I got a good laugh out of that, and enjoy rubbing shoulders with the dozen or so minister types in my congregation who know what it’s like to stand before the people every Sunday. They listen to me politely and with great patience. I’m thinking of having some shirts made to show our solidarity.

Every pastor has his or her way of doing things, and for this reason I found Amy’s article appropriate, especially the part of crossing certain ministry tasks off the list upon completion. You don’t ever get through with the pastorate, but there has to come a point where you simply decide to “stop” at the end of the day. Those who don’t find it particularly difficult to continue in the ministry, and one of the most useful presentations I’ve heard about this is from Dr. Robert Perry on the subject of “brownout.” Brownout is a precursor to ‘burnout’ and there are indeed warning signs that should be heeded in order to avoid going down in a blaze of glory.

This week I’m preparing a message on Jesus’ calling of those first disciples with the simple admonition: “follow me.” I find it remarkable that Jesus gave so little details about the nature and direction of this new line of work, but those men decided to “leave their nets behind” and follow after him.  They left their identity and livelihood on the sand to take on a new line on work.

I’ve been fortunate to have had a pretty decent amount of education, and have a whole shelf load of books in my study. There are constant demands on my time with people to see, places to go, things to do, and deadlines. There is a certain amount of productivity that comes with the territory and expectations that when I get to speak there ought to be something coherent that comes out of it. Usually this work involves preparation for others, but every now and then an epiphany takes place. So, what I’ve been reminded of today while standing at the intersection of Mark 1 and Amy’s article about ministry, is that life in Christ is still about following Jesus.

I’ve lost track of the book I had on what it means to follow Jesus, but one of the statements read “If you’re the leader, then you’re not the follower.” Every now and then it’s easy to get caught up in the list of things to do and forget about the relational aspect of being a disciple. It’s a privilege to serve others, but it can a difficult process in dealing with egos, agendas, and expectations. People are going to be disappointed as well. It’s a reality that regardless of what pastors do that they are going to disappoint someone.  That’s church work for you, and it’s also ministry too. At the heart of it, though, is being a follower of Jesus. Sounds simple enough, but takes a lifetime to accomplish.

I try to be good at church work, but really want to be good at following Jesus. These two aren’t necessarily exclusive of each other, it’s just that I can’t always see the value of the former. There are meetings, plans, visioning, visits, supervision, building issues, and other things to stay busy doing. Most days go by pretty fast, and it can be challenge carving out enough time to prepare for Sunday. It will be that way this week, but I will head toward the weekend hoping and praying that what I’ve experienced this week has had to do with following Jesus and that as we revisit the call of those first disciples that we will be inspired to renew our desire to simply “follow Jesus.”

The question of salvation is the most important one there is, as it relates to one’s eternal destiny. This is why I am in the ministry and have remained in the ministry, and that is to be able to preach and teach the gospel and offer an opportunity for persons to make a decision for Christ. Sometimes this is easy to forget, especially with all the “church work” that goes with the territory. We need to remember what it’s all about.

There are indeed three ‘time’ dimensions for salvation: I am saved, I am being saved, and I will be saved. Spiritual formation is part of the salvation experience, discipleship and followship included. So, it is imperative in my mind to recall several passages which affirm that key question offered by the jailer who was fearful of Paul and Silas escaping prison: “sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Their answer? “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. . . .”

The “little gospel” as described by Martin Luther, or John 3:16, includes this admonition: “for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Many have heard this reference, and even now I remember the man with the multicolored hair who found a way on TV at all the big sporting events. Even Tim Tebow threw of 316 yards against the Steelers, and this has elevated interest in this reference for that reason. Oh well, I digress.

Believing sounds like a decision to me. Jesus repeated asked individuals to “follow me.” He still does through the proclamation of the Word and work of the Holy Spirit. Salvation involves a transformation of the person based on knowing Jesus Christ and allowing his or her faith experience to be nurtured through spiritual formation. Ideally this occurs in a community of faith known as the church, but apparently folks like Justin Bieber don’t find that necessary. He is not alone of course, but I continue to maintain the importance of personal spiritual growth. Salvation is personal, but it is not private, and the story of what Christ has done in our lives should be shared through our words and actions. It reminds me of the old song “I have decided to follow Jesus.” There’s good theology there, beginning with a decision to believe Jesus and in Jesus.

I do respect differences of opinion on this issue, but I guess I am not ready to give up on continuing to urge persons to make a ‘decision’ for Christ. It’s the most important decision there is, and a key motivation to continue giving and going on missions.

Our family has had a good Christmas break and I have worked in some vacation time as well. We made it down to Arkansas to the original boomtown and enjoyed a few days with extended family down there. It also corresponded with Lucy’s 9th birthday and for this reason we are especially grateful. She is doing well and growing up to be quite the big sister and young lady.

I’ve given some thought to resolutions going into the new year, but as I have in the past decided not to announce any of them. Perhaps more than at any other time, I believe that prayer must be central to everything I do this year. I am facing some opportunities as well as challenges and want to be sure to be obedient to what the Lord has in store for me and my family. I also think our church family needs to face 2012 with a keen awareness of the Lord’s presence and a willingness to do whatever is necessary to share the gospel with our community and world. I know I’ll have to deal with this more in the weeks and months ahead, but for now am grateful for the opportunity to live in Springfield, MO and watch my children grow up. I also want to be open to the Lord’s leadership and whatever that means.

According to the some “experts”, the world will come to an end in 2012. I don’t know whether that’s why the movie “deep impact” has been showing today but at any rate, let us all do our best to appreciate each day as it comes and not take anything for granted. I for one am ready to receive some good news, and our nation in general is ready to set a more optimistic tone.

We’ll all see what is to come, but today let me wish everyone a Happy New Year and all the best as we serve the Lord, together.

Here is a link to a “social network christmas” which relates what might have occurred had Mary and Joseph had facebook.  It’s pretty cute and I’m sure some of you have already seen it, but for those who haven’t, I hope you enjoy it.

This is our 5th Christmas in SPringfield, and I want to thank our UHBC family for their friendship and support. We have enjoyed making friends here and watching our children grow up here in the Ozarks. This year has had its share of challenges for us, like many families, but we also acknowledge God’s blessings and faithfulness. Lori and I also appreciate our friends at Hickory Hills school and hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year.

Uh-oh.

Usually there is no question about having worship on Sunday, but many congregations and specifically their leadership are asking about what to do about Christmas and Sunday–both happening on the same day this year. The Christian Post offers a helpful article about the challenges regarding families, attendance, and the meaning of the season. The opening sentence expresses the sentiment of the occasion: “There could be plenty of space in church pews on Christmas Day which falls on a Sunday this year, while many Americans will be putting top priority on opening gifts and family time.”

I can see the pros and cons of having church on Christmas Sunday. One factor to think about is that many congregations, including ours, have a well-attended Christmas Eve service. Some might think that would suffice and be a reason not to attend worship the following day. Time together during that Christmas eve service is one of the memorable of the church year and to have a poorly attended service the next day diminishes the impact of thate worship service.

Another issue relates to the emphasis on family and families need to be together on Christmas Day. Not many would want to leave home (and their gifts and children crying who want to play with them) to come to a worship service on Christmas Sunday.

I could go on and on about the matter, but have decided that it is better to have a worship service on Christmas Day rather than not have one. There is the spiritual component to this, and we may end up meeting in my office on that morning, but we’ll still go ahead with a gathering. I did not bother polling the congregation about it, because I cannot see anyone voting against having a worship service on Christmas Sunday. What I could see, however, is people insisting on having church on Christmas Sunday but not attending. And I can’t find problems with that decision, especially if many of them are here at the church the night before.

The other component is more economic in nature, meaning that many congregations will need that additional Sunday opportunity to receive an offering to finish out their calendar and/or budget year (maybe there could be a drive through service to let people drop off their giving).

On a serious note, I found the information in the Christian Post reinforced some of my own observations of the Christman season. A report done by LifeWay research last year showed that nearly 70 percent of Americans agree with the statement “many of the things I enjoy during the Christmas season have nothing to do with the birth of Jesus Christ.”

There’s not necessarily anything wrong with that sentiment. But, when the celebration of Christ’s birth becomes an afterthought or less important that other things we do during the season, then we’ve created a spiritual crisis. This isn’t another debate about whether to say “happy holidays” or “merry christmas” in the Target store. It’s about something much more valuable. 

I remember those pins that some people attach to their clothing: “Remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.” I think that’s right, but let’s also remember to make time for the reason for the season too. 

I am grateful that the issue of Sundays and Christmas do not intersect more than they do. It poses a strain not so much on the membership who has the option on not attending as the pastors and ministers who feel a responsibility to worship in some fashion on Christmas Day.

I will be curious who attends worship on that day. Our staff has noted the possibility of low turnout and are planning accordingly. We may make a note of what happens for future reference. But those of us who are here will sing and pray and say “Merry Christmas” to each other. And, while I’m not sure what the remainder of the service will be like, I do know one thing:  there will be an offering.

It’s an interesting title. It makes me wonder what outsiders might think when they see us enter this building each Sunday. I also wonder what each one of us are thinking as we enter the sanctuary, fit into our usual spot, and move into the worship service. Are we attentive? are we expecting to hear a word from the Lord? do we participate?

Dawn doesn’t call worship a waste of time in the sense that you might conclude from the title, the key being that the word waste has those quotation marks around it. Her emphasis, I believe, is that worship for any other reason except for the purpose of worshipping God is a waste of time. There is danger of using worship for other reasons other than worship, and I will have mentioned some of those last Sunday. The greatest and best use of our time is when we worship God.

We’ve formed a worship planning team in response to a recommendation from the Vision 2020 plan. We will be meeting periodically to look at our worship in terms of what we do, how we do it, and how we need to be prepared for worship. This team will remain in place for as long as I sense that we are making a difference.  I don’t need to tell you that churches through the years have wrestled with the issue of worship as it related to style and preferences. My hope is that through our work as a team, and through this sermon series, that we will reaffirm our need to worship God and do this gladly and in a manner that pleases Him.

One thing that I have learned and been reminded of recently, is that there is no way to please everyone when it comes to how worship is done. People will attend or not attend a church based on what happens in worship; this might not ought to be the case but it is so. We all have our tastes, preferences, and expectations. Herb Miller indicated the prior to 1965, people chose a church based on doctrine, denomination, and family influences. Now, he says, people select a church based on worship style, caring ministries, and authenticity.

Regardless of the style, congregational worship ought to bring about a sense of the need we all have to change in response to God’s holiness, goodness, and love. Christian vocalist and writer Kyle Matthews has dealt with the subject of conflict in churches due to stylistic differences in his helpful work “The Silly War.” Matthews maintains that the church needs to move beyond its struggles over style and move toward a more meaningful desire such as the transformation of the individual. John Koessler, professor at Moody Bible Institute put it this way:  “It is not our differences in taste but rather our mutual contempt and lack of respect that have caused the most damage in church.”

It’s a sad thing when there is conflict over worship style, especially since worship is the one activity of the church that has eternal significance. I don’t see the problems ending anytime soon, unfortunately, but hope that there will be a rediscovery of the value of content and substance in worship. I’ve been working through my own thoughts about worship, and in the meantime hope that may we not “forsake the assembling of ourselves together” for worship and fellowship each Lord’s Day.

Here is a good commentary on the entire spectacle written by Brent Walker of the Baptist Joint Committee.

Just when I think that a Baptist pastor won’t get caught up in the presidential limelight, Jeffress and his remarks make the headlines. I think what bothers me even more is the fact that on a theological level I could agree with him: Mormonism is a cult. There are many morals to be admired in this belief, but the Mormon church was founded by Joseph Smith and there is an additional ‘revelation’ which is called the Book of Mormon. There is a lot more that could be discussed about their theological views regarding the nature of God, Jesus, and what happens after death. However, these opinions are best talked about in a theological framework rather than a political one. In short, one’s religious views do not necessarily disqualify someone from political office, and in this case the presidency of the United States.

I think Jeffress was asked for his opinion about Romney’s views and from what I could hear from the entire interview, he attempted to qualify a theological context for his views on the former Massachusetts’ governor. However, he seemed to back Perry primarily on his assertion of faith as a Christian. Jeffress could have supported Perry without putting down Romney. This is his prerogative, but I don’t appreciate the implication that we should be afraid of a Romney presidency because of his religious background. Honestly, I have observed more than one politician who claims to be a Christian act and vote in such a way that would be inconsistent with the gospel of Christ and biblical teachings.

Anytime a pastor casts his or her lot with a political candidate, there is the possibility of being embarrassed and greatly disappointed. When there is an effort to merge the church and and state, the church will lose every time. Politicians have a tendency to use the church simply to get votes, this may not be the case in everytime but it happens enough to be cautious. The other concern I have is that endorsing political candidates compromises the prophetic voice of the church. And this should never happen.

He tells a story about a seminary student and how she told him about her dream of starting a new church in the Northwest but she informed McManus that it was not God’s will. When asked why she thought this, the response was that “the money never came through” and this was evidence that God was not in it. McManus writes “Our wealth and abundance of human resources have positioned us to accept a paradigm that provision precedes vision.” He adds, “There are times God calls us to do the right thing, knowing that others will respond in the wrong way” (67).

Another part of this book really spoke to me. McManus talked about how he had been working himself into a frenzy, trying to do all the things that his congregation had told him to do. Oftentimes someone would say, “this is problem and somebody ought to do something about it.” Which is another way of saying that McManus should deal with it. However, McManus had a revelation that changed his life.

He writes, Like an epiphany from heaven came the insight that changed my ministry. One day when someone insisted that a certain service needed to be provided, I simply looked him straight in the eyes and said, ”If God has placed this on your heart, He must want you to take responsibility to make sure it happens.” God rarely shows you the problem so you can tell someone else about it. More often than not the very people who insisted that a program needed to be started didn’t care enough about it to invest their energy or to give their lives to it. In other words, once that person was challenged to do something about the problem, that problem suddenly diminished in size and urgency (52).

On Wednesday nights I’m leading a Bible study called “Purposes of Prayer” which is mainly a review of prayers from the Old Testament and the people, circumstances, and challenges of those who uttered them. This time we were looking at the story of Elisha and his being surrounded by armies who were trying to kill him and his attendant, the latter being terrified by what he saw approaching from the hills.  Elisha’s response was “Don’t be afraid. There are more troops on our side than on theirs.” Then he prayed, “Lord, please help him to see.” And the Lord let the servant see that the hill was covered with fiery horses and flaming chariots all around Elisha (2 Kings 6:16-17).

Elisha was involved in a divine moment of sorts and he apparently had the awareness of God’s presence in the middle of a potentially devastating attack. Things turned out well for him, but as we know this does not always happen. There are no guarantees, only a faith that moves us in the direction of following our Lord. It’s like the Roman soldier who insisted on going on a dangerous journey, and his friends were trying to talk him out of it. He replied, “It is necessary for me to go, it is not necessary for me to come back.”

Being a pastor is one of the most rewarding and challenging occupations around. I certainly don’t know all the answers, as some in my congregation would testify, but being part of a community of faith and seeing persons deepen in their faith is not a bad way to go through this life. On the other hand, there are things that go along with this position that make it hard to explain to others. Sometimes I wonder how these kinds of moments could be divine and how they relate to the Kingdom of God. 

I find Elisha’s prayer to be an incredible exercise in faith, and also a reminder of God’s involvement in our circumstances. When the attendant’s eyes were opened, he saw the flaming chariots and horses of fire in the hills. They were already there! They didn’t show up after he looked, assistance had been there the whole time. 

The challenge in going through this life with its routines and expectations is to tune in to the Divine presence around us and to those divine moments when they come along. They have a way of sneaking up on us and don’t necessarily announce their presence. There is a constant tension of seeking the Kingdom of God and dealing with the realities of people and their disappointments. I have mine too. So, as I pray for the Lord to open the eyes of those around me, I also want to first pray that my eyes are seeing those things that God wants me to see as well.

What I find ironic about this objection is the idea that Southern Baptists would participate in an interfaith worship service in the first place. This brand of religion being practiced at this Episcopal church would cause many in the SBC to boycott attendance. The additional irony and/or hypocrisy can be traced to when Richard Land signed a document of understanding with Roman Catholics (Evangelicals and Catholics Together) a few years ago there was so much of an uproar that he had to withdraw his support of it.  But it would seem that they are justified in calling for President Obama to boycott the event because they are being left out. I do not understand why they would think he would listen to them, when so many of those in SBC leadership positions criticize him openly at every opportunity.

It is worth mentioning that there will be many such gatherings in churches across our nation and each church will deal or not deal with the significance of the anniversary in its own way. Each of these congregations has the freedom to include or not include anyone they wish in the programming of their worship services. I feel that way about the Washington Cathedral service too. Let them do what they want to do and let other churches do what they want. If Southern Baptists feel strongly about interfaith services, then let them organize and carry one out. They don’t need the one in the nation’s capital to satisfy that urge. Their Executive Committee could have put one together. It is also worth mentioning that the Inter-faith Dialogue agency was changed to Inter-faith Witness several years ago, so that should give an indication of how the SBC views other religions. I believe it’s important to respect the beliefs of others, even though I maintain the uniqueness of Christ, and for this reason would not be offended by being excluded from a worship service like the one at Washington Cathedral. Let the Episcopalians represent the Christian tradition at this one! It’s being held in their building after all.

The reason I am commenting on this is that this weekend will definitely be a time of reflection and hope for our country, with a desire to return to the unified spirit that existed shortly after the 9/11 attacks. We ought to do our best to de-politicize what happened 10 years ago and establish the fact that we are human beings and Americans in the main.  I also think there are times when people of all religions can come together for a common purpose to strengthen relationships in the community. However, this Sunday should be a time when individual church families reflect upon God’s greatness and goodness in the face of terrible evil and suffering.  It should be a time to examine our priorities and values, and in particular our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And it is also an exercise of religious freedom. So, let us count our blessings and remember those who lives were forever changed by what happened 10 years ago. Anything less than that this weekend would truly be objectionable.

Morrison Heights Baptist Church is claiming confidentiality concerns and their lawyer states they could be sued if they reveal what they found in their own investigation into a former staff member. The state of MS is disputing that argument for reasons you read from the ABP article above. You can reach you own conclusions about the legalities of this issue, but I can tell you this much: I would not have my children at a church who would not cooperate with the authorities when there is a reasonable possibility that sexual abuse has taken place with a child by a staff member, whether current or former.

I’ve been working at churches for a while now, and have done a bit of pastoral counseling through the years. I do value the confidentiality of conversations with church members and do not reveal what is told me in the privacy of my office.  Many pastors do not even tell folks who has come by to see them, and that has been my goal as well. There is a caveat to this privilege, however, and that should be if the welfare and safety of children are involved.  I have an obligation to share that information with the authorities. It baffles me that a church would use a legal argument to keep from doing what would be the morally right thing.

I really hope that I am wrong about what has happened in this case. Suffice it to say that it would be a good idea for any congregation who is the focus of a controversy like this one to be open and state their desire to do anything and everything to make the safety of the children a priority above all else. There should be an unwritten rule when it comes to these kinds of matters, and that should be erring on the side of protecting the children.