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Happy Anniversary!

June 17, 2010 in family, wife with 1 Comment

Twenty-one  years ago I married my best friend.  I thought that I loved her SOOOO much the day I married her.  Little did I know, I had only scratched the surface of my love for her that day.  Here we are, twenty-one years later, and I am amazed at this woman that God has allowed me to spend my life with.  I married up BIG TIME!  She is my best friend, a great wife and mother,  and my partner in ministry.  Happy anniversary Jennifer!

Prov 18:22 “A man’s greatest treasure is his wife— she is a gift from the Lord.”

Quotable Tuesday: Risk-Free Faith

June 8, 2010 in leadership, quotable Tuesday, quotes with 0 Comments

This weeks quote comes from Craig Groeschel, Lead Pastor of LifeChurch.TV, during his message for the One Prayer “Unstoppable” series.  Speaking on faith and risk, Craig said:

The goal of faith is not the elimination of risk. There is no such thing as risk-free faith.

– Craig Groeschel

Many times when we think about faith, we think that having faith means that God takes all the risk and potential for failure out of something.  I am not so sure I believe that.  Without risk or the potential for failure, where is the need for faith?  Where is the dependence on God? It is not there because we can handle things on our own.  Risk and failure bring out dependence and a hunger for God’s power in your life.

Our walk with God requires risk.  Churches require leadership that is willing to takes risks.  If you are not a risk-taker as you lead your church, you will be a care-taker and eventually an undertaker.

Legacy

June 4, 2010 in family with 1 Comment

Tom Hall – Sept. 19, 1928 – June 1, 2010

Today I had the honor to speak at a memorial service for a hero of mine.  He happened to be my Grandfather as well.  I only had about 20 minutes to speak, which was not near long enough to say all the great things that could have been said about him. He was one of the godliest men I have ever known!  Here are a few of the comments I made this morning:

When this life ends, will it have really mattered?

That is a question that a friend of mine posted on Facebook yesterday.  I am not sure if it was because she was thinking about my Grandfather or not, but it drew several replies from people.  I suppose this question has been asked for thousands of years and by every generation.  The truth is, we probably have all asked this question in one way or another.

If you were to answer that question out loud, what would you say? I wonder (knowing what he now knows) how my grandfather would answer that question?

We all sit here today and have memories of my Grandfather.  We all have stories we could tell.  Why is that?  Because he left a mark on you.  He left a legacy.  He was a brick layer – He built buildings – Even churches

But that is not what I am talking about.  You see, those buildings will all fall apart.  In fact, some have probably already been torn down.  They do not last.  A name on a building is not a legacy.  It means very little to anyone that ever walks into a building named after someone.

What I am talking about is something so much deeper.  It is the thing that leaves a mark on someone so that they never forget who you are.  But it even went deeper than that for my grandfather.  Sure, we will NEVER forget him.  If you met him and knew him at all, you will remember him.  He was unique.

I am talking about something so different though.  You see, my grandfather was:
loving
kind
honest
compassionate

There is a lot more that we could say.  But he was all those things.  We will remember him that way.  But even in all of those qualities, there was still something more.  You see, he may have been all of those, but I watched him, and he did not just obtain all those qualities.  Those qualities grew in him his whole life.  He may have been loving, but he was growing in his ability to love.  (as well as his kindness, honesty and compassion)

He left me that type of legacy.  But he did more than that.  He left more than just him becoming… he left me the REASON he was becoming those things.

Jesus.

Grandpa was becoming more loving, compassionate, and kind because he was allowing Jesus to transform his life every day.  There was never a time that I talked to Grandpa that he did not mention the Lord. Really.  He loved God so much. It was evident over his life as he served at the Nursing home and in the Gideons and at his church.  But it was really obvious just in who he was.  He loved the Lord!

He left a legacy, not just of who he was, but of the power of God that was transforming him in his life.

Ps 71:17-18
Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.

That is why everyone who I have talked to about my grandfather has never spoken an ill word about him. That does not mean he did not sin or have a bad day.  Just ask Grandma or his kids.  I am sure that Grandpa had his moments…  But as he grew older he became even more loving because of his relationship with Jesus.

He loved people so much.  He rarely talked about himself. But he often talked about reaching people with the love of Jesus.  He talked about reaching the next generation and how change was needed to do that.

He was that way because of God.  Because of Jesus.

Some men want to leave a mark for people that they will never meet.  People that quite honestly, will never care about who they were. Buildings and businesses will never leave a mark on a person.  They do not leave legacies.  Your relationships with people will.

Grandpa loved people.  He marked me.  I know he marked you that are here as well.  We will never forget him.  What a legacy he has left.

The greatest legacy that anyone could leave another person is helping them realize that they matter to God.  They are important to Him.  That God desires to have a relationship with each and every person and that relationship is made possible through the death of his Son Jesus Christ.  That was done for you and for me.  It was done so that a way could be made to a right relationship with God.  Once that relationship is established, God will begin to change you, to make you into the person He wants you to be.  Just like He did Grandpa.

If my Grandfather was here and able to speak, the last words that he would want to say would be that God loves you, and made a way for you to come to Him through His Son Jesus.

After today, I will never get to speak to this same group of people.  We are here to honor my grandfather.  So, to honor him, I would say to you.  God loves you.  Jesus died for you.  And that us the only thing that will change you forever.  Just like it did my grandfather.  That is how he was able to leave such a legacy.

Friday Links

June 4, 2010 in Friday Links, leadership with 1 Comment

Here are some links to some great posts from the week.  I hope you find them helpful!

May you all have a blessed weekend!

Staffing or Equipping?

June 3, 2010 in church philosophy and methods, growth, leadership with 3 Comments

I just read a post by Eric Geiger, and though I usually post my best links of the week on Fridays, this one needed a post of its own.  It is something that has resonated deep within me for quite some time.

Eric says:

Often I hear deep lamenting from pastors and staff teams about the lack of volunteer engagement in their churches. And often I have discovered that the problem is not with the people but a faulty ministry culture that fosters low levels of volunteerism and perpetuates an unhealthy dependence on clergy. The typical approach to ministry in most churches stands in stark contrast to the biblical approach given to us clearly by God.

In the type of churches I grew up in, you had to have a “Pastor” involved in everything, and if there were too many things going on for one guy to do it, you hired another “professional pastor” to help out. That totally goes contrary to the Biblical model of equipping the saints for the work of the ministry! The church in America many times forgets that everyone within the local church has been gifted to serve, and if they are not serving, the body does not function properly. If we want to see our churches grow and thrive, we need to unleash the members to do ministry!

Now, go and read the rest of the article by Eric!

Quotable Tuesday

June 1, 2010 in quotable Tuesday with 1 Comment

Today’s quote comes from Rob Bell out of his book titled, “Velvet Elvis.”

“We reclaim the church as a blessing machine not only because that is what Jesus intended from the beginning but also because serving people is the only way their perceptions of church are ever going to change. This is why it is so toxic for the gospel when Christians picket and boycott and complain about how bad the world is. This behavior doesn’t help. It makes it worse. It isn’t the kind of voice Jesus wants his followers to have in the world. Why blame the dark for being dark? It is far more helpful to ask why the light isn’t as bright as it could be.”
- Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis

The last part of that quote is especially powerful: “Why blame the dark for being dark? It is far more helpful to ask why the light isn’t as bright as it could be.”  It is easy to sit back and criticize those outside of Christ for actions and thoughts and for living life in a way that is natural to them. It is easy to get a group of people together to take a stand against a particular vice or sin.  It is harder to be the light that we ought to be so that people will see Christ in us and we can point them to a heavenly Father that loves them.  People matter to God, and if they matter to God, then they should matter to us. If we would spend more time being light where God has strategically placed us, and less time picking people apart for actions that they have no power to overcome on their own, maybe, just maybe we would make a bit of difference for the Kingdom.

So, let your light shine!

Just saying…

Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Friday Links

May 28, 2010 in Friday Links, leadership with 1 Comment

Here are some links to posts that I thought were worth your while to take a look at!  I hope you enjoy not only the links, but the holiday weekend!

I hope you all enjoy your weekend!  Be safe!

Quotable Tuesday

May 25, 2010 in change, quotable Tuesday with 0 Comments

Today’s quote comes from Mark Beeson in a message he preached a couple of weeks back.  As he was talking about tradition, he said:

“We should honor tradition, but we should not let it enslave us.”

Over the 20 years that I have been in ministry, it has been kind of fun (and sad) to see the different things that churches hold as important and take priority in their ministries.

  • I have visited churches where the ladies ministries were the most important thing going on, and they pretty much ran the church.
  • I have been in churches where the calendar was placed as a priority.  You know how that one goes, “We always have such and such on this week EVERY year… that cannot change! God only does revival on these days every year”
  • I have relatives that have kitchens in their churches that cannot be touched or walked into unless you are on the list or you get approval by the three 80-year old ladies that run said kitchen in the church (The interview process for that on is harder than what you go through to be CEO a fortune 500 company!)
  • I have led worship and had individuals refuse to sing anything that they could not open a book to or that was newer than like 1950.  (Of course, that all changed if it was Bill Gaither, Squire Parsons or just happened to be a song they were singing for church.)

Most of the things that I have heard people complain or fight about in the church are these things.  They have let tradition enslave them. They have allowed their preferences of how and when to do things overshadow the reason for doing those things. Really, what they have done is decided to worship tradition instead of God.

“That seems like a pretty tough statement Jason.”

Maybe, but here is the deal, there are people that will give their life to protect a tradition in the church, but will not give 10 minutes in the office to listen to someone who is hurting, or to walk across the lawn to invite a neighbor to church with them.  They have completely lost the fact that being a Christian is all about relationships, not running a social club that people meet at once a week. Being part of a church is NOT about those that are “in” it.  It is completely about the mission God gave to reach this world.

If we can use some traditions to do that, I say great!  If a tradition gets in the way of that, it is time to let it go.

This all reminds me of something that the first pastor I worked for said to me, “Tradition is good, if it is good tradition.”

Is there any tradition that is enslaving you?  How do we break free of that?

Friday Links: Weekend Edition

May 22, 2010 in Friday Links, leadership with 0 Comments

It seems my day got away from me again on Friday this last week.  I left the house at 6:30am and did not get home until after 10pm, so I did not get to post.  I know, a good blogger would have had it set up so that my blog would have automatically posted something when i could not be there to do it.  I usually will do that, but just never got around to writing it up before it was too late.  Anyways, here it is.  A bit late, but still helpful and insightful stuff from some great leaders…

  • Jonathan Acuff had a great post on Being Lazy For The Lord.  Love that post!
  • There are a lot of churches that do a lot of good things, but very few churches do great things. I think that is partly due to not paying attention to the last ten percent.  What do i mean by that?  Well, read this article by Seth Godin titled,  Hardly Worth The Effort, and you will be able to make the application pretty easily I think.  Churches have to stop sacrificing great on the altar of good.  Good enough is not what you want to hear anyone say when they are doing something for Jesus!
  • Loved this one called “Empire of Entitlement” by Pete Wilson.  Good stuff!
  • Love the posts Craig Groeschel is writing about Honor.  Read them here, here, here, and here!
  • Finally “Having Right Theology Does Not Mean You Know God” by Donald Miller will get you thinking and asking questions!

I hope you all have a great day in God’s house this weekend!

Quotable Tuesday

May 18, 2010 in quotable Tuesday with 1 Comment

I am reading a book titled “Crave” by Chris Tomlinson.  I was suppose to do a review on it a couple months back, but misplaced it in the move and just recently got back to it.  I will get the review up soon, as I am almost finished with the book.  As I was reading, I came across something that I thought was so good I wanted to go ahead and share it for this week’s quote.

Chris writes:

“One of the things that helps me want to love people is to think of their stories.Have you ever walked by strangers on the street or in a store and had a momentary thought about about what their lives may be like? These people whom you do not know have parents, childhood memories, families, friends and interests just as you do. When I realize these people have their own stories, I can’t dismiss them quite so easily.  I remember that their story is no less valuable than my own, that ultimately we’re all part of God’s story.”

It is so easy for me to go through my day thinking only of myself: my circumstances, my problems and the decisions I need to make.  But here is the rub, my story intersects with other people and their stories and all of our stories are intertwined into God’s story that He is writing for us.  As a Christ follower, I want to listen to people’s stories.  I want to be involved in helping others see the story that God has for them.  I want them to know that they matter to God, and because they matter to God, they matter to me.

Let’s not live in such a way that we are so focused on our own story that we forget we are part of God’s greater story of the redemption of mankind and the glory of God!

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