The battle

Rev. Roy Pepmiller preached last week on the life of a man named Elijah. He spoke glowingly about Elijah's moment on a mountain when he was surrounded by the prophets of Baal, and yet the Lord showed up on his behalf, against all odds, and Elijah took the hearts of the people. Roy then went on to share how Elijah's one moment of great accomplishment soon turned into utter heartbreak and ultimately a wish for death.
How quickly can our mindsets change? As Christ followers we each seek for those moments in our lives to blend into moments of contentment and happiness. However, the reality is that we still live in a fallen world. There is a distinct difference in becoming new creations as II Corinthians speaks of and still living in a very real and changing world. Sunday night I was blessed to have the privilege to speak in the service, and I used the text of Romans chapter 7. In that chapter we get a deep look into Paul's soul and see the utter turmoil that he was under. Paul shares how he does not do what he wants to do, but continues to do the bad that he does not want to do, even though before he did the good but wanted to do the bad, but now he finds he actually wants to do the good, but he cannot do the good. Wow! The scary thing is I know exactly what he is saying. Paul is explaining that our very nature has changed, but we are still in a battle with our humanity.
The important lesson to learn is this, you are no longer who you once were, so why do you continue to live as if you were. When I was in third grade I began to play peewee football. Now, you know in football when two players collide it is usually the player that pulls back at the last moment that gets hurt, that takes the lick. When I went out for one of my first practices we did this drill called the gauntlet. No explanation is necessary other than to know that when my time came I faced the gauntlet staring at the largest player on the field. My dad had already given me the cue I needed to survive. He said, "Son, when you get ready to hit them, you accelerate through the play". So, the whistle blew and just a moment before impact in my own way I seemed to notice him raise up. So, I changed my approach and I threw all of my weight towards his upper body. I remember knocking him so far back, and I remember the coaches coming to congratulate me and giving me the Tomcat Paw to put on my helmet. The next day I wore an undershirt to show off my new prowess that quickly became my nickname. Today, I bet if I saw coach Mike he would still call me muscles.
When you experience problems in life, don't pull up, you accelerate and hit them head on knowing who you are in Christ Jesus. And you don't get a cool sticker for your helmet, you don't get a cool nickname for life. You just get a new you! Accelerate!

Quick hit

Saturday Quick Hit:

Revelation Song: Alan, Scott, Margie and I used to play this song at K-Springs Church and it is one of the most powerful worship songs I have had the privelege of playing on. In case you are wondering, I played drums. Alan is an incredible guitarist as is Scott and Margie's vocals were incredible on the song. I actually think there may be a recording of some of our performances out there somewhere....cough....cough....

Death of a Pastor

Yes, I'm already plugging my book. Yes, I'm energized and challenged by the thought of creating something for God's Kingdom. Yes, I'm using you for testing grounds. However, I hope that my thoughts, humbly penned, will guide you and direct you to a truer understanding of not just who you are, but who you can become.
Death of a Pastor is simple. I have been challenged by many colleagues and various Churches to elaborate on what I believe to be the single biggest challenge facing the church in this century. Often I find myself spouting off the talking points as if I was going on Bill O'Reilly. My thoughts would automatically lead me to mention topics such as the irrelevance of the traditional church to today's culture, or the moral and ethical decline in America. I must admit I caught myself in a political battle because I believed the next President would greatly shape the Church's future.
I could supply you with endless babble from the so-called "traditionalists". They continue to pour out the "Sunday School" answers left and right. "What we need more is for people to get back into "OUR" church." "We just don't pray enough." "You can't teach the youth of today anything."
God I believe has a different opinion. As I search the scripture I can't help but recognize our dependence upon true leaders. I'm not talking about Presidential leaders, but spiritual leaders that shape and guide our moral and ethical compass. Scripture drives this point home over and over from Moses to Elijah, from Joseph to Joshua, Peter to Paul.
There are far too many Pastors in America's churches. We marry, bury, and babysit. We appease and appeal, often finding no ground to stand on when those we "Pastor" abandon our challenges and Visions for the Church. The churches biggest challenge is figuring out how to kill the Pastor and resurrect a Leader. A leader after God's own heart, a leader that is emboldened enough to challenge the paradigms. To break away from the traditional Pastor/flock relationship and move a congregation of believers to pastor each other and avoid at all costs the lukewarm church of Revelations. I, as a sojourner, desire to kill the pastor, and resurrect a leader.