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Month: September 2014

Colonel Dewey’s Palace

September 30, 2014 /

Charlie Litchfield/IPTWednesday, March 21, 2012

 

Dear Friends,

In 1903 the Dewey Palace Hotel opened in Nampa, Idaho. Built by the developer and silver mining baron William H. Dewey it was a marvel of elegance more likely found in the big cities of the east than a railroad town of the old west. The structure dominated the skyline of Nampa until 1963 when it was torn down because no one wanted to spend the money necessary to renovate it. The building was built for comfort and beauty but not longevity and this became its demise.

In Joshua chapter 1, God is giving Joshua his charge as he takes leadership of the people of Israel. The final charge to Joshua is to “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (vs. 9). Joshua must lead this people with courage and strength because there will be many enemies, inside and out, who will oppose what lays ahead. Time and time again the people will oppose the changes he is making and instead suggest they should return to the familiar good old days. So Joshua must not be discouraged because the task before him will take longer and be more difficult than he could ever imagine. In fact, the people of Israel would never fully possess the promise land in Joshua’s lifetime.

Leaders, like all people, want quick results. We want people who will follow our vision with enthusiasm. So to get them to follow we are tempted to build grand structures which promote our glory and satisfy the longing for comfort of the people in front of us. All the while we are building a legacy which will be torn down by the next generation who has no desire to invest in our past glory.

Many years ago while I was in college I was riding back to the hotel from District Conference with a legend of faith in the Free Methodist Conference of which I was a part of at the time. His name is Cliff. This man, already well along in his years, told me of a decision he made when he was my age and was trying to change the church but was experiencing opposition from the old guard. He made a promise to himself that when he was the old man he would use his power not to block the changes the next generation was going to inevitably make but would instead use his influence to support what they were doing, even if it made him uncomfortable or he didn’t completely agree with it.

Every generation will change and press against the systems and structures built by the previous. It’s always been this way. We who are part of the generation building the structures today have a choice we get to make. We can choose to build legacy which must be torn down by the next generation or we can choose to build foundations on which the next generation will build upon. We can choose to be a William or a Cliff.

What are you building?

Blessings,
Pastor Stephen

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Photo Source:  http://www.idahopress.com/app/artwork/beforeafter/46_b_DeweyPalaceHotelNew2.jpg

Destruction’s Trilogy

September 23, 2014 /

Dear Friends,

Each year I put on a suit and join together with other pastors from my church’s district to participate in a ritual that has gone on for centuries. The ritual of ordination. Each year I listen to a sermon from our General Superintendent charging the newly ordained to the task before them, and reminding each of us who have sat in their place to the enormity of the call we have accepted.

In Joshua 1:6-9, Joshua is receiving his ordination challenge from God. As Joshua takes on the mantel of leadership from Moses three times God says to him to “be strong and courageous.” The first time Joshua is exhorted because the task he is about to embark on is one that is not his own. It is God’s task and plan. Therefore it is God who will see it through to completion.

A second time God says to Joshua “be strong and courageous.” This time with the added words, “Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go” (vs. 7).

Money and GlobeWhy would God bring up lifestyle, the rules, and following the law when Joshua is on the verge of his greatest moment? I believe for three reasons: Money, sex, and power. In nearly every instance of a leader’s failure one or a combination of these three is at its root.

As successes began to occur under him, Joshua would stumble. He let the power he was experiencing go to his head and failed to consult with God. (Joshua 9)

David, King of Israel, would be enticed by the site of another man’s wife. It would cost the man and a child their lives and David’s kingdom would forever be divided. (2 Samuel 11-12)

Hezekiah would show envoys from Babylon all of the treasures in his palace. He was so proud of his wealth he failed to see the destruction his arrogance would bring. (Isaiah 39)

These are only a few examples out of the Bible. Many more could be collected together from the beginnings of history right up to the headlines in today’s news.

What about each of us who lead? None of us are immune to the temptations which come to us from the trio of money, sex, and power. Are we “careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go” or are we leaving ourselves exposed to destruction?

Blessings,
Pastor Stephen

Moses my servant is dead

September 16, 2014 /

Dear Friends,

“Moses my servant is dead.” It is one of the most poignant and powerful phrases recorded in our Bibles. Found in Joshua 1:2, and uttered by God, these words mark a moment of transition for a leader. Joshua has grown-up as a leader in the shadow of Moses. Now the heavy mantel of leading the people of Israel has moved to his shoulders. The next words out of God’s mouth laid out the overwhelming task set before Joshua. “Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them–to the Israelites.” God knows the responsibility he is placing upon Joshua is a terrifying and overwhelming one. First God promises Joshua he does not lead alone. “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you” (1:5). Then three times he tells Joshua to “Be strong and courageous.”Moses with the tablets

“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them” (1:6). Joshua’s task was not a new one. It was not a vision conceived in his heart. This vision was conceived in the very heart of God and it was his plan for his people from the earliest of days. In Genesis 15 God speaks to Abraham and says “To your descendants I give this land . . .” (v. 18). This is God’s plan so it is God who will make it happen. Therefore, Joshua can be strong and courageous because the work he is doing it not his but God’s. As leaders today the task we face can be overwhelming. The work we do can be very lonely. Jesus understood this. Just as he made the promise to never leave Joshua he makes the promise you and I as well. Jesus’ last words, recorded in Matthew are the promise, “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (28:20). In addition to the knowledge we do not lead alone we do well to also remember the task we are called to is not our own. The plan we work is not our own. Today, we do not possess a land as Joshua did, rather we bring the Kingdom of God. We bring the good news of Gospel to all the nations of the world. A task we cannot possibly do. But we do it with strength and courage because it is not our task to do but rather God’s task to accomplish through you and I.

How does the knowledge that our responsibility as Christians is not our plan empower us? How does the knowledge of God being with us as promised by Jesus, change the way the face our fears?

Blessings,
Pastor Stephen

Its All Been Done Before

September 2, 2014 /

Dear Friends,

Not too long ago a commercial for an insurance company told us in the 120 years that had passed since the company was founded they have survived, a Great Depression, 26 recessions, and 21 Presidents. Therefore, we should trust them with our money.

According to my own research, over the same time, there have been at least 250 different wars not to count all of the armed conflicts that never rose to the level of “war.”

The truth is it has all happened before. My own community has just been through a teacher’s strike. It is not the first time employees have been on strike and it will not be the last. Good or bad communities are divided and united every day.

Paul says to us ”. . . I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11-13, NIV).Barb Wire

Being people of the Kingdom of God means finding our contentment and security in something other than our present circumstances. It means finding them in Christ alone and that means having a long-term view of life. A view of life that sees everything through the lens of the eternal Kingdom of God.

If we live our lives with only a short term view of circumstances we can become overwhelmed by the events on the world stage and in our own communities. We can allow anxiety about tomorrow to cripple us.

Being content is an active choice. We can choose to be content regardless of our circumstances. Contentment makes us available for whatever God has for us. Whether it is prosperity or sitting in a prison cell.

Blessings,
Pastor Stephen

 

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