More Faith in Suffering Than In Blessing

Here's some food for thought from David Cartledge's book The Apostolic Revolution:

The reason why much preaching is negative is because the preachers themselves have no confidence in God or His promises. They cannot conceive that God would bless His people, and actually have more faith in suffering and limitation than in victory and freedom. Because of this, they often oppose the idea that God delights to prosper His people in their spirit, soul, body and social areas.

I asked my wise wife why she thought this was so. Her answer: It doesn't require faith at all to believe in suffering or limitation, because faith is the substance of things hoped for.

Humility vs. Stagefright

In his book, Playing from the Second Chair, Rick Clendenen states:

Humility is not thinking less of ourselves; it is simply thinking of ourselves less. It is putting the needs of others above our own.

Somehow I managed to mash together the above in my mind. For several days, I went about reminding myself that "Humility is not thinking less of ourselves; it is thinking more of others."

I once heard someone say that stagefright is a form of pride. We mask it as fear of speaking, but it's really a fear of failing in front of others. Our focus is on us - not on the ones who need our messsage.

Humility, remember, focuses more on others.

I remember the first time I taught at a district event. About a hundred people from a dozen or so churches were gathered, and I was starting to get nervous. I then remembered two things:

• Stagefright is a form of pride.
• The message is key - the message matters more than my own discomfort.

I recited 1 Thess 5:24 under my breath (Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.) Reminding myself that the message is key, I focused and delivered it with confidence.

I find it interesting that by focusing on others instead of myself, my nerves calmed and my confidence increased.

I humbled myself in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord lifted me up (see James 4:10). I did not demean myself - I just focused on others. The Lord lifted me by giving me confidence and anointing to deliver the message.

Judging Prophecy

Paul told the Corinthians to "Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. (1 Cor 14:29)," but I've always wondered how to do that.

How can one prophet judge another's prophecy without hurting their feelings or undermining their authority?

I gained insight through a story David Cartledge included in his book The Apostolic Revolution. Cartledge repeated a story originally told by Barney Coombs:

"I was sitting with a group of men in a council meeting. The evangelist with us brought a word of prophecy. The prophet turned to me and said, 'Barney, are we allowed to judge that prophecy?' Now we were like family around this table but you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife. I said, 'Be my guest.' He said, 'I don't think it was from God.' I turned to another man who is wise and also a prophet and said, 'John, what do you feel?' 'No,' he said, 'I don't think it was from God.' Then the man who was in charge of the business and also prophetic said, 'The prophecy we have heard is not from God, but the Spirit says that so and so did not share all he saw, and when he shares all he saw, it will be from God.' I felt goosebumps up and down my spine! I turned to the evangelist and said, 'Is that true?' And he said, 'Yes.' When he shared all that he had seen, all the men said, 'This is from God.' It changed everything."

Who to Shun, Teach, Awaken, or Follow

I saw the following on a cubible wall at work:

He who knows not and knows not he knows not...
He is a fool. Shun Him.

He who knows not and knows he knows not...
He is simple. Teach Him.

He who knows and knows not he knows...
He is asleep. Awaken Him.

He who knows and knows he knows...
He is wise. Follow Him.

I like these classifications. I like that you can break it into 4 quadrants based on one's self-awareness and actual knowledge:

	Clueless	Aware
Smart	Asleep Teach him	Wise Follow him
Ignorant	Foolish Shun him	Simple Teach him

I disagree that we should always shun those who are ignorant about how ignorant they are -- how else would you ever teach a child?

We also need to be careful any time we think we know something, because whether we really know it or not, we still think we know it. Perhaps that's why Solomon said that a fool tells everything he knows, but a wise man keeps it in till afterward. (Prov 29:11)

Thoughts on Sermon Failure

If we fail to reach our audience, we have failed.

If we fail to engage our audience, we have failed.

If we fail to connect to our audience, we have failed.

I know that God's word does not go out void, but we're not God. If we fail to reach, engage, and connect to our audience, we have failed.

When the Church is Right and Tight

I love the way Ephesians 4:16 describes a church that has it all together.

Such a church is:

• United ("the whole body fitly joined together and compacted")
• Effective ("the effectual working")
• Growing ("maketh increase of the body")

Every member contributes:

• To the Unity ("by that which every joint supplieth")
• To the Work ("working in the measure of every part")
• To the Growth ("unto the edifying of itself in love")

Wicca in Lebanon, Indiana

While thumbing through the January issue Indianapolis Monthly, I came across the following snippet in the article Airball Awards:

Katherine Gunther, 36, and a few of her Wiccan friends had gathered at Lebanon's Oak Hill Cemetery one full moon in July for a "good luck" ritual. But her fortunes took a turn south when, at the point of the ceremony where she was supposed to plunge a three-foot-long sword into the ground, she instead pierced her foot. Gunther spent a few days in Witham Memorial Hospital recovering from her sudden bout of bad karma.

I've always heard rumors of witchcraft being practiced in our towns, but I've never seen anything about it printed in the press -- until now.

I'd like to say that this incident happened at the same exact time the Holy Ghost began to move at a worship service in one of our PCG churches in Lebanon. I can't.

I can say, however, this is proof that our enemies are praying. Are we praying too?

We Will Stand Alone

On judgement day, we won't be able to call up witnesses on our behalf.

The church board will not be able to say how well we cooperated. Our congregations will not be permitted to tell how enjoyable our sermons were. Our kids will not be allowed to share fond memories of their childhoods.

Many people on this earth will have an opinion on whether our job was "well done," but only one opinion will matter -- that of our Father. As long as He can say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant," it will not matter what anyone else thinks. If the Father were to say, "Depart from me, I never knew you," it still wouldn't matter what anyone else thought.

I wonder, who are you trying to please?

Why does it matter so much what other people think?

Whose Wisdom Do You Seek?

God once commented to Jeremiah concerning Israel's pastors:

The shepherds of my people have lost their senses. They no longer seek wisdom from the Lord. Therefore, they fail completely, and their flocks are scattered. - Jeremiah 10:21

Seems the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Nowadays, instead of asking what God would have them do, many pastors ask how Rick Warren did it, or Bill Hybels, or Steve Sjogren, or Joel Osteen, or ....

Sometimes pastors tap secular resources such as Seth Godin, Jim Collins, Stephen Covey, or Malcolm Gladwell. Some have even gone so far as to study Mohammad or the Dalai Lama.

I've heard some say that all truth is God's truth. I cannot argue that point -- truth is truth.

The trouble is not the truth, but the wisdom. Not all wisdom is God's wisdom. The Bible lists many sorts of wisdom -- wisdom of words, wisdom of the wise, wisdom of this world, man's wisdom, and earthly, sensual wisdom. In contrast, the Bible describes the manifold wisdom of God.

I read most everything Seth Godin writes, and I thoroughly enjoy it. I appreciate the challenge he sets forth to be better than average, to try to do more than just get by, but when it comes to decisions, Seth can't make them for me. I cannot ask myself which option Seth would prefer. There is only one voice that matters -- God's voice.

I wonder what would happen if our churches started investing as much time, money, and energy into seeking God's direction as they do attending seminars, reading books, and scouring the internet?

Perhaps this would happen:

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. - Jeremiah 33:3

or this:

Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. - Psalm 2:8

When My Likes Interfere With Evangelism

In this article, Earl Creps discusses what we risk by focusing on the

• production values,
• branded sermon series, and
• studio quality worship music

that we need to attract the kind of Christians who can supply our financial base. In particular, we risk having newcomers in our church.

Personally, I like well-produced services. I like branded sermon series. I like studio-quality worship music.

I like what I like, and I pretty much do church the way I like to do church. As a pastor, I led the services the way I liked to lead them. As a layman, I enjoy services that are led the same way.

The trouble is, these services are customized to me. They attract people just like me -- white, middle-classers who have been saved 20+ years.

To get somebody different, I have to do things I don't like as much, but that's OK.

What sort of things?

• Explaining what the offering is and why we're doing it.


• Explaining why one person stood up and said "Shondai, shondai" and then someone else stood up and said, "Thus saith the Lord..."


• Explaining what communion is and why we're doing it.


• Preaching about David and Goliath instead of Abishai or Jabez.


• Sticking to the pre-set worship list because there's no powerpoint slide for the old song that just popped into my mind.