottom of the edge of the earth.
These seamen drifted for over 15 months amidst the polar ice pack. From the time Endurance was trapped by the ice until the crew launched their lifeboats, they had traveled 600 miles over 15 months in the Antarctic. This expedition, for all intents and purposes, had been a total failure. But what about it's leader?
Leadership in our culture is recognized most often when someone succeeds at what they are doing. But should that really be the litmus test for successful leadership? What about those like Shackleton who, in the midst of tumultuous circumstances, display the optimism, patience, endurance, idealism, and courage to keep going? Shouldn't these type of leaders be the ones that people look to at least as frequently as those, who by the world's standards, have "succeeded"? I think so.
For instance, think about the optimism that must have been necessary in Shackleton's life to continue to encourage his crew when the odds of survival were so low. Think about the patience he had to have as day after day they battled the cold weather and the icy ocean. Think about the endurance it took to keep going instead of giving up and the idealism and courage that were necessary not to throw in the towel. Shackleton exemplified true leadership and yet I have read hundreds of leadership books where his name is never mentioned. It's a shame. In the words of Stephanie Capprell of the Wall Street Journal, Shackleton "failed at the improbable: he succeeded at the unimaginable, and is or (should be) considered a model of leadership during crisis."
African theologian Malidoma Patrice Some said, "If the road is smooth and well paved, more often than not the destination is hell.....Challenges are a sign that you are going in the right direction." Ernest Shackleton faced challenge after challenge and yet he never gave up or gave in. This is the kind of leader that needs to be recognized! Shackleton is the type of leader I aspire to be.
One of the things that I continually talk about at WCC is that the Church has one main responsibility and that is to represent Christ in His physical absence. Ephesians 5:30 says "..for we are members of his body." Paul then says, "This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the Church." My point is this, the Church should be an accurate reflection of who and what Christ reflected when He was here. Having said that, I ran across some interesting thoughts by a guy named David E. Fitch that I think are worth pondering. He writes:
"Let us turn from only measuring church attendance to measuring the life being lived in Christ. Are we seeing evidence of his salvation in our midst? How many marriages are being saved? How much sexual abuse has ended? What is the number of times people have come to another's aid in the congregation financially? How many people in the church have invited a stranger to the gospel over dinner? How may people in the church have reached out to a poor person with the gospel? Let us measure how many poor have entered the church doors and now sit made whole in worship on Sunday. How much giving goes on in the church? How many people have been restored from alcoholism, social injustices, promiscuity, or domestic violence? Is the level of greed, social victimizing, sexual abuse, depression, divorce, the same as or worse than outside the church? Evaluating these issues help us evaluate whether or not we are really functioning as the body of Christ."
So how is the church measuring up? How is our church measuring up? These are important questions to ask and things to think about because the reality is this: The church will be measured before a watching world by the quality of life and character it generates...not by how may people are attending, or the annual budget, or the programs and buildings it produces.
This past week Rod Millett, WCC's Executive Pastor, sent out an e-mail and letter detailing the position our church is in as it pertains to our land purchase across the street. In short, the e-mail/letter stated that unless our giving in this area begins to trend upward very rapidly, one of the possibilities that WCC must consider is selling the land. Since then, I have had several people call, e-mail, or come by and see me to ask me a variety of questions about this situation. Some of you in the blogosphere may have questions so let me answer some of them for you here.
Question #1: Am I disappointed? No. That may seem like a lie or a half truth, but I can assure you it's not! Ever since God called Angie and me to plant a church our vision for what we believe God has called us to do has remained constant. We believe that God has called WCC to "reach people wherever they are on their spiritual journey and help them become fully devoted followers of Christ." That has been the goal for WCC since day 1. However, the strategy on how that vision is accomplished has never been written in stone. I hope it never is. We live in a culture that is changing every day. As a result, we do not know what the landscape of our culture will look like in 10 or 20 years. Predicting the future is impossible. However one thing I am convinced of is that any organization or church that isn't open to making changes whenever necessary to help accomplish their dreams/goals/visions is destined to remain stagnant or decline. I don't want that to happen to WCC. Hence, if it is in the best interest of "the Kingdom of God" that our church sell the land across the street so that we can be better stewards of our resources in order to "reach" more people and help them grow in their walk with Christ, I am all for it. This would represent a change in strategy, but definitely not a change in vision.
Question #2: Is WCC committed to selling the land? The answer to that question is absolutely not. The decision WCC makes in respect to the property can and will have huge implications on our church moving forward. At the current rate, our ministries are somewhat limited in what they can do as most of our resources are being poured into paying off our debt. This could change, however, if the level of giving increased. If the leadership of WCC sees that taking place very rapidly, it would be a clear sign to us that having land across the street is truly something that our fellowship wants. However, if that level of commitment to this endeavor isn't demonstrated, one of our options must be selling the property.
Question #3: Are we ever going to have our own place? Yes. When that will take place, I don't know. One thing I have learned over the last 6 years, really over a life time of following Christ, is that the timing of God is often a mystery to us. As a result, sometimes we can get frustrated. But we can't give up. An old hymn from years gone by puts this in perspective. It says, "Keep believing in what you know is true; keep believing--you know the Lord will see you through. When troubles rise in your life, and you don't know what to do, You'll be fine if you just keep believing." I have always "believed" that God is able to do immeasurably more than I could ever hope for or imagine. I know that at just the right time, His time, He will provide what we need.
Question #4: How soon will we know what we are going to do? Very soon! This whole process of deciding the direction we are going to take cannot be a long and drawn out process. WCC is committed to making a substantial principle payment on our land on June 7. Currently, we are not on a pace to be able to make that payment. Our first step has been to inform the congregation and give them a chance to weigh in. Now it is time to prayerfully look at all our possible options. By mid-December, WCC leadership will make a decision on the direction we feel led by God to take.
Question #5: As a committed member of WCC, what can I do? Well, to begin with, pray! Certainly, this is one of those decisions where we really need to hear from God. His word promises us that when we seek Him, He will answer. Secondly, let your voice be heard. Rod Millett has made himself available every day from 8 am to 8 pm to field any questions you may have through November 19th. Lastly, support your leadership. Again, WCC leadership is committed to realizing our vision of reaching people with the message of hope that Jesus Christ provides. Our decisions, although difficult at times, will be based on ways in which we feel like we can best accomplish that goal.
One of the hardest things for me about blogging is coming up with origional stuff day in and day out. I don't know why that's the case. Maybe it has something to do with my ADD or maybe it's that I am just a shallow guy. Never the less, Trevor Ziemer, WCC's worship pastor has agreed to be my guest blogger today. For those of you who know Trevor, you know what an introspective person he is. I don't know what he'll write, but I can assure you it will be deeper than what I normally write. Enjoy.
