Blessed to be a Blessing!

Since stepping aside from full-time ministry almost three years ago, God has blessed me with unbelievable opportunities to minister and serve. I have more opportunities to preach and minister than ever before. Through the first 10 months of this year, I have spent 140 days in traveling, teaching and preaching. There are more invitations and opportunities awaiting, but the limitations my own energy and finding the travel funds to respond positively to the invitations. I thank God for the way he has blessed me in these ministry opportunities!

Through my years in ministry, I often closed weekly bulletin articles with the admonition, “Remember that you are blessed to be a blessing!” I am blessed in order to be a blessing to others. But I like what I am now doing for a selfish reason. For 40+ years I worked in the church and Christian education, receiving remuneration for my work. That is a blessing, but also a challenge. For preachers, it is sometimes hard to separate the money received from one’s faith commitment. Does the preacher go to church because of his faith or because he has to preach? Does one evangelize because it is part of the job or part of the heart?

I am blessed because I can do what I am doing now for free; I receive no personal remuneration. I am doing what I do because my faith commitment defines my life and being. I serve because I want to, not because I have to. I can quit at any time, but I will not quit. Thank you, Lord!

It’s Sunday Again: Park Plaza IdC Seminar

The first Sunday of November–time to adjust the clocks (Fall Back, Spring Forward). This is the good time change, or at least it is the easier time change for my body. For me, changing the clock marks the seasonal transition. Summer is really over, fall has arrived.

I like to look back and evaluate where God has led me. It is my first step toward looking forward to where God is leading. This has been a busy fall. Over the past twelve Sundays, I have been worshipped with 14 different congregations of God’s family in four countries. I have been blessed with multiplied opportunities to teach and preach–on Sundays and also during the week with seminars and special studies. I do not remember a time in my life when I have done more teaching and preaching on a regular basis.

This weekend, I am at home with the Iglesia de Cristo de Park Plaza. Pedro Sanchez from Chile is here; he and I are working together in the seminar to develop stronger churches with effective teachers and leaders. God is at work among his people around the world. Ours is to hear his word, understand his will, and answer his call in our own personal lives.

I hope your time with God’s family today provides for you those three things: classes and sermons focused on hearing the Word that God has for you today, a clear understanding of how the will of God can be part of our life this week, and a heart set on responding to his love and answering his call in your own life.

Just Thinking….More on Leadership

Genuine, authentic biblical leadership in the church is exercised by shepherding, mentoring, and equipping.
Effective church leaders do not have influence because they are named as leaders. Effective church leaders have influence before they are named to a position, and their influence continues when the position no longer exists. An old saying: “Do not make a man a shepherd (pastor) who is not!”
Leadership is heart and heart development. The church must seek to recognize the calling of God and the desire of a person of God to answer God’s call. Preachers are preachers before they preach their first sermon. Shepherds are shepherds first by heart and calling. Calling a man a shepherd will make him one. Preachers preach because that is their nature. Evangelism is a matter of the heart. Do not moralize about evangelism. Change the hearts of God’s people so that sharing good news is natural. Shepherding is likewise a heart matter.
Do not give someone a leadership position hoping that the position will change the person’s commitment level (heart). First change the heart and the life will follow.
Preachers, aim at the heart. I answer the call of duty, but I enjoy life much more when my heart is fully engaged in what I do–when what I do is a function of who I am and how God has gifted me.

Developing Leaders for Hispanic Churches

Paul returned to the churches he had established in order to strengthen those churches and assist with the development and appointment of leaders. Paul left Titus on Crete to correct the things lacking and to establish leaders. We have a clear New Testament model. In the twentieth and twenty-first century, however, at times the work of church planting has been left incomplete because young, immature, struggling churches have been left leaderless.
The history of churches without effective leadership tends to follow a predictable pattern of growth and decline. Progress is made but then lost. The result is small, struggling churches that barely have a foothold and have little influence in the cultures where they exist.
By working with already existing churches across Latin America and also in the United States, we are trying to change this situation. Establishing leaders is a process of teaching and training–for congregations and members, for preachers, and for future leaders and teachers. When churches become self-governing, they are more likely to become self-sustaining and self-propogating. The work involves outlining biblical principles and values. The churches are then able to apply the teachings of Scripture in their own cultural context.
I am aware of some U.S. elders and church leaders who travel to Latin America to teach and share their experiences. I applaud every effort that is being made. The great need, however, is for intra-cultural applications to help churches develop leaders. This week, I will work with the Iglesia de Cristo-Park Plaza in Tulsa in a leadership development seminar. Our primary presenter is Pedro Sanchez, elder and teacher from Santiago de Chile.
I ask your prayers for the seminar. I ask your prayers for the work of developing leaders in Hispanic churches. This is a unique work. There is much to do. Write me if you would like information about how you can be involved in a work that is making a great difference across Latin America.

It’s Sunday Again: A Word of Encouragement

Another Sunday, worship with another congregation within the spiritual family. I have been asked to teach and preach. No specific instructions, but I know what is needed–a word of encouragement!
We will focus on missions–God blesses us with marvelous opportunities to make a difference in our world.
We will remember God’s love and Christ’s sacrifice as we surround the Table–how can one explain God’s gracious initiative toward us in our weaknesses and inconsistent lives?

God’s people need a word of encouragement today. Our world needs encouragement toward what is right and good. May we hear God’s Word and take it forth into the corners of our world so that the world is changed and souls are won to Christ.

When God says “go”

Some may remember playing the childhood game of “Stop and Go.” In the game, the leader gives an instruction to either stop or go while looking away from the players. Players try to disobey the stop instruction and move forward while the leader is not looking. Some players try to move rapidly, others inch forward almost unnoticeably. The leader tries to “catch” the players by giving an instruction and immediately turning around toward the players to identify those who are not following the instructions.

In Acts 16, Luke records a time when God said “go”. Being forbidden to go north or south, having just come from the east and not wanting to turn back, the text says the group concluded that God wanted them to go west. The Macedonian call provided them further instructions and Paul’s second missionary journey continued on.
When God says stop, or when God says go, we do not have the option of trying to outfox God. We are called to be obedient followers of God’s instructions.

Our lives have been blessed this month because God has not only said “go” but he has provided the opportunities and the resources. As always, our desire is to follow his guidance unhesitatingly. A month especially full of activity and opportunities to serve and share is a partial explanation as to why I have written more.

  • What a blessing it has been to teach a Wednesday night Bible class at Park Plaza. The fellowship shared and comments and encouragement received from this class have enriched my life.

  • To begin to integrate into and understand more of the mission program at Park Plaza has also been encouraging. The opportunity to meet with the Central American mission committee was special because our hearts are focused on the needs as the gospel echoes forth.

  • Spending individual time with various brothers and sisters to think about what God is doing in our world and how we fit in has also been a blessing.

  • We answered God’s “go” as we spent two weeks in Peru, encouraging and strengthening churches in Lima and Cusco. This time included youth activities, a family retreat, various home group studies, and many meetings with church leaders.

  • We spent a Sunday afternoon and evening with the elders of the Bella Vista (AR) church, enjoying also the opportunity to visit with Brother Bob Miranda and to think about the Latin American leadership training that is being done through the Education of Vocational Workers (EVO). I am always pumped up when I have the opportunity to share the word in preaching, and the time at Bella Vista was no different, made even sweeter by the gracious response of the members of that church.

  • A missions emphasis weekend and opportunity to report on the work we are doing takes us to Mena (AR) the last weekend of the month. This good church is developing a history of effective international mission endeavors and we are honored that they participate with us in answering God’s “go” and entering God’s open doors.

  • The month will conclude (and November begin) with an intense week in the Iglesia de Cristo–Park Plaza, preparing for the leadership seminar November 1-4. Brother Francisco Davila and I have been working on various details, and I will collaborate in the presentations of the seminar with Brother Pedro Sanchez, elder at Nogales in Santiago de Chile.

God is good to me! Across 45 years of ministry, I have seldom had more opportunities to share the word of God, encourage and edify brothers and sisters in Christ, strengthen lives and families through Christian counseling, and reach out with the good news of Jesus. Please join me in prayer that I might have the strength and stamina to continue to answer God’s “go.”

Galatians 5-6: Is Anything Different?

Christians who have experienced the new birth and new creation in Christ Jesus must not hesitate to ask, “What is different?” The Christian life is not lived in legalism. Nor is the Christian life license. The Christian life is understood through the liberty of healthy, loving relationship. With a new creation (or re-creation) and all things made new in Christ, how shall we then live?

  • Live in freedom. Freedom in Christ is not license. Freedom in Christ is not selfish. Freedom in Christ is for all. As I live in Christian liberty I am also willing to allow others freedom. This is the of Christ’s life and love flowing in and through me.
  • Live according to the Spirit. Life is not merely physical; honor the spiritual element of life. Be spiritual. The presence of God’s Spirit in the life of the Christian is the antidote to license. The presence of God’s Spirit yields the fruits of the Spirit, evidenced in changed attitudes and ways of life.
  • Live in mutuality. The Christian life depends on reciprocity. Life in the body of Christ is based on sharing.

    • With the cross of Christ central, what matters is a new creation. The new creation lives out the reality of Christ in new and fresh ways as Christ’s presence permeates the world.

    God is God, God is good

    Life is difficult; not easy; not fair. In the challenges and turmoil of life, the Psalmist’s affirmation is comforting and secure. God is God, God is good.
    God’s plan for his people is our eternal glory in Christ. Such often includes suffering in the inequities of this life, but God himself restores and makes strong, firm and steadfast. Such is his power forever and ever.
    Today we confidently affirm God’s mercy and love. God always acts in ways consistent with his nature as the God of holiness, righteousness, and goodness.

    A Superb Sunday!

    How humbling to receive the blessing and prayer of God’s leaders as we prepare for another mission journey! The heartfelt hugs and expressions of love, support, and concern continued as we greeted brothers and sisters after worship and as class began.
    Visiting with the leaders of the Bella Vista church and having the opportunity to preach the evening lesson with a focus on missions was another blessing. The church has a heart for missions, and is filled with delightful folks!
    By the time we arrived home, the day’s activities for the kingdom had stretched to near 14 hours, we were tired, but we were contentedly blessed.

    It’s Sunday Again: Praising, Praying, Preaching

    Today will be a spectacular day in the Lord!
    First, the opportunity to worship and praise the Lord is an incredible thing when one considers the human frailty and the divine righteousness. That God accepts our worship is unbelievable. That God wants relationship with us is beyond imagination. To worship and praise the Lord is to remember all that makes possible the saving relationship we have been granted through Jesus Christ. How can we but praise?
    Second, the church will today offer a special prayer for upcoming mission trips, seeking God’s presence and power in the work to which God has called his people. The prayers of brothers and sisters concerning the trip to Peru will be especially meaningful to Jan and to me.
    Finally, tonight I will preach about missions in a church in northwest Arkansas. God is at work among his people; God is at work around the world through his messengers who faithfully carry forth the gospel message of salvation. I am blessed to have multiplied opportunities to continue to spread the good news and to encourage others.

    Every Lord’s day is special to me–over 3000 and counting. I anticipate what God will do on this day as his people assemble. I wonder what God has in store. “Thank you, Lord, for this day which we have never seen before. Thank you for its opportunities and challenges. May this day be a day to your glory!”