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Life · Ministry · Faith

Month: August 2014

Unlike Any Other

August 26, 2014 /

Dear Friends,

I wonder how much sleep Matthew really got those first few months he was with Jesus. Did he try to stay awake all night long? Did he insist on sleeping beside Jesus each night, but not just beside Jesus on the side opposite of Simon? Did he struggle to never fall asleep before Simon or allow Simon to wake-up before him? What about when they walked along the path together traveling between cities? Did Matthew always stay in Jesus’ line of site and never allow Simon to get behind him? When they would come to a section of road that was filled with twists and turns amongst the rocks did Matthew close up his distance to be sure he was right next to Jesus as they went around the blind corners? Why do I wonder about Matthew’s behaviors? Because he was a tax collector and Simon was a Zealot.

Matthew was a traitor to his people and his faith. He had turned his back on it all instead choosing to go for a life supporting the occupying nation. Simon was a devout man of faith. A fundamentalist who had sworn an oath to kill people like Matthew, if a chance ever came.

Now here are these two men are walking and traveling together with Jesus. Each because they had been called to this place by Jesus.

Crowd of PeopleThis is the Kingdom of God. This is the power of the Gospel. To change hearts and make friends out of enemies. To unite people who have no reason to be united. Only in the Kingdom of God is it possible for there to be true unity across economic, gender, ethnic, and social lines. This is the example Jesus gave to us and to which Paul calls us in Galatians, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (3:28, NIV).

Sadly, 2,000 years later we still struggle to be what Jesus called us to be. But there is hope as we are people of the Kingdom of God and not people of this world.

Blessings,
Pastor Stephen

Finding Health

August 19, 2014 /

Dear Friends,

A few months ago I came to a crossroads. One I am not proud of, I realized I had a decision to make. I was either going to have to live differently or I was going to have to increase my clothing size once again. For too often I have chosen the former when I knew the latter was the way to go.

In my last post I shared three practices in my life which refresh my soul. The first two are reading and podcasts, the third is regular exercise. I am sharing these with you to encourage and hopefully, learn from each of you.

My journey toward great health was greatly influenced by some people in my life:

Seeing the dramatic transformation of Mike Nesslage, a friend and man I admire and hold tremendous respect for.

The accountability of regularly meeting with a coach. Over several months I have met with John Baker, another pastor and friend. He has helped me process my stressors and kept me focused as a leader.

My congregation. They are an amazing and incredibly good group of people. I want to be a healthier and better person to serve them better.

The final “nail in the coffin” was an article written by Lenny Luchetti for Christianity Today, Health Pastor, Health Church.  Lenny is associate professor of proclamation and Christian ministry at Indiana Wesleyan University’s Wesley Seminary. In the article he speaks of the direct relationship between a health pastor and a healthy church.

Weight LifterBecause of the influence of these people in my life I chose to head to the gym 2-3 days a week. The result is I have lost 20 lbs. While I still have that much more and more to go to be where I want to me, it is a very significant improvement for me. Now I am faced with the same crossroads, only this time my clothes don’t fit because they are too large.

While the individuals above deserve credit for getting me on this journey person deserves more credit for keeping me here than my wife, Laura.

There is still much growth to be had in my life. But I feel like I am in far better place now. My productivity is up. My vision is growing. Hope is high.

Blessings,
Pastor Stephen

Knowing the End

August 12, 2014 /

Keep Calm and Kingdom On

Dear Friends,
My promised post about the practices I take to restore my soul will come, but I have decided to hijack my own blog and squeeze this one in ahead.

Seven years ago college football history was made in one of the most stunning games every played. The Boise State University Broncos came head-to-head with the University of Oklahoma Sooners in the 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. On paper the games should have ended with a lopsided pounding of the Broncos by the Sooners. What happened was something totally different. To this day, as a Boise State fan, I can watch the game and feel the intensity, the rise of emotions, the sense of victory slipping away and the ecstatic excitement from and unbelievable victory. When I watch the game today I watch it with a different feeling than I did when I saw the plays unfold live. I know how the game is going to end. The seemingly game ending interception in the closing minutes of the game really isn’t the end of the game. I know how it is really going to end. Boise State is going to win and Ian Johnson will propose to his cheerleader girlfriend on national TV.

As Christians, our life in this world can feel like the impossible football game. We may experience victory and defeat, joy and sorrow, good and evil. It can be easy to feel as though evil has driven the final nail into the coffin of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus said, in Matthew 13, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed” and “the Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast.” What power could tiny seeds and microscopic fungus have against all the powers of this world? In them are all the creative and redemptive power found God himself. In them is the power of Satan’s defeat. In them is hope, justice, mercy, joy, and love. In them is the good news of the Gospel.

As Christians we go through life differently than others. We can go through life with an impenetrable optimism, because we know how the game is going to end. Whatever happens, as Christians let us “Keep Calm and Kingdom On” let us never forget we know how this game will end and never lose our eternal optimism for the Kingdom of God until, as the song says, “earth and heaven are one.”

The graphic you see at the top of this post is one that I created to go along with a sermon series I a preaching at my church. This November I will be going with a team from my church on a mission trip to Guatemala. I am selling shirts with the slogan on it to help raise money for my trip. Click the picture below to go to a page to find out more information and to order a shirt.

Keep Calm Shirt

Of course, you don’t have to buy a shirt to help me on my trip. If you want to help, you may send a check to the church (Hope Wesleyan Church, 857 N Farnham St, Galesburg, IL 61401) made out to the church with “Guatemala” in the memo line.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and support and for indulging me on this post.
Blessings,
Pastor Stephen

 

Give me one moment in time . . .

August 7, 2014 /

Dear Friends,

It is one of the great joys and mysteries of life. An occurrence so uncommon to call it “rare” seems an exaggeration. What is it that I speak of? I speak of the moment when there are no more loads of laundry to be done. The moment when the hollow chambers of the washer and dryer call for more but there is none to be had. When it does occur, it is like glimpsing a shooting star fading away as quickly as it came for soon a child will dare to dry their hands on a towel. Twenty years ago when Whitney Houston’s words range across the night sky at our high school graduation, “Give me one moment in time . . .When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away” who could have guessed this would be the dream we would long for? But this is life and work as it really is: ordinary, mundane and never done.

Stack of BooksIn the years that have passed I have discovered, unless I take specific steps to restore my soul, life will suck me dry like a million leeches at a bloodletting symposium. Through trial and error I have found three basic practices which restore me and help to keep me at the top of my game. They are reading, podcasts, and exercise. Today’s post will focus on the first two.

Reading and podcasts keep my exposed to new ideas and challenged. Ministry is an experience of continually giving out information without something coming in things get stale fast. I use three formats for reading. I read books in print, I read them on my tablet and I listen to audio books. Additionally, I make use of Evernote to keep track of quotes and ideas which may come to mind.

I listen to podcasts while I am driving or am in the office.

When I read, I try to be intentional about what I read evaluating topics and books on an annual basis according to our church year (May – April). This year the focus of my reading is on coaching, Christian community development, and the missional church. But that does not mean I strictly limit myself to these areas. I will also read at least one book on preaching each year (an I idea which comes from one of my professors, though I can’t remember which one).

At the end of this post I list my favorite podcasts and recent books.

Why share this? Really, because I want to open a conversation. I have learned these things in my life through trial and error. Mostly error. I would love to hear what you do. Please post a comment on the website and let’s start some discussion.

Blessings,
Pastor Stephen

As promised above, my favorite podcasts are:

Dave Ramsey: Entreleadership
Andy Stanley: Leadership Podcast and NorthPoint Community Church
Steve DeNeff: College Wesleyan Church, Marion, IN
Timothy Keller: Redeemer Presbyterian Church
Thom Rainer: Rainer on Leadership
Cartalk . . . it can’t all be about work.

Since May of this year, these are the books I have read or am currently reading:

Boyne, John. The boy in the striped pajamas: a fable. Oxford New York: David Fickling Books, 2006.

Cloud, Henry. Boundaries for leaders: results, relationships, and being ridiculously in charge. New York, NY: HarperBusiness, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2013.

Goff, Bob. Love does: discover a secretly incredible life in an ordinary world. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2012.

Keller, Timothy J. Center church : doing balanced, Gospel-centered ministry in your city. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012.

Keller, Timothy J., and Kathy Keller. The meaning of marriage: facing the complexities of commitment with the wisdom of God. New York: Riverhead Books, 2013.

McKenna, David L. Christ-centered leadership: the incarnational difference. Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2013.

Parrott, Les, and Leslie L. Parrott. Saving your marriage before it starts: seven questions to ask before–and after– you marry. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 2006

Perkins, John. Restoring at-risk communities: doing it together and doing it right . Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Books, 1995.

Schmidt, Wayne. Ministry velocity: the power for leadership momentum. Indianapolis, Ind: Wesleyan Pub, 2010.

Stanley, Andy. Deep & wide: creating churches unchurched people love to attend. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 2012.

Stearns, Richard. The hole in our Gospel. Nashville, Tenn: Thomas Nelson, 2009.

These are the books that are on my “to read list” for the next year:

Cherry, Constance M. The worship architect : a blueprint for designing culturally relevant and biblically faithful services. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2010.

Corbett, Steve, and Brian Fikkert. When helping hurts : how to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor– and yourself. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2012.

Gerber, Michael E. The E-myth revisited : why most small businesses don’t work and what to do about it. New York: CollinsBusiness, 1995.

Nouwen, Henri J. The wounded healer : ministry in contemporary society. New York, NY: Image Books, 1990.

Perkins, John M. Let justice roll down. S.l: Baker Book House, 2012.

Sinek, Simon. Leaders eat last : why some teams pull together and others don’t. New York, New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2014.

Stearns, Richard. Unfinished : filling the hole in our Gospel. Nashville, Tennessee: W Publishing Group, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, 2013.

Sutter, Arloa. The invisible : what the church can do to find and serve the least of these. Indianapolis, Ind: Wesleyan Pub. House, 2010.

White, James E. The rise of the Nones : understanding and reaching the religiously unaffiliated. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2014.

Wilson, Mark O. Purple fish : a heart for sharing Jesus. Indianapolis: Wesleyan Publishing House, 2014.

PLEASE NOTE: As always with such lists, their inclusion here does not necessarily imply my agreement with or endorsement of the ideas expressed by the authors in these books.

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