Unavailable

-
It is our determination to be independent by being in control that makes us unavailable to God.

-- Richard Neuhaus

Comments

  1. Anonymous2:27 PM

    I believe this quote to be very accurate. I see it everyday, everywhere, and the church is not exempt. It seems that everyone focuses solely on themselves and what is happening with them. Many people can't even be concerned with their own families, they are too busy with their careers, their wants, their needs. As far as their concern for God and what He wants and needs from them... it isn't a thought in their heads. My fear is that, in trying not to offend the world and trying not to appear as being too "different", we have lost our focus, our "salt". We are the frogs in the pot and the temperature is being increased beneath us and before we know it, we will be boiling away wondering what happened and where did it all go wrong. I believe that we, as pastors and teachers need to return to an emphasis on Holiness. We are to be different, set apart, sanctified and we can not reach that level of discipleship without placing God's desires before our own.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous2:33 PM

    I forgot to tell you on the prior message that I attended your Evangelism FLAME class in Sophia NC. That class honestly changed my view of evangelism forever. God has been really working with me in this area since that class.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Apostles and Earrings

-
Image
I wonder if this belonged to one of the apostles? Simon the Zealot strikes me as the kind of guy who would wear an earring. I recall the time, when I was graduating from seminary, I received an invitation to start a new congregation in a college town. In the letter, they outlined the vision, the demographics of the community, and their expectations for the pastor. The letter ended with a p.s. -- "and of course, your wife will not be permitted to wear earrings." They forgot say anything about ME wearing earrings. For a while, I was tempted to go ahead, take the position, and get my ear pierced.
Read more

Apostolic Succession

-
Image
I was ordained July 10, 1987, when General Superintendent, Dr. Earle Wilson, laid hands on me, shook my hand, and declared, "Take Thou Authority to Preach the Word!" I was thinking about that recently, and began to wonder how far back I could go with the succession of my ordination. So, I did a little research. I was ordained by Earle Wilson Earle Wilson was ordained by Pilgrim Holiness General Superintendent, William Neff William Neff was ordained by the Pilgrim founder, Seth Rees Seth Rees was ordained by Nazarene founder, Phineas Bresee Phineas Bresee was ordained by Methodist Bishop, Levi Scott Levi Scott was ordained by Elijah Hedding. Elijah Hedding was ordained by Francis Asbury Francis Asbury was ordained by a renegade Anglican priest named John Wesley John Wesley was ordained by Anglican Bishop (of Oxford) John Potter. From Potter -- there's a trail all the way back to St. Peter!! You can see the chart here. (Potter is at the bottom of the page #90. Now, how abo...
Read more

How Would You Answer My Friend?

-
A pastor friend e-mailed me with this question yesterday: I am working with a well-intentioned man who is considering becoming a part of our congregation. After exploring Wesleyan Doctrine, he is hung up on one thing- that we allow women in ministry. He believes that 1Timothy 2:8-15 is a clear Biblical prohibition against females in ministry. I have always understood Paul's teaching on women in public worship environements in Corinthians and Timothy to be context driven and not a broad theological statement. This has been a learning experience for me because I learned that I was unprepared to defend our Wesleyan position, I had just accepted it. Any Biblical direction, orginal language clues, or historical perspective you could offer would be most welcomed. He is not bigoted about women, he feels they are equal in the eyes of the Lord but have been assigned different duties/roles in the kingdom. How would you respond to his question?
Read more