Revitalize Your Church

"What do you say?" Parents often use this phrase to remind their children to say "Thank you." We hope the practice of expressing thanks will  become ingrained in our kids if we ask this question repeatedly. Sometimes it works.  Sometimes it doesn't. The longer I live, the more I'm convinced that "Thank you" is an expression of the heart, not just the lips.  We can mouth the words, but if the gratitude isn't deep within us, we have not properly expressed thanks. The secret to Thanksgiving is seeing things straight.  You say what you see. If you see unfairness -- you speak words of protest. If you see problems -- you will complain. If you see shortcomings -- you will criticize. If you see failure -- you will speak negative words. If you see stupidity -- you will roll your eyes and judge. If you see fearful outcomes -- you will fret out loud. Yes, life is full of unfairness, problems, shortcomings, failures, stupidity and fearful outcomes -- if yo...

I have never seen a group of hunters heading off to the woods in a valiant quest for mice. (This thought came from seminary professor, W. L. Muncy Jr., challenging the church to tackle bigger issues.)

Whatever we love most usually wins. This Saturday, throngs of people in orange will head to the woods long before dawn.  Some will rise before 4:00 a.m., ready to roll. Normally, they would not consider getting up that early on a Saturday morning.  But their love for hunting is greater than their love for comfort and sleeping in. The same teenager that Mom drags from bed for school on Friday, is in full orange and chomping at the bit on Saturday.  Whatever we love most usually wins. Sometimes, people talk about their struggle with negative habits and life patterns.  They say they want to eat right, exercise, go to church, make wise financial decisions, and such.  However, intentions never get us anywhere.  An intention only leads to a rut of more unfulfilled intentions, unless you have the gumption to take action. The bottom line is your love.  Whatever you love most usually wins. My son, Wes, ran a marathon last year.  He learned to love running,...

Love is not self-seeking. That's what the Bible says. Popular culture, on the other hand, says something different. Movies, television shows, and top 40 songs on the radio give us a different message. According to them, love is more like the old Toyota commercial: "I love what you do for ME." Self seeking love approaches the relationship with a set of expectations: "You are here to meet my needs." Self sacrificing love comes from opposite perspective: "I am here to meet YOUR needs." Self seeking love is based on a feeling. Self sacrificing love is based on a commitment. Self seeking love is about getting. Self sacrificing love is about giving. Self seeking love insists on its own way and demands to be understood. Self sacrificing love is willing to consider another opinion, and desires to understand. Self seeking love tries to change the other person. Self sacrificing love accepts the other person. Self seeking love attacks. Self sacrificing love attra...

I referred to the following experience in my book, Filled Up, Poured Out: How God's Spirit Can Revive Your Passion and Purpose.  It holds deep meaning for me. One day, after making a hospital visit in Duluth, Minnesota, I was drawn by the spire of the old First Presbyterian Church. A kind secretary opened up the sanctuary for me to sit and pray for a while. Gazing around, my eyes fell upon a beautiful stained glass window. It was the picture of a gravestone with dark purple and black hues overshadowing it. But at the top of the window, squarely in the center of a black night, shone a bright golden star -- which seemed to exude hope and light. The star was the focal point of the window. At the bottom, the following words were inscribed: In memory of Sarah Agnes Graff 1853-1889 Build a little fence of trust around today. Fill the space with loving work and therein stay. Look not through the sheltering bars upon tomorrow. God will help thee bear whatever come...

If you're in the "pressure cooker", here are two dozen stress busters. Take one or two as needed. 1) Learn to say "no."  It's not that difficult. 2) When you've done all you can -- let go. 3) Focus on faith rather than fear. 4) Smile 5) An ounce of action is worth a ton of worry. 6) Most worries never come true. 7) Live on purpose. 8) God is bigger than any problem you have. 9) It's not the big job, but the little worries that drain energy. 10) Refuse to allow anxiety to take over. 11) Relax. Don't sweat the small stuff. 12) Accept problems as a fact of life. 13)  The real you shows through under pressure. 14) Life goes on. 15) Count your blessings.. 16) Few things are worth fighting over. Keep the peace. 17) Take a deep breath and realize how fortunate you are to be alive. 18) Stop putting it off until tomorrow. Do it today. 19) Lend a helping hand to someone in need. 20) Don't get sucked into over-reactions. 21) Keep on the sunny side. 22) ...

Last night, I finished reading Peggy Payne's novel, Revelation.   It was quite a bit more gritty and earthy than I expected it to be.  Since it's the story of a pastor who hears God's voice, I assumed it was going to fall into the tame Christian fiction genre.  I was wrong about that. It's the story of Swain Hammond, a confused, and very human pastor who starts hearing a voice -- and thinks it belongs to God.  It comes at unexpected times -- and doesn't make much sense to him -- but gives him a fresh revelation of spiritual realities, as well as new courage to move beyond his normally cautious and rational behaviors. Swain's attempts to explain these "God-encounters", leave his wife befuddled, and his skeptical congregation scratching their heads, and wondering if he is losing his mind. Coming to grips with an accidental blinding of a young boy on the church property brings everything to a head. As the fascinating tale unfolds, the troubled pas...

5 Foundational Principles of Change "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" Isaiah 43:18-19 1) Change is life and life is change .  There's not an option. If you want to keep living, you have to go through change. It's a fact of life. When you stop changing, you stop growing! It is possible to change without growing, but all growth requires change!  A big question people ask: "When will things get back to normal?" Answer: Never. This is normal. Let's deal with it.  Good news -- God is unchangeable. Everything else might change -- but He doesn't. "In every change,  He, faithful, will remain." More good news -- God uses changes to change us! He develops us and grows us through the painful transitions.  2) Change is always resisted.  Mark Twain said, "Nobody likes change except a baby with wet diapers."   Why do people resist change? * Trad...

My friend, Jason Butler, is a prophet.  I do not mean "prophet" in the weird "school of the prophets who smack people in the forehead, and incant direct pipelines from God" kind of way. Jason is a prophet of another sort.  He is a truth-revealer. In his new book, Dangerous Presence , Jason tells the truth about how the church has failed the city, and he doesn't pull any punches.  It's not theoretical.  All the leaders of Transformation City Church live in the heart of Milwaukee. They hear gun shots and sirens regularly.  They've been robbed.  They've been misunderstood.  But, they're there.  Like Jesus, they closed the gap by stepping into the situation.  You can't love from a distance. In the book, Jason shares his personal pilgrimage to understanding that Jesus stands with the poor.  It is a gripping story. As a small town pastor, I find Jason's words about the urban plight compelling, convicting and challenging. ...

“Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” -- Jesus One mid-December Saturday, I received an unusual phone call from my  friend, Chip.  A Sara Lee frozen pie semi truck was broken down in our  community, and the freezer unit had malfunctioned.  The driver was in  a quandary, trying to figure out how to get rid of 400 Sara Lee cherry  pies before they went bad.  Thus, Chip called me, explaining the  situation, and asked, “So, do you have any use for 400 frozen pies?   "You bet!" I exclaimed.  I've always believed we should seize opportunities when they present themselves.  Immediately, my mind started whirling.  What could we do with all those pies?” “I know!  I’ll turn this into a fund raiser, sell them to the  congregation, and put the money in our building fund.” Then the Spirit of God nudged my heart. “Wrong answer.  I gave you those pies for another reason.  You are not  to sell them,...