Stagefright

The Man With The Bucket

2012-02-05T23:10:00.003-05:00

This Sunday morning I had the pleasure of speaking on true Christian giving. I spoke from 2 Corinthians 8 and 9.

But giving is something that is very anti-us. It is anti-sinner and it is (I think) especially anti-America, so I could imagine some pushback, and wondered how to address it. What would you say to someone who does not want to give simply because they say "It is MY money, I earned it, I do with it what I please"? Here is my answer: a simple analogy.

"If you aren't generous with your money and use the phrase "It is mine, I worked hard to get it" to justify yourself, you are like a man in the desert clinging to a bucket of water who won't share it with the one who thirsts, all the while refusing to acknowledge the fact that God both gave you the bucket and directed you to a spring."

Reflecting on the 1st 12th of 2012.

2012-01-31T17:06:00.003-05:00

Well,we have completed 1/12^th of 2012. Only 11 more of these cycles to goand we will be ushering in 2013.

Somethingthat I have thought helpful is to review the first month of the new year andask myself a few questions. One of them is the following: “If what happened this month is representative of the coming year, whatwill 2012 look for me? What will be the bigger challenges? What will be acentral idea?”

OnJanuary 2^nd, I felt very much charged by 1 Tim 6:11-12 to make anall out war for joy in Christ for 2012. I had realized that I didn’t fight muchin 2011. I did not fight to maintain a consistent quiet time. I did not fightfor joy. I did not fight to love God. I did not fight to make God look good forothers. Therefore, all these diminished woefully. Having closed 2011 with myeyes to the ground and my hands drooped to my sides, 1 Tim 6:11-12 made me pickup the sword and charge the battlefield with newfound vigor that only could’vecome from God.

Butthis desire to fight for joy has certainly not gone unanswered. If anything, inlight of this cry to fight for joy, my eyes have been all the more opened tothe very real spiritual war that rages every day. To answer my warcry, Satanhas turned up heat, and it is clear that this fight will not be easy in theslightest. Already, in just one month, my fight for joy has been challenged by somuch. It has been particularly mind boggling to see him work unabashedlyagainst the preaching in the church I serve. I further read in Hebrews 13 thatthe leaders’ joy is connected to the good of the congregation, and I know thatSatan hates the congregation I serve. I know that he will target my joy (andalready has)—among other things—to bring her down and to bring me down. It hasbeen made clear to me that my oath to fight for joy does not make him happy.

Yetthe fact that my joy has been battered and challenged this month more than everhas given me great cause to continue fighting. As a matter of fact, God—as onlyHe can—used this opposition in some mysterious way to serve my joy! For I have come to realize that He prepared me forthis month—and this year—by stirring in my heart the zeal to fight in the firstplace! If He had not graciously spoken to me in 1 Tim 6:11, I know that thisblog post would be one of defeat, woe and resignation. But He is so good. Yes.I fight for joy. And the risen opposition to the fight has not diminished it,but only increased it. May God be glorified!

Oh Lord, when I come to the end of 2012 let me say, “Yes. Ifought for joy. Thank you God for keeping the fight all year.”

A Tale of Two Trees

2012-01-13T13:20:00.003-05:00

Forthe past couple of days, the desire to see Genesis through the lens of theGospel has captivated me. Here is a bit of personal study summed up in a fewstatements. I focused mostly on a connecting theme of trees. In Genesis, we seethe tree that God has forbidden to man (Gen2:16-17), but in the gospel we see a tree that draws men to Himself—thecross of Christ (John 3:14-15; 12:32-33;Gal 3:13-14). If you will, read through these passages (I went through Genesis chronologically by verse) and glory in theamazing, mysterious, and glorious gospel!

Satan told Eve that eating of theGenesis tree was necessary for true life. (Gen 2:2-5)

Now he tells man that eating of theGospel tree isn't necessary fortrue life. (John 6:53-58, 66)

When man ate of the Genesis tree,shame overcame him. (Gen 3:6-7)

Now, if he has eaten of the Gospeltree, shame is overcome. (Rom 10:11)

When man ate of the Genesis tree, hehid from God. (Gen 3:8-11)

Now, if he has eaten of the Gospeltree, he approaches Him boldly. (Heb 4:14-16)

Under the shadow of the Genesis tree,man hated one another. (Gen 3:12-13)

Under the shadow of the Gospel tree,man is reconciled. (Eph 2:14-16)

Under the shadow of the Genesis tree,a prophecy is given. (Gen 3:14-15)

Under the shadow of the Gospel tree,it is fulfilled. (Heb 2:14-15, Rom 16:20)

Under the shadow of the Genesis tree,creation was subjected to futility. (Gen 3:16-19)

Under the shadow of the Gospel tree,creation was promised freedom. (Rom 8:20-21)

Under the shadow of the Genesis tree,the first sacrifice for sin was made. (Gen 3:20-21)

Upon the Gospel tree itself, the lastsacrifice for sin was made. (Heb 9:24-28, 10:10)

When man ate ofthe Genesis tree, God drove him from the garden. (Gen 3:22-24)

Now, if he haseaten of the Gospel tree, God welcomes him. (Rev 22:1-5, 17)

Two Small Verses, One Huge Truth

2012-01-12T19:59:00.000-05:00

“Thenthe Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into hisnostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

Genesis2:7

“…and you killed the Author of life, whomGod raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.”

Acts3:15

The glory of the gospel was intensified to me tonight afterconsidering these two verses side by side.

The War Cry of 2012

2012-01-02T12:30:00.000-05:00

Onething I was been made acutely aware of as I reflected on 2011 ismy lack of fight. Perhaps that is one reason why 2011 was rough for me.Going over my journals of 2011, I have come to realize the following things.

1. I did not fight to maintain a consistentquiet time.

Idid not enter 2011 with a plan to read the whole Bible. Nor did I set a timewhere I could consistently pray for an extended period of time on my own. I cantell you from experience, dear reader, that this was perhaps the greatest sourceof 2011’s woes. I promise you that if you do not have a plan for thesethings—the study of God’s Word and prayer--you open yourself up for immeasurable sorrow. I beg you, don’t learn this the hard way.

2. I did not fight for joy.

Iam a person who, for one reason or another, is more prone to anxiety anddepression than most. This would be abundantly clear to you if you read throughmy journals, particularly during this past year. This past year was filled withuncertainty, and therefore the conditions were perfect for the fruit ofanxiety.

Yeteven though I knew this about myself, I failed to set up the properdefenses—largely due to my lack of consistent quiet time. So instead ofaggressively fighting the absolutes of anxiety and depression (“this always happens”, “this will neverhappen etc”, “I’m always like…”, “I’ll never be…”) with the Word of God, Imade a practice of passively accepting them. I came to say things like “This is just how I am.” Further, I madepleas to God to get me out of depression, and yet continued in my neglect of consistent guarded study time.

3. I did not fight to love God.

Therewere several times throughout the year when I came to realize that my love forGod (and consequently for His church) had either waned or diminished. I mostlyblamed this on “just having and off day… week… month…” But I know that this isnot the case. Nor is it “God’s fault”. Reader, if you do not love God, the fault lies with you, not Him.

Idid not fight to incessantly come to the Word over and over until love once againemerged. I did not “fan the flame” that had dwindled. I did not fight to keepit alive. So towards the end of 2011, it looked quite like a pile of glowingembers. Only by God’s grace and perfect timing has the flame been re-ignited.This year, I am going to fight to fan it, kindle it, feed it. Rev 2:2-5 hasbeen very instrumental in that:

2“‘I know yourworks, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with thosewho are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not,and found them to be false. 3 I know you areenduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grownweary. 4 But I have thisagainst you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remembertherefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, Iwill come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

4. I did not fight to make God look good forothers.

Iwant my goal at Panera to be something more than “being a good example” or“being a good witness”. I need to fight to make God look good. Another way tosay this is to “glorify God”, but because that is such a common phrase, I use theprevious for greater effect. In my preaching, I don’t want to simplycommunicate truth—I want to awaken a thirst for Christ. I want Him in mypreaching and living to look more beautiful and life giving than a lake ofcrystal clear water in the middle of the Sahara. From my analysis of my 2011journals, this goal has not been nearly strong enough.

Andthus, reading 1 Timothy 6:11-12 today has made quite the impression on me. Itlept out of the page and smacked me in the face. I think I am awake now.

“11 But as for you, Oman of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love,steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith.Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you madethe good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

The pastor with whom I work, a man who I would call “my Paul”, sharedwith me throughout 2011 an increasing conviction of his that the Christian life istruly an offensive battle—not the defensive panic or passive apathy that somany paint it to be with their words and actions. I used to half-nod at such a statement and say “of course”.But today, by God’s grace, such a conviction grips me. My first journal entryof 2012 contains the following:

“Today, this second day of 2012, I preparefor all out war. The trumpet of 1 Timothy 6:12 has sounded, and God hasgraciously moved me to zealous response. 2011 was a year of trouble for me—ofweak armor, passive acceptance of woe and the neglect of my soul’s greatestneed. I vow to make 2012 a year of war—of offensive slaughtering of sin in mylife, of active fighting for joy, and pursuing at all cost my soul’s greatestneed and treasure. By God’s grace alone and for His glory. Amen.”

Planning Out 2012

2011-12-26T16:55:00.000-05:00

In the last six months or so, I have picked up quite a few lessons in time management. On a smaller scale, I have learned to plan out each week in my life. And on a larger scale, I have been able to plan out an entire year of adult Sunday School classes--length, curriculum, and teachers. But as I looked at churchleaders.com today, I realized that I was about to go into 2012 without a "life-plan"! I was not excited about that, so I read this post by Ron Edmonson. It is a series of 5 posts, but each one is short and sweet, and very helpful. He guides the reader through a very well-structured planning process. One thing I appreciated about this series is that Ron urges us to make a few, measurable, achievable goals. No more than 5, no less than three... and each needs to have specific steps in it.

After I went through this process, I actually felt much better about 2012, and I daresay more prepared and excited for it. In one of the posts in this series, Ron also urges the reader to share his/her plan. It is true that sharing our plans with others helps us see them through more often. So here is a rough draft of my 2012 plan:

Spiritually

1. Complete the discipleship journal reading program (6 days/week)

a. In personal study, the sermon on the mount.

2. Pray morning and evening—between 1 -2 hours total (6 days/week)

a. 7am pray for: preparation for the day, personal, immediate relationships

no internet until this is done.

b. 10 pm pray for: thanksgiving for day, church, missions

Physically

3. Complete my 16 week lifting program by the end of May

a. Continue to learn how to do lifts through January

b. Begin actual program in February.

c. at least 2 days a week (mon and thurs?) with another to run/swim

4. Go to bed by midnight and wake up by 7 every day (except day off)

a. granted work @ Panera might add 30 minutes to this (12:30-7:30)

5. Eat Healthier

a. Begin eating breakfast

b. Cut the mac n' cheese!

c. Limit pop drinking to twice a week.

So there you have it. Just a small example of what a plan might look like. I hope this post encourages you, challenges you, and equips you to go into 2012 with a plan yourself!

O Holy Night

2011-12-25T22:14:00.002-05:00

Imagineif you will the largest war scene ever (I think of the Lord ofthe Rings Helms Deep scene). The sky is black and stormy, periodically tornapart by a bolt of lightning and clap of thunder. The enemy makes its advanceupon its prey, ready to consume, ready to wash over all life with its sheersize of number. From far away, it would seem as a dark cloud across thelandscape. Drums boom and legions roar in bloodlust anticipation.

Closerand closer they come, the thunderous marching sounds overwhelming. The creaking and groaning of war machines produce a dull roar above the masses. Bit by bit it seems the very ground is swallowed up as they pass over it. Nothing couldpossibly stand against it. Nothing could possibly be victorious. Swords aredrawn, spears are lowered, bows are ready. The black banners and war drums signal imminent doom. The rulers, thecosmic powers over this present darkness, the spiritual forces of evil inch closer and closer...

But behold! A brilliant flash of light! In its radiant beam echo whispers of an ancient hope...

Has salvation arrived?

It begins with an infant on the front lines.

O, Holy Night!

5 Reasons Why I Detest Name-It-Claim-It Theology

2011-12-20T01:28:00.000-05:00

1. It elevates immediate benefit above God’sglory

To people thatcling to this concept, the idea that God would be glorified through theirsuffering is a very foreign (if not offensive) concept. As a matter of fact,physical suffering might be deemed something that does not glorify God, something that cannotglorify God. To them, it is only health and prosperity that glorifies Him. But this flies straight in the face of Christ’s suffering on thecross and the call to suffer with Him. (Rom 8:17, Heb 13:13)

2. It is a reeks of pagan thinking

"Name it claim it" theology has at its root a very new age type of teaching that could be expressedlike this: ”Whatever you want, pretend like it is already yours, and BOOM you got it." This is something we see particularly with movements like Wicca or “The Secret” made popular by OprahWinfrey.

3. It is preached by the misuse of Scripture.

One of the most commonmisuses of Scripture I see in conjunction with this theology, is Psalm 37:4 “Delightyourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Thisverse does not mean that God is ameans to getting what you want. Rather, it means that placing utmost delight inGod shapes your desires to His will. It means that the prayer requests emergingfrom such sanctified desires will be answered. Sorry reader, but God is notSanta Claus, and quoting this verse till you are blue in the face will not get you an ipad 2.

4. It is incredibly materialistic.

It is nosurprise that "name it claim it" has swept through this consumerist country. We want our stuff,and if any preacher says we can name it and claim it if we have enough faith,that sounds great. Not only are we provided a means to get what we want when wewant it (as false as that is), we are also given a means to make ourselves lookgreat—for if you follow the implications of this theology, the richest areindeed the most faithful in the world! And yet we have Christ saying such wordsas: “it is easier for a camel to gothrough the eye of a neddle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom ofGod.” (Matt 19:24) Which leads meto #5.

5. It means that the poor and the sufferingare unfaithful

When you readsuch a statement, you can understand why “name-it-claim-it” preachers oftenstay away from the book of Job. I currently have a friend my age in thehospital with a big surgery looming on the horizon. He feels pain. He issuffering. And yet he is demonstrating great faith. One of the first things hesaid to me was Romans 8:28. He acknowledged that even in the pain, God was andis working for good.

But according to“name it claim it” theology, he should notbe in the hospital any more. He should have said, “I receive your healingJesus” and be done with it. According to this theology, either he hasn’t prayedat all, or he hasn’t prayed “with enough faith”. He didn’t “just believe”,which must mean he is faithless, or he didn’t “claim it” yet, which must mean he is prideful.

One of the worstthings about this type of theology is that it causes you to place your faith inyour faith, rather than in Christ. It turns faith into some sort of wish power,and if you wish hard enough, God provides like a vending machine.

There are other reasons, but I keptit down to five. I will simply close now and leave with you a blanketstatement: “Name it claim it theology makes God a means to an end—my immediatebenefit—rather than all other things a means to an end—His ultimate glory.”

Reflecting the Giver

2011-12-01T10:35:00.001-05:00

Recentlyas I was driving home, I caught myself doing something very strange. I’m surethat if any other driver saw me, they would have either laughed really hard, orjust thought something was wrong with me. For some reason, I had a deep urge tosing “O Holy Night” to myself. However, as the music in my head intensified, sotoo did my singing. This exploded into an all out Josh Groban impersonation. Ibelted out those high notes like never before…

Thiscan only mean it is Christmas time.

ButChristmas time is a time for Christians to be especially conspicuous. Theopportunities for it abound. And we can be conspicuous in more ways than simplybelting out pop renditions of Christmas hymns in a car.

Weknow Christmas is all about Christ—but is it only about us coming togetherbefore the nativity scene with the cross looming in the background? Is itmainly rejoicing in God’s perfect gift of Himself for us? These are very important, but I also believe thatwe often miss out on another important aspect of Christmas—reflecting theGiver.

Nowyou may say, “Mike, of course we don’t miss out on that! We reflect the Giverby giving things to our friends and family!” And that is one way you canreflect the Giver… kind of.

ButI think there is an even greater way that we can more conspicuously reflect theGiver: by giving in the same way Hedid… and does. For God did not simply give blessings to “friends and family”.He gave Himself to enemies andsinners (you and I). Meditate on this type of giving and you will discover thegreat way to be a conspicuous Christian this Christmas season.

ThisChristmas season I dare you to givenot just gifts or well wishes, but yourself. Your time. Your energy. Yoursympathy. Sacrificing of your finances, your social status, your pride andprivilege. Give yourself to yourfamily by doing things around the house that you don’t normally do. Give yourself to the your church by choosingto mentor someone. Give yourself toyour co-workers by taking some of their hours so that they can go Christmasshopping (or spend time with their own families). Bring to work an unexpectedChristmas treat. Give yourself tostrangers—especially the downcast and helpless. These are just a few simple ideas, and I am sure you can come up withbetter ones—especially when you think of the people in your own life whom you mayfind difficult to love.

God gave Himself for sinners in the personof Christ—that is Christmas. This season, give yourself to others and do itin a way that points to Christ’s own giving of Himself. Further, do not limitit to family and friends, but extend it to the unloved, as He extended it toyou in gracious adoption. This season, be a conspicuous Christian and reflectthe Giver.

Welcoming Bloodlines With Eagerness

2011-10-03T02:08:00.000-04:00

Take a moment to reada bit about two cities…

The first city is St. Joseph. It isabout 90% white. There are plenty of middle and upper middle class suburbsthroughout the whole place. Churches are also plenteous—you can find fourchurches on one road in less than a mile stretch. The high school is nationallyrecognized for its arts program and is not too shabby as far as athletics areconcerned either. Most of the students there are “good kids”. Many of themwill, to their parent’s great joy, go on to the University of Michigan,Michigan State, Western Michigan University, etc.

The second city, Benton Harbor, is noticeablydifferent in many ways. This city is 90% black. The per capita income here isone of the lowest in the state. The average household income is close to$30,000 less than in St. Joseph. Around 40% of the population is under the poverty line. Education.comgave its main high school a 1 out of 10 when it compared the school’s statestandardized test results to those of other schools in the same state. Forpopulation 25 years and over, it is estimated that only a little more than 60%have a high school education or more.

There are certainly many noticeabledifferences between these two cities. But what is astonishing is theirlocation. These cities are not on separate ends of the state, or even thecounty. In fact, these two cities are rightnext to each other. There is only a small river that separates them.

Igrew up in St. Joseph. Yet even though these two cities were right next to eachother, I did not think very much about Benton Harbor at all. Further, I was noteven aware of the tension in the air during the rare occasion that Benton Harbor did come up in conversation. There was one time, though, when myelementary school did an art project with a Benton Harbor elementary school.The theme was something along the lines of “two communities coming together” or“bridging the gap”. But now, more than ten years later, the art still stands as a memorial to agood idea that never quite happened.

And even after that, I was not muchaware of the many differences until the issue was brought up maybe threedifferent times in high school. I did not care much about it though. I wasstill in the stage of life where I was planning on ditching the whole mess tolive in New York as a musician or something. But as I can recall, not manyother people cared either, student orteacher.

Oh sure, there is always the solemnexpression and shaking head followed by a sigh and a “Oh, that’s so sad.Something should be done…” But most often there seems to be a “that’s just howit is” attitude that comes with conversation regarding Benton Harbor.

To put it bluntly, racism is stillalive and well in southwest Michigan. It is in the “word of caution” I oncereceived when I told someone that I witnessed to a man at the salvation armyand got him lunch and a ride. It is when my now brother in law got pulled overon his way to Thanksgiving dinner at our house for no reason. It is in thesimple yet noticeable apprehension when driving through town and you hear theclick of the doors locking when you stop at a stoplight. And although most ofit is unvoiced, there are even somewords I hear that are absolutely astounding—from young and old alike. Wordsthat in any other setting would be immediately labeled as racist.

For quite a while now, questionslike these have been burning in my mind: “Ifthe churches in St Joseph and Benton Harbor are REALLY being what they arecalled to be, why are things still the way they are? Why do so many think thisis normal? Where is the breaking down of all barriers? Where is the beautifuldiversity? Where is the unity? Where is the hope? The reconciliation?”

And I have been convinced that whatthese two cities need most is for the church to be the church. Governmentprograms, community projects, and public awareness can only do so much. But itis the gospel alone that gives hope. It has been a topic that has brought continuousburning to my heart—just imagine how much glory God would receive if there werea radical gospel unity between the churches of these two cities! And though Ihave no idea what to do or how to get started, I am nonetheless searching. I amnot at all content with a “that’s how it is” answer.

Which is why you can imagine thejoy that flowed in my heart when I read a review by Juan R. Sanchez Jr.concerning the book that arrived on my doorstep on my birthday: Bloodlines,by John Piper. In the review, Sanchez writes:

“Americanshave been turning to organizations, education, famous personalities, andultimately government in an effort to address the ongoing racial strife in ournation…Today, we are left wondering why racial tensions have not abated. JohnPiper argues from specific biblical texts that the only solution powerfulenough to overcome racial strife and bring about reconciliation and harmony is thegospel of Jesus Christ.”

Iwill begin reading it this week and I hope to glean much from the thought outwords of a previous racist who was rescued by the gospel. It is my hope thatGod would use it to help guide and shape my thinking concerning a biblicalapproach to attacking racism etc, and I hope that God would use it as acatalyst to lead to many great things for His glory. Until I have finished and write my thoughts, here are twolinks. Click here to view an 18-minute documentary about John’s storyand some background as to why he wrote this book. Or, click here to buy the book itself.

23 Words for 23 Years

2011-09-27T01:22:00.002-04:00

Last year on this daymy birthday, I wrote down 22 words that came to mind after reflection on 22years of my life. But it seemed to miss specific purpose. So this year, I ambeing more specific and purposeful! I have written out a 23-word goal for this yearin my life. It is born especially out of a recent plateau stage where I foundmyself concerning my affections for God, His Word, and His people. It is one I willstrive to do by His grace for my good and His glory. The goal is:

“To cultivate a deeper attitudeof love, trembling, and hunger for God and His Word in my heart and in those Iserve.”

Thank you Lord, for bringingme to see another birthday.

A Little Encouragement Goes A Long Way

2011-09-26T19:21:00.001-04:00

Today was a gorgeous day. Autumn is here and the colors areexplosive. The sun was out, the sky was clear and there was a cool breeze eventhough it was also warm enough to have your windows open. And though theweather was enough to make anyone happy, I was happy for another reason: therediscovery of encouragement. For too long I have forgotten how to say thankyou for the “little things”. For too long I have forgotten that although peopledon’t need to be thanked, the thanksis a blessing and encouragement. For too long I have forgotten that although Ithanked someone a while ago, it doesn’t mean I can’t thank them again!

Encouragementis a beautiful thing, and yet it is something we often forget. We can sometimesthink that people who are good at things know they are good and don’t needaffirmation. Or we think that their work is fulfilling and they don’t need tohear a “thank you” or “good job” for something they have done (or are used todoing).

TheScripture that always has stuck with me concerning encouragement is Hebrews13:17. In it, the church is given a plea to “let (leaders) (watch over souls) with joy and not with groaning, for that would beof no advantage to you…” And this verse is just one of many that shows that theencouragement of one can do good for the whole body.

Now,the greatest encouragement a pastor can receive is in seeing the people heleads follow Christ in wholehearted devotion. But I have come to realize that asmall “thank you” or a card can also go a long way. So today I have anassignment for anyone who reads this post:

INTENTIONALLY thank at least threepeople this week. It could be your pastor. It could be a person who leadsSunday school for your kids. It could be your parents. Or it could be someone in your church who servesoutside the limelight faithfully and compassionately. Maybe you have beenthinking about encouraging someone for a while now but never got around to it.Here is your homework. Pick three people—it could be more too—and write them acard. Tell them how you thank God for their gifts, or their service, or theirexample of Christian character. Tell them how they have blessed you or yourchurch family. Share some Scripture with them!

…

What are you waitingfor? Get started!

Atmosphere Counts for Something

2011-09-20T23:53:00.001-04:00

TodayI went to lunch with a friend of mine. It was decided that we would eatsomewhere we never tried before. A place that was not well known like Qdoba orJimmy Johns. Rather, it was time for a nice small town experience.

Soafter a bit of driving, we pulled up to a quaint looking grill place. I had noidea what to expect, but my friend seemed pretty excited about the whole thing.He certainly had his share of expectations and I thought perhaps he had heard or read a good review.

Butwhat we experienced was far differentthan what we expected.

Itwas small and quaint looking. But little by little, I found myself unnerved, immersed in awkward, and perhaps a little bit afraid. From all the awkward silences and eye contact that communicated volumes, I ampretty sure my friend sympathized.

Itwas small, which is what we expected. It had some old style posters on thewalls and a lot of vintage looking things, again expected and even a bit appreciated.

Butthe very first thing I saw was a wild life show on a T.V in the corner where ascientist was looking at a random vermin’s teeth. Appetizing?

Second,there was a lack of greeting and or direction upon entering the place. Insteadwe were either ignored or briefly looked over. I felt like a cowboy entering aslightly hostile saloon.

Third,the back of the house behind the counter looked incredibly shifty and dark.Having worked at Panera, it was quite the stark contrast where you cannot evensee the food-or how it is prepared- at all.

Andfourth, the woman who took the order (and might’ve been the owner?) wasincredibly straightforward… blunt maybe… almost rude? Her tone of voice almost made me want to apologize for stepping in and ordering. Needless to say, therewas very little about the place that seemed customer friendly.

Then we sat down.

After recovering from a bit of the awkwardness and trying to make the best of things, we ate our food. Aswe ate and talked, the (owner?) came out onto the floor and began to talk quite friendly and loudly withsomeone who must’ve been a relative. His appearance and manner resembled Big Jule from the1955 movie Guys And Dolls. I also heard the phrase “old country” thrown about quite afew times. As a matter of fact, all the talking/noise making (there was a babybeing talked to also) proved to be pretty distracting.

Needlessto say, I’m pretty sure we won’t be going back.

Now,I am not about to say that church is just like the food industry etc. But Iam saying that as a pastor, that experience led me to think about theatmosphere of the church I serve. Do we scare people off even though we thinkeverything is just normal? Do people feel welcome at the church and do Iactively try to make it that way? Are we friendly or does it feel like we arebeing run by the mob?

Just a little eyeopener I thought I’d share.

Preach to Yourself

2011-09-17T22:42:00.002-04:00

WhenI have a bad week, I really have abad week.

Itstarts with bad things happening. Mostly at work. I may be given responsibilitythat I do not want yet nevertheless know I should accept joyfully. Perhaps one busloadtoo many of people piles into Panera. Or maybe a manager wrongfully scolds me one time too many. Or I might completely forget something important thatwas supposed to be done earlier in the week in the office… and the due date is up.

But it is not these things alone that constitute a bad week. Another integral part of the average bad week is how I often handle these things. Those who know me also know I amnot a fan of surprises. Nor I am not a fan of uncertainty,and I quickly forget that I was never meant to be omniscient.

But there is more. Not only do bad things happen. Not only do I handle them badly. But I also handle how I handle them badly.

After the heat of the moment, after “handling things badly”, I realize the weight of my sin and promptly tear myself to shreds, compounding the badness of the week.

(Perhaps the reader has just gained insight of my unceasing need of God's grace.)

So, likealways, I need a good dose of the Gospel. Tonight I take a minute to remindmyself of at least three things… and perhaps you need to do the same.

1. God uses tough things to shape us more likeChrist. Everything that happensthroughout the week is ultimately for my good and His glory—even if I cannotsee it.

a. Romans8:28-30 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together forgood, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom heforeknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in orderthat he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom hepredestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, andthose whom he justified he also glorified.”

2. No matter how I handle the things that come myway—even if I “handle them well”—without Christ, even the best handling of things is as a dirty rag. It is Christ’srighteousness that covers me. HIS.His righteousness is imputed to me by sheer grace. I have NONE besides His thatcan save. On one hand I cannot congratulate myself when I handle things well.On the other hand I must not despair when I drop the ball—as if my salvationwere actually dependant on how I handled everything.

a. Isaiah64:6 “We have allbecome like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a pollutedgarment…

b. Romans 3:21-26 “But now therighteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Lawand the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith inJesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all havesinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as agift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as apropitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’srighteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over formersins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might bejust and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

c. 2 Cor 5:21 ”For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him wemight become the righteousness of God.”

3. Rather than keeping a record of regret of everybad attitude and its many manifestations throughout the day, I should daily repent and move on.

a. Romans 6:20-23 “For when you were slaves of sin, you werefree in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that timefrom the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things isdeath. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves ofGod, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. Forthe wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesusour Lord.”

a. (See also Psalm 51)

These three things sound so simplesometimes. But I forget them way too often. And if you are are an honest human being, you probably do to. This is why we must preach thegospel to ourselves all the time. We never EVER lose our need for the gospel ofthe grace of God for us in Christ.

***Update***
Three of the most recent sources that have helped me learn how to preach to myself are these:
1. Note to Self by Joe Thorn
2. The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions by Arthur Bennet
3. Sermon: "Spiritual Depression in the Psalms" by John Piper

Panera Lessons: Leaders and Help

2011-09-16T12:33:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was aninteresting day. At lunch we had a semi-normal lunch rush, save one detail: abus came.

Now,I have been working at Panera for almost 8 months. I have experienced “thebus” multiple times. The wave of panic usually starts from the registers, where associates first see the bus and proclaim its arrival with a frenzied "BUS!!!". Fromthere the wave of panic sweeps down the line. By the time the word gets toeveryone, the 20-30 people are already making their way in. You tell yourselfeverything is going to be ok, but your heart is in your stomach.

Nowthe panic is not focused on the number of people alone. It also centers aroundthe clock. Every meal optimally is to be prepped in under three minutes. Toensure this time expectation, the screen in which the orders come in have threecolors. White= good. Yellow= hurry. Red= YOU ARE OVER 3 MINUTES!!!

Afull red screen = much stress. And usually this is what happens with a bus. Addto that the fact that I was responsible for sandwiches—my weakest area...

Butyesterday an amazing thing happened. A manager put on some gloves and said,“Where do you need me?” I blurted out “HERE!!!”

Soshe stepped on and helped out. And just like that, we divided the labor andcranked out sandwich after sandwich in no time flat. It probably wasn't much of a big deal for her. But I was brimming over with thankfulness.

Now,as a manager, one is in no way obligated to help out the associates. In fact,one might be able to argue that they are technically not supposed to. Mymanager could’ve retreated to the office and waited for the whole thing to blowover. She could’ve said, “I’ve been here for 6 years. I am above this.” But shedidn’t. She put on the gloves and got to work.

Butit was not only the event itself that impressed me. It was also the manner in whichshe helped that impressed me. She helped in a gracious manner. She didn’t say, “You are so slow on sandwiches,this shouldn’t be happening!” or anything of the kind. As a matter offact, her comments were helpful, directive, and even light hearted. Amidst allthe hustle and bustle she kept her cool and ensured that it was communicatedthat even though I am terrible at sandwiches, I am not altogether useless.

So,to the leaders who are reading. How are you doing? When it comes time to helpsomeone, do you put on the gloves or do you say, “This is beneath me, I’m out ofhere.” Do you complain about holding peoples’ hands as they struggle throughsomething that to you is second nature? Or do you help, starting with theweakest person first?

Andif you help, how do you help? Do you grumble? Do you whine and complain abouthow you “shouldn’t have to do this anymore”? Agood litmus test to help answer this question is to look at the leaders who are under you. Believeit or not, their weaknesses often mirror yours. Are they full of reluctance oreagerness? The answer to that question might reveal your own heart.

Butdo not use my manager as the ultimate picture of leadership. Look at Jesus.Take a moment to read three passages of Scripture and then use them to honestlyreflect on your own leadership. They are probably SUPER familiar to most everyone, so make a promise right now to not skip over a single word.

John13:3-5 “Jesus, knowing that the Father had given allthings into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied itaround his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash thedisciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”

John13:12-16 “When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumedhis place, he said to them, ‘Do you understand what I have done to you? Youcall me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, yourLord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’sfeet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as Ihave done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than hismaster, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.’”

Philippians2:3-8 “Do nothing fromrivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant thanyourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to theinterests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in ChristJesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God athing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant,being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbledhimself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

Asyou lead, no matter in what job or even in your own home, do you helpgraciously with Christ like humility and compassion? I am not asking you as aleader to be like my manager. That is far too easy. Do you lead like Christ?Would you be willing to wash your peoples’ feet? Be honest. Would you be ableto humble yourself to death?

Howabout when those you lead stumble and fumble around with things that are commonsense to you? Or the deadline and time limit are quickly approaching and they arestruggling to keep up? Or they just plain drop the sandwich all together?

Itwould be wise, leader, to take time to remember you are not perfect and look toSomeone Who Is. Someone Who is compassionate, and will help you to help othersby the power of His Spirit.

Panera Lessons: Always Be Ready

2011-09-13T16:30:00.003-04:00

Thetime is 3:30 p.m. The lunch rush at Panera, which promptly started three hoursago, has just concluded. The smell of freshly grilled turkey artichoke paninisstill lingers in the air. The line is depleted of sandwich and saladingredients. The soup containers are almost empty. The trash bags are full. Theannoying saxophone music is still blaring, and all the associates have a dazedlook in their eyes. The manager in charge heaves a sigh. It is time to restock our food, cleanup our areas, take out the trash, and prepare for the dinner rush that quicklyapproaches.

Thereare three associates who are “on the line”. One who makes sandwiches, one whomakes salads, and one who plates the orders and announces them. And a strangething happens when lunch rush is over and the traffic through the café is alight trickle. Everyone relaxes… a bit too much.

Sometimes,the person who makes salads will go on break. Or the sandwich person will takea bit too much time going to the back to bring out fresh supplies. But in these“in between periods”, there may be often one person on the line to doeverything for the few orders that come in. And though the orders are notnumerous, they build up FAST when there is only one person to make them all.

Whatis the worst is when a rush concludes, and as associates slowly, relaxingly clean, restock etc, a BUS comes into the parkinglot. The tired associates panic, the food isn’t all out, and the 30 orders willdefinitely not be prepared in theoptimal time goal we have set for us. Everyone will walk from that experienceeven worse than the first rush.

AsI experienced a bit of this “post-rush-breakdown”, I became pretty frustratedwith my fellow employees. I did not understand why some didn't get that you never knowwhat is going to happen and therefore need to work quickly and efficiently justas if the rush were happening.

Butoften times we do this in our own walk with Christ don’t we? After a difficultperiod or struggle, when some relief comes, we let down our guards a bit. Whenthe sun is shining and things are going well, we often just assume that nothingis going to happen and everything will be fine. Sure, we might give a littlethought to preparing ourselves for the difficult things to come… but thosethings seem so far off, and not much more than a mere possibility.

ThenWHAM, a big struggle comes our way and our sense of omniscience andself-security is challenged. We thought we had everything under control. And thejoy and peace that was rooted in our present circumstances is challenged. Inthe sunshine, we often let ourselves become undisciplined. We often letourselves dose off. And then we are surprised and caught off guard whendifficult things come our way.

Letus strive therefore to cling to Christ in all seasons—in periods of sunshineand darkness. Let us not let the peacefulness of present circumstances lull usto sleep, because we cannot tell the future. Let us run the race no matter hownice it is outside. Let us hunger for the Word even when we are not looking foranswers to difficult questions in difficult situations that demand an immediateanswer. When situations are dire, let us be desperate for Christ. And whensituations are peaceful, let us be desperate for Christ. Because no matter whatthe perceived circumstance may be—peaceful or not—our need for Him neverchanges.

Panera Lessons: The Coming Day

2011-09-10T18:04:00.002-04:00

I was lying there wide-awake. It was about 1:30 in themorning and I couldn’t sleep. Too many thoughts were running through my headabout the most simple of jobs—working at Panera. I thought about running to theback of the house to bring out hot soup. I thought about putting all the orders on plates andshouting out names as person after person would file past me from noon to 3. Ithought of the dread that hits when a bus pulls into the parking lot. A busfilled with hungry 20 something males. (Ladies teams are easy cuz all they wantis salad.) I thought of all the demands soon to be hefted on my shoulders by customers and managers alike. I thought of it all happening in just eight hours... 7... 6...

Ihad just finished working from 1 pm to 11:30 pm at Panera, and it was a rough day.Full red screens (long ticket times), running out of ingredients, the whole 9 yards. And I was wipedout. However, as much as I wanted to go to sleep, I could not stop thinkingabout the fact I’d be doing it again in 8 hours. I dreaded the comingnightmares that often haunted me between closing one night and working the nextmorning. I was absolutely possessed by my Panera ponderings, and sleep was notcoming.

Andthen it hit me.

Whyon earth should such a simple thing keep me awake at night? It is so little! Sosimple! So small! So soon to come and go. No, shouldn’t I be kept awake bysomething of more consequence and weight? A greater day to come?

Whenwas the last time thinking of tomorrow’s work kept you awake?

Whenwas the last time thinking of the day of the Lord kept you awake?

Dowe really think much about the second coming of Christ? I know there have beensome terribly misguided people doing that recently. They’ve made all sorts offalse predictions and led people astray and made Christians look bad… but whatabout the rest of us?

Read passages like Revelations 19,Matthew 16:24-28, 24:26-51, Philippians 3:20-21 and SO MANY OTHERS! Think aboutreceiving your glorified body. Think about the absolute destruction of sin andits pollution. Think about that scene where you see the elders casting their crowns and the angels trembling and hiding their faces. Think about what it will be like when you literally stand beforeChrist—when you see God Himself face to face. Think about what it will be like to give an account to him ofevery careless word. Think about what it will be like to be absolutelysurprised about who is or is not actually saved. Think about what this truth meansfor your best friend or spouse or child whom Christ does not know. Take some time tolet it actually sink in….

If you are to be kept up late atnight because of the anticipation of a coming day—let it be THE DAY that gripsyou.

Summer Reading (Actual) and Fall Reading (Hopeful)

2011-09-06T16:49:00.005-04:00

Well, much earlier I posted a summer reading list that I had hoped to finish by now. However, other books got in the way, and some are moved to my fall reading list instead!
What I ACTUALLY read this summer

1. On Being a Pastor (Prime & Begg)

2. Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cures (Lloyd-Jones)

3. Veneer (Timothy Willard and Jason Locy)

4. Note To Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself (Joe Thorn)

5. The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions (Arthur G. Bennett)

6. Recovering the Real Lost Gospel: Reclaiming the Gospel as Good News (Darrell L. Bock)

Now it is time to roll out my fall reading list. It will include the ones passed over during the summer.

1. Leading With Love (Strauch)

2. The Religious Affections (Edwards)

3. Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry (Piper)

4. Erasing Hell (Chan)

5. The Knowledge of the Holy (Tozer)

6. Institutes (Calvin)

We'll leave it at that for now. You never know what could change!

A Letter to College Freshman

2011-08-22T10:06:00.000-04:00

Dear College Freshman,

You are entering into quite a new stage of life now, if I may be so bold as to repeat the same statement you have been hearing since before the day you received your High School diploma. You are much more on your own now. And many of you are going away to college. Away from your familiar friends, away from your church community, away from your home and town. There is going to be a lot of change taking place over these next years, and let’s face it, you probably aren’t ready for it all. Some of you might still be panicking about a simple housing situation.

But here are a few things that may happen, and some words of advice for those situations.

First, there will be a social change. You will no longer be housing with your (responsible?) parents in your own room. You will be housing with MANY other people your age who more than likely have little to no restraint when it comes to the “moral” rule you were raised under. In college, premarital sex, drugs, and underage drinking abound ten times more than in High School. You will be tested.

Second, there will be academic change. Hopefully your high school will have prepped you for this, but maybe not. Many of the classes you are paying for will have no attendance check and you will hear of all the classes that you could never attend but still pass. But there will be more papers, more academic work than in high school (unless you are a music major in which case you will instead be ordered to practice 5+ hours a day). And most of the professors will not be particularly caring (especially the gen ed. ones).

Third, there will be a spiritual change. You may be someone who has lived off of your parent’s faith your whole life. By this I mean you assume that because you “grew up in a Christian home”, you are saved. If that is the case, you will most likely crash and burn, having been let out of the cage to do whatever you want away from them. This is a sad thing, and it happens all the time. You may be someone like me who for the last few years or so grew in cynicism, hatred, and bitterness for the church, for God, for your youth group etc. You have made your vow to leave and never look back and pursue your dream. You will of course, when you come home make it a point to tell people you are “looking for a church in the area” and simply “just can’t find one like home.” That will possibly give them enough to leave you alone until your next visit. If that is you, I pray God slaps you around as He did me. You may yet be one who is very excited about the prospect of ministry on a college campus. You are already hooked up with a Christian student group and wanting to get involved more for God’s glory. To this I say good for you! However, as is the case when many Christians from different backgrounds come together, you may hear/see/experience things that are alien to your own upbringing. You know what to do—weigh everything according to Scripture. Don’t rely on your own upbringing to be without error. And look at all you are taught and shown by others in light of Scripture. Don’t be afraid to speak with people about the differences. Don’t be afraid to change.

For, in all of these things—you will change one way or another. But the Word of God stands forever.

That’s right: you are the one who changes. Not God. Your surroundings will change, your friends will change, your decided major will change, your LIFE will change—but God and His Word are unchanging and solid.

Your classes will change. Your public universities will challenge you on your beliefs, labeling “faith” as anything from anti-intellectual to just plain dangerous with more heat than you ever experienced in high school. Peoples’ expectations for you will change. Maybe even your own parents will encourage you to get on track to achieving the American Dream as fast as you can.

But God and His Word are unchanging and solid.

So, dear student, let nothing be your anchor as you go through this change-filled period but God’s Word. Do not rely on your relationships—old or new—to “get you through”, nor your ability to make friends. Do not rely what a vast majority of your peers rely on—fun, entertainment, workaholicism, booze, significant others, parties, and money. Do not even rely on your academic prowess.

Change is good. Don’t get me wrong. But if you place your trust in a foundation that changes, you will be unstable and you will fall and it will hurt. A lot. Trust in God. Seek wisdom and knowledge from Him. Seek help, comfort, and energy from Him. In the midst of all change, hold fast to Him, for He alone is unchanging and His Word and His Love endure forever.

*** update,

Again by God's providence, He provided yet another blog post (4 minutes after I wrote this one) which is very beneficial and directly addressing the same audience I address in this post. Where I simply wrote about change and the fact that our unchanging God must be our foundation, Jeff Brewer writes fifteen ways to nurture our faith, and also demonstrate that our anchor is not of this world. It is nice and short, so give it a read!

Mennonites at the Beach

2011-08-17T14:27:00.003-04:00

You can meet all sorts of colorful people at the beach. The Mennonites are no exception.

That’s right, the Mennonites.

Today I decided to have lunch at the beach. It is a hike, but a rather refreshing one. But something remarkably different greeted me at the beach today. As I approached my favorite spot, I saw a cloud of pastel dresses, dark slacks, plaid shirts, and head-coverings. At first I thought someone was just having a wedding or some church had decided to meet on Wednesdays at noon rather than Sunday morning… but as I got closer, I figured they were actually Mennonites in full garb. And they were doing things I didn’t think Mennonites did! They played some mean volleyball, they chased each other up and down the beach and they even dove and frolicked in the water—dress and all.

And it was a truly breathtaking community. They were beautiful.

Everyone spoke to one another. Not one person was off by himself. The entire time I was there, not one fight broke out amongst the kids. Not one person was tinkering on a smart phone. Both men and women actually played with their kids. And of course there was the visual display of their serious regard for purity and modesty.

If a few smiling souls had walked over to me asking me to join, I might’ve said yes.

As I observed, I could only think “This is how the church should be.” I’m not kidding. When people look at the church—they should see serious regard to purity and modesty. They should see a people who are fully content to be different from the world. They should see a treasuring of family that annihilates any distraction a smart phone could provide.

I’m not saying all Christians should wear head coverings and dark slacks to the beach. I’m not saying we should be Mennonites. But I do think of all things, the church should be a people that others look at and say “Wow. That is beautiful.”

Youth Groups and Spiritual Orphanship

2011-08-11T09:44:00.004-04:00

Imagine a delivery room. One of the most humble, tense, precious, and beautiful rooms in the hospital. There are little inspirational posters of moms cradling babies that say “Say hello!”. There is a big inclined bed for the mother and gas or air provided in whatever machine they use for pain relief.

The mother and father are together going through what must be one of the most painful things in their lives. The anticipation is high, the dad’s hand is getting a bit worn out as the doctors move through the process calmly and professionally. There are people waiting to see the newborn. They have prayed for a while over this new son, daughter, cousin, niece, nephew, grandson or granddaughter. They long to see that baby.

And at last, the baby is born—a healthy small lump of precious helplessness. Perhaps you parents remember the joy of holding that baby for the first time ever. You remember staring into those beady eyes for the first time. You remember the moment you gave him/her the name he/she would be called forever. You remember the breathlessness and “wow this actually happened” thoughts flying in your head. Here you are cradling the life you carried with you in your arms, what tiny hands and feet!

But let us say that after a brief celebration with friends and family, the couple hands the baby to the doctors and walks out of the hospital.

They might visit every now and then to see how the child is doing.

They might take him home for a little bit to try raising him themselves.

They might call and worry about him if he starts struggling a little bit.

But they won’t be his parents.

What is wrong with this picture? Are you not appalled at such laziness? Are you not enraged at the tragic picture of yet another abandoned child? Are you not wondering what on earth it is that keeps the parents from raising their newborn child?

But this type of thing happens all the time in the church, particularly in youth groups. Parents rejoice at the new birth of their children. They praise God for saving them. They buy them their very own bibles. They beam bright smiles in the congregation. They take video of the baptism.

Then they send their child to youth group and place the responsibility of all spiritual growth, development and discipleship on the youth pastor.

They are “too busy” to be parents.

They are “too worried about their inexperience” to be parents.

And they produce a spiritual orphan.

Yes, God is our Abba Father. We are not orphans in His eyes. He is the father to the fatherless. But that is not what I am talking about. What I am talking about is the audacity of any parent to place all responsibility of discipleship and spiritual leadership in someone else’s hands—someone who might see the child once, twice or three times a week.

Parents, you say, “I would never let my child be an orphan.”

Do you think that letting them be a spiritual orphan is any less heinous?

The first step in making your child a spiritual orphan is assuming that “youth group is enough”.

***

UPDATE: By God's sovereignty, just minutes after I closed my window for this blog I saw that the gospel coalition posted a blog on this exact thing. If this post has stirred something in you, I urge you to go read theirs (click here), which is far better and certainly more beneficial.

Resonating Words from Stott

2011-08-02T22:10:00.000-04:00

I find it incredible that only a little over three years since I first became aware of a call to pastoral ministry, I would come to read these words written by John Stott (recently passed away July 27^th) in a letter to his father explaining his pursuit of his call. They resonate very deeply with me, for they reflect my own sentiments pretty much word for word.

“Obedience to my call. Whatever you may think of it, I have had a definite and irresistible call from God to serve Him in the Church. During the last three years I have become increasingly conscious of this call, and my life now could be summed up in the words ‘separated unto the gospel of God.’ There is no higher service; I ask no other.”

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Oh, To Pray Like This!

2011-07-19T11:49:00.001-04:00

For a while now, there has been an increasing desire in my heart for a deeper "prayer life". There have been many things leading up to this—a few of them being the gaining pastoral responsibility, a study of the Lord's prayer, and the renewed fight to be a more disciplined person in all matters—spiritual especially.

I had heard for a while that the book, "The Valley of Vision" was a great prayer resource. But it wasn't until yesterday that I finally got a copy.

And I must say, I am blown away by the depth, sincerity, theology and doxology of these prayers. I WANT to pray like this and think like this. And I will continue to work to such an end, by God's grace.

Here is one of the prayers from the book. I hope it stirs your interest!

Grace in Trials

Father of mercies, hear me for Jesus' sake.

I am sinful even in my closest walk with thee; it is of thy mercy I died not long ago;

Thy grace has given me faith in the cross by which thou hast reconciled thyself to me and me to thee, drawing me by thy great love, reckoning me as innocent in Christ though guilty in myself.

Giver of graces, I look to thee for strength to maintain them in me, for it is hard to practice what I believe.

Strengthen me against temptations.

My heart is an unexhausted fountain of sin, a river of corruption since my childhood days, flowing on in every pattern of behavior;

Thou hast disarmed me of the means in which I trusted, and I have no strength but in thee.

Thou alone canst hold back my evil ways, but without thy grace to sustain me I fall.

Satan's darts quickly inflame me, and the shield that should quench them easily drops from my hand:

Empower me against his wiles and assaults.

Keep me sensible of my weakness, and of my dependence upon thy strength.

Let every trial teach me more of thy peace, more of thy love.

Thy Holy Spirit is given to increase thy graces, and I cannot preserve or improve them unless he works continually in me.

May he confirm my trust in thy promised help, and let me walk humbly in dependence upon thee,

For Jesus' sake.

Preaching Praying Pastor

2011-07-07T23:23:00.003-04:00

During the past months, I have had my focus increasingly drawn more and more to the importance of prayer. Here are a few things that have been instrumental in this.

1. At Moody Bible Institute, there was an atmosphere of prayerfulness with many manifestations. We would pray at the beginning of every class (sometimes at the end too). There would be times when all classes would cease and we'd all pray together. Prayer meetings were held often. Students would be found praying for each other randomly on campus. I’d hear that such things as "the reason why the church of South Korea is exploding is because they are a people marked by prayerfulness."

2. The theme of the last winter retreat I helped out with centered on the importance of prayer.

3. As I interviewed twice as part of my application to Bethlehem College and Seminary, I was blown away by how prayer-filled the conversations were.

4. Our own sermon series drips with prayer, from analyzing the Paul's prayers for Ephesus to focusing on prayers place in our spiritual war.

5. We are currently going through a class on prayer in our adult’s equipping class.

6. We will be diving into the Lord’s Prayer in a four week sermon series coming up.

And so much more…

But one thing that REALLY brought home the importance of prayer is a verse from Scripture. Acts 6:2-4

“²And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. ³Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. ⁴But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

It was the verse four that got me.

The first thought that comes to mind when I hear the words “pastor, leader, shepherd”, is that of a man who preaches and teaches the Word of God. And certainly, an overseer must be “able to teach” (1 Tim 3:2). But isn’t it amazing that the twelve specifically devoted themselves to the ministry of the word AND prayer?

When I prepare a sermon, I put a lot of effort into it. I chew on the text, I wrestle with the text, I pray over the text, I follow the flow of the text, I think about ways I can communicate the text in a fresh way while staying faithful to it, I pray for it to be a reality in my life and in the lives of the people who will hear it, etc. Sermon prep takes hours. And when Sunday morning comes around, I find it best to be on my knees at least an hour beforehand in desperate and dependent prayer for the filling, guidance and power of the Spirit.

And that is not including the time put into personal study, studying interesting questions etc.

So… a lot of time goes into what the twelve call “the ministry of the word.” And with all the time put into “the ministry of the word”, it would seem that it has a degree of importance in my life.

But what of prayer? Certainly, I do pray. I do believe and have believed that prayer is very important. I know that a relationship needs communication, and when we stop praying, we put our relationship with God on hold. I believe much about the importance of prayer.

But what Acts 6:2-4 asks me is this: do I view and treat prayer—intercessory, personal, etc—on the same level of importance and effectiveness as the ministry of the word? When I preach, I expect God to work through “the ministry of the word” in marvelous ways. But do I believe He will work through prayer just as much… even if no other person besides He and myself hears my words?

Do I approach prayer with the same feeling of weightiness as I do the ministry of the word from the pulpit? Do I approach it just as mindful of my pastoral responsibility as I do when I look out over the congregation and open my mouth to speak? Do I fully understand that prayer indeed must precede the ministry of the word, for if I do not ask for wisdom and power from the Spirit, my comprehension will be extremely limited, or worse, misdirected?

To be honest, I will say that far too often, the answer is “no”. There are times when I write down a prayer request and forget it just a few hours later. There are times when I am asked to pray and I don’t particularly feel like praying. And the danger we all face is that when prayer is as easy as it is, we tend to take it for granted.

But this text has sure convicted me, and it has also inspired me to actively pursue change. I want to plan prayer out more, and I want to grow in my prayers. It is my prayer that the Spirit would continue to mold me and nurture my prayer life. There is always so much room for growth.

When I hear the word “pastor”, I don’t want my first thought to merely be that of a man who preaches and teaches. I want to immediately think of a man who is continually on his knees in prayer. And I myself want to be more of a preaching-praying pastor.

Prayer for a Pastor

2011-06-27T14:25:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, I assumed the privilege of the call to serve at Oakridge Baptist Church as “discipleship pastor”, an associate position of sorts. It has been an exciting and interesting process to experience, and I am excited to serve in such a capacity. I am eager to see how God will grow me, and I am eager to see how He will grow His church.

But the point of this blog is not to lay out a yearly plan for you. Nor is it to communicate my excitement to serve (though I am VERY excited). It is rather a sincere appeal for your prayers.

When I attended a conference back in 2008, a speaker closed his message with an appeal that has always stuck with me. “Pray for your pastor.” He went on to explain the fact that the world hates them, that Satan hates them vehemently, and that they go through so much. I believe it is the most glorious calling, but I also believe it is the hardest. My heart was seized with an urgency to always pray for pastors, and also to encourage and serve them as much as I could. From that moment it was especially impressed on my heart to help them serve “with joy”. (Heb 13:17)

But today, though I will not stop praying for pastors (and my senior pastor, Nick Jackson), I now find myself as a pastor in need of much prayer. So I sincerely ask you to pray for me. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it is a good start:

1. Humility: The Word of God is filled with passages that condemn leaders who “lord it over” the flock. Pray that I would be the servant of my people. Pray that I would serve them in a Christ-like fashion—that I would not only serve, but also lead those I serve to serve. Pray that I would always be a learner—that I would never think of myself as one who has “arrived”, nor communicate such to others. Pray that I would never think myself “strong enough” for ministry, but always weak enough for it.

2. Character: In 1 Timothy 3:1-7, all but one of the requirements for an elder are concerned with his character. Pray that I would be a 1 Timothy 3 man. Pray through those verses, as I often do. Pray that I would remain “above reproach” and that I would not put myself in a situation where the testimony of the gospel could be compromised.

3. Compassion: I have read many accounts where a pastor becomes bitter toward his people. And because I am an ordinary man like any other, I too will surely be tempted to negative feelings toward those I serve. Pray that I would always remember that those I serve are washed in the blood of Christ and are therefore ALWAYS to Him most precious.

4. Courage: It is an incredibly weighty responsibility to keep watch over souls as one who will have to give an account (Heb 13:17). Anyone who knows me knows that I am not naturally a bold man. I am prone to anxiety and prone to “sweat the small stuff”. Pray that I remember that I have not a spirit of fear, but one of boldness. Pray that I would pay more attention to my God-given responsibilities than people’s expectations of me. Pray that if I am to confront someone, I may not shrink in fear of their reaction.

5. Criticism: This is directed not toward me, but for the people I serve. Only a few hours after I became the discipleship pastor at Oakridge, I heard these words from a congregant: “Now that you are called ‘pastor’, every move you make will be scrutinized.” Pray that I would be able to communicate that pastors are not perfect, and pray that the church would be guarded from unreasonable expectations. Pastors are certainly called to be exemplary. But nowhere did Paul say, “An overseer must be perfect in all these.”

6. Protection from Burnout: Some of the most tragic stories I have ever heard were of burned out pastors and missionaries. Pray that I do not become like them. That I would have discipline to not tire myself out. Pray that I would have discernment to know what I should say “no” to. And pray that I would have direction in my ministry, that I would seek to grow rather than maintain it. Most of all, pray that I would not lean on my own pathetic mirage of strength, but on Christ the solid rock.

7. Steadfastness in the Word: Pray that I would not depart from the Truth ever. Pray that I would study it, obey it and teach it. Pray that I would be corrected of any false word spoken. Pray that my ministry would be gospel centered. Pray that I would hunger for the Word more than my daily food.

8. My Relationship With Christ: This is most important. If my relationship with Christ stagnates, wanes, or becomes a shallow thing, then I will not be able to serve the church. Robert M’Cheyne once said, “My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.” And though I believe their greatest need is Jesus, I understand this sentiment. Without Christ, I am nothing. Plain and simple.

I thank you in advance for your prayers. I know that they are powerful, and I know that God will use them mightily, not merely for myself, but for His church and His kingdom purpose.

In Christ,

Pastor Mike

Why Christ is Not Happy With "Gay Marriage"

2011-06-25T09:27:00.002-04:00

The state of New York has decided to allow gay marriage after a 33-29 vote in the senate. President Obama is “evolving” toward supporting it. And celebrities—America’s biggest culture makers—are celebrating everywhere. One certain celebrity, Alec Baldwin, went as far as to invoke the name of Christ—in argument with a person who said gay marriage was "against Christianity". He said in his twitter argument: “It’s all cool honey. Jesus is down with the gay marriage thing. He called me. In fact, he’s very happy.”

But there is a problem with all this “gay marriage” hulabaloo—it simply is not marriage, plain and simple. According to the Word of God, it cannot exist. Whatever we call it—no matter its social, financial or political implications—it is not marriage.

What you will not get from this me is a long rant about “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve”, one of the most iconic statements of bumper sticker Christianity in existence. My point is not to argue from the creative order alone, but to argue from the fact that the creative order points to a greater reality—a reality that is skewed when the creative order is ignored, or worse, despised.

Ephesians 5:22-33 is a passage I had the great privilege to preach from recently. In it, Paul speaks of the relationship between a husband and his wife. This is a text that has largely been abused, and it is surrounded by much tension due to the fact that it is so incredibly counter-cultural. But as a matter of fact, it was counter cultural ever since its original address to the church in Ephesus, a place in which one of the most prevalent religions celebrated the rule of women and the emasculation of men.

But something incredible happens as Paul expounds on marriage. In Ephesians 5:31, he quotes Genesis 2:24: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” And then he writes, “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”(Eph 5:32)

This tells us that marriage was not planned as an end in itself. The incredible unity between a man and a woman in marriage is not “just because”. Rather, it serves as a great and glorious picture or metaphor for the relationship between Christ and the church! Further, it is clear from Paul’s communication to husbands and wives that the relationship between the church and Christ both informs and is glorified by the relationship between a wife and a husband.

That is the main reason why I believe “gay marriage” is not marriage at all. That is why I call it “sin”. Yup, I said it—the “s” word, get mad at me if you will.

What I will venture to say is this: if the main argument from Christians opposing gay marriage is “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve”, then Christians have fallen very short of representing their supposed beliefs. In simply defending the picture and not the reality it points to, a Christian’s defense has no purpose. (This is why I often cringe when I hear the bumper sticker phrase. It demonstrates the fact that one is not thinking deeply about marriage at all).

Yes, gay marriage goes against the creative order. Yes, God—not man—created marriage. Yes, God created marriage to be between a man and a woman. But if you leave it at that, “gay marriage” does not go exclusively against Christianity. It also goes against Judaism. No, to say to Alec Baldwin “Gay marriage goes against Christianity” is to invoke the name of Christ! You need to know why it goes against Christianity. It goes against Christianity because at the center, gay marriage skews the picture of the relationship between Christ and the church. To put it in other words, it skews the truth of the gospel, which is the center of Christianity.

So, Christians, when you speak of the reasons why you are “against gay marriage”, do not simply invoke creative order or “the importance of family structure”. In doing so, you glorify creation and family, but you don’t glorify Christ. Speak the gospel. Say that if you were to support gay marriage, you would support the skewing of the gospel—that “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” (Eph 5:25-27)

Yes, in response to Alec Baldwin, I certainly say that Christ is not pleased that the creative order is violated in “gay marriage”. “For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…” (Col 1:16) But I would go on to say that the reason He is not pleased is that it warps, distorts and skews that which was created to represent the relationship between Himself and His church.

May the Christian community rise to this challenge, for it is not only when we lose sight of “creative order” that we lose the purpose and meaning of marriage. It is when we lose sight of the gospel itself.

Christian, when you defend marriage, PREACH THE GOSPEL.

Wrestling With Distance in Prayer

2011-06-21T12:33:00.001-04:00

I was sitting in a Sunday school class that focused on the topic of prayer. It was going very well, and we wrestled with many truths, such as praying in times of suffering in light of commands such as “rejoice in everything”.

But towards the end of the class as we closed with a few minutes of discussion, something was said that made me squirm in my chair. It went something along the lines of this: “When we see God, prayer will be unnecessary.”

I believe that this exposed a faulty thinking of prayer that we often have, and that I no doubt had before.

I don’t think that there would be much pushback in saying that we often feel like prayer is writing a letter to a God instead of speaking directly to Him. This leads to a belief that prayer is merely a supplemental communication line with God until we physically see Him.

But in light of passages like Ephesians 2:18 (For through [Christ] we both have access in one Spirit to the Father) we know that speaking to God should be more amazing than it often feels. The Word speaks of access to God through Christ in a way that tells us that we REALLY ARE TALKING TO GOD. There is no two-second delay from our lips to His ear. There is no letter writing, no strange cosmic distance a prayer must travel. But He is with us and in us and for us in Christ. This is direct access.

But why does prayer often feel distant rather than direct? Those who follow the above thinking would say that the main “problem” is that we cannot see God. If we saw God, then our communication with Him would certainly be direct. Therefore, prayer is something that is a supplemental communication line with God until we see Him.

But although physically seeing God will change how we communicate with him, there is another truth that we should not pass over lightly when we analyze the distant feeling of our present prayers—the truth concerning our sin.

Certainly, when we enter into heaven, we will see God. But we must not forget that we will also be conformed to Christ’s image.

There will be no sin in our lives that leads us to struggle with the feeling of distance in prayer. I believe that the feeling of distant prayers will not be fixed only by seeing God, but by being conformed to the image of Christ. This centers the “problem” on our sinfulness rather than God’s invisibility.

When we pray, we should not think of God as distant or far off… rather we should seek to hold fast to the truth that in Christ we DO have direct access to the Father. When we pray, we speak to Him with as much instant and direct access as if we physically saw Him.

The difference between our communication with God now vs. when we get to heaven may not be so much that He will suddenly be closer to us—removing some need to “write a letter”—but that we will be conformed to His image and, being unhindered by any trace of sin, able to truly know His immanence.

Feel free to leave comments! I no doubt will continue to wrestle with this concept some more. I certainly have not "arrived". But I do believe that the feeling of distance in prayer cannot be explained in a way that makes God somehow less accessible than if we saw Him physically.

Veneer, by Willard and Locy

2011-06-14T12:24:00.000-04:00

Recently I finished a book called “Veneer” by Timothy Willard and Jason Locy (which is not on my summer reading list). It is a book that addresses the shallowness of our society, and while it was not exceedingly deep itself, it brought up quite a few valid points.

During the first half of the book, we look at two great factors of our shallow society: consumerism and social consumption.

One danger in our consumeristic society is to let what we have define us. We want to send a message when we get that new watch, car, book etc. “We errantly think that by enhancing the physical, we will be able to find or communicate who we are in this great big world.” (25)

Yet while we automatically may think of celebrities with their big houses, nice cars and over the top expenses, this book brings the issue back home to us. It is true that we often think of the superlatives—the people who are “most shallow” or “most expensive” or whatever else. But the thing is, we often possess the same “consumeristic” attitudes as them, and if put in similar circumstances as them, we might very well do the same.

This is not helped by the fact that our society is itself driven by consumerism. The ads are really all around us if you think about it. Rarely is the message a simple “try this” or “this is a shoe, it will protect your feet” etc. Rather “to be successful, brands must understand deep psychological matters like ‘yearning to belong, needing to feel connected, hoping to transcend, desiring to experience joy an fulfillment.’” Interesting that brands and advertising target our deepest concerns and only meet our simple needs: food, clothing etc. They do not give what they promise.

This book also brought up a valid point that much of our relationships seem so shallow because our “friends” are all just some collection on facebook. If facebook were a country, it would be the third largest in the world. I myself am a facebook user, but after reading chapter 4, I was much less inclined to log in and let the world know I was reading a book. This quote hit me too much to be left out. Read it carefully.

“From our couch, we fade into the invisible, people devoid of tangible interaction, our real actions glossed over with pithier status updates, our pictures self-curated, our wall-posts filled with trite comments. We miss the nuance, the intricacy, and the beauty of real, in-person social interaction. In the end, the web offers only feel-good shots of experience. We’ve fallen asleep in the land of handshakes and eye contact and walks on the beach and awakened in a world where humans look like products in an online shopping cart—downloadable, browse-able, clickable, even deletable.”

More than ever, we feel connected with each other. But browsing data does not produce relationships. Our lives become strewn about the web. Fragmented. People encounter online life-widgets, but they don’t see the grit; they see only the façade we hoist up for all to see. Our life story, a mini-wiki page: bookmarked, filed, accumulated. Our avatars and profiles look like splinters of who we really are. At the end of the day, we can close our relationships as we close our laptops, untouched and unmoved by the lives of others.”

After looking at problems like consumerism and social consumption, the authors lead us to understand how these things do not give what they promise. They do not cure our problem or meet our needs.

“We can connect with anyone on the planet, but we still suffer from depression and loneliness. We can amass billions of dollars, yet our cities swell with the homeless and impoverished. People still murder and get sick and leave their spouses. Society could build a tower that reaches to the moon if it wanted, but it will never mend all the broken pieces of the human race.”(95)

So how is the church supposed to address these issues? Our authors make it a point that “Unfortunately, many churches don’t offer an alternative to these expectations; they capitalize on them.”(102). The flashy lights, the sensory experience that leaves you craving more, the talk of relationship and meeting all imaginable needs, the self help and motivational speeches… it’s true. “When we make worship a sensory experience, we devalue its authenticity.”(129)

But the entire second half of the book is devoted to point to a better way—to look upon the character and Word of God. Its aim is to show us that we are relational beings because God is relational and we are created in His image. He is a holy community of Father, Son and Spirit—perfectly existing without any dependence on creation for relational fulfillment. Its aim is to show us that true love is not based upon what we have, or look like, or do—which is demonstrated perfectly and marvelously in the gospel.

I recommend this book heartily to people who want to understand more about the work of deep relationships, or even how our community is to look radically different than the superficial, shallow, veneered society around us. It is not a difficult read. Though it is 262 pages long, the font is HUGE. It is cross-centered, yet it isn’t soaked with theological professor language. It speaks of the important heart issues without arousing despair. It challenges and encourages the reader to truly go against the culture of veneer and pursue intimate and vulnerable relationships. If the church took its message seriously, there would be quite an amazing change in the way we approach God, the way we approach culture, and the way we testify to the gospel in community.

Panera Lessons: Responsibilities and Communication

2011-06-10T10:47:00.000-04:00

Wow, it has been a full month since my last blog. Sorry about that. Things have really picked up pace the past couple months, and you might find out why next blog. I am trying to keep up with things, and I am fighting to keep the important things as first priority. Sorry, the blog is not up there.

But I’ll try to continue it when I can!

Today, I have another Panera Lesson (yes, I am still working there). Although the honeymoon phase is definitely over, I can still take home some good lessons, like the one I relearned yesterday.

At Panera, there are a multitude of jobs. For an associate like myself, there are a few options:

1. The Line (make and present salads, sandwiches, and soups)

2. Dining Room (clean tables, chit chat, take dishes back and change coffee)

3. Dishes (wash dishes and take them to the line)

4. Prepping (cut, slice, dice and prepare food)

5. Register (greet and take orders)

Yesterday, I was sent to the dish area. I love the dish area namely because it is not as fast paced or panicked as the line can be. But it was a little different that day. We had swarms of customers. And when such an event occurs, every one is stretched to the limit as they try to offer food that is both speedily and well prepared.

However, a dishwasher in this situation might be presented with duties from other jobs, namely because the other workers can’t handle it at the moment due to the rush. The dishwasher might be asked by the line to keep soups stocked or bring soups out to the line. He might be asked by the dining room to change trash bags, take out coffee or bring back dishes himself. Along with other miscellaneous tasks.

And although this may temporarily help the other workers, in the long run it hinders them because the dishes aren’t being done, and as they slowly run out of dishes, they will become more stressed.

I have been in both places: the team that burdens the dishwasher and dishwasher himself. And in both places I have thought, “Wow, churches can be exactly like this!”

Think about it. In the church there are a multitude of ministries. Deacons do their thing, boards do their thing, secretaries do their thing, the pastoral staff does their thing, Sunday school teacher do their thing, small group leaders do their thing.

But what happens when one person (or a few people) gets asked to do things that other ministries/people should be responsible for? The answer is that though the need is temporarily met, it could create more stress further down the line for everyone.

The Sunday school teacher who is asked to also take on a small group might get burned out. The Deacon who also leads music while teaching Sunday school might neglect his family. The pastoral staff member that also teaches Sunday school, leads a small group, preaches on Sunday, does janitorial duties and secretarial duties might become the tired one man show.

The problem is that there are churches like this everywhere. Churches with people doing too many things—things they should not have to do, or things they are not gifted to do. People “on the outside” see a bunch of tired churches and wonder where the life is.

So, how can churches “during lunchtime rush” operate well? A few suggestions from a noob:

1. Do not overuse the active members:

a. There are people in every church who seem more prone to the “superman complex” and thus very willing to do whatever you ask. While their willingness may be a refreshing blessing, do not take advantage of it. Let them channel their willingness through an appropriate amount of work and not through every ministry in the church.

2. Leaders- Stick to your own job:

a. At Panera, it is such a marvelous break when a manager helps on the line. Something about them just enables them to work lightning fast. You see this especially on “the line”. They can decrease a line of waiting customers to one or two people in just a couple minutes. But they do not do this all the time. That is not their job. So, in seemingly emergency moments, they step in and help out—but they know when a team can take it from there. And they do not create the expectation that they will be available every time a huge line appears.

3. Members/Fellow Workers- Stick to your own job:

a. You know your limits more than anyone else. Be realistic with yourself. And if someone asks you to do more than you can handle, kindly ask them to ask someone else. At Panera, when I had a mountain of dishes built up because I was doing other things, I was asked to do “one more thing”. It was then that I asked the person to ask someone else. No offence, no anger. Just understanding. Fellow team members and leaders will have to be understanding.

4. Do not pass the buck out of laziness.

a. When I was submerged under a mountain of dishes, I was asked to do a duty that belonged to a member of the line. However, lunch rush was clearly over, and they had enough time to do it themselves. I felt devalued as a fellow worker. And I felt that they didn’t take their own job seriously. The same applies to ministry. If a small group leader or Sunday school teacher asks someone else to lead/teach a meeting (or two or three) so he can go chill at the beach, it devalues both his ministry and the person he throws it on. (Yes I understand people need breaks, but if they are clearly doing fine, this is unacceptable.)

5. Communicate:

a. Communication is so incredibly important in the church. Communication between leaders and members, members and members, etc. If a church’s communication is weak, the church will be weak.

b. Leaders, seek to clearly communicate your expectations. Do not take them for granted. Do not think that the people under you will magically share the same ideas and expectations as you. Get it down on paper and make sure they are understood. Also communicate what you will and will not do to help out.

c. Members, seek to clearly communicate what you can and cannot do. If you are asked to shoulder multiple responsibilities and you cannot do it, don’t. Do not take on the responsibility “just to make the leader happy”. At the same time, be prayerfully open to learn new things and open to changes.

d. Everyone, communicate your absences. At Panera, whenever a team member temporarily leaves their station to get something in the back or take a break, they say so. This prevents everyone leaving at once and it prevents stress for the remaining members.

There are probably many many more things I could say about all this, but these are just some thoughts to get you thinking. Panera is definitely not a ministry or a church, but there are some interesting principles that can carry over.

"That-I-May"

2011-05-09T11:09:00.002-04:00

I was reading through Psalm 119 today and was astounded at the love for God’s word that the psalmist possessed! How fitting that the longest chapter in the bible is all about its goodness!

However, this time as I read through the chapter, I developed a fresh awe for the lengthy and disciplined persistence of the psalmist in declaring the goodness of the Word.

As I read these verses out loud, I will admit that I got tired! 176 verses is a big hunk of Scripture to read straight! Yet I became quite convicted that my heart did not match the words spoken when I read verses like these:

“My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times”(v. 20)

“I will keep your law continually, forever and ever,” (v. 44)

“Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.” (v.97)

“I rise before dawn and cry for help; I hope in your words. My eyes are awake before the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promise.” (vv. 147-148)

“Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules.” (v. 164)

Sure, I love the Word. But do I love the Word that much? Do I honestly love the Word enough that I can truly say that my longing for it is full blown, 24-7? My honest answer is no.

And the immediate temptation that rises upon this admitting truth is to brush it off. I am tempted to say things like, “Well, the psalmist was one of those super Christians, and not everyone is called to be like that” or “this is poetry, he doesn’t really mean those things” etc. But these are false to the core. And in verse 92 of this psalm, the psalmist presents a very

real and dangerous consequence that happens when one does not delight in the Word.

“If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.”

The less you delight in the Word of God, the closer you are to death. That is what this verse tells me.

So what am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to beat my head against the Bible like a Monty Python monk until I love it? Am I supposed to force myself dutifully to love this Word more? Am I suppose to let verse 92 threaten me into loving the Word? How on earth can I increase my delight in the Word to resonate with that of this psalmist?

Before we despair, I would like to point to the fact that the psalmist did not writing this psalm as a way boast in his strength or his capacity to delight in the Word. As a matter of fact, he makes it very clear that without the help of God, he would not delight in the Word at all. I see this most clearly in what I call the “that-I-may” statements found throughout the chapter. There are close to 15 (14 of which use the exact words “that I may”) statements like this. These verses are all pleas to God for help. The psalmist knows full well that this delight in the word is not a part of his sinful nature. He essentially says in each of the verses: “Lord, act graciously towards me that I may delight in your Word.”

I will list them off for you:

Psalm 119:17-18 “Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word. Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.”

Psalm 119:34 “Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.”

Psalm 119:71 “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.”

Psalm 119:73 “Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.”

Psalm 119:77 “Let your mercy come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight.”

Psalm 119:80 “May my heart be blameless in your statutes, that I may not be put to shame!”

Psalm 119:88 “In your steadfast love give me life, that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth.”

Psalm 119:116 “Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live, and let me not be put to shame in my hope!”

Psalm 119:117 “Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually!”

Psalm 119:125 “I am your servant; give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies!”

Psalm 119:134 “Redeem me from man’s oppression, that I may keep your precepts.”

Psalm 119:144 “Your testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.”

Psalm 119:146 “I call to you; save me, that I may observe your testimonies.”

It is clear in reading these verses that the reading, beholding, learning, delighting, obeying and keeping of the Word all depend on the grace and power of God. He deals bountifully with us that we may live. He opens our eyes that we can actually behold His truth and peer into his divine mystery. He enables whole-hearted obedience. He disciplines us and brings us back to Him. He bestows understanding. He shapes our hearts to make our way blameless. He keeps us from distractions (such as man’s oppression) so we may focus.

So, because we cannot bring ourselves to greater delight in God’s Word by our own measly strength, what shall we do?

The psalmist models exactly what to do, just read the verses quoted: He prays.

Let me make this clear.

The less you delight in the Word, the closer you are to death. And a primary our delight in the Word is increased is God’s gracious response to prayer. Therefore, prayer is incredibly important as you approach the Word and as you live your life. A prayerless life leads to no delight in the Word, and both of these lead quickly to death.

And yet, there is an aspect of dedication that cannot be left out. The psalmist does not just beg God to move through him and renew delight in him for the Word while passively waiting around. Although He asks God, "Incline my heart to your testimonies..." (v 36) He also says, “I incline my heart to perform your statutes…” (v 112).

Consider this statement: “Reading the Word of God is crucial in stirring our delight in the Word of God.” It is all very circular. We are not to let some ambiguous sense of delight of the Word enter our hearts before we read the Word. Rather, our reading of the Word is instrumental in bringing us to delight in it!

Think of it this way:

Suppose on a certain Sunday morning, I do not feel like singing praise at all. I am sure we’ve all been here. There are far too many things stirring in my mind that keep me from focusing as I ought: I feel anxious, or even bitter etc. I don’t feel like singing. But perhaps, as I faintly sing (or simpy read) words like “It is well with my soul” or “I’m pressed but not crushed, persecuted not abandoned” or “How deep the Father’s love for us!” I experience a sudden and inward change in my heart. Suddenly, a word of truth strikes my heart and shines some light on it. And in the time it takes to sing a simple song, I go from “not worshipful” to “worshipful”. The same goes for prayer. You might be in a small group praying in a circle, and you don’t want to pray because you feel terrible and don’t want to depress people. But then during the time of prayer, you hear someone pray exactly for you without even having a clue about your struggle and your heart is lifted. Or your heart that was so reluctant to pray is brought to simply burst when your turn comes and you cannot but gush out beautiful prayer of dependence to God.

The same is with the Word. There are some mornings I have approached Isaiah and thought “Really? I have to read about another woe on another nation? This is tiring me out.” (It is a dangerous thing when one is wearied by the Word that is supposed to be life-giving… we only very rarely realize that.) Yet, as I read or as I hear the Word, something pricks me and I very quickly find myself from “stoic studier” to “desperate delighter”.

So there are two factors that enable the psalmist to delight in the Word so much that he writes 176 verses about it.

1. He is approaches the Word in a disciplined and prayerful manner, and he trusts that God will work through it.

2. God does work through it, and not only does he work through it, he enables it.

So here is my challenge for you and for me. I want to take Psalm 119:164 seriously. “Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules.” Give this a shot! Throughout your day each day for a week straight, take seven moments to praise God for His Word and ask Him to incline your heart to delight in it. You could do it at every meal, when you wake up and when you go to sleep. There are five times right there.

Nevertheless, many of you might not have that amount of time to read through texts like Psalm 119 seven times a day. If that is the case, I suggest that you at least read and pray through the 13 “that-I-may” sentences. 13 sentences is a short enough portion of Scripture to print on a piece of paper and keep in your pocket. And if that is still too much, try to read 119 once a day for seven says, and pick one different “that-I-may” sentence to pray seven times each of the seven days.

And remember, do this while leaning on God’s grace. Don’t do this just to say you did it.

Also, if you feel encouraged by the Spirit to pick up this challenge, let me know (either by comment or email or whatever) so I can pray for your seven days—that 1) you would see a dramatic change in the way you delight in the Word, and 2) that your seven days would give you the desire to continually stir that delight in the Word by the Spirit through Christ for His glory and for your life.

The Fearsome God's Command: "Fear Not"

2011-05-07T21:24:00.004-04:00

If you are seeking to cultivate a holy fear of the Most Holy God, perhaps the book of Isaiah might be one of the first places to which you should turn. From the indictments of idolatry in chapter one to Isaiah’s great vision in chapter six, and from the breathtaking description of God’s sovereignty in chapter 40 to the words of judgment at the end of chapter 66, a central element in the atmosphere of this book is the proclamation of a fearsome God.

But in the midst of the words that cause the heart to tremble, there is an explicit command that is repeated close to 20 times: “fear not”(or “be not afraid” or “do not fear”). And eight of these twelve times are found in Isaiah 40-44, the section of the book in which I am currently spending my daily quiet times.

I believe that God, in His sovereignty and grace, ordained that I would be in this part of Scripture at this current period in my life for the purpose of emboldening me for ministry—and I am very grateful. I have graduated from MBI, found a temporary part time job (Panera) and am trying to look more into the specifics of the call to continuous ministry in this current area. In this stage, uncertainty abounds. And while there is certainty of what my next step is, there lingers yet a constant temptation to fear. This small town of Saint Joseph, at face value, may seem like an easy place for ministry. But that shallow judgment is not even close to accurate. Even now, God is setting me up to do things I have never done before. And in all of this there are two truths that ring with greater and greater volume in my mind:

1. I am weak. There is nothing of myself that I can lean on. I can do nothing of any lasting good on my own.

2. I am called and commanded to trust in God. This includes not despairing in my seemingly glaring inadequacy, but rejoicing in that God is stronger than all possible weakness—and is even glorified in it.

I have been going through the book of Isaiah for about a year now, and my daily times in the Word have been very encouraging to me. Yet these chapters (40-44) have certainly been a special blessing. It is during this uncertain time that I most wonderfully find myself immersed in the fortissimo trumpet blast of these four chapters: “FEAR NOT”.

First, I’ll list off the eight “fear not” verses between Isaiah 40 and 44. I encourage you to read each of them carefully:

Isaiah 40:9 “Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!"

Isaiah 41:9b-10 “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off"; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:13 “For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you."

Isaiah 41:14 “Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the LORD; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.”

Isaiah 43:1 “But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.’”

Isaiah 43:5 “Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.”

Isaiah 44:2 “Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.”

Isaiah 44:8 “Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any."

In each of these eight verses (and their surrounding context) lie the following elements:

1. The Context of Weakness

It is clear, especially in Is. 41:14 (above) that God is addressing a weak people. He says, “You worm Jacob, you men of Israel!”

When you see a soggy worm on the sidewalk after a fresh spring rain, what do you think? “What a pitiful sight!” It is spineless. It can’t do anything. It is easy pray for birds, and should it tarry in the sun, it will shrivel up on the sidewalk into crispy strip of carbon. Helpless, weak and hopeless.

It should be obvious to the people of Judah that they are as a worm compared to God… but that is not the main reason behind their fear. God is not addressing their fear by saying, “Do not fear me!” He is commanding against a different fear, namely, the fear of the surrounding world.

The main reason for the people’s fear is the apparent weakness of their nation compared to all others. Their kingdom is crippled and great superpowers have risen up everywhere around them with greedy appetites and wicked egos. Comparatively, the nation of the people of Judah has no strength at all. Their line of kings has dwindled, their riches are scarce, their army is weak, and their idols have wasted them. The surrounding nations—a disciplining rod of God Himself (Is. 10:5-6)—have whittled them down. They have nothing of themselves to lean on. In what then will they be driven to place their hope?

When I considered this state of weakness, I thought, “Oh that every believer would fear the right way!” Like the people of Judah, I compare myself to other people, and in doing so I find myself woefully weak. But too often this leads to despairing in the knowledge of my weakness rather than using it to remind me to cling to God all the more. This state of weakness really should be something to rejoice over, rather than something to fear, for it is when we are no longer blinded by vain thoughts of self-sufficiency that we can lean on the perfectly sufficient strength offered us in Christ.

2. The Identity of Belonging

Yet God is not content to let weakness be the identity of His people. And neither should we. Our weakness is not our identity. Sure, God may call us “worm”, but much more does He identify us as a people belonging to Him. In the few verses I quoted alone, God calls His people “servant”, “chosen”, “redeemed” (Is. 41:9b-10; 44:2; 43:1). Throughout these chapters, He constantly invokes these words. And explicitly in verse 43:1 (above), God says “I have called you by name. You are mine.”

Christians belong to God! He is our Redeemer (41:14)—we’re His. Yes, I am weak—weaker than I know. But first and foremost, I am God’s. When the Lord commands, “Fear not”, He is not commanding a bunch of mere worms with whom He will have no relation. He commands His own, and they will listen. Always, always remember, dear Christian: you are not first and foremost identified as belonging to the throes and woes of hopeless weakness—you belong to God.

3. The Command to Holy Fearlessness

So, it is to these weak people—who are God’s people—that He issues the command “FEAR NOT.” And we’ve already established the main reason for their fear: the strength of the nations around them in comparison to their seemingly hopeless weakness.

Yet in this main fear, there are specific fears: fears we all share to some extent. And each time the words “fear not” are uttered, they specifically address a more specific fear.

In 40:9 (above), God says, “fear not; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!” The fear of the nations and of the other idols/religions creeping into Judah is seen in the temptation to proclaim timidly (or not at all). Along with the command “fear not”, Yahweh commands “Speak up!”

This command rings true today, where ALL Christians are call to testify to the gospel. In a world that is becoming increasingly hostile to the message of Christ, we are called to speak the words “Behold your God!” Though we feel weak or vulnerable, though we feel like we don’t have the words, Scripture exhorts, “fear not.”

When you read the context of Is. 41:10, 13, 14 (above), the command to “fear not” goes against the fear of hostile forces of opposition, particularly the king who God rose up from the east (41:2). I believe that foreign missionaries face this fear FAR more than the pampered people of the U.S.A, but the day may yet be coming when we too will face openly hostile forces to be reckoned with.

In 43:1 and 5, the context shows us that there is a fear of a final and exile and separation from fellow believers—loneliness and isolation. The people of God are being dispersed, sifted, and taken. But a continuous promise of God is that He will bring all His people to Him. The exile is not the end. He will “bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.” We, too await a day when all believers will be caught up together, amen.

In 44:2, the command is against the fear of a final or complete alienation and destruction from God. Though God says, “I will deliver Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reviling.” In the last verse of chapter 43, he says “BUT NOW hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen!” And following the command “fear not” comes a promise of renewal from spiritual drought—and ultimately reconciliation with God. “Fear not… for I will pour water on thirsty land, and streams upon dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants…”

This is a command to holy fearlessness—a fearlessness which gives rise to 1) proclaiming the Lord, 2) stand firm against hostile forces 3) hope in the gathering of all believers and 4) trust in the sustaining power of God for repentance, revival and perseverance.

4: The Means of Holy Fearlessness: The Promised Strength of God’s Presence

What a beautiful thing that God commands “fear not” to a weak people that belongs to Him and goes as far as to supply the strength to obey! Yes, God says that He offers us strength! But it is not some abstract strength. It is the strength of His presence! There is intimate symbolic language here, especially in Is. 41:10-13. You may have heard before that “the right hand” in Scripture is symbolic of strength and authority. In verse 13, it would seem that our strength is that of a child. God says, “I... hold your right hand.” Is it not breathtaking that the Fearsome God is One Who holds our hand? What a tremendous statement. Isaiah writes of God’s hand as having measured the universe in a span (Is 40:12). And yet He is so personal as to hold ours. A guiding and stabilizing support.

But God doesn’t simply support us, or hold our strength. He holds us by His own strength and power! Our strength is that which He gives us, so that we do not do things of our own strength, but HIS! In verse 41:10, God says, “I uphold you with my right hand.” His power sustains us. His power holds us. The strength of His hand guiding us is what enables us to have holy fearlessness. God is not floating somewhere distant and not caring. He says, “Fear not, for I am with you” (Is 41:10, 13, 14; 42:6; 43:2, 5) In fact, His Spirit dwells in us. Now that is intimate! Now that is the strength of His presence: the amazing empowering of the Spirit!

5: The Foundation of Holy Fearlessness: The Sovereign, Holy and Fearsome God

This is the foundation to why we need not fear. This is the reason why God can command that we “fear not”. Because He is God. Isaiah 44:8 says, “Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

The very bookends of this section where God continuously commands, “fear not” are Isaiah 40 and 44. Both of these chapters focus mainly on the sovereignty of God and the uselessness of idols. Is. 40:20 says that the idolater sets up “an idol that will not move”. It just sits there like any other hunk of rock or tree or material. And the man who worships it “cannot deliver himself or say, ‘Is there not a lie in my right hand?’”(Is. 44:20)

It cannot be overstressed or over praised! God is absolutely sovereign—His very nature and person is the foundation of all truth and therefore the foundation of all trust! Nothing can throw Him off; there is nothing that surprises Him! The tsunami in Japan, the car crash your friend was in last night, the very reading of this blog—none of it escapes His attention, or ordaining.

That is why He is perfectly justified in commanding our trust in Him and our Holy fearlessness in regards to the world. This call—“fear not!”—is a call to trust in the blessed, sufficient, sustaining and strengthening presence of the gloriously sovereign and intimately personal God. He created us through Christ, chose us in Christ and redeemed us by the blood of Christ! He holds our right hand and lifts us up with His right hand! And in the last day, He will gather all of us to Him and once again prove Himself faithful, as He has been since the beginning.

Oh, Christian, if you struggle with any fear of this world, any anxiety for the future (which would be everyone, in case you haven’t realized), read Isaiah 40-44! Pray that the Spirit would continue to cultivate in you the holy fearlessness that is commanded of you! And continue to strive by the presence of His Spirit to trust, treasure and glory in all that God is for you in Christ.

Concerning the Death of Osama Bin Laden and the Subsequent Media

2011-05-02T01:13:00.003-04:00

I am sitting at my computer at 11:56 pm, shortly after watching President Obama’s declaration that Osama Bin Laden is dead.

Throughout the moment, and even now, there are several elements of this night and also of the media dialogue that are really rebounding everywhere in my Christian brain. Here are a few of them.

- The demand for proof of the body

o There is such a crucial element in U.S forces’ claim to have possession of Osama Bin Laden’s body. All sides of this story, both enemies and followers of Osama Bin Laden demand proof. As I contemplated this element, I could only think of the gospel accounts of the bodily death and resurrection of Christ, and the surrounding fuss concerning proof (Like Matt 28:11-15 and John 19-20). All of this public and presidential announcing would indeed be useless without a body. This makes me think of how the gospel would have no power without the bodily death and resurrection of Christ (one that over 500 people witnessed).

- The rapid spread of the good news

o One account that particularly caught my attention was from a reporter who said that complete strangers were literally running up to each other saying “have you heard”? When I contemplated the lightning speed travel of such news from the president’s desk to the rest of the world, I whispered a prayer for the spread of the GREATEST news the world could ever know. Would it not be amazing to see strangers dart to complete strangers and say, “Have you heard? Jesus is Lord!”—to have thousands drawn to the house of the Lord in mere minutes?

- The picture of persistent warfare

o When I consider the final execution of Osama Bin Laden after around 10 long years—years periodically sprinkled with periods of doubt—I think of the victory over sin given to us by the power of the Spirit. As believers, we possess a command from the Commander-In-Chief of Commander-in-chiefs to KILL sin—no matter how long it may take. We are to ruthlessly hunt down sin as it slips around the craggy surfaces of our hearts and not stop until its bloody corpse lies still in the dust.

- The widespread effects of the actions of one man

o One phrase I heard in the news was “In the past ten years, (Osama) has definitely affected/transformed the way we all live.” Immediately the question that came to my mind was this: “Who has affected your lifestyle MORE: Osama or Christ?” I will not doubt that the acts of Al Quaeda radically altered the way that the U.S—and the world—works, starting with issues of national security. But is this difference something that even comes close to the difference Christ makes in believers’ lives? I don’t think so. The widespread effects of the actions of Christ eclipse infinitely the effects of the actions of a mass-murdering terrorist.

- The repetition of the phrase “God bless”

o Up until tonight, you might have thought that religion and talk of God might have been on decline in the U.S. However, I was astounded by the amount of times I heard the words “God bless (the U.S, troops etc)” or by the visual of thousands in front of the Whitehouse singing “God bless America”. Perhaps someone might object: “Hey, not everyone who says ‘God bless America is saved!”, but this is some nice evidence that not everyone in the U.S is an aggressive atheist either. As a MBI professor of mine always says, "Religion is in the public square".

Well that is enough excitement (and writing) for one night. Time to go to bed.

Some Summer Reading?

2011-04-25T21:46:00.002-04:00

One thing that has tremendously decreased ever since I graduated was the amount of reading I have done outside the Bible. I have been meaning to pick up some books and get to work, but to no avail. As a matter of fact, one book I started in December remains only half-finished.

But recently, a friend of mine posted a list of summer reading. This challenged me to mark a definite date on the calendar when I will once again read stuff (May 1). I thought that I might as well post a list as well. After all, planning ahead is good right?

Right.

Optimistically, this is what I have planned between the months of May and August so far (in a possible order):

1. On Being a Pastor (by Prime & Begg)

2. Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cures (by Lloyd-Jones)

3. The Religious Affections (by Edwards)

4. Brothers, We Are Not Professionals: A Plea to Pastors for Radical Ministry (Piper)

Some hopefuls are Deliberate Church (by Dever), Calvin’s Institutes, and The Pleasures of God (by Piper).

Let me know if you have some suggestions, or if you think a “hopeful” should switch places with one on the list!

Panera Lessons: How do I Glorify God Here?

2011-04-05T17:31:00.001-04:00

One of the questions that often comes up when I talk to people who do not work in full time ministry is “How can I glorify God in my ‘normal’ job?”

I am not about to list all the ways. I will not even claim to know all the ways. Neither will I cover the question with the ever-popular-Sunday-school-blanket-statement: “Just do it all for the glory of God.”

I do have a suggestion that I have found to be helpful however. It could be a start. And it will sound very easy.

Pray.

That’s it! Pray. Pray in your car in the parking lot before you go to work and also when you leave work. You can start there, and then after this is established, inject moments of prayer throughout the hours you work.

At Panera, things are fast paced—and I am relatively new. As much as I would love to evangelize the entire time I am there, my brain has limits. Because I am new, I have to focus especially to do things quickly, efficiently and with quality (if I want to keep my job). Yet because I have a very one-track mind, it is difficult to—along with work—also hold a prayerful and coherent gospel conversation with a self-confessed part-Christian-part-buddhist-part-scientologist-part-satanist.

So, start with prayer.

I am increasingly finding it harder and harder to consistently enter work with a positive attitude. The honey-moon stage of the new job is over. It is now in the realm of the mundane. This means prayer is especially important. So, when I park in the employee parking and turn off the car, I take a short minute or two to pray. It is usually something along these words:

“God, I really need you now and always. I thank you for this job. Help me keep an attitude that glorifies you as I work. Help me to see the gospel in what I do. Help me not grow tired or cranky as I work. And guide and guard how I work with others. Only you can help me do this. I submit these hours to you now in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Something really simple.

I also try to find times in the middle of my work where I can take a breath and pray in my head, or purposefully remind myself to look for the gospel in the environment around me. I hope to do better at this, and I think it will be easier as I become more auto-pilot in my food preparing methods.

Then ,when I get back into my car after work, I pray again—this time with a bit more of thanksgiving and confession. I take time to apologize to God (and to my coworkers for that matter) for bad attitudes or moments where my frustration is worn on my sleeve. I take time to thank Him for all the things that went on—whether it be something good like “thank you for guarding my mind from being overwhelmed during evening rush” or something seemingly bad “thank you for the time I dropped the soup pan or for the nagging customer—they gave me the opportunity to develop patience and humility.”

So, if you want to glorify God in your job, start by praying before the job and even after. The simple act of submitting it to God beforehand does well in altering.preparing your mind and setting it on Him as you go to work. And the act of praying to Him afterwards will keep you seeking to glorify Him continually, consistently and increasingly.

If you want to know where to start, you don’t necessarily have to start with an evangelistic crusade. Start with intentional and humble prayer.

Looking Back With a Visit

2011-04-04T11:10:00.001-04:00

I write this as I am sitting in the lounge of Culbertson 3, my dorm while at MBI. I arrived here at about 2:45 yesterday afternoon to talk with some good friends face to face and enjoy our floor's rockin' talent show, which was pretty hilarious.

And though it has only been about 3.5 months since I graduated, it feels like it has been a year. School looks different, feels different, and even sounds different. Even now I remember the strange shock and exhilaration of once again stepping out of the train station into the city of Chicago.

My stay here, though brief, has been beneficial. It has helped to put several things into perspective and it has reminded me of several wrong beliefs I once had.

1. I used to make such a huge deal over little things. The paper that was due the next day, the exam to study for, or the guy down the hall that just plain rubbed me the wrong way- all these things now seem so small to me. I was taken aback at being swiftly reintroduced to dorm life and academic life, and the way people in it live it. Looking back at my own attitudes in this climate, I can see how I took many things too seriously. It all seemed so huge to me then… but now I see little importance in the fact I once got a C on a paper for my Romans class. This is encouraging and it helps me remember that one day I will look back at my current struggles and anxieties and say, “Pshhh, not so big!”

2. Growth does not stop with a degree. I whisper a hearty “amen” to myself at this sentence. One of the things I realized coming back to MBI after only a few months is that though I graduated, I am still growing. A degree did not grant me the magical power to save the world. Nor did it grant me the power to “achieve my dreams”. Only God has the power to save, and only by that power can anything good be achieved. I am glad that He did not see fit to stop growing me the moment a degree was in hand. Sanctification does not end with a degree—it ends with a crown.

3. Education helps growth. Not to say that the degree is worthless to me or that all the money spent on education was a waste. It wasn’t and it isn’t. God used the 2.5 years I was here to mold me in tremendous ways and I am thankful for that. If you can get formal training in the Bible, DO IT. You will learn so much, not only academically but also from day to day life. Many of life’s biggest lessons were not answered in a classroom, but the classroom raised the questions and nurtured the thinking required to find answers.

4. I long for a community of godly men. It is wonderful to simply visit a floor of guys whose goal in life is to please God through pouring their lives out in ministry. Guys my age outside of this place rarely seriously consider such a task, and that is sad. Their lives are not consumed by the glory of God, but by the vain and insufficient glory of worldly comfort and selfish trinkets that will one day crumble to dust. It is often discouraging to think about this… and yet with God we are not without hope—with my longing for a community of godly men, I also receive a challenge that I cannot ignore: If I truly long for a community of godly men my age, I need to seek ones who are mature in Christ and pour into those who aren’t.

I thank God for this small visit and the interesting perspective granted in it. And I look forward to the day I can look back on my early twenties with a similar granted perspective.

The Heater and the Gospel

2011-03-30T11:33:00.003-04:00

On the last night of my retreat, I experienced something terrible: sleeplessness. I knew that I would be very tired the next day, so I purposefully went to bed at around 9 pm. I lay back on my pillow and waited for sleep to come…

And waited

The minutes turned into hours. Then I looked over to the clock and saw that it was only 10. This was not good. I tried to put everything out of my mind. I tried listening to soft music. I went even as far as counting sheep—yes I went there. But still nothing. I found myself becoming more agitated. The covers were too warm. The sheets felt like sand paper. The pillow was like a flat rock.

11:00pm

Just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard a low rumbling sound. It was vaguely reminiscent of my cell phone vibrating, only much softer. There was probably some device either under my room or in the next room over that periodically would do its thing.

And by periodically I mean “a one minute drone every five minutes.”

This was not helping at all. I found myself becoming increasingly angry at this stupid periodic rumbling and my stupid sleeplessness. The first few times it went off, I tried to ignore it. But I couldn’t. Eventually the fight boiled down to me trying to force myself to sleep during the 5 minutes of silence while at the same time anticipating the dreaded 1 minute drone. The fight was not fruitful.

But somehow I managed to fall asleep after 1:30. The vibrating rumble must have stopped for a bit.

… then I was woken up at 3:15.

rummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmble

All the fight had gained me only 2 hours of sleep.

I started calculating how much sleep I would get if I got up and went home to sleep. That wouldn’t work.

And the fight carried on. I tried sleeping on the opposite side of the bed. I tried sleeping in a pile of blankets on the floor. But no matter what, that stupid rumbling continued once every five minutes. Soft enough for no one but me to have a real issue. It seemed like this wretched moment was crafted just for me… I did what at the time seemed reasonable: I gave up the fight, turned on the light and journaled:

“It is now 3:45 am. My pillows are strewn about the room. My bed is in shambles and the light in the corner of the room is on. I am angry… about every 5 minutes or so, a terrible humming happens. Is there a heating device, water device or something in the space by the wall where my head rests? I can’t escape it, its vibrations seem to fill this room… I am angry and frustrated and even bitter. What a wonderful way to end a three day retreat huh?”

But when I had turned on the light, I also turned on a little heater that was in my room. I paused for a moment and continued the little heater’s noise. It was definitely louder than the rumbling vibrations that had assaulted my sleep—in fact, while it was on, the rumblings were hardly detectable at all! And it was a continuous and uninterrupted drone. I then considered the all the times I had fallen asleep listening to a fan or the falling rain. Perhaps this little heater was the EXACT white noise that I needed. I tried everything else, so I might as well try this.

I fell asleep at before 4 and woke up around 8:35. My night had been salvaged.

And I dragged myself out of bed, packed and got ready for the day thinking “Why on earth did God let last night happen the way it did?” I kinda felt like Jonah when his precious tree withered… and because of that I knew there was a lesson to be learned.

There was one, I just have no idea how it came to mind. But it is a perfect lesson in resting in the Lord.

We all want to rest in the Lord. And we often find very weird or elaborate ways in doing so. Maybe a refreshing retreat will help, maybe a Christian rock concert, maybe listening to a really powerful sermon. Maybe just eating a snack and taking a nap.

But the rumblings of life keep us awake. Little tests, big problems. The thoughts of the mind—anxiety, fear of man, fear of uncertainty, introspective self-destruction. They are persistent and they often keep us from resting in Christ. And when we consider how it seems to be that no one else struggles, we get agitated. Like me in that room, tossing and turning and freaking out, we often panic and think: rest in Jesus seems so impossible right now! How can it happen! I have tried everything!

That’s when we are reminded of a heater. The gospel. We crank it on and listen to it—and it is louder than all the rumblings in the world, yet it seems that while we listen to it, rest in Christ seems easier and way more possible.

You cannot get rid of the rumblings of life that always threaten to keep you restless and weary. But you can drown them out with the Gospel. This is why I try to remind myself as often as I can to see and hear the gospel in everything. When the gospel is pumping in your mind and heart, it overpowers the subtle rumblings and leads to peace in Christ. Paul said as much when he wrote Philippians 4:9 “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” What did we learn, receive from and see in Paul? The testimony “to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24) along with written encouragements to absolutely submerge the mind in God and His gospel, a mind “set on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Col 3:2)

Are you having trouble resting in Christ? You do not necessarily have to go on a retreat to do so. Nor do you need to scramble to get all of life’s things in order then rest. Nor do you really have to do much at all.

If you want to rest in Christ, simply get into the Word—and seek to see, hear, experience the gospel everywhere. Let the world around you be God’s gospel sermon illustration to you. Be preoccupied with the gospel and its center: the person and work of Christ.

Takeaways from a Retreat

2011-03-29T23:09:00.003-04:00

Last week, I went on a personal retreat. God gave me four days off of work and amidst all the recent uncertainty and stress, He beckoned me to come before Him and rest in Him through fasting, prayer and the study of His Word. The days were wonderful, and there have been many seeds planted that will bloom in good time. During those days, the main goal was simple: to know Him more. Now, I know that the average-Sunday-school-answering-champ would say that this should be our goal every day... but sometimes the practice of setting aside special, quiet, uninterrupted and intentional time helps abundantly.

Long story short, and without any interesting transition, there were many things that were newly impressed on my heart, or renewed and deepened in understanding. I can in no way in a mere blogpost capture how much God blessed me during this retreat. But I will list off some takeaways for you.

1. My ultimate hunger, thirst and treasure is (and must be) God. It cannot be “peace”, “certainty”, or even “calling” or “mission”. All these things are certainly good, and they are gifts. But if I devoted my time to simply seek these things out, the retreat would have turned to idolatry and be rendered useless.

2. God can and does work more than I can expect or dream. On only the first day of the retreat, my expectations were gloriously and graciously met and shattered.

3. Faith does not mean “absence of uncertainty”. Rather, uncertainty tests, grows, and shows faith. Sometimes we equate faith to some strange form of “absolute certainty”. Or we wait “until situations are just right” to “act in faith”. But that is actually a faithless form of procrastination.

4. God often makes us wait so that, rather than seeking an answer to prayer, we would seek Him first. Seek Him before you seek a mission. In deepening your communion with God, you will deepen your understanding of His zeal for His glory. It is then that your heart is ready for receiving mission. And when that mission becomes more apparent to you, it won’t be near as marvelous as God is.

5. As often as I can, I must remind myself of the gospel of Christ. Be preoccupied with it. Seek to view the world through gospel lense. Let everything you see preach to you the gospel.

6. I need not seek a mountaintop event. What I mean by this is you do not need to look for fire in the sky. You do not need to ask God for an Isaiah 6 or Exodus 33 event in your life. This is because it is yours EVERY time you open God’s Word. The glory of God is revealed in Christ, and all Scripture points to Him.

7. Our whole beings should thirst for Christ. When we say, “I thirst for You, God”, We often mean our soul’s thirst. But do our minds thirst for Him? Our hearts? Our strength?

8. Our love for God will naturally kindle our love for His people. While I was on this retreat, saturating my mind in the Word, I could not stop thinking about my brothers and sisters in Christ. It is impossible to be alone with God and not feel compassion for His children. The “vertical” relationship naturally flows into a “horizontal” relationship. If it doesn’t, something is very wrong. This lesson was especially wonderful to me, because I found out that I am not as much a hermit as I sometimes think (or even wish).

I could go on, but this is enough. And really, the first one is the most important. It turned out to be the theme of the retreat, and it is now the desired theme of my life: that God would be my ultimate hunger, thirst, and treasure and that through me He would awaken a hunger, thirst and desiring for Him that He would meet and be glorified in meeting.

Of Fasting and the Soul's Hunger

2011-03-28T12:16:00.001-04:00

When one fasts from food and water for an extended period of time, the body feels awfully strange. The lack of food leads to a growling stomach that lurches for sustenance. The lips and the mouth become dry and raspy from no hydration. The usual short walk becomes a labor and the eyes start to see spots. The knees become weak and the body cries out “Food! Where is it?”

But each morning during the time of fasting, as daily hygiene is kept, there comes a time when something of a taste enters the mouth, along with a bit of cool water.

Minty fresh toothpaste.

When the toothpaste touches the mouth, there is an explosion of activity. The taste buds receive the taste with eagerness and shock. The stomach reacts excitedly, thinking, “Something is on the way!” And the dry lips are temporarily relieved. There suddenly is released a strange joy for brushing the teeth that is not felt in normal situations.

…But after a few minutes, it’s all over. And the body feels quite disappointed. The stomach yowls with indignation “I thought there was a feast!” The inside of the mouth becomes strange in taste as it tries to hold onto that mint taste. And the body, let down, goes back to its achy creaking, maybe more miserable than it was before.

Does this sound familiar? It may not sound familiar at first to those who see fasting as a foreign concept.

But it is certainly familiar to each and every one of our souls.

All of our souls long for one feast and each are satisfied by only one food. Our souls are designed to feast upon and be satisfied with Jesus, the Bread of Life (John 6:35). We become satisfied in Him when we partake in Him. When we draw near to Him as out treasure and life in prayer, fasting, and reading/studying/obeying His Word.

But there are times in our lives—indeed all too frequent, horrendously so—when we make the soul fast. This is fasting of the worst sort, which deprives the soul of communion with God. There are those who think they can make the soul fast for six days out of the week—and they reek of spiritual malnourishment and death. But there are others who would even consider fasting from Christ and His word “just a day or so”... to great peril.

Sometimes I think to myself, “If only we could feel the aching of the soul in fasting from Christ the same way we feel the aching of the body when we fast from bread and water!”

The thing is, we do feel an ache. We are just extremely good at ignoring it, or trying to satisfy it with the wrong things.

In fasting from Christ, we put things in the soul’s mouth that only temporarily stir up joy but only lead to empty disappointment. We let the soul taste a bit of toothpaste—the fleeting joy of pride, lust, idolatry, and selfishness—and it says like an empty stomach “Finally! Food!”

But after a brief moment, all that remains is disappointment, emptiness and despondency.

One of the great things I have learned (and experienced time and again) about physical fasting is that it helps us realize, understand and minister to the soul’s ache for the Bread of Life.

Check yourself: is your soul weary? Does it ache? Does it hunger? Does it thirst?

³⁵Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

Revealed By The Light

2011-03-21T10:41:00.002-04:00

On the same day I was walking on the beach and saw the dead fish, I saw yet another thing, the simple red reflection of light through the Jones Soda bottle I had with me (I think it was red apple). I rolled it randomly across a giant slab of broken concrete and listened to its tinkering noise as the red light bounced and waved across the surface. And in my mind came the question:

“What does the light of Scripture say about you?”

I firmly believe that we all need to hold our lives up to the light of the Word. Light reveals things to us. Darkness obscures them. When Scripture talks about evil deeds, it says that quite often, these deeds are of darkness. These deeds are not only the midday robbery of a bank store. They are also the click of a mouse button at 1 a.m. when no one is around to see you. Therefore evil men love the darkness. Sinful men love the darkness. And until the grace of God shines upon us to reveal our cancerous sin for what it is, we love the darkness too.

But, yes, light reveals things. As I pondered that more, there came in my mind the analogy of the diamond and the cubic zirconia (or glass). One is WAY more valuable than the other. (If you find that hard to believe, just imagine the young lad proposing with a cubic zirconia rather than a diamond and you’ll see what I mean.)

But I consider the cubic zirconia the false diamond. It is a fake. Sure it looks almost exactly alike. You can put it all over a dress and make it look real glamorous. Stud it in a dollar sign necklace and you got real bling.

But cubic zirconia is not diamond.

And the easiest way to tell is to shine a light on it.

So also the light of Scripture reveals to us true believers and false believers. True teachers and false teachers. As natural light shines on the diamond and cubic zirconia and distinguishes them, so also does the light of the Word shine upon the fakes and the genuine believers and distinguishes them. If you do not believe me, one of the clearest examples of this is in the book of 1 John. I invite you to turn to it often and see what its light reveals about you.

1 John 1:5-10 “5This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

1 John 2:9-11, 15-19 9Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes……15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

These are just a few. Keep reading. Let the light show what is true and what is false.

The Laugh of the Sign of Jonah

2011-03-18T11:14:00.003-04:00

A couple of days ago, it was finally warm outside!

So, like any true Michigander emerging from the wintry bog to the edge of spring, I took my first walk on the beach. 55 degrees never felt better.

My previous visit to the beach offered no such option. I could only sit in my car and stare off across a gray and overcast horizon. The wind whipped the sand all over the place, and furious waves white-capped yards from shore. The seagulls weren’t too happy either, hunched in little groups, faces to the wind... It was a less than inspiring experience to be sure.

Not this day! This was a day when the world beckoned me to walk! The sun was shining, the waves were gently rolling and I praised God for the emerging of spring. I drove in, got out and went down to the shore, to take a walk with Jesus.

This practice was developed at a summer retreat I attended long ago. Since then, almost every time my heart was especially burdened, I would head to the beach to pray, think, and pull myself together. If I were to disappear randomly during the day, I’d probably be at the beach, sitting on the shore or freezing in my car—depending on the season.

But this long walk was much needed, and it lifted my spirits considerably. I spoke to God thanking Him for the spring that was taking place in St. Joe and the one taking place in my own soul. This winter was a tough one for me, and I often found myself depleted and weary. Often times my talks with Jesus at the beach would end with “God, just help me please” or some pitiful prayer. But during the past few days, my soul has been experiencing abundant grace and encouragement that only God can provide by His Spirit through His Word.

So we walked along the beach, my Savior and I, discussing many things, from past graces to future hopes. Maranatha was a constant cry. We spoke of our love for each other. We spoke of St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. We spoke of the people in my life whom He gifted and whom I love dearly. And almost everything I saw turned into a prayer.

Of beach glass: “Lord smooth out my rough edges”. Of the lake: “Spirit, fill me like this lake would fill a Dixie cup.” Of the sun and blue sky: “Lord, you will one day tear this sky apart with a greater brilliance.” Of the sand “Lord, you know the number, and they are not infinite. Yet for infinite eons I will dwell with you.” Of the dead fish—

Dead fish?

I was walking with my Lord! I was enjoying the scenery He gifted me. I was experiencing blissful closeness! And suddenly, a dead fish on the shore marred this beauty! It’s eyes were bugged out and all but it’s head had been ripped away, a spine attached remained. It was a pitiful, smelly, disgusting sight. How could death invade our walk? Why in God’s perfectly timed and sovereign plan, would I come across this? Like a little 5 year old walking with his dad, I turned up my nose at the thing and said “Abba, what is that?”

“That, my child, is the laugh of the sign of Jonah”

Huh?

In the few days leading up to this moment, The Lord had inclined my heart to study the story of Jonah. And in this strange moment, the Spirit brought to my mind Matthew 12:40, when Jesus said, “For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Jesus died for my sins, and he suffered the wrath of God that I justly deserved. And death swallowed Him for three days. But only three. He emerged victorious from the grave, sealing for all His chosen people the hope of the resurrection. He had defeated death. To Him, death had died. The great fish that had swallowed the greater Jonah had gone belly up.

And in that moment, where death threatened to disturb my walk with God, I turned to the fish and shared in the laugh of the sign of Jonah: “Death! Thou art a dead fish!"

I walked away from that scene taking with me the precious truth. Even death will be used to glorify Christ. For death, in the Christian’s eyes, is a dead fish. One day we will point at that dead fish on the shores of eternity and say “Hah! Death has died and we will no longer taste it! What remains is a pitiful memory that will be cast over the horizon and known no more.” Then Jesus will drop kick it. And it will be gone. We need not fear it at all.

I love long walks on the beach with my Savior.

Quick Update

2011-03-11T13:32:00.000-05:00

On December 17^th, I posted a prayer request for five different things. It was a group of prayer requests for a person who just graduated college and was about to take his first strides into “the real world". One of the things listed concerned my application to a seminary: Bethlehem Seminary in Minneapolis. And a few days ago, I received a long awaited answer from them.

I have not been accepted to Bethlehem. However, I am considered a “strong candidate” and am on a waiting list. Yet because there are only 15 acceptances and 30 other people who may or may not be on the waiting list, it is hard to think something other than the fact that the chances of me getting in seem extremely slim to none. I should know if a spot opens up before April 10, which could very well mean one more month of waiting. (Gasp! The “w” word!)

The only negativity I feel toward this answer rises from the fact that I love absolutes. I like “yes” and “no”. The word “maybe” is a word that I do not like to receive (which is ironic because I myself often give that answer).

So, needless to say, I would appreciate your continued prayer. Part of me (the activist part) wants to just drop the whole application deal and pursue the next step or alternative. Yet another part of me wants to really wait until April before I make any big decisions on “the next step”.

So please pray that the mercy of God would be upon me in guiding me to “the next step”, whatever that may be. Pray that He would crush my pride. And pray that I would glory in this situation rather than “just deal with it”. Overall, pray that my deepest thirst would be for God, that I would not set my hope or joy on circumstances or situations or future choices/decisions, but on Him.

Thank you for your prayers, always.

Panera Lessons: Five Leadership Lessons/Reminders

2011-03-04T20:45:00.002-05:00

Tonight at Panera I was able to see myself when I first started working there. By that I mean I saw a new guy who was in the process of “learning the line”( how to prepare and present soups, salads, and sandwiches"

But he was learning right before and during dinner rush. So things were pretty fast-paced.

And almost no one talked to him.

So I (having worked at Panera long enough to get one paycheck) took the burden of teaching/training upon myself. I taught him as much as I could while also doing my own duties, and I think he was thankful. The experience turned out to be beneficial for myself as well. Here are several things I took from my time with him.

1. Trainers don’t beat trainees up as much as trainees beat themselves up. I certainly learned this as I trained our new guy. When I was trained I found myself in a constant storm of self-criticism, which led the trainers to actually tell me to relax and go easy on myself. They said,“No one is going to get mad at you. You are new so mistakes are going to happen. We just want you to learn and get better.” I did. And as a matter of fact, I found myself telling my trainee just the same thing.

2. Training others teaches them how to teach. I found myself using the same methods to teach this guy that my teachers used to teach me. This places a big responsibility on teachers. If you train someone wrong, they will not only learn a given method wrong, but also train others wrong in turn.

3. Training others gives great insight to one's own progress. I found myself incredibly encouraged as I trained this guy. I thought to myself, “I have been here only a month and I am already training someone. A lot of this is so easy for me now!” I think that when you are able to teach/train others, you will often surprise yourself in how far you have come.

4. Training others is a way to train yourself in patience, trust and humility. Obviously, when a trainee is starting out, he or she is slow and kind of clueless. But I used such an experience to laugh at how I myself was clueless and slow just three weeks ago. I gave him the same patience I myself would’ve wanted. As he learned, I found myself also trusting that what he had learned he would also retain, allowing him to be more fast and free, allowing me to return to my own duties. This was also a time where I could serve him and help him out, doing what I thought were simple tasks that 3 weeks ago I would’ve labled "difficult".

5. Training others encourages your own trainer. One of the guys who trained me just three weeks ago said, “Man, you rock!”. It encouraged him that though he trained me just recently, I had moved along far enough to train others. His work was effective and rewarding not only to me, but to the business.

As I drove home and thought about this training experience, I thought about how this topic of training also applies very much to church leadership.

1. A lot of times, people who you want to train just plain think themselves incompetent and therefore unworthy for ministry. They don’t understand that ministry growth and leadership is a process. Take away their fears by telling them that you don’t expect perfection—just learning and growing. Tell them to relax and not freak out so much. And offer your help as much is needed, telling them they can always feel free to ask even the most basic questions. Tell them they will soon be able to do what you do, and do it well.

2. As you teach/train, you must be aware that you are also teaching a method of teaching. Train your disciple in a way you would want them to train when they disciple. If you don’t put in much effort, they won’t either. If you don’t hold them accountable, they won’t hold others accountable. If you are harsh and overbearing, they might be too. Raise leaders up the way you want them to raise others.

3. As you train or disciple or teach, take time to thank God that He has brought you to a point where you can teach/train/disciple! Not long ago, you might have thought that training others was impossible. Now, by His grace, He is enabling you to be a leader.

4. As you train others, make sure you are not lording over them, but serving under them. Help them, and be patient with them. Go as far as to trust in them to get their own work done without your help or hand-holding. It will help them grow and encourage them.

5. As you train others, let your own trainer know how grateful you are for his investment in you! Tell him how his training has helped you to train. Let him know how your trainee is doing. Use your training to not only encourage your trainee, but yourself and your trainer!

Five simple lessons about leadership from a simple food job. Thanks God.