Have you Hugged a Fireman Today?

Ok, so neither have I (ok, there was that awkward embrace with my 2nd cousin last Friday).

Each year our church hosts a chili and wing cook-off/Firefighter appreciation banquet.  We invite the firefighters and their families to the church for an evening of entertainment and food, and there is a competition for best chili and wings.  This year, we decided to do things a little differently, and show them our appreciation by first taking them some chili and wings along with an invitation to the cook-off.

I called the fire stations to find out how many people were on staff at a time to know how much food to take to them.  You would have thought I was asking them if I could bring them a million dollars – they were very appreciative!

Today I took the first chili and wings into 3 stations.  They were all thrilled that we thought of them, and a little curious why a church was doing it.   Shouldn’t the church be the first ones showing our support in the community?  The fire department is the first group into an emergency, and wouldn’t it be great if the first people they thought of to call for help was the church?  As it is, the church is not called for help because we have stayed in our comfortable buildings behind our pretty stained glass.

Let’s get out there and be the church!

Thoughts thanks to Fishing & Catching

OK…if you read my last post, you know where I was going in stating the differences between fishing and catching.  Jesus called us to both fish for men, and to catch men. 

Honestly, that was the basis of last weeks Bible Study on the Life of Christ.  This whole week something has been rolling around in my head (and unfortunately, there is far too much room for that).  In keeping with the fishing theme, I wondered to myself, and involved some people in a discussion of whether or not we are actually involved in a catch & release program.  I don’t know if it is the same in other countries, but here in the US, there is a sad trend going on in the church to get people to “cross a line” and then we seem to forget about them.

Let me explain what I mean by “cross a line.”  For some, it is that trip down the aisle, or the sinner’s prayer.  Maybe it is baptism.  For some, it might even be membership into a certain church.  What happens then?  Where is the discipleship? 

When was the last time someone asked you what you were reading in the Bible for your own benefit?  When was the last time you asked that of someone else?  What is God showing you about his character?  How is your prayer life?  These are questions that should be asked as the beginnings of discipleship, and they aren’t even asked down the road. 

Let’s step out of our comfort zones, quit this catch & release junk, and start making disciples!

Fishing or Catching?

How do we respond to the battle call?I was studying Jesus encounter with a few fishermen and a miraculous catch. I noticed that both Matthew and Mark say that Jesus said, “I will make you fishers of men.” Luke, who includes more detail anyway says, “From now on you will catch men.”

If you have ever been hunting or fishing, you know that there is a difference between fishing and catching! I remember spending days fishing with my dad in Colorado mountain streams, and catching nothing…I was doing a lot of fishing though!

We are called to fish, and we are called to catch!

It doesn’t stop there though! The Greek word that the good Dr. uses is literally “to catch alive.” It is only used elsewhere in 2 Timothy 2:26 “that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” We have got to realize that we are living behind enemy lines, and we are called to free those captives!

Not only is there a difference between fishing and catchiing, but one other big difference…when we fish, we take those fish from life to death; when we go after men, we take them from death to life…the only true life worth living!

Answer the battle cry!

CT Scans & Robins

What a crazy time this last few weeks has been!  I was reminded last week of how much the Father truly does love us!  My 2 month old baby has a lump on her head from when she was born (She was trying to come out sideways) so the Dr. wanted us to go to Akron Children’s Hospital for a CT scan.  Even though the Dr. was sure it was nothing I was still pretty nervous about this test!  She was lying there completely helpless, and I was only able to watch as she slid back into this machine scared.  I don’t want to even begin to intimate that only a parent can understand the love of God, but I think that day I understood it a little more clearly!  I understood how great the love the Father has lavished on us is, and I was even more keenly aware of 2 Peter 3:9 – “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”

During all of this, I have been trying to figure out a Robin at the church.  We have windows down both sides of our auditorium, and starting last Monday, I heard a knocking on the windows on one side.  I stood to watch for a while, and saw a Robin fly up and hit the window a few times.  This literally went on all week.  You can even walk down the row of windows and see marks from his beak where he has been trying to get in on every window! 

Still today, this Robin is trying to get in!  I have shewed him away many times thinking he is going to hurt himself, but he still comes at the window.  Our church has been growing recently both numerically and spiritually, but I would still love for people to be so anxious to hear the Word of God that they are knocking on our windows.  Unfortunately, I don’t think this is what God intended…I think we are supposed to be out there telling them about Jesus so they will ask us more, not waiting for them to knock on our windows.  I guess I will relegate this bird to knocking on our doors status, and encourage our church to go out and be the church, and start knocking on the hearts of the lost!

Not my will!

For obvious reasons, I have been thinking a lot lately about the death and resurrection of Jesus.  I was thinking about Jesus’ response in the garden that night he was betrayed when he prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)  Jesus, who certainly knew the will of God was asking if there was some other way to redeem us.  He was asking if his own life could be spared and our souls still be spared at the same time.  His resolve was that whatever the will of God was would be good enough for him. 

I think sometimes we forget to consider the will of God.  I serve as the preacher for a small church in Ohio.  I am extremely fortunate to serve with 3 elders who understand what this means to seek the will of God.  It would be very easy to get caught up in the numbers game, and try to strictly grow our church numerically, but the will of God isn’t about this little extension of the body of Christ.  God’s will is that the greater Kingdom of God be strengthened and added to.  We talked about this during our prayer time this week.  There is a church we recently heard of who was having a membership drive (huh, I don’t see that anywhere in the Bible).  What was frustrating was their purpose for the membership drive.  They were moving into a new building, and in order to close on their loan, they had to meet a stipulation for x number of members in their church.  They actually announced from the front that this was their purpose in pushing for people to become members.  Was God grieved that day?  I certainly can’t answer that, but it doesn’t sit well with me.

Please, don’t get me wrong, we would love to have people place their membership here, but nowhere is “membership” in the Bible, so our greater concern has to be the salvation of their soul!

Maybe when we stop being so concerned about our little corner of the world getting bigger, and start being concerned about the kingdom of God growing through additions anywhere with people getting into any Bible believing church, God will begin to bless our little corner!

 Unless of course, yours is the only church teaching the truth: ; )

No Crosses?

    I’m not real sure what to do with this!  This week my wife was at McDonald’s in the play place, and she got to talking to a few of the moms sitting there.  Now, my wife is an incredibly smart woman, and she will hold off on telling people that I am a minister as long as possible so that she can have a real conversation.  If you are in ministry, you know that as soon as people hear you are a preacher, the dynamics completely change, and most people quit being themselves. 

     Somehow, without really bringing it up herself, she got to talking to these ladies about church.  One of these ladies was really struggling with where to go to church.  Her family had tried a few churches, but had various (legitimate) issues with most of them.  One of her issues with a popular church in our area has me a little concerned.  In the visitor pack for this church, she said that there was a whole section about the cross.  It said that it might be noticed that there are no crosses anywhere in the building.  They said that the cross has a tendency to make people feel uncomfortable, and since they are trying to bring in the unchurched, they don’t want anything that will make people feel uncomfortable.

     I kind of wanted to say, “Well Duh!”  I am pretty sure I heard some smart guy who wrote a bunch of stuff in a book say that the cross of Christ is foolishness to those who are perishing. (1 Corinthians 1:20)  Of course it will make an unbeliever feel uncomfortable, but that is what it is supposed to do.  It certainly has a different meaning for those of us who are called by God!  To us, the cross is the power of God!

     I wonder if this doesn’t go along with what my friend sprocket has been blogging on http://insipidgarbage.wordpress.com.  There is a point that we have to recognize that even though we are trying to save the lost, and we are trying to win them to Christ, there is going to come a time that they will have to feel uncomfortable!  Being a disciple of Christ is not exactly supposed to be a comfortable thing.  Think about the statements that Jesus made; “Take up your cross daily and follow me.”  “Anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”  Think of a Jew living in the 1st century in a shame/honor society when you hear this: “The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.”  “Love your enemy.”  How about the psalmist cries out to God to be broken, melted, and molded? 

    Of course, if we aren’t telling people that they are sinners in need of God’s grace, then we probably don’t want to make them feel uncomfortable!  I would really hate for someone to be uncomfortable here on earth…better that they wait for eternity!