Helping another church out.

Fifteen people from 1st Southern Morenci helped Central Heights Baptist in the Globe area with their block party today. One of the guys from 1st So. Morenci coordinated everything for us. Thanks Chris, you really helped me out a lot by doing that for us.

Within about 15 minutes of getting there, 2 of the ladies who went had already identified several areas where we could refine our own block party that is coming up on August 6. It is fun to be around people who see what needs to happen and then they make the decision without having to ask me about it first. Virginia and Sue - you guys rock!!! With these two around, I need to stay out of the way and watch them work, help when I can then back up so I won't be in the way of stuff happening.

A couple of youth worked all day right along with the adults. Shaianne fished more fish out of a bucket than humanly possible. Caleb tried to dunk the ball on rocky ground, in a short height goal all morning - don't know if he ever did it or not - but he hung around and played with the kids.

Donny and Alice - thanks!!! Greg - I hope the seat in your truck dries out...... Jerry D - I think your time is coming sometime soon - I saw the look in her eyes. John and Esther - just how many t-shirts did you win anyway? And how do you pronounce your last name?

Justin Y and Vivien (I hope you dried off!) - It's pretty cool having you guys around this summer and seeing you involved in church. Justin D - it really is better in the dry heat!!! I appreciate your involvement in the community coaching the kids in soccer and giving me a hard time too. Hopefully we will finish most of Genesis before all y'all head back to foreign lands to finish school.

Overall, it was a really good day helping another church try to reach their community with the good news. Saw lots of kids carrying Bibles around, hopefully they will be read. Got to help kids laugh, make them laugh, laugh with them - nothing much in life sounds better than a little child laughing, or a pre-teen giggling at an adult doing something goofy.

They are doing what? To who?

Baptist Press article on July 12, 2005 - I am gay-friendly. Wow - these folks really believe that evil can be overcome by good. What a concept. Was written in Scripture a long time ago, and Christ followers through the centuries have believed and practiced it. Seems like lots of folks today who claim to follow Christ (and probably truly are regenerate) have forgotten that Christ's command to us in Romans 12:21 "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

We have been really good about "taking a stand" or "making a statement" in a public way, so that "the world" will know what we believe. I'm pretty sure that most people in the U.S. knows, or has heard what "Christians" believe. I pray that there would be more people in the U.S. (and elsewhere for that matter) who will SEE our beliefs lived out in front of them through service - overcoming evil with good.

The 411 will impact their community for eternity. Will we?

(HT - Steve McCoy at Emerging SBC Leaders)

Crucifixional???

Read Joe Thorn's post about The Mission of God. He talks about God's mission and how it might be a little different than our usual interpretation of what it is.

In his post, he uses a word that I had not read before - crucifixional. He got it from a friend of his, Daniel, who is a pastor/elder at Sojourn Community in Louisville, KY.

Checked out their website - I appreciate their approach to doing church together. Come to think of it, we have the same Chief Pastor/Elder at our church, but sometimes we forget it though.

Random Stuff.

Mike DeVries has written a couple of posts lately that need a bit of thought. The first one asks the question "What is the Gospel?" The second is hidden in "TEAM Conference." Spent an afternoon and part of an evening with Mike a couple of years ago. I liked what he had to say then and like a lot of what he writes now too.

Scott McKnight wrote about one of my pet peeves and he is exactly right!!!!! I like a lot of what Scott writes.

For 4 of the women in my life (and the main one too!)

Found this today and thought of you. I hope that I can come close.

Hint: If the poem "Fallen Angels" isn't at the top of the page, scroll down to read it.

Southern Baptist - a view of the inside, from an insider.....

Jim Elliff is president of Christian Communicators Worldwide. He recently wrote an article concerning church membership, a topic he feels very passionate about, focusing on Southern Baptists in specific - with application to other denominations as well. It's worth the read.

(HT - Justin Taylor) Justin writes a lot of good stuff - well worth your time reading what he has to say. He presents info about arguments sometimes used in the abortion discussion here, and here, and a bit about poetry as well!

Maps! Maps! We don't need no stinkin maps!!!

I've been reading several books on leadership lately. John MacArthur (The Book on Leadership), Andy Stanley (7 Practices of Effective Ministry, Rick Rusaw & Eric Swanson (The Externally Focused Church), and more waiting to be read!

According to all the books I've read, my leadership is severely lacking! On the other hand, my calling by the only One Who Counts has not changed. The people in the church I pastor also are waiting on me to lead them.

Rusaw and Swanson wrote in The Externally Focused Church on page 147:

It is a myth that not all leaders are visionaries. If you lead, you are a visionary. You are inviting people to move from the present to the future. If you don't have any idea of where your church is going and why, then you are not a leader--period.

This quote has been the most helpful for me to see what I have not been doing very well. I have a vision of how a church should operate, but I have not done a good job explaining that vision. I have a tendency to be pretty vague and want people to find out on their own what needs to be done - I'm not very directive with clear "Do this" requests/commands/etc.

They also say that the vision should act as a compass, not a roadmap which makes a lot of sense to me. I've been looking at the compass (that I am looking at, not what others see, or have seen in the past) and most of the leaders here are asking for directions on the roadmap.

Perhaps with a different understanding of vision that Rusaw and Swanson have provided will help me get us going in the right direction - using the compass rather than the roadmap. I've been waiting for a map to appear, maps can be drawn later..... Maps! Maps! We don't need no stinkin maps!!!

Backwards question from Mark 8:37?

This morning's sermon passage was Mark 8:34-38, NASB quoted below:

34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. 35 "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? 37 "For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

I understand that Jesus' call to discipleship includes renouncing my claim to myself, that I should be prepared to die physically immediately, and then I must follow Him. I understand that "wasting" my life for His sake, and the sake of the Gospel will result in my life being saved, and that in trying to save it by not "wasting" it for Him, I will lose it. Just a bit of a paradox.........

Jesus' question is backwards from what I was expecting. I was thinking "What will a man get in exchange for his soul?" His question is "What will a man give in exchange for his soul?" It seems to me that every man already has a soul, that we don't have to purchase it.

This question haunted me for most of this week in preparing for this morning and I'm not sure I have "The Answer" for it. I've read several commentaries and still don't have a completely clear understanding of what is being asked. Here's what I think:

Jesus was pointing back to His command for a person to "Deny himself" - to completely renounce his claim to his "self," and give control of his "self" to Christ. The soul of a person is of great worth and should not be exchanged for any amount of wealth that this world has to offer. The soul will be exchanged for something. Christ is asking very pointedly whether it will be exchanged for "self" or for Him.

Jesus call to discipleship is hard, not easy. We Westerners like to pamper "self" rather than deny it. John the Baptist had it right when he said "He must increase, but I must decrease" in John 3:30.

So - For what will you give in exchange your soul?

Huh?

Today in our morning worship a couple I did not know joined us. In our conversation I found out where they lived and that they were in the area on a vacation of sorts for their anniversary.

They told me where they go to church in their city, and he is the pastor of their church! It "used to be Southern Baptist," but they think Brother So-and-So took them out of the SBC - "and rightfully so". "There are so very few faithful Baptist churches" in their city, they said. Not many hold to the truth, and preach truth. (It is a pretty large city here in AZ and has lots of SBC churches, but it's not Phoenix, just in case you're interested!!!)

Pretty early in the conversation I quit trying to understand where they were coming from, it was pretty apparent that they did not want to discuss it, and the situation did not lead to an open discussion either. It was an amiable discussion, and I hope they have an enjoyable anniversary getaway and encountered God in our worship this morning.

My question is - if you go to a church you obviously don't agree with doctrinally, is it a good thing to talk to the pastor afterwards and start pointing out some of the things you don't agree with? I guess it's a good thing I explained why I was wearing sandals while I preached this morning .......... (wonder what they woulda thought if I'd been wearing shorts!)