You've Never Really Lost Something...

A friend of mine went to be with Jesus on Monday morning. It hurts to think about how much I will miss ReNee, and how much it hurts to see her husband, Lance, start to figure out life without her. Her kids are going to grow up with her as a memory instead of a real presence in her life, and it makes me sad. It puts me in mind of my own battle with cancer and how unfair illness, disease and life really are. I hugged my kids a little more tightly, and I kissed my wife a little more gently yesterday.

But as bad as I feel, I can't stop thinking this one thot: someone once told me that you've never really lost something if you know exactly where it is. I hurt for Lance and the kids, and I hurt for myself and the rest of ReNee's friends, but we have not lost her. We know exactly where she is.

ReNee is in heaven. Jesus went to prepare a place for her, and when He came to bring her home, He held her hand and she was never alone. The incredible pain she was experiencing near the end of her life here is a memory, and she can run and not ever get tired. Someone said that now, ReNee understands what this was all about. Jesus has explained the plan, shown her the course of her life and what a difference it made in the grandest scheme of things, and she understands in a way that you and I never will on this side of heaven.

The celebration of ReNee's life and her homecoming will be on Thursday. I have a couple ideas what God might want me to say, but the point is going to be this: yes, it hurts, and yes we will miss her. But she's with Jesus. Ain't no better place. And we haven't lost her, because we know just exactly where she is.

Thanks to everyone for their prayers for Lance, Laura, Kyral, the rest of the family, the church family and myself.

Sunday Night Rewind

Yes, we'll get back on the bus tomorrow, but I need to say: God is so GOOD!

After what could only be considered a tough, weird and thoroughly draining week of ministry, Sunday morning I was awake at 6:00, 45 minutes before my alarm. THAT NEVER HAPPENS!! I am so excited (and a little nervous) about the financial series we started today, because this is some important stuff we need to get right. I was ready and at church early (my poor son, Mac had to come with me, he is such a trooper to get here 25 minutes before he's supposed to as a volunteer), and fired up for the message.

God moved. The band was short some folks, the weather was getting nasty, and God moved. The message seemed to hit home with folks, and the stories of real people in our church 'getting it' that our stuff is a tool, a test and a trademark seemed to resonate. Lots of good discussion, and people were signing up for the Financial Workshop (get your tickets!!) and asking about Financial Peace University (don't ask, just say YES!!).

If we get this, God can use us like never before. If we don't, we will creep along, missing the major moves God wants to make.

One last shout out, then I need to get back and finish teaching CLASS 101 - We had three children in our Children's Ministry pray to receive Jesus last week!! THAT NEVER GETS OLD!! We've got a baptism service coming up in a couple weeks, and lives changing all the time. FBC family - how does it feel to see God working in your midst? I for one am having the time of my life. All the hard stuff is still hard, but when we start to see the fruit, there is a sense of joy that cannot be contained. I'm so glad I'm a part of this church family. I mean that.

Life on the Bus...Part 2

Back to the idea I started last week, describing life on the (church) bus. The first two groups of people on the bus are:

#1 Tourists - Tourists love that the bus runs, that it goes places, and that they don't have to do anything. The are along for the ride. As the bus rolls along, they find themselves in familiar places, and that's okay, but sometimes they find themselves in unfamiliar places, and it causes some stress. The new neighborhoods don't look the same as they are used to, and they can get nervous, and they will complain on occasion that the bus isn't what they are used to.

Tourists will also have a problem with being asked to help the bus get where it needs to go. They don't necessarily enjoy the thought of having responsibilities, being asked to lend a hand with bus operations, and they believe that 'someone else' can do it, or that the bus driver should handle all of the details of keeping the bus moving forward. Some tourists believe that they have done their time and are now 'retired' from bus life, with nothing left but to ride the bus until they get to the final stop.

#2 Lend a Hand-ers - Some folks on the bus realize that for the bus to successfully accomplish it's mission, they have to be involved. They know that one person (the driver) cannot do all that needs to be done. Blind spots on such a large vehicle mean that some folks need to help the driver see what's going on around them. When the bus stops for fuel, Lend a Hand-ers pitch in for the cost of fuel, they help others to get refreshments, and they make sure that no one wanders off and misses the departure time. When the bus picks up new people, Lend a Hand-ers help the new folks to find a place, familiarize them with the workings of the bus, and introduce them to other folks on the bus.

So how can you tell if you are a Tourist or a Lend a Hand-er? There's a set of questions to look at here, but my guess is you probably know. For those who think I'm calling you a Tourist when you're trying to find your place to Lend a Hand, let me say: if you're looking, you're lending a hand.

See you on the bus.

History

Today, history was made. Not the kind of 'instant classic' history that our media driven culture deems important, but real history, the kind that in 250 years, if Jesus has not returned, school children will read about. The promise of a free nation, that anyone can rise to the height of their dreams in spite of obstacles, came true today. While I may not agree with Barak Obama on some important issues, I am proud of my country today. I am proud to call myself an American, because "the land of the free and the home of the brave" means something more today.

As a Christ-follower, I am commanded by scripture to pray for my president. I was thrilled to hear pastors pray for wisdom, courage, integrity, strength and all the other important ingredients that will be necessary in the life and work of President Obama to do the hard things of leading this nation.

If you claim the name of Jesus in your life, I urge you to take a moment today to reflect on the freedom that we have as a nation, as a people. Think about the lives that have been given in service to the ideals of freedom that allow this blog to be unedited and unthreatened and allow the worship of Almighty God to go on without interruption or fear of oppression. Then praise God for the United States of America, her place in this world and the opportunities that she gives. Follow that with a time of prayer for our president, because scripture commands it, and because our president needs it.

More than asking, "God Bless America," pray that America Bless God.

On the Bus

This has been an amazing week. My mentoring group met on Monday and it was phenomenal - lots of learning, encouraging, dreaming. My friend ReNee went home from the hospital (yeah God!). We had a worship planning meeting and have the services outlined from now to Mother's Day (and the series leading up thru Easter will be OFF THE CHAIN!!!) There was a very productive staff meeting on Wed. followed by the anniversary lunch for my 13th year of being the pastor at FBC Pocatello. All of that and getting ready for Sunday - I met with Kevin Pettit (yes, Karl and Dean's brother), a missionary to China, about him speaking at FBC this Sunday, while I am speaking in Acro at Community Baptist. I'm hoping to give Pastor Mike Harris a hand as his church walks through the process of seeking God's vision for what they are supposed to be in their community.

All of those things had me thinking about the church this week. God uses His church to move His agenda forward in the world. He has a plan and a purpose behind it, yet there are falable, imperfect people in the church, even leading the church. How we think about church influences how we act in relationship in the church, so it got me thinking about the church, and I'm going to take the next few posts to talk about one way (out of many, many ways) to look at the church.

The church is like a bus. Connected to the bus are several groups of people, and I'll unpack these as we go, but they are:

• The Tourists
• The Lend-a-handers
• The Backseat Drivers
  
• The Terrorists
• The People at the Bus Stop
• The Bus Driver
• The Bus Company Owner
  

You may guess where these are going, and you may be surprised. When you see yourself, let me know. If you don't, let me know.

Meantime, pray for Arco! :)

Half Time - Part 3

Final installment, the encouragement!

Go make the second half of this ministry year better than the first half! How do you do that? Draw closer to Jesus. I know that sounds like a 'preacher answer,' but I'm serious (and I'm a preacher, so...). The truth is, the closer we get to Jesus, the clearer we can hear Him and the more confident we can be that we're in the right place, no matter how it looks. It's like the game plan of a football game. If the plan is sound, even when the score is against you, if you stick to the plan, the outcome will swing in your favor. I was on a team in college that had the biggest second half comeback in NAIA history, and it happened because the coach stuck to the game plan.

Our game plan is simple: stay close to Jesus. When Jesus moves, we move. When Jesus lingers, we linger. That's the plan. The closer we get to Jesus, the more sure we can be that we're where we're supposed to be. That confidence can lead us to make great moves of faith, because we can know that the circumstances don't dictate our success or failure. Success is sticking close to Jesus, no matter what the economy does, what other people do, what health crisis or relationship crisis or job change or personal betrayal comes into our lives. Failure is not sticking close to Jesus for whatever reason. There never is a good reason to pull away from Jesus. Never.

I've been afraid of so many things in my life and in my ministry. I've been afraid of people leaving the church, of not making the payroll, of people not liking me, of preaching a great message and following it up with a flop, and so many other things. But what I've been hearing from God these last several months is that the closer I am to Jesus, the more I spend time in His presence in prayer and in the Word, the more confidence I can have that none of these things can or will change the ultimate outcome of my life. No one leaving the church will effect the call God has on my life. No one criticizing me will alter God's plan. No financial dip, no stinker of a sermon will change how God feels about me, nor will it change God's plans for me. And the closer I am to Jesus, the more I connect to what He's doing in and through me.

So the encouragement for the second half: GO OUT THERE AND STAY CLOSE TO JESUS!!

Half Time - Part 2

Back to the Halftime Speech. Part 1 was what we're doing right. Part 2 is what we need to improve. And while 'everything' is an acceptable answer, I want to highlight three things that we as a church need to find a way take up a notch in the next six months:

• Risk Taking - We need to step up and step out a little more in our life and ministry together. By that I mean we need to have some people risk leading some piece of our ministry, whether it be a Connection Group, a ministry or a moment of prayer. We need some folks to risk saying the hard thing to their friends or their family members. We need to have some people risk putting themselves out there to invite people to come to church.
• Investing in the Future - We need to get Chris Bobblit on full time so that we can see our Student Ministries continue it's fantastic level of growth and depth. We need to give Kathy Nelson and her team the tools they need to keep the children's ministry going and growing downstairs. We need to give the the Work the Land campaign and finish strong so that we pay off the land and set ourselves up for the future development of a new campus that will make growth and kingdom impact more accessible. We need to give to see our current building fixed up and modernized so that it can do a couple more decades of hard work for Jesus' sake. And we need to give to see the good ministry that we've been doing turn into the great ministry of tomorrow, with better communication, better administration and better results. And did I mention we need Chris Bobblit on full time?
• Celebrating Wins - We as a church have seen some amazing, only-God-could-do-that moments lately, but we have a hard time figuring out how to celebrate what God is doing in our midst. We clap and cheer at baptisms, and that's wonderful, but we need to find ways to clap, cheer, holler, make a ruckus about all the other great stuff that is happening. We're getting better, but when a Connection Group splits into three groups so that they can welcome more people into community (yes, this actually happened just before Christmas!!), we need to find ways to celebrate that level of sacrifice and wisdom. When someone starts giving out Bibles to kids in the karate class they teach, and people start coming to Christ (yes, this also really happened!!), we need to find ways to celebrate the mission-minded, Christ-like focus of these people. In short, we need to be more ready to party more often, because I think the party is on its way!

And let me make this very clear: I own all of this in my life. I need to risk more, I need to invest more and I need to celebrate more. As a leader, I need to find ways to show and tell what is important to me, and I need to improve in all these places. Pray for me, and I'll pray for you.

By the way, which one of these do you need to work on the most over the next 6 months? I'd love to hear from you and pray for you about it.

Living In Hope

I'll get back to my three part Halftime Talk, but I need to share something from my heart. If you were in church here on Sunday, you heard me talk about a friend who is going through a very difficult time with a return of her cancer. It is ReNee Perry, an active part of our church for a long time. Her and her husband Lance could use your prayers for healing, peace and hope.

Hope is a powerful concept in our lives, and one that scares us sometimes. What if I get my hopes up and it doesn't happen the way I want it to? That's always a risk, which means that hope is a sign of faith. We hope in the truth of God's power to heal, and rest in the truth of God's wisdom to do what is best. We hope in the fact that where there is life, there is hope. We rest in the fact that God has the last word on everything in life, death and eternity. I choose to live in hope, because God can heal my friend, and I wait in faith that He will do whatever is right.

Isaiah 40:31 - but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. the will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

ReNee has a blog on CaringBridge that you can check for updates.

Half Time - Part 1

Being a former athlete, I've been in many locker rooms at halftime of the game, listening to halftime speeches by coaches. Now, having done a little coaching, I've actually given some halftime pep talks myself. Regardless of the score, the basic outline is always the same: here's what we're doing right, here's what we need to improve, and finish with some encouragement to go out and make the second half better than the first.

As a church, we are at halftime of our ministry year. We start July 1, and end June 30, so while the rest of the world celebrates a new year, we celebrate the midway point in our ministry. So here's my halftime talk: What we are doing right is... plenty!

• We have seen so much good and a boatload of lives changing, it's hard to know where to start. Obviously, one clear win is our baptisms - we've baptized 10 people since September!! Our goal for the ministry year is 15, and I thought that was an aggressive goal, but we're 2/3 of the way there already!
  
• Here's the best part: while a couple of those have been students and children (way to go Chris and Kappy!!), THE MAJORITY HAVE BEEN ADULTS!! If you study trends in the church in America, you'll find that most churches, if they even do any baptisms, don't do very many adult baptisms, if any. God is blessing this church family in allowing us to be a part of adults coming to faith in Christ, or returning to Him!
• Attendance is trending upward again! People are inviting their friends, and it's making a difference in the lives of real people every week. When you see a baptism, the person lighting the candle is usually the person who invited them to church in the first place.
  
• Our Reach Out ministries are clicking - Our presence at Trick Or Treat the Old Town Streets brought people to church THAT VERY NEXT SUNDAY! The Angel Tree Party was a huge blessing as well, and even though we were careful not to push ourselves on anyone, we had one family show up in worship that weekend as well!
• Possibly my favorite story to tell has been the invitation we got to help out at Recovery Fest, an event put on downtown by the folks at Health and Welfare. They use it to get info out in the community about all the recovery services available in our community, and they asked us to provide activities for the children during the event. Their statement to Kappy was, "We've been watching you, and we know we can trust you with our kids." Folks, when was the last time you heard of a government agency saying that to a church? I'm still geeked out about that!!
• Behind the scenes, the new governance structure has proven thus far to be a success. The elders have provided a set of Guiding Principles (available from the office by request), and a set of challenging but attainable goals for the ministry year. They are a hard working bunch, committed to personal ministry as well as the oversight of the entire congregation. They have been supportive and encouraging to me and to the direction of our church family, and I'm proud to serve alongside such high character people.
• The Student Ministries Team has taken our teens to the next level this fall, with quality conversations about faith and obedience to God's word quickly becoming the norm on Wednesday nights. Chris Bobblit and his team of Core Group leaders are making a kingdom impact in the lives of teens.
• Our Connection Group ministry had DOUBLED IN SIZE! The I Saw The Lord campaign gave us more than we had imagined in terms of traction with people getting into small groups for study and encouragement. I can't wait to see where this is going!!

Okay, that's just a sample of the good stuff God is doing in our midst. More of the Halftime Talk later. For now, take a moment and give God praise for the amazing, life changing ministry going on at FBC. I know I will!