The Greatest Lessons of Christmas

Our culture has turned most holidays inside out, whether Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas.  The holy day becomes the party day; the fun and frivolity overtake the core meaning; the event slowly morphs into excuses for excess.  Possibly the most glaring unintended consequence of today’s Christmas celebration has been the obscuring of its bedrock spiritual principles.  The shadow has triumphed over the substance, and we have been left with hollow, if painstakingly followed, traditions.  Rather than granting us a solemn reminder to return to core values, this most blessed holiday has pushed our society in the opposite direction.  We need a stiff challenge to re-discover these disappearing principles and turn Christmas right side out.

Power out of weakness.  The birth of a newborn sculpts out the quintessential image of weakness.  Helpless, dependent, vulnerable and powerless, Bethlehem’s Baby showed the world that God uses weakness, not the conventional sources of influence and power, to accomplish His purposes.  Our lesson is that we must not look to this visible, secular world for our strength.  God’s way may look hopelessly weak, but it contains all the necessary elements of power.  (1 Corinthians 1:25).

New out of old.  The lesson here is deafening:  you CAN start over!  You are not stuck in your sorry past forever.  Lay your failures to rest.  Bury your misspent moments, your unmitigated disasters, your ill-advised decisions and your ruined relationships in the soil beneath your feet.  Jesus did not come to condemn you; He didn’t come to shame you back into your cave of shame.  He came as a baby to show you that you can begin anew.  (John 3:17; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

Wealth out of poverty.  Are you measuring your wealth in dollars and cents?  Christmas emphatically shows us that our true worth has much more to do with intangibles like love, faith, integrity and virtue than it does with money.  Dirt-poor conditions characterized the birth of Christ, yet His birth generated enormous spiritual wealth.  Thousands of rich people live at the poverty level in the spirit because they mistake money for wealth.  Whatever you get—or give—for Christmas, is there an exchange of love?  How about joy, peace, hope and truth?  No amount of money can measure up to these spiritual commodities.  (Luke 12:15).

Recognition out of obscurity.  Our jaded media with its focus on the rich and famous have led us to substitute position for character.  The truth is that you are significant despite your upbringing or surroundings.  Too often, we have seen those with talent, good looks or enviable connections exalted to pinnacles of fame and fortune, only to be summarily knocked off their perches when either their seamier side shows through or some new celebrity comes along.  Jesus was a “root out of a dry ground.”  His ascendancy to significance came from within Him, not from the powers that be.  Pay more attention to who you are than where you are.  (Isaiah 53:1-3).

Joy out of sorrow.  Our lesson?  Today’s tears will turn into tomorrow’s joys.  The sorrows of Mary and Joseph did not win the day, even though the census, the back-breaking journey, the insensitivity of the innkeeper and the insult of a barn and feeding trough silently mocked them.  Christmas says smile through the pain, sing in the rain and pray through the seemingly insurmountable difficulties.  The distress in the stable could not deter the “joy to the world!” (Luke 2:10).

Liberty out of bondage.  Have you been down so long that doom and gloom looks like home?  Every day, people shackled with addictions and wicked habits wake up in the morning thinking it is a new day, only to resign themselves all over again to their cruel bondage.  Quit wringing your hands in defeat.  The message of Christmas says you can be set free!  The birth of Christ defied the decree of King Herod and the suffocating laws of Augustus Caesar.  Jesus represents freedom from the slave masters who have gutted your life of real meaning.  (John 8:32).

Life out of death.  The intimate details of the Christmas story reveal unspeakably grim circumstances and damaged emotions.  Mary was found with child while only engaged to Joseph.  Betrothal had the force of marriage in those days, and if it had not been for God’s intervention through an angel, divorce would have ended the relationship.  Mary’s humiliation would have been tantamount to death.  The spiritual principle here is profound.  Keep believing when it seems all is lost.  God does bring life out of death.  He not only gave us a precursor at Bethlehem, He demonstrated the actual event in His death, burial and resurrection!  When life deals you a death blow, the power of God can raise you up again.  (John 11:25).

Deity through humanity.  Finally, the greatest lesson of all is what God can do with humanity.  God let his deity shine through humanity.  Lying there in the manger was the Almighty robed in flesh; the Eternal God manifested in a temporal vessel of clay; the visible image of the invisible God.  The flesh of Jesus was sinless, but it grew weak, became fatigued and felt the entire range of emotions as does any other human being.  Because of His humanity, Jesus has become our sympathetic High Priest, tempted in all points like we are, yet without sin.  He descended to our level of humanity to identify with us; we then can identify with Him in his eternal life.  “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” (1 John 3:2-3 NIV).

We spend countless hours and mountains of money on the holiday fluff while we mindlessly neglect the core values.  Somewhere in the wrappings, trimmings and gifts now tossed aside are principles powerful enough to change your life.  Find some way to reach in, pull them out, dust them off and hold them up for all to see.  The traditions are smoke screens.  The principles behind them must shine through them all.  Have a Merry Christmas indeed!

"Oh, That's Just Pulpit Talk"

Lead Us Not Into Confusion

The preacher had just wrapped up a series of sermons on righteous living and holiness standards.  He was strong, emphatic and somewhat confrontational.  Concerned that some people might have been upset at his teaching, however, he virtually negated everything he taught by saying, “The sermons I preached on the way we should dress and how we should live are for those people who aspire to leadership in the church. These are ‘platform standards.’  We don’t expect everyone to measure up to these standards.  We want you to keep coming to church and let God lead you as He directs your life.”

It is true that people have rough edges to be trimmed off in the sometimes arduous process of becoming a disciple.  They cannot be condemned for not becoming a model saint overnight.  On the other hand, neither should they be led to believe that carnality, worldliness and violating clear scriptural commands are condoned by the Bible or the church.  This is just one example of preachers, in the interest of being inoffensive, deliver contradictory messages over the pulpit.  As a result, people are stymied by confusion and lack of direction. Paul admonishes  “For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?”  (1 Corinthians 14:8.) Often, it is the confusion that becomes the much greater problem than the subject under question.

 

Preachers are routinely put in the unenviable position of determining what is right and what is wrong.  This is, as we say, the nature of the beast.  Lots of cliches exist to illustrate this painful place, like “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen,” etc.  People demand answers and we don’t want to disappoint them, but neither do we relish committing ourselves to a confining statement.  Sometimes, we express an opinion in an off-the-cuff manner, and then have to live with the answer we gave.  Consequently, we try to avoid that by coming up with reams of qualifiers, extenuating circumstances, exceptions to the rules, various schools of thought, definitions of Greek and Hebrew words, and colloquial customs.  Andy Stanley’s advice is to ask the question “What is the wise thing to do?”  Yet, that answer becomes an non-answer when forced to

make a hard-and-fast judgment call.

Working through this dilemma with brutal honesty is one thing, but, at the same time, every preacher needs to exercise great caution in expounding on gray area topics from the pulpit.  It is imperative that we reserve a “heaven or hell” position for those topics about which the Bible speaks with great clarity.  Yet, even then, none of us should be so presumptuous as to pronounce eternal judgment on anyone.

 

Recently, someone posted this comment on my website in response to an article I put up entitled “The Ambivalence of the Laity.”  My point in the article was the need for balance between dictating to people and leading people to make up their own minds.  The reader said, “Could you please elaborate on the proper course of action when leadership goes awry. Surely scripture depicts leadership more so than laity. I’ve been struggling personally with this matter. My pastor publicly professes essentiality of the Holy Ghost if asked directly. However he also also makes statements such as “you mean to tell me if I don’t speak in tongues I’m not saved?”  [He is] not willing to say if one does not have [the Holy Spirit] they are not saved and many other arguments. What does the saint do with this? Why does it seem that leadership deals only with the matter of compliance by the laity and no instruction when leadership has turned? What resolution is there? It has been brought up and pastors speak of the incident among themselves and the person that has

made the allegation is not permitted in the discussion.”

I do not know this person.  It is possible that he is simply a disgruntled saint looking to cause trouble.  His contention, however, has some merit with regard to the pastor espousing opposite views and also the pastor’s unwillingness to speak about it to the individual who had the question.  The pulpit may be a powerful forum, but it is a double-edged sword.  It does afford the preacher the power to profoundly influence the lives of believers; but it also assigns him or her with dereliction of duty if the message leads one astray.

 

The conscientious preacher declines to preach beyond his or her studied convictions.  The pulpit is not a place to proclaim personal opinions, deep-rooted prejudices, unfounded biases, visceral reactions, unresolved grievances or statements based on hearsay.  We are commissioned to preach the Word.  I believe that means to preach all of the Word, nothing less than the Word, and nothing more than the Word.

The preacher who waxes eloquent when wandering off into uncharted territory will most likely wind up in a quagmire of dangerous topics. 

Your Vision: Entrapment or Liberation?

An off-the-wall blogger cracked me up the other day when he ventured: “Do you want to know how to keep from being shocked or surprised?  Just think about something that you would least expect to happen—and then expect it!”  Funny.  Of course, the thing we least expect to happen is not even remotely similar to the thing that actually happens! 

The truth is that we usually get what we expect to get in life.  We see what we expect to see.  And even if what we see is not what we expected to see, our brain goes to work to somehow alter the actual to conform to the prior expectation.  I’m not making much sense here, so let me slow down and explain.

If the deer hunter sees movement in the bushes a hundred yards away, for example, his first instincts tell him that it is a deer.  If he is an untrained novice, he is very likely to act on those instincts and pull the trigger, even before he knows exactly what he is seeing.  On too many tragic occasions, that movement turned out to be his hunting partner.  “Wysiwyg” (what you see is what you get), unfortunately, doesn’t hold true in the corn and wheat fields of rural America.  Another powerful example with which all of us are familiar involves strange noises.  Loud bumps in the middle of the night scare us out of our wits!  We jump out of bed, grab a weapon of some kind, and go investigate—very cautiously, I might add.  Why?  Why don’t we think it is some harmless animal running around or a tree branch blowing in the wind?   Because, we are predisposed to the emotion of fear as the initial reaction to anything we hear that is out of the ordinary. 

Thus, our expectations grow out of our inner vision, the idealistic images that motivate us and inform our tendencies to behave in certain ways.  This vision is hugely powerful.  It is responsible for almost every phenomenon in the range of human activity, from a silly altercation down at the corner tavern to setting off a world war.  The constraints of vision cut extremely gifted people down to something much, much smaller than their capabilities would suggest they could achieve.  By the same token, a personal vision elevates people of average abilities and talents to dizzying heights of success.  Success and failure, satisfaction and frustration, accomplishment and disappointment, war and peace, wealth and poverty—all of the outcomes of our lives are intrinsically tied to our vision. 

Some people are more successful than they think they should be.

Some are not nearly as successful as they could be.

Some surprise everybody on the enormity of their successes.

Some surprise everybody on their meager achievements in life.

I have heard it said that faith is the most important thing you could possess.  But, remember, faith can only act on the vision it is given!  If your vision is limited to having a decent job, an adequate house in which to live, and some reliable transportation, then all the faith in the world will not do any more for you than that.  It is not your faith that throttles vision; it is your vision that throttles faith!  Consequently, we would be much better off to work on enlarging our vision than drumming up our faith.

I was in an ice cream parlor a few weeks ago.  It was a landmark in this particular city, known for being a throwback to the 1950’s.  The ice cream was delicious.  Curious about the enterprise, I started up a conversation with the manager.  He pointed to a portrait of the founder high up on the wall and told me how he started working for that man many years before. 

“Tom always said,” he related to me with admiration in his voice, “never change a thing.  This is why people come here and if you keep it the same, you’ll never run out of customers.”

The vision that Tom had forever defined the location, the menu and the ambience of the little parlor.  It was a vision that said “We make good ice cream.  If anybody wants our ice cream, they have to come here to get it, and they have to eat it in our dining room just the way we want it.” 

Now let’s change scenarios.  I was in another town for an event a few weeks later.  A prominent lady remarked about the church building, “Isn’t this a beautiful location and a lovely church building?  It’s just ideal!”  She didn’t say it, but I could almost hear the outline of the rest of the conversation: “And if anybody wants our message, they have to come here to get it and they have to enjoy it in our sanctuary just the way we want it!”

Here’s the message I took away from this expression:  “This is our vision.  It’s a nice vision.  It’s a sweet vision.  It’s a vision that makes us happy.  We don’t really believe that people need anything more than this vision.  In fact, we are going to make sure that we keep this particular vision alive and well.  Do not try to goad us into anything more.  Don’t try to shame us into doing anything more.  This vision ought to be good enough for anybody.”

If a leader casts that kind of vision to his or her followers, then the ideal level of success will forever be stuck in their mindset.  It is a classic case of vision entrapment.  It’s a set of beliefs, a pre-programmed package of “this is what you are to do and how you are to do it.”  It is a code of behavior that provides a starting point but imposes an ending point as well.  If you try to expand, enlarge or stretch the standard issue vision, you are schooled that disaster awaits. 

Since these conversations, I have wondered some things.  What if the proprietor of the ice cream parlor had a bigger vision?  Would there be a Tom’s Ice Cream Parlor in nearly every town in America?  Would hundreds of people have been supplied with jobs rather than six or seven?  Would a benefactor been born who would have built civic buildings or contributed millions of dollars to worthy causes?  What if the little church would have said that their nice, sweet vision wasn’t enough?  What if they would have birthed a vision that would have reached out to neighboring communities, states, nations and the world?  What if they would have said that they were not content to keep stuffing reality into their vision, but rather expand their vision to embrace reality?

I wonder if any of us have a big enough vision.

Does your vision entrap you?

After you have “arrived,” do you still feel like you have miles to go?

Even though you have fulfilled someone else’s expectations, have you made full use of your capabilities?

Do you have a fire that won’t go out?

Do you want a vision that liberates you?

A liberating vision imposes no ceiling, assigns no limitations, and disdains contentment.  A liberating vision does not understand cutoff points.  It does not shut down inspiration, innovation and creativity because of someone’s arbitrary end point.  As long as there is fuel in the tank, as long as there is an open stretch of road ahead, as long as there are unachieved dreams, as long as the churning of ambition keeps your heart beating like crazy, then you have a liberating vision.

So what that it has never been done before?

So what that conventional wisdom says stop while you’re ahead?

So what that it will cost more than has ever been spent?

If the vision lives, you can get there.

Abraham had it.

Joseph had it.

Daniel had it.

Paul had it.

Peter had it.

Jesus lived it, died for it, and rose again for it.

Entrapped or liberated?  Which is it? 

The Hard Work but Wonderful Rewards of Building Relationships

This title is long enough to make the attendant article unnecessary, but just in case someone needs help connecting the dots, I’m going to flesh it out.  So, do we really need another article on one of the most overused words in the English language?  Affirmative…desperately.  Yes, we are all in some sort of relationship, many of us in more than one; we know how to tell good ones from bad ones; we know a lot about abusive and dysfunctional relationships; and, we know how to end relationships—although that one may need some more work.

Too many people, however, think relationships just are…kind of like air, water, sun and wind.  You either have them or you don’t.  If you do, you’re lucky, if you don’t, well, too bad.  Uninformed people think that relationships just happen.  You wake up one morning and, voila!  You walk right into a beautiful, fulfilling relationship!  And, you know what?  These people are right about one hundredth of one tenth of one percent of the time!  For the rest of the nearly one hundred percent of us, good relationships are the outcome of months, years and decades of hard, relentless, indefatigable work.  This is the problem.  It’s also the solution. 

Before we go any further, be advised that I am not talking about romantic relationships.  I’m really focusing on the relationship a person has with God, the relationships people have with other church members, and the relationship that maturing children and youth need to form with the church.  It is a HUGE mistake to think that these things just happen or that they will take care of themselves.  Let me be bold: if you are not intentionally investing time, energy and resources into your relationships, they will fall apart and die!  Critical point:  Relationships must be valued for themselves alone—not for what you get out of them, not for personal knowledge, not for financial gain, not for stepping stone or piggyback benefits and not for entertainment.  Relationships, in and of themselves, are the essential ingredients to a rich and fulfilling life.  

Children and Young People

Let’s start with your kids and the church.  I’ve observed two types of parenting habits over the years.  The first is those parents who see to it that their children and young people get involved in church activities.  They bring them to Sunday School and/or youth services, they sacrifice to pay their way to youth rallies, camps and national meetings like Youth Congress, and they encourage them to participate in choirs, dramas and fund raisers.  Much of this is over the kid’s protests and resistance.  The second type of parent never forces anything to happen.  “Johnny doesn’t like Sunday School.  Suzy doesn’t like the youth leader.  If I make them get involved, they will end up resenting the church…and me!  I’m just going to pray for them and let them make up their own mind.”  

Can you guess the outcome?  The kids that were involved formed relationships in the church with other kids, teachers, musicians and leaders that became the foundation for their spiritual lives.  Those on the fringe formed relationships at school, in the neighborhood or with other unchurched friends.  After turning eighteen, they seldom came to church at all.  Why?  Didn’t they learn anything?  Didn’t they like to sing?  Did they have conflicts with church kids?  Wrong questions.  They didn’t have the opportunity to build solid relationships with people in the church.  Here is my contention.  The Sunday School lessons, the youth rally sermons, the choir songs, as important as they are—were not nearly as important as the relationships formed through all these activities!  

Relationship with Mature Adults

What about the adults?  It’s pretty much the same story.  Those people who make every effort to come to church services regularly, who come early or stay late to fellowship with other saints, and who insist on getting involved in church ministries, activities and events enjoy strong and compelling relationships with many people in the church.  The non-participants, the ones who skip tons of church, the ones who are always too busy with their own lives or their own families, or who forge ties with co-workers or other unchurched people rather than with those in the congregation isolate themselves and gradually fade away from the church.  You know the type.  They are the people about whom you say, “Whatever happened to so-and-so?”  It is even as the Apostle John wrote, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.” (1 John 4:7-12).  

I’ve heard all the excuses.  “I don’t like the people.  That brother intimidates me.  That sister makes me mad. That family embarrasses me.  I don’t have time.  I was hurt once by a false friend and I’m not going to let it happen again.  I don’t need to be involved.  I’m doing okay by myself.  They don’t need me.  They can get along without me.  I would just get in the way.  I don’t have anything in common with them.  I don’t like to get too close to anyone.  I’m a very private person.  People just mooch off of me and try to take advantage.  I don’t like to over-commit myself.  I like my freedom to come and go.”  On and on it goes.  The amazing thing, however, is that when this kind of person gets into trouble and needs someone to help, he or she is the first one to criticize the people in the church for not being there for them! 

It is absolutely necessary to realize that the church is a living body in which each member is integrated and interactive with each other member.  Unless one has this concept of how the church is built and how it functions, it is impossible to do the will of God!  We are not like a doctor’s clientele who have a relationship with the doctor but not with any of his or her other patients; we are not like a college class in which each student is independent from other students and interacts only with the teacher.  The church is different.  The church moves as one.  It self-regulates, it ministers to itself and it engages in corporate functions.  From these relationships, each member gains significance, strength and support for his or her life.  In fact, our relationship to God is PROVEN by our relationship to each other!  “Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you.” (1 Thessalonians 3:11-12). 

I could also cite Jesus’ teaching on the vine and branches, or His high-priestly prayer in John seventeen or Paul’s exposition on the church in 1 Corinthians twelve, but you get the point.  The point is that every member of the church has a divine obligation to get connected to the church as a body and seriously cultivate a meaningful relationship with other members.  It means to intentionally and routinely set aside quality time to make it happen; it means to permit impositions on yourself by others when it doesn’t seem convenient; it means to tap into your resources to minister, support, lift up, strengthen and encourage others in the body.  

Relationship with God

Your relationship to God must be established using the same guidelines as building a relationship with people.  Consider prayer time as deep, intimate conversations with God.  Think of reading the Bible as poring over important letters from God.  Make attendance at church like going to someone’s house for fellowship for an evening.  Give finances to God like you were investing in your son or daughter for an intense, personal need that they had no other way to meet.  On an even deeper level, think of the vows of a wedding ceremony as they apply to your relationship to God—faithfulness, care, exclusive ownership, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish—until death do us part.   A relationship with God built on this kind of foundation will be lasting and rewarding. 

The bottom line is that the care and maintenance of every relationship needs to be front and center in your life.  Obviously, there are limitations and no one is implying that you should be a doormat.  But neither should anyone withdraw to an unapproachable and aloof position and assume that wonderful, vibrant relationships are the sole obligation of everyone else except themselves.  If you want strong, meaningful relationships, go out and build them!  They are made, not born. 

Historic General Conference 2013

I came away from the 2013 UPCI General Conference breathing the fresh air of progress and invigorated by unprecedented dynamic preaching.  The clear sound from our General Superintendent, David Bernard, the revelatory and anointed message by Raymond Woodward, the passionate preaching of Anthony Mangun and the unique exhortation by Sam Emory that hit us all at street level combined to make this an awesome event.  I am confident that the impact of this conference will be far reaching.

As far as Resolution #2 goes, I believe we have finally arrived at an honest, workable formula for the UPCI ministers who have struggled with marrying technology to righteousness for decades.  The status quo with which we came to conference had been awkward and, frankly, disengenuous for too long.  Some who were adamantly opposed to television had no such restrictions for computer hardware; others who were permissive with television were on the vanguard against internet filth.  The bottom line is that our real position against television from the very beginning has always been content-based, not hardware-based.  Our manual even stated it in these terms in the preambles to restrictions.  In recent years, television hardware has become so integrated with computer hardware that to own a computer with internet access was tantamount to owning a television.  This blurring and blending of technology made our former position so far out of date that it could not be explained without contorting and distorting the language and denying common sense.  Many preachers who have joined us or who have considered joining us have been frustrated by the inconsistency in our position.

Now, it is possible to preach against programming and content regardless of the device or technology that brings it to our eyes and ears.  It is a much more effective route for us to take in continuing to proclaim righteousness and holiness to the world.  Our thanks to the General Board and our General Superintendent, David Bernard, for taking the lead in this vastly improved position. 

The United Pentecostal Church, International is in better shape than it has ever been.  We give glory to God for his help through the last few years of setbacks and deficits.  Today, we have more churches, more preachers, more funds in the black and more global initiatives than ever in our history.  What a wonderful way to begin our second century of the revelation of the oneness of God and baptism in Jesus’ name!  I have never been happier and more excited to be a part of the UPCI. 

Fourteen Initiatives That Can Bless Your Church in 2014

Pastors, do you see great potential in your church, but aren’t sure of what to do or when to do it?  Sometimes, all that is needed is an idea or a seed thought.  Here are fourteen initiatives to consider that have made the difference in the spiritual program of many churches.  Whatever program you do, I urge you to begin planning now for the New Year.  2014 could be your breakthrough year!

1.  Organize a church-wide prayer and fasting effort.

You will never do anything better than lead your church into an intense prayer campaign.  If you aren’t sure how to do it, there are many resources around to use.  Try www.circlemaker.com,  40 Days of Fire or any number of other programs.  Call up other pastors for help and suggestions.  Any effort you make in this area will pay off in a spiritual refreshing for your church! 

2.  Bring in a powerful evangelist known for reaping a harvest.

There are lots of good preachers around, but some are especially gifted as reapers.  Do not hesitate because you don’t think you can afford one.  If you plan ahead and promote it in your church, people will respond.  Trust God for more.  The impact it will have on your church will be worth whatever it costs.  

3.  Do a tent revival/block party/music fest, etc.

People love tents, music and parties!  Even sophisticated city folk will come to these kind of events if you do it right.  Block parties have a track record of tremendous success.  Consult with an experienced organizer before you do it, but don’t think it is beyond your capabilities.  If these efforts do nothing else, they will create excitement in your congregation and energize them to do more. 

4.  Engage a church consultant who can analyze and advise.

Do you have a handle on the finances, the organizational structure of the church or your visitation program?  Are you running the church as efficiently as you could or should?  Are you unhappy with the way things are going but you don’t know what to do?  Many pastors are so busy with the day to day responsibilities that they lose sight of the big picture.  There are consultants available who can do an appraisal of your operation and give you some invaluable advice.  Things can run smoother, you can save money and you can do a better job of reaching your community if you change a few things. (Hint: You have to be willing to change some methods!) 

5.  Plan a capital stewardship campaign.

“Money answers all things.”  If you are contemplating a building program, buying property or retiring a mortgage, your first thoughts probably are about money.  You may be able to raise much more money than you think by recruiting the services of a capital stewardship company.  The UPCI has a program under the auspices of the Stewardship Department that can help.  Don’t wait for a windfall.  I’ve observed that God blesses those who are laboring in His fields.  You owe it to yourself to at least investigate the possibility raising money this way.  The Stewardship Department also has other programs that may benefit you.  Contact Pastor Dean Lunsford to or go to www.upcstewardship.com to get more information. 

6.  Hold a marriage and family enrichment seminar.

Marriage and family relationships are the number one concern of the majority of your people.  By ministering to their needs, you are strengthening the church.  There are awesome husband and wife teams in the Ohio district that would be delighted to come and do a seminar for you. Go to www.upci.org/familyministries for other ideas and details. 

7.  Focus on the children with VBS and/or a children’s evangelist.

The group that is going to have the biggest impact on the adults of your church is the children’s group.  Do something for them in a major way.  Check into the VBS curricula that are out there, and get a children’s evangelist to come in for a crusade.   You will be surprised how much excitement you will create for the whole church.  You can access www.sundayschooldivision.org for abundant resources. 

8.  Reach out to your community in a major canvassing program.

Print a thousand tracts, flyers or door hangers and go to a pre-selected area of your town and begin passing them out.  Rent billboard space, get radio or television time, and find other ways to get the name of your church out in the community.  Also, this may be a good time to coordinate all of your church stationery and PR materials so that they work together.  Get a professionally designed logo and print it on all your materials to establish your church’s identity.  

9.  Start a daughter work or a preaching point.

Starting an outreach in a location that may turn into an autonomous church may be easier than you think.  Do some groundwork ahead of time to find a place to hold a service or even a Bible study, get a few people to help you, pick a time and date—and go!  Besides the obvious goal of reaching the lost, you will create excitement in your congregation.  People love to hear about success or even the potential for success.  It is also an excellent way to develop people who have a desire to be in the ministry.  Get more information from our Ohio North American Missions department, Director Ken Dillingham, or go to www.namupci.org to access their resources. 

10.  Have a missions conference.

Global Missions has an appeal to North Americans that seems unrivaled by any other initiative.  Our largest budget, by far, is that of Global Missions.  Take advantage of this passion and have a missions conference.  It‘s possible that two or three missionaries traveling in the States can come.  Your church will be blest and you will raise the consciousness for missions, plus people will be inspired to give more.  www.globalmissions.com will give you some more ideas. 

11.  Remodel or refurbish an area of your building.

Sometimes change for change sake is good, especially when it comes to your worship, education and office spaces.  A fresh coat of paint, new carpet, tearing out a wall or doing some other remodeling project can do wonders for your congregation.  It may not be much, but it is a sign of life!  The same old same old year after year is uninspiring and it tells people you’re not interested.  Also, if something is badly in need of repair, don’t put it off another year.  Get it done! 

12.  Join with another congregation for a combined service.

Occasional combined services, especially with smaller congregations, give your people an opportunity to see different faces and communicate with others of like precious faith.  It is also a powerful way to demonstrate unity and oneness of purpose.  A communion service or a potluck Sunday with some recreational activities—with some friendly competition—will be fun and enjoyable.  Your people will appreciate the fellowship.  

13.  Project a series of special Sundays centered on specific themes.

Themes that emphasize community values like patriotism, law and order, and community services are generic enough to invite everyone in town.  Other theme possibilities are family, youth, children, or national holidays.  It doesn’t really matter what you choose, the real purpose is to find a common theme that will bring people together and give your people a reason to invite others to church.  You may not make conversions that very day, but you will establish relationships that can lead to soul winning.  Of course, instant salvation experiences are always a great result as well!  

14.  Go all out for a fundraiser like CFC, SFC, SOC, MM, etc.

People love to work together to accomplish an objective that they cannot achieve alone.  Many pastors forget that the reason fundraisers are so valuable is not the money raised but the sense of accomplishment that people get during the process.  You may not be able to greatly emphasize all of the UPCI projects, but you need to find one or two that will galvanize your people into action.  

The foregoing suggestions only represent the tip of the iceberg.  There are probably 2,014 initiatives that could have been mentioned!  If none of these fourteen ideas will work for you, that’s okay, but I urge you to find something that your people can rally around.  Step back and ask yourself this question:  If I were looking for a church to attend, would I want to come to your church?  Be that church!  With a little planning, you can take a step in the right direction.

Are You Listening to Me?

                “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”  Revelation 3:22.

                One word could describe you and me today very well:  Busy. We have multiple distractions, like cell phones, laptops, iPods, iPads, and 24/7 media. We are constantly talking. Even when we are listening we are continually chattering in our brain, formulating answers, or reacting to what is being said. We are all talking, but who’s listening? We may hear what is being said but we may not be really listening.  

                What is listening anyway?  Well, first, what is not listening?  Listening is not reacting, it is not talking, it is not thinking, it is not what someone tells you it is. I could describe it, but that is not listening— that is merely its description.  (I could describe water to you, but describing it won’t quench your thirst.)

                When a person is listening there are no reactions, no thinking, no talking or no judging. There is no me in listening.  Just you.  There is no “what I want to say.”  It’s just what you want to say.

                When you are not listening you are not learning, you are forfeiting opportunity, you are closing your mind, and you are preventing the communication of intelligence. When you are not listening, nothing new is being transmitted.  There are only your reactions to terms and suppositions.

                Preaching presupposes listening.  As a preacher, I want people to listen in church.  Often, I raise my voice so people can hear me.  We installed sound reinforcements systems so people can hear.  We have special devices for the hearing impaired so they can hear.  We record services on CD’s and archive our live-streamed services so that people can have a message played back for anyone else to hear, or to listen to it again. 

                Seven times John wrote “He that hath an ear, let him hear” to the churches in Revelation. Why the repetition?  Because nobody was listening!  This had nothing to do with the muffled voices and inaudible sounds.  It had nothing to do with no sound waves registering on the ear drums, or with bad auditory nerves.  It had everything to do with the intentionality of the hearers.

                The word listen appears only once in the King James Bible (Isaiah 49:1).  The Hebrew word for “listen” is shama.  The English Words in KJV translated from shama, however, are: hear 785, hearken 196, obey 81, publish 17, understand 9, obedient 8, diligently 8, shew 6, sound 3, declare 3, discern 2, noise 2, perceive 2, tell 2,  and reported 2.  But, what are we to shama, or listen, or hearken to?  Answer: The commands of God.  Whenever you hear a command, you need to listen.  Take Adam and Eve, for example.

                “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: ¹⁷ But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”  Genesis 2:16-17.
                Adam and Eve failed.  They heard the voice of God but didn’t follow His command.  Their punishment for not listening is recorded in Genesis 3:16-19, 22-24. The long-term penalty included pain in childbirth, a cursed ground, hard labor, thorns and thistles, and finally, returning to the dust from which they were created.  In the short-term, they were exiled from the garden and forbidden to come back.

                There is a steep price to be paid for ignoring the voice of God.  Pharaoh didn’t listen and was punished by the plagues and the loss of his firstborn.  Israel didn’t listen to Joshua and Caleb and spent thirty-eight more years in the wilderness.  Moses didn’t listen and he was kept from going into the Promised Land.       Ahab didn’t listen and he was slain in battle.  Manasseh didn’t listen and he lost his kingdom to Assyria.  Jehoiakim didn’t listen and he lost his kingdom to Babylon.

“Why Didn’t She Listen?” Death toll hits 246

                MANILA, Philippines—Veterinarian Nelson Tobillo blames no one for the sad fate that befell his 12-year-old daughter Paula Marie, or “Lalaine,” on that black, stormy Saturday.

                “If I could blame anybody, I’d probably blame her,” the 57-year-old Tobillo said on Tuesday with that curious blend of fondness and exasperation some fathers show when talking about their children.

                “Why didn’t she listen to me?” he said. “But then how could I blame her when she’s already gone?”

                Lalaine, a Grade 6 student at Marikina Catholic School, was among the 246 people who perished in the rampage of floods unleashed across Metro Manila and parts of Luzon by Tropical Storm “Ondoy” (international codename: Ketsana) at the weekend.

                Tobillo said the last conversation he had with his daughter was on the telephone at 10:30 p.m. Saturday.  Lalaine was in their bungalow-type house in Provident Villages in Marikina City, along with her nanny Jocelyn, while Tobillo was in Los Baños, Laguna, on a business trip.

                “The last thing she told me was the flood was already knee deep,” Tobillo said. “I told her, ‘Get out of the house now. Go to our neighbor. They have a second floor. You’ll be safe there. Call your sister Tess.’”

                “But she didn’t listen,” he said. (Philippine Daily Inquirer  09/30/2009)             

                But, the question is…why?  Why don’t people listen?  Jesus talked about it.  “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.  For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.  And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Matthew 11:12-15.
                Why can’t people hear?  Some are deaf or have a physical hearing impairment.  Some have foreign objects stuck in their ears to block the sound.  (You can buy headsets that have “noise cancellation” features.)  Some are distracted by other sounds so they can’t discern the important sounds.  But some deliberately interfere with their ability to hear because they deem the words unbelievable or the words are uncomfortable!  These are the people that Jesus was talking about!  It was the content that bothered them.

                “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:  For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”  Matthew 13:13-15.
                Waxed gross means stupefy, grown callused.  Dull of hearing means heavy, not discerning.  How would a person become stupefied and callused?  When they are up to their ears in gossip, garbage thinking, carnal pleasures.  When they talk about people, problems, frustrations, headaches all the time.  When they become obsessed with sports, politics, houses, cars, clothes, physical health.  Look at Demas.  “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.”  And remember,  “They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:9-10.

                How do people grow dull of hearing?  When they stop their intake of the Word of God on a regular basis.  When they listen to voices that compete with the voice of God so they can’t discern.  When rebellion rises up in their hearts to contradict the voice of God.  When they lose their interest in the spiritual and eternal.  When their prayer life fades into non-existence.

                Coming to church and hearing preaching and teaching keeps people spiritually sharp.  It’s the only way to squelch competing voices to the Word of God.  Contradicting the Word of God in one’s heart signifies rebellion.  Paying too much attention to the present, carnal world signifies a broken relationship with God.  Loss of a prayer life means a person is no longer in communication with God.

                Listening is why we come to church!  We don’t come to look; we come to listen!  We don’t show up to show off!  We come because “Jesus only has the words to eternal life!”  We are a combat unit listening to every critical word of our instructions.  We are a rescue team entering into a hazardous environment.  We can’t afford to be callused or undiscerning.  Every time we come to church, something is said that means life or death, heaven or hell!  “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Matthew 13:9-10.  “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Matthew 13:43.   “And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Mark 4:9.   Over and over and over, Jesus kept asking, “Are you listening?”

                How do you make people listen? Try as you might, you really can’t. Hearing occurs whenever the ear perceives sound waves; listening is an act of the will. It cannot be forced.  People must choose to listen; you can’t make them do it.

                Communication experts tell us that the first aspect to consider in “getting people to listen” is having a purposeful message. Millions of messages vie for people’s attention, and with all the new ways to communicate (such as texting, instant messaging, Facebook, Twitter, and even “old-fashioned” email), if a message doesn’t serve a purpose, it gets screened out.

                I know how to get some people to listen.  I just drop a few names or throw out some terms that evokes a response, like, LaBron James, Lindsay Lohan, Tiger Woods, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cincinnati Bengals, Concinnati Reds, Barack Obama, Ohio State Buckeyes, unemployment, Obamacare, wildfires—in short, whatever you are attuned to in your individual life, whatever means the most to you, that’s what you will listen to.

                The church can’t listen if the pastor isn’t talking.  And so, the job of the pastor is to talk.  But pastors cannot afford to talk about things that don’t matter.  They have to talk about things that have eternal significance.

                People will draw their last breath on the strength of what they are taught in church.  People will go to heaven or hell from the pews of the church.  People will stand before God in judgment on the basis of what they hear from the pulpit.  (Pastor, do you think you are in a pressure position?)

                Pastors have to decide on whether to make people laugh or cry.  They have to decide whether to slap people on the back or hit them over the head.  They have to decide whether to comfort people or scare them.  They have to decide whether to point people to the past where they stand established in the plan of God…or to show them future prophecies so they can get in on the plan of God.

                Is it grace today, or judgment?  Is it a faith message or a works message?  Is it trials and afflictions or healing and salvation?  Should the pastor shear the sheep or throw out the lifeline to the sinner?  Were people listening when the pastor preached about heaven, or hell, or time or eternity?  Were they listening when the pastor preached about choices?  What about when the pastor asked them about measuring up to the Word of God? Or, were they listening when the pastor preached about Demas, or seeking riches, or flirting with the world, or being yoked together with unbelievers?  Are they really listening, or are they just “doing time” in the sanctuary?

                Were they listening when the pastor taught about the principles of holiness and separation?  Were they listening when the pastor taught about the treasures of the tabernacle?  Were they listening when the pastor taught about prayer, Bible-reading, and integrity?  Were they listening?

                The greatest tragedy is not that people would go to hell from a barstool, but from a church pew!  The greatest tragedy is not that kids in the world—who have never been taught the Bible—would make a mess of their lives.  It is that kids who have memorized Scripture and heard the teaching of the Bible as far back as they can remember would make a mess of their lives!

                It is not amazing that the people of the world would get caught up in sports, pleasure, materialism, hobbies, social functions, cars, clothes and education.  They have nothing else to do with their lives and they have never been taught about spiritual values.  It is far more amazing, and damning, that people who know about Acts 2:38, about prayer, about miracles, about holiness, about heaven, about hell, about the church…and yet get caught up in the exact same things as the people of the world!  People in the world don’t listen because they haven’t heard.  Those in the church don’t listen—not because they haven’t heard, but because they are callused and dull of hearing.

                Let me ask…if messages aren’t going to be heard, why preach them?   Sermons aren’t a form of entertainment.  Sermons aren’t for us to critique for substance, style, delivery and skill.  Pastors don’t preach for a letter grade.  If they are, they should just take their D minus or F and go home.  No.  Preachers preach because the world is in a critical situation:  Jesus is coming and we have to be ready!

                Let me tell you how important it is to listen.  Jesus warned us about listening through Sodom and Capernaum.  You have heard of Sodom.  It was a wicked, perverse, vile city.  We all know what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah.  And we know why it happened.

                But, have you ever heard of Capernaum?  Capernaum was where the centurion’s servant was healed.  It was where Peter’s mother-in-law was healed.  Demons were cast out in Capernaum.  Every sick person brought to Jesus in Capernaum was healed.  The Bible even says that Isaiah fifty-three was fulfilled in Capernaum! But Jesus compared Sodom who never heard the gospel to Capernaum which had all these mighty and miraculous things done in it.  Why?  Because even with all these evidences of the power of God, Capernaum would not repent.  The city would not listen!

                “And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.”  Matthew 11:23-24.
                Those who listen to God have the assurance that He will listen to them!

                 “In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.” Psalms 18:6.
                On the other hand, if people do not hearken unto the voice of God, He will not hear them in the time of crisis.  “Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.” Jeremiah 11:11.  The only way to know if people are truly listening is if they allow these words to penetrate that hard shell of indifference and callousness. 

                “Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” Acts 20:26-35. What will it be?  Will they be glad they listened…or, will they wish they had?

                “He that hath an ear, let him hear.”  After the rapture, those left behind will never hear these words again. It will be too late to listen.  Now, it is not too late.  Are you listening?

God Is Good...All the Time!

“Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.”  Psalms 107:8-9.

“God is good” has been repeated so often that, for many, it has lost its meaning.  Yet, when we consider the alternative—that God could be evil, or vindictive, or tyrannical—a new appreciation for God’s goodness is born in us.  The divine nature, which may be understood as the intrinsic attributes of God’s character, defines Him as fundamentally good.  It is this attribute that secures our safety and well being in this life and in the life to come. 

While goodness resembles kindness, it moves in a very different direction.  Goodness, from the Greek word agathosune, is aggressive, whereas kindness conveys a more passive emotion or demeanor.  One cannot be good without doing good.  Thus, God is good in fact as well as in theory.  He is good in his deeds, in His performance and in the actual implementation of His will on earth.  He doesn’t just think good thoughts, he performs good actions toward us. 

The Bible lists goodness as one of the nine fruits of the Spirit.  Goodness creates within us a willingness and desire to perform good actions.  When you get plugged into God’s goodness, you will rise above mediocrity and will strive for excellence in every area of life.  The good person, in the spiritual sense, wants to be beneficial to everyone in every act, and finds the greatest fulfillment in doing good deeds.  

Convert your good intentions into good actions.