Things I Love #2

I love it when children are excited to see me.  They just accept me and others for who they are.  They want a hug, a handshake, a high-five, or just anything to make contact and I can tell you sometimes they can hurt you!  Not intentionally, of course, but they can deliver a blow!  I had a young boy once give me a hand slap, but he forgot that he had a pencil in his hand and ended up stabbing me in my palm.  Not good…

I am encouraged by their smiles and simple faith in God and you.  I have the great privilege of sharing a children’s sermon each Sunday to a lively group of about thirty children ranging in age from 2-8.  They sit and wait expectantly for me to share something with them and they love it when I ask them questions.  They love to be involved in the sermon.  They are a blessing to me, their parents, and our church.  I must confess that I am not very good at children’s sermons, but you know what, I have never heard one of them tell me how bad my sermon was or if I could have done better.  They just take me as I am and move on.

I can learn a lot from our children’s sermon time.  Not from what I attempt to teach, but from the lessons they teach me.  What do I learn from them?

1.    I learn to be patient until they get settled in and are ready to listen.  I wish I were as patience with God.  He’ll show me what I need to know when I’m ready to listen.  They remind me to be patient and wait on God.

2.    I learn to enjoy the simple things of life.  A laugh, a smile, a funny story, or just laughing at myself.  Life is too short to be uptight about a lot of things.  I’m not sure sometimes if they’re laughing at my attempts at humor or me.  But you know, it really doesn’t matter, a merry heart does good like a medicine.

3.    I am learning I need to not dwell on what just happened in my life, but to look forward to the next thing God has for me.  When the children’s sermon is over they are ready for children’s church and all that comes with it.  I tend to want to rehash what happened yesterday and fret over that, rather than letting the past be in the past.

I sometimes wonder what our adults think of my ‘Children’s Sermons’.  Thoughts like, that was dumb, or did they even understand what he was talking about?  I’m pretty sure the children probably couldn’t tell their parents when they get home what my sermon was about and the parents more than likely can’t either, but this what I hope they do remember, that their Pastor loves them and that Jesus loves them even more.  That’s really what it’s all about isn’t it?

Things I Love

People often ask each other what they like, what is important to them, or what they like to do, so I’ll tell you upfront that I enjoy writing.  It’s kind of neat for me to put my thoughts down on paper or should I say into the computer.  Then to display them on my blog (http://whereheisfirst.blogspot.com/) and watch and wait to see who reads them, and if they have any comments, is always a joy.  I am always amazed how God can take some small thought and encourage or challenge someone to grow in their faith in Him.  And I give Him all the credit, if any is due, as I couldn’t write anything if He had not given me the grace to share my thoughts.  With that in mind I want to share the first of several things that I love.

I love people who are excited about life and what God is doing around them.  They may not be the bubbly, overflowing, incessantly speaking folks who are always talking about how good God is and what Jesus is doing in their lives.  They may just be the ones who have that joyous, radiant smile that brightens the whole room when they enter.  They love people because Christ has put His love in their hearts (Romans 5:5).  Their whole countenance suggests that they would like to be your friend.  Every church has them because God knows we need them around us to lift us up when things are not going well.  When I come into our church on Sunday mornings, or for any other service, I usually try to greet a few of them first because I know that if I’m not in the right frame of mind they will help me to get there quick!  Gotta love the Debbie Downers and the Frustrated Freds, but they can sure drain your joy.  I just love the Barnabas Christians, not that I don’t love the others, but those ‘Sons of Consolation’ sure know how to pick up your spirits!

Eleanor H. Porter, in her story of Pollyanna said this, “People radiate what is in their minds and in their hearts.”  When church members have the Lord in their hearts and are filled with His love and joy it just comes out!  And I’ll tell you, it’s hard to be all down and out when their joy is just radiating from their very being.  Being a ‘Pollyanna’ is not a bad thing or something to ridicule.  In fact, we need more Pollyannas in our world today.  Life is too tough to live it without any joy.

So let me conclude.  Most Barnabas Christians (encouragers), don’t realize that they are.  They are just living life and enjoying God and His people so don’t forget to thank them and encourage them because they need to be uplifted too.  And maybe, all of us need to stop and ‘smell the roses’ because as someone said once, “I’m too blessed to be distressed”.  ‘Count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise what the Lord has done’, as the old songs says.  Don’t forget to thank those who the Lord has put into our lives to brighten our days and most of all to thank Him who created us all.

I love people who have a smile on their face and the Joy of the Lord in their hearts, don’t you?

Does Our Church Need Revitalization?

I copied the following from an article by Ron Edmondson.  He pastored in Auburn, KY. a few years ago.  I think his points are well worth the time for all of us to consider.

Here are 7 vital components in church revitalization:

1.  Admitting you need to revitalize – That’s hard isn’t it? Recently a senior member of our church visited another church that has undergone revitalization. She saw the excitement and came back with a new understanding. Her comment to one of our staff members was, “We have to change some things, don’t we? We don’t have a choice!” The church as a whole must come to that level of understanding.

2.  Letting go of right to control - This is what makes or breaks revitalization in many churches. If the “No Change Allowed” sign is hung…or even the “but not that change”…on issues that aren’t even Biblical, then revitalizing the church will be very difficult.

3.  A vision of something better – What’s next for this church? Where are we going? How are we going to get there? There must be a compelling vision, such as loving a community for Christ and clear avenues for people to be involved in reaching that vision.

4.  A history worth revitalizing – This will be the toughest part of this post. There are some toxic churches that seem to have never been healthy. They’ve run off every pastor they’ve called. Many of these churches wouldn’t follow Jesus well either. They are stuck in systems and personal agendas and aren’t going to budge. (I realize that’s a cruel statement, but it’s a sad reality.)

5.  Leadership willing to lead change – This is more than the pastor. In many cases, the pastor is only the figure head of vision and change. Change is hard. It requires trusted leaders within the church willing to step up and lead along side the pastor. I wrote recently the difference in trust and popularity as a leader. Read that post HERE and understand the difference. It’s what makes collective leadership that much more important, especially in the early days of revitalization.

6.  The tenacity to weather storms – It won’t be easy. It’s far easier to start something than to try to grow again after a period of decline. Some pastors, leaders and churches have the patience. Some don’t.

7.  A few committed people – You need some people already established in the church who love the church more than their personal agenda. These might be leaders or might not. Many times newer people attracted during times of change don’t have the roots or credibility to do this. As great as they are…and even with them as a primary focus…the church needs longer term people to embrace a new future. These people have to support the pastor, speak up for the changes and create an atmosphere conducive for growth again.

Well, those are my candid observations. They aren’t based solely on opinion, but they certainly aren’t a product of extensive research either. They are derived from hundreds of conversations with other pastors and personal experience - Ron Edmondson

Hope these speak to you as they did me.

We Need a Royal Birth!

With all the talk of the Royal Birth in the news I couldn’t help but laugh.  All the network coverage, the internet blogging and articles, the twitter world trending about this new addition to the royal family, and the queen making her celebrated visit to see her new great-grandson, it was almost beyond belief for a commoner like me.

I was watching the network news the other night and all the commentators were speculating on such things as:  What will they name the baby, what will the mom’s role be in rearing her child in the royal family, how will Prince William involve himself in the raising of his child?  They were even questioning if he would change any nappies (diapers).  By the way, a dummy is a pacifier in British lingo.  Such relevant questions, I was about to break up laughing!

Now before I offend any of you moms, I want to clarify that having a baby is a big deal.  Any new birth should be celebrated with joy and thanksgiving.  And that brings me to my point.  We need to have some babies at Second Baptist this year!  Now some of you are about to go into panic mode with questions and denials such as:  Not me, I’m too old to have any more kids, or I’m finished with my family, or I don’t want any right now.  Let me explain what I’m talking about.

I’m not talking of literally of having some new flesh and blood babies, though all those are welcome, but of birthing some new Sunday School Classes!

We need to plan on starting two new classes this year and before you can have a baby, we need to get pregnant.  And before that happens, we need some parents.  Translating that into church terminology means we need some Christians willing to step out to teach and lead a new class.  We need some members with a heart to start some new classes in our church.

It is a proven fact that Sunday Schools grow through the start of new classes.  No new classes, no growth, it’s that simple.  Who will be the vessel that God will use to begin a new class.  It could be a class that is birthed from an existing class.  It could be a class that just begins by inviting those in our church who don’t currently attend any class.  It could be what we call a ‘paper class’; that is someone who just takes a list of prospects and begins praying and inviting.  There are all kinds of possibilities, but it takes someone who will allow God to use them to birth a class.  It takes all of us supporting, encouraging, helping, praying, and just doing what God has called us to do.

When a announcement is made of an impending birth our ladies immediately begin to plan a ‘Baby Shower’.  Maybe we need to start planning for the new births now.  We need another forty to fifty year old class.  We need another thirty to forty class.  Maybe God wants a class that I’m not even thinking of right now.  What will it be?  Will you be a parent?

I’m praying for some new babies.  Let’s get ready to celebrate their births!