I have a friend currently serving on a pastor search committee. He received this by email. This is from a real member of a real church. The person writing the letter below included a web site and I checked it out myself. Since this is going back on the internet, I am editing out the church name. But this is for real! I don't know whether I feel more sorry for the poor pastor or the people playing church headed for an eternity apart from God! Wow! I've been around church all my life and I knew there were people that thought this way, but I would never have believed they would actually put it in writing and try this ...
Blessings,
Over the course of much prayer by a group here at ___________Baptist Church, I have been assigned as the desginated writer for our small group, we are a small SBC church that would like to recommend our pastor to you for a number of positive reasons: PLEASE HEAR US OUT BEFORE JUDGING US. We have a wonderful pastor who has a lot of ideas about how we reach our town or area, the problem is that most of us (the older one's) in the church do not desire to see the changes. We are afraid that our pastor will get frustrated after a while, all we are asking is that you please contact him to see if he might be interested in serving a church that has a desire to change. We have no access to his resume - and he is not currently sending resumes out (that we know about) - however if interested we suggest you contact him directly. We do know a few churches have contacted him -but we do not know if he is considering any of them. We believe the best for him to be where his gifts and talents in preaching and leadership can be used by the Lord, rather than where the heartbeat is faint. Our only desire the best for our pastor and we know he would be much better suited for a church that wants to reach and grow and reach people with the Good News! The church has a web site is www._________.org
Friends of ______________Baptist Church
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Ears to hear?
Often we see Jesus in the Gospels telling a story or teaching a principle, followed by the words, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear". Did you know we honor God (or not) by how we hear His Word? My role in preaching is to teach God's Word Sunday by Sunday. But you (ClearView attenders) also have a role ... to hear in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.Here are a few principles to practice to help with your listening.
1. Come with a prepared heart. Come to the service ready to hear. Double check to make sure you are ready spiritually to hear what God might say. Sins confessed. Distractions eliminated. Mind and heart open to whatever God may say to you through His Word.
2. Make personal application. I always attempt to make application of the passage we are studying. But there is no way I can know or speak to every personal situation in the group gathered on any given Sunday. But the Holy Spirit can. As you listen you will do so through your own filter of experiences and life situation. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you make application.
3. Take notes. Every study ever done related to communication and retention tells us that taking notes (writing it down) assures greater retention. Jot down the thoughts the Holy Spirit prompts in your mind as you are listening. Write down scripture references if they are not already in your notes. Underline words and phrases emphasized in our study.
4. Review the notes during the week. Any student will tell you if you don't review the notes from class, you will not do well on the test. Well, we are all students of The Word. If we walk away from Sundays but never return to the things God taught us that day, we will not assimilate those lessons into our lives.
5. Teach what you learn to somone else. "And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."
2 Tim 2:2 (HCSB)
2 Tim 2:2 (HCSB)
You may think, "I'm not a teacher." We are all teachers. There are people in your life for whom you are in the best position to be a teacher. That new believer at work. That lost person open to spiritual conversations. Your child. Your spouse. Your parent in an assisted living facility.
6. Put it into practice. "But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." James 1:22 (HCSB)
Warning: this is for serious disciples only! We see commercials on TV that say, "Don't try this at home". Well, my challenge is, "Try this at home!" Today we learned that a life of impact is a life full of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, faith, and power. What will you do with that? Do you have all of the wisdom you want? All the faith you want? All the power? Controlled by the Holy Spirit every moment every day? Me neither. So, what will you do to pursue each of those?
Thursday, March 27, 2008
What translates?
I spent the week of March 15 - 21 speaking through a translator. Always an interesting experience. I am grateful for Jocelyn and Gregorio who shared translation responsibilities during my time in Belize.
I was assigned to do our group's devotion time Tuesday morning of the trip. I went to Belize with it all planned, but during the first few days God changed those plans. I was journaling the things I felt could be learned and taken home by all of us (the things that translate) and the things we could not take home (things that would not translate.
These were my thoughts as I shared with the team:
Things that would NOT translate:
1. The heat. It was hot and humid. We flew back to Nashville where the temperatures were in the mid 40's
2. The language. The villages in which we were working spoke Spanish as their primary language.
3. The pace of life. Belizeans simply do life at a different pace. No watches necessary!
4. The advantage of being American. Belizeans would show up sometimes just because the Americans were going to be there. Kids would run to the van before we would get stopped.
5. The value of the US dollar vs. the Belizean dollar. One US dollar equals two Belizean dollars. BUT the price of gas was $5.00 (US) / gallon even with the exchange.
Things that SHOULD or DO translate:
1. We were surrounded by lost people. Just like we are in the US.
2. Sensitivity to lost people. When on a mission trip, it just seems we are more sensitive to the fact the people are lost. We should translate this into our everyday lives in the US.
3. Boldness to share. We (me included) seem to be more bold about sharing our faith with people we don't know in another country. That just should not be the case.
4. Seemingly everyone has a need. It is easy to see the needs in a place of poverty like Belize. So we feel compelled to help. Fact is, everybody is hurting somewhere in their lives even in the US. The difference is, we can mask our needs because of our financial means. But if we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading, we will see below the surface and find most people around us would also be open to our ministry here.
5. The Mission. Our mission does not change from foreign soil to the house around the corner. We are called to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.
We saw at least 15 come to Christ in a week in Belize. This is by my account of hearing the testimonies of those that made the trip. The number could be higher. I fully believe if we were as sensitive to the Holy Spirit, focused on the mission, and bold in sharing our faith, we could see those kind of numbers every week right where we live. The math is really impressive. Twenty four people focused on the mission for 7 days equals 15 (approx.) coming to Christ. What would happen if the 1300 - 1400 that gather every week at ClearView were just as focused and just as bold? Are you looking for the red apples (see post Evangelism Strategy 2)?
I was assigned to do our group's devotion time Tuesday morning of the trip. I went to Belize with it all planned, but during the first few days God changed those plans. I was journaling the things I felt could be learned and taken home by all of us (the things that translate) and the things we could not take home (things that would not translate.
These were my thoughts as I shared with the team:
Things that would NOT translate:
1. The heat. It was hot and humid. We flew back to Nashville where the temperatures were in the mid 40's
2. The language. The villages in which we were working spoke Spanish as their primary language.
3. The pace of life. Belizeans simply do life at a different pace. No watches necessary!
4. The advantage of being American. Belizeans would show up sometimes just because the Americans were going to be there. Kids would run to the van before we would get stopped.
5. The value of the US dollar vs. the Belizean dollar. One US dollar equals two Belizean dollars. BUT the price of gas was $5.00 (US) / gallon even with the exchange.
Things that SHOULD or DO translate:
1. We were surrounded by lost people. Just like we are in the US.
2. Sensitivity to lost people. When on a mission trip, it just seems we are more sensitive to the fact the people are lost. We should translate this into our everyday lives in the US.
3. Boldness to share. We (me included) seem to be more bold about sharing our faith with people we don't know in another country. That just should not be the case.
4. Seemingly everyone has a need. It is easy to see the needs in a place of poverty like Belize. So we feel compelled to help. Fact is, everybody is hurting somewhere in their lives even in the US. The difference is, we can mask our needs because of our financial means. But if we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading, we will see below the surface and find most people around us would also be open to our ministry here.
5. The Mission. Our mission does not change from foreign soil to the house around the corner. We are called to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.
We saw at least 15 come to Christ in a week in Belize. This is by my account of hearing the testimonies of those that made the trip. The number could be higher. I fully believe if we were as sensitive to the Holy Spirit, focused on the mission, and bold in sharing our faith, we could see those kind of numbers every week right where we live. The math is really impressive. Twenty four people focused on the mission for 7 days equals 15 (approx.) coming to Christ. What would happen if the 1300 - 1400 that gather every week at ClearView were just as focused and just as bold? Are you looking for the red apples (see post Evangelism Strategy 2)?
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Belize Pictures
Monday, March 24, 2008
Union University Love Offering
I received a letter from Dr. David Dockery, President of Union University. You may recall this campus was hit by an EF4 tornado February 5, 2008 on their Jackson campus. While the lives of the students were spared, there was devastating damge done to the campus facilities.
As many of you who visit this blog know, this one is a bit personal for me. Brittany, our youngest daughter, is a freshman at Union. We were very blessed not to have lost anything in the storm. But I did visit the campus the morning of February 6. It was a scene that will never be erased from my memory.
However, the letter I received from Dr. Dockery did not come to me as a parent of a student, but as a Pastor of a Tennessee Baptist Church. Dr. Frank Page, current President of the Southern Baptist Convention has issued a call for a love offering for Union. In order to rebuild, Union will need as much as $20 million in addition to what was covered by insurance. The leaders of our national convention, as well as the leaders of the Tennessee Baptist Convention have asked that we receive this money April 6 as well as have a special time of prayer for this University.
Here is an excerpt from Dr. Dockery's letter:
While we need your financial support, the most important thing you can do for us is to pray for us. Our institutional needs after the insurance settlement, including the cost of the extensive rebuilding of the residence life facilities and the need to make up huge revenue losses brought on by the storm, could well reach $20 million. Union University has never faced a financial challenge of this size. We want you to know that if your congregation has not already made a gift, we will be ever grateful for your support for us at this time in response to the appeal from our TBC [Tennessee Baptist Convention] leaders, who have established April 6 as the official day for this special offering. We will be so very grateful for your help.
We will not "pass the plate" twice in the service. If you wish to give to this special offering, please just indicate on your envelope the amount you wish to go to Union. If you give online, please indicate in the appropriate comment area how much you wish to go toward Union. You may also mail your gift to ClearView clearly marked that it is a gift for Union. The address is 537 Franklin Road, Franklin, TN 37069.
As many of you who visit this blog know, this one is a bit personal for me. Brittany, our youngest daughter, is a freshman at Union. We were very blessed not to have lost anything in the storm. But I did visit the campus the morning of February 6. It was a scene that will never be erased from my memory.
However, the letter I received from Dr. Dockery did not come to me as a parent of a student, but as a Pastor of a Tennessee Baptist Church. Dr. Frank Page, current President of the Southern Baptist Convention has issued a call for a love offering for Union. In order to rebuild, Union will need as much as $20 million in addition to what was covered by insurance. The leaders of our national convention, as well as the leaders of the Tennessee Baptist Convention have asked that we receive this money April 6 as well as have a special time of prayer for this University.
Here is an excerpt from Dr. Dockery's letter:
While we need your financial support, the most important thing you can do for us is to pray for us. Our institutional needs after the insurance settlement, including the cost of the extensive rebuilding of the residence life facilities and the need to make up huge revenue losses brought on by the storm, could well reach $20 million. Union University has never faced a financial challenge of this size. We want you to know that if your congregation has not already made a gift, we will be ever grateful for your support for us at this time in response to the appeal from our TBC [Tennessee Baptist Convention] leaders, who have established April 6 as the official day for this special offering. We will be so very grateful for your help.
We will not "pass the plate" twice in the service. If you wish to give to this special offering, please just indicate on your envelope the amount you wish to go to Union. If you give online, please indicate in the appropriate comment area how much you wish to go toward Union. You may also mail your gift to ClearView clearly marked that it is a gift for Union. The address is 537 Franklin Road, Franklin, TN 37069.
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