Chocolate Vitamins

I have a friend or two that don't like chocolate. I'm not sure how this is possible, but it's true. I can't imagine life without chocolate, and I don't want to. Even with lactose intolerance, I just switched from milk chocolate to dark chocolate and kept going. I love chocolate.

I have learned that taking a regular multivitamin is important for my health, especially my heart, so I'm in the habit of taking one each day. I want to be more healthy and fit in my life, so a vitamin makes sense, and every night before I go to bed is a good time to be sure to take one, so that's when I grab my vitamin.

Encouragement is chocolate vitamins: taste good and it's good for you. Humans work better if they have a regular supply of encouragement in their lives. Normally, they respond positively to it, but some folks will squirm or avoid being encouraged. It's weird, but it happens. Just like people who don't like chocolate: I don't get it, but it happens. Some folks don't want to be encouraged. I believe it's a false, insecurity-turning-to-pride thing some folks get going with, like if I say stop you'll keep telling me how great I am, so... Stop, stop, stop!! But I'm off subject.

People need encouragement. Leaders need encouragement. Pastors need encouragement. Learn how to be an encourager and you'll never run out of friends. I've had the privilege of having some encouragers in my life over the years, and they have helped me survive the pitfalls and pain of serving in church. There are lots of people who will throw a wet blanket on the fire of your passion to serve Jesus, so you need some folks who will stoke that fire instead. If you have discouraging people in your life, find some encouraging people NOW and hang out with them. We all will have folks who want to tell us we'll never make it, we'll never succeed, we're not good enough - everyone has those folks in their lives, so don't try to avoid them all, just avoid being around them all the time. Make sure you're being encouraged (not lied to, encouraged... big difference!), because that will keep you in it when the going gets tough.

If you're a pastor: encourage your people! Find any excuse to tell folks they are doing a good job. They may argue and fight you on it, but it's still the right thing to do. Don't let them think that the only time you talk to them is when something is wrong. Lift them up, charge them up, fill them up with encouragement! Make it a daily habit to encourage someone.

If you have a pastor: encourage your pastor! It's a lonely job, it's a difficult job, and it's one that follows you home most days, so any time you hear encouragement, when you hear someone thinks you're making a difference or doing something well, it's a lift to the spirit, so lift up your pastor! If you got something out of a message, let them know! If you heard something good in the community about your church, let them know! If you were blessed by something they said or did, let them know! You will have a better pastor for it! It's good for their heart.

And encouragement works well in other places, too. Husbands: encourage your wife! Catch her doing things that are good and tell her about it! Wives: encouragement works better than nagging for any man I know. Parents: when you encourage your kids, they remember if far longer than the lecture. Kids: when you encourage your parents, you help them see what you want and need from them, and it works better than the silent treatment.

Encourage someone today. Then, do it again tomorrow! Make your world, your church and your family a better place!

Fear, Feelings and Finances

I started a series on finances at LifePoint Church tonight, and it caused a stir. It always does.

I've been a teaching pastor for over 15 years, and it never ceases to amaze me how it creates so much fear in people when we talk about money in church. I've gotten the gamut of responses over the years, which I'll talk about in a sec, but let's start with me.

I used to be so afraid to talk about money. I avoided it for the first few years of my teaching ministry, just out of self-preservation. I was so scared that I would offend someone, make someone angry and they would leave the church, or any number of awful outcomes. So I did what a lot of pastor's do: I stayed away from it all together.

Later, after some conviction from the Holy Spirit and some encouragement from some great church leaders, I started teaching on it, but I kept feeling like I was annoying people with it, like it was a biblical inconvenience, or a necessary evil. But here's where it changed for me: when someone who actually gives spoke up.

A couple friends in church heard me apologize for the upteenth time for teaching on money, and they each separately pulled me aside and told me to stop apologizing. When people get God's plan for money, they said, they will thank you. Don't let anyone rattle you, don't let anyone scare you, and if they don't like hearing about it, remember: it's not about you. God has smart things to say about money, so stand behind God's word and let 'er rip! That was good advice.

So Pastors, if you're worried about teaching on money and what people will think, remember this: smart people will thank you for the help and/or encourage you to keep teaching the truth (in love, that's important!!) no matter what anyone says or does. Listen to some good teachers teach on it, learn from them, and then share God's truth about this touchy subject. I've loved Rick Warren's messages, and Andy Stanley does a great job. Of course, Dave Ramsey is the MAN on this topic, so any of his stuff will help, too. Don't be afraid, get some help, then get after it. Your people are drowning in debt, feeling the pressure, crying when no one is looking, fighting and divorcing over finances. Don't let that continue!!!

For everyone else, hear me say this: ENCOURAGE YOUR PASTOR!!! If he or she is teaching on money, go out of your way to encourage them. It is scarier than it looks, and they need to be reminded that God is with them and you are, too! If you are a committed giver, let them know that they are helping others to get this important part of spiritual growth. If not, then listen, learn and grow, but don't rain on the already difficult work your pastor is doing. Encourage your pastor to take on difficult subjects that have the power to help lots and lots and lots of people, both inside and outside the church. Pour gas on that fire, not ice cubes!!!

God has a plan for money in our lives. Pastors need to talk about it, people need to hear it, and we all need to grow in this area of life and faith.

What a Week!

So, as weeks go, this one was amazing!

I got to talk to a friend from Idaho, encourage him and get some encouragement. That was good.

My beloved Seattle Seahawks won not one, but two games, including a huge playoff win as serious underdogs. That was amazing.

My daughter's basketball team won their first game of the season. That was huge.

My church gave over 940 items, from coats and sweatshirts to gloves and blankets, to give away to folks in need in our valley and maybe even up at Lake Tahoe. I am SO EXCITED about that!!

We learned a lot in the process, and we got to see three dozen volunteers step up to sort, fix, count and bag the gifts. It was amazing to see the whole lot of them across the front of the platform last week, but I got to see the excitement of the folks sorting and fixing zippers. The enthusiasm of folks knowing that they were helping our church to be generous to others, and that we were going to help hundreds of people be warm through that generosity - I could see on their faces how much they were enjoying the experience.

As a pastor, I was blessed, blown away, and fired up for what this means for the future of LifePoint Church. God is moving, I'm so proud of our folks, and can't wait to see where this all goes next. Just a great week!!

Remembering 2010 - Part 2

I've been having this ongoing nostalgia for where I was this time last year, both physically and emotionally, and it got me thinking. For those who are newer to Roof Crashers, this time last year I was in the beginning stages of interviewing for the job of Lead Pastor at LifePoint Church, and was wrestling with God about the call to leave a place I'd been for 14 years as Senior Pastor at FBC Pocatello. It's been a year of constant transition (we've had three home addresses, two moves, and bought one new couch), and like I said, it got me thinking.

Before you move, you should always decide on what goes with you and what you sell, give away, throw away or otherwise leave behind. We did that with furniture, mattresses, clothes, papers, etc... in each move this year. So I was thinking about what I would want to take with me and what I want to leave behind as we moved from 2010 into 2011. When I tweeted about it, I got some good responses. Here's what I've been thinking:

I want to leave behind 5 things:

• My insecurity as a leader - I'm here because I've been called by God, and affirmed by prayerful people. I have nothing to prove and no one to impress. Thanks, Larry Osborne, for that great quote and lesson!
• My fear of failure - I don't have to be right all the time, and I don't have to be perfect. I just need to try my best to hear from God and do what I hear Him say. Failure is a great teacher.
• My 'people pleaser mode' - Moving to a larger church has taught me quickly that there is no room for being a people pleaser. I thought I could please everyone in my life before, but couldn't, and it befuddled me to no end that I couldn't do it. Now, I know I can't do it, so I do my very best, trust God for the results, and leave the people pleasing in the past.
• My resume' - What got me here isn't what's going to get me there, so I need to put aside the 'gold stars' on my past resume' and focus on what I need to learn to move God's church ahead here and now.
• My fantasy job - There is no church with too much money and not enough problems. Bigger isn't better, it's just bigger. It's not worse, it's just bigger. A church is people, and people have both problems and potential. There are more opportunities for both, so don't waste time dreaming of somewhere else, make the Big Dream happen here.

And 5 things I want to take with me into 2011:

• A hunger to know God more - I am more aware of my need for God than ever before, and I want to know and hear and obey more and more the God who holds all things in His hands, who pours out Grace and Mercy from His heart to mine.
• A closer bond with my family - this move has opened up more avenues for the four of us to connect, grow closer and listen to each other. I never want to lose that.
• A deeper respect for the past - both mine and that of LifePoint Church. I see over and over again the amazing work that God did through Dr. John Jackson, his wife Pam and the founding families here at (CVC) LifePoint. This is a hard, hard area to do ministry, but God used them all to break through, and now, ministries across the valley are more effective, while this particular church continues to thrive and lead. This year has also taught me that God has been preparing me for this time, this calling, this place. All the difficult ministry of my past nearly 20 years as a pastor have been preparing and building me to face the challenges of "such a time as this." So humbling to follow a great leader, and to know that God has been preparing me to do just that.
• A deeper appreciation for my friends - the move has helped me to reconnect with some friends, deepen bonds with others, make new friends, and see the value in friendship in a fresh way. Nothing like starting over to show you that you never really start over when you have real friends in your life.
• Special memories - the last weekend in Pocatello, the send off party for the ages, the gift of a beautiful nativity set from my FBC staff, the drive to Minden, the first weekend at LifePoint Church (thanks again to Curt Harlow!!), the first staff meeting, the Easter blackout, the first Tahoe Baptism, the help of the church family to move (again), the amazing Christmas season... just a sampling of what I don't ever want to forget about 2010.

What are you taking/leaving from 2010?