Will we sacrifice our witness to exercise our rights?

If you truly know me, you know that I love liberty and freedom. I am a separatist to the core. I do not preach politics from the pulpit, only the written Word of God. I believe the government has no right to control churches, nor do I believe the church has a right to control governments. I saw the attached comments on a Facebook post earlier and it helped me confirm what I had been feeling throughout the last few days. It may be our constitutional right to do church as we please, but dare we sacrifice our witness to an unchurched world in the process? In 1 Corinthians 6:12, the Apostle Paul said, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything” (ESV). In context, we aren’t exactly sure what Paul was referring to (eating meat sacrificed to idols?), but we get the point. May we dare not use our liberty to cause another to stumble or to become a slave to freedom itself.

Either way, these two persons have lost respect for the Bride of Christ along the way. Church-hurt. Something we as pastors and believers will have to answer for someday. It is paramount we preach Truth, but we must preach Truth and live it out in love. If someone walks out of our church with a “never again” attitude, I pray they will also be able to say that it was the Word of God that offended them and not my self-righteous attitude or opinions. Lord, heal our churches and heal our land. Come, Lord Jesus. Come.

I Want My Paci now!

Breaking a two year old from a pacifier isn't an easy task. Well, it usually isn't. Of course, I've heard of you super parents out there that just "throw it bye bye out the car window" or "give it to the Easter Bunny."  Must be nice!  For those of you who know my children well, you know how important Janna Kay's "paci" is to her. As Bobbi Lee and I sat at our kitchen table sharing a Bible devotion, we grew weary of listening to Janna Kay scream, "WAHHHHH! MOMMY!  DADDY!  WAHHHHH!"  I could tell the intense cries for comfort were breaking mommy's heart, but we had resolved that it was time to ditch the pacifier.  After all, it was for Janna Kay's best interests.
     As we sat there frustrated, a profound theological thought hit me. Sometimes, I am the one crying out for my Father. I cry, whine, and scream for my worldly comfort. It seems like He isn't listening. It's seems as if he doesn't care. Why isn't he running down the hall to take care of me?  Why isn't he meeting my demands?  WHERE ARE YOU, GOD?!  I want my comfort and I want it NOW!  But maybe, just maybe, God is in the other room sitting quietly and listening intently. Sometimes, He creeps down the hallway and peeks in my room to make sure I am safe. He is sitting on go, ready and willing to respond to any danger that may come my way.  At the same time, however, He's looking out for my best interests. He is teaching me. He is letting me learn to survive the storm. He is breaking me from the chains of earthly comfort that hold me back from totally depending and trusting in Him. He is helping me realize that His grace is enough. Eventually, Janna Kay closed her eyes and drifted off the dreamland peacefully, without her pacifier. And, eventually, I realize that God is my comfort and peace and He is all I need.

Facebook Fasting

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines fast (verb) as “to abstain from food; to eat sparingly or abstain from some foods.”  We know from the New Testament that Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-9) and Jesus taught on fasting in his “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 6:16-18).  The early church fasted often such as the case at Antioch when they were preparing to send Barnabas and Paul on a mission trip (Acts 13:1-3).  The churches in Galatia fasted during the task of appointing elders (Acts 14:21-23).  It seems as if today’s church has lost the discipline of fasting.  Perhaps due to nutrition concerns, but probably because we enjoy eating so much!  Recently, I decided to try fasting, but not from food.  I decided that if I really wanted to be serious about replacing something I enjoy doing with serious prayer time, I needed to give up my favorite pastime –Facebook.  On the morning of Wednesday, September 9, 2015, I shut her down –albeit temporarily.  Almost instantaneously, my phone started dinging with texts –“Are you mad me?”  “Did I do something to you?”  “What the heck is going on with your page?”  Then it hit me –I had become a Facebook addict and was enabling people to do the same.  With over 2000 “friends” it’s hard not to be a Facebook junkie.  Each time I would refresh my newsfeed, there was some new drama, gossip, or the latest argument over current events.  I was in tune with the world!  Don’t get me wrong –I tried to be a minority on Facebook by making a valiant effort to keep my posts positive and humorous with a dash of political upheaval just to stir the masses.  It was fun, it was my hobby, and it had become my life.  People were watching my children grow up on Facebook.  They knew my every move.  They knew what we had for supper last night and what happened at work that day.  Wow.  Too weird once you think about it.  As I temporarily deactivated my Facebook account and activated my prayer life with God, I began to notice things.  I had three children who loved to play outside.  When they weren’t playing outside, they were indoors playing board games or watching movies.  My eyes were opened to God’s creation and to who and what Jesus has blessed me.  My prayer life took a crazy turn north and my wife and I found ourselves lying in the floor for hours talking and praying instead of zoning out on our smart phones.  As my journey continued, I noticed how many folks are “souled out” to social media.  I sat in restaurants and observed couples on dates never looking at each other except to show the other a post or text he/she had discovered.  I sat in the mall and watched shoppers run into each other without even an “excuse me” –because their eyes were glued to a five inch screen.  Sure, I wasn’t the first to know everything that happened –but why do we have to be the first to know?  My “fast” purposefully lasted 28 days.  I was humbled by the emails and texts I received telling me how my posts were missed.  I was disciplined by some long-distance family members who missed seeing their nieces and nephew so often.  I even received a personal visit from my father who come through my front door shouting “What’s wrong?! Your Aunt Mary Ann is worried sick!”  I guess people thought I had fallen off the face of the earth and I was getting used to the solitude.  After much prayer and counsel, I reluctantly logged back in, streamlined my profile, and made a resolution to not be on the network as much.  Our home now has boundaries that we log off at night and do not log back in until the next morning.  We don’t bring our phones to the dinner table and we are leaving them out of the bedroom at night.  I encourage you to do the same.  Take a 28 day Facebook fast.  Resolve to spend as much time as you can with the Lord, family, and friends during the 28 days.  Visit someone.  Share a phone call.  Become a prayer warrior.  Read your Bible.  Get involved in ministry.  It will change your life forever.  

Bugs in the Baptistry

The other day, I took a long drive through the country side.  Along my journey, I passed a little country church.  My thoughts began to take me back to the early days of ministry when I was asked to preach revival services there. As a rookie preacher, I remember walking into the auditorium and noting that sometime in the past, it had been expanded to accomodate growth.  The expansion was no longer needed as only around 40 souls would attend nightly, most of whom were life-long members.  As I walked around the stage mentally preparing myself, I glanced toward the baptistery.  It, too, had seen its better days.  A dead spider, a few dead bugs, and dust were all that had been in it in months, if not years.  As the mostly elderly group of saints began to arrive, my heart sank knowing that in the not-so-distant future this special place would close its doors.  Why? Why couldn't God step in and do something?  Why should the church have to compete with malls, movie theaters, and country clubs?  Do people not love Jesus enough to take one measly little hour of their lives and come to worship?  Then I remembered what Jesus had said.  HE had said it in HIS Word... "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."  If the gates of hell can't destroy a church, what or who can?  I will tell you who can destroy a church quicker than anyone -God.  The permissive will of God may very well allow a church to close if that body of believers is not carrying out His work.  In Matthew 28, we are told to "Go and make disciples."  We aren't told to hold a revival service in the fall, Homecoming in the spring, or even a Christmas cantata.  We are told to "make discliples."  If a church isn't growing, what good is it to God? You may say, "Well, it fills me up and satisfies my needs."  If you aren't "making disciples," then, obviously, it's not doing anything for you either and you need to attend a Christ-centered church where you will be about His work. 

Back to the little church.... At one time, she was a powerhouse and that addition was full.  She had a great pastor who was willing to do anything and everything to lead members in bringing the people to faith in Jesus Christ.  People came to church because it was exciting.  People came to see what great thing God was going to do today or to hear what He has done in someone's life the past week.  But now, she sits empty.  Children's laughter doesn't interrupt the message,  because young couples no longer attend.   People don't come to see exciting things because nothing exciting is happening in the lives of the remnant.  Sure, they have a good pastor.  He believes and preaches the Word, even though his beliefs are slightly askew of the original context and meaning.  He has a good heart and his plan of salvation is right on.  What's keeping the baptistery dusty and the pews unfilled at this church then? Answer, the people, and no matter what, they aren't budging.  They are stuck in the early 1900s, waiting.  What are they waiting for? They are waiting for more people to come.  They are hoping and sometimes praying that more will come listen to their outdated music and irrelevant messages.  They are wishing someone would accept the invitation, run down the aisle, grab the preacher's hand and confess their sins on the altar while the third verse of "Just As I Am" is sang over and over.  But they never come.  No one comes and says, "I heard y'all had some great hymn singing here!"  No one accepts the invitation and "Just As I Am" is cut short. No one comes.  No one comes because the Bible doesn't say "Stay and I will bring disciples." It says, "Go and (you) make disciples." The church of today must leave the pews and hit the streets.  We must build relationships with ungodly people just like Jesus did.  We must change our services to reflect society.  We must preach relevant messages to the masses, not about rules and regulations but about grace and mercy.  About how Christ died and arose to set us free!  Sure, we lucked out in years' past and people "came" to church, but that was then, this is now.  We have to take Jesus to them.  And if your church isn't a happy and exciting place, they aren't coming back. If we aren't profiting spiritually for God, why shouldn't He shut the doors?  "Go and make disciples." This is not a new concept or cutting-edge ministry tactic, it's gospel, plain and simple.  It's basic evangelism, and It works!

Stop Going To Church...

Stop Going to Church!

WHAT?!  I cant believe a preacher just told me that!  What kind of heretic is he?!  I've been going to church all my life!  Been carryin' this big ol' black leather King James-only Version Bible every Sunday!  I have been going to Sunday school since I was an embryo in my mothers womb and I have the pins to prove it!  I have been sanctified, edified, holified, baptized, immortalized, crucified, dignified, and mortified in this here church house!  My granddaddy was a deacon.  My momma was the church clerk.  My great uncle was the treasurer.  My daddy was the song leader and I have been riding this here pine pew since before you were born!  So don't tell me to stop going to church, mister!
Yep.  That's right.  I said it, but hear me out:  STOP GOING TO CHURCH .START BEING THE CHURCH!  Christians spend too much time going to church and not enough time being the church.   Think about that and let it sink in for a few minutes.  If you are an active church member, how often do you go to church?   Now, I am in NO WAY advocating that you stop attending church.  God expects us to meet with other believers to engage in corporate worship (Hebrews 10:25).  After the resurrection of Christ, the disciples began meeting on the first day of the week; however, a believer should attend church any time his/her church decides to meet.  Allow me to begin by defining the term, church, because I am afraid many people have the wrong idea of what church means as we use the word very loosely.  We go to church (meaning a worship service); we sit in a church (meaning a building); and, we are part of a church family (meaning a local group of Christians).  In the Bible we find the word church with two different meanings.  It can mean all believers in the world united as one or the more common biblical definition: a local body of believers, such as the church at Antioch, the church at Ephesus, the church at Corinth, etc.  Either way, God has given believers a special responsibility that is to be carried out only by the church.    In Matthew 28:19, Jesus says, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (New King James Version).  That's it plain and simple -MAKE DISCIPLES.  Now the challenge:  How can we make disciples if we just go to church?  Let me ask you a question:  When was the last time an unbeliever wandered into one of your worship services, sat down, and became a disciple?  It doesn't happen that way.  The reality today is the same as it was 2000 years ago. Unbelievers don't come to church, therefore we must GO to them.  We must realize that God isn't lost, people are lost.  Stop going to church, and start being the church.  The problem here is that most of us think that because we get out of bed on Sunday morning, get ready, and sit through an hour-long grueling sermon, then God owes us something.  God doesn't owe us anything, because he has given us everything!  We meet with other believers to worship and serve Him.  We attend worship on Sunday morning to get our spiritual tanks full so we can BE the church during the week.  Get involved in Gods work!  Volunteer at the Mission House, help build a Habitat for Humanity house, help a neighbor in need, go visit a lonely widow, offer a listening ear for someone going through a tragedy, teach a Bible study at the jail, or whatever God tells you to do!  BE THE CHURCH!  If you will do these things while sharing Gods love, people will begin to thirst for God and you will have to opportunity share Gods saving grace.  For too long we have sit in our pews whining about declining church attendance and the wickedness of the world.  Stop complaining and start doing.  Get out of your comfort zone and do something for God!  Together, we can change the world one disciple at a time.  STOP GOING TO CHURCH! BE THE CHURCH!

MY WAY!

Isaiah 55:7-8 says, "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the LORD, 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts'" (New King James Version).  There are several insights to these verses.  Even though believers are to be conforming to Jesus Christ everyday, we are still sinners.  Since we are sinners, we do not have the mind of God completely (we are a work in progress).  God tells us bluntly that we don't think the same and we don't act the same.  He continues by telling us that His ways are "higher" than ours -that is, they are better.  If that is the case, then why do we trust our own thinking?  SELF-CENTEREDNESS.  Our society has become one that looks out for ME.  "I" obviously is the most important letter of the alphabet.  We want to be in control of our lives and we don't want ANYONE telling us what to do.  Here's the problem if you are a Christian:  you are not independent!  As believers, we are to be dependent on Him and trust His voice.  We are to be in a state of prayer constantly -before any decision, great or small.  WHY?  Because His ways are best.  And I wouldn't have it any other way!

The Greatest Little Church in the World...

Today, I left my position of pastor at New Vision Baptist Church in Mayfield, KY.  It was a bittersweet day of worship, celebration, and sadness.  The church has watched me grow as a minister of the gospel over the past 9 years.  They have raised my children and saw me through the darkest days of my life.  I haven't been gone 12 hours and I miss them like crazy!  In times like these, we question God.  We wonder why he would ask us to leave something we love so much!  It's also in times like these that we must TRUST God and know that he ALWAYS has a plan.  Folks have continually asked "Where will you go?"  Like Abraham, I'm not sure -I just know it was time to leave and God will show us the way.  God is preparing another man to lead the flock at NVBC.  A man who will bring fresh ideas, energy, and new life to a group of believers with more potential than they will ever realize.  I will miss my little flock dearly and pray they unite during this time and keep their focus on God's kingdom while searching for their next leader.  My final words to the church were those of our Lord Jesus Christ in John 15:17, "LOVE ONE ANOTHER...."