Serving Real People in Ministry

There is a strange sort of phenomenon that occurs the longer someone works within the context of Church Leadership. It's almost as inevitable as Sunday coming every week.

The phenomenon goes something like this: The more you do a great job of leading people, the more people are attracted to you and your church. The more that people are attracted and get connected to your church, the more it grows. The more the number of people at your church grows...the further you get from them.

The very thing that was essential to your growth (Ministering to people) is now a system, a strategy, an abstraction...an idea??? "This is inevitable", you tell yourself. "I simply can't be with all these people because I'm too busy with ministry "stuff all the time." There's only one of me and more and more of them, something has to give." So over time, we replace Actual people with the Idea of people. We subconsciously convince ourselves that all these meetings are ultimately about "those" people. All these emails are about real people out there... somewhere. Our sermons that we write in an office or coffee shop [in isolation] are for "them" too. Our Evangelistic efforts and strategies are for "all those lost people out there"....and believe me, there are many lost souls just wondering in the arid deserts of their souls. We see them at church...for a moment...from a distance. They are there But are they more of an idea than a reality???

If we're being brutally honest, some of us don't really want to deal with or even lead "real people" so we 'play it off' as if we do. Our Idea of People is much easier to lead and somewhat manage and care about than all those Actual People. Why? Because Actual people are at times unpredictable, uninterested, inconsistent, moody, needy, demanding, hurting, and basically messy....some real messy.

The more we get involved with real people, the harder it gets. Better to just buckle down in our offices, get busy making ourselves look busy with Meetings, Emails, and such. Better to create busy work for those actual people than obtain any amount of time with you. It's much easier this way - just so happens that this is the furthest practice from the way of Jesus. Yes, He stole away to be with God..to pray...meditate...seek but He got right back in the fight!

For Jesus, people were not an idea, they were and are today, Real People. This World that God so loves, is filled with Real People, with real lives, having real struggles, with real needs, telling real stories, acting on real rebellion and experiencing real redemption. These are the people that surrounded Jesus. From His days of small town obscurity to His intensely demanding days of public ministry, Jesus surrounded Himself with the unpopular, the ridiculed, the outsiders, and the "peculiar." He actually Invited them in; the sick, the poor, the despised, even the self righteous; men and women and children; you name it..they were invited to know Him!

Real People were Invited, Real People Invaded but ALL were welcome.

While it's true that there were many whom Jesus did not surround himself with, there were always 3, 12, 50....Jesus even surrounded Himself with one of the 12 that would eventually betray Him...the one who broke bread with Him...the one who kissed Him...BUT, Jesus always knew who was with Him and who really wasn't...

There were always people [Real People] at His birth, through His life, at the cross, and at His ascension. He was rooted in God's love, grounded in relationship with everyday people...even His enemies.

I'm not sure what it looks like for you to intentionally surround yourself in relationship and proximity with Real People but why don't you give it a try. I know that our jobs are demanding. I know that our time can be limited But the stakes are way too high for us to be elusive now.

Our inaccessibility is no longer acceptable to God. Anyone have time for hospitality???

We can serve more humbly and accurately, and can lead much more effectively when we allow ourselves to be invaded by real people...not the folks with an underlying motive or opportunists..but real people with real matters.

How can you volunteer somewhere in your church?
How can you lead a small group of people [lead by the Spirit] who are young in their faith?
How can you stick around after church and help tear down?
How can you intentionally create time and space this week to know and love and lead and serve the Real People?

A Real God has called YOU to serve...really...so, why aren't you operating in your calling...really???

Obedience is better than sacrifice....and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. 1 Samuel 15:22(a)-23(a).

God bless and may He keep you is my prayer!

- Rev.

National Junior Honor Society Inductee: Joshua F. Deckard

The National Junior Honor Society or NJHS is a worldwide organization that consists of chapters in middle schools (grades 6-8). Selection is based on five criteria: citizenship, service, leadership, scholarship and character. Members must maintain a high grade point average (the national minimum is a 3.5) and become good citizens (by participating in service projects). The NJHS requires some sort of school service to the community, school, or other organizations. The projects help students meet the required service hour total monthly.

The National Junior Honor Society was founded in 1929 by the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) in the hopes of creating an organization that would recognize and encourage academic achievements and citizenship while also developing other characteristics essential to citizens in a democracy. The ideals of scholarship, character, service, and citizenship remain as relevant today as they were in 1929. Through the NJHS chapter service activities and academic standards members maintain and extend the qualities that won them selection. The National Junior Honor Society requires a student to have a grade point average of 3.5 or higher.

The NJHS has candles for every aspect of its requirements. A different colored candle is lit for each of its five characteristics. A speech is given for each topic, usually done by a group of specially selected students, to describe what each topic is about. Those selected students are usually the president, the vice-president, the secretary, the treasurer, and the member with the most service hours.

The NJHS motto is Noblesse Oblige. This is French for nobility obligates.

CONGRATULATIONS JFD!

- Mommy

God Thinks You're Wonderful

Psalm 139:16
Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.


Beloved, I know it may be difficult for you to believe that God knows your name - but He does. If you have accepted Christ as your personal Savior (Rom 10:9-10), your name is written in His hand and spoken by His mouth and whispered by His lips. On the contrary, see John 3:18.

He knows your name and thinks you're wonderful!

You have captured the heart of God. He cannot bear to live without you. God's dream is to make you right (righteous living) with Him. And the path to the Cross tells us exactly how far God will go to call us back. John 3:16

It is not our love for God; it is God's love for us in sending His Son to be The Way. If you want to touch God's heart, use the name He loves to hear...Father!
Mat 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4

God thinks you're wonderful; He knows your name!

Jehovah has written your name in the palm of His hand. Isaiah 49:16

God really thinks you're wonderful! Try El Padre, El es Maravilloso!!

- Rev

God Knows Who You Are

Psalm 139:1-10

This is a psalm (song) that David has given to the head musician, the director of music, at the Temple. David is expressing his knowledge of the fact that God has penetrated to the core of his being and examined his character intently, and He understands David better than anyone else ever could.

Like David, God knows us even better than we know ourselves. He is omniscient; He knows everything. He even knows every word that we are going to say before we speak it. Nothing we do or say surprises the Lord.

As humans, we oftentimes do not allow others to see the real us. We put on airs to impress our friends, families even our loved ones. But God sees through it all. Most of us will not allow others see our “true colors” because we are afraid they may flee from us or may not like us very well and possibly not want to remain our friend. After we remove the silk screens, we become transparent and are seen for who we really are. Are you ready to let others see the real “YOU?”

Scary isn’t…I know what you mean…LOL!

God still works in the lives of His children. “We all have character flaws because we are imperfect beings; God’s grace just covers them up!!”

We are created with a purpose to bring God glory so He will not just leave us out in the cold or to chance regarding our purpose. God will direct our paths without taking away our freedom but will we follow that path. Because God is love and He knows us so well, we are given every opportunity to honor Him in fulfilling that purpose—even if we take a few detours from that path along the way. God’s mercy and grace keeps us afloat and physically present in society… but He will lay us to rest if won’t act right!! Hmmmm… makes you think, doesn't it??

So…Go ahead and be yourself but live in love (not motivational lust), live responsibly (you are held accountable) and live righteously (right standing with God). The rest is really up to God and not humankind.

Abundant Blessings in 2010,

- Rev

Happy New Year!

It's a New Year and New Season of love, hope, promises and blessings. God has seen us through another year. Some didn't make it and we'll miss them so celebrate their warm and meaningful lives and all of the "deposits" they contributed to your lives.

From one moment to the next, celebrate every breath you take and know that each time you breathe, God's Spirit dwells within you. Love God, love yourself and love others the way you want to be loved. Never take family nor friendships for granted and each day your arise, know that God is with you; that's His never-ending promises!

Be blessed in 2010 and get ready to W-I-N!

- Rev.

Get Ready Children of God....

I will open rivers in desolate heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
Isaiah 41:18

Practice Hospitality

"Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." Romans 12:13

I love the holidays – especially Christmas – spending time with family and friends. It’s so much fun to get together with those you love. Laughing…Sharing…The warmth of a crackling fire...

But the real blessing comes when you are able to give to someone who’s in need. When you do, you are the one who receives the greater blessing. That’s God’s gift to those who give!

Watching an elderly lady beam with joy because someone decided to clean her home…
A young family is able to pay off a debt due to an anonymous financial gift…
A single mom gets a night off because someone offered to watch her kids…

These are definitions of true hospitality and it is the kind of giving that touches the heart of God.

When was the last time you reached out and touched someone?

Look around your neighborhood. Talk with the leaders of your church about needs within the congregation. Visit a local nursing facility or homeless shelter. Serve as a volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center. Call a friend. Smile at someone. There are millions of ways to practice hospitality. God wants to use you today!


Today's Prayer:
Dear Lord, Open my eyes and heart to people around me who are in need. Give me a desire to practice hospitality daily! Amen.

Food For Thought...

Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion. Proverbs 11:22 (NIV)

Beauty is abused by those who have no discretion or modesty with it.

Great lesson...take heed.

- Rev.

12 Days of Christmas

What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas???

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.-
-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

So there is your history lesson so....pass it on if you wish.

Merry Christmas Everyone

God's Conduit

'It is God who works in you.'Php 2:13 NKJV

A conduit is a channel through which things like water and electricity move from one point to another. And you are God's conduit! You are designed to be a free-flowing channel for Jesus Christ Himself. God has chosen you to be His 'change-agent' in the earth. In the Lord's Prayer the original Greek says, 'Come thy kingdom. Be done thy will'(Mt 6:10).

Jesus no longer walks among us physically, but He has given us His mandate and all the power we need to carry it out. In other words, it's going to happen through you.

In Deuteronomy 11:24 God promised His people that He'd give them every place on which they set the soles of their feet. We bring the influence and benefits of God's kingdom wherever we go. The problem is, our 'receivers' don't always work. It takes faith to believe we actually hear God's instructions, just as it takes faith to believe an unseen radio wave is passing through our living rooms. Because we're confident of that reality, we tune in, receive and transmit.

Scientists tell us that the greatest metal conduit is pure gold. According to the Bible, that's our faith (See 1 Pe 1:7). But certain obstacles can block our ability to receive and be conduits for God. If our hearts are hard, our wires are down, or if we're unaware of our identity as conduits, we go through life without tapping into the power God's given us.

We must be full of the Word of God, and most importantly, spend time in intimacy with the Lord in order to be God's conduit.

- Dina Dean (CEO4God)

Soul Winners

The Bible says: "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise." Proverbs 11:30 (NIV)

Imagine having a cure for cancer but refusing to share it, or saying, "I’m too busy." The gospel is only Good News if we are willing to share it and get it to those who want it.

Too many of us have become preoccupied with our material well-being. Instead of believing God for the salvation of our loved ones, we believe Him for mere houses, cars, vacations and our own self satisfaction. We quote that faith is the substance of things hoped for…(Heb 11:1). But the "things" we have in mind are material and temporal rather than the eternal things of that "better country."
(Heb 11:16)

We’re supposed to seek the kingdom of God first and foremost, and all these other "things" will be added to us. Let us put God’s kingdom ahead of our own.
(See Mt 6:33)

So…be wise and become a soul winner!

When Christmas Comes

Christmas is the best time of year
It is the day when we all cheer
There is nothing but happiness and fun
Just playing with your presents
all day in the sun.

Some people don't get presents because they are poor
But God will give them presents and even more
Have a good Christmas, and make it fun
Because Jesus' work has been done.

- Joshua F. Deckard


Poem was Published in the Excellence 2006 Poetry Collection by The American Library of Poetry.