I have lately been a lot more sensitive to people in leadership positions.  This isn't only due to the fact that the WORST boss that I have ever ever worked for was just recently, but it is also manifesting itself in the church as well.

In the secular world, it is not uncommon for people to get promoted to their "level of incompetence". In this case a person is promoted, simply because they are doing a good job where they are and someone wants to "help" them further their career.  Many times, as was the case with a previous manager at my present company, this puts them in a position that they don't want, aren't qualified for and do terribly in.  Mind you, if that role is a supervisory position, it's not just their life that becomes miserable, but everyone that work either with them - or especially - for them.

This problem is exacerbated in the church.  Many times it appears that a person is given (or thrust into) a leadership role simply because they are available, willing and - quite honestly - breathing.  This is a serious problem.  Fixing this issue becomes much more difficult than not incurring it in the first place.  As I was counseled recently, "Leadership is easily given away, but very difficult to take away."

Pastors have a very special problem to face.  Running an "all volunteer army" sometimes puts them into a position where they have many more positions than they have volunteers.  This often places a pastor in a position to either accept a less qualified (spiritually or otherwise) person or to not fill a role.  When they accept the person who is lacking specific training or experience, they are able to help that person grow.  When they place someone who is not spiritually qualified in to a leadership position, they are putting that ministry at risk.

Leadership - and leaders - need to be fully qualified for the role they will serve in.  Having a worship leader who is not fully led by the Holy Spirit will result in the spirit being quenched - unintentionally - during a service.  A Sunday School teacher who doesn't have the proper qualifications can easily begin teaching incorrectly.

Though in most cases the church seems to do better than the secular world in screening it's leadership, there still appears to be room for improvement.  Are you a pastor?  Can you honestly look at ALL of the leadership in your church (including those that may not be serving actively, but have in the past) and be certain that they are filled with the Holy Spirit and meeting the scriptural guidelines for leadership?  If so, you are truly blessed - as is your congregation.

This is an area that pains me personally.  There is currently a man on my prayer team that I know God has a call on and has the capabilities to serve in a much deeper role than he currently is.  Unfortunately, he is going through some personal challenges right now that prevent me from using him in the capacity I would like to.  That leaves me two options:

1.  Leave a critical position unfilled until God raises someone else to that position
2.  Put this man in the position that is open and pray that his person issues resolve.

Left to my own devices, I would be hard pressed to not allow him to serve.  I know he is capable, trained, teachable and more than able.  I know that he would serve to the best of his ability and would be a blessing to me and anyone that would need to rely on him, but...he isn't qualified - scripturally.

Scriptural qualification does not stop at what they believe or what they know.  It reaches into the qualities that make a spiritual leader effective; they reach into our very life and our souls!

My challenge from God is this - before anyone is appointed to ANY position, have I allowed God to dictate several things:

1.  Is this the right person to fill the role?
2.  Is this the right TIME for that person to fill that role?
3.  Is this even the right time to fill the open role?

Just as God did with David - He will find the one who is not always the logical choice.  Sometimes we have to wait for that person to be brought in from the fields.  Even in that - we need to recognize that God's timing is always perfect, as is his selection of leaders.

I strongly feel that the leaders that God has placed in my life - and in Faith Chapel - are the Godly people that He has chosen.  They are there "for such a time as this..." and for this very reason.  God's wisdom is always so much better than ours.

After looking at the length of this post, I'm remembered of a line from "The Fiddler on the Roof".  When talking about Moses, the line is "For a man who was slow of tongue, he sure said a lot!"  I mentioned earlier that it had been nearly a week and I hadn't blogged - and really didn't have much to say.  For a man without much to say, I sure seemed to say a lot...

Stay tuned - more to come...

Of all of the things that plague us, I believe that a lack of unity is among one of the most prevalent.  Whether it be discord in the workplace, bickering at the dinner table, clashes in the Senate or a simple difference of opinion in your local church, a lack of unity will separate us one from another.

In John 17 beginning in verse 21, Jesus is praying for the believers (us) and says "that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²²I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: ²³I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

How important it is to show unity of spirit!  How can we explain to people how much Christ loves them if we are fighting amongst ourselves?!  We are to be "as one" within the body of Christ.  This sometimes means we need to put petty differences behind us and move forward to the greater glory of Christ.

In Ephesians chapter 4 verses 1-6 Paul urges : ¹...I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. ²Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."

There is only one body of believers.  If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior and the Lord of your life, you are among the believers!  We are all one!  We all to often allow pettiness and bitterness to enter into our lives and relationships with others.  This division is not from God - even if we believe we have "Godly Principles" that are separating us.  ANY separation is damaging to the body of Christ!

Furthermore, as Christians, we are called to love each other and to allow that love to flow through us to those who may have hurt us.  Paul says in Collosians chapter 3 verses 12-14: ¹²Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

If we all - as Christians - follow scriptural teaching, we will learn to love each other and forgive each other.  Doing so will pull us together - in unity - as one body.  Only then can be strong and survive.  In Luke 11:17, Jesus states "...Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall." 

Only by coming together in unity through love can we continue to be successful in our battle against the enemy.

Stay tuned - more to come...

Having grown up in the 70s listening to secular comedy, I learned about the "Seven Dirty Words" from George Carlin.  They are vulgar and degrading words that he claimed could never be said on TV.  Well, times have changed and you can now hear these words not only on TV, but seemingly anytime you have more than two or three teenagers hanging out.

When I was young, I thought these words made you sound cool.  I felt they gave you a sense of maturity.  They were fun to throw around.  Then I met Christ.

Jesus has taught me that not only are these words vulgar and degrading, they are not the words I want to hear.  Those seven words helped launch George Carlin's career - and I'm pretty sure that when he dies, people will remember him for those seven words.  This is not the way I want to go however, when I am gone, I too want to be remember with seven words.

My seven words are a bit different.  They are seven words that mean you have made an impact on eternity.  They mean that your life was not only memorable, but of value.  That you learned to live a life that was pleasing - not necessarily to man, but to God himself.

My seven words?  The reason that I strive to live a life worthy of remembrance?

"Well done, thou good and faithful servant..." (Matthew 25:21)

Those seven words mean more to me than any others.

Stay tuned - more to come.

There has been much debate lately around whether God allows or creates trials in our life (I'll give you my insight into that shortly) but more importantly - whether or not problems actually occur in the life of a true believer.

Addressing the second question first, I know from personal experience that trials and problems do enter into the life of a believer.  But please - don't take my word for it, let's look to see what the scriptures say about it:

James chapter 1 verse 2 reads "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds".  Note that James uses the word whenever - not if ever.  I find this rather important.  We need to be prepared for the trials that will occur in our life.  This isn't to say that we should look at everything as a trial, nor should we focus on them, but - we should know that they will come. 

There is a specific reason that trials come into our lives.  James continues in the same chapter (Verses 3 and 4) saying "because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."  There is a specific reason that we go through these trials and test of our faith - they make us complete.

None of us was born and as the person that God wants us to become.  We must all grow, develop, mature.  This takes us from the person we were (sinful) and changes us into the person that God desires us to be (righteous).  Mind you, this righteousness is not of us, but is based upon the sacrificial blood shed for us by Jesus Christ.

If we lived a life full of nothing but peace and pleasantness, would we become completed as God intends us to be?  James is very clear - perseverance (through trials) is part of what makes us mature and complete - lacking nothing.  On the contrary - in verse 12 of chapter 1, James says "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."  James again exhorts us to persevere under trials - which again indicates that they will come into our life.

As far as where the trials and temptations come from, we can continue through this quick look at the first chapter of the book of James.  Verses 13 through 15 say "When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full‑grown, gives birth to death."

This ends - as far as I am concerned - the debate.  It is not "God said it, I believe it, that settles it" as the 70s bumper-stickers were prone to say.  It is simply "God said it, that settles it!"

If we do truly believe that all scripture is from God (2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is God‑breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.) then our answer is clear.  God does not tempt man. 

In fact, all of the good things that we receive come from God.  James continues through verses 16 and 17 says "Don't be deceived, my dear brothers.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."  If all good things come from God, does He also give bad things?  Can an olive tree bear figs?  Can a fig tree produce apples?  No - each must produce one or the other.

I believe God makes it clear - we WILL have trials in our life.  It is clear that they will not destroy us, but they will come.  Job was a good man (Job 1:1 - In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.") and yet was beset with problems, trials and tested.  God was faithful and rewarded Job's faithfulness with more than he had when he started (Job 42:12-15 - The Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys.  And he also had seven sons and three daughters.  The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch.  Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.)

It is also clear to me that God does not cause bad things to happen, but he allows them for our growth and His glory.  Being a Christian does not mean things will always go your way - in fact, far from it.  But it does mean that by your perseverance and faithfulness to God, you will receive from God all of the glorious things He has for you.

Be blessed - and know that He that is in you is more than able to complete the work He has begun in you - but it may not be as easy as you would hope.

Stay tuned - more to come...

It's not often that I will publicly tell everyone that I know that prays about a specific need, but this one I believe is critical - and worthy of your precious time with the Lord.

Klinton Boylen - a young man I know from Summit Christian Center is in desperate need of your prayers.  He has been sick for a while now and has been having stomach pain.  I found out late last week that he has been diagnosed with cancer.

They're not certain yet where the cancer is coming from, but 95% of his liver has been covered with it.  They are running tests now to see what type of cancer it is and how to best treat it.

Klinton is married to a wonderful young woman named Elizabeth and has two small babies - one is only a couple of months old.  Despite all of this, Klinton remains a faithful soldier of the Lord.  Even though he is in excruciating pain - and is on a morphine pump - he continually shares his faith in Christ to the staff as they work on him.

Please lift Klinton, Elizabeth and the children - and the entire Harris (Elizabeth) and Boylen (Klinton) families.  This is a difficult time for them - they need your prayers...and Klinton needs a miracle.

May God bless you as you serve Him in this way...I'll post updates as they become available.

Stay tuned - more to come...

Until now, this blog had been very personal in nature.  I used it to post pictures of the girls, update the family about their school successes and other personal things.  This is about to change.

God has been speaking to my heart about spending more time in His word, so - I am going to start by adjusting my blog.  Granted - I'll still post pictures of the girls and keep folks updated with what is going on in my miniscule little piece of the world, but - I'll be posting more about what is happening to us as it relates to what God is doing in our lives.

Today's prayer meeting brought two things to mind:  Strength and Unity.

Strength is important in that the Lord will provide what we lack.  When we submit to him totally, His strength takes over.  When I try to accomplish tasks in my own flesh, I fail miserably.  It is only when I allow the Lord's strength to work through me that I can succeed.

Unity is critical for church growth.  When we operate in a spirit of unity, our power is limitless.  Unfortunately, too often we allow petty things to cause division and disunity in our lives.  This happens in our personal lives as well as our church lives.

These two words compliment each other beautifully.  Unity brings strength.  Acts 2:1 shows that the disciples were together in unity (in one accord) on the day of Pentecost.  They received strength (power - Acts 1:8) through their submission to Christ's directive (Acts 1:4) when they were in unity.

This is one example of the power (strength) that we can receive when we are in unity (one accord).  Imagine if all of the churches throughout the world united under the simplified banner of Jesus Christ, crucified, buried and resurrected to pay for our sins.  No more worrying over the differences that separate the denominations.  Boil it down to what we all agree upon - and focus on unity.  What strength would the world see then?

Until that blessed day, I will continue to seek after Him who calls me...The Lord Jesus Christ.

Stay tuned - more to come...

I sent the following to my life group a short while ago, and thought it was a nice start to what I'm planning on making a weekly event - a short, one pager study.

I have a hard time journaling and am hoping this can help keep me going.  The journal won't be on-line but I'll work on it as well.  Let me know if you enjoy this or if I'm wasting my time.

***

Last night as we were leaving, I was talking about the passage of scripture where it refers to God being our “Rear Guard”.  The passage I was referring to was in Isaiah 52.  Here are verses 10-12 (from the NASB).

10: The LORD has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God.

11: Depart, depart, go out from there, Touch nothing unclean; Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of the LORD.

12: But you will not go out in haste, Nor will you go as fugitives; For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard. (emphasis mine)

In this passage of Scripture, God is proclaiming to the Israelites that He will protect them as they go and guard them from attack from the rear.  This is much the same as He did as the Israelites left Egypt.  He provided a rear guard for them as they crossed the Red Sea (He was in front of them, leading them by the pillar of smoke / pillar of fire but also protected them from the Egyptians as they attempted to attack them from the rear).

In the same way, as we walk out what God lays before us today, we can be certain that He is also protecting us from the “sneak attack” from the rear.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that the attack won’t come (the Egyptians certainly did!) but God promises that he will protect us as we go.

Keep in mind that this is conditional!  Verse 11 calls for us to “Touch nothing unclean” and to “purify yourselves”.  This means we need to be fully dependent upon Christ’s cleansing of our sins (purification) and total repentance, which is turning away from sin, not just asking for forgiveness (touch nothing unclean).

***

Stay tuned - more to come...

I was given the opportunity to preach at the Tabernacle last night (unfortunately, it was due to Pastor Ed nearly losing yet another digit - he sliced his thumb instead of some ham and took seven stitches to close it).  The message was entitled "Turning over a new leaf" and talked about how God allows us to have a "do-over" in our life.  The point that wasn't made (or perhaps wasn't as clear as it should have been) was that with that change, there is the promise of what is to come.

This year promises to be full of wonderful growth in God.  God has indicated that this is the year that I am to build His church!  I realize that I had been called in 1992 to full time ministry - and have been working towards that end - but I also was unmistakably hearing God say "Not yet..."

This can be extremely frustrating - until you totally surrender your life and will to God.  Once you learn to say "Okay Father - whatever you want", it becomes a simple matter of listening to God's voice and hearing what he has to say.  If there has been one attribute that I have learned during this time it has been patience.

Nearly two years ago I heard God say "Get ready..." - a significant change from "Not yet".  I have been praying and trying to prepare since then, but continued to hear nothing more than "Get ready" - never "It's time..."  I was seeking counsel of others and continued to follow where the Lord had led me.

In October of 2005, I was Ordained by Pastor Ed Wren of the Christian Biker Tabernacle.  This was fulfillment of a portion of the vision that God had given me 13 years earlier.  God's timing is not often what we would want, but is always perfect...

Since that time, the urgency with which God was speaking to my heart began to increase.  I was still hearing "Get ready" - but now felt that the time was getting close.  As I moved from the Assembly of God church we had been attending for years (Summit Christian Center) to the Foursquare church (Abundant Life), I felt that perhaps this was how the church was to be formed - as part of the Foursquare Gospel organization.

I began meeting and working with Pastor Lance Powers who was the Senior Pastor at the time and things really felt good.  Though we were making great strides, we just never seemed to quite "click" into the church.  It felt as though we were always guests - even though when we began making friends and serving in different capacities.

Then around the first of December 2006, as I was sitting in service at Abundant Life Four Square church, I heard the Lord unmistakably say "It's time..." - to which I promptly replied "Nope.  Not yet.”  Thankfully God recognizes our shortcomings and gently spoke again - "It's time..." - at which point I finally realized it was.

God had been preparing me for this journey for the last 14 years.  Now it is time to start.  Sometimes when you wait so long for something, you get just to the point of not wanting the waiting to end.  You get comfortable with "Not yet..." and never listen to hear the "It's time...”  That was my first reaction.

While God had been directing me to "Get ready", I prayed about what the first step would be in starting a church - and God confirmed that it is prayer.  He told me that there would be a specific group of people that he would lead me to - and they would be used by Him to help guide and direct my steps in starting His church.  I had already heard from Him on several of the people and others became clear as I continued this process.

I now have a group that God has raised up that meets with me on Tuesday evenings for prayer.  We have just started before Christmas and plan on focusing in a bit more on specific things now that the New Year has started.  This group is just a humble bunch of folks - not what you would expect.

When I first noticed the people that God was bringing to my heart, I realized they all had one thing in common - they were not the people that most churches would call to lay a foundation for a new church.  Most churches would typically call the ones looked upon as spiritual giants, leaders in the church, clean cut, and organized.  Who God has called are folks from the group that I label "The rest of us..." - just common folks who Love Jesus and are doing their best to serve him with all of their life.

In a sentence, that sums up the church that God has called me to plant - "A church for the rest of us...”  No suit and tie needed.  No shirt, no shoes, no problem! (Well, okay - so decency requires a shirt, but I think you get the idea).  I believe God has called me to those that need him most.  Isaiah 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

The people in my prayer group are definitely Oaks of Righteousness.  They may not be who many churches would call, but when you are able to look at their hearts - as God does - you see true Godliness.  These are people that have SO much to offer and are all going to be used by God in ways they never thought possible.

As I walk through what the Lord has for me in the coming year, I look forward to reaching out to the lost, the broken hearted, the hurting, the castaways of today's society.  I pray God grant me the ability to love the unlovable, to reach the unreachable, to comfort the inconsolable.  To share His grace to those in need - and lift the fallen.

Please pray with me - that I would be able to walk this through in such a way that I would hear those words that I long for from Matthew 25:21 - "... Well done, thou good and faithful servant: ... enter thou into the joy of thy lord."

Stay tuned - more to come...